Lego Spacecraft and Getting Lego Organised
So I have a confession to make. I made a rookie Lego error and managed to get my Lego disorganized. We moved last March and that is when in the stress to pack, things went all over and I lost a neat system to keep my Lego's seperate. Now I am all unpacked I realized we made a mess of it and decided to only way to put it right is by rebuilding some old sets and keeping the pieces of those sets seperately. I decided a good place to start was the 3in1 Lego Creator Space Shuttle set 31117.
You might be able to recognize some of my organisational chaos in the back! I love the 3in1 Creator sets, they are usually quite creative and you get to make 3 builds for the price of 1. Granted, the main build is the high quality one, but it is fun to be able to do multiple things with one box.
I got started on the build and it was a slow one, as all the parts were mixed in with dozens of other sets and the way I had sorted them was also not fantastic... Especially in the beginning I spent a lot of time searching. As you can see in the picture above you start out with the bottom part of the shuttle. It is a fun build using quite some small technical bits, but overall it is not a super difficult build.
One of the things I really enjoy about this build is the fact that in the middle of the shuttle you build an extractable solar panel. On the picture above you can see the extractable build, you can open the shuttle and pop out the solar panels.
You can neatly fit them on the inside of the space shuttle as well, the mechanism is a bit faffy but it fits like a glove. then you can close the top doors again to make it look sleek. On the inside the shuttle is quite sparse, there is space for one astronaut and besides one small control panel there is not much to see inside the shuttle. I think that is one thing that could have been improved about this set to make it look more realistic!
Here is the final result and I am a bit more organised now, having sorted this set out. I am thinking about doing the pirate ship next to sort those pieces out as well. Hope you enjoyed my 3in1 creator build, obviously all pictures are my own.
The Magical Peak District in the UK
Last winter we went to the Peak District in the United Kingdom, a place I have been multiple times before but that I always find magical. It is a beautiful area where you can do wonderful hikes, scrambles and climbing.
We stayed in this very romantic English cottage near Bakewell, known for its Bakwell tarts, a lovely treat you should try when you are around! Now even though it was winter we specifically went to go walking in the beautiful landscape.
On the first day we went to see Robin Hoods Stride, a crop of gritstone rock sticking out of the landscape. This place was already inhabitated in the time of the Romans and still people come here to look at the rocks and the view. From the parking by the side of the road it is a short 30 minute hike to the top and the views.
On a nice summer day you could go for a picnic here, or if you are feeling adventerous you could go for a climb, there are a few short routes on the gritstone. But even if you are not a climber, there is enough places to clamber through and feel like one. To be rewarded with a beautiful view.
After a super rainy day spent inside our romantic cottage the weather improved and we decided to go to one of my favorite places: Lud's Church. This is a beautiful place in the Peak District in the woods where after a hike of about an hour suddenly you find yourself in a landscape that is like Jurrassic Park.
It is a large chasm that opens up suddenly in the bedrock. You can walk around here and look at all the ferns that are growing in the rock. During the rainy time of the year (and when is the UK not rainy?) you will get a bit muddy here, but that only makes it more fun!
In the summer it will get pretty busy here, but as we were here in January it was nice and quiet and we practically had the place to ourselves. You can park the car at the bottom and decide to hike up to Lud's Church and then head back. But for an even better walk you can combine it with a visit to the Roaches, perhaps the most well-known landmark in the Peak District. The Roaches lies on the high ground above Lud's Church and is a beautiful place to hike with a view, or to climb or do bouldering on the rocks.
On the way back we had this beautiful view and we felt happy and accomplished for our walk of the day. In short, the Peak District is a beautiful and magical place and no matter the weather a place you should visit! All pictures are of course my own and I hope you enjoy!
The Menu: Brilliant and Disturbing Film
The other day I watched The Menu and let me tell you, it is unlike any other movie I have ever seen! A dark comedy meets horror with so many twists along the path, it grips you from beginning to end.
Source https://www.pathe-thuis.nl/film/34920/the-menu
**The Story**
Self-proclaimed foodie Tyler brings his date Margot to Hawthorn, an island that is home to a very exclusive restaurant owned by the most popular chef of his time: Julian Slowik. We meet other diners who have come for the experience and who are sitting in the dining room. It quickly turns out that Margot was not the date Tyler originally thought of bringing and there is not a huge amount of chemistry between the pair, as he is practically drooling over the chef and she doesn't seem too bothered.
Source
Chef Slowik, played brilliantly by Ralph Fiennes, starts the evening by serving the first courses and delivering monologues with the courses. As the evening advances, it becomes clear that something is not right. During the third course it becomes clear that the guests are not just anonymous guests as uncomfortable truths of their personal life are exposed by the chef. Things really get out of hand when during the fourth course the sous-chef kills himself. One of the guests tries to leave following this disturbing event only to have his finger cut off for trying to leave.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/the-menu-film-dominique-crenn-17587784.php
Source
Now if you think things have taken a weird turn now, just hold your horses because this movie is just getting started! What follows is a manic escape attempt by the guests who are all captured again. The main plot comes to light when Slowik announces that he has brought all these specific guests because they represent a reason why he has lost his passion for cooking. His plan? To make sure none of them leave alive.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/crystalro/the-menu-review
Source https://alternativemovieposters.com/amp/the-menu-by-phil-shelly/
For the finale of the movie the perspective moves to Margot, who is not who she seems and who might be the only one to outsmart the chef. Now, I won't spoil the end of course, you will have to watch the movie for that!
**Review**
Now I loved this movie. I was hesitant watching it at first as I don't usually watch movies with the label horror, but I am very glad that I did. The real star of the movie is Ralph Fiennes, who absolutely shines in his role of the chef. Another thing that made this film great was the unpredictability throughout the entire movie. As it starts you kind of wonder if a movie about a restaurant could really be interesting, but pretty quickly it takes an unexpected turn and the unexpected just keeps piling up in this movie! All in all, I would really encourage you to see this movie!
Ready Player Two: A Huge Disappointment Of A Sequel
As you may know I am attempting to read 52 books this year, one for every week. I am still a bit behind, but slowly catching up! Today I want to share with you book 15 of 52: Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline.
Source
Now for those of you who are not aware, Ready Player Two is the sequel to, you guessed it: Ready Player One. Now part one was amazing, one of the best books I have ever read. And that always makes me nervous to read part two: will it live up to the first part? Can it hold my interest? https://www.amazon.nl/Ready-Player-Two-Ernest-Cline/dp/1524761338
**The Story**
Now if you haven't read Ready Player One (or seen the movie) then in short there is a virtual game world called the Oasis. Our protagonist Wade Watts is a disadvantaged child living in the slums in a world that is dealing with the consequences of climate change and overpopulation. To get away from his worries he spends a lot of time in the virtual world of Oasis, just like many others. In the first book Watts manages to finish a quest set by the owner of Oasis who passed away. Watts becomes the new owner with his 4 friends.
Source https://www.filmstarts.de/nachrichten/18536681.html
Now this is where we enter the story for Ready Player Two. Wade Watts has become a multi bilionnaire and owner of Oasis, but his personal life is falling apart. His girlfriend Samantha dumps him when she finds out he has been using and promoting a new sort of gaming headset: one that will take over the brain of those using it. He also doesn't really have friends and spends most of his time totally immersed in Oasis with his new ONI headset.
Source https://www.nme.com/news/film/ready-player-two-reviews-roundup-steven-spielberg-2829358
Then comes the plot twist: a new quest is opened up and one with far fetching consequences as millions of people logged into the Oasis could lose their life if Wade does not succeed in his quest. What follows in a reunion of the original five friends (including the ex girlfriend), immense time pressure and quests that are bursting at the seams with references to popular culture. How about an entire virtual planet dedicated to Prince?
Source https://www.denofgeek.com/books/ready-player-two-best-easter-eggs/
**The Review**
I don't think I can express enough what a disappointment this book was after the amazing first part. Everything that the first part had: suspense, super well made characters, a suprising story line etc. Well all those things are not there for part two. First of all the characters are pretty flat. I actually grew pretty annoyed with Wade in this book. But the main issue for me was with the storyline, as it seemed very forced at times and got lost in so many references to obscure popular culture references I got lost quite regularly.
Source https://posterspy.com/posters/ready-player-two-2/
So my advice? If you haven't done so: read Ready Player One and watch the movie. It is one of those few times where the movie is as good as the book. And stay far, far away from Ready Player Two. Now let's just hope the writer never turns to a part three....
Wednesday Walk: First Walk After The Rain
Went for a lovely wednesday walk yesterday, although with 35 weeks pregnant I think I could also start calling it the wednesday wobble. What was especially lovely yesterday was that last night it rained for the first time in a month, so nature was singing today after some much needed rainfall.
As you can see everything became instantly more green and vibrant! As I am in the wobble stage of pregnancy I decided to head to my local park. The park is called the "Green Foot" and to match the name all the entrances to this park have been marked by a large foot made of wood.
I love the creativity they went for here, but have no idea why the green foot was used as a name for this park. I walked a nice loop, enjoying the sounds of the birds, who seem to be very happy with the recent rainfall. Also most plants were recovering from a month of dry weather. I was also breathing easier as the temperature has come down to a comfortable 22 degrees, much better when walking around with a big belly!
I also decided to visit the local butterfly garden. This is made and maintained by locals living in the area and has many spiecies of flowers and plants that are especially loved by butterflies.
Here you see a part of it, they like to keep it quite wild and not too sculpted and I am curious how many butterflies it will attract in the months to come. I also try to lure butterflies into my garden as butterflies are getting more and more rare in the Netherlands and because they are beautiful, who wouldn't like them in their garden?
On my way home I ran into this beauty, I am always amazed how they can grow in the tiniest spots, their roots often only having a small bit of soil. They have been loving the sun lately and don't seem to need much water to survive on! After about 45 minutes I decided that was enough walking for me now, things are for sure getting a bit harder this far into the pregnancy. I still managed to walk about 3.5km so not too bad!
Did you manage to get out for a nice walk yet?
The Banshees of Inisherin: An Absurd Irish Classic To Be
It was the surprise of the Oscars this year, it was nominated for a total of nine Oscars but didn't win any in the end. This actually made me want to watch it more. I was curious what this movie that had created such high expectations, but didn't have the power to reel in the Oscars.
Source https://www.pathe.nl/film/26151/the-banshees-of-inisherin
**The Story**
The film is set on an island just off the West Coast of Ireland and we follow Pádraic (played by Colin Farrell) during the 20's of the last century. Pádraic is a farmer living with his sister and donkey and his favorite past time is going to the local pub and drinking some pints. Every day he stops by his friend Colm to pick him up and together they head to the pub. However, one day he goes to pick Colm up and Colm ignores him at the door. Pádraic is very confused and finds out that Colm has decided he no longer wants to be friends and instead focus on his music.
Source https://galeries.be/nl/the-banshees-of-inisherin/
Pádraic, not the most intelligent Irishman refuses to accept that Colm doesn't want to be his friend anymore and keeps following him around and tries to pester him into staying his friend. Colm gets so fed up with the stalking of his former friend that he says that if Pádraic bothers him again he will cut off a finger. And trust me when I say that this is where the movie turns quite bizarre.
Source https://www.volkskrant.nl/cultuur-media/the-banshees-of-inisherin-is-een-zwart-komisch-en-aangrijpend-portret-van-een-verloren-vriendschap~b7f480ac/
**The Movie Derails**
This is the point the movie goes from a calm and at times even boring movie about friendship on this Irish island and it turns into a dark comedy with unexpected plot twists. In this second part the sister of Pádraic, Siobhán takes a more central stage as she is getting fed up with her brother and wants to leave the island. Other characters like Dominic, the not so smart possible friend replacement and his father Peadar, the local policeman also come through more in this second part of the movie.
Source
As others start to shine in this movie, the events between Colm and Pádraic come to a head, with Colm having to execute his earlier threat and a sad tragedy that befalls Pádraics donkey sets off a chain of events that keeps escalating. I will not spoil the plot for you, but things certainly heat up in the second part of the movie. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/banshees-of-inisherin-empire-of-light-production-design-1235257785/
**The Review**
I personally really enjoyed this movie, although the second half really saved the rather slow moving first part of the movie. One of the highlights of the movie for me was the role of Siobhán, the sister who is a total power woman in a rather bleak Irish movie. I also really enjoyed the two faces of this movie and the more and more bizarre turn that events take towards the end of the movie.
Source https://www.timesnewspapers.com/webster-kirkwoodtimes/arts_and_entertainment/reel_world/the-banshees-of-inisherin/article_4d9c25d0-5b7b-11ed-b853-1f4804c4964f.html
So all in all, I did really enjoy this movie, but I also understand what happened at the Oscars, that even though the setting is beautiful, the plot is suprising and it is great to see a true Irish movie it still does not fully deliver on its promise. At times a bit boring and slow moving.
Have you seen this movie yet, what were your thoughts?
The Magic Mullerthal Trail In Luxembourg
Our last holiday we decided to visit a place that has been on our list for a long time: the legendary Mullerthal Trail in Luxembourg. If you haven't heard of it yet, it is considered one of Europe's top trails in nature.
**The Trail**
The trail consists of three routes that are all loops with the option of four extra routes to do if you want to see more. All run through beautiful Luxembourg. The total length is 112 kilometers for the three main routes and you can decide to walk it in three very long days (about 37km a day) or split them up and walk about half each day. We did the latter, as I was about 7 months pregnant and 37km a day was not happening anymore.
Source https://likeapostcard.nl/mullerthal-trail/
So we decided to walk part of route 1 and a nice chunk of route 2. If you are lacking time I would advise focussing on route 2, known as the most scenic one of the three.
**Incredible paths and beautiful nature**
What you can expect on this beautiful trail is lots and lots of beautiful nature. It cuts through an area of sandstone which you can see at various points of the route.
This means that some parts of the route are also known for they options to go climbing there (especially around Berdorf) and you can spend quite some time sitting on a rock watching people climb. Or join yourself of course if you know how to rock climb and have brought your gear.
The trail itself is super well signposted, making it almost impossible to get lost. Now you will have some up and down especially in the rocky areas of route 2. I would advise bringing comfortable shoes and walking sticks to save the impact on your knees.
Not all parts are rocky though, this beautiful lake is part of route 1 near the town of Echternach. Quite some of the trail also runs past the countryside and is more flat, allowing you to make more mileage quickly, especially handy if you are attempting to do a full route of 37km in one day.
Now the fun thing about the trail is that the route is studded with little vilages and towns that you can visit, have a bite to eat or sleep if you decide to call it a day. Such as the lovely town of Echternach, with a special abbey:
This means the route is super flexible, you decide how long you want to walk. To make things even better we found that parking is almost always free in Luxembourg and they have free and reliable public transport. So no need to keep pushing yourself to do 10 more km while your feet are killing you. For me, being 6 months pregnant at the time that was very important.
What we did was go hiking about 15km every other day and then take a break the next day to visit towns and see historical sights, like this Roman Villa excavation
It means you can choose if you want to go full on hiking and do the full three routes (and four extra loops if you are feeling super fit) but you can also take it more chill and break up the routes and see some other sights. Now our dream is to one day walk the full three routes doing one route a day, but with my pregnancy it was great that I could still do the walks, but in seperate sections.
We had a blast and I would advice everyone to go to Luxembourg and experience this place!
Choosing For A Total Life Changer
I have decided to go for the option to write on children, since as we speak I am sitting on the couch with my 8 month pregnant belly. You could say the theme is relevant to my life at this point!
**How we came to this decision**
I think somewhere I always knew I wanted children and it was something that I was thinking about and wanting for a while but my partner was still a bit anxious about the whole thing. Understandably so by the way, he had just moved countries to live with me in the Netherlands, he had a job without a permanent contract and we lived in the tiniest apartment on earth. So where Matt was being all reasonable, I was turning into a hormone powered optimist who kept saying that all these things were not problems. And you know, all babies need is love, right?
Well last summer we both felt ready to take the plunge. Matt had gotten a permanent contract and we finally got approval for a mortgage so we were in the process of finding a house to buy. I had obviously still not changed my mind haha so we decided that as soon as we came back from our travels that summer I would quit birth control and we would see what happened.
Fast forward 24 weeks and the baby bump finally came through.
**Project Baby**
It turns out that where I thought I would have at least 6 months or so before I would get pregnant, it was a hit on month number 3. Coincidentally we got the news that our offer on a house was accepted the same week as me taking the pregnancy test and finding out we were pregnant. Funny thing is, I knew instantly that I was pregnant. I went to work that day and when I was cycling home I felt a bit bloated and gassy and just... different. I decided to take a detour to the local drug store for a test and twenty minutes later I was holding a positive test in my hands.
What we didn't take into account was that I would have nausea for 6 solid weeks and that after that we also had to move house while I was pretty pregnant and couldn't lift much, but luckily our friends helped us lots!
**But Why?**
I have plenty of friends who don't want kids, some because they feel the planet is full enough as is, some because they think life with a child ruins all the fun and some because they don't want the responsability. As my best friend always says "I can barely take care of myself". People have asked me what made you want to have a child? And I'm not sure I can give a clear answer to that question. Part is because I think it is a unique experience that I don't want to miss out on. Part is wanting to create new life with my partner but I think most of it comes down to this inner drive that I have always felt that I wanted to have kids. Biology? A natural instinct? Who knows, but we will become parents in about 6 weeks and are super excited to meet her!
Her first outfits are waiting for her!
Erebus: The Story of a Ship
My goal this year is to read 52 books, or one book per year. I am quite behind at the moment, but as I am currently on pregancy leave I hope to have some time to catch up! Here is my review of book number 14: Erebus- The Story of a Ship by Michael Palin.
Source https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36992483-erebus
**The History**
Palin writes his book about the Erebus and its history, making this book historical non-fiction. Although the adventures of the ship and its crew read like an adventure novel, so even people who are not usually fans of non-fiction should really give this book a try.
Palin transports us in this book to the 19th century, the time of arctic exploration. After the Napoleontic wars the Royal Navy becomes more and more interested in exploring the few places on earth that have not yet been mapped and explored: the North and South pole. The Erebus, a former Royal Navy battleship will be transformed for this reason into a vassal with research capabilities and will see the extremes of the earth.
Source https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/sep/30/erebus-story-of-a-ship-review-michael-palin
The book focusses on two seperate journeys of the ship and its crew: a travel to the south pool, looking for the magnetic pole under the leadership of captain James Clark Ross and the journey that would make it famous: the ill-famed journey of John Franklin to the north pole, looking for a northern passage to the pacific.
**The Last Journey**
That second trip by Franklin to the north pole will turn out to be the last voyage of the ship and its crew and it is here that Palin's research really pays off for this book. He manages to describe everything so precisely you feel like you are on the voyage with the crew. After Franklin and his crew leave England with three years worth of supplies, no one is expecting tragedy. People think this heroic ship and crew will be the firsts to find a way through the ice.
Source https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/what-happened-to-erebus-terror-crew-true-story
The ship gets stuck in the ice during its first winter, and though no one dispairs that first winter and the crew seems to have survived well. However, after 2 years no one has received any more news from the ship and its crew England decides to send multiple rescue crews, without any results or even any idea of what had happened. It would take years to find out that all the crew had perished from a mix of starvation, the cold and lead poisoning. Currently the Erebus lies on the bottom of the arctic ocean, where it lies beautifully preserved in the ice cold waters. But for those of us who are not willing or able to dive into arctic waters I would recommend reading the book by Palin as it really brings you aboard this adventure.
Source https://www.scubadiving.com/shipwrecks-hms-terror-and-erebus-discovered-in-arctic
Moving to La Bella Italia
So as some of you may know I currently live in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is comfortable, the standard of living is pretty high and I have a nice job, nice house and good friends. But it lacks one vital thing.... Elevation!
So if I could just pack up and leave and move anywhere I would move to....
**The Dolomites!**
La dolce vita baby! I am packing my bags and moving to this insane mountain area in the north of Italy. Now, the mountains are the main reason for moving, but I have to admit that there are other reasons why the mountains of Italy appeal to me.
But let us start with the most important one. I love mountains, I always have and I enjoy hiking, climbing, canyoning and caving in them. Now notice how all of these hobbies are incompatible with the country that I currently live in, the Netherlands. In Italy I could go outside every day and enjoy the mountains and all they have to offer. My current living place could be described as flat as a pancake but that would still not do it justice. So I want to go from this:
and move towards this:
**Other reasons to move**
Now mountains are great, but they are not the only reason for my move to la bella Italia. Of course another important reason to move is the food. Because lets be honest you probably never heard of Dutch cuisine and that would be for a good reason. Now Italian cuisine, you have heard of! And probably because it is amazing. I love fresh pasta, pizza, cheese and ice cream so I would be a very happy camper living in Italy. A lovely plate of antipasti like this one is something you could wake me up for:
**Il Dolce Far Niente**
Now my final reason to move to Italy is il dolce far niente. Or the joy of doing nothing. Now I am probably like many of you: I have a busy job, a busy social life and before you know it another week has flown past and I didn't even have that much time to stop and smell the roses. The Italians are great at smelling the roses, they believe you should really take the time to enjoy everything, really take time to interact with your friends and family, time to eat a lovely meal and to put your work on the second track. I would love to have the time to enjoy good food, good company, read a book on an Italian square.
I am very curious to hear where you would move to if you could. In this post all pictures are original and mine and of course feature Italy (except for the Dutch tulips, they are Dutch!)
Knives Out: a Modern Murder Mystery
When I was a teenager I used to read the books of Agatha Christie and always tried to figure out who had done it before the book was out. The movie Knives Out very much reminded me of those books and I spend most of the film trying to figure out who was the murderer! But although the movie is an old-fashioned murder mystery story, it is poured into a modern jacket!
Source https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8946378/
**The Story**
Now of course I will not be telling you here who did it, that would ruin the fun of the movie! But I shall set the scene:
We have a rich, slightly excentric family headed by patriarch Harlan Thrombey. The whole family has come to celebrate the 85th birthday of Harlan, but the morning after the party the housekeeper, Fran, finds Harlan with a slit throat. The police first thinks it is a suicide, but then enters Benoit Blanc, a private investigator who has been paid by an unknown source to investigate the case.
Source https://www.netflix.com/nl/title/81037684
Now Mr. Blanc is not too sure about a suicide and what he finds is a dysfunctional family at best: a daughter whose husband is cheating on her, something Harlan found out and threatened him with. Their son, who was the only one absent at the funeral. A son who is managing Harlan's printing company but who got fired by his father on the night of the murder. Or what about a daughter in law who has been getting money from Harlan, but who is cut off the night of the party? And finally, the young nurse who has been taking care of him and after his death inherits all the money that the family had been counting on. It seems everyone had a motive for murdering him. And everyone is lying. Everyone that is, except for the housekeeper, who has to vomit every time she lies, making her a truth detector.
Source https://cinemayward.com/review/knives-out/
As the plot thickens, it turns out that nothing is what it seems in this movie, with a spectacular plot twist at the end you are sure to be surprised!
**The Review**
But the main question of course is: is the movie any good? Well in short: yes. As a murder mystery it totally delivers and it manages to do something that very few murder myseries do. It gives you the plot in the beginning and then places surprises along the way. This kind of reversed murder mystery works quite well in my opinion.
Secondly, most of the actors are great and really manage to create that excentric family vibe that the movie relies on. I say most, because there was one performance that I found underwhelming. Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig did not manage to convince me at all. Though the character is intruiging, Craig ruins the entire performance with some strange southern drawl that is neither convicing, nor very pleasant to listen to because it is obviously fake. But don't let this be a reason to deter you from watching this movie!
A Yorkshire Campfire
I love a good campfire, we often go camping and nothing beats staring into the flames after a long and tiring day. But my favorite campfire memory is not from one of our camping trips, but it is from when we lived in Yorkshire, England.
For this we have to go back to the start of the pandemic. In 2020 my partner and I were having a long distance relationship, travelling between the UK and the Netherlands. When it became clear that Covid was pretty serious and that borders might close I took an impulsive decision to hop on the last ferry leaving to the UK, I didn't want to be in two seperate countries. Matt worked and lived in rural Yorkshire at the time and I joined him in the little cottage he lived in. When the world went in lockdown we found ourselves in a tiny village, in a cute cottage, surrounded by sheep and their lambs. To be honest, it was perhaps the most idyllic place to be in lockdown in. We spent a lot of time walking in the fields and sitting in the field behind the cottage.
Living next to all these cute lambs was a real bonus to living in Yorkshire
We even had the luck of living close to a local brewery, who because of the pandemic had a surplus of ale. They sold us a keg of ale for 20 pounds and we spend most evenings in the field sipping on ale at a campfire. Nothing like a good campfire to make you forget that the world has turned upside down. It was one of those evenings that we made the memorable campfire you see in the picture. It was already May, so two months into the lockdown when we had an ale, sat down at the fire and decided what to do from here. Though Yorkshire was super idyllic, it was also super remote and so impossible for me to find work as a history teacher. Matt had just been laid off in the pandemic, so we were kind of drifting. It was there, staring into the campfire on a glorious Yorkshire evening that we decided to head back to the Netherlands and that we would go back together. No more long distance for us!
A glorious last evening together in Yorkshire before heading to the Netherlands!
I will always look back on our time in Yorkshire with fond memories, and of that campfire where we decided to give life together a go. And here we are, 3 years down the line and still happy together! All photos are my own.
Free: An Amazing History at the End of History
After coming up short last year on my goal to read 52 books, or one book a week, I am back this year to try again!
One of the first books I read this year was Free by Lea Ypi.
Source https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320869/free-by-ypi-lea/9780141995106
Now, there is quite a chance you haven't heard of the book or the writer, as she is an Albanian writer, but this book has been quite a breakthrough for Ypi. Myself, I visited Albania last summer and was recommended this read by a local Albanian student so I decided to give it a try.
**History at the end of history**
We step into the book when Lea Ypi is still quite young (the book is autobiographical) and grows up in socialist Albania. As the rest of the socialist east is crumbling apart, Albania remains strictly socialist. Ypi grows up during the socialist regime and has never know anything else. She manages to describe vividly what it is like growing up in a country like that. She also shows you exactly the propaganda from the perspective of a child, not knowing that it is propaganda she has been fed.
But Ypi, as she describes it herself, has grown up at the end of history. For unbeknowst to her, the socialist regime is crumbling and falling apart. We hear her speak of protests and she describes her surprise of these protests very well, through the eyes of a brainwashed child. As the regime around her crumbles, Ypi is left to wonder if the entire world she grew up in was a lie.
**Is your family truly who you think they are?**
Source https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/free-by-lea-ypi-review-growing-up-in-enver-hoxhas-communist-albania-fnsmnvzxb
As the socialist regime crumbles Ypi is not just faced with the idea that her entire childhood was a lie, but also finds out that her family is not who she thought they were. Speaking the truth to a child can be dangerous, especially if that child is completely engulfed by propaganda from the state. If the child slips up and tells the truth of her family the ramifications could be enormous and mean prison or even death for certain family members.
After the fall of the socialist regime Ypi finds out that her family have not been the socialist supporters they portrayed themselves as. In fact, they are staunch anti-communists and their family has been know for it before the regime came into power. This has also meant that many things available to the strictest part members were always off limit for the Ypi family. You follow Lea Ypi through the book as she realizes that nothing was what it seemed in her childhood.
**A triumph of a book**
In my opinion this was one of the greatest books I have read in a very long time. Beautifully written Ypi's style takes you straight to Albania during the 90's even if you had no idea what that looked like before picking up this book.
The way she manages to show you a brutal socialist regime from the eyes of an innocent child means that you get a completely new perspective while reading this book. I would greatly recommend it to anyone!
An Impressive Novel: Everyone Brave Is Forgiven
This year I have set myself the challenge to read 52 books in 2022 or one book a week. This is a decent challenge but I am very excited about it!
Number 21 was Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave.
Source https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25814512-everyone-brave-is-forgiven
This novel was my choice for the book club I have with several friends and I chose it because it talks about WWII and the Blitz, both of which as a historian are topics I like to read about. I was also curious because I haven't come across many novels that cover the Blitz (the period during WWII when London was heavily bombed by the Nazi's)
The Story
We follow three individuals whose paths cross in the chaos and life changing events of WW II. Mary is from the upper class, a girl with a solid future and an easy life until she decides to upend all of that during the war to become a teacher for evacuated children. She develops a special bond with Zachary, a colored student that is rejected by most of society.
She meets Tom, who runs the only school left in London with children that return from evacuation. Together they want to give those children the opportunity to learn as well. As they work together, they also fall in love during a dangerous time in London.
Alistair is Tom's friend and roommate who decides to enlist for the war effort and join the army. What he cannot imagine is how the war will change him and will leave him with scars that are not visible from the outside. When he meets Mary he instantly feels attracted to her...
All of this is in the background of London during heavy bombing in WWII. You can sense the danger, but also the anxiety of not knowing where the next night bombing will land.
Source https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1940/09/21/living-through-the-blitz
The Review
I thought this book was wonderfully written. Interestingly, it is a very English book. Having lived in England I instantly recognized not only the typical words and accents used by different layers of society, but also the British mentality and humour were really clearly done in this book, which was great.
Chris Cleave also did a really good job bringing the characters to live, even though he chose for a story with three main characters, you feel like each of them is very believable and well rounded.
Source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClVCjLlgnGE&ab_channel=PBSBooks
The only downside of the book is that at the end it all becomes pretty heavy and sometimes you feel like you need some happiness or to escape from all the sadness in the book. But overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would recommend it!
What are you currently reading? I am always looking for good tips on what to read!
My Immortal Weekend
Sorry I have been absent for almost a month! I was travelling and decided I did not want to be on my phone that much but instead really be present for my travels. Hope you are all well in the weekend community!
**An Immortal Weekend**
I loved the choices for this weekend, but the immortal one really spoke to me. I love doing adventurous things, but I can get a bit sketched out sometimes and then I don't do things. So what if I could take it to the extreme? Here are the three things I would do in that weekend:
**Climb without a rope**
So I love climbing, especially outdoors as you can see in this picture of me:
But climbing is all about the head game, you need to be able to stay calm even when moves get a bit dicey and since a big fall 5 years ago I sometimes struggle with that. But in my immortal weekend that wouldn't be an issue at all! I would be able to try all the difficult routes, even without a rope. It must give a real sense of freedom!
2 **Jump from a great height**
I am petrified of flying and a bit hesitant when things get really high. My biggest fear would be to do a skydive or something like that. I am actually convinced that if I would do that I would probably have a heart attack that would kill me. The highest jump I ever made was 13 meters from a cliff into the sea, which you can see here:
That was quite a rush, but it took me a while to work up the courage to jump over the edge. Now if I were immortal I would make that big jump that I have been avoiding all my life. Maybe go for a skydive or I always think paragliding must be really beautiful as well.
3 **Climb Mount Everest**
I always wonder what it would be like to stand at the top of the world, the highest point. But I will never find out in my normal life because there is no way I would risk my life on a frozen, oxygen deprived summit. But hey, if I am immortal I would go for it. Granted, I would need to time this immortal weekend really well so I would be fit enough to actually go for it and the weather would have to be perfect, but hey a girl can dream right?
What things would you do if you were immortal for a weekend?
I know I have been absent for 3 weeks, bit I am back from my travels and will be coming with an article later today! How has read been in my absence, any news?
Date Me Or Hate Me
Before I met my fiance I was on dating apps for a while. I had just gotten out of a long term relationship and baffled by the world of online dating. It was fast, easy and... Super superficial.
But I have become wiser, know better what I want, have more life experience. What if I were to try it again? What would my profile be like?
**Honesty**
For me the worst thing about dating apps was that sometimes you would see people who looked vastly different from their photos (sometimes taken more than a decade ago) or had listed things they thought you would like, but in reality just enjoyed hanging on the couch and watching Netflix.
But if you expect honesty, you should dish it out too. So I would show an honest photo of myself:
It shows what I love to do: hiking, being outside. But it also shows I am not the skinniest around, I carry some extra kilos with me. Anyone who was specifically looking for a diet freak would instantly regret the date haha, so why not be honest? After all you want them to fall for who you really are.
**Being realistic**
Another thing that I saw a lot was that people have all sorts of demands on dating apps. Women say they only want to date tall men, people who say 'if you don't like coffee then don't swipe' etc. The reality is though that you can say you will only date men of 1.80m and taller, but what if the love of your life is 1.79? As they say: love is blind.
So rather than being super specific I would be more broad with what I look for: an adventurous spirit, an independent mind and an ability to deal with an impatient woman (that would be me, from experience I know that two impatient people together is hell)
Of course I would also highlight my qualities as being adventurous with a picture like this one. It would be great if he would love climbing too, but not a prerequisite.
**The Date**
I would go for drinks, I like drinks and you don't have to spend awkward time in the cinema in silence or at a restaurant trying desperately not to spill tacos all over yourself. Also if disaster strikes you could excuse yourself and just leave. Although to be honest, I find all people, even if you know instantly you won't marry them are worth at least 2 drinks. And if it wasn't the love of your life that would also be fine of course.
Hike in the Bovec Basin in Slovenia
We arrived in Slovenia yesterday, a new destination for both of us! We were immediately stunned by the landscape as we drove through the Julian Alpsover mountain passes.
Today we decided to discover more and go for a hike. Since we normally live below sea-level (Netherlands) we decide to take it easy for a first hike and discover the Bovec Basin!
From the town of Bovec you walk down to the airfield where you can see lots of paragliders land or skydivers take off in their planes. You then continue to the incredible soča river, which is amazing!
You follow the river, with its gorges, rapids and clear waters for most of the trip and that is nice because it is hot! You can take a nice refreshing dip in the water, but beware as it is a glacial river so the water is super cold!
You continue following the river until the Zmuklica springs, where water wells up from the depths below.
You turn around at the springs and cross both the soča and smaller koritnica river with very wobbly suspension bridges! Then for the final bit you head back through the fields to Bovec while looking at the amazing mountains around you!
The hike is about 12 km from the center of Bovec and will take you about 3 hours. For our untrained bodies enough for one day! I was pretty tired at the end haha, but it was also 37 degrees so the heat takes a lot of energy.
Here you see the little map we used, we did walk 32. Despite the map we still got lost a couple of times, it can be quite hard to find the correct route at points!
A Sleepless Life
Imagine not having to sleep! The joy of never being tired, or hearing the alarmclock pierce through your dream to tell you to go to work. You would never have to miss out on an interesting late night conversation with your friend because you would be too tired.
Source https://www.istockphoto.com/nl/foto/droom-gm1129190728-298202939
Gaining Time
You would gain a decent 8 hours of your life every day if you would never have to sleep. But even more than that you would not have to be scared of getting tired I supposed, so you could do heaps with your time. Here are some things I would do with my extra 8 hours a day:
**Workouts** The day always seems too short to get a decent workout in. I would love to have more time to go to the gym, have a long walk, go for a bike ride or go for a nice hike. I would have more time to work on my fitness without having to worry about getting home in time, having enough time to eat and be able to go to bed and then feel fresh in the morning.
I would go on a lot more outings with my friends, go for long hikes. Imagine holidays, you would be able to see so much more if you did not need to sleep!
**Reading** Oh I love to read! I am currently trying to read 52 books a year, or one book a week. Currently, next to my fulltime job and social life this can be quite a challenge.
Source https://picjumbo.com/reading-a-book-free-photo/
However, with an extra 8 hours a day I would have lots more time to read my books! Especially at night, when it would be too dark to do many things outdoors you could spend hours a day quietly reading on the sofa!
I do see some issues with this whole non sleeping though. First of all, I wonder what the effect of not dreaming would be on your brain. I doubt it would be any good as we need dreams to digest what happened to us that day. I also wonder if I would get really bored if I was the only one who could do without sleep. I would probably get jealous of other people sleeping!
Plansee: A Magical Lake Hike In Austria
I love the Alps, few things are as magical as being in the mountains. Then, when you find a beautiful, bright blue lake surrounded by amazing alpine peaks, you know you have reached heaven.
So the Plansee is located in the north of Austria in Tirol, close to the border with Germany. The bigger Plansee is actually connected to a smaller lake called the Heiterwanger See and you can hike around both!
As you can see we did the walk in about 5 hours. We left from the campsite that we stayed at at the end of the Plansee. You can also park the car there to start the hike at parkplatz am plansee. I would recommend starting the walk there as it gives you a lovely option for breaks at nice points during the walk.
The walk is quite flat and gives you two options for a drink/ some food on the way. About half way through there is a little campsite at the Heiterwanger see with a little cafe and some benches to have a rest on. When you continue on, right at the point where you get super tired after about 18 km there is another campsite with a lovely bar that also does a decent pizza!
As you can see we went on a little bit of a wet day, but it was still a priceless experience. It is quite a walk, but there is not that much height difference so it is very doable. Just make sure you have decent walking fitness and you should be good to go! At the end you can decide to follow the upper road instead of the car road and I would really recommend to take the high road. Not only does that mean that you do not have to walk next to the cars, but you also get an amazing view over the Plansee.
I really loved this hike in Austria and would recommend going there! Make sure to dress for all weathers, as weather in the alps can change quickly!
Another Murakami Masterpiece: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki
This year I have set myself the challenge to read 52 books in 2022 or one book a week. This is a decent challenge but I am very excited about it!
Number 20 was Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Murakami.
Sources https://www.bruna.nl/engelse-boeken/colorless-tsukuru-tazaki-and-his-years-of-pilgrimage-9780804170123
Now I love pretty much everything that Murakami has written. He is a Japanese/ English writer that manages to mix in real worlds with imagined worlds. They often involve a single man with a very neat household and some very strange things that happen from there on out.
The Review
Tsukuru Tazaki had four best friends in highschool. All his friends had a color in their name, except for Tsukuru. When he leaves his hometown for university his friends tell him they can no longer be friends with him and cast him out of their group. Tsukuru becomes estranged from life itself, unable to make friends, keep relationships or find a direction is his life he has been disconnected since his friends cast him aside.
Source https://www.ft.com/content/6928beac-1643-11e4-8210-00144feabdc0
All changes when he starts dating a woman who says whe will not continue dating him unless he searches for the truth of what happened between him and his friends. She has realized that Tsukuru cannot truly be himself if he cannot move on from the trauma of being cast aside by his friends.
Tsukuru goes on a travel to find out what happened and why his friends cast him aside. He will embark on a journey that will take him to his hometown, Sweden and his own dreams to unravel the true story.
Why I Love It
I am pretty biased as I love almost any book written by Murakami, but this is yet another masterpiece. It is unbelievable how Murakami manages to mix our world with the magical without it seeming fabricated or unrealistic.
Source https://www.quoteslyfe.com/author/Haruki-Murakami-Colorless-Tsukuru-Tazaki-and-His-Years-of-Pilgrimage-quotes
Like his other books this one takes you on a travel not only physically but also into the mind. At times it can make it feel as if you are on a personal journey with the protagonist. I would really recommend this read!
Have you been reading anything fun lately? I am looking for recommendations for my summer reading!
WE 109: If My Plushie Could Talk
Just before the end of the weekend I finally find some time to sit down and write for the Weekend Engagement!
So those of you who may not know me don't know that I still sleep with a teddybear, or a donkey and a sheep to be precise. We take them everywhere with us on vacation and often have great fun putting them on pictures in funny or daily situations.
They have seen more than 10 countries on different continents and usually get to sit in the front of the car with the best view haha. I orginally got donkey because I am a very nervous flyer and my therapist said it could help. Bu then my fiance felt a bit excluded so he got a sheep to keep him company. What started as a way to help me fly turned into a full blow teddy life haha.
It would be so funny to me if they could suddenly come to life. It would be fun to hear what our very spoiled teddies would have to say. I kind of imagine they might be just as rude as TED from the movie and might want to go out and meet some ladies or something. Or maybe they will acutally have murderous thoughts...
The funny thing is that with teddies you kind of give them a personality in your head, but who knows if they would really be like that. They also know pretty much everything about you, have seen the good, the bad and the ugly and have been listening to your snoring for the past years, so I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't like everything about us haha.
If the teddies could talk I think they would be quite opinionated. Imagine being someones closest companion but not being able to speak. If somebody would then give you that ability you would probably have a lot to say. Or they would just think we were crazy!
Hope you had a great weekend! Donkey and Schaapie wish you the best!
June Earnings Of A Small Fish
Do you ever wonder what common people without huge piles of money make in passive income? Well this is the place to be!! I, teacher, currently not investing any of my own money in crypto will show you what I manage to make each month to enlarge my pile of crypto currencies.
June was a pretty decent month for me, the markets are still not great, but I managed to be more active!
My June Earnings
**Hive: $68.29** Always my pride and joy, hive is still my biggest earner and I had a good month in June. Referral here https://ecency.com/signup?referral=plint
**Read Cash: $21.83** Read is going up and down a bit, but I still made a decent amount of money on it. Referral https://read.cash/r/Plint
**Coinbase Earn: $3** Free money is always nice! Referral https://www.coinbase.com/join/smolde_q8?src=android-share/
**PublishOx: $ 1.49** Picked up PublishOx more in June and happy that I did. They are also replacing STA with ETH so that is good news. Referral https://www.publish0x.com/?a=4QbYvl5ndz
**Noise Cash: $0.94** Noise has slowed down to a trickle... Referral https://noise.cash/u/plints
Total Earnings for June: $95,55
The first time in a long time that I have dropped under $100 but it seems that is the market we are in currently...
For July I will try to be active for the most of the month, I missed out on being active in the first week as we had foreign guests staying and celebrated our engagement!
The Next Person You Meet In Heaven: Book Review
This year I have set myself the challenge to read 52 books in 2022 or one book a week. This is a decent challenge but I am very excited about it!
Number 19 was The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, one of my favorite writers.
Source https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/f/the-next-person-you-meet-in-heaven/9200000089020710/
I love Mitch Albom as a writer, he writes in a quirky and personal style and though lots of his books deal with death, they are never depressing, but always full of emotions.
This book is actually part 2 and the sequel to The Five People You Meet In Heaven
Source https://www.scholieren.com/boek/the-five-people-you-meet-in-heaven-mitch-albom
The Five People You Meet in Heaven is one of my favorite books of all time. It tells the story of Eddie, a maintenance man who dies, trying to save a little girl from a defective amusement park ride. After he dies he meets 5 people who have had a lasting impact on his life, and he on his, though often he was not aware of that at the time.
Fast forward to the sequel the girl that Eddie saved has grown up. Annie had lasting scars from the accident and a troublesome childhood, but has now found the love of her life. Though on the day of her wedding Annie finds herself on a journey after life and will now meet 'her' five people in heaven.
The people she meets will not only make her understand her own childhood and traumas, but will also reunite her with Eddie, who saved her all those years ago.
Source https://eu.freep.com/story/sports/columnists/mitch-albom/2018/10/07/mitch-albom-next-person-you-meet-heaven-excerpt/1526611002/
What I love about Albom's books is that they speak of the most difficult subject: death, but always in such a loving, but also normal way that it doesn't become too intense. I would quite like to imagine a meeting with 5 people in heaven who help me realize what my life truly meant.
That being said, I do have to admit that the sequel is not as good as the first book. This is mostly because the main character is less lovable, more prickly and because some of the story towards the end becomes a bit cliché. As often with sequels it doesn't quite live up to the standard set by the first book. However, it is still worth a read, but I would mostly advice to read the first book: The Five People You Meet in Heaven.
Have you been reading anything fun lately? I am looking for recommendations for my summer reading!
Do The Work You Love
In this weekend's engagement topic the question was if you would rather work a job you hate but pays well or work in a job you love and that inspires you but you would get a low pay.
Case in point: I am a teacher. So my advice will always be to go for something you love doing, don't go for the money.
Source https://www.askideas.com/62-all-time-best-money-quotes-and-sayings-for-inspiration/money-cant-buy-happiness-but-neither-can-poverty-leo-rosten-2/
When I Decided Not To Go For The Money
I did really well in school, got high grades, got into any university I wanted to. And then I decided to study history, something I loved, but knew it would be hard to make a decent living out of it after I graduated. I even decided not to go for a more accepted mainstream history degree, but decided to go for the least popular, but to me most fun section of Medieval History. Now, historians often end up doing something else for lack of job perspective, but for medievalists there are hardly any jobs.
This picture shows me and two friends at our graduation. I graduated top of my class, cum laude and was instantly jobless....
The Job You Love
I started working at a callcenter for a big insurance company. Everybody needs a job right? I had bills to pay as well. I worked while I kept applying for history jobs, without any luck. After a year of soul crushing work in the callcenter I decided this was no way to live my life. Yes, I could pay the bills and I had a job, but I hated it. I decided to go back to school to get my teaching license, because at least I could do something with history!
Fast forward 5 years, I have my degree and love my job! It is still uncertain, it is hard to find a steady job as a history teacher (there is more of us than jobs) and it pays pretty poorly, but I am a million times happier than I was at the callcenter.
So trust me, don't do something you hate for the money. Do something you love and you will make do with the money you earn. You just need enough to survive to be happy, you don't need millions.
Transferring Funds to Ledger
So since the Celsius debacle I decided to finally get a Ledger. It took me over a year in crypto to finally do the right thing. Here is why I made that choice and how I transfered my funds.
Why Cold Storage
So a Ledger is like a usb stick, but then a protected one. You put a pin on it to unlock it every time you use it and you get a 24 word key.
Source https://tweakers.net/pricewatch/1372468/ledger-nano-x.html
You know the saying not your keys not your crypto? Well that is the reason I finally got the Ledger. This way your crypto is stored on the USB and not with an exchange or defi operator that could take your crypto if they wanted to. That was exactly the experience I had with Celsius last week. I only put €500 on there, but it is always a bummer to lose money.
So How Does It Work?
When your Ledger arrives the first thing to do is to set up your pin, you choose your own pin of between 4-8 numbers. After that you get your 24 word phrase. You will need this phrase if you ever lose or break your Ledger and you want to recover your crypto.
The next thing is to install the Ledger Live. This is an app (both for desktop and phone) that will allow you to keep track of your crypto and to send and receive it. In order to receive or exchange your crypto you can also download apps there that will help you do that.
Source https://www.ledger.com/ledger-live/download
Moving Your Crypto
This is arguably the hardest part of the whole thing. You will have to make sure your funds are movable (not in staking) and you will have to pay some money to do things. As it can be crazy expensive to move some coins (like Ethereum) I changed all my crypto into things that are cheap to move (BCH, Stellar Lumens, Litecoin) and then used the exchange on Ledger to turn it back into the coin I wanted. That way you keep down the costs of transferring your funds.
It took me a while to switch to cold storage, but I can really recommend it, I feel like my crypto is secure and no longer have to worry that an exchange runs away with my money.
My Medieval Knowledge
So maybe many of you don't know this but I am actually what they call a medievalist, or medieval historian. Or you could say I did the least popular history study available. I did my masters degree with 6 other people. But I love the Middle Ages, especially that the mindset is so different from our current one so you really have to make an effort to understand that things that are not logical to us at all, where in fact very logical to medieval people.
**So What Do I Know?**
Source- My own thesis https://www.jhsg.nl/scriptie-pauline-smolders-ties-the-tudors/
So I looked at the early Tudor period in England and specifically at the mother of Henry VII, the first Tudor king. It is a pretty cool story, but as two families fought for the throne during the Wars of the Roses (York vs Lancashire) it was a third family that would eventually run off with the crown, the Tudors. Now the story of King Henry VII is pretty well known so I didn't want to repeat other people's research. So instead I looked at the role his mother Margaret Beaufort played and more general at what sort of political influence medieval women could have at court. If you are a nerd like me and ever wanted to have a look at my thesis then here you can find the whole thing: https://studenttheses.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A2608438/view
Why I loved studying the Middle Ages
When I was working on my thesis I had to go to Cambridge and London for research. Cambridge is where most material related to Margaret Beaufort lies as she helped establish a college there and in London you can find the royal archieves. I arrived in the small but beautiful archive of St John's College on a rainy afternoon. You step inside and see the beautiful old room, it just oozes history.
Source https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/376895062541865054/
With medieval texts we have to be very careful, they are old and often not made of the most durable material and they hate damp. So you go in a special room conditioned for them and you have to wear gloves and be extremely careful. But then, after all the research you did after this person that lived over 500 years ago, you suddenly find yourself holding a piece of paper that they wrote.
Source http://christstreasures.blogspot.com/2015/08/exhibition-in-focus-legacy-of-lady.html
I cannot tell you how magical that moment is. It is kind of like meeting someone through a time machine and shaking their hand. As you will stare at these texts intimately for weeks trying to decipher them and then dissect their meaning you feel like you intimately get to know a historical figure. For me, that is real life magic right there.
The Anatomy of Dreams: A Fascinating Read
This year I have set myself the challenge to read 52 books in 2022 or one book a week. This is a decent challenge but I am very excited about it!
The Anatomy of Dreams by Chloe Benjamin was book 12 of the challenge and one I really enjoyed!
Source https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/the-anatomy-of-dreams/9200000033325622/
A few years ago I read another book by Chloe Benjamin: The Immortalists and I loved it so I was waiting for a new book by her to come out. And it did!
The Story
Sylvie and Gabe are classmates at a boarding school in the North of California when they start dating. The headmaster, mr Keller is a medical researcher who is doing his research on lucid dreaming. After their time at the boarding school, both Sylvie and Gabe get a job with him also working on research to lucid dreaming.
They only treat patients who have severely disturbed sleeps and have gone through intense traumas. They want to help them regain control over their lives by helping them gain controls over their dreams.
Source https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/magazine/anatomy-dreams-chloe-krug-benjamin
Things take an unexpected turn however when new neighbours move into the house next door and the lives of the two couples become more connected, but not everyone is happy with that... It brings up questions of who they can trust and when news breaks that one of their patients has turned its lucid dreams into a way to do harm Sylvia must now reasses her choices and her research, but also her relationships.
What I Liked
What I really like about both of Benjamin's books is the unexpected subjects they have. The first one about a Jewish family that has their futures told with disasterous consequences and now this one about lucid dreaming and the possible consequences of having a research job that looks into a new area of ethics. It shows the writer is not afraid to write a book that is radically different from other books out there. And it pays off!
The second thing that I really like is that you get really sucked into the creepy atmosphere of the book. You can sense almost immediatly that something is off, but it takes you the rest of the book to try to uncover what exactly is wrong. I love books that manage to keep you wondering until the end of the book.
A Bit Late But Lesson Learned
I was one of those people who though oh damn yesterday when I realized Celsius had blocked all outgoing transactions. Now before you think I have put my life savings on there and now realized I can never retire: I didn't put any of my own money into Celsius, just profits I made and it was only €500 so not the end of the world, but still pretty annoying.
Source https://www.marketwatch.com/story/crypto-lending-platform-celsius-pauses-withdrawals-transfers-amid-extreme-market-conditions-11655089099
Until, well yesterday, I enjoyed using Celsius, it was a handy place to store coins and watch them slowly accumulate interest, something I wasn't used to anymore as my bank account has a 0% interest rate for years now. I think the convenience and the smooth interface kind of nudged me to sleep about the main thing: not your keys, not your money...
Well, consider the lesson learned! I just ordered a Ledger hardware wallet and will be moving all my funds that I- unwisely so- keep at various exchanges into it.
Source https://tweakers.net/pricewatch/1372468/ledger-nano-x/specificaties/
I think like many people I didn't do this sooner because firstly I enjoyed the ease that the platforms gave me, secondly because I didn't know about hardware wallets when I started out in crypto, moving things to it will cost money and lastly, I guess human stupidity means we always think these things will happen to other people, but not to us...
For anyone out there still hesitating: just do it, it will cost you a bit of money, but then you can at least keep your money! Oh and can we stop shaming people please who have money on various exchanges? Millions of crypto users do this and they are not all idiots, just creatures of comfort and habit!
Operation Focus Points: Fire Deck
So I posted last week that I thought the new focus point system was pretty impossible for low profile players such as myself. I got quite a bit of response and tips and despite feeling disheartened at first I decided to go for it!
I got a fire focus and to be honest, fire is not my strongest suit, but who doesn't like a challenge?
So I went on the rental market and rented the following cards:
I quite like this card actually! The stand alone function makes it pretty strong. I would have loved it if it had an extra attack, but soit.
I also really like this card! It is a handy card and when used with Tarsa gives a nice amount of attack!
Then I got a bit silly and also rented:
Which is really cool when it works, but doesn't actually work all that often...
And the conclusion so far is that I am struggling! It is hard to try to win battles without using the standard cards (because you won't really get any focus points) but still make a decent deck. I have been playing for an hour now and have gathered 14 of the needed focus points....
So any tips and tricks are more than welcome, good fire deck tips are very much needed!
@Plint
