Tag: english
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a list of nice things (VIII): reading a lot
What to do when you are not doomscrolling, doom-read!! Kidding, read, escape to a better world, if you have to right now, understandable. I am trying to get sucked into books more instead of endless scrolls or streaming. The added benefit is that I have a big big pile of unread books at my disposal.…
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it is the phone it is not the phone
There are already so many thoughts on this particular topic. It is a problem that so many people struggle with, but less and less silently. I like that people are talking about it. I am not sure though the solution is for all of us to start showing how we are living more and more…
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Finally made it to Yunnan, China
Hong Kong > Kunming > Yuanyang rice terraces > Jianshui > Dali > Lijiang > Shanghai I escaped the exceptional Dutch/European January snowfalls because I was far away in the province of Yunnan. This province had been on my list for a very long time, and I am glad I finally made it out there.…
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Snow, sun and skiing on the cusp of spring
While I escaped the exceptional January snowfalls in the Netherlands, there was snow after all – in late March, on a little skiing holiday to the Savoie in France. The day of arrival saw some fresh snow (15cm+ !), so it really felt like a small escape and trip back into time, into winter. There…
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knitting a sweater, oh so slowly
second sweater ever, first raglan – but also, don’t fall into the online algorithm trap of more more more A few weeks ago, I finished my second sweater ever, and my first raglan. It is the most gorgeous dark green, in a yarn that’s part wool part cotton, a yarn so gorgeously soft yet warm…
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being a little bored
This is not a specific scene or scenario, but one that has happened many many times. I am at a restaurant, not alone, but one other person is there. They excuse themselves, to go to the bathroom, to pay, whatever. I don’t care. I have already taken my phone out for a little scroll. It…
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from fall to winter
Recapping October – November 2025. I started two poetry courses, because I am crazy (about poetry), suddenly. One in The Hague, already finished. One in Rotterdam, still ongoing. It did mean I sometimes had two poems to finish in one week as homework. But I am enjoying dedicating myself to writing and learning about poetry,…
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content fatigue
At the same time many things can be true: I want to write, to be a writer, so I must share my writing. On the other hand, I find it so hard not to fall into the content trap: Content implies themes, topics. And I love to write, but sometimes I don’t know what to…
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on writing: when you need to pick yourself up again
Before my holiday I submitted some things, and one rejection already came in. You know it’s likely and part of ‘the game’, but still a bummer! I did share a poem[1] I wrote this summer during a presentation moment in Utrecht[2], related to several nature writing workshops I followed. And I did finally pick up my…