'Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more'.

We're just in from a weekend spent in Wallonia, where the temperature dropped to below zero celsius and snow fell.  And we gathered around a huge fire in a big old house and spent our time talking with good friends.

Actually, my heart has been warmed as friends have welcomed us back to Belgium after weeks spent wandering in that New Zealand summer.

Wednesday found me out with Jurjana, my truly delicious Croatian friend here in Antwerp.  She drove me to her favourite restaurant and we enjoyed a lovely lunch and catch-up session at Patrasche, in Hoboken. 

Thursday and Stephanie, an English friend, came over for dinner with her daughter.  Another few hours spent talking and listening.

Friday and it was Lucy, Fiona, and Ruth.  My lovely Irish and Belgian friends.  We began as an informal Nederlands class but they have become such good friends that there was something of a 'coming home' feeling as I arrived at Fiona's house.  Actually, we don't really speak in Nederlands anymore .... but, by crikey, we always have a most excellent time when we get together.

And this weekend was the icing on the cake.  We wandered over to the New Zealand/Belgian/American household, over there on the other side of Belgium, and the snow fell and our wandering souls were surely warmed.

We're back in Belgium where its winter.

Sam Hunt, New Zealand Poet and Legend.

I have loved this man's poetry and performance and way of life since forever.

He is always, almost defiantly, Himself.  And that's no mean feat in New Zealand, specially through those years he comes from ...

My Little Sister ...

She forgot the Rule of Di ... never turn your back on the sister with the camera in her hand.

Vigilance, always ;-)

On Missing Family ...

I went 8 years without seeing them, then had the privilege/joy/honour of walking back into their lives like there had been no absence.

The price?

Missing them.

There Were Days Like This Out On The Road ...

My cousin Tania owns the house I love best in the world ...

Situated near the foothills of the Southern Alps, on the edge of a sometimes mighty mountain-fed river, it is a place of beauty ... a place of peace.  I love it there.

I have memories of staying there in the past, of slipping outside and crossing the dew-covered lawn, just happy about being alive in that place.

This time the Belgian Bloke and I only managed to fit in an afternoon visit but one that involved an afternoon tea on the lawn in the shade of the trees, surrounded by the most exquisite flowers and birdsong.  Beer and lemonade were involved.  Stories were told and there was much laughter too.

Next time we'll stay longer.  We were trying to do and see everything back there in my world and there weren't enough days in those 5 weeks at home.

Next time ...

Using Art to Change the World ... a powerful piece

We didn't push the limit; we just showed that they were further than anyone thought.

JR

And one year later ... 'Street artist JR made a wish in 2011: Join me in a worldwide photo project to show the world its true face. Now, a year after his TED Prize wish, he shows how giant posters of human faces, pasted in public, are connecting communities, making change, and turning the world inside out. You can join in at insideoutproject.net