Lego botanicals

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I regularly stop by the toy store. You never know when you’ll need a little gift. A tooth might suddenly fall out of someone’s mouth, and then you have to be prepared for the tooth fairy or, here in Spain, Raton Pérez.

A while ago, I suddenly saw a nice Lego set during my walk through the store. I don’t really play with Lego anymore, but this was a set of small plants (succulents), and I liked it so much that I took it home right away. I enjoyed building it, and it turned out there were more botanical sets. First I bought the orchid, then every potted plant I came across. A fun, renewed hobby.

Updated cake recipe

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Our original cake recipe has been improved, the cake now tastes much better and is super fluffy.

  • One vanilla yogurt (use the plastic cup for all measurements that follow)
  • Three (yogurt)cups of self-rising flour
  • One cup of sugar
  • 200 grams of margarine (microwave for 10 seconds so it’s just melted)
  • 3 eggs

Mix everything together. If the mixture feels too thick, add a splash of milk. We also add a small drizzle of honey.

  • Grease the baking tin first, then pour in the cake mixture. Bake for 45 minutes at 170°C.

Tenerife & Emilia

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Miguel, Alex’s godfather and Alan’s pan-godfather, has a conference where he was invited to give a talk. He’s attended conferences all over the world before, but this time it’s in Tenerife. Nice and close, so it’s perfect for us to make a weekend trip. We’ll take the car and the ferry over on Saturday, and head back Sunday evening. Super easy. The only thing we will miss is Alan’s football match, but I think we can make it up by all the fun activities we planned.

The plan
We will take the ferry so we can take our car on Saturday morning. The plan for Saturday is to visit a fun adventure park. Afterwards, we’ll explore the little village nearby the forest where we booked a room, find a restaurant, and maybe even grab a geocache. On Sunday, if the weather allows, we might go up to the highest point in Spain: El Teide. Then it’s back home again.

The actual adventure
Rainbows everywhere!Oh no, a big storm was on its way… Emilia. Many public and semi-public activities were cancelled. The forecast for Saturday was high waves (up to 12 meters!) and strong winds. Not the best situation for a boat trip to Tenerife, but so be it. We had the first boat on Saturday. Also the last, because after that all trips were cancelled. It was an interesting crossing.

The forest adventure was first postponed and then cancelled. Mount Teide was off limits because of some snowfall. So we went for some alternatives: visited a few ancient pyramids, stopped at some viewpoints, found a beautiful geocache, explored the Museum of Science, enjoyed some lovely meals, brought Miguel to the airport, and then took the boat calmly back home. Despite the cancellation of almost all our plans, we fortunately still enjoyed the weekend getaway.

Vintage

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Vintage!Vintage, a beautiful word. For some it means old, for others valuable or beautiful. For me it means used and beloved. Usually it takes a while before an object becomes vintage, but I now have a phone case that has aged at lightning speed.

It’s a high-quality green tech woven case for my iPhone 17 Pro. Not the official version, but a pre-release sample where the sides aren’t made of plastic, but also of tech woven material. The result is a case whose color has almost completely worn off in the spots most often touched. In just two months, the case has aged so much that it looks as if I inherited it from my grandfather.

Some people might think it looks rather sad, but I’m absolutely delighted. I find it fantastic to have such an antique-looking case around my ultra-modern phone. Still, I’ll have to see if it holds up for a few more months. For now it has lost some color in certain areas, but structurally it remains a great case.

Sinterklaas

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Barbacan!Every year, Sinterklaas visits the Hotel Barbacan in Maspalomas, in the south of the island. The hotel is a favorite destination for many Dutch guests, and maybe that is why they have fully embraced Dutch traditions. Sinterklaas comes by for all the Dutch children staying at the hotel, but Dutch residents of Gran Canaria are also welcome, and sometimes even receive a personal invitation.

We have been going almost every year, for nearly fourteen years now. Each time, the Sint arrives in his convertible, sometimes accompanied by a lively band, and always surrounded by plenty of Pieten. Afterward, the celebration moves indoors, where every child receives a small gift directly from the Sint, interspersed with musical performances and, of course, lots of sweet treats to nibble on.

It was fun, but we can clearly notice that the kids are getting bigger. Maybe this was the last time we visited the Sint, or maybe just one year more. We don’t know yet, but it feels like the end to this tradition is getting nearer.

November ’25

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November, we are almost at the end of the year. We have mentally prepared ourselves for the festive month. The children have mainly been thinking about the presents they want, and Alan has made quite a list, carefully planning which gifts are for his birthday, which ones Santa should bring, and what he wants from the Three Kings next year.

This month, as almost every month, we did another nature route. With a slightly larger group of men, we went once again to enjoy meat in its purest form accompanied by a couple of glasses of nice wine. Also this month I was the only one who enjoyed a day off, because in Telde (where I work) some saint was commemorated. The rest of the month we had creativity, happyness, ninja activities and even some worries, so it was once again a month with lots of emotions.

Phase 2, step 2, all-in!

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The game: Batan B – Real Sporting B
Results

Datum Thuis Resultaat Bezoekers
29 Nov, 09:00 Batan B 6 – 1 Real Sporting B
23 Nov, 10:30 Lomo Blanco 2 – 6 Batan B

Batan B - Real Sporting BWe won again! A nice game with lots of goals. We can clearly see the teams are much more equal now, and that makes for much better games to watch.
Batan B - Real Sporting B

Ninja games

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Ninja!Ana had an outing with her colleagues. The plan was to do a fun activity and then go out for a bite to eat together. The activity turned out to be a ‘Ninja game‘: reacting quickly to your surroundings, jumping, and running. Not really Ana’s thing, she thought. So she brought Alex along as her modern gladiator because these kinds of challenges suit him well. Just as gladiators once fought for their audience, Alex now leapt into the arena of the game. He loved it.

Phase 2, hit the ground running

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The game: Lomo Blanco – Batan B
Results

Datum Thuis Resultaat Bezoekers
23 Nov, 10:30 Lomo Blanco 2 – 6 Batan B

Before the match!Yes!, last Sunday Batan Alevín B achieved a convincing 6 – 2 victory. A welcome improvement compared to the previous phase. It was an enjoyable match that was finally rewarded with a splendid win.
After the match!The aftermatch: As you can clearly see in the photo taken after the match the players themselves were also in the mood for celebration.

DIY – Colorful Christmas candy cane

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Christmas candy cane!Alan got a school assignment, because his teacher wanted some help decorating the classroom. Each kid was asked to create a holiday candy cane, and help by the parents was allowed. After hearing about the assignment my creativity got a boost. My idea was simple but I expect it will look pretty good.

Materials

  • Wire frame: 1–2 pieces of metal wire for the cane shape
  • Filler: Aluminum foil
  • Yarn/wool: Red, white, and green
  • Tape: Masking or packing tape
  • Tools: Scissors; optional pliers for bending wire

Prep the frame (5–10 min)

  • Shape: Bend the wire into a long “J” for the candy cane.
  • Secure ends: Fold or curl the wire tips inward and tape over them. Dont leave any sharp points.
  • Test sturdiness: Gently wiggle the cane. If it flops, add a second wire along the stem.

Add volume (5–10 min)

  • Stuff: Wrap foil around the frame to make it thicker.
  • Kid job: Hold and squish the filler to shape the curve.
  • Tape wrap: Lightly tape the filler so it stays in place. Don’t over-tape; yarn will cover it.

Wrap with yarn (15–25 min)

  • Anchor start: Tie or tape the end of the red yarn at the base.
  • Spiral wrap: Wind the yarn around the cane in a spiral, keeping wraps close.
  • Stripe pattern: After a red section, switch to white, then green.
  • Cover gaps: If you see filler, add a few extra wraps over that spot.
  • Finish end: Tuck the final yarn end under a nearby wrap and add a tiny piece of tape at the back.