Today it is mothers-day in Spain and Alex only needed a little help from his father to make a very creative present for his mother.
Ana was ecstatic about such a fantastic present.
Category Archives: My life
Father and son
Cheese in oil
Recently I went on and treated myself to something new. I purchased a jar containing pieces of cheese in oil. The cheese has a delicious strong taste like somehow the oil had enhanced the taste. A jar of cheese in oil was quite expensive and I don’t understand why. It´s very easy to prepare yourself.
Take a large glass jar. Fill the jar for about three-quarters with squares (of about 2 cm) of a mature tasty cheese. Add a layer of good olive oil so that all the cheese ends up covered in oil. Now leave the cheese in the oil for at least two months, but preferably bit longer. To add even more flavor I’ll experiment a little and add a little pepper. Maybe the cheese will turn extra spicy.
It is a really long wait but in the end you will finally be able to eat the delicious cheese accompanied by a nice glass of wine. Enjoy!
Clarified: Colored coin issues
Regarding the Silver colored Tulip set both the packaging and the coins themselves imitated. We suspect the coins are original coins in circulation quality, where a color has been applied. The coins in the official colored Tulip set are silver coins, minted in a proof quality. If is not prohibited to apply color to a coin.
The Royal Dutch Mint is only issuing a warning that there is a set circulating that resembles the official colored Tulip set, but which differs in the area of material, quality and color and which is not authorized by the Royal Dutch Mint. This way we hope to avoid disappointment when customers assume to order an official colored Tulip set and instead receive and imitation.
This is the reaction of the Dutch Mint to my inquiries about the imitation colored Tulip coins that seem to be circulating. It seems there is nothing illegal about the coins itself. It’s just a warning for buyers to take into account a set might not be the official one.
The status of colored coins for collectors remains an unclear area. There are official releases and there are imitations, but the imitations are completely legal. Coloring the coin yourself is one of the possibilities. As such a colored coins really does not add to the collection. It is nice to see but it will always be an action applied to the coin after it has been minted. Adding color is an action which can be executed at any time, even a year later, which implies that the addition of color really is unrelated to the original minted coin.
Fake
A while ago I was surprised by the Dutch Royal Mint (KNM). They had issued a set of colored tulip five euro coins in a very limited number. Only 750 sets and the set was sold out within hours.
What had recently happened… there exists a fake colored tulip euro set!
We are informed/warned about the imitation of the website of the Dutch mint! Here is the translated text:
Imitation Five Euro Tulip coin in color
26 april 2012The Royal Dutch Mint received reports about an imitation release of the Silver Tulip Color set.
The reports are about an unofficial release of the Tulip Five euro, probably in circulation quality, in the colors Red, White, Blue and Orange. The set resembles the official set release d by the Royal Dutch Mint.
This release does not originate from the Royal Dutch Mint. The official Silver Tulip Color set is sold out at the Royal Dutch Mint.
The official Silver Tulip Color set can be recognized by the following features:
• The coins are packaged in the official luxury wooden cassette
• The use of the logo of the Royal Dutch Mint in the color gold on the packaging
• Certificate of Authenticity with coin specifications, background information about the coin and the contact details of the Royal Dutch Mint
The weird thing here, which really leaves me speechless, is that the imitation set can only be recognized by the packaging. It seems to be a perfect imitation. Also, it seems that the imitation is not a counterfeit coin because their used an official (non colored) coin and applied only a little coloring.
The price of a colored coin sold by the Royal Dutch Mint was 50 euros. The version without color was sold for 10 euros. If the coloring of a coin is relatively straightforward it seems to be profitable to color the coins yourself.
The question that remains is what is the status of these colored coins. Can anyone apply color to his or her coins? Is the imitation that is being sold somehow illegal and are steps being taken to stop the sale of this fake set? If the coins are real, and it is legal to add coloring then what is this warning for?
Godfather for Alex
Since a very short while I have been the godfather of little Jack and since yesterday Alex also has a godfather. This great responsibility will rest on the shoulders of Miguel, a mutual friend and a person for which both Ana and I share a great deal of trust. We are convinced that Miguel will have a very positive effect on Alex’ development.
The search for a godmother is still going on. Officially the godfather and -mother will be registered during the baptism. We have yet to start arranging this ceremony for Alex and it looks like it will take quite some more time. Until then we all the time we need to search for the perfect godmother.
Next to the bed
We had quite a scare. Today Alex rolled of the bed for the first and hopefully last time. He woke up around six thirty and this normally means he won’t sleep any more. Alex likes to start his days bright and early. After cleaning his diaper and feeding his his bottle of milk he spend some time playing in our bed with his purple elephant and his little fabric donkey book. Normally he plays a little and then lies done to relax next to his mother.
Today was different and he was much more active in the morning. He was rolling around. In a very short time he role to the edge of the bed and then… boink! Ana in a panic and the little one was crying a bit because he got quite a scare. Luckily if was only a very short distance he fell from our bed onto a rug, and Alex quickly forgot all about it. As parent we did not forget so easily and we were treated to a big adrenaline shot. The days we can leave Alex in peace, doing whatever he likes seem to be coming to an end. From now on we need to pay attention and be vigilant.
Hedgehog
Or vacation was not filled with activities. Hanging around the pool and a few short trips with the car. Still we had a nice adventure. A hedgehog came to visit our apartment in the middle of the night.
Mirror mirror
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most beautiful baby of them all?
The mirror did not reply, but for us the answer was clear.
Demonstration
Yesterday Spain was in protest. A lot of people were on strike the entire day (a day that gets subtracted from your paycheck) and during the evening there were protests. The reason for the strike is the deterioration of employee rights. Shortly it will become (much) easier and (much) cheaper to fire people. The politicians think that this will stimulate employees to employ more people, because getting rid of people will be easier and cheaper. Employees simple fear unemployment. The fixed contracts and job security will loose its value. More than 8 days ill? Fired. More then three month loosing money? Fired. Fixed contract? Fired with a small compensation.
In Las Palmas the protesters started their march around 6 o clock and there were a lot of people! A protest with a lot of noise and chaos. I estimate around 20.000+ people were protesting and this is quite an achievement for an island where the people usually just wait and see what happens in the Spanish mainland. Now we wait and see the aftermath of this protest, but usually the end result is a quiet acceptance of the changes.