I love this type of poetry, I should buy a book with his poems as I found myself liking more of his poems 🙂 Here’s one to share:)

It Couldn’t Be Done
By Edgar A. Guest

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it”;
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

Through a testpanel that I have been a member of for some time now I got the privilege to test a dolce gusto machine at home for free.  The participants receive the machine at home together with a load of boxes with the coffee cups. We have tried out the machine and I had to say after we had some problems at first with the first use, the machine works pretty good. You can adjust the taste to your likes, there are plenty of variants and you can mix if you want :). I have mentioned it at my work in the community center and to friends and I have let them try my coffee.  within the time period of testing, I had a short vacation and my mom and her friend looked after my oldest daughter for a week in my house while we where still on vacation in Venezuela. So they got the option to test the machine as well. The idea is that we post our reviews and that way let people and nescafe know how we feel about this coffee and the machine and if there could be any improvements. At the end of the test period we get to decide wheter we want to keep the machine or not. If we want to keep it we can buy it for only 59 euro’s.. Thats less then half the price it normally costs in the store!!! I am rather satisfied with my senseo machine so I dont want to buy it for myself. My moms friend however who had the chance to test the machine as well while his stay in our house, he likes to buy the machine. So I am going to keep it and pay the 59 euros.

If you are really a person who can truly enjoy a good cup of coffee then you might want to consider to buy a dolce gusto machine. Its a good coffee in many tastes and variants and you can combine and make it as strong as you like.

Since last year we ( the people at CJM) have been in conversation with the editors of a little neighborhood newspaper that has been existing for like 15 years or so. The people who run that news paper are older people who feel they are getting too old to run the newspaper anymore and where looking for a new team to take it over from them. If they could not find such a  team then they simply would close down the news paper. That would be a waste. its a fun little newspaper that really contains a lot of information about what goes on here and news on things that happened. The newspaper appears 4 times a year. The news paper is paid for completely by sponsors and subsidy. And everyone who works for the news paper works for free except the printer. He gets paid LOL. Even the delivery team  is a team of volunteers.

We came to an agreement with them and now the news paper is in our hands. We want to keep the original character of the newspaper and try to keep it as it was. So now I am a real editor of  a newspaper so far we have two other editors (thats 3 total) and a person who takes care of all the administrative and financial stuff. We like to have a meeting next Friday with all the people of the delivery team because we like to ask them to keep helping with the delivery now we have taken over the news paper. We need to know if we need new  volunteers and we like to get to know those people a little bit. So we are going to invite them to come to Casa Jepie Makandra and have a little gathering with some drinks and a snack.

I am already working on an article and I can hardly wait to see it in print and have it published. I’m so exited though there s a lot of work that needs to be done before it appears in print so. I better get to work on it for a bit.

take care all!

Since my last transfer of my blog  to the new host where I am still at with my own domain, I have had a 1000 visitors. regular visitors may know that I sometimesgoogle up information and post something about the city where a visitor comes from and I figured with having exactly 1000 visitors it is a good idea to tell something about the place where my last visitor comes from.

So here we go.

Country: PHILIPPINES (PH) City: Makati

What does wiki have to say about Makati: The City of Makati (/m??k??t?/ m?-kah-tee; Filipino: Makati), in the Philippines, is one of the 16 cities that make up Metro Manila, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines. As the host of various embassies, it is also an important center for international affairs.

With a population of 529,039, Makati is the 16th largest city in the country and ranked as the 41st most densely populated city in the world with 19,336 inhabitants per square kilometer.

Makati became the financial center of the Philippines during the 1960s. Makati is home to the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Makati Business Club.Makati is notable for its exceptionally multicultural lifestyle, significant center for intercontinental matters and for it’s reputation as a major entertainment center in the metropolis. The city is also being known for its cosmopolitan culture because of its major shopping centers, condominiums, financial hubs, hotels, and entertainment hubs are located around the city.

There is a lot more info about Makati on wiki but lets see what other pages have to say.

Lets visit the government site of Makati.

After having a short look at the touristic info I can tell already that Makati has a lot of cultural and interesting places to see and visit if you ever end up there. It looks as its a very modern city with everything for anyone. You can read on this site about anything you want and need to know of Makati. It is so much that I really wouldn’t know where to start. So I’ve decide to just quote a part of the page that reads about its history.

From a distance, at ground level, the skyscrapers of Makati are an impressive sight. But you should see Makati from a plane or a helicopter. The view is simply majestic. And to think that when it was founded in 1670 – as a visita of Sta. Ana de Sapa under the jurisdiction of the Franciscans – this was swampland, practically a wilderness, dismissed by Juan Miguel de Legazpi as worthless in 1571.

Yet over the centuries, this small community would leave large imprints in social, economic and cultural history. The friars established two of the earliest churches in the Philippines – the Nuestra Señora de Gracia in Guadalupe and the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul – in Makati, drawing pilgrims from all over the country. At the turn of the century, the Americans established Fort McKinley in Makati, and in 1901, San Pedro de Makati, with a population of 2,500, was incorporated into the province of Rizal. On February 28, 1914, the Philippine Legislature passed Act 2390, shortening the name San Pedro Makati to Makati in the 1930””s, the first airport, Nielson Airport, opened in what is now the Ayala Triangle. The first centrally planned community was established in the 1950””s, and since the 1970””s, Makati has been the undisputed financial and commercial capital, the once worthless swampland becoming prime real property.

And last but not least I like to present you one of the sights of Makati. The Makati skyline. If you like to know more about Makati I suggest you start with one of the above mentioned sites.

My last post is getting rather large so I am just adding a new post where I will place the little stories about the pictures that I took.

28-12-2012 Today we where going to go up the Avila.

On top of the Avila near Caracas you can find Hotel Humbold It was an Amazing experience and although it was very cliudy that day and we could not see far on the top we could see far while we where in the ferry. It was just an amazing sight as we went up  and while we where up it rained. tiny soft  drips of rain that you barely felt tho it made the whole path wet. Its just fun to walk in a raincloud. They not only build a hotel there but also an ice skate rink. Antonio did not believe I could skate so I had to show I could skate. The size of skates went to 37 so I was the only person who could skate since they all had bigger feet :P. The guide who was helping the people trying to skate, at one point picked up Anarosa  and carried her while he skated, she totally loved that! Most of those people if not all, never  been on ice before so I looked pretty pro out there LOL though the guide made me look pretty fail LOL. Well it was over 18 years that I last was on ice skates, in my defence.

29-12-2012. We did not do much today but we did go out to buy bread and a few other groceries. Anarosa decided to brush the floor of the store ( it was needed badly) with a brush they sold there and that was so cute I had to take a picture. And a few more while  getting the bread.

31-12-2012 Today we celebrated the new year. We had a lot of fun playing a dance game on the xbox kinect, great food and wine and champagne ofcourse. Fireworks where overwhelming but had already been going since Christmas on and off. Because of Chavez being in the hospital in Cuba due to his cancer, they had requested to not go overboard with the fireworks out of respect but still I think the fireworks where great.

01-01-2013 The first day of the new year. With everything being closed and still wanting something to do we went to the zoo. It’s a free zoo and with it being a free I have to say its not that bad. I also have to admit that I felt sorry for the animals. They all looked healthy and had fresh food in the cages yet a lot of the animals where sitting in their, in my opinion small cages, all by them self. A lot of them looked as if they where lonely and bored. The plants aside the path caught my attention right away and I shot many pictures of them. Anarosa loved see all the animals :).

02-01-2013 This second day of the new year we went to the beach. Something I would not do so quickly in Holland since its rather cold there at this time of the year. In Venezuela however its nice n warm all year round. So we went to visit the beach. Although that’s what we planned on. When we finally arrived, it turned out there had been some changes in the last few years because Antonio’s dad was sure there used to be a beach where there are stones and rocks now LOL. We did got a great view on the sea. it was truly breathtaking. Anarosa loved it too and while Antonio and Anarosa where watching the sea as they where standing on the rocks, there was a huge wave and poor little Anarosa got all wet. At first she was a little shocked but soon she started laughing cause it was not that cold water after all and it was very warm that day. We had a great meal in a cute restaurant nearby where we had stopped with the car at the beach. After lunch we left again for home and I took some pictures on the way back while the car was driving. It was not what we went for but it was a nice day after all.

03-01-2013 Just a few silly pictures of Anarosa I took while we enjoyed a day at home.

04-01-2013 We went to a mall today but unfortunately we found a lot of the stores closed. Still it was fun to visit that mall.  If I am not mistaken that was in a more wealthier part of Caracas. You could tell by the  buildings and how the mall was like. It’s hard to describe but it was a more European or American like mall. We bought a new purse for me here and also some cute bracelets matching the dress I was wearing. Found Scottish candy at the supermarket which made me chuckle a little. Had to share a picture with my mom.

05-01-2013 Finally we went to the beach with Antonios’s brother Tony and his girlfriend Vanessa. The beach we went to was at Catia la mar and that’s just a few hours drive (with the busy traffic) from Caracas. It’s actually really close to the airport where we landed and would depart again in a few days. For now however we where enjoying the beach. The weather was really great. it was not too hot and a nice breeze kept us cool. Next to the beach was a pool and as well a Hotel. The beach we went to was a private beach belonging to the Hotel. there was also a little harbor for yachts that also belonged with the hotel, so we had to pay a entrance fee to get to the beach. It was a nice small beach with not too many people. The chairs where being brought to you and there was always a few guys on the beach who worked there to keep everything nice n tidy. I made sure I put  sun creme on everywhere (I thought) and also Anarosa and Antonio although he was a little bit stubborn at that. After some tanning, reading my book and enjoying the day I took a swim in the pool.  That was really nice and refreshing, the only thing that bothered me was the smell of fish that they where preparing right next to the pool at a little dinercafe LOL. But that’s on me that I don’t like fish much. Anarosa loved it at the beach and she did not got burned at all. Antonio went with her to the showers next to the pool to wash her eyes out after she rubbed sand in it and they also went in the pool for a bit. Well Anarosa did not wanted to come out of the water anymore. She’s like a fish LOL She loves it. Well the end of the day came too soon and it was only then that I realized I forgot to put sun creme on my feet… They where red and hurting too.

07-01-2013  Another mall again and this one I remember because of the charming Italian restaurant where I tasted the best Pizza Margarita ever. Did not know that a pizza with barely anything on it could taste that good. I had ordered a steak but it was as flat as a coin when they brought it to me. Hah that one took me off guard LOL fo a second I wondered if it was roadkill by any chance LOL when you had a look at the pictures u will understand my thoughts on that LOL. It was a great meal though the pizza was better I hate to admit. We saw the cutest Hello Kitty stores here and we bought a backpack on wheels for Anarosa. Also took a picture of my feet that where still as red as could be LOL.

08-01-2013 Made a cake there to show Antonio’s mom how I make them. Don’s know if she will try to make them like that too but there’s enough left in materials to make a few more cakes 🙂 I’m kinda curious :). I’m sure she would do a good job. For lunch we had Chinese food and we bought a Wendy’s meal just because we passed it. Anarosa would like the fries and in case I did not like the Venezuelan Chinese food, I would have  a burger to eat. I really liked the Chinese food and ate half of the burger too but it s not that great. I’m not a big fan of Wendy’s.

09-01-2013 A few pictures taken while we where at the mall.

10-01-2013 Our last day here. We went to another mall bought the last few things and Antonio’s mom made a cookie cake that Antonio loves so much and had told me about many times. I was very curious :). We ate my cake today as well and when we got home from the mall we saw these airplanes fly really low to the ground and almost hit the buildings of the city. We where kind of shocked but after turning on the tv it came clear right away that this was an airshow that belonged with the alternative inauguration of Chavez. Since he was in Cuba where he had surgery and that had some complications he was not in Venezuela for his inauguration. The show however must go on and they just had some speeches n stuff and went on with the events. I also got a lil video of that 🙂 but I will post that later.

11-01-2013 I was glad I managed to put everything that we had to take back home with us in our suitcases. If it wasn’t for the extra backpack that Antonio’s bro lent us and the new backpack on wheels from Anarosa, then I would have been able to pack it all. Before we left we ate the cookie cake that Antonio’s mom had made. It was a great cake and I for sure have to ask her how she makes it because I had no time to watch her every step when she made it. I was too busy packing and collecting our belongings that had to come back home with us. One of the things that did bothered me a lot was that I don’t speak Spanish and most of the time I had no clue what was being said and I had to ask Antonio or his brothers to translate for me. So maybe I’ll go try learn Spanish this year but lets not get ahead of things and make promises I might not keep. At the airport we ate something in a restaurant but the food was not that great really. It was kind of sad we had to leave because everyone had been real nice to me and tried to make me feel welcome and at home. I really appreciate that and it did help, because I did found it difficult to get around there without speaking the language. I did thank them and especially Antonio’s mom for everything but I don’t know if she really understands how much. Still I was also a little glad to go home. I missed Merel and my lil Dutch country and food. Also you have to know Venezuela and especially Caracas is not a city where a tourist like me who don’t even speak the language can go walk around sight seeing because its just too dangerous. And I just like to be able to go where and whenever I want to. Now don’t get me wrong I don’t go out all alone by myself here in  Amsterdam either at night. however during the day, well I enjoy my freedom here. I forgot to keep some money to buy something at the tax free shops in Caracas. I did not had much anyway and had given it all to Antonio’s mom because she/they basically have paid everything for us there. I’m very thankful for that as well. I hope we can go back there again sometime or that they can visit us in Holland again.

I have a video of Anarosa blowing out the candle on the cookie cake over and over again and that video too I will post another time.

The flight transfer in Lisbon was a close call  and they again delayed the flight for us to be able to make it in time. So no shopping at Lisbon either. Too bad because while running past the stores with suitcases and Anarosa and trying not to trip LOL I did manage to see there where really nice shops there too LMAO ah well saved me some money there not being able to spend.

Here you will find all the folders with the pictures of Venezuela

To be updated when I add more pictures!!!