Sunday 5 October 2014

8 Bookish and Not-So-Bookish thoughts (2)

                Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts is a weekly blogging event hosted by Bookishly Boisterous. It allows
book bloggers (and non-book bloggers) to write about pretty much anything, bookish or otherwise (i.e. sharing
exciting plans for the weekend, rants on things they've encountered during the week etc.)

1.Next weekend, one of my best friends is getting married and so I needed some festive clothes. Now I really, really don't like clothes shopping and I haven't had to buy special/festive clothes for years, so I was dreading this a bit. Luckily, a sweet friend of mine went along and I bought a lovely dress. Mission accomplished, now I can just look forward to the wedding day!

2.It's been so warm here in The Netherlands the last weeks. I was walking around in summer clothes mid-September and even bought a icecream at a stall this very weekend! The next week looks to be a bit more autumn-like and I must say I don't mind at all, it's just time for cosy afternoons with hot chocolate and scarfs etc.

3. At my mother´s birthday party this weekend, I was talking with one of my uncle´s (from the in-law side). He told me about his family history and how his grandfather (his grandparents where Germans) had been fighting in the trenches in WWI and had been wounded there. It was so interesting to hear about this as I never before talked to someone who had a direct connection to WWI, being that The Netherlands was neutral during this war. 

4. I've been reading quite a lot about WWI recently, last month The War Horses by Simon Butler about the horses who were used in the (British) army in WWI and am currently reading a book about Dutch people who volunteered to fight with either the Allied or the German armies during this war. There is also an exhibition going on at a museum close to where I live about the Belgian refugees who came to The Netherlands in large numbers in 1914 which I hope to visit sometime soon.

5. I've been enjoying the return of Downton Abbey very much! It almost feels like returning to a group of well-known friends after a long absence! It's such fun seeing the Dowager at her scheming again and hearing Mrs. Hughes down-to-earth wisdom.SPOILER

I'm really glad to see Daisy developing herself, but I'm not to keen on the developments with Miss Bunting and Tom and also Mary and Tony Gillingham.

END SPOILER6. I went to see the new Woody Allen movie Magic in the Moonlight in the cinema last week which was okaish (I'm not a big fan of Woody Allen movies, but I just love this particular old-fashioned cinema and like to go there now and then, even if the movie is not super interesting). But the fun thing was, a few days later I was having a conversation with my boss about movies and we discovered he has also been to that movie AT THE SAME TIME AND PLACE! And we hadn't seen each other!

7. Work-wise, it's only a few weeks until I officially enter the last year of my PhD and with that, the last year of my contract at the University. I'm starting to stress a little bit about finishing up my research and writing my thesis, but on the other hand, I've learned in the past three years that you can't really rush research, it goes as fast as it goes. So I just keep doing my best and hoping it will be alright
:-S


That's about all I've got to talk about this time! I hope you're all having a nice weekend and enjoying autumn.

8 comments:

  1. 1) I went to a wedding recently, too! I have a couple of dresses that I usually wear to weddings, but my cousin's was a little more formal, so they wouldn't really work. I also dread clothes shopping, but I ended up renting a dress online. I've found that reading other customer reviews and not having to commit forever to a dress really broadened my horizons fashion-wise. It was fun to try something new!

    2) It's been warm here, too, until this past week. Fall jumped on us while we weren't looking, but I can't help being excited--it's my favorite holiday! I started the hot chocolate today. Glad to hear you're enjoying it, too.

    3) You know, I've heard a lot about WWII from my grandparents and my studies, but I really don't know much about WWI. That's neat that you had the opportunity to talk to your uncle about it.

    4) I need to read more about WWI (refer to above comment). Any recommendations on where to start? And that exhibition sounds really interesting!

    5) I've only seen Season 1 of Downton Abbey. My niece is crazy about it and lent me Season 2, but I just haven't had the time. Maybe on Wednesday (my day off this week) I'll just plop down on the couch and marathon it. Oh, and nice work with the spoiler. I didn't highlight it, and the color blends really well with the background!

    6) I never could decide how I felt about Woody Allen. He's something of a mystery.

    7) Congratulations and good luck! I'm sure it will all go smoothly. You know what you're doing and what your goal is, which is 3/4 of the trouble, right?

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    1. That was really long...sorry if I'm stealing all the space!

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    2. Hehe, no problem, I love long comments!

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    3. Renting a dress sounds like an interesting alternative. Although, how do you know the dress you choose will fit?

      I don't know about WWI recommendations, there are so many different subjects relating to the Great War. And I haven't really read any general overview books, I got all that from Wikipedia or TV series :-0 I can however recommend the works of Lyn MacDonald. This British writer has written about 10 works about WWI and her style is very readable.

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    4. Customer reviews. When people review an item they rented, they also give their basic height, weight, and bust information, as well as a picture so you can compare how it might fit on you. Also, the site has "stylist suggestions" for each dress, and they send you a backup size for free with your chosen size. I've done it twice now and had success both times. This was on renttherunway.com

      Thanks for the author recommendation!

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    5. That does sound like you would feel more secure about the dress you have to choose. Still, I think I would like to see and feel the dress before I take it, but that's just me....

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  2. Oh wow! I bet that was a very interesting conversation. I love history, so the chance to talk with someone who has personal connections to such a significant piece of history would be pretty fascinating! :)

    Time flies so fast. I'm sure things will work out great for you, but it's just the not knowing, isn't it? I can understand that all too well. And congrats! Your PhD? What an amazing accomplishment that'll be! :)

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words! What really helps me is that I have colleague PhDs who are in the same year as me, venting to each other is really great to not drown in your worries!

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