Jane

22 October, 2026 By in General, Snapshot, TechTalk Tags: , , , , , , , 36 Comments

Start me up. Getting started in the morning is often hard because my brain and nervous system need time to shift from rest to alertness. You can find a lot of practical ways to make mornings easier on the internet. For me the only real solution is a morning shot of Curcuma Jane. Curcuma Jane is a 100% organic, non-alcoholic ginger and turmeric drink, completely artisanal brewed. With no less than 48% fresh organic ginger, 8% fresh organic turmeric, complemented with refreshing mint, lime, and lemon, a touch of fair-trade organic cane sugar, and a subtle bouquet of spices.
Curcuma Jane is packed with vitamines, antioxidants, and minerals. It boosts the immune system, stimulates digestion and supports the brain function, helps with nausea, promotes blood circulation, and it’s a great aid in detoxification. The active compound in turmeric is highly anti-inflammatory.

But I’m sure cats don’t need an organic, non-alcoholic ginger drink to get started any time of the day.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Mind

15 October, 2026 By in General, Snapshot, TechTalk Tags: , , , , , , 38 Comments

Thinking. I just finished Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. It’s a book about how people make decisions, form judgements, and process information. The core thesis of the book splits human cognition into two distinct modes: System 1 (fast thinking, making split-second judgements) and System 2 (slow thinking, requires conscious attention). The book covers (in a lot of depth) how this split impacts decision-making and the various cognitive biases that arise out of our architectural design.


Just wondering, realising that the human brain is highly intricate and hard to comprehend, how hard must it be to understand a cat’s brain?

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Spooky

24 September, 2026 By in General, Movies, Quotes, Snapshot Tags: , , , , , , 83 Comments

Hi there. Autumn… with a touch of melancholy, I look back at the hot summer. I guess there were a lot of cats on the hot tin roofs. Here’s a quick update to let you all know we’re both okay and we’re still having a great time together. I received emails from worried people because it was very quiet on the blog. Due to personal circumstances which I prefer not to elaborate on it was difficult for me to keep on posting stuff on the blog. But hey, I’m back. And Niki is also back.

Niki loves to watch tv with me in the evening although he usually falls asleep after 10 minutes. Right now we’re watching Widow’s Bay, an American supernatural comedy horror series on Apple TV, starring Matthew Rhys, Kate O’Flynn, Kevin Carroll and Dal Dickey. It received a record 14 wins at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards. But if you look at Niki’s reaction, it’s clear that he doesn’t like horror, not even if it’s funny.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Disappeared

17 May, 2026 By in General, Green Zone, Snapshot, TechTalk Tags: , , , , , , , 84 Comments

Sunday thoughts. The arrival of warmer seasons such as spring has a noticeable impact on my mental health. The warm weather is the ultimate mood booster. Spring does make me feel better and more energetic. Sunlight is a natural mood enhancer, boosting the production of serotonin in our brain, which helps to improve mood and increase energy levels. So get outside people and feel more comfortable and lively.

Last week I bumped into this beautiful construction on one of my walks. A beaver lives in this neighbourhood and sometimes one of his dams causes flooding. A local nature organisation ensured that our boots remain dry on this part of the walking trail.

It’s also fun to discover new and beautiful life in the nature, like this Rosa rugosa or saltspray rose.

Meanwhile, Niki is waiting for me to come back home.

I’m reading 3 books simultaneously this moment and I just finished the beautiful ‘If Cats Disappeared from the World’ from Genki Kawamura. It follows a terminally ill mailman who is visited by the devil and offered one extra day of life for every object or concept he allows to be erased from existence. Don’t let the devil part scare you, he’s actually a funny person in this novel. This book really gave me a good feeling.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Gotcha

26 April, 2026 By in General, Snapshot Tags: , , , , , 80 Comments

Happy Gotcha Day! One year ago today Niki moved in to my house. It’s been a very exciting year. Niki turned out to be one of the sweetest cats I ever met. Everybody falls in love with him. Niki adopted very well and quick to his new environment and became friends with every visitor. I met some new and wonderful people who became new friends in my life. One of the highlights was Tim visiting us early this month. Feel free to check out the previous blog post.

So we’re ready to have a celebration on this warm and sunny day with espresso, chocolate and cat treats for Niki.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Tim

4 April, 2026 By in General, Los Amigos, Snapshot Tags: , , , , , 55 Comments

Someone knocking at the door. Somebody ringing the bell. A few days ago Tim payed me a visit. Tim and I have been following each other on WP since January 2013. Feel free to check out Tim’s eclectic blog, Off Center & Not Even, at https://offcenternoteven.com. You can also find his rapport about the great time we spent together in following 2 blog posts: https://offcenternoteven.com/2026/04/01/germany-to-belgium-in-a-spanish-car/ and https://offcenternoteven.com/2026/04/02/back-from-belgium-gone-to-the-dogs/

Niki and I had a great time with Tim. He’s such a warm and gentle person. It was so beautiful to see how Niki connected with Tim.

One setback, there was no chocolate cake for Niki…

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Electricity

9 December, 2025 By in General, Snapshot, TechTalk Tags: , , , , , , , , 58 Comments

And HomeWizard Niki said, ‘Let there be electricity!’ I recently received the customer’s annual bill of the electricity consumption. I noticed that the actual consumption was three times lower than the yield of the solar panels. It means that it’s very interesting to buy a plug-in home battery so you can use electricity for free during the evening and the night.

Thanks to the Black Friday conditions I could buy two batteries for a good price. Niki agreed with the decision and was happy when he saw the two big boxes arrive.

Niki was also very helpful during the installation. I probably couldn’t do it without him.

PS: Remember the giant oak tree from the previous Lucky post? Here’s how he looks today. I’m already looking forward to see new leafs appear next spring…

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Lucky

6 November, 2025 By in General, Green Zone, Musique, Snapshot, TechTalk Tags: , , , , , 81 Comments

Coffee, tea… me! As you probably already know, I prefer spring and summer. But I have to be honest and admit that I enjoy the beautiful and warm autumn colours in the nature during my walks. For instance, look at this beautiful old oak tree. It’s a perfect wonder of nature and example of the miraculous circle of life. I decided to have a rest period under the tree to do a meditation exercise. I was completely feeling Zen, being in a state of calm, peace, and acceptance, especially in a way that is unbothered by stress or chaos.


A few minutes later I found this rusty horseshoe. According to Google finding a horseshoe is widely considered a sign of good luck and protection against evil. This superstition stems from the belief that horseshoes, particularly those made of iron, possess mystical properties, and the horseshoe’s crescent shape or association with the strength and prosperity of horses are also linked to its meaning. For centuries, people have hung horseshoes over doorways to protect their homes and attract good fortune. So I guess it was my lucky day. Just like Joan Armatrading sang, ‘I’m lucky. I’m lucky. I can walk under ladders.’ I left the horseshoe behind so someone else could also experience his lucky day.


Meanwhile at home, everything is ok with Niki. He’s 9 months old and his BW is +4kg. Niki’s new habit is to steal the tea bag out of my cup. Wet or dry makes no difference for the little rascal.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Sunday

19 October, 2025 By in General, Snapshot Tags: , , , , , , 78 Comments

A relaxed, stately and luxurious view on a Sunday. Freshly baked buns, chocolate cake, espressos, fine Belgian dark chocolate and a sweet adorable cat. All is well on a grey and chilly Sunday.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Screentime

4 October, 2025 By in General, Movies, Quotes, Snapshot Tags: , , , , , , 72 Comments

Shall we play a game? “Screentime is over” can refer to a notification by your cat or a device-based notification that you have reached your allocated time limit, or to a general statement meaning it’s time to stop using screens and spend some time with your cat.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.


Truth

19 September, 2025 By in General, Quotes, Snapshot Tags: , , , , , , , 86 Comments

Who’s Next? There are times when we must sink to the bottom of our misery to understand truth, just as we must descend to the bottom of a well to see the stars in broad daylight.
Truth and love will overcome lies and hatred.

Václav Havel

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Sleep

7 September, 2025 By in General, Musique, Snapshot, TechTalk Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 68 Comments

Why do we sleep? We sleep for essential physical and mental rest. Sleep gives your body time to repair itself and carry out important functions, like clearing out waste and releasing hormones and boost the immune system. Without these processes, our bodies can’t function correctly. The brain also benefits significantly, processing and storing memories, strengthening important neural connections, clearing out waste products, and regulating emotions, which supports improved concentration, judgment, and problem-solving.

I am a bad sleeper but in recent years there has been improvement through therapy, meditation and breathing exercises. I also found a lot of advice and tips in Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, the essential bestseller from Matthew Walker, PhD. It’s simply a must-read.
I can also really enjoy the music from Max Richter. Richter is a German-born British composer and pianist. He works within postminimalist and contemporary classical styles. In 2015, Richter released his most ambitious project to date titled Sleep, an 8.5-hour listening experience targeted to fit a full night’s rest. The album contains 31 compositions, most of them 20–30 minutes in duration, all based on variations of 4-5 themes. The music is calm, slow, and mellow, and composed for piano, cello, two violas, two violins, organ, soprano vocals, synthesisers, and electronics. Max Richter’s recent album Sleep Circle is the newly recorded and abridged version of Richter’s 2012 project Sleep. Sleep Circle is informed by the experience of his concert performances of the original album.

Some nights I wish I was a cat. Yes, cats sleep a lot, typically for 12-16 hours a day on average, with some napping for up to 20 hours. Niki is my new therapist. He’s learning me to fall asleep faster and sleep better. Here we are, listening to Max Richter’s Sleep Circle and enjoying our first session.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Warp

28 August, 2025 By in General, Movies, Quotes, Snapshot, TechTalk Tags: , , , , , , 74 Comments

Engage! My ship is equipped with a warp drive and a warp drive tank filled with fuel. The primary purpose of a warp jump is to achieve travel at speeds exceeding the speed of light. It’s the instantaneous change a starship takes from being at a stationary position, or at traveling at sublight speeds, to engaging at warp speed.


My ongoing mission: to explore strange new cat worlds; to seek out new lifeforms and new cat civilisations; to boldly go where no cat has gone before!

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Behind

19 August, 2025 By in General, Snapshot, TechTalk Tags: , , , , , , , 60 Comments

Behind the scenes. Meaning: secretly out of sight of the public at a theatre, organization or home and revealing or reporting on things that usually happen privately without being known or seen by the public.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Universe

9 August, 2025 By in General, Snapshot, TechTalk Tags: , , , , , , , 49 Comments

Space, the final frontier. Have you ever stopped to wonder what really matters in our daily lives? Why do we think we are so special and important? What is the meaning of life? Here’s the truth – we are not as important or special as we think in this big universe. We are just a random collection of atoms. If we vanished out of existence in the next instant, the universe will carry on as if nothing had happened. The only fundamental truth is that cats exist at all — there is no other form of truth that would be relevant to the universe.

I love watching the documentaries of professor Brian Cox, his journeys across the vastness of time and space revealing epic moments of sheer drama that changed the universe forever. Brian Cox’s new documentary series, Solar System, was airing on a local TV station and explores the wonders of our solar system, focusing on new discoveries and the dramatic events unfolding on its planets and moons. It was so interesting that even Niki didn’t fell asleep…

But let’s not forget the other important things in life. Niki is adjusting very well in my home. He eats and sleeps well. Niki takes his job as a studio technician very seriously. And in his spare time he also checks the soups for the presence of meatballs.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Check

27 July, 2025 By in General, Ha Ha Ha, Snapshot, TechTalk Tags: , , , , , , , 78 Comments

Double check. Creating online content for a blog post is a broad task. You have to check things before publishing. You have to focus upon a topic. You have to check your title. Or you going to use images or photographs? Does the text come across as something that will appeal to your target audience?
Proofread. Safety can only be guaranteed with the right knowledge. Before you publish your post for the world to see, you’ll want to double check your work, preferably by someone with the right knowledge.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Mirror

24 July, 2025 By in General, Quotes, Snapshot Tags: , , , , , , 56 Comments

Mirror Mirror. Just like Yoko said, I smile every morning in the mirror and think of Audrey’s words, it’s not just your image, but the echoes of your dreams and the footprints of your ambition. I don’t mind the scars I see.

Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest cat of all …

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.

Ice

18 July, 2025 By in General, Snapshot, TechTalk Tags: , , , , , , , 66 Comments

Ice Ice Baby. Globally, there’s a trend towards hotter days and fewer cold days, and heatwaves have been increasing in frequency, duration, and intensity across the globe, and this trend is linked to climate change. The first 2025 summer heatwave was very early in Western Europe. About half the world’s population is living in regions that saw their hottest daily temperatures since 1950 during the past 12 years and many millions vulnerable people were exposed to deadly heatwaves.

Tomorrow is another hot day, again. Niki already asked for extra ice cubes in his water bowl. Consider it done, my dear friend.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are.
Peace, love and understanding across the world.