Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet by Alicia Silverstone My rating: 5 of 5 stars Enjoyed reading this book and checking out the recipes. Before starting to read, I already agreed with a lot of what Alicia Silverstone says about the way we eat, what we put in our own bodies and the way we (humans) treat, use and abuse other living beings. A lot of what this book explains makes sense to me and sounds very logical. Still, I'm not an expert on nutrition or anything like that, so judge for yourself! I highly recommend reading The Kind Diet, if only because it's important that we all think about what we eat and where our food really comes from. View all my reviews Goodreads may not be the place to share my thoughts on eating meat or consuming dairy, however my personal blog - most definitely the right place! I'm not much of a meat-eater myself. Would say I'm about 95% vegetarian, actually. If not more than that...

For this week's Photo Challenge, I decided to let the week's sights and happenings inspire and guide me. Last week I considered "Animals" as my topic (while eventually going for " Bridges "), this week I contemplated Animals (or rather, "Life") as well. Seeing lots of yellow leaves and flowers while out and about made me unsure about "Animals / Life" - perhaps "Yellow" would be a more interesting topic. Although "Flowers" would work too... Whether I end up choosing to go for Flowers, Life or Yellow this week, this photo certainly ticks all the boxes. I'll post more photos on Sunday once I've decided what this week's topic actually is (or rather, will be )! For now - Enjoy the first photo! Photo Challenge 03 - Photo 01

These words were written thousands of years ago, in a book known and read by millions upon millions over the years - possible the most well-known book in the entire world. This knowledge is not something we only figured out yesterday, so to speak. How sad that humanity still doesn't seem to get this basic truth. “Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath . . .” — Ecclesiastes 3:19 (A Quote from the Bible / Tanakh) The heartbreaking effects that humans have on our planet | Mashable Providing a little more context: I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all c...

#01 - Polderscape The Challenge: Find a route I've never photographed along. Stop every 100 steps or so to take a photo. As I've explained in previous posts, I don't like taking photos of strangers. This means I plan to photograph locations, structures, natural features and perhaps some animals, however not people. I'll go for a nosey around town today and decide where to go. I've got a few ideas already... #02 - Cows The hoops and the hurdles: While it was most definitely my intention to take photos in the city (downtown / in the binnenstad ), when push came to shove I felt quite uncomfortable trying to take photos with people all around. People don't stop living their lives, walking past and going about their business just because I want to take a photo of a funky building, an interesting door or a pretty window. While yelling "Oi you lot, get off the street now unless you want me to shoot you" might have seemed funny to my teenage se...

Something about this photo makes me want to write the words "By your powers combined... I am Captain Planet" only there are no Planeteers in this photo; no-one's fighting injustice, pollution, smog or environmental disasters. It's just a snail who decided to call a flower home. The combination of the snail with the flower has me thinking of symbiosis, unity and the concept of combined powers; a snail and a flower working together to create a pretty home for the snail the way the Planeteers together make Captain Planet appear. Still - The flower and the snail in this photo have little to do with superheroes, even ones that fight for the environment. Perhaps sort-of descriptive and possibly-appropriate lyrics work better? Our house, in the middle of our street Our house, that was where we used to sleep Our house, in the middle of our street ( Our House , Madness) Our House, in the Middle of our Flower | Nimavenl Something tells me I might be over-thinkin...

No caption... A photo posted by iansomerhalder (@iansomerhalder) on Dec 14, 2014 at 11:02am PST

Bored Panda With all the anger, hatred and senseless violence humans bring to Planet Earth, it can feel like the world is going to hell in a hand-basket (to use a popular phrase). Some days I am mighty proud (to be a member) of the human race, other days I actually wish this was not my planet and that those committing atrocities were not my fellow human beings. The human race is capable of so much goodness and kindness, yet we are also capable of horrors and atrocities beyond even my wildest dreams (or should that be beyond even my scariest nightmares?) Will we ever learn to love and respect our fellow human beings just as they are? Will we ever understand that violence and destruction will only lead to more violence and destruction? Will we ever stop fighting and hating each other? Today, I am fed up with the human race. We may be capable of so much goodness, kindness, love, friendship, respect, hope, compassion, understanding and balanced thinking, however we do not show that...

As I was drifting off to sleep last night, the floor creaked. Not unusual, however something that still reminds me of our cat who died last year. Just for a few seconds lying there in between sleep and waking, I allowed myself to imagine our cat was still alive and prowling through the house; that it was her making the floor creak. Catching some Sunshine | Nimavenl As I wiped away a tear I smiled and reminded myself of the famous quote from Alfred. Lord Tennyson's In Memoriam that it is "Better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all." How true indeed and such perfect words for when one remembers a loved one who is no longer with us (no matter the species of that loved one!). Today's photo is for all those who have loved and lost - Always remember the good times, the sunshine and the times that made you smile, laugh and love.

(c) Nimavenl 2013 A close-up of our cat. While trying to take a photo of our cat, our darling photo model decided that the clicking sounds of the camera were very interesting indeed...

Kattenleeftijd in mensenjaren | Huisdierenziekenhuis Duidelijke tabel waarin aangegeven wordt hoe oud een kat is in mensenjaren. Onze kat is al in de 70 in mensenjaren, toch best leuk om te weten!

Adorable kitten, playing. Get it! A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Aug 23, 2012 at 10:38am PDT

The River is my World A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Jul 17, 2012 at 6:56pm PDT

Having already posted a few shots on my blog, I guess saying I take photos of nature and animals is obvious. The only photos I've made so far this month are all at a friend's place - mostly kids playing and pets, which means these are personal photos and not ones I wish to share online. Some photo I would like to share are these: The photo was taken at Vogelpark Avifauna , a bird park in Alphen aan den Rijn here in The Netherlands in August last year. This amazing animal walked right onto the terrace we were sitting at, and while I have to admit I was a bit freaked out - really, how often does the wildlife walk to the table! - it was also amazing to see so many birds up close. Another photo I'd like to share is one I took in my home town. I love being near the water, and have lived near the sea for most of my life. My home town is sadly not near the sea, however it does have lots of water, which means lots of opportunities for photos! This photo was taken in July ...

Just had to share this photo as I love the pic! Fly Away... | Nimavenl