Tax return

It's one of my most unwanted activities: sorting out the bills, payments and taxes for the annual tax return. Luckily I now have a good advisor to help me with that repelling job which has to be done.
Several years ago I asked him for advise, because I had that faint feeling that I didn't get enough money returned. Call it instinct, but after he filled in the forms my feeling proved to be right. Since then he helps me every year to get a substantial sum back. More than my collegue (a financial controller) did before him. Twice as much, to be correct. And you know what those accountants say: "You can never be correct enough with taxes".
Ink and watercolor, 4" x 6".

Junk Food Moment

Since a few years it turned into a tradition: after each holiday we stop at dinner time at the yellow arches to have our big junk-food-moment. The kids know it and they love it. We usually eat every time the same items: I, for instance, always order the big guy you can see above. I know, it's unhealthy, but I think everybody has a right to have a few weaknesses in life.
Ink and watercolor (sketch on a napkin) on 120 grams drawing paper, 4"x6".

Potato Bread

Last week we went skiing in Austria. One of the many things I like about Austria, apart of the oudoor activities which can be practiced all year round in the wonderful Alps, is the wide variety of bread. One of my pleasures during our holidays is going out early in the morning to buy bread (after all I'm a son of a baker) and the morning newspaper (because I work for a publishing house).
As far as bread is concerned my big favourite is potato bread or as the Austrians called it themselves: "Kartoffelbrot". The last few days I've searced the internet to find recipes to make potato bread myself and discovered that there are quite many different recipes to bake one. So I guess I just start with one recipe and see what it brings. If it doesn't suit me I just try another recipe. And so on, and so on, and so on. I'll keep you informed about the progress I'll make!

Illustration Friday Instinct

Unlike birds we humans don't have an instinct for measuring heights in free air. That's why for instance paraglider- and hanggliderpilots use a so called variometer. With this device you can get a confirmation if your flying in a weak thermal or that you're sinking less faster then a few moments before.
Most important, of course, is that you try to look as less as possible to that little green screen and try to enjoy as much as you can your free flight. But that goes without saying.

Bald, again

About two weeks ago our kids said they didn't want to have a bald father anymore. So what do you do? You decide to let your hair grow.
But after two weeks it started to itch and some colleagues weren't very kind either. Mainly they told me that I did look a couple of years older than before. Ouch, that hurts!
So, what do you do? Yes, shave!
The kids weren't pleased, but my ego is. Sometimes a man got to do what a man got to do. And, after all, I do have to look like my self-portrait, don't I?

Ice-skating

At the beginning of this year we had some luck: we were having several days off from our work, the children had their schoolholiday and it was freezing. Time for ice-skating!
But first we had to buy ice-skates for our kids. We thought it would be best to buy one set of ice-skates with the possibility to adjust them in size. So one kid at the time could learn how to skate. But it turn out that the kids had more fun gliding with sledges on the ice than they were eager to learn how to skate!
Well, maybe next year, again on the frozen canals or in the ice-skating hall. After all, the skates are adjustable and it will take a few years before they outgrow the skates.

New Years Eve, part II

It is quite a challenge to have a big frying pan filled with oil and trying to heat it on a little camping heater. As you can imagine that isn't easy.
As I told before we celebrated New Years Eve at our friend's house and I was baking fritters in their garage. What I didn't tell you was that the garage door was slightly opened to let the smell of the baking fritters get out. But on the other hand the freezing cold came in and the garage wasn't heated. So, although I was facing a very hot frying pan, my fingers and toes were stone cold. Furthermore, boys from around the block already started early that evening to shoot of some heavy firework in front of the garage, with that door opened! That didn't work out very well for my nerves, I must admit. Luckily no fire-crackers or rockets have entered the building. But I was very relieved when I finished baking the fritters in that garage!