What have I been doing?

The past few weeks have been very, very busy at school. So busy that often when I got home, I did not even open the computer, since I was too tired. And before you know it, a week has passed without a post on my blog.

But what have I been doing besides school?

Reading
In the past weeks I read a couple of very good Dutch history books. But I also re-read The secret history by Donna Tart and I again I fell in love with this book. It is so well written and the story is so rich with details. This was the fourth time I read it in the past twenty years or so, and every time again I love it.

This past week I have been re-reading Dan Brown, my brain just could not take anything more complicated. First I read The Da Vinci code and after that Angels and Demons. I like the first one better than the second one, since I do not find the scientific stuff in Angels and Demons even in the least bit interesting. Are the books written in a beautiful style? No they are not. But they are entertaining and sometimes that is all you need or want in a book.

Now that I feel a bit rested and have more concentration again, I will start in the seven books that make the famous French classical series by Marcel Proust, In search of lost time. There is a new Dutch translation and last year the complete series was published with fresh covers. It looks very nice and I am looking forward to reading this. I will take my time, no need to rush!

Series
I am watching Rosemary and Thyme again. I love Felicity Kendal! And Pam Ferris is also great. Ridiculous murders, but I love the gardens, the atmosphere and the two lead characters.

Pam Ferris and Felicity Kendal as Julia Thyme and Rosemary Boxer

Painting
This week I had the time to do something I wanted to do for a long time, I painted the built-in bookcase in my living room and all the doors.

The bookcase was painted in a dark blue. A beautiful colour, but it was quite dark. Now I painted it a soft green-gray. It looks very light and I love how it looks.

Before

After

In my flat I have a quare hall, with seven doors. All the doors were painted in different colours, green, blue, pink, lilac etc. Very fun, but after eight years, I wanted something else. So I painted all the doors in the same grey-green colour I used for the bookcase. It looks very beautiful, but it was a lot of work. (every door has two sides, after all!)

The door of the study and the frontdoor,
and as you can see, I was ready to paint. 

Now all the doors are in this lovely grey-green.

I am glad I got it done and I must admit that after having such busy weeks, it felt good to do something completely different. And the result is amazing!