Ice, Ice, Ice

Snow

Today

The lasagna is in the oven, salad is ready to be served. All that is needed is the setting of the table and the baking of some french bread. I'm so looking forward to this meal!

Today I
- cleaned Tristans room
- did 3 loads of laundry
- cleaned my shoes (after the stoute cross, they needed it!)
- went for a bike ride and a climb up a tower with a friend
- unbuilt a bookcase (cannot for the life of me figure out the right way to say this!)
- went to Harderwijk with Herman to look for new glasses
- grabbed the opportunity to check out 8 new books from the library in Harderwijk
- and took a quick peek into one of the churches there
- made the lasagna
- paid some bills
and later on I will hopefully
- call a friend
- download some pictures
- and settle down for a good read.

What did you do today? I'd love to hear!!

Autumn

Ten thousand flowers in spring,
the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer,
snow in winter.

If your mind isn't clouded
by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life.

Wu Men

Stoute Cross

Today I convinced Tristan he HAD to go with me to the Stoute Cross. This almost literally meant me grabbing him by the arm and dragging him along... but he came! And then he enjoyed this:




I was wondering why on earth it was called the stoute cross, seeing as this literally means the naughty motocross. Then I saw the add in the paper which proudly proclaimed that this event "has been legal for 5 years!". So I'm guessing it's called naughty because it used to be illegal, and the name has stuck.
It was surprisingly fun to see cars racing madly around a mud track while the stench of diesel, oil and burnt rubber assailed my nostrils. Meanwhile my ears were lambasted by engine noises of all kinds which added to the overal cacophony caused by a screwed up sound system and a LOT of men and boys gathered around giving opinions.
Definately repeatable next year... even Tristan thinks so!

Op een grote paddestoel

There's a dutch childrens song that I think every single dutch person has grown up learning to sing. It's called op een grote paddestoel. It's about a little gnome who sits down on a red mushroom with white spots. He dangles his legs and all of a sudden the mushroom breaks, flipping the gnome upside down.

Somehow, it loses its charm in translation!

But here are some of the mushrooms that are mentioned in the song:

Pretty

I got the two biggest birds from my dad for my birthday. We went for a bike ride and discovered a man selling them from a little roadside shed. It was his winter activity, he said. Summertimes he spent growing pumpkins , courgettes, potatos and sunflowers from the farmland behind the shed.
The little bird was given to us by a friend. It was made in Mozambique and sold here in a Fair Trade Store, where all kinds of native art is sold and the profits are used in developing countries.

They stand guard in my garden, on a corner of the lawn close to my kitchen, where I can keep an eye on them.

Networking at its best

Remember this unexpected encounter? Well, the woman I met has now introduced me by mail to two other people living in my town. One who is a fellow english book lover, and the other who is a native english speaker. I worked up the nerve to go visit one of these two ladies today. She lives just around the corner! I was graciously invited in and over coffee we talked about books and church. Turns out she goes to the one church that we are considering as an option here in my town! The chances of that happening are not huge, let me tell you. So I came home determined to make an appointment with one of the elders so that Herman and I can get more of an inside look into the church.

Coincidence??After I left her place I went to do a bit of grocery shopping and ran into an acquaintance from the gym. She mentioned that she needed a babysitter, I remembered that the lady I had just visited does some babysitting, and low and behold another connection was made! Very very satisfying. Makes me feel like I'm being of use here in this little town!

Hopefully I will soon meet up with the native english speaker and see if we can get some positive vibes going on there as well. Before you know it I'll be swamped in friends :-)
One good thing will hopefully lead to another... And I'll have something to tell my unexpected friend when she comes back from the States!

Recharging my batteries

I've just had the most glorious two days recharging my batteries. I can't put into words how happy and satisfied I have felt over the last two days and the amount of energy I have gotten because of it, so instead I will tell you what I did and leave the rest up to your imagination:

Here's what I did:
- went to my old work and was welcomed with genuine warmth and affection. Such a lovely start to the day!
- Had lunch with my former manager. I like her! (and not only because she gives me compliments :-) , which she did though, making me feel so encouraged!)
- Bought the cutest shoes ever! Bluey/purple, just utterly too cute. Don't know what I'm going to wear them with yet, but had to have them!
- Enjoyed every single minute of walking around Utrecht. Revelled seeing the homeless man singing loudly, listening to the drunk who sat behind me on the bus who complimented me on my hair, the american tourists speaking english, seeing the muslim ladies wearing their headcloths, knowing just where to go to get what. I didn't realize I missed it until I got out of the train and everything felt so comfortably familiar! Utrecht has a buzz to it that is a real kick after the sleepy town I live in.
- went to two museums and felt hugely intellectual and artistic because of it!
- got a call from my sister telling me about a job she had just seen which just suits me down to a T. Got heart palpitations just thinking about it!
- had supper with an old colleague of mine. She lost her child a couple of months ago and I was so happy to catch up with her. We ate tapas and talked and talked and then had an Australian ice-cream to end it off.
- slept over at a really really good friends house. Talked and shared and the next day
- went to the sauna and lounged around soaking and sweating and steaming and feeling greatly relaxed.

Just reading through this list makes me realize that I can't capture the full extent of the well-being I experienced in these two days. I wish I could though! I would love to be able to put it into words so I could read back through this and feel it all over again. But I am so happy I can write it down here, to read back and know that I will enjoy remembering this at some other time when I might not be feeling just as happy.

These two days were a precious gift, just the pick me up I needed!

More "clogginess"

Seeing as these days are filled with holidays, I am getting an overdose of dutchness! Today was a country market here in my town. Which means there was a market with people making clogs and selling dutch souveniers. There were people walking around dressed in traditional dutch clothing. There was a stage where dutch clog dances were performed by puffing old people wearing the traditional dutch clothes. There was a stand which sold dutch wisdom tiles. All kinds of wise quotes are written on a tile which you can then hang up in your house. There was a corner with medieval ironworks. And mixed through these traditional things there were the usual food, clothes, bag and jewelry stalls. I walked through enjoying every minute. But then again, who wouldn't with the sun shining like it has and my lovely husband fixing up our garden?
I spent the morning planting the last of my flowers. Herman fixed our picnic table so we can eat outside when the weather permits it. I did a quick clean of the living room just in case our visitors came (they didn't show though, all that housework done for nothing!).
Then, before coming home after visiting the market I bought Tristan some of his favorite stuff. This stuff is the epitome of dutch frugality.
In Holland we have a lovely cookie called a "stroopwafel" which is two extremely thin wafels stuck together with a thin layer of caramel-like syrup. They are best when bought fresh at the market, hot off the wafel iron, with the syrup leaking out. But, in order to make them in the right shape, you often have crumbs left over. So what do enterprising dutchmen do? They SELL THE CRUMBS!! with or without syrup. And this is what Tristan really enjoys eating. So I bought Tristan stroopwafel crumbs with syrup and then ate a nice portion of them myself!

Koninginnedag

Otherwise known as the Queens Day. A wonderfully dutch holiday which I have heard is getting imitated in Germany and even in England!
The 30th of April is when we celebrate our Queens birthday. Her birthday is not actually today, it was her mothers birthday, but she decided to stick to this day to honor her mother.
So what do we do on this nationalistic holiday?
The biggest attraction and the most fun is the free market which takes place in almost every town and city. Basically it's just a garbage garage sale which is spread out over the streets. Everybody and their cousin lays out all their old clothes, books, toys, furniture, computers, lamps, tools, .... you name it, you'll be able to find it! The most creative salesmen then dress themselves up in orange, as you can see in these pictures and encourage you to buy their
wares. In the big cities, like Utrecht (where I used to live), the joy starts the night before and people stay up all night drinking, laughing and selling their stuff. There's wars fought over who gets to spread their blanket where, students hang out of the windows with their speakers blaring music, all kinds of food is sold on every street corner, and thousands and thousands of euros are spent and earned. I love it!
The last couple of years we lived in Houten, where they focussed mainly on entertaining the kids. So only kids got to sell their stuff. I went with Tristan a number of times and we made quite a big amount of cash! What a way to effectively clean up a room! And it's just great fun haggling with people and then going out to spend the money on books (for example).

This year was our first year in this town. The school around the corner had decorated a truck, all the kindergartners were put in and there was a parade to the town center. The mayor made a speech, music was played, and the sales started. Herman and I walked aroud and bought a lamp for Marinda's room and a microwave oven which we then transported back home on the back of our bikes. Really, I should have gotten a picture!
Those who don't sell or buy stuff on the market stay at home and watch the Queen and her family making her rounds in one of Hollands towns. Believe me, it's a big deal when the Queen comes to visit. Usually a lot of traditional dutch stuff is set up for the Queen to ooooh and aaaah at. The whole visit is shown live on tv. Traditionally you must drink coffee and eat one of these while watching.
I love Holland on days like these! People are in a good mood and acting quirky. It's great!

Impressions of my town

Welcome to my town!

A field of crocus leading up to a war monument

Flowers and plants for sale outside my local supermarket

Tristans classroom

A street close by with my favorite trees

Beautiful farmhouse just a short bike ride away!