Mike and I are meeting in The Hague this afternoon when he gets finished with school. I'm going down earlier for a hair cut and to have a bit of a wander. Since we are leaving next Wednesday for Denver, we have some shopping to do that will save us having to pay overseas shipping costs for Christmas packages. We have a couple ideas, but we need to do some prowling in and out of stores to get more inspiration. As for the haircut, I haven't had one since June, so it's high time!
I'm hoping it's not going to storm on us while we are en route or out and about, but it's entirely possible when you look at all the clouds moving around. These photos were just taken from our living room window, so you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about! As a description of what else you're seeing besides clouds from our window, across the street we have a grocery store called Albert Heijn (pronounced "Hine"), as well as a row of shops comprising a pharmacy, bakery, Renault car dealer, and a computer shop. Above all of these places of business are apartment buildings - the Dutch are experts at conserving space! Our own building is made up of a ground level of shops (drugstore and a Chinese restaurant), then two levels of 5 apartments each. We are on the top, at the end furthest from the street, so the canal you see in the first photo runs beside our building. The Plein in front of our building has a nice little flower shop as well. All this, combined with the local bus route going past our front door, gives us a lot of amenities. Since we don't have a car, that is very nice!
We live so close to the North Sea, the weather is changeable here, to say the least. Add to that the fact the Netherlands doesn't have much in the way of geographical obstructions to wind, and you get a windy climate with weather that sneaks up on you in a hurry! I predict that my bike ride to The Hague will be into a strong headwind, but at least I know the ride home will involve a lot less effort! I will also be taking along my rain gear, just in case. I've noticed an interesting phenomenon here: if I take rain gear or an umbrella, I frequently end up NOT using it; however, if I go without, or heaven forbid, wear sunglasses, then it's sure to rain on me! An uneasy balance is achieved when I have rain gear AND sunglasses...I think that really buffaloes things and the weather just sort of roils around, but never actually arrives at doing anything!
This week is low key for us, Mike's trying to get all caught up and planned ahead so he doesn't have to worry about anything while we're on our whirlwind 4-day trip to the States. His school has next Thursday and Friday off for American Thanksgiving, so we are flying out on Wednesday afternoon and returning very early on Monday. Mike is turning 40 on Saturday, the 29th and his family is all gathering in Denver, where we will meet them. It's a bit of a luxury trip, but it's our favourite holiday and how often does a guy turn 40? My parents are meeting us there as well, as is my brother, Brendan and his son, Christopher. At last count, there will be 33 people for Thanksgiving dinner...!!! It will be great and just what the holiday should be about! Coming back will be the challenge, as we land at 06:30 in the morning and then Mike gets to go to teach all day. I really appreciate not having to report to a specific job at times like this!
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