Spring Images

Here are some images from the past several weeks as spring finds its way north here. We are getting some warmer temps now, this week is in the teens (50s F) and so more is growing and greening all the time. Nights are still brisk though, hovering right at freezing or just above and so we awake to fogs or heavy condensation on everything due to the large temperature spread.

Our weeks are moving past, now that it's light later (we only just moved our clocks this past weekend) and we are heading out more in the evenings. Last night was a nice catch-up session with some friends in Rotterdam and tonight will be dinner at Marilyn and Geoff's new digs in Leiden. We might have to go up a little early so I can get my stock of Twinings Chai tea re-filled at the ex-pat store up there - yum!

We're also looking forward to a weekend away, we will be joined by our friends Sean and Frans Herman for a trip to Ghent, in Belgium. From all appearances, it's a nice little town that is packed with interesting things. With luck, I'll get some worthwhile photos and share them next week.

The "Binnenhof" and "Ridderzaal" of the Dutch parliament in The Hague. We frequently cycle through this arch and subsequent courtyard to get to our movie theatre on the other side.

The Hague does a nice crocus planting across the street from Centraal Station. This view is looking across the grass to Centraal, which is underneath and behind the buildings behind the large tree.

Same crocus as before, new view. This was taken 2+ weeks ago. Now the crocus are all finished and the daffodils are going mad.

The harbour in Wassenaar and its attendant crocus patch.

This is a local dairy farm where I sometimes go to buy fresh milk and cheese. It's along my running route and I realized that it has a couple good examples of 'canals-as-fences' with isolated gates sticking up.

Same spot on the road as previous photo, just looking the other way at the field access. Saves on fencing!

Not Lost

My apologies for the long silence, and thank you Patsy for your concern. All is well here, I've just been down with a severe case of Cabin Fever as well as getting caught up in some other projects. The big project is that I'm scanning in old print photographs so that I will have everything digitized. Two reasons I'm doing this, in case of fire, disaster, whatever, so that the photos are in a safe place, and also to decrease the amount of "stuff" around the place and make packing easier. No, we're not moving, but it's always something in the back of our minds and doing a project like this at the last minute is not an option.

Today, I want to paste in a "Trip Diary" from Mike's trip to Tanzania. Kim TD put it together from photos she took and the text is from students' diary entries. All credit to her!

Twenty-one students and four chaperone’s took this year’s Tanzania Service Trip (12 February – 23 February) to Moshi, Tanzania, to build foundations for two new classrooms at the Azimio school, volunteer in classrooms and visit a local orphanage. It was a great privilege to work with the Azimio community and spend time with their children, and our students gave willingly of their time, energy, laughter and song to the local community. Each student came home with stories that they recorded in their journals, and so we wanted to share with the ASH community some snapshots of their impressions and experiences from the trip:


Day 2 : Saturday, 14 February 2009- Azimio Work Day by Carrie P.

Today was our first work day: We got up at 6:30 AM, ate breakfast, and headed to the Azimio Primary School to dig trenches which would be the foundations of two classrooms. The locals had drawn lines where we were supposed to dig, and had already started work with picks, shovels, and round metal bowls when we arrived on the bus. We dug trenches basically the whole morning and into the afternoon until they were thigh-high, and we also worked in an assembly-line moving light colored gravel we’d be using the next day for cement. I soon discovered the importance of working together with the Tanzanian volunteers-mostly parents of the students- since they knew so much about what we were doing and how to use the tools.

I met one guy who introduced himself as “Obama”, who kept saying something I couldn’t understand until finally he clarified himself saying “You are abnormally strong”- it was quite funny. Whenever I stopped for a water break someone would say “Carrie, you’ve got dirt in your mouth and up your nose!” so that all at once I’d look down and realize that I had dirt everywhere though I had been unaware a moment before. All the dust and grit did protect me from the sun though-I didn’t burn at all at the worksite.

Later on I had to pee so I asked where the bathroom was. Two little girls walked me over to it-at first they were a little shy but then smiled and introduced themselves when I said “Jambo”, introduced myself, and shook their hands. They spoke a little English so they asked me where I was from, etc. and we had a short conversation. It was so exhilarating for me to meet the people for whom I was building classrooms-it made the whole experience seriously personal. I found that the way to break through the language and culture barriers was to be cheerful, outgoing, and to smile-and it worked.

One thing that bothered me though was when kids waved though the windows of our resting-classroom saying “I’m hungry!”, “Do you have biscuits?”, and “Do you have juice?”- I had no idea how to react, because we weren’t allowed to give anything away for the simple reason that we needed to eat. I just said “I’m sorry” but nonetheless felt dirty and ashamed with the fact that not only do we have much more than the students there, we couldn’t give them anything, at least for the moment.


Day 3 : Sunday, 15 February 2009 – Azimio Work Day by Mackenzie H.

On our third day in Tanzania we awoke with back pains and immense amount of trouble lifting our arms and walking down the stairs due to the strenuous work the day before. We started our day with delicious pancakes and pineapple, and of course, eggs. The morning sky was extremely clear, and perfect for getting photos of Kilimanjaro.

We arrived at the work site by 9 a.m. joining a busy community who had began their day working at 6 a.m. Since it was Sunday, all the women were dressed in their Sunday best, as beautiful and vibrant fabrics filled the work site. Since the trenches had been completed the day before, we focused on making the cement to build the foundation on both of the classrooms. This involved passing about 300 hundred trays and aggregate and sand to where the concrete would be mixed. Once the men mixed it all together we formed lines to move the concrete into the trenches to form the foundation. For the remainder of the day we sang Mamma Mia songs as we tossed the pans of cement into the trenches. By the end of the day both classrooms’ foundations were complete. We were all impressed at how many members of the community showed up. Both the local women and men both were extremely helpful and allowed for us to finish the job much quicker.

We retuned to the house early enough to go for a swim at the International School of Moshi pool before changing for our dinner of beef and delicious soft tortillas and heading off to the Honey Badger Lodge cultural night. The whole group was up on stage within minutes, dancing in circles to the drums and songs. We also got to hear about the local tribes in the region such as the Chaga tribe who worship the mountain and use cows as doweries for their daughters. It was a great day, but after the dancing and working, we all had an early night.


Day 4 : Monday, 16th February 2009, Azimio Work Day and Classroom Visit by Linda P.

After our first two hard days of building the foundations of two classrooms in the Tanzanian heat, we’re all starting to have some trouble getting out of bed on Monday morning. But with Mr. Flaim’s loud and clear wake-up call, and everyone’s spirit and eagerness to get back to the building-site, we yet again manage to get on the bus and be on our way on time! Today the tiring task of laying down bricks for the foundation was awaiting us. Yet with the unending energy and service put into the project by as well the students, as the parents of the school and the local people, the task was completed on time and efficiently, through never-failing teamwork.

That afternoon, we all were offered an experience that I myself found to be life-changing; the chance to go into a Tanzanian classroom for an hour, and working with the children attending the Nelson Mandela Primary School. Divided into groups of 4 or 5 students, we were all shown to our classrooms, filled with eager to learn little 6th graders! After an hour of story-telling, drawing our favourite animals, singing songs and being taught some Swahili by the children, time had seemed to fly by. I was surprised by the connection that I made with the children, after just an hour of knowing them. Their warmth, open-mindedness and high spirits created the opportunity to become close with them very quickly, as well as many many memories.


Day 5: Tuesday, 17 February 2009 – Azimio Work day and Classroom Visit by Renée S.

Day 5 was our last day of work on the classrooms for Azimio School. We left the house in our usual fashion, with tunes and Ms. TD’s constant photo-taking, mostly of banana women. Upon arriving we all saw how much work they had done the day before after we had left. There were four brick high walls in all of the trenches. Our task for the day was to fill the classrooms with dirt, which we had originally thought would be quite tough. We needed to wait for trucks to bring dirt and we needed several trucks filled with dirt to complete the job. Once again many came from the community to help, so there were plenty of people and plenty of waiting for the dirt to come, so it wasn’t as difficult as we thought it was going to be. Like previous days we formed lines to move the dirt, intermingling with community members. As we finished up our last truck load of the day, the rain started. Living in Holland we have seen plenty of rain, but I have never seen so much rain before in my life. The torrential rain continued for more than an hour, the kids from the school seem to like the rain and were playing in the mud, as was Becca coming from the bathroom, intentional or not. During the rain we had our lunch and after we split into our groups to go to some of the Azimio classrooms to teach. My group, Louise, Almu, Kevin, and Adam went to a fifth grade class, where we taught them head, shoulders, knees, and toes, which they all enjoyed. We also played some drawing games where we learnt words for animals in Swahili and they learnt them in English, but most of them already knew them... if they could tell what some of us were drawing (Louise...). We asked them to sing a song for us and to our surprise they sang Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, which of course we belted out with them. Unfortunately we could only stay for an hour so we had to say goodbye and they sang us another song. Back at the house we had another night of playing cards, playing pranks, eating dinner, and of course, we had to endure the dreaded hour required for doing homework. Another successful day of work in Tanzania. We were all really excited for the next day, Safari day!


Day 6: Wednesday, 18 February 2009 – Safari Day in Lake Manyara National Park by Isobel W.

Today we woke up bright and early (similar to all the other mornings) with the prospect of going on safari. Everyone was very excited and anxious to go. But of course before we leapt on the bus we had the usual: Malarone? Check. Food? Check. Water Bottle (full!)? Check. Normally a two hour bus ride can be quite boring, but not in Tanzania. I feel like I had the best seat in the house, sitting next to our tour guide which was definitely a cool experience. As we travelled down the bumpy roads, Isaac was able to tell me all about the colourful towns we were passing through, the different plantations we saw (sugar and coffee) and the wildlife on Mount Mehru as we passed it.

After two very short hours we arrived at the Arusha campus of the International School of Moshi. What a school! Grounds overflowing with bougainvillea trees, herb 'healing ' gardens, and ten times as much sun in one day that we would ever get in the Netherlands. We were all hoping there was some sort of exchange program. From there we were loaded into 5 safari cars, each with our own guide, and in my groups case, Mr Flaim. Our guide, Martin, started our journey with a warm 'Hakuna Matata", we knew we were in the business. We then were given names according to our favorite animals: Tembo for elephant, Simba for lion, Duma for cheetah, Kikobo for hippo, Chui for leopard, and Swala for gazelle (that was Mr Flaim), and we were feeling very ready for the jungle.

The landscape was fascinating, we could see the Great Rift Valley rising up in distance, and the road was speckled with colourful red and blue of the Massai tribe. We entered Lake Manyara National Park at about noon, and safaried until about four. We were all very excited to see that the roofs of our car lifted up, and we could stand the whole safari. It was an incredible experience. Around our first corner we found three elephants, only about ten metres away from our cars. Over the course of the afternoon we found twenty-two more elephants, tons of baboons, a snake, twelve giraffes, a pod of hippos, and of course the flamingoes. I don't particularily like birds, but even I was impressed. There was a pink streak that seemed to reach forever along the shore of the lake, it was unbelievable. By the time it was time to leave, we were all rather hot, smelly, and in need of a shower. We were happy to get to our campsite, trying not to set up our tents on a pile of rocks, and dig into the buffet supper! (Editor’s note: Issie LOVES the word “buffet”! KTD)



Day 7 : Thursday, 19 February 2009 – Safari in the Ngorongoro Crater by Lauren W.

5:00 marked an abrupt awakening from a rocky slumber. We sleepily staggered through our morning routines, motivated only by the prospect of touring the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater. Shortly after breakfast, we departed with the objective of a 7:00 arrival. The ride was largely silent, and we entered the park with little ceremony.

The rising sun was met with rising spirits, after which we began to take stock of our surroundings. We soon found ourselves on the crater edge, a rich panorama before us. But our journey into Paradise wasn’t to be without its trials; our descent was a frightful one, marked by hairpin turns on narrow dirt roads. With a twinge of unease, we noted a land rover that had sped into an earthen bank.

In spite of the harrowing drive, excitement mounted as we neared the crater floor. Immediately, we were confronted by a herd of zebras, on which we wasted numerous photos. Our attentions were diverted as we approached wildebeest, then water buffalo, then more zebras. The safari continued eventfully until 10:00, at which we stopped for a snack at the hippo pool. We resumed our drive with enthusiasm, always eager to see more. Around 1:00, we stopped again for lunch, this time in one of the wooded areas found near the crater wall. We ate lunch in our respective land rovers while our guides attempted to keep a solitary vervet monkey, which was eying our repast hopefully, at bay.

Like many of the animals, we grew languid in the heat of the day. Zebra foals and newborn wildebeest lost their innate appeal, and our ascent was met with complacency. Leaving the crater, we drove to a Maasai village. There, we met the chief, a former warrior. His son served as the interpreter as he described the discrepancies between the Maasai’s traditions and its modern ways. Following a questions session, we divided into groups in order to enter a boma. Once inside, we were struck by the closeness of the quarters, in addition to the lack of light. We emerged to find that the children were returning from school. Like most of the children we encountered, they were eager to have their pictures taken and to shake hands with us. After a few minutes’ socialization, we departed for the campsite.

Dinner was well received, and we went uncomplainingly to another night’s rocky slumber.


Day 10 : Sunday, 22 February 2009 – Orphanage Visit and Trip Home by Laura V.

On the last day of our trip, day 10, we were given the opportunity to sleep in till 8. However by the time 8 rolled around most people were already sitting on the porch with a cup of tea in their hand, looking at the spectacular view of Mount Kilimanjaro. I think that we all wanted to breathe in as much of Africa that we could, before leaving again. After another breakfast of bread, eggs and sausages we prepared ourselves to go to the orphanage. There were mixed reviews about going there, some were really excited to go and spend the afternoon with the children, yet others were afraid that it would be too hard to leave. In the end both sides were right.

As we pulled up to the orphanage, there was already a group of children outside waiting for us. Just looking at their smiling, excited faces and all our nervousness and reserve melted away. We got off the bus and helped the nuns take the little kids inside for a glass of milk. Right away a little girl named Petra came over to me and reached her arms up, as a signal for me to pick her up. Once I was holding her, I got an endless stream of her chattering in Swahili. Unfortunately, I had no idea what she wanted, so I had to find out by hand gestures. Looking around the room, I saw all my peers entangled by groups of little children. Holding them, tossing them in the air, playing games with them, etc. We were there for a good two hours, and each got to play with many different little kids. However, each of us had one or two that we referred to as, “my kid(s)”. After playing with them for a while, it was time for them to get some lunch. The children definitely got enough to eat, with little Petra getting three helpings of rice and beans.

When it came for naptime, most of the children began to sense that we were leaving again. Some were pretty upset, crying and trying to hold us back from going. Even though it was incredibly difficult to walk away at that point, I knew that they were well taken care of. The nuns really did love them and gave them the best care possible. Getting on the bus, I felt different, maybe a little more wise to the ways of the world but also just greatly impacted by these children. Back at the house, I found a place for all the thoughts and emotions which were whirring around. At that moment it was necessary to enjoy the last couple of hours we had in Tanzania by soaking up the precious sun rays (because we certainly wouldn’t have any when we got back) and playing with our friend, Baracka. Then later, when the sun was long gone, our airplane slipped up into the sky and took us back home.

Catching Up

Mike's back home and we've spent the past couple of days getting back into the pattern of being together. He had an incredible trip and said that the students were an integrated and adventurous group - everyone just clicked and made the trip memorable. I'm afraid I don't know how best to put down his experiences, maybe he'll post something this weekend when he has a moment. Right now, he's back at school, and busy as ever.

His flight landed on Monday morning at 7:00 and he luckily didn't have to teach the first block and so was able to come home and get a shower and say 'hello'. He looked luminous and happy, not at all tired (that came later) after flying all night, and was just full to the brim of worthwhile experiences. It's great to have him home again, it was a little too quiet after the first few days!

*****
Signs of spring are becoming more and more evident here. Riding down to the stable yesterday, I saw the yellow and purple heads of crocus about to open, and on my run today I saw clumps of soon-to-be daffodils coming up in a sheltered area. Add to that the geese (I think the Greater White-fronted Goose if the images are what I remember of the real thing*) are getting frisky, chasing one another around while flying and then splashing down and causing a rumpus in the water. Additionally, Maroz and the cats are all shedding hair, so that must mean the weather is changing and warmth is on the way. Exciting!

*While looking up the goose species above, I found an interesting website for bird species in the Netherlands: www.birdingholland.com Who knew there were so many birds in such a small country?! our friend Bill is a keen bird watcher and always pointing out this or that bird when we're out and about, so I will have to forward this site to him in case he hasn't seen it before.

Sunny and Spring-ish

It's been a quiet few days, but that's been fine with me, our lives get pretty busy, so I'm generally happy to take a break and take a look around. On Thursday, I noticed some fresh life coming up, but didn't have my camera with me. Today, not only was I cycling to The Hague to meet Aaron for a viewing of "Bolt" a new Disney animated film (which was terrific, very sweet and lots of laughs, I will be smiling over the hamster for weeks!), but it was sunny, so I remembered to bring the camera and found...

Suspicious patches of white, but not snow....Snowdrops!

Hooray! Growing things! Spring is coming!

However, it's still pretty brown overall, as may be seen in these views of the "Queen's Woods" or Haagsche Bos

Post-movie, we walked out of the Buitenhof cinema and were pleased to see the skies still blue and The Hague looking pretty; here's a view towards the Grote Kerk or "Big Church".

Inside the Binnenhof courtyard. This is where Parliament has its offices and its a great place to stroll or cycle through.

With parliament behind us, we walked across the Plein. I like the effect of the old, classic buildings bordering the square with the modern behind.

I came home to a beautiful sunset as seen from our balcony.

D.I.Y.

In an apartment the size of ours, there's a limit to how much we can put in it, or do to it. Today I had the excuse to add something new. Before Mike left, he asked if I could round up a car and go to IKEA and get him a small table (pre-selected by him) that he could use for paper grading. IKEA is very popular here, and is one of the large employers of ASH parents. The IKEA Concept Centre in Delft is special too as it frequently has items that you don't find at the regular stores. The Concept Centre is a, if not the, major corporate headquarters for the company and has a training college, hotel, and sundry other functions attached to it. It's pretty amazing.

So, while Mike's table is a regular catalogue item, it's still an interesting outing to spend an hour or so strolling through the merchandise. I found the car necessary (I can manage quite a lot on my bike, but after looking online at the packaging measurements and weight, I decided it would be much safer to just beg a ride from someone!), and the driver to go with. Aaron (of Kim and Aaron in Vienna at Christmas) is also spouse-less this week as Kim accompanied Mike as a chaperone on the trip to Tanzania.

We set off on the morning - not quite sunny, but cloud free - and arrived soon after opening to collect our various needs. I managed to stick to the list, only deviating when I saw toilet brushes and remembered we needed a new one, but still tucked away a few ideas for later. There was a nice area rug for a good price that might come in handy somewhere, and some other bits and pieces I have to think about. I'm working on my impulse buying!

We later enjoyed a nice lunch at Me Gusta, an Italian-deli sort of eatery here in Wassenaar. It's usually packed at lunchtime so we were happy to get a table and enjoyed our meal while getting caught up on one another's week alone at home. Now I'm home and getting ready to bust into the packaging and erect the new table. It will be enough construction to satisfy some obscure need in me to do things with a hammer and screwdriver every once in awhile and result in a useful piece of furniture.

Tonight will be quiet, some reading and watching the semi-finals of my BBC show "Masterchef" and keeping company with the cats. Mike is off on safari and I haven't had an update today, so I don't have any news on that front.

Biking Here, Biking There

I suppose since I said I was going to The Hague yesterday and ended up having a 3 hour nap instead, it only made sense that I should bike there twice today. I really did have every intention of going yesterday, but figured I'd have plenty of time once I'd caught a little cat nap. Anyone who has ever watched cats nap know there's nothing little about it - cats are professional nappers. Chloe and Elliot (but mostly Chloe) think when I lay down on the sofa that sleeping the entire afternoon is perfectly normal and so she hops up and keeps me company. I don't know what I'd do without such a good role model...wait a minute, yes I do, I'd get up and go to The Hague like I'd planned!!!

So yesterday was a bust but as it rained all day, I wasn't too upset that I stayed home and cozy - hey, I probably saved money too! So, today dawned, rainy of course, and since it's a Maroz day, I had no choice but to get on the bike and head down. Strictly speaking, his stable is not all the way in The Hague, but it's 3/4 of the way there, so I count it. We went for a nice long walk in the dunes (the rain stopped to allow this) to give him a break from the stable yard, and then I cycled home again.

A quick clean up and then I was off to meet some former work colleagues for dinner in Scheveningen. Since the quickest way there on a bike is to follow the dune path down, especially when the wind is not in your face, that's what I did. It's a great path since there are no motorized vehicles on it, and you only see the dunes, no sign of modern life - apart from the very nice bricked bike path the whole way there. There is also the visual appeal of an undulating landscape, something you miss anywhere else for miles around. I've mentioned before that I have a heavy bike, so this ride warmed me up and gave me a good appetite for dinner.

It was a lovely evening, we hadn't caught up properly since before Thanksgiving so we were overdue. I came home a different way, the dune path isn't lit at night and it quite remote so I prefer to go that way when there's a full moon and Mike is with me. I've been home now about 1/2 hour, so that's why this posting is arriving so late.

Mike and crew finished working on the classroom foundations this morning, made their last visit to the orphanage and tomorrow will set out on safari, to include: Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara National Park, the Snake Park (?), and Maasai Boma. There will also be time in Arusha at the local market. Sounds like a fantastic three days, although his text to me this morning said they were having "torrential rain". So much for me thinking I'd get some sympathy from him that it rained here for the past two days!

Bluster and Beaches

Looking south, towards Scheveningen - The Hague's beach area. If the photo is clicked to enlarge, it should be possible to see shapes of the city through the misty day

This gull only had one leg. At first we thought it had folded up the other, but then we watched it take off and there simply wasn't another leg to be seen!

Can you tell it's windy? The sand was looking very cool with the wind whipping it along just above ground level Looking north toward Katwijk and Nordwijk

Windy, and cold!

Here's Bill, bracing himself against the wind gusting at his back. We were glad to see the sea, but also glad to get inside!

Here's the photos from yesterday's walk on the beach with Bill. There were tons of people out, walking their dogs or just themselves on the beach. When we went into the little restaurant, just up on a dune next to the beach, there were lots of people there too! We had a bowl of soup and then freed up our table so someone else could enjoy it. About a 1/2 hour later, it started to rain and didn't stop all night long, so we timed our excursion well.

At the moment, it's gray, but the clouds are high and I don't think it's going to rain...but I've been wrong about that before! Still, I am headed down to The Hague this afternoon and might take in a movie after running a few errands.

Mike's text to me last night (after I wrote to him telling him his beloved Gonzaga University had won their basketball game on Saturday) said they were, "Just back from the cultural dancing and it was so awesome! Drums and singing. Powerful." I hope he got some photos and I can share them here on his return.

Sunday Random

Since Mike's away, I spent Valentine's Day quietly, doing some shopping around town, taking his bike into the shop for a service (we try to do this when we're going to be away since we need our bikes the rest of the time to get around), getting some paperwork organized and, for the coup de grace, watching several episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What could be more romantic? Buffy came to mind in the afternoon, after I'd spent some time buying some music I'd been thinking about on iTunes. One of the songs was performed in Season 6, Episode 7, the famous 'musical episode' of the series. Once that was in my head, I needed to watch the show to satisfy my memory about it. Of course, that lead to watching some others...

It was a beautiful day here yesterday, I could feel an almost expectant atmosphere among people as I walked around town and visiting the shops. Even though it's still cold, and forecast to remain that way only with rain over the next several days, I think this is the last prolonged burst of cold before winter's grip loosens for real. It's subtle, but it's there, and so the locals were reacting to it. The shop keepers were upbeat, people smiled at one another on the streets, and there was more spring in my step, if nowhere else.

The Dutch call the period of winter when people get 'down' or depressed, the Winter Dip. I think there are a number of locations that are guilty of bringing on this feeling, Seattle being another. It's where the winters are a heaviness that weighs down your spirits and this, combined with excessive darkness (whether due to clouds or your latitude) causes a mild depression in moods. I think the biking and running I do helps to offset this with the endorphins gained from exercising, but I can feel it lurking around the edges sometimes. I especially feel the need for hot sunshine on my skin and being able to walk barefoot without my toes curling away from the floorboards in shock.

Mike texted me yesterday saying that he wished me a Happy V-day and that he was "sweating like a pig, but enjoying the day" down in Tanzania. The temps there appear to be in the high 20s C (80s F) and yesterday was the first day of working on the foundations of a new classroom for a local school. Here is what is written on his itinerary:

"Community Service. This includes building foundations for 4 mornings and spending afternoons teaching at that school and / or interacting with kids at the local orphanage or helping out in other ways (reparis, helping staff, etc...). Also a visit to the school's village to talk with residents about how things are run can be arranged (this is interesting for those unfamiliar with the African way)."

I have no doubts they are having a wonderful, enriching time and can't wait to hear the stories on their return! For now, I need to get tidied up since our friend Bill is coming to keep me company for the afternoon - we're planning a prowl along the beach - and I'm still in my jams since I had a nice sleep-in this morning!

Friday, Friday.

After yesterday's post, today has been really uneventful. I cycled down to Maroz and was supremely pleased that the light rain that started did so when I was almost home so I was 98% dry rather than the opposite!

Maroz and I are having pretty uneventful visits these past couple of weeks, he has a skin problem on his back (similar to rain scald, but not caused because he's been kept wet or muddy), so we aren't riding him, only longeing, which gets tedious for us both. It looks like this will continue for another week or so before we find ourselves back out in the dunes and hopefully heading to the beach for a good gallop.

***

Mike has arrived safe and sound in Tanzania last night, along with the three other chaperones and twenty students. They flew much of yesterday and landed in the evening at Kiliminjaro Airport. Today they will visit the town of Moshe and get an introduction to the community service site they will be working at. I will try to put in updates of what they are doing and any news I get here.

It's really amazing what technology allows us to do. Not only can I share my life with family and friends (and people I've never met!), but Mike can send me a text message from his phone after arriving in AFRICA and I get it immediately (at least I assume I do!). It makes he and the group seem not quite so far away somehow. Interestingly, I can't text to U.S. mobile phones for some reason, I haven't heard anyone who can from Europe. Yet Africa is no problem! That could be due to Mike and I both belonging to a Dutch network, but I'm pretty sure he's been getting texts from the local man in Tanzania who is his contact, so that doesn't necessarily make sense. Maybe it's a security thing, one more result from 9-11?

***

I'm invited to dinner tonight in The Hague, it will be casual, so I will get an extra bike ride in today (the rain of earlier has cleared off...for now.).

There Should be a Club

All things considered, it's amazing I still have all my digits. I'm going to rant a little because I've just cut myself again. I guess it's not something you grow out of, but a little less frequency of inflicting damage to myself would be nice. I'm not as upset as I could be due to the gorgeous sunshine streaming in the window while I type, but it's still frustrating to be such a klutz. Today's adventure saw me trimming my rose on our balcony.

This poor rose threw up a branch at me the other day to say, "Help, I've got aphids!!!". Really. In February, after some of the coldest weather in recent history. Amazing. I started in on the spraying with dishsoap / water combo when I realized that the poor, deluded plant is also starting to leaf out....???? I thought I was confused. So rather than continue spraying the aphids, I decided to prune the rose instead in hopes of hacking off what the aphids are living on. I'm new to this, so I read up on the internet (where else?) all about 45 degree cuts, above outward facing buds, clean cuts being highly desirable.

Not wanting to wait, this meant I was in the kitchen, sharpening one of my kitchen knives (not a big one, just a paring knife...) rather than going out and buying a pair of clippers. Sigh. Can you see where this is going? It started fine, I was happily cutting off all the little shoots "smaller than a pencil" as instructed by my helpful web search, when the first (yes, this is a two part story) incident happened. Since we live overlooking the roof of a row of shops that extend from our building's bottom floor perpendicularly from our balcony, I tend to throw small clippings such as these down onto the roof (doing my part in greening the world?). Of course, since I am an idiot, I managed to throw a clipping and the knife off the balcony together.

Stunned disbelief.
Since I a) wanted to finish the job at hand and, b) wanted the knife back as it's part of a set, there was nothing else to do but retrieve it. Of course, it's noon, so there are lots of people out and about to watch this process, but I kept my head down and so remained oblivious to any stares. Luckily, we know the woman downstairs and one over from us, so we have a key to her house, allowing me to go through and climb over her balcony (which is only 1/2 meter or so above the roof, which begs why even bother with the balcony, but that's another story) on to the roof. I figured if I acted like I did this sort of thing all the time, I would look less foolish and retrieved the knife.

Back on my own balcony, I'm continuing with the job - poor rose! - and sawing away at the last, rather thick, branch. Since I needed some leverage on this one, I was cutting down, away from my body (not only leverage, but also having learned from past close calls as the knife slips and heads for various body parts). Unfortunately, I was holding the branch with my other hand a little too close to the action. Do I even need to continue writing at this point?

Obviously, the branch suddenly gave way, the knife kept going, and my right index finger (I'm left handed) got a good section of knife blade, sharp edge down, smacked along its length. The fact I knew this was going to happen didn't make my any less surprised when it did and I just stared at it, thinking, "Maybe it's not deep enough to bleed", when of course, it started to well up and in I go to fight with the bandage box one-handed.

Now I sit here typing and giving rueful glances down at the somewhat gory finger with three bandages wrapped around it. At least it still types!

Considering that I've only just stopped feeling the sting of last week's adventure with a knife (chopping garlic, snipping into the end of my thumb), this is getting tiresome. It's probably about time to try something instead of hurting myself with knives, next will be a bike wreck or Maroz stomping on my foot (the black mark from last time is still growing out of my big toenail).

I'll sign off with some photos from my pre-accident morning outside.

This is a bit bright, but gives some good "Dutch clouds" that are always so beautiful. Also visible at the left is part of the refuse disposal area and that's why it looks like a hill - just old trash. To the right of that, gates are visible and these are interesting because there are no fences, just a canal and the gate marks where a land 'bridge' has been put to enable movement of stock.

A local coot. These little buggers never seem to sleep (maybe that's why they have red eyes?) and so I'm awakened at all hours of the night by their piercing squawk. Not my favourite bird, but they're everywhere, so not much I can do about it!

Another canal shot, next to the marina in Wassenaar. Visible is a great looking sailing boat, as well as some tortured trees. I don't know why, but the trend here is to 'top' trees so they send up dozens of suckers that only require more trimming in a couple years. Natural shapes seem more pleasing to me.

A beautiful day (although snow is visible along the bike path here), bare branches, lovely clouds, and boats tidily lined up next to the marina entrance.

Topsy Turvy

Of course, this morning I awoke to clear skies, bright sunshine, and what appears to be low wind. Wouldn't you know it?! Oh well, I'm sure that experiences like yesterday's build character...or something.

Our living room is a bit chaotic at the moment. Mike has next week off of school - the February 'Break' being standard in many international schools, and is taking a group of 20 students to Tanzania for a service learning trip. As a result, he's packing and organizing his things and so the living room bears the brunt of all this. He will be accompanied by three other adults and they leave tomorrow morning, missing the final two days of school this week. Mike did this same trip last year and since the teacher-coordinator who had been in charge is retiring, she asked Mike if he'd be interested in taking over.

It's a tremendous experience for all involved, they fly into the town of Moshe (pronounced "Moe-shee"), located near Mt. Kiliminjaro. There is an international school there and that becomes their home base for the trip. While in Africa, they will be working several days at a local Tanzanian school, preparing the foundations for a new classroom to be built. That is the morning activity. In the afternoons, Mike's group will be visiting an orphanage and helping out in any way they are able, whether reading to the children or heavier work. The children at the orphanage are aged 0-5.

The last couple of days they have in the country will include camping on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater and then going down in on a photo safari. Mike's impressions of this from last year are still vivid and he said he'd never seen anything like it in his life. The variety of wildlife, the immensity of the Crater, and, in spite of many safari vehicles, the wildness of it all were amazing. His pictures showed everything from cheetah cubs with their mother, to hyenas resting after gorging on a buffalo carcass, to a sea of pink on a lake where flamingoes were resting. Truly a different world, and one which, thanks to his job here at ASH, he has the opportunity to visit.

I have a couple of last-minute purchases to make for him today, so I'll be outside in this lovely sunshine, but I'll be wishing for the warmth Mike'll be getting while in Africa! While he's off on his working adventure, I'm staying put, keeping warm with the cats and taking care of Maroz. I would love to visit Africa and do some of these things with him, but I prefer to wait until we can go for longer and set our itinerary with a bit more freedom. In the meantime, I will hope for his safe travels and that he brings back many new stories and photos for me to share!

Determination

I'm home again, though a little worse for the wear. I needed to go see Maroz (Tuesday being a regular day for this) and since there is only one viable option for getting there, I kitted up in rain gear and headed down on my bike.

Before I continue, I realize that I haven't properly introduced my bike, and since it is a fairly constant feature in these postings, let me correct that lapse. Here it is:
"Gazelle" is a popular Dutch brand of bicycle, and mine is now 1 1/2 years old. It has 8 speeds, disk brakes, shocks on the front forks and seat, and a battery-free, automatic headlight.
It is heavier than two of my mountain bike (which I'm told is a tank), so pedaling up hills is a real pain. Luckily, there are few hills other than in the dunes, but cycling with the wind is another matter. (Some days, I think the only thing keeping me on the ground in strong wind is the weight of this bike!) If the wind is behind me, all is great, I often wonder why the bikers going the other way look so miserable and go so slowly. Then I turn a corner and realize that the wind has been an ally up to now.

That's what happened on my trip down to the stable, the wind was a suggestion, but I had a feeling that would change. It was raining also, so it was just as well I'd taken the time to put on all the waterproof stuff. I saw, the longer I was at the stable, the more the rain looked like it was mixing with snow, which told me that it was colder than I'd thought on the ride down. Hmmm. Well, I couldn't hide out at the stable all day, but I was in no way looking forward to my return journey - the only positive factor being that home waited with dry clothes and hot showers!

Sighing inwardly, I set out. The first thing I realized is that the wind is blowing in a gusty way, so there is no regular force to lean into, but one that lets up and swirls around to buffet you from a new direction. Ick. The second thing I realized was that the semi-frozen rain hurt while it was being flung into my face. So I put my head down and just mentally told myself it would be an upleasant 25 minute ride home. It was, especially since 1/2 there, my boots gave up being waterproof (and I'm using that term with a lot of irony) and so my feet began getting colder and wetter. By the end of the ride, I felt like they were enclosed in two little water balloons.

I also noticed as I slogged along, that the air was perfumed with a smell not unlike rotten eggs or sewage. Oh great, have we had so much rain that now the sewers are backing up? Or is it just the canal slime getting stirred up and rising to the surface (trust me, that really stinks). Hard to say, but it kind of suited the whole mood of the ride. My one ray of light was that my bike didn't break down or get a flat, then forcing me to push it the rest of the way home (remember the water balloons?). Arriving back at our apartment building, I wheeled my trusty steed into the lobby where it lives and realized the final indignity, my rain trousers are losing integrity...in the seat. Sigh (outwardly this time). So, I got upstairs, feeling like a child that couldn't quite make it to the facility in time and decided to begin my day all over again.

This means I am now sitting in flannel jammie bottoms, turtleneck, and drinking hot tea. At least I'm home, something the cats clearly wonder why I'd ever leave in the first place. I'm beginning to wonder too! By the way, Hallie, I know you're laughing at this, so I just hope you get landed with a few more freckles as a result of the warm sunshine you'll be in next week! There, sweet revenge...or not.

From this, you can see the overhang in front of our kitchen window; it's about 1 1/2 meters deep. That means the rain hitting the glass halfway up is really getting blown around.

What this photo doesn't show is the 45 degree slant to the rain, as well and the snowflakes mixed in and the gusts that probably make it more of 55 degrees of slope...bleh!

Good Intentions

I truly did mean to post something yesterday, but in the end I just...forgot to. It wasn't even that yesterday was such a busy day, after all, Sundays shouldn't be busy, but that Mike and I just sort of lazed away the late afternoon / evening and I awoke this morning and realized I'd already broken my resolution of writing something every day. Oh well, I'll start again today and see how long I make it!

Of course, I also awoke this morning telling myself I needed to get out for a run, since that didn't happen yesterday either. I was dressed in the appropriate gear, then sat down to check a couple of things on the computer and.... Next thing I knew, I was hungry and that put an end to any plans of outdoor activity. Rats! I did manage an epically long, hot shower, so I feel good about that...but I suppose it doesn't count, not really. May I just say in defense of long, hot showers, I love the fact that we, and most of Europe, have hot water on demand. What that means precisely is that there is always hot water, even if you have 10 people showering ahead of you, the water will be as piping hot as if you were the first person in. I really don't think I can ever return to hot water tanks and that horrible feeling when you realize the water is beginning to cool off and you still have to rinse your hair. Ugh. And Brrr!

I'm next off to the grocery store, since it's not open in our little town on Sundays and we are short of staples. I really try not to shop on Saturdays because that's when everyone is shopping and the store is a zoo. Sometimes I don't make it in on Fridays either due to being with Maroz at the stable, so by today, we usually need things from the dairy and bread sections at least. It's also laundry day, so my radiators will be festooned with drying clothes soon (the washing machine is in its final throes of spinning - sounding like a jet preparing to take off). We actually do have a clothes dryer, but I hate how much energy it uses - please don't mention the irony of this comment vis-á-vis my long shower energy useage, I make choices in my life - and the radiators dry the clothes faster anyway and they are already 'on', keeping me and the cats warm on winter days.

There likely won't be much biking, if any, today, since many shops are closed on Monday due to being open on Saturday, so I'll have to go for a walk or something to get some exercise in. Not the best start to a new week, but I have every expectation that it will still be a good one! I leave you will a couple of cat photos I took the other day when they were looking particularly cat-like.

Chloe finds sunny corners like this and then lines up all four feet in the most precise way. From her look, she seems to be daring me to question why that would be anything but normal.

Clearly, Elliot thought I might have some food I'm about to drop to him, if you listen carefully, you'll hear him asking in a not-so-subtle way.

Continuing sunny

Happily, the mellow weather from yesterday afternoon didn't completely disappear during the night. It didn't get as warm today, but the sun was out and not too much wind for our runs or our ride up to Leiden this afternoon. I notice the bird life seeming more numerous, certainly the cow pastures along where we run have a lot of swans. The swans stay here all winter but they seem to be looking more like settling in preparation for cygnets arriving in the spring. We have a couple of mating pairs that we've observed over the years and it's nice to see them continuing to produce offspring; I think one pair had nine young last year, those parents have to be pretty good watchers with that many!

Our bike ride to Leiden was uneventful, though we did see a couple photo-worthy items, so Mike used his phone and took the following shots. Enjoy and may your weekends be sunny too!

Click on the photo so it gets bigger and you will see a cute little pony getting its exercise.

Who knew my bikes' tires were so big, but the shadow seems to indicate I'm on one of those turn of the last century two-wheelers!

This is a nice area for biking, walking, jogging, horse riding, etc., no motorized vehicles other than the occasional scooter goes through here.

Just a random canal in Leiden, but someone's going to have a hard time getting their boat mobile again!

A Hint of Spring?

I wouldn't have thought so this morning, because when I got up it was raining, pretty heavily, and the temp was just above freezing. Biking down to the stable to take care of Maroz had me reasonably bundled up, but the bike ride warmed me up and the rain had stopped, so I was feeling pretty good. Good became better because I ended up with no hat or gloves for the ride home - I was just too warm with them on! When I had cleaned up, had a quick bite and headed back out, I was amazed at the softness in the air. It was a feeling like the cold had been making a fist and today it got a cramp and just had to stretch and opened right up.

The softness could almost be considered warmth as the sun was out too and the temps were up to 9 C (50 F). What a change in one day! It really had me studying the ground, looking for the first crocus coming up, because that will mean that the Netherlands is about to explode with flowers everywhere, and that is really something to look forward to! I know I haven't been taking photos lately, it's just been so gray that I haven't had the urge, but when the flowers start, I will be sure to post LOTS of pictures. I've even seen daffodils growing in the middle of horse pastures, the flowers, especially those from bulbs, are prolific, to say the least.

Mike and I have a relaxed Friday evening scheduled, leftovers from our nice dinner last night - which was a success - and watching several episodes of House M.D. We are in Season II and still in the thrall of this show, so we are doing some marathon tv watching these winter evenings. Tomorrow will be a Leiden day, Mike loves rugby (played in university) and something called the "6 Nations Cup" (or something) starts tomorrow. We will meet up with a Canadian / Australian couple to watch two (groan) games and get caught up socially. For your information, I always offer to sit with my back to the television since I wouldn't want to take away from anyone who cares the experience of the game!

Let's just hope the weather continues soft and sweet for our ride up and back tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure we'll be packing our rain gear. Just in case.

A Blog a Day..

As far as the title of today's post goes, I figure if I write it down, maybe I'll get better at doing it! Whether it keeps the Doctor or anyone else 'away', is yet to be determined. If I am less random about my postings, maybe it'll allow me to get more of the same randomness out of my head and leave room for the really good thoughts - whatever those may be!

The result of this will be some days where the posting will comprise drivel of the worst sort - is there a good sort of drivel? Oh dear, I've just checked the dictionary and here's what it has to say:

drivel |ˈdrivəl|
noun
silly nonsense : don't talk such drivel!
1 talk nonsense: he was driveling on about the glory days.
2 archaic let saliva or mucus flow from the mouth or nose; dribble.

Well. I like the silly nonsense, it indicates a bit of irreverence, but let's move right past the archaic form of the word!

Today will see me charging around a bit as I coordinate grocery shopping with house tidying in preparation for dinner guests. I know what I need to get accomplished, and thank goodness it's not raining since there's nothing less fun than biking around in the rain and going in and out of shops with ever increasing bags hanging off your arms - can't leave the shopping on the bike like you can with a car after all.

Our guests tonight are a fun and stimulating group, my former head of department (International Relations) from Webster University in Leiden, who is a wonderful man, his partner, and Mike's colleague and head of department (Social Studies) from ASH. The latter's hubby is skiing in France, so she's at a loose end, and while she hasn't met Leonard and Fanny, I have a feeling all will spark well and conversation will be stimulating. In true expat fashion, Leonard is South African, Fanny is Dutch, and Marilyn is American (but who grew up with a military family and lived all over). It's part of the fun of being here, all the mixing of nationalities that goes on.

Mike and I have really come to appreciate that and feel very much at home since we were both raised outside of our home cultures (I realize that this year will see the tipping point for me living more years of my life outside the U.S.A. than in). There is even a special term for 'folks like us', it's called being a Third Culture Kid, and so being creates a bond between others with the same background, regardless of their home culture or where they were raised. It's an interesting topic, at least for Mike and I, and Mike's school really uses the theories when welcoming new students as well as when saying good-bye to those moving on (About 20% of the student body moves on every year).

So we're looking forward to tonight, no doubt there will be some great conversation and thought provoking discussion. On the food front, I'm making a curried butternut squash with honey soup which I've made a few times and which gets good reviews, spinach pie (only with phyllo dough instead of pie crust), Caesar salad, and pears, port, and Stilton cheese for after. Due to some dietary restrictions in the group, I am going kosher and vegetarian in the preparation.

And now, if the shopping is to get done, I need to be on my way!

Breakfast leavings

I'm proud to report that I've finally taken a load of compost to the dump / recycling / compost centre. For a reason I haven't investigated (yet), our building does not have curbside compost pickup like individual houses do around here. So it's up to an individual to a) throw everything away, or b) haul the compost to the refuse centre oneself. I'm one of those people that likes to think that everyone knows that I need something done and so some nice soul will step forward and make an offer to do a disagreeable task for me. Strangely, this happens less often than you would expect. Maybe I need to work on my heavy sighing.

In the winter, it's easy to put off taking the compost away because it's cold out and so the stuff doesn't smell. However, since we have a narrow-ish walkway to our front door, and the compost receptacle sits where anyone coming to our house gets to see it (although it is in a discreet little bin next to our regular garbage), it does need taking away regularly. It adds up more quickly than I'd have thought, I guess it's from all the fruit I go through when I make my breakfast smoothie. It gets heavy too!

I've considered various ways of making this more convenient for myself, even to the point of seriously thinking of lurking near the windows, waiting til I see the compost truck coming along and collecting all the neighbours' green wheelie bins full of compost, then running like mad, arms full of my compost bin, and asking them to pretty-please take it away with them. Somehow, my pride has not allowed me to try this.

So today, I packed down two bags, loaded them in my bicycle panniers, and off I went. Considering it's only a 5 - 6 minute ride, and there is little traffic to interfere with my journey, you wouldn't think it would be such a big deal. I was a little worried since it snowed a little yesterday afternoon and it looks kind of slick out that I might hit an icy patch and go sailing. The visual of myself in the middle of the street, compost all over me (because of course the panniers would rupture and the stuff would break out of its containment), while cars, bikers, and pedestrians looked on in amazement. That really didn't bear thinking about, but it sure kept me watching the road for ice and turning corners somewhat more slowly than normal!

Once at the refuse centre I don't even have to speak Dutch, something I can do in a pinch, but not too gracefully, since I cycle up, gesture to the man in the shed where I'm headed and continue on. What's kind of sad is the pile of kitchen leavings that looks so big to me at home (at least when faced with cycling it somewhere), once deposited on the communal heap, pales to insignificance. What's the big deal? Since I have just returned from doing all this, I can honestly ask myself that question. However, I know that when the next time comes, in just a couple weeks, I'll be working on my heavy sighs again! It's that or quit eating fruit and vegetables. And eggs. And drinking tea. Hmmm.