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.