Harvest

It seems like we’ve been doing a lot of celebrating the past few weeks. We spent a great evening over in the garden to celebrate the fall harvest. We’ve been loading up on berries, pears, and apples. We’ve got so much fruit that I’m thinking of bringing the apple-press over from the states for next year. There are still a few straggling zucchini’s, but we’ll have to wait another few weeks for the last of the veggies - the beets and Brussel sprouts.

























Beth was late (as usual) for the picnic and got locked out of the volkstuin by this medieval fashioned gate. I guess that they really, really don’t want people coming in to steal the vegetables.




















Hip young Dutch girl tries to teach old bald white guy how to rap….technically challenged wife tries to take picture.

Beth and I also celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary - nothing so exotic as last year in Singapore - and her 41st birthday with a quiet evening at home on Saturday night. Sorry, those pictures are posted only on the site for paying members.

September Summer and Grape Pie

Talk about extremes - this past July was the driest and hottest on record here in North Holland and August was one of the coolest and wettest. Now that September has rolled around the weather has settled into the “perfect” category with warm sunny days and crisp cool nights to usher in our favorite season. It’s a time for candles and wine, uncrowded beaches, fire pots on the terrace, and long walks in crunchy woods.



Friday evening we went over to our good friends Frank and Natasja for Tapas and catching up after their extended August holidays down in Spain. Frank and I also finally got to see the famous “Naked Cowboy”. The girls had made such a fuss about it when they saw him on Times Square in New York, but I have to say that I was a bit disappointed when I saw him in the movie. I always knew that Beth had a thing for Western PA machine shop kind of guys, but Natasja?

Saturday was a Renaissance Festival in central Haarlem. It was interesting to see this type of festival in a setting that was really here during the Renaissance. We had fun, but it just wasn’t what we’re used to for a Ren-Fest. I know that this will sound terrible - the real ugly American, but I like the Festivals back in the states better. The self contained villages that they’ve set up in PA or MD, the roasted turkey legs and beer, the jousting, and the shows are all much more festive than the real thing over here. Maybe we’ll try one of the bigger ones in France or Germany next year.

On Sunday we biked to the beach under perfect skies to soak up some sun. People were already disassembling their beach huts and covering them with tarps until the trucks come around to haul them back into storage. The beach bars will remain until early October, then they’ll be cleared out as well leaving the empty beaches for us locals and our dogs.

And Sunday evening was grilled salmon and grape pie on the back terrace with our good friend Esther. I made the salmon….Esther made the pie. It looks delicious, doesn’t it? When we all dug in, Beth and I looked up from our bowls, making subtle eye contact across the table and trying very hard to keep straight faces. Lucky for us, it was Esther who let out the first hardy “Oh my god!” with puckered lips and twisted neck. None of us have laughed that hard for a very, very, long time. Thanks Esther!

Hell-week in Holland

Damn! 16+ million is a lot of people for this little corner of Europe!

This week is tweener week, when most Dutch are back from their sunny holidays in Spain, France, and the Greek Isles but have not yet returned to work and school and their normal scheduled lives. It is the absolute worst time of the year to be in Holland.

Beth and I have been working (or not) remote for four years now and have gotten a bit spoiled by not having to participate in the daily 9-5 grind. The “not driving” part was a no brainer for us to quickly appreciate. Boise’s traffic hadn’t been all that bad, I actually used to bike to work , but after two years in Washington DC’s car oriented drive-me-to-the-next-strip-mall culture, we were more than happy to leave the suburban commuter lifestyle as far behind as possible.

But this week in Holland makes me appreciate the other beneficial aspects of working (or not) at home. Most days I almost enjoy grocery shopping or running an errand downtown to pick something up. I certainly enjoy the way that I have the bike paths through the dunes to myself or can walk in the dog parks knowing that only the ‘regulars’ will be there. I usually do all of these things before 5:00 PM because I know that once everyone gets off of work, it can be too much of a hassle or too crowded.

Welcome to hell-week. It’s a free-for-all out there and it ain’t a pretty sight. Screaming, hopped-up kids savoring their last week of freedom, stressed (although tanned) parents trying to cram a summer’s worth of shopping and home-improvement projects into five days, and woefully understaffed shops (hey, they get vacation too!) all combine to make life miserable here this week.

I can’t wait until everyone returns to work and I can finally relax.