Finally, A Real Hand Dryer...

I’d like to take a moment to talk about hand dryers. They’re everywhere in Europe, but sadly rarely actually dry hands. It always makes me wonder what the salepeople could possibly say to get businesses to waste their money on machines that just blow air without drying anything. Why not just put a wet towel next to the sink since it would do the same job? After drying my hands on my trousers all over Europe, I was truly happy to come across this machine, the Dyson Airblade. While I imagine it’s pretty expensive, it claims to use less electricity  than conventional dryers and fully dries hands in just 10 seconds. We loved it so much when we used it in a restaurant in Switzerland that we had to take photos. Here’s hoping to see these spread all over the world.

A Real Oven...

While we were excited to have a larger frig when we moved into our new house (still small compared to US standards), we weren’t too thrilled about the size of the oven, which is the same size as a US microwave. It is nice that as a convection oven it cooks faster, but that also means it burns faster. To make matters worse, the cooktop is tiny. So it was only a matter of time that we got fed up and had to upgrade.
Luckily, our kitchen is large by Dutch standards and there was space for a nice big gas stove and oven. We had to pay to run the gas line, but didn’t want to pay to add extra ventilation. That means turning on the fan over the other stove and opening a window (not very efficient in the cold winter!), but at least Jimmy can make pizzas again.

A New Potential Monk?

Clearly this isn’t a recruiting center for future monks as I’d never qualify (for obvious reasons beyond my lack of a vital body part). Instead, this was part of an event planned by the International Women’s Club to a small museum in The Hague called the Meermanno. The morning started with a tour of an exhibit of Rhyming Bibles from the 14th and 15th centuries (translated from Latin, these were the first bibles in Dutch.) The intricate paintings made by monks called illuminations were truly beautiful. We then went into a room for a calligraphy lesson; my name turned out fine until I tried to get fancy and my decoration smudged. Lastly, we met with the curator of the Museum of the Book to see some examples of books from the 19th century to the present. Overall, a very enlightening day.

More Strange Sights in Utrecht...

We spent so long at the fashion exhibition that there was no time left to explore Utrecht (the downside of doing school pick-up is that I’m frequently rushing to catch a train). However, we did see two interesting things. At top is a trash canal boat. Since we’d never seen one before, they might not be in use too much these days, but probably was a trend of the past. The other is a photo of a place that I’m hoping isn’t a trend for the future--a cigarette store. Rather than being a newsstand that also sells cancer sticks, it’s a cancer stick store that also sells magazines. In the small letters under the name is: Smoking is Deadly.

You Don’t Have to Understand to Enjoy...

As much as we enjoyed the wild fashion at the Viktor & Rolf exhibition, we also enjoyed the intricacies of the exhibition itself. Above is a 3-story dollhouse featuring a doll wearing each outfit that was also shown on a full-sized mannequin in other rooms. There were staircases on either end to allow views from above. This clearly was an awful lot of effort to highlight these two gentlemen’s work. 
This theme was the Flowerbomb highlighting the contrast between black and pinks. I wondered if the motorcycle helmets were to allow skinny, yet unattractive models have a chance to walk the catwalk.

Looking for a New Fashion Style?

While reading an airline magazine, some photos caught my attention and drew me to go to an exhibition of the works of today’s most famous Dutch fashion designers. Sally and Darlene came along with me to Centraal Museum in Utrecht to see The House of Viktor & Rolf. While we’re definitely fashion-challenged, we could still thoroughly enjoy seeing and laughing at haute couture. The exhibition featured outfits from catwalk shows from the last decade with videos playing of the shows in Paris and Milan. Can’t imagine what the model must have thought when she discovered that she’d be wearing her own lighting system while wearing stiletto clogs. Wearing a comforter coat, bedsheet dress and pillow hat would seem mild in comparison.

Our Little Pianist...

After having an introduction to playing the piano this summer at my dad’s, Veronica started taking piano lessons at school. With the hope that she might really have some natural talent like both of her grandfathers, we bit the bullet and bought a piano. Rather than get a beginner keyboard, we took the plunge and bought a full-size Yamaha. Luckily we don’t have to suffer when she’s struggling with a new piece since she can put on headphones and practice in silence. Mostly, I’m actually enjoying listening to her as she tries to figure out how to play some of her favorite music from Phantom of the Opera and Titantic. 

What a Team!

February 3rd was an exciting day as At Home in Holland, the newcomer’s guide of the American Women’s Club, was released at an official book launch at Den Haag’s city hall. Somehow Susanne, the editor and event organizer, convinced me to be the MC. I’d never done anything like this before and while I’d memorized my speech (introducing the mayor, the highest diplomat from the US embassy, the Guatemalan Ambassador, Susanne and an auctioneer from Christie’s), my mind went completely blank when I stood behind the podium. Luckily, I was able to pull it off and everything went smoothly.
Terri, Susanne and I were absolutely beaming when the launch was over. We worked together fantastically as an editorial team over the last 6 months and became good friends in the process. We’re so pleased with how the book turned out. It cracked us up that some ladies actually asked us to sign their copies. It was a great way to celebrate all our hard work.

More Ice to Play On...

The duck pond was the closest place to skate, but the family decided to venture a little further to see what else was available. This pond is actually around a preschool and had a larger skating surface. Here Veronica shows how thick the ice is. The following day, Ashlynn went to a birthday party at an outdoor skating rink. Jimmy and Veronica tagged along to skate on the even larger pond at the shopping center. They tromped into the woods in their skates to find impromptu hockey sticks and puck (a bottle worked just fine). These Southerners were definitely in their element. Sadly, the ice started melting the next day as it warmed up and the rains and wind returned. 

Can’t Resist a Frozen Canal...

Jimmy and the girls were thrilled to be able to skate on natural ice for the first time in their lives. They couldn’t pass up the chance to skate on a canal even if it meant going under a low bridge. While they were alone on this particular canal, they weren’t alone in the global sense. Skaters were on canals all over the country. I heard that 1 million pairs of skates were sold in just 3 weeks! Check out this great photo from the International Herald Tribune. Unfortunately, we missed watching the big skating marathon (36 miles for the ladies and 60 miles for the men) which was held for the first time in 12 years.

Fun on the Duck Pond...

Strangely, we were happy to see that the temperature had dropped when we returned to Holland. (However, we weren’t happy to discover that the heater in our house had stopped working. Luckily our landlord was able to get it just warm enough to cope before the repairman came the next day.) The bright side about the dropped temperature was that the winds had died, the skies were blue, and there was hardly any black ice so we could still cycle to school (although, I now know that even bundled up, it’s miserable to be on a bike when it’s 18°.)  Best of all, the canals and ponds were frozen. The poor ducks have been displaced from the pond in our neighborhood as skaters took it over. Looks like someone took advantage of being able to walk to duck island to trim the trees. 

Oops...Wrong Blade!

I admit it--I like Jimmy’s hair short. Perhaps it’s because he was still getting military buzzcuts when I met him. He’s found a good barber here, but usually goes too long between cuts due to a lack of time. We figured we’d found the answer when I bought a used electric trimmer from a friend who was moving. My first haircut went amazingly well. The next few did, too. He had to remind me the correct order of which blade to use (apparently that fish oil isn’t helping my memory after all), but I seemed to be getting the swing of things. Or maybe not. The last haircut was turning out great up until the last step, when I zigged instead of zagged and the bottom turned out jagged (and too short to correct.) Even worse, last weekend I went up instead of down and left a giant bald spot. Luckily Jimmy has a good sense of humor and his hair grows quickly. Besides, he can’t see the back of his head, but now you can. Guessing I won’t be opening up a barber shop anytime soon!