Happy Valentine's Day...

It probably isn't a surprise that I'm not much of a romantic and think Valentine's Day is basically another Hallmark holiday. Maybe that's why I couldn't resist sending y'all this free Boomerang postcard that I found at Bagels & Beans in Den Haag. Could you imagine your local bagel restaurant having this on a rack outside the restroom? In fact, this one is fairly tame; there was one postcard that I picked up for a friend that I'll be mailing in a plain brown envelope. Anyways, hope you're having a day full of love and bagels.

Dutch Food News...

* According to a recent article in Dutch News, as much as 1/3 of Dutch fast-food snacks such as frikandellen, kroketten and burgers may contain horse meat. Students at Wageningen University, which specializes in life sciences, analyzed 286 meat-based snacks and found horse in 32% of them.

* Apparently, Valencia isn't the only place into rabbits. Dutch animal rescue groups stopped giving away rabbits to people who phoned up in December looking to take over an unwanted pet since rabbit is a traditional Dutch Christmas delicacy.

Dutch Beer News...

* A Dutch pet shop owner has launched a non-alcoholic beer for dogs called "Kwispelbier," which means wagging tail. She worried her dog felt left out after they'd go hunting and she'd pop a cold one, so she found a brewery to make her own brew of beef extract and malt. As an extra bonus, it's safe for humans (although it costs 4 times more than a Heineken) -- mmm, over-priced beef-flavored beer.

* Freddy Heineken, the man who turned around Heineken brewery after taking over in 1941, didn’t like the stuff himself, according to a biography recently published. So what was the beer magnate’s favorite drink? A weak whiskey. Conveniently, his wife was from a Kentucky family of bourbon whiskey distillers.

Reflecting on Winter...

Every season around here seems to break new records thanks to global warming. This winter has been the warmest and wettest in history (although low 40's with a major windchill is hardly warm). We were thrilled to see our first snow this week although there was only enough to build the above snowmouse before the yard turned to mush. Some things I've learned this winter:

* Every bike ride is an adventure since you never know if you'll have a tailwind, headwind or knock-you-off-the-road wind.

* You never have to brush your hair because if it's not buried under a hat, it'll be completely windblown anyways.

* It's OK if you can't find your umbrella or your sunglasses. With all this wind, umbrellas are totally useless. And you won't need your sunglasses since the sun only comes out a few times a month.

* You'll come to appreciate freezing temperatures and snow. Having tears from the cold beats a face full of windy rain.

* Any guilt about spending the big bucks on Goretex won't last long. You'll be thankful for dry feet and upper body, and will eventually get used to having wet legs.

A Piece of History...

According to a plaque in our front yard, the home we're renting was bombed 62 years ago today. I recently visited one of my Dutch neighbors and she shared with me the above photo that she received from one of the original occupants who lived here during World War II. She said that the British were trying to slow down the Germans by collapsing the nearby train bridge and missed. Our unit is the one on the far left. While the damage appears to be just on the facade, sadly the freestanding home to the left of our building was destroyed killing 3 children.

A Little Kick's All it Took...

Ashlynn had been wondering for weeks when she'd finally lose her first tooth. She'd recently been having problems eating apples, but refused my offer to buy her baby food. As she and Veronica attempted to crawl into my bed early this morning for hugs, Ashlynn's mouth made contact with Veronica's foot (it was clearly an accident although Ashlynn still says Veronica kicked her) and her tooth fell out. Luckily she caught it and scrambled off the bed before dripping blood all over. Now she's having fun with her new straw hole. That'll teach her to try to wake me up.

Hungry for a Yummy Fried Snack?

The Dutch love fried food and, I confess, some of it is hard to resist. It's common to see stands selling paper cones over-
flowing with friets (fries) smothered in curry ketchup or mayo. At the market, we often lunch on loempias (Filipino egg rolls). During the Christmas season, kiosks are set up selling Belgian waffles and olie-
bollen, which are deep fried balls of dough rolled in powdered sugar that help warm us up on cold winter days. While I'm guilty of partaking in these unhealthy snacks, I'll definitely pass on the infamous Frikadel, which is popular in the train stations sold through heated automats. When I asked a Dutch hasher what was in them as he was preparing to shove one in his mouth, he said anything not good enough to be in sausage such as a combination of pork, beef, chicken, and horse brains and testicles. Doesn't that just make your mouth water?