So, 43 is off to a hectic start. The very good news is that my age finally matches my European shoe size. However, that doesn’t mean that it makes it any easier to find shoes in my size here 😉

The birthday itself was a big mix of emotions. The workshops that I gave took a lot out of me, partially because so much of the feeling in the room was rather fatalistic. Little Caroline and I had our work cut out for us. More than once, we crossed the line into tough love messaging 😉 Ironically enough, the feedback that we have received is that our sessions were very inspiring – which makes me think that maybe we should take this show on the road… or maybe our audience had lower standards than we expected!

Friday night, it was dinner out at Merkelbach .This was so lovely. I had asked for vegan ahead of time and they did an amazing job. Unfortunately, the gardens were not open to dine in. However, we made the most of the evening and stayed til close.

Saturday was much warmer weather and time to take the dogs to the Albert Cuyp market and wander a bit. We then sat on a terrace for a couple of hours in this hidden little square about four blocks from the house. It was a good thing that we made the most of Saturday because it rained ALL DAY Sunday.

Then last night, it was Mumford & Sons at the Ziggo Dome. It was a great show – even better musically than last year when I saw them in Chicago with the siblings. It was the first time GG had seen them and I like to think that another fan was made 😉

Over the weekend, I got some very sad news about a friend of mine. Her mother has passed. I was shocked when I read it because it seemed so fast, like such a short time ago we were talking about her sickness for the first time. The only comfort I can give is that the love doesn’t end, ever.

Work is CRAZY. Tomorrow I am in Rotterdam and then Eindehoven. Thursday again in Rotterdam and I have a ton of stuff to do to prepare for those days. I will be really glad when it is 1 July 😉

Oh, and I am still tracking down the most important part of the terrace furniture, the box that contains the sit part. Supposedly now we are going to try to have it delivered on Thursday instead…