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…

The day before yesterday, there was a letter that the city would be blocking off our street for the next 24-48 hours because there were 5 trees found to be infected by a very nasty tree disease that is terribly contagious. I have a feeling that it was Dutch Elm disease. Normally this is something that you send in an arborist for and they take care of it. Well, there’s a slightly different angle here. All of the houses on a block are connected to each other. And in the middle is an open space – the inner garden or binnentuin. There’s no access to this place from the street.

So, if you have to cut down five fairly large trees, in an enclosed garden, how exactly are you going to get everything out? Like this…

It was super cool to watch. They were very efficient and were done by yesterday afternoon so today the street was back to normal with the smell of sawdust still in the air.

In the mail today came a birthday card from my dad. It is one of those musical cards that when you open them, it plays a tune. It features a dancing chihuahua and the boys were very, very interested in what was happening.

Tomorrow I am standing before the class again, this time for people who have been looking for work for a while. It promises to be fun. I am a little nervous because there will be a lot of people there and I don’t know much of their backgrounds. It will be fine, I have recruited some of my coworkers to come down and give a few minutes of their time to talk about exciting development topics.

I have a few things to finish before tomorrow, so off I go 🙂

It is hard to believe, but once again it is the 17th of May. The youngest brother is now officially (let me do the math) 38. A few more years and his European shoe size will match his age 😉

Here’s what I associate with our youngest brother: brains bordering on the frightening, crack bowling skills, the ability to locate by using types of restaurants as coordinates, the guy that can get a group of strangers to not only tell him about their lives but also invite him to eat their bar snacks (watching this in action is amazing – the Great Snack Swindle), the one who talks things out and of course, the bait that landed us Meredith as a family member.

Rupert is my brother that I can spend the most time with in conversation and silence. Although, there’s not much of that when he is around. He’s the brother that is really useful to have around for when fun is on the agenda, his inner clown makes that readily apparent. He’s the brother that you can walk for hours with and if you give him a beer or two, he handles the cycling in Amsterdam pretty well. In our family, he is also the one that isn’t shy about saying when one of us is being an asshat or when we need to calm down. I think this expertise is developed out of the fact that he used to be the one winding us up as kids. We were convinced that no one had a younger brother like Rupert. I think we were probably right!

My mom used to tell us not to give him an audience, that we would only make it worse. Yeah, and she was right. But how could we resist paying attention to the kid that was always acting up – in the sense that he didn’t think he needed anyone to tell him what to do. I know from conversations years later, she would have to walk away because she had just as much trouble not laughing. The gift of laughter that Rupert gave my mom is one of the reasons he will always be in (mostly) good graces with me.

Since we won’t be seeing each other next month, I miss you even more this time of year, Rupert. And I am glad that growing up, you had the good sense to like cheesecake for those years we shared birthday cakes. I know I wanted you to be a sister and have the name Rose and you didn’t turn out that way. And I know I screamed at Mom when I got the news over the phone to take you back and exchange you for a sister. I have to say, I have a pretty big spot in my heart for you, Rupinder. I can’t wait to see you again and share stories, pizza, beer and all the resulting digestive sounds that go with those kind of nights with you.

Happy Birthday, Rupert 🙂

DPD might have something to deliver to me today! Terrace furniture! I have been checking their tracking site this morning and my stuff is at the Amsterdam Parcel sorting center so will it escape there today and make it to my house? I hope so!!! Otherwise it won’t be until Tuesday since Monday is a holiday.

That would be really nice to have it for the weekend, even if the weather isn’t super deluxe. I don’t have any doubts that the pets won’t be trying it out right away especially as a place to bake in the sun.

I’ve got a meeting this afternoon that I can’t do from home so hopefully, DPD is here before then *fingers crossed*.

I didn’t have banjo this week because Paul has been touring with the headlining act of the bluegrass festival and he needed a day off. Not a big deal but it made me realize how long my fingernails have gotten this week. Definitely in need of a banjo manicure. Maybe over the weekend. First the rest of the yardening 🙂

Wednesday night, on our terrace dinner date, we took the boys. Dogs are allowed here in restaurants. The boys were very good, eventually sitting in their chair and accepting attention from everyone that walked past our table. It was a fun evening with friends. 🙂 And despite all the smells that surrounded them, the boys did not beg and they only barked a few times when there was a passing dog. I think we might do that again one night, since they can be trusted. That’s also when I took a moment to be so very thankful that we are getting to have these sorts of experiences in our collective life!

I won tickets to the movies on Sunday so if the weather isn’t great, that’s a good way to get over it! Other than that, there’s a food truck festival, a long weekend and potluck picnic and who knows what else? Oh yes, and time with GG 🙂

Okay, it is 930, which means I have had my coffee break and back into the work world I go… Have a good weekend!

I have been thinking about writing since last night so I know that if I am going to be productive today, I will need to get this out of my head and onto the virtual page. This is one of those moments where it is good to know how your inner madness works 😉

I finished reading Oorlogswinter last night. Which is no doubt directly responsible for the dreams I had. Oorlogswinter is significant in that it is a book over the occupation in WWII from the perspective of a 16 year old boy. It is also mandatory reading for every high school student. I came across the book because one of the clerks at my Bruna knows I am working on my Dutch and when she comes across a book that she thinks would be interesting for me, she puts it aside.

Aside from the view into the Dutch history and the exposure to a great deal of wartime Dutch, the significance for me is that it is the first book I have finished cover to cover in Dutch that wasn’t geared to the reading interests of 10 year olds! I am now up to the level of 15 year olds! 😉

It takes extra concentration for me to read Dutch. I have to try to shut out the rest of the world and I stop reading much earlier. In English, I will read until I fall asleep or the book is done, whichever comes first. In Dutch, it’s a chapter or two max.

The weather has been great the past few days, overcast and in the 70s. Bonus! Today it is sunny, which is good because I have been making little steps of progress on the terrace. I still have a long way to go but we’re getting there. It will be awesome when the furniture comes so I can sit out there. Of course, for the weekend it is headed back down to the 50s. At some point, I really want to be able to put away my jackets for the season 😉

Oh, just found out I have a dinner on a terrace tonight date with GG so I’ve got to scoot and get things done 🙂 Have a good day!

It is Monday morning and the phone started ringing at 905AM. Umm, hello, it will be much better if I get through a cup of coffee first, trust me 😉 Always surprising that people don’t believe me when I say that. Like I mentioned a week ago, this is the time of year that everyone at work turns into a highly stressed automaton with slightly non-working gears. Of course, with the long weekend behind us, I think people are moving forward on overdrive to catch up.

Listening to Red Herring, which is mostly murder ballads and bluegrass by a Dutch band. Really great stuff! They were playing at EWOB and I enjoyed their set a great deal! EWOB was fun, very low key. I did have some serious banjo lust but I knew in advance to leave my debit card at home.

Yesterday was a rough one. My young friend who lost her mother also on 16 Jan but this year called me in the morning and we talked for a bit. This is her year of firsts. I’m glad she called me. It wore me out though and I took a nap, even though I hadn’t been awake for longer than a few hours. After the first nap of the day, I decided to tackle the terrace. My mom was always big on yardening and I figured maybe this would bring me a little peace. I started on it but my heart wasn’t in it. I transplanted the most vulnerable of the plants and did some major weeding but I didn’t accomplish nearly as much as I had planned. Of course, it didn’t help with motivation to look at the pets that were all lying in the sun, baking on the tiles! It was 77 degrees yesterday with a breeze.

With my disappointment in my yardening progress, I went back inside and took another nap on the couch. I hadn’t slept well over the past couple of days with all the emotional stuff in my head and sometimes, those things just wear me out. After the second nap, the boys and I went to the park. Everyone was in the park with their picnics, which is too tempting for small dogs who have a tendency to run right up to dozing picnickers and swipe them with a wet nose. So, they stayed on the leash until we got to the “wild” area of the park where it is mostly dog people.

I talked to Cedric last night for a long time. Partly because we hadn’t spoken in awhile and partly because my brother lives in the South and he just talks slow. Although he is says he is right on pace for where he lives and that it is the rest of the world that talks too fast 😉 Since we’re not meeting in Chicago next month, we’re trying to find a time to reschedule.

Okay, I suppose it is time to dive back into my inbox… big sigh…

This afternoon, I spent a couple of hours in the company of Roxanne, the daughter of one of my friends. There was a bit of a child care shortage so she asked if Roxanne could come and hang out with me. Hello, of course! So my favorite seven year old in motorcycle boots and sequins (I really admire her fashion sense) and I headed off to explore the wilds of Beatrix Park.

I know my park pretty well. This was a completely different experience. Following the lead of my very curious young friend, we attempted to find evidence of mussels living in fresh water, found the eggshells of the herons and bravely explored under all kinds of trees and off the path. We also did our environmental duty by fishing shopping bags out of the water and disposing of them properly.

Of course, then we had to have an ice cream before we headed back. Disappointment there for Roxanne because her chocolate ice cream tasted like coffee she said. I sincerely doubt her parents let her have coffee so I think I am going to assume it wasn’t sweet enough 😉

While waiting for her dad to pick her up, we spent some time coloring and drawing a communal picture.

Which means I am still working right now to get everything finished for Monday’s presentation WAY up in the north. I will go by Marum on the way back and talk to Mom. I’ve got quite a bit of stuff to tell her and it is time to put in new plants by her and the greats.

Today is the equivalent of Memorial Day.  It is still heavily oriented towards WWII and the people who lost their lives. It has also branched out a bit to victims of more current wars. Tomorrow is Liberation Day, which is marked by lots of celebrations. There are lots of exhibitions and tours today. In my neighborhood, which was formerly very much the Jewish Quarter, there are many open houses where the Resistance worked from and where people hid. Today and tomorrow, there are different houses open. It is pretty fascinating, especially since there are still people living who can tell their stories.

I had my banjo lesson this morning and afterwards walking home, I had all this emotion clinging to me. Then I realized why, I had walked past several groups of people that were walking in tours about the war. Of course, banjo was a little emotional because we talked about the funeral and such. However, eventually Paul told me that it was time to learn something new. He’s playing this weekend at the European World of Bluegrass (EWOB) with his regular band and then with the main event on Saturday night. I will, of course, be there. A couple of months ago, when I was just a friendly budding musician, I invited GG (before she became GG) to come with me to the festival. We’ve both ended up volunteering there on Saturday and I expect that we’ll do our best not to reorganize their entire process… 😉

Speaking of, I will see her again tomorrow – a day earlier than I expected…Happy Dance.

I am not going to Chicago next month. Due to stuff with work and stuff in Cedric’s life, our schedules do not match. So, now we have to try again. Grrr. Disappointing. I want to see them though so it doesn’t make sense if we can’t all be there at the same time.

Okay, the boys are looking at me like “When’s dinner, lady??” so off I go.

Last night, I was sitting on my favorite terrace enjoying the warmer weather when I heard that a friend of mine’s father suffered some sort of stroke. I figured I would send her a message today, checking in with her and offering up my wheels. It turns out I didn’t need to since suddenly a bike pulled up in front of the terrace and there she was, fresh from the hospital in Den Haag.

We sat for a long time together. This was the first time she had seen her parents and siblings in 20 years. It was a big deal. Rightfully so. I spent a lot of time rubbing her back, kind of like you try to soothe a child, while she talked about the whole experience. This kind of experience is exactly why I wanted to say certain things to my father the last time I saw him. I wanted to be sure that in the case of a call like my friend got, I wouldn’t have anything left unsaid that was important. And I won’t have, I’ve let a great deal go and simply said the three most important things that I needed to.

For my friend, who had been dreading this call one day, it has served to show her that at least the most important things are still there, despite the years of distance. That is the love and the connection between them all. That was my advice to her, during this time, stay right in the moment, don’t think too much about the past or the future, just right now.

I’ll wait to hear from her today, I offered to drive her to Den Haag since sometimes Astrid and I are faster than the NS (train). If she is already anxious, then the train is not going to soothe that. With us, she can be safely buckled in with a cup of coffee and the sunroof open and me not talking 🙂

Rocking out to Within Temptation this morning. I know it is a short week so I have a lot to do today so I need a jumpstart this morning. Actually, it is beyond a jumpstart and maybe a good old ass kicking! 🙂

Yay! Yesterday it was a sunny 55 degrees and perfect weather to leave the city. The boys and I were able to persuade GG to come with us and trek along for 18K steps 🙂 Poor Henry, today he is nursing his front paw and I think he might have overdone it. I hope he is going to be okay. If it doesn’t improve, we’re off to the vet tomorrow because he’s a small dog and he needs all four paws in working order.

Going forward to this weekend which is a long weekend due to Acenscion, the temperature should be popping up to 70 plus degrees which is just about perfect for EWOB – the European World of Bluegrass. In other words, time to set your inner hillbilly free 😉 Perhaps in my case, it is not so hidden.

You’ll be relieved to know that the mountain of laundry – like four feet high – has been reduced. I was very busy conquering that on Saturday before going out for date night with my fellow American, Jonathan. He’s also one of the minions in my tortilla cartel. 🙂 We saw the movie “The Boss”which I wasn’t prepared for the heavy mother-daughter messaging. It was a good movie, I enjoyed it.

This is a short week due to the four day weekend 🙂 According to the law here if you have a holiday and there is a day between it and a weekend then the “bridge day”also becomes a holiday. Nice logic, right? I wonder if I can stretch that logic to include Wednesday, which is Herdenking dag (Memorial Day) for WWII? I can tell I am catching a case of the lazies 😉

In the middle of the night, Vodafone decided to push an update to my phone. I know this because somewhere around 3AM, when these things are pushed, I woke up and saw the gears grinding icon on my phone. Barely conscious, I thought to myself “No big deal, it will be fine by morning” and I went back to sleep. Oops. Not quite right, the phone ended up not rebooting for the 75th time and so the alarm didn’t go off. Yikes! This meant that I had to launch myself out of bed like Rocketwoman, figure out what I was going to wear, have a liquid breakfast, take care of the zoo and shower all within 30 minutes. I made it…

I just finished talking to Meredith for an hour or so. It turns out the Minion Takeover will be minus Dylan, he has plans elsewhere that weekend. We’ll support his choice, of course. Now we have to track down Cedric because no one has heard from him lately. Yeah, do you get the feeling that we’re not the best communicators in my DNA pool? 😉

I haven’t actually washed any clothes since I came back from Seattle. Partially this was due to the whole washer drain pipe thing which has been resolved. The second part of it is that I think I might have too many clothes. Which means tomorrow I will sort through again for another round of donations. I am washing clothes now. When I was opening the closet door where I keep the laundry, an enormous pile came out and it actually hit the ground with an audible thump. Yep, time to do laundry…

GG and I discovered incredible vegan pizza last night. I can safely say, it will go on my short list of pizza places. We had a very relaxed and fun Kings Day. Even if the weather wasn’t super, we managed to get 13K steps in. That makes me sound like such a fun date 😉

In the office today and it was fine. Even though I had good news to share, I didn’t manage to get a response out of some people. I am okay with that though. I am not responsible for how they think or feel. I am also not going to be overly accomodating to their quirks anymore but rather be no nonsense. I’m not going to work to be liked, I am going to work to make a difference so get out of my way if you don’t want to help…

I’m going to play my banjo for a bit. I feel like some twang 🙂