Groningers United

Although I live in a city where 19.7% of its residents can claim some Dutch ancestry, and I know my sisters all believe everyone up here is Dutch, it is actually uncommon nowadays to run into an actual Dutch speaking person. Friday morning, Maria and I were at Meijer doing the weekly grocery shopping and more specifically, we were engaged in a discussion near the cheesecakes about whether she would like one for her birthday cake since she is a cheesecake lover. As we were considering this possibility, an older 80-ish lady joined in and she had a beautiful accent just like Oma. I wanted her to keep talking so I could listen for awhile, so I asked her where she was from in the Netherlands. Just as I suspected, she was from Groningen (What is going on? Can I really recognize dialects now?!). I was so excited that I said "Me too!" and then I amended that to say, I mean my Dad is. She told me she was from Veendam and as she talked, she came at last to the sadness of leaving her family behind and how her children didn't have the extended family, etc. I told her I could relate. I think this is why the pictures of when the ship was sailing off seem so sad. On the back, they are titled simply "Leaving."



I told her about the TV program Dad is going to be on, and she wrote down his name and the date and the TV station so she could tell her brother in Groningen to watch.
We talked for so long there in the refrigerator aisle at Meijer until at last she confessed she had someone waiting for her in the car. I kind of had the feeling she wanted to take me home with her, but alas, that was not to be. At least for a few moments there in front of the cheesecakes, she was transported home. I guess I was, too.

Flash Back Friday 12

Maria, 14 years ago today





Maria & Bridget are starting off the day's festivities with a noon picnic. Their Spring break started today.


Happy Birthday also to Aunt Andrea who so graciously shared her birthday with Maria. (She had it first.)

I'm Addicted to Blue

The other day at work, someone said to me, "I've got to stop buying so much black and brown." You see, it is Spring now, and she was looking in her closet for something "springy" to wear and saw only brown and black. My confession to you is that I am addicted to blue. If you look in my closet, it looks like I shop exclusively at the Blue Clues store. I try to expand my horizons with other colors, but they never feel right. Of my last 4 purchases (I ran in to a really good winter clearance), 3 of the things were blue! (One was red and I really stand out in that one) I can't stop! Do you have a color addiction too or is it just me?

Aches & Pains

I guess Spring brings more than just blossoms and new life. Edward & Bridget started track season a couple of weeks ago. Edward runs all year around, so he never complains; Bridget, however, after running in about 1000 degree temperatures yesterday was almost ready to quit. I had a small taste of this last night when John & I decided to go on a 4 mile walk to the library & back which was in addition to my usual 2 mile walk. It had cooled off to about 800 degrees, but nevertheless, I came home feeling not only achy but benout, too. Don't worry, I'll survive.

I discovered Bridget's water bottle in the freezer in true-Bridgie-style.

She's Growing Up!

Maria is always happy to see her mother show up at the high school to pick her up with the camera in hand. She is growing up, but I will tell you that she can sidewalk chalk with the best of them. She's going to be 15 on Friday!

The Creative Process

When I run out of red, I use blue.
- Pablo Picasso

I was sitting in the blue chair after my walk this afternoon when I saw a reflection of a nude in the fireplace. Then I realized it was just my bare legs - I'm not used to seeing myself in shorts!

Prayer

Pastor Henry spoke (again) about prayer today. You can read here what I wrote about it on the church blog. It was a busy, warm day here - Edward & Maria's Youth group met here tonight. And now, the sun is setting. Yay!

The Pie

I'm having a day like you have when you burn the roof of your mouth and nothing seems quite right. Why, you may ask? Because I burned the roof of my mouth and I think it was on the Shepherd's Pie I made last night.

Yesterday, I was having a relaxing afternoon at home cleaning and I was also excited about a recipe I was going to try. So excited was I that when John called to suggest alternate supper plans, I said, Well, I'm kind of excited about what I'm planning to make. I read an article the night before in the paper about a local chef who prepared this Shepherd's Pie for a contest, and thinking back to my dream-like childhood and happy memories of one time when my mom made it, I decided it was a good thing to make. In the midst of its preparation, Mom called and when I told her about it, she suggested I make a nice photograph of the shepherd's pie. So in fact, I did get the one pretty blue & white dish I own out of the china cabinet and put it on the counter in advance of the beautiful supper.

As I enjoyed the rhythms of preparing this meal, peeling the actual potatoes, browning the ground beef, I listened to gregorian chant. I mashed the potaotoes, added 2 kinds of cheese and sour cream. It had to be in the oven for an hour during which I sipped a tiny bit of Chardonnay. It was going to be a good supper. John came home earlier than usual from work, and the Pie at that point was warming in the oven and working up a good deep heat that could easily burn the roof of one's mouth. We immediately sat down to partake of the comfort food with the golden baked crust on the top. Heavy and dry are words I would use to describe the supposed comfort food. It burnt my mouth, but I was still game. It had good flavour, but it needed salt.

After all was said and done, I was puzzled that we only ate about a third of the Pie. Then I caught John about 7 minutes after supper eating a scoop of peanut butter out of the cupboard. I guess I won't be making Shepherd's Pie again.

Flash Back Friday 11

Bridget, 1998

Chant

Several weeks ago, a group of us from church got together to plan a meditation area to put in our church on Good Friday. We talked about a theme and different things do/read/look at. We wanted to make it multi-sensory, so I thought, how about something like gregorian chant playing softly in the background? I hadn't listened to it much since college, so I did some research, and read about Chant I by the the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo De Silos. These monks are actually praying when they record, so it sounds very true. Another thing I love about it is that it is so calming like a bright blue sky, and you can listen to it without feeling distracted. I have been playing it before the supper hour when the kids are doing their homework, and I think they like it.

The Weaver

Bridget had so much fun making this - who doesn't love to weave? She doesn't want it to be a potholder though because it will get dirty. She's leaning toward a "room decoration."

Spring Has Sprung!

Today is the first day of Spring. It's sunny but cold here.

But we have this to look forward to:



And time remembered is grief forgotten
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover,
Blossom by blossom the spring begins.
-Algernon Swinburne (English poet)

Bike Riding in the Netherlands

Late Saturday afternoon, Mom & Dad came up from Celeryville so we could scan over 40 pictures and send them to the person in the Netherlands who is producing a TV program about the family's immigration to the US. They are very interested in them because so few people had cameras back then. These pictures make me kind of sad for some reason, but I'm glad they are on my external hard drive now! :)

This is a good one that shows Oma riding her bike with Dad when he was a baby.

So, I'm the Mom of a Ranatra Fusca

Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day with the OM tournament and Mom & Dad breezing into town for about 24 hours (more on that later). But in the midst of things, I managed to do a quick post on the tournament. I didn't go much in to the reason why they won the Ranatra Fusca which actually is a classification of water insects. The history of the name of the award has something to do with the team who solved the problem of floating across a pond with a water insect-like contraption, thus exhibiting extreme or unusual creativity.

Maria's team won the award for their props. For instance, the backdrop that Maria is standing in front of in the picture below was made out of food!