wet wet wet

We are trying for the wettest April on record where we live.

Only a few days left in the month though.

Safe to say that we will not be enjoying cocktails on the terrace before or after the dinner that we are attending tonight (one of our girls made it into the top 25 in her year, and that comes with a dinner, and even though I am happy for her, such dinners are very much 'not my thing')

I am more of a jeans-and-t-shirt and handmade-by-Emma stoneware kind of girl. Woman. Also, it's a cultural thing. (Really Kevin!). Americans do a lot of rewarding and ranking and that sort of recognition. Dutch people, not so much, as far as I recall.

Our sweetheart Charlie. He grew from spindly little thing to largest cat. Scared kitten to talkative loving purring machine. Making me smile on a daily basis.

Astrid

I know you can't find  happiness in material things (although lack of resources can definitely make you unhappy). Yet, the new addition to our kitchen makes me smile and dream and think of  dancing around the Maypole and Seacrow Island...

I feel that it could have been in Pippi Longstocking's kitchen, or the kitchen of the Melkersons...don't you think? 

I know it may not really be hip or 'in' or fit with some of our more modern furniture. I don't care. It makes me want to find a large bouquet of wild flowers to put in a vase. It makes me think of old fashioned quilts. 

My best stoneware already is at home behind the beveled glass doors. I might have to redecorate the whole house to fit the cabinet...mmm, yes, perhaps that is too ambitious. Better keep it eclectic.  

It does not have as much space as we had envisioned (in our dreams) or hoped for, but doesn't it look like it would belong in a cute little home that looks like this?

"I went to the doctor and the doctor said...

boy (girl), your body is a temple, not a toy!"

("fill up this here paper cup and give it to the nurse"- lyrics from a Loudon Wainwright song).

Well, that is not exactly what she said. But without asking any specific questions I was told to lose a specific amount of weight within a four month period. Or if I wanted to take it slow make it six. It really sounded like an unhealthy proposal to me. An insurmountable mountain.

She gave me a website that she said was really helpful (and free) to track my progress. I checked it out- and as expected, it is mainly for people who don't actually cook or bake from scratch. Or make their own granola.

Of course I know I could do without those pounds circling my waist. I contemplate this on a daily basis. And I am definitely trying to make the recommended healthy lifestyle changes. But starving myself was not in the plan really. Calorie counting is not my thing. Exercising? I like walking. But you have to do a lot of it apparently to make any kind of impact at all.

I have never been skinny, I have struggled with this as long as I can remember. The only two times I lost weight : one, when I was carrying my girls, I gained less than what they were weighing and remained thin for at least a year afterwards; two, when my dad died.  I don't want to repeat either one of these life events.

Nevertheless- I shall make an attempt. Will keep you updated on occasion.

extremely metaphoric

Today is the day, a major life event, my youngests are turning 18 years. Then again, we do not make that big a deal out of it- no sweet 18 mega parties and super-expensive gifts over here. It did spark major reflection and looking back on my part, but then I drove home around 4.30 am this morning (long night shift) and past one of those church signs. Compulsive reader that I am, I read: do not lose today in yesterday. Those signs-on occasion- give sound advice.

So while I am tempted to share my memories of that beautiful day 18 years ago, in a small town in Germany...I won't. Nor about the years between then and now, the roller coaster of all the heart ache, frustration, laughter, joy, amazement, and wonder that is parenthood. Even though I might feel that I was not actually done yet, I think my girls are ready to go forth and conquer.

If you would like to see some real spring photography, check out the pictures on this blog:
http://teacup-in-the-garden.blogspot.com/2013/04/die-luft-bluht.html

We will have a low-key but no doubts 'gezellig' dinner with assorted family members tonight and my love promised me a fire and a special bottle of wine for later. To my amazing and wonderful girls: I am looking forward to observing your journey (maybe play a small part in it?). So exciting to see what is around the bend.

just a reminder

Monday Monday...can't trust that day...At least according to 'the mammas and the pappas' if anyone old enough to remember that song is reading this. Today is my first Monday in a while that I am not working at the hospital and it feels weird. I have appointments with various medical people (the vet, my doc) and some ex-colleagues. But still. So I looked at some vacation pictures to remind me of  tranquility.

there he is, Jonathan Livingston

The month (spring, summer) is shaping up to be a busy one. That is a good thing I suppose. Thijs has three weeks and several exams left before I am going to help him move out of his dorm (where he does not want to spend any more seconds than necessary) . Hopefully I get to help him move into better and nicer (with kitchen!) living accommodations by the end of the summer.

Vera (on the left) is hoping to move into a (shared) apartment in the big city around that same time. And more time will be spend in the car to move Emma (on the right then obviously) into her dorm in the big big city. Working, a fun kind of road- tripping, and a music festival are on their schedules for the summer.

I am anticipating some sort of discussion with my doc about some of my health issues. She may ask if I have stressors in my life (she should ask). The truthful answer will be that yes, I do- I have a stressful job and many uncertainties in the workplace, I am processing this whole 'empty-nest' thing as best as I can. The flip side is though, that these things, having a job I love and the fact that my kids are grown up and going to the colleges of their choice, these things also make me happy. So I will think of Spanish moss and an ocean breeze and say to myself : serenity now.

time on our side?

Not that I have nothing to tell, or show- it is that clock that keeps reminding me I should be doing something else before doing this or that or blog. So far, the week back has been exhausting as expected, and the weekend has been really good!

Signs of spring everywhere. This month is full of celebrations, there many birthdays in our immediate and extended families (this includes friends). Because everyone is on a personal schedule with school and work and other fun stuff, we were happy to find an evening to celebrate with at least some though not all. We tried out a new cafe, definitely a favorite way to celebrate the birthday of my girls and myself. That was Friday.

 Then on Saturday night my love and I cooked dinner for a different group of young adults (all teenagers still, however it feels like that is not really the term to apply). The sun peeked in while I was preparing one of my favorite veggies. Anything better than roasted veggies? That was indeed a rhetorical question.

To my surprise, I also won a give-away on one of my favorite blogs http://theknittygrittyhomestead.blogspot.com/

To be completely honest, I did not realize that I had entered the give-away just by commenting on the post. Now I am really excited to become the recipient of an original stitched art piece!

Today, the sun is shining some more, the temperature is increasing to a favorite level, and Thijs went ahead and gave me one of my favorite gifts to receive : a book. I worked on knitting my socks (if Stephanie from the knittygrittyhomestead can find time and energy to stitch me a piece of art while having four kids one of whom is a baby, I should surely find time to knit a bit, right).

It is with mixed feelings that I am looking forward to next weekend when my favorite twin girls will turn 18 years old. I wonder what my friend Caroline's feelings are about my second favorite twin girls turning 16 years old today. Already a lot of favorites mentioned in one blog and I did not even tell you about all of it. The clock is telling me to hurry up, so much more to do and enjoy before the end of the weekend!

life at the beach

Life at the beach was pretty 'sweet' (current teenage/young adult slang I believe). The condo was very very close to the one dune to climb before arriving on the soft sand. No shoes required. Just running down the stairs and crossing the lawn.

Which is what we did several times a day. Walking along the surf, watching the pelicans.

We visited the oldest city in the US (depending on your vision of history), we visited Universal Studios in Orlando for one long fun-filled and awe-filled day (my love took me to lunch in the Three Broomsticks, enough said?), we ate at a tapas restaurant and had the best-tasting (and alas most expensive) wine I have ever had, we explored a nature preserve and a fort with a particularly bloody history, and the girls and my love went on a ghost tour as well. We swam in the unheated pool and braved the waves of the Atlantic.

I read 'Joy for beginners' by Erica Bauermeister, which was a fun 'bit of light reading', and started 'In the kingdom of men' by Kim Barnes, which is already giving me a knot in my stomach only a quart way in. I even worked on the socks I started...uhm...when did I start those? Perhaps last summer?

It was so very....relaxing. Words fail me to really describe the way this made me all feel- I had space in my head, I could breathe, no headaches, and almost no worries (my little felines always at the back of my mind).

I really think it would be beneficial to my overall well-being if I could take those kinds of walks (be they on the beach or in the mountains) on a regular basis. A girl can dream, right.

And then I was shocked and amazed to find that it was all of a sudden Friday evening and I was supposed to pack up and say goodbye to all of this. Of course, I know I am lucky to add this week to my quite considerable list of vacation memories. It is just that come Monday, I am going to be spending my days in window-less rooms with more than enough problems to fill that space in my head right up. I am sure you can all relate!

like a rolling stone

As a child, I already loved moss. I wish my yard was covered in moss where there is currently grass, and beyond...Maybe my mom will recall that I would bring home chunks of moss and try to grow it on a plate in the windowsill. It never worked out but I kept trying many times, and my mom and dad always allowed my experiments (with moss, that is- even if they were working hard to keep moss from growing on their grass and paved patio).

So discovering this was pretty exciting on my walk about this morning. After a week absence we were greeted with incredible weather today and by a yard full of signs of spring.

okay, these are Rose-of -Sharon pods left over from last year, not signs of spring

Also as a child, I loved traveling already- I think for a large part due to my dad's enthusiasm for exploring. We had a great time on the Atlantic Ocean in 'La Florida'. (Pictures still to follow).  But five furry creatures pulled me back home- if not for them, I may have been still be walking the beach.