Getting back in the swing of things
japra | Jan 11, 2010 | Comments 10
A canal not far from our house, Thursday afternoon. At first, I thought that was a weird place to plow the snow. Later, I realized that it is the perfect place since the snow will melt and run right into the canal. Can you tell I’m from a southern state? Duh.
Well, we’ve been back in the Netherlands for nearly a week now. Poor Mr. DJ had to go straight back to work last week. I think he had the hardest time with jet-lag coming back this time. At least Roxi and I had a few more days to recover from our whirlwind Texas vacation. The girl is back to school today–it’s going to be a long day for her too, as she has rehearsals this afternoon for the upcoming high school talent show.
I am almost finished putting away our meager holiday decorations and unpacking our nine suitcases (six check-ins plus three carry-ons). I swear this every year, but next year, I really hope not to bring back so much stuff. You all can remind me of this in 12 months–haha! The worst part is getting home and realizing I have to find places for all of our new purchases. But the thing is, it’s so easy to go shopping when we’re back home and have some time to browse. The stores stay open so nice and late!
On Friday, Roxi and I met some lovely new friends for een kopje koffie. This mother and daughter are new to Den Haag and it was just so refreshing to meet them. Their enthusiasm was contagious :-)
This weekend, I worked on re-arranging our library so that I could put away all of the new books we got in Houston. Oh dear, books are such a weakness. And yes, they definitely added to the weight in our suitcases. But, you know, there are just some books that aren’t good for the Kindle… like reference books, cookbooks and art books–you know, the really heavy tomes. I think we’re up to 26 shelves of books. If we move back to England, we’re going to have to pare down. Or buy more bookshelves! Right now we’re enjoying the built-ins here in our Den Haag House.
We finally got some snow on Saturday night. At first, the flakes were so tiny and sparkly–like glitter. By Sunday afternoon, the snowflakes were bigger and all the kids went out to play. I even saw one gentleman walking around with a pair of skates. I guess the canals are frozen enough for skating? You (probably) won’t be seeing me out there, although I did notice ice skates for sale at a department store in the Centrum. Just filing that away for future reference in case someone is wondering.
I’m including these last two pics because I loved these umbrellas.
They were a wonderful burst of colour against our winter landscape!
About the Author: JaPRA is an expat Texan living in England with her husband (Mr. DJ), their 17-year old daughter (Roxi), and their dog Trudy.
Coming from a “warm” place myself, I often make the same kind of remarks or wonder about certain things that are so obvious to people used to snow, ice, etc. :o) I guess one thing is going on a ski-holiday and another to actually live in a place where it often snows. :o)
Beautiful pictures!
And yes! Actually, here in my area, people are skating on ice as if there were no tomorrow! And in the north they’ve already had “ijswadlooptochten” (trekking on the ice) on the Wadden Sea – something that I’d love to do one day!
Enjoy!!
Aledys, I’ve wondered how many days of freezing temperatures it takes to make a thick enough layer of ice on the canals. I think I’d like the ijswadlooptochten too! Trekking I can probably do :-)
I wouldn’t have gotten the snow/canal thing either. When we were in NC we saw our first set of chains on someone’s car tires. I had to get out and look at them because I’d never seen them before. I don’t know if they really used to be chains but they looked more like springs stretched across the tires. I couldn’t figure out how they got them on but my husband explained it. SMART GIRL.
LOL, Julia! I’ve only seen snow chains once in my life and they weren’t on tires at the time.
Love that little baby sled! How cute kids are all bundled up.
Kathy, there are so many “old fashioned” looking things here–so charming. New is not necessarily better.
lovely pictures. I wonder if those colourful umbrellas are in style? They look great. Glad to hear you’re settling in. Interesting to hear your feedback on Kindle, it’s so much in the news these days as e-books have really taken off. But you have to have one, to experience the pros and cons.
Christine, I’m not sure about those umbrellas being in style, but they are great, aren’t they?! I’ve been toying with getting a clear umbrella that comes down over your head… I had one of those when I was a kid and loved it. For some reason I think it would be good for photographing in the rain. Maybe ;-)
BTW, I love my Kindle. I’ve had it for four months. My husband bought a Sony e-reader (touch screen) before we left the states and he likes his quite a bit as well, though he thinks the Kindle is outfitted a bit nicer. Anyway, the Kindle has really helped with keeping the book clutter down… except for those tomes I mentioned. And those books not available on Kindle. But other than that… Hahaha!
Happy New Year! Suffering horrible jet lag this time around too…sucks! Hope your holidays were great…nice to go back to States and load up!We came back with nine cases maxed out!
I love those umbrellas! I saw one on the train the other day. It was a girlish plastic one with I ♥ Rain written on. I want one!
“If we move back to England” – is that a possibility??? When would you think that you’ll be leaving Holland anyway? I still want to come visit but my passport has been in for Stephen’s Indefinite Leave to Remain since early November.