Hello My Friends!

This past weekend Dave and I took a day trip to Germany.  While there we visited the Koln (Cologne) Cathedral.  Tremendously tall and of course the inside was beautiful with beautiful sculptures everywhere you turned.  Construction began in the 1200s and it wasn’t completed until the 1800s!  It is also one of the largest cathedrals in the world and the largest gothic church in Northern Europe.  It was very inspiring.  The day was finished with a very rainy drive back to Amsterdam.

On Sunday, we decided to join one of the women I met at the American Women’s Club and her husband for brunch.  It was “Brunch Weekend” in Amsterdam since it is not a meal that they normally have.  We went to a seafood restaurant out on the water and had a delightful time.  The meal was incredible as was the wine and the company.  On our way back home we enjoyed walking along the waterfront to the Central Station to catch the tram.  It rained the whole time we were eating but when we left it was sunny and beautiful which made for a great walk.  We also enjoyed their company last night at their home for dinner.  Maria is from Guadalajara and wanted to fix us traditional Albondigas Soup.  All I can say is YUM and we had another delightful evening with Maria and her husband, Joseph.

Since the Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays are not really celebrated here in Amsterdam – other than the Americans living here – they have begun putting up holiday lights on our street.  It looks like it will be beautiful when they complete it.  The reason they begin so early putting decorations up is that they celebrate Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas coming into town on November 14th.  Below is a small description of the holiday.

Saint Nicholas arrives to Amsterdam by ship and upon landing, rides on a white horse through the city center in a festive parade.  Large crowds of children greet him and his entourage – as he is usually surrounded by no less than 500 Black Peter servants, 10 marching bands and hundreds of festive marchers.  The parade culminates with the mayor of Amsterdam welcoming Saint Nicholas.  According to the tradition, during the weeks after, Saint Nicholas stays in town and is more important than any civic authority.  Saint Nicolas arrival begins also a festive shopping time in the Netherlands, which lasts until 5th of December, the eve of Saint Nicholas Day, as on this the day Sinterklaas leaves treats for the children and adults give the seasons gifts.  In the modern consumer society, this period extends in Amsterdam until Christmas day, or even longer – up to first days of January in the New Year.  It sounds as if December is a very joyous month here in Amsterdam.

Well today is cleaning day so I am off to do a little dusting and sweeping, and maybe read a little of the book I am reading right now.  The day is pretty cloudy but no rain.  I will also take a little walk to get some stamps to send a few postcards and notes.

Hugs!

Yes, it is IKEA!

It seems that it is the place to go here for everything.  It was furnished for us so now trying to add a few personal touches but I didn't bring much over with me so I will have to gather a few things at a time.  Even the picture behind the bed!  We are lucky though - we were told we could hang anything we want on the walls.  So we will put some of Dave's artwork up soon.

Our Apartment

The Kitchen, Living and Dining Room are all one big room.

The Master Bedroom has a great view and so does the Spare Room.

Another weekend

I know everyone wants to hear about my life in Amsterdam but – I just finished the most incredible book.  It’s called The Art of Racing in the Rain – written in a dog’s perspective of life.  There were tears, joy, laughter, sadness, more tears and hope.  I would recommend it especially to anyone who loves dogs, if you enjoy race cars or if you just enjoy a creative story.

Friday afternoon we went to the Rijks Museum where there is an extensive Rembrandt collection.  We saw many famous paintings of his and also Vermeer’s Milk Maiden, which had been out on loan, was also back in the museum.  All of this famous artwork you see in other mediums, i.e. books, TV, internet, etc. – it is incredible to see it live.  Then, at the end of the museum right outside of the gift shop was one more small gallery room – each year Amsterdam has a contest for artists to submit their art for a new children’s book and they had the winner and five finalists’ artwork on display along with the book that was created from the artwork.  There are so many talented artists of all mediums and all styles in the world.  We purchased the winner’s book named De Boomhaus – The Treehouse.  It is a delightful story with only artwork and no words depicting a story from some animals’ perspective of how they would play in a Treehouse.

Before we left the apartment to go to the gallery Dave said it’s not too cold out today so I put on my lighter coat and then since I had carried my umbrella all week whenever I went out, I asked him, should I bring the umbrella?  Of course, he said, no I don’t think we’ll need it!  You guessed it, as soon as we came out of the museum – raining and cold!  We quickly walked over to the tram and headed home.  On the way from the tram stop to the apartment, we picked up some soup and salami from the deli below us and came up and had soup and sandwiches for a late lunch.  The evening was quiet at home.

So the weekend was mostly work for Dave as there are two guys from Taylor here to help him with some of the set-up of the European Offices.  But in between meetings we had some fun!  Saturday morning Dave headed to the train station to pick up one of the guys from Taylor who had just flown in.  We couldn’t find a hotel room for him for Saturday night so he was our first guest in the spare room.  After Dave brought him to the apartment and got him settled, Dave and I took another trip to IKEA.  We needed sheets and a blanket for the spare room!  The afternoon was a meeting for Dave and the Taylor guys and then I met up with them for an Italian dinner at a restaurant just down the street.  Very yummy, so Dave may get that some night when I don’t feel like cooking!

Sunday we woke up and while drinking our coffee I noticed a lot of people in running clothes walking down our street.  Then barricades were put up so I got on the internet and found that Amsterdam’s largest marathon was Sunday and the course ran down the cross street right to the left of our apartment so we could watch from our baywindow.  It was quite fascinating to watch almost 20,000 runners run by your house.  Dave had an appointment to go to that afternoon so Ted, our houseguest, and myself rode the tram to the Central Station with Dave and while he was busy, Ted and I headed out to find an “Underground Market” I had heard about.  It wasn’t underground – the premise is that they don’t let large corporate companies in and the location is not disclosed until the day of.  They apparently have two each year and this was the autumn one.  It was quite interesting.  We found it in a small warehouse type of building behind Central Station right near Amstel River.  There were homemade jams and jellies, food items, wine tasting, baked goods and all kinds of other tasty treats.  It was very small but a lot of fun.  Ted is a “foodie” like me so he was much more interested than Dave would have been!  Dave met us there and we ended up walking back up to the Station and headed back towards the hotel where the other Taylor guy was staying and we had an early dinner – Greek food this time.  Then headed back to the apartment, and on the way we got Ted settled into his hotel for the rest of his stay.  When we arrived at the apartment we started Skyping friends and family – I love Skype!  First we talked to Gabriel at our house and we got to see Tank!  Then, we talked to my friend, Corinne, then my sister and brother-in-law and then my mom.  However, poor mom couldn’t figure out why she couldn’t hear us – she emailed this morning and said she thought she had her speakers on but realized they weren’t.  Next time she will be able to see and hear us! Dave had one more meeting to go to and while he was gone I got to Skype with Rachel and Joaquin.  It was good to see everyone’s faces and get to talk to them.  If you have friends or loved ones that are far distant-wise from you and you have never used Skype – you are missing out!  Try it, you’ll like it!

Dave is very busy this week and I will keep myself busy cleaning, reading, doing bookwork for him, taking walks and shopping.  I may meet up with some of the women I met at the newcomer’s coffee last week also.  We will see what the week will bring.

Hugs to all!

Here I am...

OK, so last night Dave says, “When are you going to write in your blog again – everyone is waiting.”  Well, Tuesday I didn’t do much exciting and thought, hmmm, does everyone want me to tell them how I scrubbed the toilets, swept and mopped up floors?  Oh yes, and it took me all day to do two very small loads of wash, just because the machines here take much longer than in the states.  So how’s that for excitement?  I was kind of sticking around the apartment because I thought the plumber was coming to fix our second shower which only has cold or hot water and nothing in between.  Later after Dave got back from work meetings, I did walk down to the grocery and figured out the ingredients for homemade spaghetti.  So that is what we had for dinner and it came out very nicely.  And the Parmesan Reggiano here, I know it’s the same as we have in the states, but it tastes so much better here!  Oh and by the way, the plumber never came today!

Wednesday Dave had a meeting in the center of Amsterdam and asked if I wanted to go with him and shop while he was busy in his meetings.  I said sure and got ready to go.  Right before Dave needed to leave he received a phone call from his friend’s girlfriend asking if I would like to go to the street market with her and so my plans changed.  Susana came by the apartment and we walked to the Albert Cuyp Market that I told you about previously.  So very nice and comes from Spain.  She does not speak Dutch either and her English is good but we had to repeat ourselves or explain things a few times.  Boy, do I wish I spoke Spanish now!  We had a great time getting to know each other while we purchased fresh fish, nuts and veggies.  She explained to me that her boyfriend said they were having company for dinner but she was not a “skilled cook.”  She had a recipe for fish that she was going to try so she was getting ingredients for the dinner party.  However, she said that she could make a very good Spanish Omelet!  We got home late in the afternoon and soon Dave was home too.  He had a very small lunch and so was ready for dinner whenever I got it made.  We had baked red bass with olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, onion and some of that delicious parmesan sprinkled on top.  Along with the fish we had some yummy creamed potatoes I purchased at the deli below us and steamed broccoli.  For dessert, Belgian chocolate cookies that one of Dave’s new employees gave to him!  Yes, we are eating well but I am walking everywhere I go so I am hoping the pounds don’t show up on me!  Oh, the plumber came today and I didn’t check it before he left but when Dave got home he checked it and lo and behold it still isn’t working correctly!

Today, we both had somewhere to go and so we were up and around earlier than we have been.  It is so dark here in the morning and this week has not been sunny and is a little chilly so that makes it a little difficult to get moving.  About 9:20 headed out walking to the American Women’s Club Newcomers Coffee.  Well, I was the newest!  There was one other woman that had only been here for 3 weeks but she had been to Amsterdam several times before moving here so knew more about the city.  The rest of the women have been here anywhere from 3 months to 2 years so I felt very “green!”  The other thing I realized is that I have never lived in a big city and have always had a car at my disposal so I have never had to use public transportation, i.e. trams, buses, subways.  But they gave me lots of shopping information that I am going to have read and look at maps to figure out how to get to the stores or markets.  They also said to email anytime with questions.  One of the women there was from Guadalajara and only speaks Spanish and English so again I was wishing I spoke some Spanish.  But she loves to shop and does not live far from me so said anytime I want to email her she will help me find whatever I’m looking for.  She moved here about a year ago and said after she arrived she just got on each of the trams and rode them as far as they went out from the Central Station so then she knew where each tram went.  Very creative way to figure out the tram system!  We’ll see if I decide to do something like that.  I have to say our street is so comfortable with everything we need for daily life that I could just stay put.  But that is not what I am here for so I will continue to do some exploring.  The club has several outings planned to help newcomers so I will be taking advantage of those outings.  After I walked home I was a little hungry since I only had a cappuccino at the Coffee so I decided to eat a little delicacy I purchased yesterday.  When Susana and I were walking home from the market we decided to go into a small Brazilian café.  In the counter there was a quiche that I just had to try.  Today, I warmed it in the oven – it was made with eggs, zucchini, chopped nuts, raisins and goat cheese in a puff pastry crust.  Absolutely scrumptious.

Tonight, Dave has to pick someone up from the Central Station so we will be heading down there shortly.

Hugs to all!

End of the First Week

The weekend is over and it's the end of our first week here – it was a pretty low-key weekend which was OK by both Dave and me.  Dave will be extremely busy in these coming weeks and we are still trying to adjust to the time change and the cold!  Luckily, Amsterdam has had a mild autumn but to us “thin-blooded” San Diegans, it’s a bit chilly!  However, no rain yet, which I hear, is very unusual.  Actually when you are in the sun it is very warm and pleasant but walk on one of the shady streets and brrrr!  I have been told to get ready because it will get much colder than this.  Dave has found the thermostat so I am a happy woman.

Saturday night was quiet and we ate dinner at the apartment.  After dinner we were able to Skype with Rachel and Joaquin; and Joel and his family.  We gave each family a tour of the apartment which they all thoroughly enjoyed.  A little later we went out for a coffee and it was a very nice evening.  One of Dave’s Holland friends stopped by and had a cup with us also.

Sunday morning we got up and moved very slowly.  We had some breakfast, washed some clothes (still not sure if I’m using the right cycle!!!), organized a few more things and headed out the door for the Expat Fair.  Very small in comparison to “Fairs” and “Expos” in the states but I was glad we went.  I found a booth for the American Women’s Club of Amsterdam!  Yeah!  Americans that have lived here for years and will be a great resource for me in helping with the ins and outs of Amsterdam.  They have multiple activities going on throughout each month from coffee get-togethers to evening wine get-togethers – book groups to cooking classes.  I am planning on going to a Newcomers Coffee on Thursday morning.  The other day on my walk I found a do-it-yourself ceramic shop not too far from the house, so that might be a fun thing to do, too.  After the Expat Fair we walked over to a little café and had a bite to eat, then got on a tram and headed for home.  Dave has a couple DVDs of a New Zealand TV show that he enjoyed watching (not my kind of humor) and I am enjoying a wonderful book – Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls.  She is the author of her autobiography, The Glass Castle, one of my all-time favorite books.

This morning we ventured out to find the Staples Office Center only to find out that you must be a registered business with the Chamber of Commerce before you are allowed to purchase anything.  Fortunately, Dave explained to them that the business is set up with the Chamber and he just doesn’t have the paperwork done for a Staples “chipcard,” as they call it.  We were able to purchase a few items that he needs right away and will go back when all the other paperwork is taken care of.  When we got back, I made us some lunch, Dave headed out to take care of a few other business items and I worked on receipts and paperwork for him to hand into his work.  So, I get to continue to pretend I have a “job” other than being a full-time housewife!

Hugs to all!

Our First Saturday

OK, I think I spelled “friends” wrong – I think it’s supposed to be “vrienden.”  So sorry, for any Dutch speaking friends I may have out in blogland!

 

Well today was a day of walking and some exploring – mostly areas Dave already knew.  We will venture out farther at a later date.  Not sure how far we walked but did experience more of Amsterdam.  I have to admit though; I am not in love with Amsterdam yet.  I think I had the idea of living in Europe just a little more “glamorous” than it is.  I’m not meaning luxurious and glamorous as say, living the Hollywood life in a mansion (that definitely isn’t me!), maybe I mean a little more intriguing and exciting so I have to say I’m just not quite all “there” yet.  I am sure it will take time and I know I will definitely have to venture out and find some type of hobby or activity to get involved in.  I cannot see myself sitting in this apartment for days on end just reading and writing but then again who knows what the Lord has in mind for me!

 

Today we left our apartment and found a computer/office equipment store that Dave had seen when riding the tram.  He needs to purchase a couple of items so that the communication lines keep moving between him and Taylor in the states.  Then we headed towards the museum district – that area is buzzing with tourist activity and all the museums had lines.  Dave and I will go back on a weekday when it will be a little less crowded.  We then turned the corner at one of the main canals that separates the canal district from the southern district.  Walking along there was beautiful – the water shining in the sun with weeping willow trees along the way.  Of course, bicycles going past in every direction all the time.  On this street we checked out an art supply store that Dave had also seen along one of his tram rides.  Very well stocked and I believe Dave will be just as happy as he was with Blick Art Store in San Diego.  After checking out the art supplies, we headed down a quiet street and came across a cat sitting on a scooter taking a nap and then a café that had a cage out front with a blue headed parrot.  There were people busy talking to the owner and playing with the parrot so I will make that walk again sometime to check it out and take a picture.

 

At the end of this street we came to a little triangle plaza that headed into the Albert Cuyp Market.  Before venturing into the crowd we decided to have a bite to eat.  We sat in a small outside café and we each had a sandwich along with Dave having a beer and myself a “fruitshake.”  The sandwiches were served open-faced on thickly sliced, dark, whole grain bread.  I had ordered the vegetable sandwich and when it came I didn’t think it was correct but thought, oh well, I will try it – it was the Italian tuna and absolutely delicious.  The waitress came by later and said “You like?  You are eating the tuna?  I brought you the wrong sandwich.”  I told her it was perfectly OK and I loved it and will come back and try the veggie sandwich the next time.  She gave Dave a Duval beer glass when he paid the check since she made the mistake.  So we have a new glass!  Ha!

 

After the yummy lunch, we ventured into the market.  Well, I have to say – a blend of farmer’s market and a swap meet!  I liked all the produce stands but the cheap clothes, trinkets, etc. someone else can enjoy!  However, for all of our California friends that thought we were going to miss our Mexican delicacies – we found a large bunch of fresh cilantro for 50 cents and 2 avocados for 1 euro!  So salsa and guacamole, here we come – and yesterday we found a bag of plain tortilla chips!  Dave has it made now – I made him a batch of fresh salsa this afternoon!  I did forget to look for jalapenos but there is such a large ethnic demography here I’m sure I will find some sort of hot pepper to replace them.  Dave brought two bottles of Cholula hot sauce so he will be good until then.

 

On the way back to the apartment, we stopped again at the techno store and Dave is happy he purchased some speakers to hook his iPod up to so we have some music in the apartment.  You don’t realize how much we rely on technology, i.e. internet and cable service, until you don’t have it.

 

Last night Dave enjoyed watching me go through my little translation book trying to pronounce words and making lists of words and stickies to put on doors, windows, etc.  Maybe I’ll give him more of that type of entertainment tonight!  Let’s see, am I Julia Child’s living and learning in France or Elizabeth Gilbert trying to Eat, Pray, Love?

What tonight will bring?  We’ll see!  It’s Saturday night!

Mornings in Amsterdam

Goedemorgen Mijn Vriends!

Ha!  I had to look it up – not there yet!  Dave and I seem to sleep late here, so unlike California.  Here our bedroom is quiet and dark, and the sun doesn’t rise until around 8:00 AM.  Once the sun rises, however, it is absolutely delightful in our bedroom and sitting on the small balcony overlooking gardens.  What a tranquil and soothing place to sit and I know I will enjoy when the weather turns a little warmer.  Our CA bedroom is quiet also but is very bright as soon as the sun begins to peek over the mountain and then we are wide awake.  Granted it rises later in the winter than the summer but we still seem to rise earlier there.  With that said, I have enjoyed my mornings just looking out of our bay window in the front of the apartment that overlooks the city street.  The activity is always bustling on weekdays and is so unlike anything I’ve observed looking out over Harbison Canyon!  Today is much more calm being the weekend.

 

Yesterday morning I just began writing about what I have seen the past two days looking out on the street.  It is so very interesting to me and of course my descriptions will not quite capture what I saw but I will try my best.  Photos will come soon.  The activity – service trucks delivering goods to the stores, Trams 5 and 24 going by every five minutes or so transporting people to school or work – there is a neverending trail of bicycles with young and old headed for work.  Then there are the mothers and fathers transporting their children to school or nursery on the front, middle or back of the bicycle.  They learn at a very young age how to hold on!  And then there are the lucky children that their parent has purchased this wonderful “kangaroo” wooden box that is attached on the front of the bicycle that can hold up to three small children and on cold mornings they are bundled with a blanket.  Directly across from our apartment is a street and down that street is the British Elementary School so there are also many parents walking children to school.  Later in the morning when most are at work or school then you will see the older generation venturing out to do their daily shopping.

 

I must say there is NO shortage of beautiful people here.  The girls and women look like models walking or riding down the street and I’m not talking about what they are wearing.  Everyone dresses as they please without thinking what someone may think – they may simply be in a pair of jeans and sweater but their skin is glowing, hair is shining and eyes are so clear and bright.  Most young girls have long hair that is either blonde, light brunette and there are a few natural redheads.  The older women seem to be the only ones that have decided to go for a shorter style.  I won’t say much but the young and old men are not difficult to look at either!

 

As I said regarding dress, it seems whatever style you like, it is acceptable.  Rarely skimpy but it is cold now and most are dressed for the weather so I will let you know if that changes in the warmer weather.  Jeans or jean shorts with leggings underneath, skirts with leggings or tights – boots, tennis shoes, Uggs, heels – it’s all here and most have a jacket or coat and scarf.  I have not seen a lot of hats yet but that may change as the weather gets colder.  Everyone tends to wear natural or darker colors – very little bright color.

 

A little on the chunky side – extremely rare!  Even though the traditional Dutch meal is usually centered around potatoes with some type of stewed meat or large meatball (similar to meatloaf) with gravy, the people are active everyday so all I can say to the Americans is – get moving!  And it does not have to be at the gym!  I will say there is just about every ethnic food here and I don’t think the younger generation eats traditional Dutch meals other than when they go home to mom’s or grandma’s!

 

Back to the beautiful people – this is probably my first realization – when we first arrived here we were riding in the car and next to us on a scooter, a beautiful, young girl with blonde hair flowing from her helmet pulled up.  She was dressed in a skirt with tights and she had on a pair of the very high platform heels just sitting at the light looking at her iPod searching for the next song she was going to listen to.  Then off she went.  I wish I had taken her photo.

 

Dave and I have been informed that we live in a “very nice” part of Amsterdam.  And I was told yesterday by a shop owner that we live in “Old South Amsterdam.”  I knew this was a nice neighborhood but didn’t realize the scale until I have been told by several locals.  Because of that we have marvelous shops on our street – a cheese shop directly below us, a Coffee Company (Dutch version of Starbucks) a couple doors down, a bakery, a pastry shop, a fish shop and grocery just steps away and across the street a wine shop.  Also, there is a sandwich shop next to the Coffee Company that is supposed to be the best in town.  We haven’t tried it yet but as soon as we do, we will let you know.  They also have a market next door that sells fresh sausage, pates and salads.  Around 3 or 4 in the afternoon the Coffee Company and the surrounding area is buzzing with teens just out of school.  They get a coffee or sandwich and spend time just enjoying each other’s company.  I found that I can purchase quite a bit of organic food at the regular grocery nearby but I also found a natural food market a few blocks away with about a 15 minute walk for items I cannot find in the grocery.  You can see that food tends to be my delight.  There are several upscale clothing shops also but way out of my budget and locals all tell me to buy clothes in the states, not here.

 

Today is a new day and Dave just informed me that we are going to take a long walk towards the center of town and explore.  It should be a good day.  Tomorrow there is an Expo for expats that we are hoping to attend.

 

Hugs to all mijn vriends!

 

P.S. We are still on an aircard and as soon as internet is available will post photos.

First Four Days in Amsterdam

It is our fifth day in Amsterdam and I’m trying to get adjusted but I think it will take a little while.  I think the thing I wish the most is that I could understand just a little Dutch and be able to read a little.  I have a small translation book but it’s just not extensive enough.

Well, what we have been doing…I will give a quick rundown – sorry, just realized not so quick!

Monday:

We flew into Dusseldorf Germany to pick up a car that Taylor has on loan for a while.  We drove through the farmlands to get to Amsterdam and talk about beautiful.  I’m sure most would compare it to the farmlands in the Northeast of the US – green pastures full of very large cattle, large sheep and horses – windmills and farmhouses – and the occasional new “windmill” like we see in our desert areas of California.  For all my natural food friends, I am sorry about this, but we had a McDonald’s for lunch.  Restaurants are not along the highways here and Dave saw the McD sign and so there we were.  However, they have great coffee – Europe style – very rich and thick.  We arrived in Amsterdam after about 2-3 hour drive and were feeling a little tired but picked up our keys for the apartment and headed over there to drop off luggage.  We stayed in a hotel the first two nights just to get adjusted and make sure we had linens, etc. to live in the apartment.  I took a bath and a long nap!  We then met up with the CFO of Taylor, Barbara, and some prospective employees for Taylor Europe and had a wonderful Italian dinner – gnocchi – YUM!  Then headed to the hotel for a night of sleep.

Tuesday:

Today was pretty much putting most things away in the apartment.  We ventured to IKEA to purchase some items we knew we would need.  However, after being here for a few days I started a list because every day you think of something else that you don’t have!  Our landlord came by to answer some questions and give us another set of keys.  Very nice and said if I ever get lost to give him a call!  That evening we met up with Barbara and had a traditional Dutch dinner – I think Dave sent a photo to some of you – that plate of food in front of me was for all of us and we left half of it (which I hated to do).  It was delicious and “rib sticking” food.  After dinner, we walked back to Barbara’s hotel to have a cup of coffee and make sure we had all paperwork in order for the next day – a visit to the lawyer.  Dave and I took the tram back to our hotel and hit the pillows.

Wednesday:

Today we packed up our bags from the hotel since tonight was going to be our first night in the apartment.  We drove to UPS and picked up our six large boxes that had come from the states.  Luckily they fit in the car!  We then headed to the lawyer’s office.  I have to say Dave has done an excellent job driving around and so glad we have a GPS.  I don’t think we would have found the UPS or lawyer’s office!  He does give me a few scares while driving in the city of Amsterdam.  There are pedestrians and bicyclists everywhere and they have the right of way.  Much different driving than in the states.  Anyway, we met our lawyer, Sandy, and she is absolutely delightful.  She set my mind at ease knowing we have someone on our side to help with all the paperwork for our residence permits and I know Dave and Barbara felt good having her help with the business paperwork also.  Barbara squeezed in between the boxes in our car and we headed back to the city.  We had a delicious lunch at STOUT – I had a caprese type sandwich on thick, wholegrain bread with pumpkin soup!  I will be going back there.  Dave had a meeting in the afternoon so I had my first afternoon in the apartment wandering around, wondering where to put things, what do I still need and what should I do next!  Dinner was simple – sandwiches – but on delicious whole grain bread.  Then our first night sleeping in the apartment.

Thursday:

We slept well and late!  It is dark here until about 7:30 and there are “black-out” curtains on our windows in the bedroom.  Today Dave and Barbara had a meeting with the banker regarding the Taylor business so I was on my own for most of the day.  I tried to figure out the washer – not sure what cycle I am using but the clothes got clean and the dryer was pretty easy.  I figured out all the words on it except one but figured since it was between “Extra” and “Strijk Droog” (Iron Dry) it must mean it’s a regular type of drying cycle.  It worked so I’m OK with it!  I had asked the lawyer (she lives in Amsterdam) if there were any natural markets and she sent me a website with addresses so I found the one closest to our apartment and set out on a walk.  Not sure how far it was but took maybe 15 minutes to get there.  There was a small stationary shop next to it so went in there first to look around and purchase a few things.  Then into the market I went, small but adequate, and I am happy people are accommodating.  I picked up some fresh produce and when I got to the counter to pay, the lady quickly said something to me in Dutch, when I told her, sorry I don’t speak Dutch, she calmed down and explained to me that I have to weigh my produce and put the price tag on it myself.  Similar to Henry’s in CA where you write the number down on your bulk items except that they have a scale that has a bunch of push buttons on it with numbers so – set your produce on the scale, push the button with the number that was on the display where you picked up whatever produce you selected and then push the red button – out comes a little sticker with the name, weight and price.  Great little invention, I thought!  Then when I went back to the counter we had a nice little chat and I told her she would see me again since this was the closest natural food market to my apartment.  After coming home and putting items away, I read a little then Dave came walking in the door.  The two of us ventured down to check out the cheese shop, wine shop and grocery that is just down the street from the apartment.  We met some neighbors and I will elaborate on the shops and people more in my next blog.  I am getting quite wordy and have a whole “exposition” that I wrote this morning that I want to put in my blog!!!  Dinner on Thursday night was made by me – pasta with a little chicken marinated in lemon and garlic, fresh veggies – broccoli, onion, mushroom, tomato and basil – and fresh grated parmesan with some crusty bread.  A glass of red wine and we were set for the night.

I will post photos as soon as we have internet connection.

Visiting Dave's Family

On Wednesday morning we headed out to Central Florida to visit Dave's family.  I love to drive through the country roads of Florida.  It was a beautiful day, cool enough to roll the windows down and let the wind blow through my hair!  Boy, does that sound corny!

Anyway, it was beautiful - especially for all my friends in California - There were all shades of green!  Hay Bales, Cow Pastures, Old Farm Buildings, Orange Groves, Spanish Moss, Heron and Egrets!  Love it!

We had a very enjoyable visit with his mother then off to his sister Cindy's house.  They both live in Sebring, FL.  Soon after we arrived Cindy's husband, Tim, came home from work and then his niece, Krissy showed up with her partner, Philip and their cutie pie, Mason.  We enjoyed a glass of wine along with hamburgers right off the grill sitting in their Florida room enjoying the unbelievable low humidity.  Shortly after finishing dinner we headed about an hour and half north to Haines City to visit Dave's dad, Bill and his wife, Janet.

Bill and Janet live on a beautiful lake in the interior of Florida, Lake Marion.  We enjoyed sitting up with them and sharing our plans for the next year.  The next morning we woke up to a beautiful view out the back of their house.  Oh yeah, and there are gators floating out in that lake and plenty of them so you don't go swimming!

Janet had to leave for work and then we spent a little more time with Dave's dad drinking coffee.  After a short while we got in the van and headed back to St. Pete to spend some time with my mom, sister and her family.