Shoes

This post is for my good friend Christina and the rest of the Atomic Knitters.

Eric, Eileen, and I went to Helmond for dinner on Friday night. I have been watching what women wear here. Mostly they dress like people do in the States, except that the jeans are rarely blue, but otherwise pretty similar. I was expecting more spandex and micro-skirts like I remember from my time in Boston. But, just like in Boston, those are limited to the young who feel like showing off and the occasional older person who doesn't realize that she is over 50.

But, this post is supposedly about shoes. Let me say that I expected absolutely no cowboy boots -- so I am constantly surprised to see them on people. Additionally, I expected stiletto heels...and with the exception of some of those women dressed in micro skirts, I see sensible flats with an occasional pointy toed outlier everywhere I look. It is like the whole country shops at those comfort shoe places that I used to love: Echo, Arche, Naot, Reiker, Clarke, and then the occasional Chuck Taylor, Addidas, or Nike.

You've settled in...

This post is dedicated to my Grandfather Stuart (in blessed memory) and my Uncle Ken.

We have exposed brick in this house. Not just on exterior walls, but on interior walls as well. We saw this also at the bed and breakfast and I have seen it during construction projects (like houses being built or remodeled nearby). Sometimes there are cracks that run the length of the wall. It turns out that they build by concrete block and plaster more often than by framing a wall and putting up drywall here. I would guess that that means better insulation here. It definitely means that the houses would be dangerous if built on a fault line. It probably also explains the reason that the doors can only be locked with a key. Even with exposed beams, it would take something for the house to catch fire.

Other things to note: we don't have a hot water shut off valve on the sinks (those are the valves under the sinks in every modern American bathroom...we have codes about it). This means that being your own plumber could result in burning yourself.

Rewiring would be impossible, so moving an outlet is not an option. Happily all the outlets are about chest high on me which means that with the exception of the ones near the future location of the changing table, our outlets are mostly out of the reach of little fingers (until they discover step stools or pulling furniture to where they want to explore).

Kitchens in the Netherlands tend to have room for an eating table, but only one wall of cabinets, stove, oven, sink, and half fridge (disguised to look like a cabinet). We also have a dishwasher. Eric and I decided to make the low drawers and cabinets "Eileen friendly" with tupperware, wooden spoons, etc. and to use the pot rack that I had in DC for hanging day to day pots and pans.

I have taken some pictures on Eric's camera, but will need to download them and then downsize them before we post.

Teething = No Sleep in this House

This will be a short post. Eileen seems to be in full out Teething Mode. Baby Tylenol (at least in the doses allowed for her at her 4 month check up) is not allowing her to sleep. Last night I took her to 'sleep' with me. This resulted in her eating all night, and neither of us sleeping. Ah well, this too shall pass.

Eric is on shift work until Wednesday, so we are trying to let him get at least an hour of uninterrupted sleep.

Eileen has a new favorite game for the time being - taking my fingers, one in each hand, and leading me around the house.

I pulled out her roll toy yesterday. It is a wood version of the space shuttle. She had all the mechanics of it down, but needs about 2 inches to get to sit on the seat and use her legs to move her around. She even understood the handles and how to use them to steer. Very cute, but it went back to the hidden toy area upstairs until she is a little taller (like next week).

Otherwise, we definitely are noticing how far North we are. It is no longer light at 5am and in fact dawn is now clearly long after 7am (I think...it could just be really really cloudy). And, it is getting dark much earlier than the 9pm dusk that we experienced when we arrived.

Other news: since we arrived at least 3 babies have been born in the squadron. I am bringing meals for two of those families this week. Eileen and I are also hosting the new Mom and Babies group on Thursday. So, I am keeping busy!

It's Saturday -- let's all go to Schinnen

As I have probably failed to mention, Volkel is not large enough to warrant a Commissary or BX (at least the American side is not large enough). We do have a Shopette (convenience store for those who are not military) -- where we can buy fuel coupons and cigarettes (if we smoked) and junk food (let's not talk about my bad habits) and alcohol without a VAT (and Budweiser for those who miss it).

Backing up -- Commissary is the military version of a grocery; BX or PX (base exchange or post exchange) are the almost department stores that the military provides to active duty and retirees.

Schinnen is home to an Army Garrison and our closest PX and Commissary.

In Colorado Springs, I would occasionally visit the Shopette for junk food or alcohol. About once a month I would head to the Commissary in case they had a good deal on produce, cleaning supplies, or ice cream. I would hit the BX at the same time because it was there. I usually didn't buy things. When in Los Alamos, I did not bother driving to ABQ to visit either.

Here, I have already hit the Commisary three or four times...and it is about 45 minutes away from our house...and I am dragging a baby. Deals which were okay in the States are really good here: meat, cleaning supplies, paper goods, pet stuff, and canned goods are why we go.

Today we did a major stock up on those things. We will be going to Ramstein next week, mostly for BX options (see the post on Adapters vs Transformers for part of the reason) and for me to see the place -- Eric has already been there several times.

I would say that American shopping is a pretty silly thing to post about, but we saw at least 4 families and a group of girlfriends down for the day from Volkel, so the visit to Schinnen seems to be about more than just canned foods and meats. It is about community and American things with a capital A. It is about a taste of home. Reminder: this is being said by a woman who could bike to both a Subway and a McDonalds.

Jews in the Netherlands

I had a lovely talk with the treasurer of the Liberal Jewish community in Amsterdam today. I might even go there for the High Holy Days.

She told me the following story: She was visitng friends around Thanksgiving in Florida. She went downstairs the next day and discovered both a Christmas tree and a Menorah. She told me that the Netherlands is similar except without the Menorah. That said, she sounded very welcoming, so perhaps I will have a Jewish home here -- merely 1.5 hours from our actual home. Happily, they have Saturday morning services, and Kabalat Shabat services only once a month each, so I will still be able to spend lots of time with my husband when he is actually home.

Other news for those who haven't heard elsewhere: Eileen is pulling herself up, climbing up on things when she has the opportunity, sitting, and growing teeth.

I will send a picture soon.

Eric and I ordered a bunch of maple syrup for gifts from a tiny maple farm. It arrived, and the farm owners are about to get a version of Flat and Sticky Stanley with their syrup visiting wind mills and wooden clogs...

Pine, tinfoil, floral wire....sounds like 25 years to me!

Our neighbors across the street, Jan and Jolanda are celebrating 25 years of marriage. The actual anniversary is today. Last night, the neighbors (including us) gathered and made an arch. My friends Ani and her husband brought the pine trees and the greenery from their Christmas Tree field. Everyone made the tin foil roses (we think...we arrived in time to help tie the roses to the associated trees). Jan and Jolanda (and also Ani) have sold us eggs from their farm. They own the Belgian plow horse and her foal that live in the field adjacent to our house. Additionally, Eileen and I have visited some other lovely horses that also have foals and Belgian blue cows - many of whom are pregnant.

One of the things that strikes me about this land is that at least in the rural area where we live, they are much more public about celebrations that we usually are in the states. If you have a baby, it requires a large wooden sign. If you move in, or you are leaving, or you have a big anniversary, then the neighbors come and decorate and stay on for coffee.

Next Thursday, Eileen and I are going to visit my neighbor, Maryanne, for coffee in honor of her birthday. It would never occur to me to invite the neighbors over for something like that. I am glad that someone else had a birthday first. Now I know that it would be a handy thing to have the cake on hand in case someone shows up!

Perhaps, this is where I mention my observations about privacy and proximity. The average standoff distance for the Dutch in conversation or in driving is much closer than for most Americans not in a traffic jam. This means that parking spaces barely allow even European cars to open their doors. It also means that you need to stop stepping back in conversation -- this is just the Dutch way.

The Search for Community

This coming week will have the theme of searching for a community for me.

To review what I have done thus far: I have written to Rabbis in Amsterdam and Maastricht and heard nothing back, written to the USAFE Rabbi (United States Armed Forces Europe), who promptly retired and moved to Colorado Springs; I have used the ravelry.com resource to write to knitters located in the state of North Brabant -- with a 50% response rate and those mostly useless; I have joined an online Jewish study group; I have started going to the Support Our Squadron and the Mom and Baby groups within Eric's squadron; I have invited the neighbors in for coffee; I have invited many of the officers and the leadership of the squadron for dinner - and plan to continue those invitations -- please don't be offended!

I have a cadre of folk that I enjoy time with at the Squadron, but I am used to having work friends, Jewish friends, knitting friends, etc. I am feeling like I have not got that whole community together yet. I think part of that is because I am not yet fluent in Dutch. So, I spend a good amount of time feeling really lost. I think that I truly understand what it must be like to be illiterate -- because despite being able to read, I am a functional illiterate here.

Tomorrow, I head with Eric to his boss' change of command ceremony. Eric's counterparts are bringing their wives, so I will meet some other women who are in similar situations. That might be a comfort. On Wednesday, I will be driving to a NATO base to have coffee with an international wives club. Perhaps that will help me find a community.

Fun for the Kids

We have a Scouting house in the neighborhood. Eileen and I pass it often walking to and from downtown Volkel (such as it is) to our home. For the past three days it has been hosting this major jamboree marking the end of summer. The kids start school on Monday. They have made field glasses from toilet paper rolls, gone down water slides (in the 60 degree farenheit weather in their little bikinis), they have raced, swung, built things, played games. In short, they have been having a great time.

I am still learning Dutch (I take a Rosetta Stone lesson every day -- and believe it or not I am seeing progress), so I didn't understand all of what was being said, but clearly lots of fun!

Eric and I live about a long city block away from another fun spot: Billy Bird park - Hemelreijk -- I hope they don't mind the link: http://www.billybird.nl

We keep thinking that we should go there, but most of the cool stuff would be inaccessible with the baby. She loves the water, though, so we will probably go there next summer to play on the lake if nothing more.

One of the coolest ways to explore in Amsterdam is to rent a canal bike -- one of the paddle boats on the canals. Again, not really a great activity with a baby. We'll probably stick to the powered tour boat instead.

Plugs - adapters transformers and me

Well friends, I have come to believe that adapters are there to thwart me. Just because my plug fits into one, doesn't mean that we don't need a transformer. So far, there have only been two casualties -- and only one was my fault.

So, I used to have a surge protector. I carefully thought through what was to be plugged in -- my mac, maybe a lamp or two...none needed a transformer. So, I plugged in the surge protector and blew the fuse. Of course, the surge protector sensed something more than the 110 that it was designed to handle and stopped the current. Thus fulfilling its contractual obligation, it ceased to be of use.

The other one was when Eric plugged my electric toothbrush into the adapter -- when it needed a tranformer. It got really hot and then ceased to work.

Oh well...we hear that everyone does that at least once, and these were two relatively cheap mistakes (we have heard of plasma televisions, Dyson vacuums, and other things).

---- to my non-engineer/scientist friends ---

The Europeans use 220V (nominal) with a 50 Hz wave form. We in the states use 110V with a 60 Hz wave form. If you have something that has a motor in it or depends on the wave form, it will run slower here (e.g. your digital clock loses 10 minutes an hour if it depends on the wall outlet). Transformers will allow some appliances to work here -- things like the toaster oven or coffee maker. Some things -- like computers and simple lamps -- can be run off the local power (though you need different light bulbs -- ours will explode) using adapters. Some things are so dependent on the waveform to run motors, fans, etc., that they should not be used here. We left our washer and dryer in the states because of this.

Olympics via the Armed Forces Network Europe

I recognize that I am looking a gift horse in the mouth here, but I have to do a short blog about our TV. We get it for free...and we get shows that the networks might otherwise be making more of a profit on. I think that they donate them...and we don't get commercials....that will be in the next paragraph (nice foreshadowing, huh?). We get movies, a kid related network with a combination of Spongebob and Brady Bunch and a little Scooby Doo thrown in, we get sports -- even radio. All is great, except that first run and sports are shown at the same time that they broadcast in the states, so I am watching a lot of opening heats of swimming and women's bicycling, since I don't want to be up at 4am to watch gymnastics or diving. I have heard that the day after the Superbowl is considered a holiday here, since it also starts about 3am...

So, you must be thinking about how wonderful it is that I am not subjected to commercials here. But, you think to yourself, if they are showing things live, aren't there gaping blank spots in the programs? Not to worry, we have public service announcements instead...vote, think positive about upcoming moves, get family counseling, don't sexually harass, do get insurance...the options are both tedious and endless.

Dutch food??? What is Dutch food?

Eric, Eileen, and I have been trying to discover what constitutes Dutch food by looking for a Dutch restaurant. Not frequently, mind you, since restaurant meals here are a little pricier than their American counterparts. We have discovered that just as there is no such thing as a truly American meal at a restaurant (maybe pot roast at a diner...but that isn't a formal restaurant), the Dutch have the same issues.

We know that there are particularly favorite Dutch foods: pancakes, frites (which are popular everywhere), cream filled cakes, sausage filled breads, thin sandwiches, crocquettes, and of course Herring in its many and varied forms. But, most of these are at their best as street food in Amsterdam (we think...have only been there once) or at a fair. It is sort of like believing American cuisine is best described by funnel cakes -- leading you to eat only at county fairs in central Pennsylvania. In fact, most of the restaurants that we have been to have lunch menus that contain the list above, but for dinner, they might be like any nice restaurant in the US or Canada - maybe you can get frite with your dinner -- and maybe they are not from some multi-national food distribution center as a frozen product.

There are ethnic restaurants here: Shoarma, Indonesian, Greek, Italian. Even small towns have a Shoarma/Pizza place and usually an Indonesian place as well (our Indonesian place in Volkel, is actually, more like a Dutch place that serves mild curry on the chicken (kip) and mild dipping sauce for sate on their spare ribs). We can walk to a Greek place from our house -- it is toward the next town over.

So, like America, there may be no official Dutch food, but you are reminded of that by discovering that there is an ethnic place right nearby.

Eileen and progress

Well;
I know that parenting goes fast and furious. I am often chasing child now. She is crawling on all fours without the belly drag (unless tired). She has learned to open drawers and crawl under objects. Eileen continues her fascination with Wilbur cat - who is less fascinated with her since she grabbed his tail and managed a mouthful of fur.

The smallest inhabitants of our Netherlands home

Well;
I have been up for more than an hour with my allergies, so I thought that this would be a good time to slap mosquitos and blog.

Eric managed to entertain Eileen most of the night while I got the linen closet, or rather linen area in our giant storage closet, organized. I also managed to make up the guest room...except for a 40 watt lightbulb for the bedside lamp.

So, maybe I should mention the other creatures that we know are sharing our house with us. There are no poisonous anything here in the Netherlands....but our home is infested with many types of non-poisonous spiders (who never seem adept at keeping the mosquitos at bay). We sleep under mosquito netting. Eileen has two sets of netting in her room -- one on the daybed where I nurse her, and one over her crib. We have a giant canopy of mosquito netting over our bed. Eric found a single tiny field mouse in our bonus room (dead of course). We now leave that open and have Wilbur cat up there regularly...we think that the mice decamped for a field from whence they had come.

We know from the previous tenants that the spiders are here to stay....I actually have a spider towel and a vacuum cleaner that are regularly used in cleaning them out...they just keep coming back. We have hopes that the mosquitos are not likely to stay once the heat of summer is gone.

But, with all the wildlife and the smells from the neighboring farms, I feel like I am at summer camp.

That's it for now....

Weekend sees progress

Hello all;
I think it is time for my rant about the appliances in Europe. We have already replaced our dryer -- it was taking 2-3 hours for a single pair of pants. Our washer has lost its motor sensor to keep it balanced when spinning, and we have been without it for more than a week. These appliances are on loan from Schinnen. We also have a European large freezer and dishwasher. The large freezer should be more efficient than our American ones because it has coils into each shelf or drawer liner...but that means that we cannot have anything bigger than the European manufacturer wanted us to put in there -- no room for an American style turkey for example. Because we are shopping mostly from the local economy, we are not stocking the freezer the way that some families do, so that one is unplugged right now. The problem with most of the European appliances is that they run much hotter than the American ones, they take longer, and they have less capacity. I think that this has become a rant, when I merely meant for it to be illustrative. Our washer can handle about 2.5 kg of cotton. Anything else, it should be a smaller load (though they don't actually tell us how much smaller, and I don't have a washer scale). Same thing for the dryer. I think that means that I cannot wash a full set of two towels, with hand towels and wash cloths. The washer takes about 2 hours and can run as hot as 90 C. I have control of the temperature and won't set it above 60 C. The dryer is a condensation dryer, despite us having a vent hole for a dryer adjacent to the dryer. I think that that is what makes it so inefficient. I am constantly running the water tray to the sink to empty it. (Less so, now that I have to go to the base for laundry).

In other news, every box that is going to be empty is empty. All artwork is out of the boxes and we are starting to put it in front of where it will be hung. I am still looking at options for hanging things on the walls. We are missing some of the hardware from my piano and the wheels from a basement wardrobe. But, other than that all is here. Photographs will come soon.

I don't think that I have walked you through the house yet....here is the verbal rundown:
floor zero (which we Americans might mistakenly call the first floor): 4 tractor garage -- two sets of doors and two vehicles deep, large mudroom (where we have an American style fridge/freezer and laundry) with a WC off of it, vestibule to the kitchen contains a china cabinet and a large walk in pantry, kitchen, large front room with our dining table and a living room set and my desk in it (all of this space is tiled), stairway vestibule (there are other stairs from the garage to upstairs as well), large master bathroom with a bathtub so long that I can lie fully immersed on the bottom of it, large master bedroom, and another room -- Eileen's nursery.

floor one: large stairway landing with storage on one wall, other wall has a 3/4 bath, a guest room with a twin bed, then turning the corner slightly, a guest room with a queen sized bed, and a sitting room....oh and above the 4 tractor garage is a 4 tractor in floor space bonus room....and above that is even more storage (though we are storing things in the bonus room for now).

Dutch stairs are terrifying and ours don't have a handrail for at least part of the exterior of their length (though they are much less steep than at the bed and breakfast). Happily, Dutch doorknobs seem to hit me at about the sternum or a little lower, so we must just remember to close doors that lead to stairs.

We haven't yet hung our pots and pans, but I hope that that will free enough space from the pantry that I can store cleaning supplies there behind a closed door. Pictures will follow.

Scale Lengths and Costs

Well;
The price for being of a scientific bent is to start thinking of things in round numbers and imagining them as related to things you know. This goes for the oven (which of course is celsius), where 180 has become my 350. And the outside: 30 is too hot and 15 is a little on the chilly side. This goes for Eindhoven (our big city) which is about the same in population as Albuquerque and Colorado Springs. Distances are easy to convert, too. I live about as far from Vokel as I did from what used to be the Wild Oats in C. Springs (it is now a Whole Foods) or as my condo was from what Kate lovingly refurred to as Smurways (it was a Smiths last time I saw it). A comfortable 15-20 minute walk from the house.

Some things are hard to quantify though. I was at the market today with Eileen. We bought veggies and cheeses with my pidgeon Dutch...sometimes effective and sometimes not...and then stopped by the flowers stall and for 6 Euro (about 10 bucks) got three huge bunches of flowers-- sunflowers and two different colored smaller flowers whose names I didn't catch in Dutch and don't know in English - filling two vases. Most everything here is crazy expensive compared to the states -- except beer, wine, candles, and flowers. Does this make the Netherlands the most romantic country ever?