Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. There is a Thanksgiving church service in Leiden , a town next to The Hague. The Pilgrims lived in Leiden for eleven years before sailing to America from Rotterdam. I will be thinking about all of you and all the turkey that will be eaten. Kristina and I were planning a dinner here some time this next week, though due to the following, it will be delayed.

This past week has been a busy one. Kristina’s mom fell ill with pneumonia. It was touch and go for a while and Kristina ended up flying to San Francisco last Tuesday. Then Frank’s dad had a heart attack last Thursday and he flew back to Eugene this past Saturday. I have been taking care of their two well-loved yellow labs, Clark and Louise. I had Mojo here for a few days then took her back home. She was starting to pick on the dogs. They were stressed enough by the quick departure of Frank and Kristina. Clark really does not like it when they leave. Night seems to be the most difficult time for him. And for the first few days he became a fur coat and followed me everywhere. We have been having a good time together. Last Sunday we watch Star Trek all day and have been going for long walks at night, when it is not raining in sheets that is (the rain is starting to increase, not like OR and WA). And I have been able to explore new neighborhoods.

The good news is Kristina’s mom is out of ICU and will be able to go home soon. Frank’s dad’s condition is not fully known, though he is expected to survive. His quality of life is in question right now. It depends how much damage there is to his heart. They both are going to try and return next week. I will stay on pup duty as long as needed.

Clark and I had an adventure of our own on Monday night. Before I begin I want to talk a little bit about Dutch front doors. They are heavy and lock automatically. Knowing this, I’m very careful to know my keys are on me before I shut the door. Anyway, about six in the evening I changed out of my wet pants after biking home in the rain and Clark was acting as if he wanted to go out and take care of bussniess. I grabbed my coat and slipped on Frank’s beach boots by the front door in case I needed to do a clean up with a trusty poo bag. I let Clark out and was standing in the doorway, not planning on shutting the door and going out only if clean up was needed. A gust of wind came up, grabbed the door, pushing me onto the sidewalk and Slam! The door was shut. I turned to face the door, dumb founded, knowing my keys, phone, everything was on the table. Not knowing what to do, I decided to find someone at home. A very nice neighbor let Clark and I in. She found the number for a locksmith. After talking to the women at the other end of the phone, I learned that at this time of year, this happens all the time. 105 euros later, Clark and I were back in the house. It took the locksmith about 15 sec, to let me in once he got his tool out. When the door opened he started to laugh because Mojo was peering down the stairs meowing as if wondering where the heck we were. If you ever here that there is no service in Holland don’t believe them, I have found everyone very helpful.

Speaking of Adventure, I had my own this past Saturday night. My co-worker Clare gave me a call Saturday afternoon and said that the Brian’s Jonestown Massacre (they are from Portland) was playing in The Hague that night and wanted to know if I would join her and her boyfriend to the show. I said, “yes” of course. I had seen them a few weeks before coming over here at the Crystal ballroom during music fest NW and wanted to see them again. They are also one of Clare’s favorite bands. Her boyfriend Scott is visiting from Canada and Brian’s Jonestown is one of his favorite bands as well. The show was a festival with several bands and three stages. They were the last band to play and not to go on until 11:30. We got to the Venue at about 9:30 and saw that the show was sold out. Clare talked to the girl at the ticket booth and asked if there was anyway in. She told Clare that they took down phone numbers of people who were interested in tickets and if anyone had an extra ticket to sell they will go to the booth asking for numbers of people who are looking for tickets, it’s like controlled scalping. Clare gave her number and we headed down the block and popped into the first pub. We ordered beer and waited for the call to come. About 45 minutes and two beers later, Clare’s phone rang. Two young girls had one ticket and two wristbands to sell; we were in.

The stage they were playing at was medium size and we found a great place to see the band. After they started, Scott worked his way up front. Clare and I stayed back, danced and enjoyed the show. During the show, they announced in Dutch that they were from Portland. And of course I cheered. After the show, Scott came back and said we were invited back stag. Well once he found us and we got to the back stag door, there was no way in because the band wanted Scott to follow them in. Well he had to find us. Not being deterred, Scott got us in through the side door and we walk down the hall like we belonged and no one asked us any questions. We found the door with “The Brian’s Jonestown Massacre” sign on the door and we went in. Scott said Hi to everyone and I introduced myself and told them I was from Portland. I began talking to the bass player and he asked me what I was doing in The Hague. I told him I was working here and he asked about my job. After that we talked for a long time about museums, art and travel. There were two very pretty, Dutch girls that they pulled out of the audience and brought back stage. They took their picture with Collin, the bass player and he told them only if it did not end up on “my space” he said that his girl friend gets very upset. After that him and I talked about relationships for a while and I ended up counseling him on how hard it is to live the life he lives and have a good relationship with his girlfriend back home. It is hard to shed the mom role. We also talked about being a musician and why he does what he does. Collin told me he was grateful for our conversation because I reminded him why he does what he does (redundant in know) because it was not for the money, they were not making any. Not enough to have a real life, just enough to go from one gig to the next. I was also "safe" and someone he could have a real conversation with. Soon we were all pushed out of the dressing room and given tickets to get into the after party at the restaurant next door. Scott, Clare and I headed to the after party. We only stayed for about a half hour because the DJ was spinning this bad techno the Dutch are so fond of and after a short time it makes Clare and I want to slit our wrists. As we left for home I told Scott he was my hero.

Before we left the Dressing room, Collin disappeared and we did not see him again. A few of the other band members headed to the after party and I have to say, they were wasted before we left the room. Clare and I felt like mother bears keeping an eye out and left it to their capable handlers, not our problem. I really enjoyed talking to Collin and the whole experience was eye opening. I spent some time just taking in the room and watching the dynamics. This is the first time I have done anything like this and because of my limited experience, what do I know. Even so, I’m guessing this is not to far from what goes on in other dressing rooms. To all my friends who have aspirations of having a rock and roll band and being on the road ☺. If you are good enough to do it mostly full time. Think twice. It will eat you up and it is not glamorous unless you are into drugs, drinking and women who are not there to talk too. By the time I biked home, it was 3 am

We'll see what next week brings

Cheers,

Kim

Hello everyone. I here that the weather has been very exciting in Portland, rain, flooding and now wind. I’m sure the news coverage has kept everyone firmly up to date just how close to falling of the edge of the world you are. And how about that election? I want all of you to know that the whole world is excited about this. For three days straight all that CNN world and BBC news TV/radio covered and talked about was the election. And all of my co-works were talking about it as well. People from all over the globe talked about it as if they lived next door to you. The whole world cares because it does affect them. Amazing isn’t it that someone form Nairobi is more knowledgeable about what is going on in America then the average American citizen. We have the world’s ear and abuse it.

Anyway, way to go democrats! This past weekend Frank, Kristina and me traveled down to Antwerp. The only down side is it was Armorists day and most of the shops were closed. Kristina and I were looking forward to buying some French food items and a great Belgium beer she buys there, however the market was closed for the day so we struck out. And we did not make it down the jewelry street. Probably better because we really got a good look around the city and went into the main Cathedral and toured around. They had some Rubens religions paintings on display (along with a great deal of other artists) and the one thing we noticed is just how milk feed and Flemish everyone looked in Jerusalem. Artistic freedom at it’s finest. The shopping will have to wait for another day. I’m not sure where this coming weekend will take me.

The weather here is still fairly mild for the time of the year. The last few days it has started to rain more, though the temperature has stayed in the mid 50’s during the day and the wind has not been to bad yet. I’m bracing myself for the day that I will be peddling as hard as I can on my bike and not moving. Mind you there will be no extra new coverage because people are being knocked off their bikes due to strong winds.

Other than that everything else is going fine and the routine of work is setting in. My days have been anything but boring and I’m learning new things every day. Today at work I got a chance to work with Armin. He is from Mostar, a city in Bosnia. I think he is about 28 and reminds me a lot of my son Michael. Armin is a very smart guy and always has a smile on his face. Very easy going. Today we were in court together because he was prepping me on a courtroom that I’m unfamiliar with. One of the witnesses really got him talking about what he experienced during the war. I was amazed at one of the stories he shared. Armin told me about an old guy that lived next to him. One day they were at a crossing to get water. The area was an open strip of about one hundred feet wide and a spot where snipers hung out. The weapon used to shoot people down with was an anti-aircraft gun (nice). Armin was explaining that people would try and run across quickly and if you were the first to go your chances were better because it would take the sniper by surprise and the first person would alert them making it harder for those who followed. Armin was 16 at this time, and the old man was trying to get him to run first. Armin insisted the man go instead. The old man took off with Armin behind him when an anti aircraft bullet hit the man in the head, exploding it. Blood and brains exploded outward, coverd the front of Armin. He said that he stood there a moment, looked around, walked to the well, washed himself off, and then went home not telling anyone what had happened. Knowing this is just one story out of many, I looked at him in shock and asked how could he have lived through that kind of stuff and keep such a good attitude about life in general and have such a happy demeanor. He looked at me and said “you just deal with it and put it behind you. It is in the past and cannot be changed so why dwell on it”. And he is absolutely right. He said that one time he talked to a physiologist he knew over coffee at a local coffee bar and Armin asked him about therapy and if he should make an appointment. The doctor looked at him and said that he could take his money, but when it came right down to it, it was up to Armin to deal with it and to put it behind him. The doctor said that he could listen, though “recovery” was ultimately up to Armin. He took the words to heart and was able to self heal. It was an inspiring day for me.

When we are sitting in the comfort of our homes and think about how miserable we are on a bad day, well there are things in life that can be much worse. And when bad things happen to us, it is better to learn how to shed it like a second skin, letting the new skin take in its first breath, reminding us that life can renew its self. Besides, there is enough leather in this world already

My love to everyone
Kim

Another week has gone and it is election day in the US. I have been watching some of the coverage on CNN BBC. Of course everything says the republican’s are in trouble. We will see after the votes are counted.

This past week was fairly quite. I went solo this past Thursday and have had to help cover for a co-worker needing some emergency time off this week. No disasters, looks like I will keep my job another week. On Saturday I took a train trip up to Haarlem, a town just west of Amsterdam. Haarlem’s 17th century charm is what draws people to its streets. I went to roam through the Frans Hals Museum. Next to Vermeer, he is one of my favorite Dutch masters. Hals is from Haarlem and his paintings of the companies of the Civil Guard hang in the Museum. There is also a large outdoor market in the Town Square on Saturday’s and of course I had to explore the wares. I also had to buy (and consume) a large, freshly made stroopwafel. After walking around the square, I wandered into the Grote Kerk; a gothic cathedral that houses a Muller organ that I read was played by Handel and Mozart. There was a book fair going on inside the church and different music concerts were being performed hourly. Two of my favorite things are explore Museums and old churches, I guess I came to the right place.

At the end of the day I walked back through the market toward the train station and bought a large bouquet of flowers for 5 euros. Flowers are incredibly cheap here. It is a common sight to watch young me walking down the streets on a Friday or Saturday night with a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, hum…date night.

On Sunday I road my bike down to the harbor that is basically right up the road from me. I found another grocery store that is a little bigger than the Albert Heijn, which is on my way home from work. I also found the Dutch equivalent to Home Depot, called Gama. It is about a third the size of Home Depot, though for me it was fun to look around.

I have included a few photos. There is one of Mojo and me at the request of Pam. It was a challenge getting Mojo to cooperate while taking a picture using the timer on the camera as you can see. The photo was taken in the dinning room. I have another picture of Mojo setting on the little table in the kitchen looking out at a nice fat pigeon. Next is a picture of my street. My front door is opposite the handy cap parking sign. The other pictures are of Haarlem. Inside the church and the town square.

More soon
Cheers!