Solo Tracks

I haven't been posting for the very good reason that I'm happily spending time with family and friends here in the US.  What a joy it's been to see so many people.  We feel so welcomed and loved.

We've got a busy schedule though, and a time out is occasionally needed.  Doug and I have been trying to get outside for a run as often as possible, and the weather has been positively fabulous.  I mean really fabulous.  From NH to Maryland to Saint Louis, we've found beautiful lakes, paths and woods to shake off the travel fatigue.  From NH to Maryland to Saint Louis, we've found fall.  Loving it.

Van Satzman US Tour

We leave tomorrow for the US!

Five cities in 16 days.  We almost had tee shirts made.  We CAN'T wait to see everyone!! 

First stop:  New Hampshire to see Nana Kay, Nana & Papa O, and Aunt Patty!

Thanks to my hubby for helping with the map!

It Can Rain Like This Anytime

The rainy season is making its debut in Amsterdam. It's coming in fits and starts . . . a LOT of rain alternating with a LOT of sun.  We enjoyed such a beautiful September that I'm kinda okay breaking out my glamorous black poncho from Hema (Holland's answer to Target) and biking the kids to school in a complete downpour.  At least there's still some sunlight at 8:00AM. Come November, it will be pitch black before school and after school.

It's memories like these from September, of Abby and Reese dancing in the fountain in front of the Rijks Museum, that keep us going.  School may have started again, but it was still summer.

Bring on the rain.

Heineken Experience

Oh, it was an experience, alright.

In any big city, there are must-see attractions, like, say, the Rijks Museum here in Amsterdam, and then there are others that you just check off because they're there.  Like, say, the Heineken Museum/Brewery here in Amsterdam.  This website even suggested that you not wait for the free beers they serve at the end of the tour, but go ahead and get drunk before torturing yourself with the "experience."

Doug and I whizzed through the old brewery on a whim one afternoon a couple of weeks ago.  Sober. 

The brewery is on Stadhouderskade overlooking a canal (Singelgracht).  It's a great area of town, adjacent to an eclectic neighborhood called the Pijp (pronounced pipe) and the historic canal district. One of the weird things about living in Amsterdam is that our daily life is totally mixed up with all the tourists visiting the city.  So, for instance, Abby and Reese's school is a few minutes bike ride away, and we often play at the park right across the street.

Heineken is one of the three largest producers of beer in the world.  The brewery has been a family operation  since 1864, and its discovery of a mysterious yeast in the 19th-century secured Heineken's place as a world-class, quality beer.  

The inside of the copper kettle where the hops are boiled and settled.

The building is original 19th-century, and back in the day, boats would pull up on the canal out front and the grain would be lifted through the upper windows.  The building and its intact interiors are beautiful and worth the look-see.  This is the museum part of the tour.

The so-called "experience" part of the tour, however, is rather ridiculous.  At one point, we stood in line for twenty minutes to go on a "ride" that supposedly simulated the brewing process.  This ride consisted of standing in a small room on a set of steps that moved around as if we were the hops in the whirlpool, then out of nowhere the ceiling spit bubbles and water at us to replicate another part of the process.

This was all topped off by the American dude yelling "BEER. BEER. BEER," while pounding his fist on the bar during the tasting.  Way to REPRESENT . . . dude.

And if that doesn't make you smile (or laugh/throw-up), perhaps the "smiling e's" in the Heineken logo will.  In one of the most brilliant marketing strategies, still studied today, Heineken changed its logo in 1964 to re-brand its beer, and added the smiling e's so recognized today.

With and without . . .

Writing Retreat

I'm going home today, after a 4-day writing retreat that I wasn't going to tell anyone about, lest I have to talk about it or explain it, god forbid.  But here I am nevertheless posting for the world to see.  Or whoever is out there reading my blog.

I've been writing stories for a long time, since I was a kid actually; but I've tended to shy away from fully committing to a serious goal--to believe in writing as a legit endeavor and to believe that I could do it.  I finally got up the courage many moons ago when I left my corporate career, albeit primarily to start a family, but also to take a stab at writing fiction.

After some years of disappointment, I had the amazing good fortune to become a mom to Abigail and Reese, just fifteen months apart.  During those few years of trying to get pregnant, I wrote a lot and worked hard to hone my understanding of the craft.  I produced a lot of work, but with the kids arriving so close together, I've been busy with them and only writing in fits and starts for the past five years.  I wouldn't trade in my good fortune to be a stay-at-home mom while my kids are so young, not ever.  But my time at home has not been a straight line, and I still have ambitions and interests outside my role as a mother.

My room in the carriage house.  How writerly, huh?

This blog has been my main outlet, however when it became evident that Doug would be home for a while, he encouraged me to take as much time as possible to write fiction while I had the luxury of extra help.  Believe me, I procrastinated in taking him up on this offer and in coming up with a plan.

But, here and there, I began to take ENTIRE days this month to write while Doug toted the kids around in the bakfiets. Finally, this week, I escaped to the countryside, about an hour and a half outside Amsterdam, for a four-day solo writing retreat.

Again, I'd like to deliver all good news, but it's been hard and not nearly as productive as I had imagined it would be.  Still, I faced the blank page, worked hard, logged the hours, and, above all, started my journey.

Of course, I have absolutely nooooo expectations . . . it's all about landing an agent, the book deal, a cool marketing blitz, the oprah interview, movie rights enjoying the journey and having fun writing

I decided to post for two reasons.  First, this blog is above all for my kids.  It started as a way to capture our time as ex pats in Europe, but I also hope to one day go back and write about the stories and memories prior to our move.  I tend to default to posting about Abby and Reese's experiences to the neglect of relaying my own personal, adult (i.e. non-mommy) experiences.

This time it struck me that someday it will be important and fun for them to see that their mom put out the hard effort for her dreams, no matter what the outcome.  And at an age some consider too old to have a second career.  Going forward, I've promised myself to let my kids see more of their mom in this blog.

This leads me to the second reason for posting--accountability.  It's out there now. Whether you care or not, I now think you do, and that helps.  Making my plans public, helps hold me accountable to myself.

So, here goes.  I am writing a novel.  I am going to workshop that novel.  I am going to revise it and revise it and revise it and revise it.  I'm going to keep showing up.

Then I'm going to put it out there.

I'll keep you posted.

Doug seeing me off on Monday.