Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Evolution of Canals in Amsterdam
Cool animated video showing how canals developed starting in 17th century:
No April Fools
The festivities kick off with my brother's birthday on April 1, and culminate on the last day of the month with Abigail's birthday.
Happy Birthday to each of you! Cheers to all of the memories we share! XOXO
First, on the 1st, is my brother, Chris:
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| Uncle Chris with Abigail (New Hampshire, 2012) |
Next up is my father-in-law, David, on the 6th:
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| Pop Pop with Abigail and Reese (Bainbridge Island, 2011) |
Then my amazing mom, whose birthday is TODAY, the 8th of April:
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| Nana, Abby and Reese, a very tight trio (Nashville, 2010) |
On the 22nd, we remember my gentle, sweet-hearted grandmother, Elizabeth:
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| Grandma and Grandpa with my brother and me ( Saint Louis, 1977) |
The very next day, we celebrate my sister-in-law, Erin:
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| Aunt Erin with Uncle Chris (New Hampshire, 2012) |
It's so hard for me to believe, but my baby girl is turning six on April 30. Abby has grown into such a gentle, patient, creative and thoughtful little girl. There are moments when I wish I could stop time, and the very next moment I can't wait to see the girl she will become over the next six years. Most of all, I'm so happy to be right here, right now, in the present with her. What joy.
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| Abby, 3 months (Mendocino, CA, 2008) |
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
It Always Feels Like Somebody's Watching Me
Rightly so, the Dutch Masters are revered in Holland. These 17th-century painters exemplify the Dutch Golden Age, a period of world acclaim and prosperity for Holland. You can find impressive collections of their paintings throughout the country, even on street corners.
This painting is hanging on the side of a house near the kids' school, and since the street is named after this lesser-known Dutch Master, I can only assume he once lived there. That said, it still seems random, and definitely strange. Each day I pass by and feel a little creeped out, like someone's watching me.
This painting is hanging on the side of a house near the kids' school, and since the street is named after this lesser-known Dutch Master, I can only assume he once lived there. That said, it still seems random, and definitely strange. Each day I pass by and feel a little creeped out, like someone's watching me.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Nerdy History Toys, cont.
It's really a toy for mom, but still nerdy and historical . . . a cathedral cookie cutter.
Check out other nerdy history toys we've enjoyed by clicking the link, "Nerdy History Toys" located on the right under LABELS.
Check out other nerdy history toys we've enjoyed by clicking the link, "Nerdy History Toys" located on the right under LABELS.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Pre-K Impressionism
I just love this.
Reese's class created a large painting "à la manière de Monet," using sponges to make the sky and the tines of a fork to create the tulips. Reese and his two favorite gal pals worked on the sky and the pink tulips. Hard to tell, but the painting is pretty big.
I so want to take Reese to Giverny.
Reese's class created a large painting "à la manière de Monet," using sponges to make the sky and the tines of a fork to create the tulips. Reese and his two favorite gal pals worked on the sky and the pink tulips. Hard to tell, but the painting is pretty big.
I so want to take Reese to Giverny.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Obama in Town
President Obama was in Amsterdam this morning for a whopping 90 minutes. http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2014/03/us_president_obama_pays_90_min.php
The visit may have been short, but it was historic, as this was the first visit to the Netherlands by a sitting US president.
Obama met with the PM of Netherlands and mayor of Amsterdam, and then he toured the Rijks Museum, which you can see in the background of the video.
The preparations were intense, and Museumplein, where he spent those 90 minutes, was completely shut down and blockaded all the way around. All three of the museums on the square were closed until afternoon.
I have to admit to being part of the spectacle (there was a huge crowd). After all, it's only five minutes from our house, and I pass by Museumplein on my way to drop the kids at school.
Living in DC, I'd witnessed the presidential helicopter brigade more times than I can count, but it was pretty cool seeing it in another country on such a famous square in Amsterdam.
Secret Service on the roof of the Van Gogh Museum:
Obama in front of Rembrandt's "The Nightwatch."
The visit may have been short, but it was historic, as this was the first visit to the Netherlands by a sitting US president.
Obama met with the PM of Netherlands and mayor of Amsterdam, and then he toured the Rijks Museum, which you can see in the background of the video.
The preparations were intense, and Museumplein, where he spent those 90 minutes, was completely shut down and blockaded all the way around. All three of the museums on the square were closed until afternoon.
I have to admit to being part of the spectacle (there was a huge crowd). After all, it's only five minutes from our house, and I pass by Museumplein on my way to drop the kids at school.
Living in DC, I'd witnessed the presidential helicopter brigade more times than I can count, but it was pretty cool seeing it in another country on such a famous square in Amsterdam.
Secret Service on the roof of the Van Gogh Museum:
Obama in front of Rembrandt's "The Nightwatch."
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Alaskan Travel Critter
A friend of mine from the US asked if I could do her a favor and help out her niece on a school project. Her niece is in the second grade, and each student in her class sent a stuffed animal critter on an educational trip to see friends, family or acquaintances around the world.
The critter, called Elim, found his way to Amsterdam last week. Here's the letter we sent back to the second-grade class in Alaska with some fun facts about the Netherlands (even if geared for an eight-year old!):
Dear [ ] Second Grade Class:
Elim arrived in Amsterdam on a warm, sunny March day. It rains a lot in Holland, so everyone was taking advantage of the great weather by playing in the park, eating and talking at outdoor cafes, and riding their bikes.
Elim arrived in Amsterdam on a warm, sunny March day. It rains a lot in Holland, so everyone was taking advantage of the great weather by playing in the park, eating and talking at outdoor cafes, and riding their bikes.
Did you
know that there are more bikes in Amsterdam than cars? It’s like no other city in the world because
of the number of bikes. Once, someone counted them all up and figured out there
are over 600,000 bicycles in the city.
Wow!
Elim was so amazed by all the bikes, the first thing he wanted to do was jump on a bike to visit the canals. Here’s Elim with Abby and Reese, his hosts for the week, in a bike called a “bakfiets.” It has two wheels and a cart for carrying kids all around town.
It’s easy
to bike around Amsterdam because it’s so flat.
In fact, the Netherlands is the world’s flattest country, and much of
the country is actually below sea
level.
If the land
is lower than the sea, what happens to all of the water?
To prevent the country from flooding all of the time, there are lots of dams and dykes to hold the water back and divert it away from the farms and towns where people live. And sometimes the water is carefully sent through the cities via canals, like in Amsterdam.
To prevent the country from flooding all of the time, there are lots of dams and dykes to hold the water back and divert it away from the farms and towns where people live. And sometimes the water is carefully sent through the cities via canals, like in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam
has the oldest and some of the most beautiful canals in the country.
Here’s Elim,
jumping up for a snapshot of himself, on Prinsengracht (Prince’s Canal), one
the first three canals dug in Amsterdam a long time ago during the
seventeenth-century. Along the canal you can see some of Amsterdam’s famous gabled
houses.
For his
next stop, Elim really wanted to check out the world-renowned Rijks Museum.
The Dutch
(that’s what you call people who come from Holland, and the language they
speak) were really good at painting during the seventeenth century, and many
painters from around the world tried to copy the technique of these “Dutch
Masters.”
Rembrandt
is the most well known of the Dutch Masters, and at the Rijks Museum you can
see his amazing painting called, “Night Watch.”
All of
Amsterdam’s art museums, like Rijks and Van Gogh, are located around a big
green park. In the summer, kids can wade in a grand pool; and in winter,
there’s an ice skating rink.
Do you know
the story and paintings of Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh? He painted with bold colors and created
striking paintings like “Starry Night” and “Sunfolowers.”
Elim also
really wanted to see the tulip fields, another thing for which Holland is
famous. However, the tulips usually
don’t bloom until mid-April, so Abby and Reese drew this picture for Elim to
take home with him.
Can you
spot the windmill? Windmills are
everywhere in Holland because they were used to help drain water away from
farmland many centuries ago.
Thank you for visiting us, Elim! We had a grand time showing you the sights of Amsterdam. Hello to your entire second grade class!
Sincerely, Abby & Reese
Monday, March 17, 2014
Sunday, March 16, 2014
From Skiing in Norway, All the Way to Hip Hop's Akon in STL
Our brief visit to Oslo, along with a week at a Norwegian ski resort, did not necessarily give us deep insight into local culture. Nonetheless, there are always little bits to glean, and we were immediately struck by the number of Swedes working in Norway. Many of our ski instructors were Swedish, as were the hotel staff and restaurant and shop workers.
At first glance, I suppose this doesn't seem too unusual; Norway and Sweden are neighboring countries and part of the same historical and cultural-linguistic region of Scandinavia. It's not far-fetched to assume that there's a back-and-forth movement of people within the region.
However, we soon learned that the migration of workers is pretty much one-way: Sweden to Norway. It is estimated that there are close to 100,000 Swedes working Norway, and the Swedes make up over 10% of the population in Oslo.
The combined effects of a Norwegian oil boom (oil was discovered off the coast of Norway in the 1960s), and the entrance of Sweden into the European Union (Norway is not part of the EU) has reversed an extremely long-term relationship between the two countries in which Sweden has typically been considered superior.
Norway is now one the world's wealthiest countries, but its population is only five million, which means workers are lacking. Sweden, on the other hand, is facing pressure on its core industries, like steel, and is heavily reliant on exports to a shaky EU. It is therefore increasingly hard to absorb those seeking jobs.
With unemployment in Sweden at an all-time high, young people are encouraged to go work in Norway, where they can make double the salary, mostly in the service industry but also in the industrial sector. The majority of Swedes return to their home country within five years, all the more better-off.
Meanwhile, the Swedish government has opened up its doors wide to Syrian refugees, often to the frustration of the Swedish population which doesn't understand how the economy can support the influx or how the refugees can be successfully integrated culturally. To date, Sweden has accepted more than 15,000 refugees (of the 2.1 million total refugees); the most of any EU nation other than Turkey which borders Syria.
I heard a lot about all of this from my Swedish cross-country ski instructor who lambasted the Norwegians for having so much money and being too cheap to spend any of it to salt the snow and ice-covered roads (we hiked on these roads for thirty minutes each way to my lesson), but also criticized his own country for doing too much and also too little for its own people and for the Syrian refugees.
The Syrian War just hit the 3-year mark, and renewed calls to action can be heard around the globe, particularly for Europe to open its doors to take in refugees who are crushing the borders of Syria's neighboring states.
One of the more poignant PSAs to come out in recent weeks is the video above, which follows a year in the life of a young girl whose world is destroyed by war and violence, much like so many of the Syrian child refugees.
From this vantage point, one can only admire Sweden's efforts. The renewed focus and imagery of the humanitarian crisis is a sad reminder that WE need to do SOMETHING.
On a lighter note, my ski instructor was also quite interested in my background, and we had plenty of time to swap stories skiing around cross country fields.
When he learned I was from Saint Louis, he actually knew it was a city in Missouri. He also knew the city sat on the Mississippi River and was therefore in the middle of America.
I know a lot of east-coasters who don't even know this much about US geography, and so I was quite impressed that my Swedish twenty-something ski instructor knew so much about a small, Midwestern town.
He also knew that hip hop artist Akon is from Saint Louis, which of course could explain how he knew anything at all about Saint Louis. But still . . . .
I played it cool, but I didn't even know that Akon was from STL. I can at least say that I was familiar with Akon. And in my own defense, while Akon was born in Saint Louis, he spent most of his life in West Africa country of Senegal (yep, looked that up when I got home). Even Akon says he's Senegalese. Seriously, who really knows Akon hails from STL? Just sayin'.
However, we soon learned that the migration of workers is pretty much one-way: Sweden to Norway. It is estimated that there are close to 100,000 Swedes working Norway, and the Swedes make up over 10% of the population in Oslo.
The combined effects of a Norwegian oil boom (oil was discovered off the coast of Norway in the 1960s), and the entrance of Sweden into the European Union (Norway is not part of the EU) has reversed an extremely long-term relationship between the two countries in which Sweden has typically been considered superior.
Norway is now one the world's wealthiest countries, but its population is only five million, which means workers are lacking. Sweden, on the other hand, is facing pressure on its core industries, like steel, and is heavily reliant on exports to a shaky EU. It is therefore increasingly hard to absorb those seeking jobs.
With unemployment in Sweden at an all-time high, young people are encouraged to go work in Norway, where they can make double the salary, mostly in the service industry but also in the industrial sector. The majority of Swedes return to their home country within five years, all the more better-off.
Meanwhile, the Swedish government has opened up its doors wide to Syrian refugees, often to the frustration of the Swedish population which doesn't understand how the economy can support the influx or how the refugees can be successfully integrated culturally. To date, Sweden has accepted more than 15,000 refugees (of the 2.1 million total refugees); the most of any EU nation other than Turkey which borders Syria.
I heard a lot about all of this from my Swedish cross-country ski instructor who lambasted the Norwegians for having so much money and being too cheap to spend any of it to salt the snow and ice-covered roads (we hiked on these roads for thirty minutes each way to my lesson), but also criticized his own country for doing too much and also too little for its own people and for the Syrian refugees.
The Syrian War just hit the 3-year mark, and renewed calls to action can be heard around the globe, particularly for Europe to open its doors to take in refugees who are crushing the borders of Syria's neighboring states.
One of the more poignant PSAs to come out in recent weeks is the video above, which follows a year in the life of a young girl whose world is destroyed by war and violence, much like so many of the Syrian child refugees.
From this vantage point, one can only admire Sweden's efforts. The renewed focus and imagery of the humanitarian crisis is a sad reminder that WE need to do SOMETHING.
When he learned I was from Saint Louis, he actually knew it was a city in Missouri. He also knew the city sat on the Mississippi River and was therefore in the middle of America.
I know a lot of east-coasters who don't even know this much about US geography, and so I was quite impressed that my Swedish twenty-something ski instructor knew so much about a small, Midwestern town.
He also knew that hip hop artist Akon is from Saint Louis, which of course could explain how he knew anything at all about Saint Louis. But still . . . .
I played it cool, but I didn't even know that Akon was from STL. I can at least say that I was familiar with Akon. And in my own defense, while Akon was born in Saint Louis, he spent most of his life in West Africa country of Senegal (yep, looked that up when I got home). Even Akon says he's Senegalese. Seriously, who really knows Akon hails from STL? Just sayin'.
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