Another Five Years!

The last time I made a post about renewing my 5-year Dutch staying permit was in January 2020, which is another way of saying that the 5 years gets shorter and shorter every time (depending on when the request is made and not the expiration date--an infuriating story that's beside the point).

But, again, for the record!  

This is my 5th permit since moving to the Netherlands on December 5, 2009, and my second time to pick it up in Den Haag/The Hague.  My 2020 post is full of my impressions of The Hague from that wonderful, blustery day, so no reason to repeat any of that.

Just these very special moments:

Driving into this world-famous city gives me goosebumps.

It's home to the International Court of Justice!

(I'm thinking about Putin and Netanyahu right now.)

It's important to get there early, of course, since it's a scheduled appointment.

So we made sure we had time for a very nice latte macchiato first.

My appointment at 11 a.m. was across the street a block away.

No cameras inside, of course, but once outside, always the obligatory, thankful kiss!

We then had a quick walking-errand for Astrid to the nearby Decathlon sporting-goods store,

before heading back to the car for wherever Astrid would take us for lunch--a surprise.

I hadn't seen this building before so, yes, I grabbed it...

just before the memorable landmark of The Hague's Nieuwe Kerk from 1656,

just outside our parking garage.

Astrid's surprise was finding the only Wagamama on a beach,

which happens to also be The Hague's only Wagamama, in Kijkduin, its suburb.

Followed by ice cream next door, also on the beach, of course!

And yes, that's the North Sea that runs into the Atlantic Ocean!

Far off to the right we saw the nearby beach and city of Scheveningen,

another of our favorite memories over the years, especially with our kids.

This time I couldn't help but think of what's ready to happen across The Big Pond

with Trump's 2nd Presidency.

And I said to myself, Whew!  

Another 5 years to be a legal immigrant without fear of being deported!

I'll drink to that....but God have mercy on everyone else?!

 

Our Atlanta Trip 2024

 

So swiftly fly the years!

Once again, it's the schedule/routine we've grown to love:  one week with daughter Amy, a week at the cabin, followed by a week with son Mark.

1:  At Amy's, October 17-24.

First and foremost, we met her new cat, Nacho, her lover-boy!

And then reacquainted ourselves with her neighborhood on our daily walks

at this fun time of year, with Halloween and Thanksgiving just around the corner.

That first weekend we rendezvoused with Mark and g'son Nicholas for Mexican,

celebrating all our birthdays in one swell foop.

[photo credit:  Astrid]

And then Amy and I voted.  [More on that at the end.]

Even Nacho wanted to vote:  "Please, oh, pretty please???"

I think Kamala wanted to let him!

As we had done in 2015 with Dennis and Nicholas, we decided to go back to Six Feet Under,

the restaurant across the street from the Oakland Cemetery, with just the 3 of us.

Oakland Cemetery is Atlanta's oldest "public park," worth seeing over and over again,

which I'm sure we'll do maybe even next year...again.

But what was new for us this year was Gibbs Gardens in Ball Ground.

It's one of Georgia's best-kept secrets I never knew!

And we saw only part of the 300+ acres!

[photo credit:  Astrid]

2.  At the Cabin in the North Georgia Mountains near Blue Ridge, October 24-28.

It was a new cabin this year and, even before opening the door, I took this pano iPhone pic

and immediately said to g'son Nicholas, "This is the one!"

[photo credit:  Astrid]

4 bedrooms, 4 full baths, 1 powder room, for 8 people (but only 6 of us).

A kitchen for Amy (the cook) to die for, great walking access, and a view for the soul.

Absolutely nothing to complain about; everything to praise!

And we finally got to meet Mark's girlfriend, Melissa!

Sorry for the duplicate image but what a joy it was to meet her

and to see them both happy and in love with each other.

[right-middle image is from Mark's house the next week]

Speaking of good walking access, Astrid and I got back inside just before the only rain of the stay.

And, yes, that's actually a rainbow in that top-middle image.

One day Mark drove Astrid and me to the nearby Stanley Rapids off the Toccoa River.

[Melissa had to go back home early--long story--and wasn't with us, sadly.]

Lots of Swoop (new card game), movies, football, and GOOD FOOD,

thanks to Amy who loves orchestrating the breakfast and dinner meals.

All I did was bake Mark's all-bran  muffin mix each morning and wash the breakfast dishes!

3:  At Mark's, October 28-November 5.

First order of business once down the mountain at Mark's house

was getting reacquainted with Piper, his cat of 14 years.

As Nacho is to Amy, Piper is to Mark!  She's very loyal to him.

Besides lazing around and playing lots of Five Crowns, the 3 of us took 2 trips.

The first was to the quaint city of Dahlonega for lunch, 33 miles away,

followed by a visit to Amicalola Falls another 20 miles further.

Both were past memories I wanted Astrid to see.

The second trip was to the Cherokee Bluffs Park less than 5 miles from Mark's house

and a new place for all of us, which we will definitely want to visit each year

for the exercise and the therapeutic, soulful beauty.

We had one last chance to see Melissa, who came over for a game night,

while grieving the loss of her dog of 10 years, Watson, who had to be put down

because of terminal cancer (which was the reason why she had to leave the cabin earlier).

All that plus movies in Mark's newly-upgraded home theater, plus one evening of football

for GEORGIA (Mark) and OREGON (Nicholas) and MICHIGAN (moi).

The grand finale with Mark, 3 years in a row now, was his Dungeon's & Dragons potluck,

where Mark cooked a brisket on his pellet grill.  Enough food to sink a ship!

Needless to say, we left for home with full tummies and hearts and souls.

* * * * * * * * * *

That was the 5th, Tuesday, Election Day for America's Presidential Election.  We arrived home in the Netherlands the next day, finding out soon thereafter that Trump was to become our next President.

This is the only story I can tell right now, a week+ later, following the initial gut-punch:

Kamala Harris did NOT lose.  

She ran one of the greatest campaigns in American history FOR the middle class.

Trump did NOT win.

Sadly, it won't be long before Americans and the world find out why.

DISINFORMATION won!

And it's happening all over the world, including here in the Netherlands.

Can we figure out how to counter it?  I sure hope so!