The Jan van Haasteren Exhibit in Groningen

Believe it or not, the main "goal" of our overnight trip to Zuidlaren a couple weeks ago was to visit the newly opened Jan van Haasteren exhibition at the Nederlands Stripmuseum in nearby Groningen, dedicated to comic strips.

The museum was opened in 2004 on the second floor of a huge shopping complex.

And while it has displays from many Dutch cartoonists, we were there primarily to see one:

the exhibition celebrating the 80th birthday of Jan van Haasteren.

Here's my "photo of a photo" of Jan in the exhibition.
He was actually there in person the day before, but, sadly, we weren't there then.

The exhibition was held in a large room of the museum, partitioned off to showcase his work

from different periods in his life.

For one thing, he started off as a Dutch comic strip artist in 1962,

and continued in the next years creating several comic strips.

In 1975 he became the founder of a satirical magazine and later worked in advertising

where his "crowded" posters became well-known.

He was then asked by JUMBO to produce jigsaw puzzles, earning him international fame.

In 2013, Jumbo opened Studio Jan van Haasteren to continue his legendary puzzles.

Here, below, are examples of his "crowed" puzzles (all photos of photos!).

"The Storm" in 1000 pieces.

"Wild Water Rafting" in 1500 and 3000 pieces.

"New Year's Dip" in 1000 and 2000 pieces.

It was fun to see the display of "The Lawn Mower Race," showing the beginning-to-end process

of his pencil and ink drawings before the color was added.

But to get the full impact of what "crowded" means, you really have to look in carefully.

His signature self-portrait, Sinterklaas, shark's fin, periscope...are somewhere to be found.

It's like a jungle that has meaning with every stick/branch/tree/piece.

And did I mention H U M O R?!
Remember, he used to be a cartoonist or comic strip maker.

Here's a short YouTube that zooms in and out to show what I mean.

Astrid and I have collected 59 of his puzzles thus far, some even rare editions at the flea market.

Why would anyone get rid of them...for they are indeed collector's items!

And because it was Jan's 80th birthday this year, we got this special silver edition

on sale at the museum for €9.99 instead of the normal €16.99.

How often have I said it...but it doesn't take much to make us happy.
Lucky for us, we both love jigsaw puzzles!

Happy Birthday, Jan van Haasteren!

Bits-n-Pieces

Believe it or not, I just finished an easy week by my standards...not working all day long every day on getting images processed for a new post.

Just bits-n-pieces of this, that, and the other...as you'll soon see!

Promise not to laugh...but this past summer during the Olympics, our nearby Aldi grocery store brought in pallets of goodies from England, to celebrate the festivities.  One of the goodies I latched onto was Ginger Bier (= beer).

The 6-packs started out at €3.49.  "I can afford that," I said.

We're not beer drinkers, to be honest, but there's something about ginger, right?

And when Astrid said she liked it, I took her inch and ran it for a mile.

After a couple months, the price was reduced to €2 per 6-pack.

When it was then reduced to €1 per 6-pack, I bought the remaining 13 packs!

Thankfully the expiration date is next April because we drink only 4 bottles total/weekend.  HA!

So, speaking of ginger, which is gember in Dutch....

I really am a glutton for it!

I love the lemongrass & ginger oil I use for our Sunday-night homemade popcorn.

And when I saw it as a jam (extra jam!), I jumped for joy!

It doesn't take much to make me happy.  But you know that by now.

Backtrack now to Adrie Bezemer, the wood turner.  When we were at his shop 2 weeks ago, he told us about the exhibition where he would be this past weekend...in nearby Nieuwpoort.

It so happens that Nieuwpoort is a tiny town we like to visit

twice a year or so for their spareribs.  Another small pleasure.

And see, it's even ready for the season.

Within a one-block area, we went to the exposition and afterwards ate our spareribs.

It was fun to see Adrie again doing his thing, which he does so well.

We feel like we have a new friend!

And, as luck would have it, we found a new friend...Jan Scheffe.

Making bronzes is just one of his hobbies!  He also paints.

We had fun getting to know him better as he explained the art of making a bronze.

Aren't we lucky?!?!?!
(Maybe we can talk him into making a website?!)

Now, to fill in some more bits...

 Did I ever mention that Astrid and I have a chess game going all the time...

...and all year 'round!

This is the chess set Donica and I bought in Barcelona years ago, with the Gaudí flavor. 

And lest I forget (which I did!), we always have a jigsaw puzzel going!

These are ones we've finished since the last time I mentioned it...all from Jan van Haasteren: 

(in no particular order)

 

At the Gym (In de Fitness)--1000 pcs.

 

Castle Conflict (De Middeleeuwen)--1000 pcs.

 

Christmas (Kerstmis)--1000 pcs.

 

Departure Hall (Vertrekhal)--1000 pcs.

The Golf Course (De Golfbaan)--1500 pcs.

 

 

In the Car Respraying Shop (In de Autospuiterij)--1000 pcs.

 

Some like it Hot--1000 pcs.

 

The Playground (De Speeltuin)--1000 pcs.

 

United Europe--750 pcs.

The Kitchen (De Keuken)--1000 pcs.

Dat was it!  That's it.  Just a whole bunch of this, that, and the other.  Bit's-n-pieces.

For all my American friends, HAPPY THANKSGIVING this week!  It's the one American holiday I miss more than all the others put together.  (sigh)  I'm at least thankful for all the memories....

Open Harbor Day in Gorinchem, 2012

So quickly on the heels of Queen's Day exactly 2 weeks ago (last post), we had another festivity here in our Dutch city this past Saturday, celebrating the 25th anniversary of our renovated harbor.  And this after having just returned from England on Thursday!

Sharing England will just have to wait!

Our lovely city Gorinchem has 2 harbors:  an inner and an outer.  The inner harbor, Lingehaven, was what was renovated 25 years ago and from which there is now every year an open havendag = Open Harbor Day.  Think big flea market (a real "professional" one, not like the street set-ups on Queen's Day) with a party.

First of all, this martket runs along the main canal of our city center

just 2 blocks from where we live near our Nooit Volmaakt windmill (hiding).

Sails are unfurled for the celebration and big boats come from all over.

Everything under the sun can be purchased at this market!

We went early enough to get first-grab on used DVDs, buying 13 altogether!

We watched "Moonstruck" that night, one of my favorite movies of all time.

Did you notice how close Astrid is to the edge of the wall-without-railing?

The drop-off to the wharf below is about 6 ft, something that still shocks me

(and scares the bejesus out of me every year!).

AND we found 2 (TWO!!) old Jan van Haasteren jigsaw puzzles for €2 each:

Ice Hockey (1500 pcs.) from 2001, and The Wedding (1000 pcs. from 1998).

In perfect condition with all pieces, or so she said.

 It so happens that for 3 years running now, we have bumped into Coby.

And we all remember each other every time!

Three years ago we bought a lovely picnic basket from her that we still use.

This time she asked me for my photos, which I gladly e-mailed to her.

Actually, Coby's table was at the harbor where all the main attractions took place,

like these water balls.  One of these years I may just have a try at one, with my camera inside.
Now THAT would be a different POV (point of view)!

This is also where the salmon fishing boats dock and you see the fishermen demonstrating

how they fry up the fish (which they sell) and mend/make their nets.

Activities took place all day long related to this harbor art.

For instance, there were 2500 rubber duckies released into the harbor

by the Lion's Club as a fund raiser to eradicate polio!

Even though I had polio as a child and would have loved to be there, 

we decided we couldn't do everything.  Besides, it would have been too crowded by then.

 But we DID see this Eght Herrie (= real loud) band that is well-known in the city.

We followed them right to the center of the festivities...

...where Dries, the newspaper photographer from here where we live (remember?),

and the town mayor were ready to kick off the celebration.

We had met the mayor 2 years earlier at the newcomer's welcome.

We were clearly in the right place at the right time:  11 a.m.

In honor of the 25th harbor-renovation anniversary, these bubbles were uncorked!

Can you imagine being these children of one of the band players (a trumpeter),

 in on all this action, so up close and personal!

(The little boy, top-right image, did finally figure out how to hold his trumpet upright!)

What great fun for all us kids!  Here's to next year!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Now, just a wee appetizer of our trip last week in England, which a couple of you may have already seen:

 We had our 3rd annual Shutterchance meet-up, this time at Blists Hill Victorian Town in Ironbridge.

There were 13 of us...a nice baker's dozen.  We had a Blists Blast!

It would NOT have been the same without Bill's Mr. Pig!

To be continued....

Bats in the Belfry

You already know about tree huggers and how they can make or break a project, but in this post, instead of trees, keep thinking BAT HUGGERS.

For several years now, even before I arrived at the end of 2009, our city here in the Netherlands has planned renovation of old neighborhoods.  Call them eyesores.  It so happens one of them is situated on two sides of our beautiful senior-living complex.

As a reminder, this is the front of our beautiful complex, in white, where we live.

At first the renovation project got started and then stopped because of lack of funds.  Welcome to the real world, right?!  Renters in the apartments were asked to leave, and then suddenly the bat huggers said NO, the buildings could NOT be torn down.  So things were put on hold and renters were allowed back.  All this since I've been here.

Apparently the city found a solution for the bat huggers because finally renters were asked to leave again and, as of a month ago, the buildings were cordoned off for renovation.

First stage:  FREE THE BATS!

 One morning a couple weeks ago we heard some pounding across the street behind us.

These guys are almost at eye level from our balcony on the backside of our apartment.  In the top middle image you can see our apartment complex on the left, the street between us, and the building being renovated.
That's how close they are to us.

See the bat holes?!

And then on the other street, adjacent to one wall of our complex,

another section of apartments got pounded and punched.

See what I mean about an eyesore?

But how fun to watch these guys at work!

Were they having fun, I wondered?

Did you notice all the brick?

It so happens building with wood in the Netherlands is considered a luxury.

Brick is so much cheaper and readily available.

Speaking of wood, one morning I walked behind the apartments 

from the first collage at the top of this post.

I had heard more commotion going on and this time guys were cutting down a tree.

And that's where I saw the most trash.

In the middle image above, you can look through to OUR apartments on the other side of the street.

And for some reason, these bat holes were punched all the way through the wall.
Don't ask me why.

Don't you wish you knew all the ins and outs about such things you've never seen before?  For one thing, we both had to ask about the holes in the first place.  Supposedly they are escape hatches for the bats!  Are you kidding me!  There are that many bats living inside the walls of these apartments???

And now we wait for the next stage...when the buildings will be torn down.  When that happens, we'll have an open view from our back balcony to the river...until the city has enough funds to build new apartments a few years from now.

Until then, at least the bat huggers are happy!  I guess?

ADDENDUM:  Astrid Googled and found out the bat has been a protected species in the Netherlands since 1973.  For one reason, the mama bat has only one baby per year!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  Another Jan van Haasteren puzzle completed:  Motorbike Race (1000 pcs).

In Between Photo Hunts

In case you thought we never did anything else....

Remember that "A" is for Astrid of All Trades post I did awhile back? Just when you didn't think there was anything left for her to (know how to) do, Voilà.

As a mater of fact, this was one of the very first things I found out she could do when I met her in 2007. And I wanted one: a "monkey's fist" knotted key chain! It wasn't till a week ago that I watched her make one, from beginning to end, for a co-worker.

At the same table where we do our jigsaw puzzles, Astrid set up shop.
(click any collage to enlarge)

First, the loopty-loops. Four sides of them!
In and out, in and out, always paying attention where she had to go...
before putting the marble stabilizer inside.
I WAS SO CONFUSED.


Once the marble was inside the loopy mess, the tightening began.
Battening down the hatches! Round and round and round with her nifty tool,
till the knot was compact and hard as a rock, ready for the key chain.


See?! Voilà
The green one above is what Astrid made for me 4+ years ago.
The yellowish one is hers, as are those baseball-sized ones at top-right.
In the bottom-right image (above) is the splicing tool Astrid uses, next to the wooden one her sailor-captain grandfather used in his Merchant Navy days. And the knot on top of hers? Yup, she made that one, too.

How to Tie A Monkey's Fist Knot -- powered by ehow

So, now you know how a Monkey's Fist knotted keychain is made...more or less!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Now, go back to that same table a week earlier when Astrid was working another Jan van Haasteren jigsaw puzzle, all by herself:

Deep Sea Fun, 1000 pieces (image from van Haasteren's site)

While I was busy with other things, Astrid had a hankering to work this puzzle alone.
Who knew it was just what the doctor ordered!
All I asked was that she take pictures of the details when she was done, which she did.
(All following images are Astrid's, processed and collaged by me.)

Remember how I've told you there are his "signatures" in every puzzle?
Sinterklaas came to Holland aboard a ship from España.
His Black Pete is always with him, as are his gifts and scepter, now strewn on the sea's floor.
The American Indian, his arrow, the burglar, the cat and mouse, shark's tail, periscope...
as well as his own self-portrait and initials....


The ghost, the "free" hands and feet, the police, the whimsy.
Always the whimsy, the laugh, the ha-ha-ha.
Who would think of diving into a kiddie swimming pool...under water in the sea!


Notice the top middle image and it's nod to the big diamond from the Titanic movie.
See what I mean? That artist deserves every penny he gets!

Lucky for me, I get to work this puzzle myself this late-shift week for Astrid. She'll also have some overtime hours because of the Easter holiday coming up.

And of course, we did do another photo hunt this past Saturday in nearby Tiel. That'll keep me very busy, too. While the cat is gone the mouse will play....