Dutch Sheep in Ottoland: Part 2

When I told you (last post) that our two Saturdays a week apart at the Ottoland, NL, sheepfold were as different from night and day, I meant it. This time, we were two of only a handful of visitors.  Everyone had come the weekend before.

So in that regard, we looked at everything with new eyes.  And this time it even occurred to me to take videos with my camera!

Before going into the sheepfold, I snuck around back to look in through the open door.

There was good light and the week-old lambs were eating off the hay bales.

And Astrid was already there, capitalizing on the photo op.
(and, yes, that's the famous Dutch wind I love!)

There were lambs cuddling....

...and lambs nuzzling their mamas...

 ...and lambs wandering around while everyone else was eating.+

Even lambs jumping around for joy...just to be alive.
Hello, World.  Here I am!

A different Billy Goat Gruff from the previous week was on top of a bale, King of the Mountain.

What a handsome dude!

But THIS is what totally captivated me!
Every time I looked for 30+ minutes, they stood munching and staring at each other,
while little lambsy-divey watched from below.
Was it spring love???

No amount of distraction distracted them!

We really did have the place to ourselves.
Sheep heaven.

Towards the end, the shepherd came in and talked with Astrid.
Do you remember him from here, when he brought his flock to Gorinchem in September of 2011?
All that time we kept saying we'd go out to his sheepfold, which we finally did.

As we left for our car, guess who followed us!
It's not all work and no play for these smart, adorable sheepdogs...or for Astrid, either!

Next door to the sheepfold, other sheep were out in the fields, doing what all sheep do.
Come April, all the lambsy-diveys will be out there with them.
This is what spring is all about for sheep in the Netherlands!

And did I mention that the Dutch do NOT mainly grow their sheep for lambchops?  Or I should put it this way...sheep slaughtered for meat is exported, which explains why I rarely find it on menus when we go out to eat! They grow their sheep for WOOL, which is in bountiful supply here in Dutchland.  I can live with that.

 Sister Ruth's new grandbaby gitl, Olive Rose, was born this past Monday.
As a sweet tribute to her and to all lambsy-diveys everywhere, especially those who need holding,

here's my own Ollie lamb:  I love you!

Just for the Halibut

My ex-boss always said that:  just for the halibut.  And now that I live here in the Netherlands, where halibut abounds, I still get a giggle whenever I can use it.

So, just for the halibut, how about no collages today and only single images I picked out from last week's post on our Mozart Requiem concert in Amsterdam on February 17.  Most of these have or will end up on my Shutterchance photoblog.  But for those of you who don't visit there, here they are, in the order in which they were taken:

The Magere Brug (bridge) spans the Amstel River in Amsterdam.

Different view of the same bridge and river.

I had fun with this reflection of the Rijksmuseum on a sunny day.  With a bit of manipulation and flipping the image, I tried to make it look like Rembrandt's famous Night Watch on display there.

You know by now that I love tweaking images, just for the halibut!

I don't want all my images to look like tourist snapshots.  HA!

(and yes, that's the Rijksmueum from the Museumplein side)

Whenever I can get away with it, I love to do selective coloring!

This red carpet on the Concertgebouw stairway seemed a perfect candidate for it.

Lucky for us, a gratis drink came with our ticket.  How could we say NO!

I always say "Always look up!"

So I did, while in my seat before the concert began.

As I said to Astrid, how could eveything be out of focus except her!

Yup!  Another candidate for selective coloring.

But THIS is the one that still tickles me to no end.

Don't you just love it when you are so pleased with yourself!

That's Jelle on the left looking at Olga on the right and giving his approval, I assume.

The maestro's hands.  He's no flash in the pan!

Pieter Jan Leusink is the director, signing CDs after the concert.

One last candidate for selective coloring as we passed through Vondel Park to Wagamama.

I don't care what anyone says, sometimes it's fun to play around...

...just for the halibut!

Gorinchem's Dutch Carnaval, 2013

Two months after moving to the Netherlands in 2009, I experienced my first European carnaval, coinciding with America's Mardi Gras, and I blogged about it here.  That was in 2010, 3 years ago.

After 2 years of not going outside the apartment to witness the same ol' thing, I had a hankering this year to see it all over again...the kids!  Astrid still has nothing with carnaval but in conjunction with our Saturday café date, she agreed to a spot where we could see the parade march by while we were eating.

Lucky for me, two of the biggest cuties of them all were inside the cafe, waiting with us:

This little princess sat with her g'pa up at the bar before and after.

See the confetti on his jacket?

I'm not sure who was prouder.  She really wanted me to know this was her opa!

And later, the lady of the café made sure we knew opa was not in costume.

He's one of their regulars.

Not to be outdone, this little cowboy was at the table next to us.

A real gun-slinger!

Once we finshed eating and paid our bill, we stood outside the café and watched.  The best way I can descibe carnaval here in our city is American Halloween without the floats.  I guess that's why I didn't take pictures of the floats!

I started taking pictures of the kids across the street from us...

when suddenly a pushy lady was in my face saying "GINNIE!"

She probably had been yelling at me across the street but I hadn't noticed.

It was dear Gerrie, one of my Rummikub co-players at our senior complex.

And yes, I then took pictures of her and all her kids...2 sons and 3 g'kids!

Wake up, Ginnie!

See what I mean?  How can you resist these cutie-pies!

They were having so much fun, scooping up the confetti and throwing it like snow.

All the boys against the one girl.  HA!  Go get 'em, Girl!

I think I've told you before how much I love family togetherness in these events.

Sometimes it's the Daddy who does the care-giving, which I love to see.

This one spent a lot of time looking at the real-estate ads in the window.  Hmmmm.

Daddy's and g'pas are so proud of their little girls...

and boys, even it they're little devils!

Don't you just want to eat them up!  Well, some of them.

What do YOU want to be when you grow up????
(He sure reminds me of Sean Astin!)

Maybe you'd like to be the Prince of the Carnaval?  Prins Jacobus, in fact.

That's the man with the pheasant feathers...head of the parade this year.

Who knows who the other diplomats were!

It's all big stuff...that's all I know.

 Like in most of Europe, the festivities span 5 days, Friday - Fat Tuesday!
But the actual parade was on Saturday.

  We didn't stay long but long enough to catch those still arriving..

Kids really do wait for this...well, like for Halloween!

Remember those days as a kid?

No pumpkins or spider webs...but lots of confetti and plastic spray everywhere.

What a mess!

I'll try to pay attention to how long it takes to clean the place up...just a couple blocks from where we live.  But as far as I'm converned, it's totally worth it!  I might not even wait 3 years before I head outside again to take a peek.

Our 3rd Wedding Anniversary

Have any other 3 years passed so quickly or been as packed to the gills!

Tomorrow, 5 February, Astrid and I celebrate 3 years since we became legally married here where we live in Gorinchem, Netherlands.  Back then, I wasn't yet making collages or video clips, so I have decided to embellish the memory this year, just for the record.

The wedding party and photographers met at our apartment before our 2 p.m. ceremony at City Hall.

It's when we put on each other's corsages and made sure we all were buttoned up and zipped.

Let's just say we were all trying to loosen up!  HA!

Ingeborg is Astrid's best friend who stood up for me (bottom left above)

Jeroen is Astrid's son (21 at the time) who stood up for her.

From the apartment we all drove to the Gorinchem City Hall a mile away to prep the wedding room.

It was a rainy day but as you see, nothing rained on our parade.
Were we nervous?  HA!
(at the back door of our senior complex)


At the front door of City Hall...yup, still nervous!


Once inside the lobby, the kiosk proclaimed to everyone this important event.

Wedding guests were already congregating in the City Hall lobby while we prepped the room.

Every Dutch city hall has a wedding room because city hall is where marriages are legalized.
You CAN get married in a church if you wish but you HAVE to get married first in City Hall.
The church does not legalize marriage in the Netherlands.  City Hall does.

Astrid and I met up with Cora, our City Hall officiator, for last-minute details.
Days before she had  spent a couple of hours getting to know us in our apartment.

Daughter Amy from Atlanta ordered a wonderful bouquet of tulips which was placed dead center.

I felt her presence, representing my American family, throughout the day.

 The wedding service began at 2 p.m.
Astrid and I walked in last, after Cora, to the strains of Anne Murray singing,
Could I have this dance for the rest of my life.  YES!
By the time we sat down, I was bawling like a baby (bottom left above).

Wim Brik (top) was our 80-year-young videographer...and next-door neighbor where we live.

There were 34 of us total, mostly friends of Astrid from her tennis and soccer teams.
A few friends joined us from our senior center, after 2 months of knowing us.

During the service, Cora was dead-center officiating.
If you were in the audience, the 2 witnesses (Ingeborg and Jeroen) were seated on the left.
Astrid and I were seated on the right.  Very Dutch typical.

When it was time to say our vows and exchange our rings , Cora asked us to stand in front of her.


This is long and more for Astrid and me.  I'm including it for us to remember.
The main thing is that I wrote and said my own vows in Dutch and English to surprise her:

"Astrid Martha Alida Wijdekop. Ik hou van jou met mijn leven, mijn hart en ziel. I love you with my life, my heart and soul. Jij bent mijn Liefste; jij bent mijn Amazone. You are my Dearest; you are my Amazon Woman. Jij bent NU mijn vrouw; ik ben nu JOUW vrouw. You are NOW my wife; I am now YOUR wife. Ik ben zo trots op jou; ik ben zo trots op ons. I am so proud of you; I am so proud of us. Ik hou heel erg veel van jou. I really really love you. Met alles wat ik in me heb. With everything within me. Wij zijn getrouwd. We are married. NU kussen! NOW we can kiss!"

 Right then and there, in the middle of the service, the documents were signed by the 5 of us, in duplicate,
while Anne Murray and Dave Loggins sang Nobody loves me like you do.
(And yes, we picked our own music for the entire ceremony.) 


This part alone was quite educational for me.
What I liked is that the audience witnessed this signing by everyone,
including Cora, the last "official" signature.

If you make it to the end of this clip, Jeroen finally lost it and broke down in tears.
I wanted to take him in my arms and hold him forever and tell him it would all be okay.
 It was, of course, and he and girlfriend Eva are part of our life.
 

We were then surprised when City Hall presented us with this symbolic glass-sculpture gift.
The painting in the back of the wedding room shows that others have gone before us.


It will remain one of our most prized possessions forever!

Then it was time for the reception line!
(with k.d. lang's version of Hallelujah in the background!)


Notice how the Dutch greet each other:  3 kisses, left-right-left!
3 kisses is a charm, you know.  :)

It was the first time for me to meet many of Astrid's friends.
And BTW, that's Wim and Jan Willem in the bottom center image...our videographer and photographer.



The last ones in the reception line are friends from De Lindeborg, where we live.
That was very special.  They still remain our friends!

After the reception line...it was just us....

...with Cora, the City Hall officiator.
Are we all RADIANT or what!

 And then, right outside the wedding room, we all gathered on the City Hall stairway.

Apparently it's become a famous photo-op for weddings over the years.


The voice you hear mid-way is Wim's, the 80-yr-young videographer.
He's actually a real nut-case!  More alive than a lot of people I know!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

It was now time for the reception at our nearby neighborhood 't Grand Café Gelagh.  Astrid and I had reserved most of the restaurant for the mid-afternoon toast.  Instead of a wedding cake, we did the typical Dutch thing:  appeltaart with koffie and tea.

 All 32 of us (minus Cora and her assistant) joined us for our reception toast.


As guests arrived, they gave us their gifts.


Then we had the wedding toast...the PROOST!


And finally...all was sealed with appeltaart and koffie or tea!

Our dear Wim, videographer, made a video of all the clips (many not shown here) as his wedding gift to us.  Guess what we'll be watching tomorrow on our special day!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to us!

Neighborhood Demolition: Part II

But first, a commercial break for my Vision and Verb post today...

All the world's a stage....

one day before our American presidential election!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Now, to continue where I left off last post with our neighborhood demolition here in Gorichem, Netherlands!

By the time we got back from our August/September trip to America, the steam shovel had moved in.  Let the real games begin!  I was like a little kid, watching it off-n-on almost every day, with camera in hand.  I LOVE to see how things work.  (When was the last time I said that?!)

 Isn't she a beauty!  I've almost memorized her from head to foot.

So much beauty but what a mess she makes!

I hardly know where to begin because there were two sides of the street being worked on.

Across the street from our back (bedroom) window was one part.

And just next to our retirement complex was this part...just a few yards from our front door.

In the bottom left image above is our complex in the background.

(click collage to enlarge) 

The apartment buildings had sheds behind them which needed to be torn down first.

Once cleared out, the actual buildings themselves could be demolished...

...One by one...actually, two by two units every day.

The colors, the wallpaper...all coming down.

 No sooner was one dumpster filled up, it was moved

and another took its place.

(click collage to enlarge) 

It was like clock work.  I knew exactly what to expect.

And I was mesmerized to keep watching it, over and over again.

This is how close it was to our building complex...as in attached!

I'm standing on one of our walkways for these images.

And that's our friend, Wim, watching and taking pictures, too.

(click collage to enlarge)

Did I mention the dust??!!

When they tackled the 3-story apartment building next to our parking garage,

I watched the steam-shovel operator pick it apart like toothpicks.

Wouldn't you love it if Kony 2012 could be demolished so easily?!

In the above collage I am standing in the parking garage looking back on our complex,

where Astrid and I have lived now for 3 years.  The heaps of rubble are still being removed.

(click collage to enlarge) 

Ditto.  The heaps of rubble are still being removed.

Eventually, when there's money, they plan to build new apartments.  In the meantime, we've heard they plan to plant grass and make it look beautiful.  I can live with that!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Another reminder about my Vision and Verb post today.  We've got a presidential election coming up tomorrow, folks!  All of the world is watching, trust me!