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!

Adrie Bezemer: The Wood Turner

When I stop to think about it, Astrid and I are so darn lucky!

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I told you about the wood turner we saw in our nearby Grote Kerk at the end of our Summer Festival here in Gorinchem: 

His name is Adrie Bezemer and this is his hobby after retirement.  He's 72.

After that post, Astrid sent him the link to these above collages.

He responded by inviting us to visit him at his home shop for a personal demonstration.

WE ARE NOT DUMB!  We did it a week ago, on November 3, 2012!

Adrie and his wife bought a huge farmhouse 30 years ago 

and remodeled it themselves over 16 years in the evenings and weekends.

In the back of the house, the former cow stable, is now Adrie's display studio and workshop.

Because we arrived by 10 a.m., and true to Dutch custom, we first had koffie break.

Adrie's lovely wife made sure we had plenty to eat and drink.

More Dutch you cannot get!

The wood-turning shop, adjacent to the studio, was a photo op for both of us!

You know how they say it's all about having the right tools!

When Astrid strings tennis rackets, she says she goes into her own zone.

Adrie said the same thing!  He truly was in his own zone.

And what did he make, you might ask?

He actually made TWO different goblets out of goudenregen (golden rain) wood.

The one on the right is mine, of which the Vimeo video below is made.

The one on the left is Astrid's, who chose the same wood but different design.

After the demonstration, Adrie burned the name of the wood 

and his signature into the bottoms of both goblets.

See the A3?  That's his signature.  A (ah) plus Drie (Dutch word for 3) = Adrie.

But A3 also looks like AB for Adrie Bezemer.  How clever is that!

Those 2 goblets were gratis, by the way!

My gift to Adrie in return is the following video, which he plans to add to his website.

Adrie Bezemer: The Wood Turner from Ginnie Hart on Vimeo.

And just before we left, after all our oohs and aahs, I bought a wood ballpoint pen that Adrie had on display in his studio.  Just call me a sucker for any writing utensils! Totally worth €15.

And yes, Adrie inscribed my name on the pen!

I picked out the pen that looked the most like oak wood, my favorite.

Guess what wood it was:  goudenregen.  Golden Rain.

The same wood as our goblets!

THANK YOU, Adrie Bezemer.  THANK YOU.

2012 in Atlanta with the Kids

As a P.S. to the Michigan trip, because it makes a good segue, here's what my post is today at Vision and Verb:  Dance Like No One is watching!

Thanks to Michelle, the official wedding photographer, for these close-ups!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

That was Saturday night at Pumpkin Creek.  HA!  On Sunday, we flew from Michigan to Georgia to spend the rest of our vacation in the Atlanta area.  We had 5 days with friends Bob and Peggy south of the city (next post), while Dennis and Amy worked and Nicholas was in school, but the rest of the time, before and after, we were with "the kids."

So on that first Sunday, NICHOLAS.  Can you believe he's now 12 years old (7th grade)!  Here's the segue from those Dancing Queens above:

"C'mon, G'ma," he said.  Let's dance!"  And we did, 2 different times.  

Dance Like No one is Watching, indeed!

And while Amy was preparing supper that first night, we were all over each other!

Pure Tom-Foolery.  Pure Love.

We ♥ each other.  We ♥ YOU.

This is our Atlanta family:  son Mark, daughter Amy, SIL Dennis,

g'son Nicholas, Oscar the White and CC the Chocolate Chip.

And Astrid, too, of course!

In fact, half of all the photos you see in this post are taken by her!

Nicholas off to school, in the neighborhood pool, putting puzzles together

(yup, we brought with us two 150-pc Jan van Haasteren puzzles),

watching movies....

...while the rest of us kids played our on-going battle of Spades.

Mark and me against Amy and Dennis, every year.

(click any collage to enlarge)

After our week with Bob and Peggy (next post), we came back for the Labor Day holiday weekend, with Saturday football in the wings for all.  Nicholas made Astrid promise her she'd wake him bright and early to get ready for all the games.  He had a plan:

Here's the scoop:  Uof Michigan is for moi! 

USC (Southern California) is for Dennis.

GA (UofGeorgia) is for Mark.

After all the school signs were made (Oregon included for Nicholas?!?!),

banner flags were also made and strung up.

This was serious stuff.

And if that wasn't serious enough, Nicholas dressed up as a USC Trojan.

I stood my ground, of course, hailing Michigan as the Valiant Heroes.

The next day, Sunday, we had planned to Shoot the Hooch for Labor Day weekend fun,
but because thunderstorms were predicted, we decided to go bowling instead.
That's when we all remembered how much we enjoy doing that as a family!
It was Astrid's first time to bowl in 21 years.  She LOVED it!

In between, Amy cooked and I cooked.

No one ever went hungry!

And once everything calmed down again for the week, Astrid and I went off to meet friends:

Bob and Marc, forever friends, sharing ups and downs.

And Glenna, my first ex after my divorce from Bill...meeting Astrid for the first time.

Next we hope we can meet her wife from England...who's in the same boat as Astrid,

not able to move to the States till America allows marriage equality.

Guess how we're voting come November?!

The day we flew back (late) to Amsterdam, there were cleaners at the house, so Astrid and I went to the movies (if Amy weren't sick, ready to travel for work the next week, she would have joined us):

They don't have theaters like this in the Netherlands, so Astrid took lots of pictures

before we saw the delightful "Hope Springs" with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones.

She even took pictures of me at the drive-thru ATM!  

We're not in Holland, you realize.

Now, see that Thank-You stand above?

Next time I'll be more careful with what I say.  HA.
But this is the first time Astrid took a video that I uploaded...
from the little point-n-shoot camera we took for this entire American trip.
Just to say we did it!

Shortly after the movie it was time to say Good-Bye to The Kids...until next year!  As Mark drove us to the airport, we passed through Atlanta's Mid- and Downtown areas:

 Pay attention!

Next week I plan to finish our American trip with the 5 days we spent at Bob and Peggy's...
who visited us here in the Netherlands last year.  Remember? 
One fun thing we did with them was walk around Downtown Atlanta midst those skyscrapers!

In the meantime, don't forget the Dancing Queens at Vision and Verb, today!

 

Mart Martorell's Open House

In my last post I wanted to whet your appetite with lots of faces from the glassblower's Open House in Laren (Gelderland), Netherlands back on June 9-10.  By now, Mart Martorell has become our friend...and to think it all started at the Christmas market in Düsseldorf last year!

It so happens Astrid told one of her co-workers about the Open House because she knew Sjarien (pronounced Sha-REEN) was excited hearing about Astrid's experience with blowing glass.  If Sjarien came, she could possibly have a chance to blow glass herself.

And she did!  And her sister came to watch (upper right).

Nothing like passing on the thrill of the moment.

Actually, Sjarien came on Sunday, the second day, so I'm ahead of myself....

After Saturday's festivities, once the huddled masses were gone, the remaining "workers" stayed in the shop/gallery to watch the first Dutch soccer game of the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship.

 We all quickly went into game mode!

We hooted and hollered.  We did everything right.

But alack, alas, Holland could not pull off the win...then or in their next 2 chances.

HUP HOLLAND was out and buried early on in the tournament.  Sad but true.

Still, we had fun and were able to get to our nearby hotel before 9 p.m.

It was so nearby, we could have walked to the Ehzerwold Hotel from the glass shop.

What a delightful, restful former hospital in the midst of the woods!

We slept 10 hours that night and had all morning on Sunday to just enjoy the place.

While Saturday's open house was for anyone and everyone, Sunday's was specifically for Mart's family, colleagues, and friends as well as random visitors (like Sjarien).  So if you look through this YouTube of both days, the second part is of very special people to Mart, including his parents.

I processed 410 images in an album for Mart to use as he wishes.

Then I reduced it down to 300 images for this YouTube.  That's a LOT!

My first draft was 300 images in 4 minutes at .8 second each.  Way too fast!

Mart told me he wanted all 300 images and didn't care how long it was.

So that's why it's now 7.35 minutes at 1.5 seconds each.

I guess you could say it's something only the attendees will want to see.  HA!
(does anyone know how to slow down the opening slides with credits???)

What a grand experience!  And now Mart will let things settle during the next weeks, after which we'll go back to take individual shots of glass pieces for his website.  It's a story that has no end...yet!  I love it.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Before you go...today is my turn at Vision and Verb again....on Our World is Not Flat!

 ...and other Big-Fish stories.

I was inspired by a blogger friend, Geoff Dunn, to buy a 3cm clear-glass oculus

and take pictures through it.  How fun is that!
The images are upside down through the oculus, so you have to flip them.

How 'bout having the whole world in your hands!

 

Lil' Kicker #2

Just when I thought there were no more sports to try for awhile, along comes flag football for the Big Boy! And wouldn't you know, it's the one sport he REALLY gets! Soccer was okay; baseball was better; swimming wasn't competitive and too much like fun; but FOOTBALL is like...SERIOUS BUSINESS!

Nicholas, age 8-1/2, has now had two games, both of which I was able to attend. Luckily the games are indoors because today Atlanta had its first snow storm of the season. No problem. We all got there and back without a hitch, even though several schools are closed for tomorrow.

The center of attention...well, MY attention, that is.


Here in the foreground, he PAYS attention. Really, he does.


And somehow he always weasles himself in next to the coach's side, eyeballing the next play!

Today Nicholas was the ball-hiker on offense. At first he side-hiked the ball but throughout the rest of the game, he did it through his legs like a pro. So cute! See the size difference in these boys, ages 8-10! Not to worry though because he's one of the fastest on the team!

And even Donica was there today with her video camera and this YouTube for show-and-tell (keep your eyes on #2 because in the first play, he captures the flag!):



YAY for YouTube! If this works, this is my first attempt at posting a video. HA! An old dog doing a new trick...showing a new dog doing an old trick. I love it.

Here's a small photo album from the last two games (20 images). You know how we feel about kids and team sports: it's a valuable life experience, for all of us!