A downside of Expat life

Well, the past couple of years have been full of fun adventures and new experiences, and some very special bonds of friendship.

This film is from a party we had to celebrate with friends to spend some time with them, say goodbye and wish them well before they move on to their next adventure. This past couple of years has been particularly tough as the economy has meant that more friends than usual are moving around the globe and assignments tend to be shortened so everyone's future is always a bit uncertain.

I wish all the best to Marilee & Tony who will be moving to Moscow very shortly; to Terry & Mark who are returning to Texas; to Phoebe & Gary moving to Maryland; Kathy & Jack who will be repatriating to Kentucky; to Terry & Joe, also moving back to the States.

Wassenarseslag

What? That's Wassenaar Beach in Dutch. During their visit, I took the family to the local beach in Wassenaar for some sun and relaxation. The kids braved the water and Catrin buried Steffie to his neck in a sand mermaid sculpture. Beautiful afternoon.






As the weather was too good to sit inside, we decided to forego another visit to the fondu restaurant. We headed to the market to get supplies for that evening's bbq followed by singing, dancing, kick boxing demonstrations, head stands, and lessons for the kids in how to do what Alex calls the "cocky walk".... We ended the evening with my now-official signature dessert that I call "Monkey Pudding" - yum!

Exploring Beauty

Remember the Beauty Project? Well, it became Exploring Beauty and it had its first gallery opening in a series in Antwerp on the last weekend in May. Unfortunately for us, we (and many others) were caught in a four-hour backup in traffic on the motorway, so we missed the presentation and keynotes, but it was a great show. More models have joined the project as a result.

This article is published in the Health and Well-Being section of away magazine in Belgium.

http://www.awaymagazine.be/

Great Publicity for the AWC

This article will appear in the semi-annual Global The Hague magazine, a sophisticated winter/summer publication!

http://www.globalthehague.nl/

Zaanse Shans village

You never know who you might see!

In early June, the in-laws came for a week's visit with our niece and nephew. Early in the week we visited Zaanse Shans. This charming village was built by relocating old wooden houses, windmills, storehouses and more to create this replica of a village on the river Zaans. It also contains beautiful gardens and scenery, the bakery museum and the museum shop of Albert Heijn (a famous supermarket here founded in 1887.) We strolled around the whole place, visited the shops, museums and windmills and had traditional pannenkeuken for lunch - yum!

Next up: A visit to our local beach.

Nancy Does Delft

Although I've been to Delft many times now, it doesn't lose its charm for me. This time we were there on a Saturday, which meant Alex could join us. It also meant an open market and lots of weddings in the square. I'd have thought I'd taken enough photos in this lovely place, but the gorgeous day, bright colors and beautiful and interesting people kept me captivated once again.

Nancy had her first taste of poffertjes and was sold! If you recall, poffertjes (pronounced poff yert jeez) are tiny, puffy pancakes with delicious toppings like whipped cream, powdered sugar, strawberries, chocolate, ice cream and others. Deeeeee - lish!

Nancy Does the Dam

At long last, my aunt Nancy came to visit! Her trip was initially planned in mid-April, but was delayed due to the massive travel disruptions resulting from the volcano eruptions in Iceland. And then Nancy broke her ankle - so she rescheduled to be here for my birthday. The volcano threatened to interfere again, but didn't.

It was a very short trip, but we made the most of it and had a fabulous time. We also took Nancy for fondu (ok, so we like cheese!) and introduced her to Wassenaar, public transport in Holland, the city of Amsterdam, the town of Delft and some seaside exposure in Nordwijk.

Here are highlights from our day in Amsterdam which included the van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House, neither of which allow photos - and a whole lot of interesting people-watching!

A visit from Hollie

Well, the weekend after the party, my friend Hollie was in the country for a conference in Rotterdam, so she came to stay with us for a couple of nights. We gorged on fondu, strolled along the beach and pier, passed on the bungie jump at the end of the pier (again), took her to one of our favorite pubs, and just had a good laugh!

Hollie, you are welcome back any time!

The AWC Celebrates 80 Years in The Hague

Well, I've had a busy few weeks - beginning with a very important evening in early May. I was a bit nervous as I had to deliver a speech to a crowd of 160+ but all went smoothly and it was delightful night.

Our Denim & Dimaonds birthday celebration marking 80 years in The Hague was simply a tremendous success. I couldn't have been more proud or honored to be a part of the American Women's Club of The Hague. Thanks to a great group of volunteers and some amazing community and corporate support, we have been able to make a generous donation to FAWCO's Emergency Relief Fund for Haiti.

It was a true celebration, attended by our keynote speaker U.S. Ambassador Fay Hartog Levin (a Dutch American) as well as several other distinguished guests. The evening included a delicious three-course meal, live music, dancing and a silent auction. Everyone looked smashing and the evening was full of smiles, laughter, kissing, more laughing and dancing!

During the planning of this event, my Dutch friends and fellow Members reminded me of what John Adams once observed about the Dutch, "There are no friends more faithful than they."

The successful and rewarding evening reminds me why the AWC of The Hague is so special.

Next up - Hollie visits, Nancy visits, the in-laws visit!