Imagine That

When the daily mail arrives at our house, the carrier places the post in an narrow opening just to the right of our front door. From there it falls into a side cabinet on the wall and waits for someone's curious retrieval.

I suppose I should clarify that the arrival of the mail is not a deeply anticipated event around here. Most often it is only bills, or a boring blah-blah-blah kind of general correspondence. There is a sticker on the outside of the house declaring NEE (no!) to advertisements or junk mail kinds of deliveries, so there isn't even the hope and joy of looking at the grocery store flyers or ads for the latest miracle wrinkle removing cream.

Nope, mail time is not so much a party time around here.

Except for the day when you get a postcard in the mail.

I shall repeat that.

A postcard! In the mail!

I got a postcard in the mail.

One day last week I casually opened the door to the mail cabinet and there sitting on the shelf was a postcard. Cool, I thought. I picked it up and turned it over in my hands.

On the front of the card: an Edward Hopper print. And on the back a handwritten note, but not in a handwriting I readily recognized. I scanned through the message quickly and then my eyes fell to the signature.

Allison.

My friend Allison.

Yeah, you know her too. Maybe you call her SMID, but you know her. The socially conscious, deeply passionate wife, mother, blogger, advocate, mentor and friend who speaks without a Boston accent.

She also sends postcards.

Isn't that the epitome of cool?

Seriously, I was so touched that she took the time out of her day to write a note on the back of a card, address it, stamp it and send it. To me. It made my day. Nay, it made my week.

And I have been thinking about it a lot ever since it arrived.

Think-think-think-think.

This is what I hit on. I want to pay that thrill forward. I want you, my friends and readers, my readers who are my friends, to receive a piece of cool mail in your letterbox. I can't make it a surprise like the arrival of my postcard was, since I am telling you about it now, but I do want to make it a little something to look forward to. C'mon, a postcard from Holland? That will be some fun, right?

Here's my plan.
(Pay attention, this is also the way I am coordinating this post to work for my Friday Fifteen for the week. Stay with me here, and applaud me for my creative thinking.)

1. If you want to play, meaning:you want a card, leave me a comment.
2. Your comment needs to be a 15 word reply.
3. Not fourteen.
4. Nor sixteen.
5. Just fifteen words in the comment box.
6. Be creative.
7. Be redundant.
8. Be enthusiastic.
9. Be brief.
10. Fifteen words. (That is words NOT syllables)
11. Sign off with your email address.
(which doesn't count as part of your 15 words)
12. Encrypt it anyway you like.
13. I will need that so I can contact you
to get your HOME ADDRESS.
14. Because I am going to send you a postcard.
15. In the mail.

Friday Fifteen

Moments and Memory

The bags packed and ready to go. We hired a seven passenger van for the road trip to France. Now, lest you think a seven person van in Holland also has room for seven person's luggage, I must dissuade you of that notion immediately! Consider it a mini minivan.

mini being the operative term.

Undaunted, we crammed every nook and stored items in every cranny, then strapped ourselves in for the ride.

The route we planned toward Praz sur Arly would take us past Brussels into Luxembourg on our first night. Second day road tripping took us through bits of Germany where we lost track of the highway we needed to be on, then did some backtrack and took the road through France. Ultimate destination: The French Alps! Specifically, the village of Praz sur Arly tucked high in the hills.

And now, without adieu, I give you the memorable moments of our week in the hills.

1. Singing at the top of our lungs "We are a family, such a happy family..." as we started on our way. This song comes to us by way of our good friends in Arizona (thanks, M!) and includes a verse for everyone in the vehicle by descending age. Yeah, that's seven verses. One for Grandpa, one for Grandma, one for me--because I am older than Don, one for that cute boy I married, then for Ian, Emma, and Andrew in succession.

2. Playing with Andrew's new race car in the parking lot of the hotel as we waited for the check in. Toy cars go really fast down hills!

3. Sightseeing in Luxembourg.

4. Things like this:

5. And this:

6. And this too:

7. Starburst for breakfast.

8. McDonald's for lunch. (Okay, that's really not a highlight but I didn't want anyone thinking we were eating any such thing as fine french food on this road trip with kids.)

9. Stopping for groceries in Chamonoix. We discovered a big chain store there in France which feels something akin to walking into a Super Wal-mart. (Strange, the things that make you nostalgic). The best part of this particular stop was watching my Mom dig deep into her high school French of 45+ years ago and ask an employee where we could find toilet paper. En voila! The search was a stunning success.

10. The chalet style homes we rented for our stay. Two small apartments on the third floor, each with a tiny kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom with a tub--no shower, a toilet and a set of bunkbeds in the hallway. Is there a word for something this cute? Quaint doesn't even cut it. There is just so much atmosphere and coziness there. Sleeping at the Caribou II chalet simply makes the experience. Makes it perfect.

11. Waking in the mornings to see goats grazing on the steep hillside. And stunning cloud cover breaking over the mountaintops.

12. Little walks into the village, long explores through the forest, throwing rocks into the stream.

13. Playing cards at night around the kitchen table. Laughing until I cried listening to my Dad's stories and anecdotes.

14. The train ride up the steep mountainside of Mount Blanc. The train pitched at so steep an angle you could lean into the ride and not lose balance on your feet. Like this:

And at the top of Mount Blanc? This (in August!):

15. A long car ride homeward replete with laughing, snoozing, car counting games and not-without-enthusiasm singing for Andrew's entertainment. Finally, a crash and burn kind of sleep in our own beds and the pleasant sensation of a thousand memories etched into our psyche.

Friday Fifteen

15 Consolations

We have counted it down, crossed off the days on the calendar, torn the rings from the paper chain, and finally it is here! My Mom and Dad arrive today!
It is impossible to sum up the excitement we are feeling about the touchdown of that airplane they are aboard.

Ecstatic?
Thrilled?
Eager?
Keyed Up?

Yep. All of that.

We will give them exactly one night to adjust themselves to the European clock and tomorrow morning the seven of us will be piling into a rented van to take a road trip through Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. Our ultimate destination is the village of Praz sur Arly where we spent Christmas 2006. We have rented two chalet style flats for our stay and plan to spend our time exploring the area, taking in the countryside by foot, and enjoying the week away together.

When I say away, I mean that in a very literal sense. There will be no television, no phone and no wireless hookup where we are going. Obviously, I will be out of touch.

For your pleasure while I am away, and ultimately mine when I return, I leave you with this list of links to ME.

• Things maybe you haven't read because you weren't here yet.


• Photos you might not have seen.


• Posts which are crying out for your feedback, your opinions, your comments.

Even if you've read them before, tell me you stopped by. It will make me feel all tingly inside. Really. Just share a little love won't you?

It may look like a long list, but take it in just like you'd face an elephant on your dinner plate: One bite at a time friends.

First the posts:

• Promoting Globe Trotting
• Mama Had a Baby
• Running Man
• Taking it In
• Speaking English
• Fumbling Folding Follies
• See Through
• The Picture; Then the Thousand Words
• Shaken, Not Stirred
• Package Police

Then, the photos:

• Return of the Spring
• Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'
• Simultaneous Seasons
• Wet Weather Gear
• Inside, Outside, Upside Down

It's something to do right? You'll visit every day while I am gone, yes?

I can't wait to see what you have to say.

Friday Fifteen

**********************************************

*quickly! an update before I leave for the airport*

Still shameless self-promotion here. Scribbit's Write-Away contest for August has been posted. I get to judge the entries. You should give it a go! Come on, you know you want to.

And now, because Fourier Analyst asked, and because I said I would, here is another Haiku. It will be my last entry to Leslie's Haiku Buckaroo contest. (Really, Leslie, I am done inundating the inbox with entries!) If you haven't entered YET--and I know you will--you have until Friday, August 10 to get it done.

speaking the sublime
in complete coherent thought
is pure poetry

15 Steps to Landing an Unplanned Job

1. When an email arrives in your inbox from the teacher who used to coordinate the after school activities program at your children's school, don't even finish reading it, but immediately
2. dash off an email of your own to the Headmaster telling him that you absolutely, positively must have that job.

3. When he returns a note saying that your proposal is interesting but probably not possible as the organization in control stichting will not likely give him permission to create a separate job position,
4. send a note back, telling him he can simply hire you for a position, any position, on staff and then give you this responsibility.

5. Be a little cheeky and also tell him he will not be sorry for entertaining such a notion.

6. Do all this in rapid fire succession so
7. when his response arrives by email asking you to come in for an informal chat,
8. only 10 minutes have passed on the clock.

9. Scratch your head and wonder aloud just what you are getting yourself into. Then click send on the message which reads,
10. I will be there.

11. Chat with the Head at the playground gate on Friday afternoon.

12. Attend a formal panel interview on Monday.

13. Accept the job offer on Tuesday.

14. Begin the new position as Primary School Administrative Assistant (read as: office lady!) on 27 August 2007.

15. Buy new shoes.*

*It's my understanding that office personnel don't wear flip flops

Friday Fifteen

15 Wind Whines

Who has seen the wind?

by Christina Georgina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you:

But when the leaves hang trembling

The wind is passing thro'

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I:

But when the trees bow down their heads

The wind is passing by.

I will tell you who has seen the wind; Nederlanders have seen the wind! I have seen the wind. The wind won't leave me alone. It can be considered a constant companion here and you must trust me when I tell you, it is no gentle thing. While I have whined this whine before, today I bring it up again because I have been out in it all morning. And well, because I can--It's my blog and I'll whine if I want to.

I suggest you get your glasses ready as the whine is about to be poured.

1. The wind turns my umbrella inside out. I don't think I can even count the number of umbrellas we have lost to wind origami. On an extremely windy day it is not at all uncommon to see myriad broken umbrellas discarded on the street. I suppose it's a good thing a new one only sets you back a couple of euros.

2. It is insanely hard to cycle in the wind. It feels as if someone is weighing you down with cement in your shoes. No matter how hard you push the pedals the wheels hardly make forward progress.

3. That makes your quads extremely tired,

4. and your heart rate slides past "fat burning" straight into "soon to be a corpse" zone.

5. You start dripping with sweat,

6. and the moisturizer you applied drops straight into your eyes,

7. and burns.

8. I don't know how it's possible for the wind to blow from earth's four corners simultaneously, but it does.

9. No matter which direction I am riding, I could swear that I am biking straight into the wind.

10. Straight on is wind. Turn left: wind. Turn right: still wind.

11. It's like the wind knows where I am going and readies itself to make me work just that much harder to get there.

12. I have gone kilometers out of my way before, just to find the literal path of least resistance.

13. One of these days I am going to pull a quick U-turn away from the zephyr and thwart the evil design just to see if I can outrun it.

14. Of course, then I will be going in the wrong direction entirely.

15. But when has that ever stopped me?

Friday Fifteen

Speaking of The Wind:

Take a peek at this great post by this great blogger.

*************************************************************

And now, on a breezier note. The winners for Scribbit's write-away contest are mentioned on her blog today. I was thrilled to see I was awarded honorable mention for this piece. Thanks go to Allison for her encouragement to submit it. She's always watching my back, that one. In fact, you could say she's the wind beneath my wings.

15 Florian Faves

And so the travelogue continues.

Saturday, 7 July 2007, we drove to the village of St. Florian. My friend Sonja tells me that St. Florian is not actually a proper village, but is smaller than a village. If we were fluent in German there would be an actual word for the-village-that-is-smaller-than-a-village. But in English--at least to my knowledge--there is no such word.

St. Florian is a monastery and music center, housing the St. Florian Boys Choir. While not as famous to the outside world as those young 'uns from Vienna, the boys of St. Florian enjoy a fame in Austria and a reputation of great skill and tremendous talent.

The grounds are stunning. The cathedral awe inspiring.

Being that it was 7-7-07 there were plenty of bride and groom pairs running around the property having chosen this day of luck to tie the knot.

My favorite moment of the morning was the Viennese tourist who asked if I would please take his photo on the grounds. I agreed of course, happy to comply, and to my surprise he didn't want any of the gorgeous landscape or the historical architecture in the background of his portrait, but chose instead a plain, green bush to pose in front of. Go figure.

For those of you who are fascinated by facts (like me), here are a few about the cathedral of St. Florian:

• The imposing Baroque structure was built between 1686 and 1750.


• Carlo A. Carlone, Jakob Prandtauer, and Gotthard Hayberger: builders.


• The monastery church houses the world famous Bruckner Organ.


• Anton Bruckner "God's Composer" is buried in a crypt below the organ.


• The monastery is built above the legendary grave of the martyr St. Florian, who died in 304 A.D.


• The monastery boasts "The Marble Hall" and sixteen Emperor's rooms, especially furnished for the members of the imperial family. All are open for tourists.

Further, I give you my favorite 15 photos of the monastery grounds and the church.

And because I can't resist, a bonus shot of some village (which is smaller than a village) children in classic national costume. Dirndl and lederhosen, naturally.

Friday Fifteen

15 Reasons I Like My Bike

Bike travel was new to me upon my arrival in The Netherlands. Sure, I could ride a bike. Learned how when I was six, thank you very much. But never in my life had I used a bike as means of getting somewhere. A bicycle was used for play when I was young and when I was older, for exercise. It never occured to me to view it as anything other than the thing I used to get my heart rate up a couple of times per week. In fact, if I were telling the whole truth--and I am--I would have to state that the bike I owned in Arizona gathered more dust than it did miles.

But that's not my story anymore.

In my archives you will find some of my early impressions of the native Dutch and their prowess on the bicycle. Also stored there are confessions of my own you-couldn't-call-it-prowess-you-might-not-even-call-it-skill experiences on a bike. But I am proud to say, I have learned a little something along the way. Though still not as skillful or as artful as a Nederlander, I can ride well.

I like to ride.

And I like my bike.

I'll give you 15 reasons why.

1. It's old,

2. a little rusty,

3. and has been painted by hand to cover the rough spots.

4. The frame is a little bent,

5. a couple of spokes are missing from the wheels,

6. and only half of the chain cover exists.

7. It is sturdy and sure.

8. Painted the same blue as the night sky after sunset, but before real darkness falls, I purchased it for less than 150 euros.

9. I bought it the same day my husband graduated from Leiden University with his LLM in Public International Law (with a specialization in International Criminal Law).

10. That was last August. We had just moved to The Hague after a year of study and frugal student living in Leiden.

11. It felt extravagant to spend 150 euros on anything, let alone a bike.

12. Andrew's seat is strapped to the back.

13. I have a basket in the front.

14. You wouldn't believe the quantities I can carry inside that basket.

15. On the seat of my bike I am free to come and go as pleases me. I never have to wait in traffic and when I am tired of pedaling, I can lift my feet, swing my legs wide, and coast along, feeling the wind in my hair and the sun on my face.

I ask you, what's not to like about that?

Friday Fifteen

15 Summer Fun Moments

Apparently, yesterday was the FIRST DAY OF SUMMER. Also quite apparent is the fact that the weather gods of The Netherlands didn't get the memo. Our area of the country ushered in summer with an all day rainstorm, complete with thunder bursts, which followed nearly a week of rain. And before that, there was a little rain. And cooler temps than what my brain equates with the advent of summer.

To be fair, if there is balance to these kinds of things, we were due for a little cool down and some rain. We've had a gloriously, untypically warm spring in Holland. I have many days of sun kissed skin as proof, and the camera is full of photos of the kids on the beach. That it all happened BEFORE summer's official start is a bonus I suppose. And you won't hear me complaining about those shots of sun we've had already, and are sure to come again.

However, the gods of the Friday Fifteen have suggested a themed entry this week and because summer is on the minds of all y'all whose summers have already begun, I will do my best to comply.
With the rain falling in earnest outside I will share some of my favorite summer sun moments, past and present. Further, because I am an optimist, I will share what the summer fun just may bring us in future!

PAST

(my past)

1. A single quarter in my pocket and a walk to Winder Dairy just a few blocks from our home. My eight-year-old self giddy with excitement as I stepped into the small air-conditioned store ready to spend my money. What would I choose? Popsicle Bullet with its 3 flavors of ice? Creamsicle with orange outside and creamy vanilla tucked in? Or a chocolaty-yummy Fudgesicle?
Mmmm.... Summer delicious on a stick!

2. Slip and Slide in the backyard. After two trips down the plastic stretched out on the lawn, my belly is sore from launching full force down the slide, and my legs covered in grassy bits picked up from the yard. And the air is filled with laughter!

3. Our Ambassador station wagon stuffed to its limits with neighborhood kids, on our way to Fairmount Pool, where the admission was free if you were with an adult. It didn't seem odd that my parents had 12 kids? Oh, no. This was Utah!

4. Early morning rise to fill the canteens, the knapsacks, and slather the sunscreen. Our family hike to the tip of Mount Olympus in Salt Lake City, will take us all day and will be a family victory at the top, each of us signing our name on the postcards, inserting them into the mailbox on the uppermost peak. Jennie was here!

5. A single rope swing, attached to a giant tree of unknown variety. Wrapping legs and arms around the rope, while cousins and brothers launch me outward over the swimmin' hole. And at the count of three, release and crash-splash into the wet for a taste of ice cold pond water. Whee!

PRESENT

(recent past with kids)

6. Finishing up an afternoon splash in the pool with Ian and Emma. Stepping out of the water and toweling down, changing clothes to return to our apartment for afternoon napping. Two-year-old Emma says "Just a minute, I want to do something" then strips the water wings from her arms, jumps from the side back into the water, and.... SWIMS! Emma swims? My baby swims! Who needs those silly things on your arms anyway?

7. Sweating on the sidelines as Ian runs the field, chasing a soccer ball. His Great-Grandpa cheering as loudly as any other at the game. impressed by the stamina of the kids on the pitch. He will forever ask Ian after this game, "How's it going with your soccer, son?"

8. Introducing 2-month old baby Andrew to the backyard pool at our Arizona home. Clad in the tiniest set of swim shorts seen on the planet, I carry this wide-eyed boy into the water first letting it tickle his toes and then seep upwards on his legs until he is immersed in the warmth to his belly button. Snuggling tightly in my arms, he looks up at me and grins.

9. Preparing for what will be my final concert with my students before we move to Holland, I host a backyard tie-dye and swim party. The shirts these kids make will be part of their costumes at the dance performance. And the swimming seems the best way to wash off after coloring our skin with the vibrant dyes. Oh, and the laughter and memories? Yeah, that's good too.

10. Packing the towels, the snacks, the sunscreen, and the juice boxes into the beach bag and schlepping all of that and three kids to Sun Splash water park. There we meet my cousin with 3 of her 6 kids for an unforgettable afternoon of water, sun and fun.

FUTURE

(what the summer is sure to bring us this year)

11. Bike rides to Kijkduin beach. Sand sculptures, buried toes, shell-finding treasure searches.

12. Summer sunsets over the ocean. Toasting the end of the day at a boardwalk restaurant.

13. Exploring the air conditioned insides of The Hague's art museums, for when the summer heat does arrive.

14. A road trip when my parents come, through Luxembourg, toward the Alps. A stay in Praz sur Arly for holiday fun.

15. Photographs. Lots of them. And memories.

15 Minutes

It's Friday.
At this blog that means it's time for a Friday Fifteen of a sort. A list of 15 somethings, which will enlighten, teach or entertain; take your pick.

I had intentions for this list to be done early in the week so that I would only have to wake and publish this morning. But life, nature and the betrayal of my own body got in the way of my well organized plans. Instead of spending time at the computer writing and readying posts for the coming days, I have been relegated to my bed. In the first place put there by a migraine attack that I can only define as a BAD ONE, and in the second place stuck there in trying to sleep off the side effects of a migraine medication, also to be defined as a BAD ONE. I shan't bore you with the details but trust me when I tell you, I won't be trying this drug again anytime soon. NOT A GOOD TIME.

I woke this morning thinking about this Friday Fifteen and my first thought was "My, how I would like to have 15 minutes without a headache" That was shortly followed up by "My, how I would love to have 15 minutes ALONE" as I was shadowed from toilet to shower by a certain pre-schooler, whom I should add had also been in my bed all night. (It rained last night you know.)

Now I am curious as to whether I can keep up this current rate of whining for 15 minutes. Would you like to see me try?

No? All right then. Putting a sock in it now.

And where do we go from here then? Well, to the Friday Fifteen of course. I figure since I am currently obsessed with getting 15 minutes of something done, I will share this list with you.

FIFTEEN THINGS I CAN DO IN LESS THAN A MINUTE

1. Pee, flush, wash and dry my hands.

2. Brush my teeth. (I know it's not long enough, but in a pinch it can be done!)

3. Fall asleep.

4. Change a diaper.

5. Apply my make-up. (Sometimes, I don't wear much)

6. Tie up the trash bag and take it to the back.

7. Lose focus.


...what were we talking about?


8. Suck down a 12 oz. Diet Coke.

9. Swallow my daily meds/vitamins.

10. Shower. (If I can skip a hair wash).

11. Determine if a book is a worthy read.

12. Trim my toenails.

13. Decide that it's a "pancakes for dinner" night. Again.

14. Doodle an entire rose vine onto the edge of a paper.

15. Add an HTML text link for the Friday Fifteen.

All in less than a minute, guaranteed.

O Slalom Meme O

I am dodging again; bobbing and weaving down the court. This can't be construed as a full fake because at some point I intend to do it.

Someday. Just not today.

This evasion I am speaking of is the ducking of tags for Memes which I have not yet bothered to reply to, nor justify with a response.

My thinking is that I will play one of the all about me games that get passed from blog to blog as soon as I run out of things to say . But I haven't done that yet and I actually don't know when I will. So I keep pushing them back and trying to crowd them out of my mind, replacing the nagging need to post something about me with a post about poop. Or something else.

I was really thinking that this was a simple cut and run.

But it struck me that I have a way around the bloggers guilt I am feeling. And that is this. I can link my taggers anyway. And I can encourage you readers to go read them, get to know them, give them some traffic. And thus assuage my shame.

It's a good move don't you think? Maybe I should have coached basketball.

Today, I will talk about the Three Taggers that I am delinquent on linking. And soon there will be a post with more linky love, as I discovered when I opened my email this morning that I had been tagged again. And again. And again.

But y'all have to wait your turn. Because today, I link you to:

Gunfighter, who writes The View From Here. He tagged me to play a spotlight game and I was honored, really honored, that my name showed up in a post of his. You see, he is witty, and wise; intelligent, and controversial. I love that about him. Oh, and he cooks too! His place is a daily (often more than once) stop for me. You should get to know him. And if you're so inclined, send him something to shoot. He'd like that.

Next, I want to introduce you to Csara. She writes at Baby Talkers. She is also the leader of the pack at the Friday Fifteen. Csara is a busy writer, wife and mom, and I would love it if you would stop over at her place and join in a discussion. She would love that too.

The Not Quite Crunchy Parent is the third link for today. In truth, I found this tag by accident when I was reading through the archives at her place. But the game, or meme rather, I was tagged for was a cute one so I thought I would play.

Someday. Not this day.

I love this blog, because so much of what gets said there is stuff I can really get my mind around, and my heart behind. It's a fun read.

And finally, I want to do something a little unconventional. Since this friend is a bit on the unconventional side, I figure this works. I want you to meet my friend Becca. Becca is someone I know in my offline life. She doesn't keep a blog, though she really should, and she has only recently discovered mine--being that I am not very good at "tooting my own horn"--but she dove into the fun of it headfirst. As proof of her humor, her candor, and her zest for life I direct you to the comment section of this post, and this one. She's just a lot of fun, and is a good friend to me. A very good friend. I intend to have her guest blog here sometime soon but any encouragement you want to give for her to open a page of her own and share her hilarious stories and experiences, I will receive in my inbox. You can post a comment here or send an email and I will pass those onto Becca.

That my friends, as they say, is that. Tag me and I'll link you. And someday, I will play the game you passed along.

I promise.

15 Lines

Out and about on the World Wide Web, I was looking for something else entirely, when one of the first hits on my search list led me to Embassy of the United States, The Hague, The Netherlands. (Oh, yeah, try saying that five times fast!)
About halfway down the page I spotted this little blurb:

American Poet Mark Strand reads from Dutch-English collection of his works
May 22, 2007.
American poet Mark Strand, Pulitzer Prize winner and former Poet Laureate of the U.S., read his poetry at the residence of U.S. Ambassador Roland E. Arnall.
The recently published Dutch-English book Gedichten Eten (Eating Poetry) contains translations of select poems by Mr. Strand. Dr. Wiljan van den Akker, professor of Dutch Literature, and Ms. Esther Jansma, poet and archeologist, worked in close collaboration with the poet to translate works for the bilingual edition.

And I said out loud, "What are the chances?"

You see, I worked with this writer once. It was about a million years ago when I was a high school student in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mark Strand had received a grant from the Utah Arts Consortium and was an artist in residence at The University of Utah. I took a one-day writing workshop under his tutelage. I can't say that I remember all that much about his writing. Or much about him per se. But I do remember the creative exercise we worked on during the afternoon session.

The assignment was to write a fifteen line poem. Thirteen lines of the poem had to begin with the same phrase or had to reference the same color. So, I did my thing, dashed off a piece fifteen lines worth and declared it finished. It wasn't much. I am not really a poet. It was truly a mish-mash of images, and stuff. Not a thing more profound than that. Truly, nothing special. I am such an esoteric poet, usually my writing has very little meaning to others and I can live with that.
But the telling part was when we passed our poems around to one another and asked for feedback from the other participants. That's when my silly fifteen lines took on all kinds of depth and in its analysis became a completely different piece of writing.
I think the readers were grappling for meaning, but nevertheless they seemed to find imagery and substance in a piece that I thought was fluff.

I still think it was fluff.

But when you are in company of a POET, everyone sees something different.

I suppose.

Anyway, all of this is a long lead for today's post. In honor of this poet whom I met a quarter century ago, and who recently came to my town to promote his own work, now in Dutch, I sat down to grapple with the creative writing assignment once again. In half as many minutes, I have produced again a fifteen-lines poem.

Read into it what you will.

I see young writers hunkered over paper,

pencils flying,

images imbed in imaginations
seeking to be seen.

I see into the future something

which they do not yet see.

I see a secret I cannot tell.

Not now.

That youthful group will

never see what
I see now.

I see somehow I became grown up

and left behind that girl who bites the end of her pen,

and flicks the button on her jacket as she attempts
To see.

I see now that we rush too fast to get through it.

I see that as we run and reach,

we forget to notice,

we forget to relish.

I see the way we seek and

I see the things we miss.

I see it now. Clearly.

I stop. I breathe,

and look

To see.

I see the secret, the mystery.

I see me.

Friday Fifteen

15 Cool Camp Things

Today's blogging is brought to you by my daughter Emma. You may remember Emma spent last week at school camp. When she arrived home last Friday afternoon, she was, as I hoped she would be, bursting with stories and tales of the week. I had such a great time listening while she debriefed me on the week, I asked her if she would share the highlights of her camp week with you here.

And so, to Emma. Our guest blogger for the FRIDAY FIFTEEN with her list of 15 cool camp things.

1. cabins. We stayed in a cabin near the woods and sleeping there gave me a real campy feeling. We could hear birds and things.

2. talent show. It was a funny night. My friend and I sang a song and we were cracking up the whole time. Then there were about 4 or 5 guys who stood on the stage with their arms crossed over their chests and hummed. The same note. For a long time. My friend Habiba said "Maybe they're at a funeral?" and we all cracked up laughing. Later we found out they were "harmonizing". Whatever that means.

3. canoeing. But it was really hard. I got stuck in the reeds a lot.

4. raft building. We built a life size raft. It floated but I could tell all my friends were like freaking out because it was a little off balance. Everyone was wondering how we were supposed to get on the raft and then my friend Sarah and I just jumped into the water and then jumped on it and said "Hey! That could be a way!" Everyone laughed.

5. the food was good. I liked the way they served it on the tables while everyone was sitting there. It made me feel like I was at a palace.

6. bicycle riding. I was able to ride a bigger bike than I normally do. I thought it was easier to ride. The first day we went biking we got lost. We cycled 10 or 11 kilometers that time.

7. free time. We got free time after each activity and before bed. We just got to hang out and that was nice to be with my friends, but not at school, you know what I mean?

8. tag. We all played 'stuck in the mud' with the teachers. It was teachers v. kids. The teachers won.

9. hide and seek. We found all the teachers really fast except one. He was hiding in a tree. He could hear us the whole time we were looking for him. I think he thought we were pretty funny. One thing I realized at camp was how much our teachers care about us.

10. the bathrooms. The showers were not that bad!

11. fresh air. All you could smell everywhere was pure, clean, magnifico air.

12. campfire. We roasted bread and ate it with jelly. Mine got really burnt.

13. thursday activities. It was studies, and it was actually nice to do some school work, strangely enough. We studied water animals, soil, insects and animals.

14. bird watching. This was a good idea, but there wasn't a bird in sight. Just in sound. We watched dragonflies instead.

15. my group. We all stayed in the same cabin together every night. We were a talkative, talkative talkative bunch of girls. We made a lot of jokes and read scary stories, which weren't really all that scary. In my group was girls from Denmark, England, Portugal and me from the USA. You learn a lot from other people. It's just cool.

Friday Fifteen

15 Shots of Duomo (that's in Milan)

Friends, I bring you Duomo di Milano.

Wikepedia has this to say about it:

The cathedral is famous throughout the world for its significance in the promulgation of the Christian faith, for its role in the establishment of Catholic traditions of worship, its outstanding musical heritage and the splendour of its Gothic architecture.

And I add only this. This post is a celebration of that outstanding, incredible, amazing, splendorous architecture. No words can equal what the eye takes in. You of course, will have to settle for what my eyes took in and what I chose to post for your eyes to see. Plan to see it yourselves someday, trust me, you will be delighted when you do!

Now, on to the fifteen.

Uno:

Due:

Tre:

Quattro:

Cinque:

Sei:

Sette:

Otto:

Nove:

Dieci:

Undici:

Dodici:

Tredici:

Quattordici:

Quindici:

Friday Fifteen

15 Reasons I Won't be Blogging This Weekend

1. I am going to Milan.

2. I am going to Milan.

3. I am going to Milan.

4. Did I mention that I am going to Milan?

5. That's in Italy.

6. Where both Piazza del Duomo and Teatro alla Scala are.

7. Among other things.

8. My husband is already there; speaking at a conference.

9. I am joining him for the weekend.

10. In Milan.

11. I am traveling without my kids.

12. Repeating that for your benefit.

13. NO kids.

14. In Milan.

15. Italy.

Friday Fifteen

15 Lekker Dutch Words and Phrases

Dutch is a hilarious language to learn. Especially for an English speaker. There are sounds involved heretofore unknown to this English speaker's ears. Consonants like the guttural "g" and dipthongs like "ui" which cause a person to contort her mouth into previously unknown positions. The dead giveaway that you are not a native Dutch speaker is not being able to flow through those sounds without knitting eyebrows together and crinkling the nose into a knot to try and get your lips around it all. Really, the hilarity of it all is knowing the facial antics I run through as I not only try to remember the words to speak, but also the pronunciation rules, is a side-show worthy of Marcel Marceau. Or to update the refererence just a bit: Step aside Mr. Bean! I am speaking Dutch!

Following is a list of some of my favorite words and phrases. Some I chose because they are particularly fun to say, and some are on this list because the 'similarity' to English words which mean something totally different is just too funny to pass up mentioning. Read on and you will see what I mean. I have done my best to give you a pronunciation guide and a definition for each. There shall be no holding me to the mistakes within this post, please. I am not a language teacher, and really only muddle through it myself. The language I mean, not my life. But, you really should try to wrap your trap around these words. After all, I have to.

Oh, where to begin?

1. Goedenmorgen (khoot-ahn-more-khen) Good morning.
Gotta give that guttural "g" a push at the beginning and the middle of this word.

2. Langzaam (Lahng-sahmm) Slowly.
A useful word to use in the phrase "Spreek je langzamer?" (spreak ya lahng-sahmm-er) Will you speak slower?

3. Uitstekend (OWT-steak-ent) Outstanding.
I love this word. It is simply outstanding fabulous.

4. Gereserveerd (Kheh-ress-er-feart) Reserved.
Not to be confused with the word Geserveerd (Kheh-sir-feart) which is Served.
I don't know why but my brain can't keep these two straight. I get confused when I read a menu and it says the entree will be served with a side of potatoes, and I always wonder why I have to reserve the potatoes?

5. Broodje (Brrroat-cha) Bread, or sandwich.
Roll that "r" in the first syllable. It's a lot of fun. And a lot of fun to eat.

6. Geen Geld Gegeven. (Khayn Khelt Khe-khay-vahn) No money given.
I don't know that you would ever hear this as an actual phrase in Dutch, but it's a dandy way to practice the "g" sound. In the early months of living here, this was a constant chant around our house.

7. Vliegtuig (Flea-kh-tukh) Airplane.
Again two "g" 's in a single word. Now that's just silly.

8. Patatkraam (pah-taht-krahm) Frites stand. French Fry place.
Yummy in my tummy.

9. Rond Vaart (rrroant fahrt) Round trip.
Once you get the pronunciation and translation of this one, you alter it slightly and get "round fart". And if you are a 13-year old boy, this cracks you up every time.

10. Aardappel (ahrrt-ahpell) Potato.
Literally: Earth apple. Other favorites on this theme Aardbei (ahrrt-buy) Strawberry or lit: Earth berry; and Aardworm (ahrrt-verm) You guess this one. Yup. Earthworm.
Incidentally, the word for "pretty" is Aardig (ahrrt-ikh) which given the root of the words here, as 'earth' or 'natural' gives that compliment lovely, fresh meaning. As in natural beauty.

11. Hoe heet je? (hoo hate ya) Who are you? or literally 'how are you called'?
This phrase can cause a little consternation on the playground because the benign 'what's your name' question sounds an awful lot like "who hates you?" to a native English speaker.

12. Achtentachtig (ahkht-en-tahkh-tikh) Eighty-eight. As in 88.
Another really great practice word to get your mouth around the 'ch' sound which is oh-so-similar to that lovely "g".

13. Wil je iets eten? (Vill ya eights ate-en) Would you like something to eat?
Seriously this is like my favorite phrase ever, and not just because of the content of the question. I love the way it rolls off the tongue. I look for ways to work it into conversation often. The other phrase working its way into my vocabulary in abundance lately, "Wil je koffie?" (Vill ya kohf-ee)
Yeah, I am pretty much a coffee junkie now. Would you like a cup?

14. Hoe gaat het met jou? (hoo khat het met yow) How is it going or How are you.
Really. That's my question. How are you doing with your Dutch lesson?

15. Gefeliciteerd (kheh-fell-iss-ah-teart) Congratulated or Congratulations.
As in Gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag! (kheh-fell-iss-ah-teart met ya fur-yahr-dahkh) which is to say 'Happy Birthday'. But far more fitting would be U beëindigde uw Nederlandse les. Gefeliciteerd! (oo buh-ayn-dikh-tahn oo nay-der-lahns less) You just finished your Dutch lesson. Congratulations!

Fijne Weekend Allemaal!
Tot straks.

Friday Fifteen