Out of Town

Tomorrow morning, we will travel to Pisa for the weekend and then on to Cinque Terre (Italy) for the wedding of our friends Andrea and Fiammetta. We'll be back the first week of July with new pictures and stories! Until then, "Ciao, bellisimos!"

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Markus! We celebrated with a day of something-different-and-fun all day long. In the morning, we drove to Rotterdam and took a Spido boat tour of the harbor and shipping port. Spido's central location also took us past several of the world famous modern architecture Rotterdam has to offer, including the Erasmus bridge and those crazy yellow cubist apartments. The boat was probably the most fancy we've ever been on for a simple tour, and it was well-equipped for tourists, giving an audio tour in four languages (Dutch, French, German, and English) broadcast over the PA with detailed videos on the monitors and lots of interesting info as we passed the various sights. In typical Dutch fashion, it rained off and on, and almost everyone sat at little tables inside drinking extremely strong coffee from a machine on board. Still, there was plenty of space, quite a few other small children for Ellie to watch, and room to run around. What else is needed?



The last leg of our tour took us past the New York Hotel in the old Holland-America Line building. That little island is the up-and-coming spot for yuppies, with a huge residential tower (called Montevideo) that contains six restaurants (and you never have to leave home in the rain...bonus!). We figured that would be a safe bet for lunch, so we drove over the Erasmus bridge and fought against the suddenly-strong wind to eat at Odyssey, a ground level cafe in the Montevideo Tower. It turned out to be a great choice. Despite its spartan decor and lounge-feel, there were already two other families with very young kids inside who were running around and screeching like mad things. We figured this meant we would be safe to bring Ellie in (although thankfully she doesn't usually go wild in restaurants, the owners don't always appreciate this). We snagged a low, comfy couch for our table and ordered up some tasty sandwiches on freshly baked bread. Yum.



By the time we were all done, Ellie was completely exhausted. She'd skipped her morning nap (increasingly common), and the boat/lunch/weather combo had sapped all remaining resources. This is a touchy zone, because if she falls asleep in the car, she won't keep sleeping if you take her out again before her nap is done. To dodge this, Markus suggested we drive to Haarlem (an hour or so away) to see what we could see. Excellent choice!

After having spent most of our weekends in The Hague and Amsterdam, we forgot that most cities close up on Sundays. Haarlem is such a city. All shops were closed, which turned out to suit us fine since the weather also cleared quite a bit when we arrived. The center is very pretty, and there is a large open central square near the cathedral where children were running and playing. Because everything was closed, there was very little traffic or people about, making city walking even more pleasant. We discovered some truly beautiful little spots completely by accident, including Ellie's favorite...an Italian gelato shop that also serves Belgian waffles (what else is there in life?). There were a couple of irresistable photo ops you'll see below: one of Ellie seated on a bench outside an Ellie-sized house (she found it and sat there; I just snapped the picture) and the other of Ellie and Markus strolling past a particularly good sign for Father's Day.






We drove home in time to make some dinner. I tried two new recipes (half-someone-else's, half-my-own-invention), and even that worked out fabulously! It had been fairly cool, grey, and rainy most of the day, so it was extra-good to have pasta with creamy tomato sauce (I added goat's cheese to my homemade sauce) and freshly baked beer bread topped with sea salt and blended with fresh rosemary from the garden. Beer bread is so painfully simple and so amazingly good that I highly recommend you stop reading and go bake some right now. Really.
All in all, we enjoyed a fabulous Father's Day as a family, and we wish a belated Happy Father's Day to all of you out there who find themselves in the category.

New Friend

This afternoon, we took Ellie to Blijdorp to see the animals. We visited the fish in the Oceanarium, the elephants in the Asia house, and the birds in the pond. Just before we headed home, we decided to make a last stop to see the giraffes, who were all inside because of the afternoon rain. The tallest giraffe was leaning up and over the enclosure and letting some older children give him a gentle pat. Ellie was sooooo excited! She kept reaching towards him and shrieking "NICE!" (what she says/we say about friendly pets so she won't be scared). I took her over to see the giraffe. He regarded us for a moment, and then he leaned down to lick the sleeve of my raincoat and let me pet him. This terrorized Ellie to no end, but it made my day! I made friends with a giraffe...not something that happens every day!



We have a photo after all. Hooray!

Porch Sitting

Whenever we enter or exit the house, Ellie insists that we take a moment to "Sit!" Ellie is a porch sitter. She sits on the front stoop and watches the world go by. Although we live in The Hague, it seems that we are raising a Southerner.

When Creative Perfectionists Bake

I have been on a foodie binge lately, which has led to discovery of some awesome foodie sites out there in cyberspace. One of today's sightings elicited a huge "WOW!" when I saw Vegan Yum Yum's knitted marzipan cupcakes. I consider myself creative, and I know I'm a perfectionist...and folks, this is what happens when creative perfectionists bake!

A visit with Tony

For the past week, our friend Tony has been staying with us while in town for business. He concluded his work on Friday afternoon, but his flight out wasn't until today. We decided to make the most of his extra day with a day trip to Antwerp. Nothing like good Belgian food and chocolates! And nothing like a good day trip to completely wear out the kids...

Letting it breathe

Wine connoisseurs will tell you that certain fine wines require time and patience to mature, and even when they are ready to be uncorked, they need time to breathe to reach the perfect finish. It turns out desserts can be like that too. Yesterday, I devoted over two hours of Ellie's naptime to baking a new-to-me, multi-step, from-scratch dessert recipe for "caramel slice" (shortbread bars topped with homemade caramel and a layer of chocolate)...only to be hideously disappointed with the outcome. Even Markus the brave intrepid husband man who will eat just about anything I fix couldn't smile through it. It was that sad. With heavy hearts and not much hope, we decided to give it one more chance today before throwing it out, and HELLO! Tres yum-may!
Apparently, it just needed time to breathe.

Big car, small spaces

We live in the center of The Hague, and we own a Volvo XC90. This is not a small car, people. It is a beautiful, comfortable, very-useful-for-long-drives-with-the-kiddo vehicle, but small it ain't. The Hague, on the other hand, is a cramped European city, particularly when it comes to driving. Garage entries are tight. Driving lanes are narrow (and few people feel obligated to stay between the lines), and parking spaces are small (again, see comment about lines). I don't generally mind this because our central location was chosen for the fact that we can walk or cycle just about anywhere we need to go during the week; however, today Ellie and I discovered toddler swim lessons in a nearby town that would require (eek!) driving twice per week. Oh dear. The real question now is whether or not Jennifer has the stamina and determination to cycle it instead.

Jetlag is exhausting!

As many of you have noticed, we have been slightly incommunicado this past week thanks to jetlag. We seem to have made pond-hopping the favorite sport of our family in the past two years, but that doesn't mean we get off scot-free in the jetlag department. This time seemed particularly hard on Ellie, who handled it beautifully stateside. Our nights have been interrupted with two hours or so of extreme wakefulness on Ellie's part between midnight and 2am. Any attempts to ignore this have resulted in screaming jags that put soundproofing between us and our neighbors to the test. Experts (whomever they are) say that children adjust one hour per day, so we should have the worst of it (if not all of it) behind us now. Ellie has slept through the night the last two nights, but only after a late late bedtime. Now Jennifer has the worst of it; being a creature of habit means she now stays wide awake until 2am or so (I suppose to compensate for the habit of Ellie waking up during those hours anyway). Let's hope this week gets us all back to normal!

Meanwhile, I have a recipe to share. My beautiful, Hawaiian-livin', vegan master chef friend has been posting and sharing some amazing recipes of late (you really must try her roasted pepper sandwiches and zucchini bread!), so I thought I should share one too. Once again this week, I made wild rice-cranberry soup, the cover recipe from Paulette Mitchell's a beautiful bowl of soup cookbook. Although the colors and flavors really say "autumn" more than "spring", we can't help loving it anytime. The only real downside is the sheer amount of preparation time involved. I make the vegetable stock in advance (usually in huge batches so I can freeze it for later use), and it's easiest if I make the wild rice a day in advance too, as it takes around an hour just for that. Those of you with food processors should have no trouble with chopping the veggies, but those without have to plan on some time investment there too. But it's worth it! I promise you!

Wild rice-cranberry soup

4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1/2 c finely chopped onion
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 c vegetable stock
1.5 c cooked wild rice (we like to use more)
1/2 c dried cranberries
1 c milk or half-and-half
2 Tbsp dry sherry
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the carrot, celery and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrot is tender, about 8 minutes.
Add the flour and stir until smooth. Gradually add the vegetable stock, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir until the soup is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and cranberries. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries are softened and plumped, about 15 minutes.
Stir in all the remaining ingredients. Stir occasionally until warmed through. Season to taste.

This recipe is vegetarian, and it should be easy to veganize. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Urban Babies Wear Black

When Ellie was born, we bought a funny board book called "Urban Babies Wear Black". Each page has a different yuppie-baby thing: urban babies jog, urban babies do yoga, urban babies drink latte... It's this last one that caught our minds when we took Ellie out this week. She was happily spooning the froth off my coffee drink when I looked at Markus and quoted, "Urban babies drink latte." Immediately, our cheerful little myna bird grinned and shouted, "LATTE!" How many 20 month olds have that in their vocab banks, I ask you.

Dipe Squad on the move

The Dipe Squad is back in The Hague, but we took a little time for R&R between Ocean Springs and Holland. Over our past few visits to the DC area, Markus has started to realize the beauty of Virginia, but he still hadn't seen much of it. To remedy this and our desperate need for a mental break from all stressful topics (job, house, moves, etc.), we reserved a few nights' stay at the Big Meadows Lodge in Shenandoah National Park just about halfway along Skyline Drive. If you haven't done this, you really should! Shenandoah is absolutely beautiful! It is the most popular in the fall for the leaf-peepers, but we had gorgeous weather in May and the trails were relatively empty of hikers, making it easier to see wildlife (so many deer!) and enjoy the abundant wildflowers in bloom.






We brought the baby hiking backpack to carry Ellie along the trails, but we forgot to clear this with Ellie first. She was not a fan. As it turned out, we did only one hike: Rapidan Camp. Thankfully, it turned out to be the best choice, as we were the only ones there and received a private tour at our destination! Prepare yourself for a little history lesson, folks!

Rapidan Camp was the private retreat of Herbert Hoover, America's 31st president who was in the White House from 1929 to 1933. Herbert Hoover was the first full-time president. The 30 presidents before him took 3-4 months off in the summer like Congress and they returned to their homes during that time. Hoover decided that wouldn't do during the Depression years, but he did require occasional time away from Washington. He sent out one of his men to find a spot that met some very specific requirements: it had to be within 100 miles of Washington, it had to have great fishing and it had to be above 2500 feet to escape the worst humidity and mosquitos. A site was found in what was to eventually become Shenandoah National Park. Hoover bought over 100 acres with his own money, but 150 Marines cleared the spot and the roads to it and built a camp with several cabins for guests, cabinet members, and important visitors, as well as other buildings including a mess hall, a "town hall" (where games were played and everyone could meet to chat), an office to request items from the Filipino servants who had been reassigned from the mothballed presidental yacht...


Rapidan Camp is located at the headwaters of the Rapidan River, and Hoover apparently was so eager to get fishing that he would often be in the river with his rod and reel without changing out of his suit and tie straight from the drive from Washington. When Roosevelt was elected, Hoover offered Rapidan Camp to him, but Roosevelt didn't like the spot. He found a different place and named it "Shangrilah"...a name that was later changed to "Camp David". So there you have it. Rapidan Camp--a fairly humble and quite cozy cabin in the woods--was the first "Camp David." Be prepared to be quizzed later.

Ellie handled the trek to and from Rapidan Camp with minimal complaints, but she made it clear that repeating such hikes would not be advisable. The next day, we drove instead to Luray Caverns (the largest cave system on the Eastern Shore) and then on to Monticello (home of Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States) and Charlottesville.




During this trip, we purchased a National Parks Passport for Ellie, and we're starting to collect some good stamps. She's been to Mount Vernon and Monticello, on the Appalacian Trail (though just for a dozen yards or so), and in Shenandoah. She's also been to Great Falls National Park, though we didn't get a stamp yet. We're so happy to have the opportunities to visit these wonderful places. The US truly has an amazing national parks system, and we love to take advantage of it!

On the way out, we stayed one last night with Mimi, whom Ellie was THRILLED to see! That part of our stay went way too fast, so we hope we'll be able to plan a real vacation with Mimi sometime in the fall. For now, we need to recover from jetlag and unpack the massive amounts of luggage we always seem to take with us.

New Week, New Pics

Plugging along! The house is starting to resemble a house! Yes, folks, we now have walls. The sheetrock is up and finished. It's amazing what difference that made in my sanity. Now, we can really see how the many small changes we tacked onto the repairs are making a big impact. The house really will be beautiful, if it's ever done (which I'm starting to believe may happen this year, possibly in the next several weeks). With Markus here to party with Ellie this week, I was able to accomplish many of my tasks towards house completion, including (drum roll please) purchasing kitchen cabinets! For those of you who've heard too much about the house, you know I had a complete kitchen worked up with Home Depot which didn't come through for a myriad of reasons. Happy am I to have found all of the cabinets for the kitchen in stock now at a local warehouse for half the price! Score! The countertops will also be half the price when they are ordered post-cabinet install. Given the increasingly loud vacuum-sucking sound of money from our wallets by this house, we are thrilled to not only get a deal but get it NOW. This philosophy has resulted in all the lighting fixtures and flooring being purchased and ready to go this week as well. The search for perfection is over; the acceptance of acceptable look, good price and immediately available is here.
One unexpected bonus of being here is my new appreciation of my contractor's situation. While I have no idea (and really no confidence) that he works hard while I'm gone, he does work very hard when I'm here...but his people don't necessarily do the same. I was witness to the day his drywall finishers skipped a day of work to penalize him for using another crew to hang drywall since they were going too slowly. I have been witness to multiple useless days on behalf of his siding hangers. They show up at 10, are gone for lunch by 11 and can be gone for hours with no explanation...and I've been here to see him call them repeatedly and eventually hire others. The fact is construction people down here are tired. They have been working all day every day since Katrina for homeowners who all (like me) want their home done yesterday. There is always too much work to finish and take a break, and there will always be someone at their backs unsatisfied with the pace. At this point, many of them work with the philosophy that they will find other work at any time if they get fired...so they don't always care about what they do or when they do it. Of course it's not everybody, but for those who are wearing out, I can't say that I blame them.

Despite our little triumphs and larger epiphanies, the house remains a big strain on our nerves. On Wednesday, we celebrated a belated Mother's Day with a day off in New Orleans. It was the first time since Katrina that both of us felt like outside visitors instead of visiting what felt like home. The city has changed without us, but it was still nice to wander in the familiar, eat in the beloved spots, and see dear friends. Markus treated Jennifer to a massage at a lovely day spa and a necklace from New Orleans designer Mignon Faget. Spoiled rotten and oh-so-happy!


New Orleans cityscape from the Mississippi River ferry


dear friends Elio and Irina

Ellie has been very patient with all of this house madness, particularly now that Markus can play with her while Jennifer runs errands and gets fiesty. She is completely loved and is enjoying her playtime at the park, the beach, and in Mary's yard. Her vocabulary is exploding with new words every day, and she is a busy bee.


helping with the yardwork


two swingers

And finally, for those of you who have never been here, here's a look at why we are putting ourselves through this. This is the view from our new-and-improved back porch.

Pics of the week

House nowhere near finished, but check out that beautiful blue sky!


Happy bunny on the playground. This week's favorite word: "SLIDE!"


Local wildlife presents King of the Cat Food Pile

Quote of the Day

"Everybody got their bye-bye pee-pees?"

The House

Ellie and I are back in Mississippi to deal with THE HOUSE (dum dum DUM!). Although the agreed deadline had completion sometime in mid-April, the house is NOT FINISHED. The house is not close to finished. The house has no finished walls (it was and is gutted). This is a bad thing, especially when you come down for the purpose of installing a kitchen (walls are required for this) and flooring (also good to have walls first) and finding renters (again, walls handy). The good news is that the porch expansion looks AMAZING, and the other improvements we made alongside the repairs are making a big difference. The house is going to be beautiful, if and when it is ever finished. The bad news is that the contractor and his crew seem to enjoy the porch as much as we do, and they have set up a comfy lawn chair surrounded by evidence of much cigarette smoking. Given that I am a staunch non-smoker and even more importantly the fact that the house is all BARE WOOD and insulation, I am not amused. I may have to invite an alligator or two out of the bayou to help me deal with this problem.

Auntie Awesome

This weekend, we visited Auntie Awesome and marveled over her amazing array of jewelry. Of course, Ellie HAD to try it on...and the more, the better!

Fun at the festival

And you think you had an exciting Saturday! When is the last time you remembered to bring your mouth harp and a back-up dancer to a party?



And yes, I took this little video. Mimi was going wild at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival as only a knitter could, so Ellie and I settled ourselves down in front of the stage for some live entertainment. This little segment was during the break of the band whose instruments included a washtub bass, a washboard and cans rhythm section, a fiddle, and a harmonica. Ellie LOVED it!

Stateside

Ellie and Jennifer are stateside! Right now, we're in Virginia visiting the Mimi, and we're having soooo much fun! Ellie is crazy about her Mimi, so she's doing her adorable best to be cute every second for extra love and attention (as if that were necessary!). Her vocabulary is undergoing a mini-explosion. She says new words every day, and she tries to repeat almost every word she hears. Just in the past few days, she's started saying "geese", "cool", "rice", "slide", "apple", and so many others she just attempts. So far, almost all of her words are English, expect of course the ever-popular "nein", and one of her favorite vegetables: "mais" (corn). This week, she's added "ei" (egg) when she watches her favorite movie, "The Ugly Duckling" (which we downloaded here after repeated requests for "SWAN!"). It will be another week before Markus can join us, but we are already looking forward to it! We miss him so much, and Ellie is starting to notice that the workday that must be keeping him away is getting a bit too long.

Baby Lolo

There has been a new addition to the family: Baby Lolo. For all you edge-of-the-seat types, calm down! Baby Lolo belongs to Ellie. Our little love seemed to want a little love of her own, and now Ellie has her first realistically-featured baby doll (whose eyes open and close; very important!). After trying out many names, we settled on Lolo since it's the only one Ellie will consistently repeat. We're not quite sure if Ellie let Lolo out of her grip for a single second during the first 24 hours. Even in her sleep, the bond was tight! So, this weekend, we bought a stroller for Baby Lolo. Oh boy! Let's just say this has gone over EXTREMELY well.


As you can see, wearing oneself out is no excuse to let go of the stroller.


This weekend was exciting for many reasons. Top of the list for Ellie, of course, was Stroller Olympics with Baby Lolo. She walked her all around Blijdorp, and she even remembered to pause at different exhibits so Baby Lolo could see. She strolled down to Parliament to feed the birds, and when we got near the water, she made sure to press her foot down on the back of the stroller like Mama does (to brake, which her stroller lacks...but why be particular?). In the adult realm, Markus's good friend Alex from Cape Town finally caught up to us! He stopped in town for a brief (less than 24 hour) visit on his way from Canada to South Africa. Markus hadn't seen him in 8 years, so it was a fun reunion! We hope Alex will be able to stay longer next time! Now, we are slowly gearing up for a trip back to the States. While we are soooo excited to see family and friends, the main drive for the visit at this time is to finally sort out the house. The house was supposed to be finished three weeks ago, but of course, that deadline seems irrelevant to our errant contractor. With a small miracle, he may be close by the time I get into town. Wish us luck!

Motherhood isn't for wimps

Speaking as someone who is admittedly sensitive, I have to say that becoming a mother has increased my sensitivity on all topics relating to children and babies at least tenfold (if not hundred-fold). Classic example: Ellie really enjoys watching the Pixar shorts we have downloaded from iTunes. To provide some variety, I also downloaded several of the Disney shorts for her. I remember watching them on the Disney Channel when I was a child, and I liked them. One I specifically remembered and downloaded is "The Ugly Duckling." Well, now it seems I CAN'T WATCH IT. That sweet, good-natured little swan hatches, and no one wants him. The duck whom he thinks is his mother is mean to him and rejects him. The only acceptance he finds is from a decoy, until it bonks him on the head while bobbing in the water. He cries and is miserable and all alone, and I CAN'T STAND IT! I cry every time! I even start crying of happiness when the mother swan finally finds and embraces him.
And don't even get me started on "The Little Matchgirl."
This did not happen pre-birth.
Sensitive women be warned!