overload

was in the midst of a slightly tense household today. sometimes its hard to tell if my presence is helping or hindering, or perhaps passively going unnoticed? after a good discussion, i realize i'm part of the family and therefore shouldn't feel uneasy about this. by now, midnight, all tension has been eliminated and hopefully a couple of good night sleeps all around will bring a happy day tomorrow.

lots of things to catch up on but i'm getting pretty tired so must try to make it brief:

went to the family's summer house in the south of holland for easter weekend. they have a farmhouse on a large property surrounded by acres and acres of farmland. we played lots of football (*soccer), planted some tomatoes and strawberries, watched movies, stacked wood, ate chocolate and went to the local flea market. going back at the beginning of may.

discovered a wonderful summer hangout with phil - a farm in amsterdam! it's so quiet and peaceful and feels like you're far from the chaos of the city. it has a little restaurant on it that sells yummy dutch pancakes. oh and it has a free store - reminded me of hornby, on a much smaller scale - from which we took a double puzzle

went to jet's apartment for the first time and was very inspired. it was beautiful - both the nature of the apartment and her decorating taste. once again, can' t wait for my own space.

got a part time job looking after a baby named sive. it's just one afternoon per week but still worth it to have a little extra pocket money. plus i'll be getting my baby fill, which we all know pleases me.

finally finished the power of one. just started a new atwood - life before man. so far so good.

i bought my own bike! a few days later the one i had been using (that belonged to one of the boys) got stolen. good timing?

only two dutch classes left?! i really can't believe it. too bad i'm not fluent yet. although i think i'm starting to understand a lot more. or at least picking up on pieces of conversations and slinging the gist together with a few guesses here and there.

listening to these songs lately: 1. 2. 3. 4. and still...5.

got my first sunburn of the season.

phil finally kicked my ass in scrabble.

saw another mouse at the movie theatre tonight.

that's all for now. here are some visuals.

middleburg cityhall

the flea market

this trio reminds me of you april

my attic room at the summer home

easter sunset

my favorite trees around - if you look closely you can see them holding hands

phil at the farm, probably about to show me song #1

our bikes

de oranjerie
phil & phil

the defeat

festina lente

the birds are back bookmark

flowing juices nostalgia