But...

So I'm all excited that more and more TV shows are showing up on-line as downloads. I have a nice little routine of sitting down with my lunch, loading up the playlist from a site like msn.com and watching anything from serious news to recently released music videos. And now with the new fall TV shows airing, networks like ABC are adding more and more downloads.

I settled down tonight to watch at least one of these downloads, giddy at the thought of a REAL TV show (no TV exists in The Basement). Instead of download options popping up on my screen, though, I got a message that says, "Downloads not available outside of the U.S."

But...what if I'm a product of the U.S.? What if my computer was bought in the U.S.? And, by the way, what if I don't like the fact that you know where I am located?

Well, anyway...proxy server here I come...

OLIEBOLLEN!!!

Oliebollen are back. And they are just as heavenly as last year. They popped up about a month earlier here than in Rotterdam. I admit, they don't have quite the same aura when we are still wearing short sleeves and sandals, but we've already had two.

I am a little suspicious, though. I don't think these oliebollen sellers have completely pure motives. The bakery up the hill recently renovated and has been offering oliebollen and stroopwafel samples to lure in customers. So today the bakery down the hill began offering their oliebollen.

But, the consumer still wins!

Dutch Fashion

I admit, I'm not a fan of Dutch fashion. Sorry, Dutch friends. Blame it on how plainly I like to dress (I call it "clean, classic lines", thank you very much). Dutch fashion in a nutshell? Layers and ruffles.

That nice sundress you were wearing all by itself during the dog days of July? Most Americans would store it away till the first summery day next year. Not the Dutch. Now that it is fall, it tops off your favorite jeans and long-sleeve top combo. Get dressed once. Get dressed again.

That three-layered ruffled skirt that might look nice paired with a simple shirt and a pair of flats? Well, don't forget the capri leggings before you step out that door.

The crocheted halter top? It might be a little too revealing worn by itself, so be sure to put a turtleneck on first.

It's a great way to get some mileage out of your summer clothes, I admit. It's also a great way to stay a little warmer. But I'm just not there yet...

In fact, this is closest to layers and ruffles I'm getting...the buikband...every zwanger woman's fashion statement!

The Zwanger Collection

I'm thinking about framing this trio of pictures for the nursery decorations.

Kruiken - fill with boiling water, place a "kruiken sack" (glorified sock) over each one, and nestle with baby to keep him or her warm.

Bedverhogers - place under the bed's legs during the home healthcare period, so the nurse and midwife don't strain themselves. We have 8 because our bed has 8 legs!

Ondersteek - mistakenly called ondersteekpan in a previous post. Can we all say, "Bedpan" together? I hope I don't have to use it, even though I'm required to have it!

Earlier Blogging Hiatus Explained

Ever have one of those weeks? I'm sure you have - and so have I. My latest one lasted during the latest 10 days of blogging stoppage here. Nothing bad happened. In fact, some good things happened. But suddenly the weight of our circumstances here settled on me, and, well, sometimes the uncertainty of our life is just difficult to smile through all the time.

Dan just marked is 2-year anniversary of his move here. He has been in possession of a residence card for a mere 3 weeks of those 2 years; our hopes are quickly fading of getting our temporary sticker replaced by a new card. A recent call to the IND revealed that our application has been assigned to a new category. Old category is supposed to take 2-3 weeks to process, but has taken 6 months to be returned once and re-assigned once. New category takes 6 months to process. You do the math.

Without this "card", we are doubtful we can obtain health insurance once our current policy expires in December. Not something we want to face with a newborn. Not something we expected to be a concern with "social" healthcare.

Housing. Again. I like The Basement, despite some inconveniences, but it is too small to handle 2 adults, 1 baby, and 2 cats much longer. So we need to move again, preferably before Little One starts to crawl. The house we have lined up isn't as certain as it was even 1 month ago, and anything else that is close enough to the office and within our budget is...gross.

Cultural differences are sometimes just so stark. It gets tiresome to be told my actions are “too American” or when people are surprised that I do something “Dutch.” What if I just want to be who I am?

We are fully aware this life is our choice, so I know I don’t have excuses to mope. And we are awfully fortunate and thankful we have the opportunities we do. So, I’m glad this weight has lifted now, and I’m reminded again that we do indeed have someone taking care of us.

 

9.2 Kilos of Lovable Fluff

On the topic of that 9.2 kilo pound cat mentioned below…

Dan had the pleasure of taking her to the vet last week. Madeline continues to gain weight, was limping and lethargic, and had a lump near her spine. We’ve been dreading this trip…because we don’t want anything to be wrong with her (and by not going, surely that means nothing IS wrong…makes perfect sense, right?) and because, well, getting a cat to a vet without a car isn’t the easiest thing to do. We hate to ask for a ride, because ever since moving her across the Atlantic, this cat has a habit of wetting herself when she’s in her cage, and we don’t want to mess up anybody’s car.

Anyway, Dan loaded her into the cat carrier, bungee-corded her onto the dolly, and began the long walk on COBBLESTONE streets. I could still hear poor Madeline meowing when Dan was at the top of our hill.

Yes, she wet herself again. But, thankfully, all is OK. She’s just fat. Dan surmised from the vet’s and staff’s reaction that she is quite possibly the biggest cat the office staff has seen.

But we love Madeline dearly…especially her white, fluffy tummy.

P.S. 9.2 kilos is 20.25 pounds. When we left the States, she was 18.5 pounds...

What Vandals, Bedverhogers, and Steak Have in Common

Yesterday, we woke up to the most horrifying discovery: no internet! Oh, we are totally, unapologetically dependent on our ADSL connection. But “hooligan-criminal-vandals” had other plans for our Thursday when they cut the main phone lines to half of the town.

But Dan made an interesting day of it:

He helped our landlady fix her sink. She had actually done a very good job getting it started but needed some young eyes and hands to finish the job.

In the meantime, he let her know that he has started Dutch classes. So he got some practicing in…

A trip to the midwife and the grocery store broke up the media-less day for him. (I went with him; at the store, we ended up getting more than milk…) When we got back, he mentioned how late it was. Ummm…because my 9.2 kilo pound cat walks faster than me these days?

Then, the bedverhogers and the ondersteekpan. We had to wait till week 37 to get them. And here week 37 is. Anyway, our landlady drove him to the medical supply store, which provides such things to its members or residents of nearby towns or something. (Let's just say, we're glad our landlady signed for everything...much simpler.) Thanks to them, now I have 8 bedverhogers and 1 ondersteekpan.

Finally, the last exciting event of the day: “Meneer,” came a voice through the bushes. It is our elderly neighbor. “Yes?” Dan answered. Insert Dutch here, with a few occasional recognizable words, like “telefoon”, “niet werk”, and “hulp”. He explains his Dutch is “niet goed”, hoping that that will cue her to slow down. It doesn’t. So he walks around to her house, finding them locked out. After some time of conversing about what to do, since the phones all over town are out so they cannot locate a spare key, he finds a way into the house, crawls through the window, and opens the door. From their reaction, it is obvious he saved their day. A little later, our landlady brings us 4 steaks: “With gratitude from the neighbors,” she says.

And that is an exciting day in the life of these Rhenen residents.

End of Bicycling Here

And the reason?

Dan.

Silly protective husbands.

So what if the pedaling creates contractions and causes my back to spasm. I have places to go!

Well, in actuality, I realized it, too, but it was only after Dan strongly suggested after a couple bike rides that it's best if we start looking for rides. So on Sunday, despite the beautiful weather, I hung my head and climbed into the front seat of a friend's car instead of riding my bike to church.

Kruiken

I got my 2 kruiken today. They are heavy, together weighing 3 kilos (6.6 pounds) when filled with water. Should I be worried about placing two metal objects that weigh as much as my newborn might into the crib with him/her? OH, by the way, they will be filled with boiling water.

End of Bicycling Near?

I have just over a month left of zwangerschap, if the baby comes when predicted. I have been so VERY fortunate to be able to continue riding my bike - it's actually easier for me than walking, thanks to this body o' mine. However, after two lengthy bike rides the past two days, I can't help but wonder when my bike riding days are going to be over.

Yet, it is not for the reasons you may think:
- Dan so lovingly carries my bike up and down the stairs between the storage area and the street, so I don't have to worry about lifting the monster.
- Breathing is possible, either with mouth gaping wide because I'm too lazy to sit up straight or quite normally if I just practice excellent posture.
- My belly sometimes hits the handlebars getting on and off the bike, but that's not a big problem. My legs bump my belly with each turn of the pedals, but I'm still rather small, so it's not a big concern either.
- In thanks to my small-ish belly, my center of gravity isn't too far off, either, so I'm not worried about taking any spills.

No, you see, I think this will be why I stop riding my bike:
I'm getting awfully worried our correctly-positioned-for-birth Little One will be born with an imprint of my bicycle seat on its head.

And Your Name Again??

Oh, why even bother with introductions? In this country, unless the name is Hans, I'm very unlikely to understand the name. I'm sorry, I try, but my ear just isn't accustomed to Dutch names. Either they have really long names, completely foreign names, or names with new sounds in them I can't picture how to write it. Even names familiar to me, like Margaret, sound so different when a Dutch person pronounces it, I'm unlikely to figure out it is "Margaret". And then there are names like Cees, pronounced "Case". Or "Joke", pronounced "Yoh-kuh". Go figure.

And this doesn't even address the lead-in to the introduction. Maybe if the introduction was always, simply, "Ik ben" ("I am") and then a name, I could at least understand if there was a name in the phrase. But it is rare that someone just says, "Ik ben Hans." I don't know what they are saying, but it probably is something like, "My name is Johannes, but call me Hans." I can't figure out what's a name and what's not, much less figure out what the name is...

I thought it was only my problem, but recently Dan met somebody new. When I asked him what this person's name was, he replied, "Flifoff." The name, of course, wasn't Flifoff, but that's all Dan could make out of the introduction.