Life: Idiotropic

The good news: I'm not pregnant. Not that I would be. We (meaning Kirk) took care of that a couple years ago. But, being female, every time that I have a bout of queasiness, the first thought is pregnancy.

So for several months I've had bouts of exhaustion and ignored them. A couple months ago a doctor told me to go get my blood checked and I didn't. No time. Then last week, for the entire week, I experienced 24/7 nausea. Nothing helped. Kirk was scared. I'd tease him a little... things like, "you know, yesterday I ate half a box of triscuits. It's wierd. I haven't wanted triscuits since I was pregnant with Tiara." Yeah, comments like that terrified him. It was fun. But after 7 days, I was a little worried too. Another baby would be wonderful, but not right now, may be when it calls me grandma.

So, that took up three hours of my Monday. Tiara watched her sisters and I got blood drawn. The exciting conclusion: anemia. One week later the iron tablets are helping and the nausea is mostly gone, but my energy is still low. So, our week was a little slow with not a lot of excitement.

Tuesday we went to Pee Wees with some friends and the kids played. Tiara had a sleepover that night. Wednesday was an outing to the library to return books and check out new ones. The kids got to pick prizes for reading a lot of books - gross gooey stuff, a fish that squirts water... you know, the kind of toys that sneak into the garbage can while they're sleeping.

On Thursday we met a friend of Arianna's at the bowling ally and he, Arianna, and Tiara bowled a game. Both Arianna and Nevan were tired after 4 frames, but they finished. They had 6# balls there. Nevan used the 6# one, but Arianna wanted the 8# because it was a prettier bright pink color. During that outing we ran into three other people that we knew and Kirk showed up with a couple friends too for lunch. Yes, the bowling ally is the big American hang out around here. Sad, but true and, to their credit, they do have the best ribs and burgers around.

Friday is once again my Spanish day. I met my friends for coffee on base. Another nice time. Maria's invited the girls and I to spend a week in Madrid with her next summer. I think we'll definitely go.

This Saturday was my mother/daughter day with Tiara. We went to Sittard to shop. She wanted to get some new things for school - jewlery and socks... little things. We had lunch at the Vroom and Dreesan. She had a ham and cheese croissant. We both had a fruit cake. It was actually a marzipan cake, wrapped and baked in puff pastry, then topped with fresh fruit. Yummy, but almost too sweet. I think an entire pot of coffee would have been perfect to wash it down.

The shopping was fun. The V&D has the best sock selection. Apparently "panty" is Dutch for tights because that's how they were all labelled. Tiara turned a little pink when she realized that she was shopping for things called "panties." I looked at toys. 90% of the toys there are American which was disappointing. The Dutch toys all had unusually large heads - bodies were normal, but the heads could have been in a Macy's parade. And they weren't cute. The singing Dora sang in Dutch. Practical, but funny to hear.

Standing in line there was the most horrendous part of the day. Tiara and I both got the brutal reminder that personal space laws are different here. The Dutch (and most other Europeans) don't need it and don't give it. Usually I notice, but it doesn't bother me. This day I felt like I was in a Seattle mosh pit. The woman behind us kept scooting forward until she was almost touching us. Her bag kept bumping me. Tiara's hair was touching her. We would scoot forward and so would she. Pretty soon we had to stop because we were getting too close to the lady in front of us. I don't want to be that rude American, but really, a little breathing room would be nice. And to breathe freely without feeling the breathe of a stranger on your back... that would be nice too.

It was market day so half the square was full with produce, baked goods, and cheese venders. A semi-truck was pulling up when we went for lunch. When we came out one entire side of it was gone and a stage was there - attatched to the truck for a big concert that night. They have concerts almost every Saturday night there in the square in Sittard in the summer.

Tiara was able to do her jewlery shopping and we survived the rest of the outing. The smoke was everywhere yesterday. It seems everyone was smoking from young to pregnant to old. I did finally find a non-smoking section in the V&D... after we'd held our breath through most the meal. Smoke in Dutch is Rok. Rok in German is skirt. Not that it matters, but I'm learning.

The best part of our outing was trying out the new Beans and Bagels shop on the corner. We were the only customers at the moment, so no space issues... Excellent coffee and very tasty bagel sandwhiches served in a very tastefully done shop. We'll be back - and next time I'll see if they have a no-smoking section too.

This looks more like the Italian flag than a meal, but this was my lunch the other day. The green is cheese - very good cheese from the Sittard market. It's pesto cheese and is only naturally colored from the basil - no artificial color at all! Isn't it beautiful! The red berries are Johannesbeeren - red currants that are sold all around here. My favorite bakery makes the most delicious cheesecake with them. I've never seen them in the states, but they are tart and delicious and a staple in our fridge here.

Having enjoyed our little "film fest" last week, I rented some more.

Bon Voyage is a French WW2 film from an atypical WW2 angle. It is set in France and tells the intertwining stories of its characters. It is interesting and fun to watch. Kirk enjoyed it too. And, it is very French. What interested me most is watching the scenes in which the people debated about what should be done about the war and to see the arguements for and against the actions that the French ultimately did take. A good movie.

Character is a bit dark and long, but enjoyable. Kirk liked this one too. It is Dutch. I think I enjoyed watching the movie played out in Rotterdam more than anything. I got to see the large hooks in action - those same hooks that are so common hanging at the top of Amsterdam homes and used to haul up furniture.

Under the Sand. Don't rent it. Don't even bother to click the link and read the review. It is a film for film's sake. It is a chick flick to the core, but not in a good way. It is the dull, lingering, seeming-like-it-will-never end film about a woman whose husband dies in the first 10 minutes, yet she denies it even at the very end and fantasizes that he's there. There is no character development, no resolution, nothing. It's a dismal movie about a dismal woman who can't get over it. I'd rather clean my kitchen... and that's saying a lot.

So, here's hoping this week is more eventful. Tiara starts school on Wednesday, so there's a lot of little things that need to be done between now and then. More when there's more to say...