Life: Idiotropic

Arianna is the little monkey in the center bottom of the photo, just two photos in from the left.

Arianna has just finished her first week of kindergarten. I asked her what she thought and got a shrug of the shoulders. Nothing seems to excite her about this year at school which has really surprised and worried me a little. My social butterfly has a class full of her closest friends, a teacher who is strict, but sweet, and a great classroom. May be she’s just tired. I certainly hope so. Next week I hope to get more details out of her. All I got this week was how many times each day they got to go outside and the lyrics to one song they sang. When I asked yesterday what they did at school (minutes after she stepped off the bus), all I got in reply was, “I forgot already.” Arianna and Nevan at the Kindergarten Orientation

Elise playing at the Kindergarten Orientation, Aug 21

On Monday parents and students arrived at the beginning of the school day not for the first day of school, but for kindergarten orientation which translated into a really long morning. 45 minutes of free play as the 26 new students played with every toy in the room, 45 minutes of story time and listening to the teacher and the principal talk, then the students left and the parents were stuck with another 30 minutes of question and answer time with the teacher during which we learned that they won’t split the class until they got at least 30 students and that the teacher, though experienced, is completely deaf on one side and very sensitive to noise (so how is a classroom of 26 5-year-olds a good thing?).

Tuesday was the first day of kindergarten. It was Arianna’s first day of “real” school.

I remember the first time that Tiara started school. It was such a big day. I drove her to school, walked her to her classroom, talked with the teacher for a minute, then completely bawled as I walked away. It was as if a piece of me was being torn away and it felt wrong the entire day to be without her.

Arianna is a completely different kid in every way, but I still had that feeling that this was an important day and I wanted to mark it as such by driving her to school the first day and walking her to her classroom. Tiara - my grown up 6^th grader – still wanted me to drive her to school on her first day… but did Aria? No. Of course not. Miss independent was eager and ready to jump on that bus like all the other kids. Which is fine. That is her and her eagerness and enthusiasm make her who she is.

At the bus-stop

So, at 0750 Tiara and Arianna walked out our front door and hiked those 40 feet to the bus stop to wait with all the other parents and kids. The bus arrived a few minutes later and my little kindergartener jumped on without any hesitation whatsoever. Another kindergartener got on after her. Ria was shy and clung to her mother. Arianna talked to her and sat with her and Ria felt better.

During the day I made the cone. In Germany when students start their first year of school (age 6 here), they receive a cone from their parents filled with gifts and candy. Kirk and I both wanted to make one for her as the ones in the stores seemed small and a bit boring. I’d planned on starting it two weeks ago, but life happens, so that morning, I began. Luci loved it, so I figured it would be a hit with Arianna.

At 1445, I stood outside the classroom doors with Elise and Luci at my side and a giant cone in my arms. I was the only one carrying a cone. One woman asked if I’d brought her flowers. All looked at me with puzzled expressions. Many Americans don’t shop at the German stores and if they did, they wouldn’t necessarily know the tradition. I knew it because my grandmother is from Germany and she got a cone and, Kirk, who’d lived her before also knew of the tradition.

Arianna came bouncing out of the classroom and told her teacher, “I see my mom.” All the kids that are picked up are required to tell the teacher that particular phrase before they are released. Her face was bright and she loved her cone running around the playground with it in her arms. She opened it while Luci had ballet class, then put everything back in carefully. At home she opened it all up again with just as much excitement. Later that evening she asked, “Can you make me a cone when I am six?” Sadly, no, unless she goes to a German school next year since they start their schooling one year later… but we’ll see. I’ll save that for another bog.

p.s. That girl on the left is my grandmother when she started school and got her cone. It feels good to renew a tradition.

Arianna is growing up
Lately (for the last 6 weeks) we've had a little rain (a lot). But, it comes fast and leaves almost as quickly, so we do see sun here and there. On Sunday we saw a bit of blue sky and decided to go out. With no plan and less motivation, we gathered up the herd and programmed Stella for Rheinmein, the British base just north of us.

We'd heard that they had some good restaurants and that we had privaleges at their shopping centers, so I was curious to see what was there hoping to find some fabulous British fare. The drive was only 30 minutes. During the first 15 the water came down in buckets with occasional hail. I felt bad for the poncho laden people stooped over in the fields working with the crops. One field must have had at least 20 workers in it. That was the area with the heaviest rain.
The base seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, but it is actually not far from Dusseldorf. We drove onto it and were immediately amazed by its enormity. The base seemed to go on forever and it had all of the niceties including some very nice "base houses", several clay floored tennis courts, and a very nice swimming pool. We saw both Dutch and Italian detatchments there and an American base exchange. Eventually we found the NAAFI which is our equivalent of a commissary and base exchange - basically grocery and all other goods. The prices were in Euros on most things and pounds for others. The commissary had a very nice selection of Indian sauces and some Twinings tea that I can't get at my local stores, so I'll definitely go back for a little shopping on occasion.

Although it was a nice little shopping center, I had expected more - something special and very British. There wasn't really anything that screamed Britain - certainly nothing that I couldn't live without. And, all of the toys were American toys that I could pick up at any ToysRUs (yes, they have those over here too). I think that's one of my biggest disappointments here. I had thought I was entering a modern, yet older continent. Yes, Europe is older, but all around us are things that are new and modern. It seems the appreciation of the old is not here anymore. Craftmanship is being sent out to other Eastern block nations that have cheaper labor, and, just when I think may be I can find that really special item somewhere, I usually just come across the same ol' American stuff. "Made in China" is everywhere.

Starving, we looked for "all the really tasty restaurants" that we'd heard about from friends. We only found one and it was closed. So, frustrated and starving with little ones clamboring for food in the backseat, we drove to Heinsburg for dinner. Kirk took us to a Turkish place he'd been to before. It was the typical German Turkish restaurant offering Doners (Gyros), pasta, pizza, and schnitzel. All the food was great though I've yet to be to a German restaurant.

I'd been to Heinsburg, but never to the Centrum. They have a remarkably nice Centrum with streets packed with quaint shops stemming from the very center like fingers. In the center was an ice cream shop at the base of a large hill. The hill was hard to miss. We saw it driving in with a beautiful green spired church on top of it and an old castle ruin to one side. So, after dinner we all took a walk. The church was closed, but the hill has walking trails all around it and up on top by the ruin, so the girls enjoyed the time to run and play. The church itself was beautiful especially with the backdrop of blue and fluffy white clouds. On each corner of the tower was a statue. Two scary looking gargoyles guarded the front two corners while an angel and a lion stood on the other side.


On the other side of the church along the path playground equipment was scattered around. They weren't traditional things like slides. Traditional playground toys exist here, but there are a lot of other, more creative toys here too. A lot of spinning things. The big blue disk at one point had all 4 girls on it, all shrieking and laughing and worried that they were going to fall off. My middle two lasted the longest and Luci was the fearless one smiling no matter how fast Kirk spun it. The girls played until 7 when it was time to head home.

The drive home was beautifully sunny with all the fields shimmering in the sun still wet from the rain.

Yesterday morning Tiara asked if she could pack her lunch. "No, not yet." Yesterday afternoon Tiara asked hourly if she could pack her lunch. "After dinner" was the hourly reply. Finally, after dinner she asked and got a yes. I had no idea packing a lunch could be so exciting. Apparently being a 6th grader makes everything exciting. I wonder if she'll be this happy doing her chores???

She set out her clothes after consulting with me repeatedly to make sure it looked nice, went through her backpack TWICE, and flip flopped in bed restlessly unable to sleep. I don't know if the Olympic athletes got this excited before their events. Tiara seriously could win a gold medal in nervous energy.

This morning, she JUMPED out of bed at 0600 which is quite unheard of for her (that's it, she's not related to me. NO child of mine could ever be so cheerful in the morning). She was smiling so much her cheeks hurt, but her stomach was full of over-sugared butterflys. I kept seeing her literally jumping up and down on her toes like she does in ballet, grinning ear to ear with a painfully wide smile, making this tires on concrete screeching noise, that I think was supposed to sound happy.

The bus stop is literally right next to our house, but she made me get up early to drive her to school this first day so she "wouldn't look dumb and go to the wrong place." So, I got up early, got her sisters up and ready early, drove her to school, walked her in, and before we'd even reached the door, she saw her best friend and took off. Hmmm... the whole getting up early thing quite seem so important at that point!

Other parents were there though. I attended their "first-day-of-school kick-off" consisting of a welcoming speech and introduction of teachers. When it was over I talked to some of my PTSO friends and ended up volunteering to co-chair the yearbook committee. That will be fun. That is worth getting up early for!
So, the camera came out and I started taking pictures. That afternoon I came back for the PTSO's "back to school bash" to take more pictures. The principal wore a tuxedo complete with satin cumberbund, a cat-in-the-hat tall red and white striped hat, and rose colored glasses. Tiara wouldn't smile for the camera, but her friend Krista would. The "bash" meant that the kids got out of class 15 minutes early to hang out on the playground while the PTSO handed out gummy bears to each student.

Now that the first day is over Tiara is no longer nervous, but hyper and happy. She loves her class. She loves her teacher. She is thrilled to be sitting in the front row. She is ecstatic to be in 6th grade. I think she quoted just about everything her teacher said today. Mrs. Vasko-Kingma is VERY strict, but also very kind and fun. Tiara will do well this year.
We got home and I told her about yearbook. "So you're going to be really involved this year? You're going to be at the school all the time?" She's smiling and nodding and jumping up and down. I think she's about as excited about my PTSO involvment as she is about her status as a 6th grader. Not like I haven't been involved. Homeroom mom 2 years in a row - practically lived at Bryant elementary, then homeschooled for 2.5 years... can't be more involved that that!
Anyway... a good day. And, eventful, for my eldest who has her lunch packed for tomorrow and will be springing out of bed again at 6. At least I get to sleep in a little tomorrow. Forget the worm, cover it in chocolate for all I care... I'm NOT an early bird.

Yesterday I was fixing Arianna's hair in the bathroom while Luci and Elise discussed their favorite movies. "Aria, what's your favorite movie," asked Luci. No answer. The question was repeated at least 20 times by both Luci and Elise with increasing volume and frequency without a word from Arianna until, at last, Aria could take it no longer. In a curt voice she said without flinching a bit as I put her hair into a pony tail, "Mom is fixing my hair. I will discuss it with you in a minute!" Hmmm... I wonder where she learned that one?

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...

From the cemetary we drove back to Valkenburg in hope of finding a place to park and trying out Ron's Big Burgers - a restaurant I'd remembered seeing my last visit there. The city was crowded with large herds of pedestrians and cars everywhere. There was no sign of the horses we'd seen earlier, but no sign of parking either unless we wanted to walk several kilometers with the girls. They were too tired and hungry for that.

So, we headed to Maastricht. Kirk, Aria, and Luci had never been to Maastricht. I drove and we parked once again in the Vrijthof. This day, instead of being empty like before, the Vrijthof square was packed with people. It was the International ???? Competition. I'm sorry... I didn't write down the Dutch work to look up. It was a sport where men hurled large metal balls in rectangular sand pits to knock the other man's ball out of the way. It really looked like the Paul Bunyon version of children's marbles. But it filled the Vrijthof completely allowing no place to walk except a small band of cement all around it. The cafes were packed unlike before and people were everywhere.
Kirk led us down a different street we had not been down before and we ended up at Stokstraat again. We ate just outside that area at a little Greek place. Kirk, Tiara, and I all ordered what we thought were sandwhiches. Tiara and Kirk wanted Gyros. I wanted a shoarma. What we all got was very good Greek style spiced meat piled on top of a pile of french fries. I didn't particularly love french fries in the states... I'm beginning to loathe them here. They are everywhere. At a restaurant you'll order a steak and it will come with a side of french fries. Outside of Extra there is a booth selling french fries. Almost all meals come with french fries - anywhere. In Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands - so far, the french fry is inescapable and just as greasy as ever. When we walked to the market in Maastricht, not only was there a McDonalds on the corner (there is one in the Vrijthof as well), but there are TWO little restaurants that sell nothing but french fries with different toppings! If people here are thinner than Americans, it is only because they bicycle a lot because is seems that french fries and ice cream are the foods of choice. Yuck.
After a less-than-satisfying dinner we took a walk to show Kirk some of the town and get photos of things I'd missed before. We walked through the Helpoort (1229), then up on the wall near it, down and over to the pedestrian bridge. The girls enjoyed watching the boats go by. I enjoyed the contrast between the old side of the city on on side of the bridge and the very modern side on the other. A singer, crooning loudly from a restaurant on the old side, filled the entire area with music as her voice bounced off the wall on the new side. It was hard to tell where the music came from. It seemed - from everywhere.


From the bridge we walked back to the Helpoort, then along another piece of wall and to the green space so the kids could run. By the Helpoort, there is a wall that curves around and meets with some houses creating a little area that is blocked in. It is a quiet little nook shaded with a tree and overlooked by a little white half-timbered house behind it. In that spot a group of friends sat at a table drinking wine, playing cards, and laughing.

The kids enjoyed walking on top of the wall and sitting on the old cannons that rested on each turret. The ducks in the pond below were entertaining as well, but tiny bladders cut that time short.


About the time we hit the green space, the kids had to use the restroom, so we started to head back. Restrooms are not easy to come by. There aren't many public ones and restaurants and stores are not as apt to allow public use of theirs unless you are a well paying customer. So, we headed back to the Greek place to use there's. If we weren't so desperate, we would have left. There I stood with Luci, Tiara, and Arianna crammed into a space only big enough for one. Tiara lined the toilet for Luci and she went. The place was dirty and felt gross just to be there. It got worse when Luci stood up and the toilet seat fell off. Poor Tiara had to pick it up for her turn to go. Needless to say we got out of there fast and all washed our hands really well. Ick. American rest stops are cleaner.

Anyway... that was our Sunday. A cemetary and a walk through Maastricht - not bad. And, Tiara and I have discovered a bunch of shops and cafes that we want to go to next time we go to Maastricht. They even have a Claires! Tiara is so happy.

Today we went to the Netherlands American War Cemetary and Memorial in Margraten, Netherlands, only about 30 minutes from our house. Yeah, everything is about 30 minutes from our house, or at least that's what Stella, our trusty GPS system tells us when we get into the car. Then an hour later, we arrive. So she's optimistic. I like that trait. In this case, it only took us about 40 minutes to get to the cemetary - so she wasn't horribly wrong.

Anyway, visiting cemetaries is not my idea of fun, but Kirk wanted to go. Germans visit cemetaries regularly - well, at least the old ones do. Tante Tinny visits the local cemtary at least once a week to tend to the stone and the flowers there. Yesterday I saw her leaving on her bicycle all dressed up with a beautiful dress on, her hair pulled back nicely, pretty shoes, a rake in one hand, and new flowers in her basket. She was heading off to the Friedhof (cemetary) where her husband and brother are buried.
We wound around the south Limburg hills into Valkenburg where we got stuck behind a parade of horse drawn carriages in which people in Victorian age costume sat all prim and proper riding through the town. We saw at least 12 carriages go by while we waited, then the police gave us our turn and we saw another 10-12 carriages lined up in the side street waiting their turn. So it was quite a big crowd. Just another 10 minutes outside Valkenburg was Margraten, a very tiny little town - and then, the cemetary. I was surprised how many people were there. Most were Dutch, but I heard German and English spoken as well. The parking lot was full.
In the front a large map stood on the side showing the movements of troops in 1944-5. This is just a small portion above, but the portion that shows the area where we live. It also shows a small white cross, representing the cemetary just to the west of Aachen or SW of the red letter "A" visible in the photo.
I'm usually very stoic about cemetaries. Not that I don't care, because I do, but I don't usually get worked up emotionally. For some reason, this cemetary got to me. Just standing there at the map made me teary. The entire place was very moving and to see so many people there made it even more touching. To see that this bit of American land - given to us "for perpetuity" as a memorial - is visited regularly, is very nice. The girls were quite, unusually so. Tiara and I walked around looking around.

It was a quiet emotional moment for both her and I until the blasting of the bagpipes at which she and I both looked at eachother and broke into laughter. A women with short curly hair and a pink shirt (SNL's "Pat" for those who know the show), stood by the tower playing the bagpipes for about 15 minutes. It wasn't what I'd expect to hear at an American Cemetary in the Netherlands, but then, expectations are often a bit off here.

In the foreground, blocking the view of the cemetary grounds behind it, is a large tower with a reflecting pool. To the right and left of the oblong pool are two long stone walls (Court of Honor)l etched with the names of the 1,722 Americans whose remains were never found.


These words are inscribed on the tower behind a bronze statue of a woman with three doves at her shoulder and a tree stump with one leafy branch to her right.

Notice the third stone back. Men of Jewish faith were buried under the Star of David. All others under the cross. I was surprised at how many stars were there - an even more personal war, may be, for those men, and a sad one.

Instead of straight rows, the crosses were placed in curves over the 65.5 acres. 8,301 Americans are buried there.

Among the many graves were fresh flowers laid at the base of many crosses. Americans are far away. I wondered who would be leaving flowers there, so fresh and cared for. When we got home later, we looked up the cemetary and read an article that said that when the cemetary began, there was a program for Dutch to adopt graves. They send photos and letters to the families of the lost and promised to take care of the graves forever. Every single grave was adopted and there were even stories of families handing down that responsibility to silblings and other family members as they could not longer go. Those actions speak for themselves. Wish so much anti-American sentiment worldwide, those are the actions, to me, that speak loudest.

From the flag pole we heard the bells eminating from the tower. It was beautiful. Having missed those tunes at our 4th celebratioon, we all stood quietly, contentedly listening to the sounds of America the Beautiful and other patriotic melodies.
Inside the tower, on the side of the graves was a small chapel. The tower was built in a special way to resonate. The visible roof above was a green metal and corrogated like cardboard. The echo created the feeling of being trapped in a bell tower, vibrating as they do in the cartoons. A bit loud for me, but intersting and beautiful to see with lights hanging down low on small wired and a large golden crown suspended in the center of them.

Today Arianna and I had a mother/daughter date, so we decided to risk getting a little wet and go rollarblading. She'd never rollarbladed before, but fits into Tiara's old skates perfectly, so we got all ready to go and started towards Geilenkirchen. Then it started pouring, so I headed in a different direction and ended up at Trips Burg where there are really nice paved, long, straight, flat trails, perfect for beginners. It was raining, but wasn't coming down too hard, so we went out. At first Arianna was just scooting along, walking on them more than skating. So, I told her to get into first position (ballet) and she did. Then I showed her how to move her feet out. Ten minutes later she was pushing me away. She didn't need me to help her or hold her hand. She fell three times and never wanted help getting up. She was great!


A teen sped by on rollarblades. I saw her coming and had Arianna turn around to watch. Her jaw dropped open and her eyes got big. She was so surprised that someone could go that fast. It's a challenge now. She wants to skate more. If you look at the larger version of this photo, you can see drips of water coming down her helmet. But, it wasn't very cold and the rain didn't bother us. After 40 minutes , Arianna got tired and wanted to go out for ice cream, so we headed back watching the baby cows along the way.

Flowers along the river where she skated. I walked along the bank taking pictures of flowers and cows. Arianna liked the independence of scooting along by herself.

1. Think of some bit of information that your audience might not know. In Luci's case, she thinks of things like how to spell words, what 20+20 is, and questions of time.

2. Ask a reliable source. In this instance, Mom.

Luci to mom: "Mom, what day is today?"

Mom: "It's Friday."

3. Run at lightening speed (so as not to forget the answer by the time you arrive) to the person you want to impress.

4. And, blurt out, as quickly as possible, the answer in an authoritative tone.

Luci to Aria: "Aria. Today is Friday. I said it was Friday. I am right!"

5. Now, the "Audience" will undoubtedly be a bit flustered a little and will want to do a little fact checking.

Aria to mom: "Mom, is today Friday?"

Mom to Aria: "Yes."

6. This is when "Always Right" can smile and gloat knowing that she was right and the "Audience" will, for a brief time, be silenced, not knowing quite how to handle being on the uninformed side of things.

Luci: "I am ri-ight, I am ri-ight."

Aria: arms crossed, furrowed brow, silence that lasts for almost 3 seconds until the next round of "stump the sister"

Unlike Kirk who has a memory for movies like an elephant and can recite movie lines at any moment even though he's seen them years ago, I don't remember movies. I don't even really like movies. They are entertaining and, I guess, I like the idea of them. A really great movie is wonderful, but frankly, most of the films that come spewing from Hollywood are simply not worth 90+ minutes of my time. So, I might see 2 movies in the theater each year just to go out with friends and be social. And, I might sit through a few with Kirk to spend time with him. But in general, I am the silent one if the subject of "movies" comes up in conversations with friends. Even my Spanish friends know more about Hollywood stars than I do.

But, this last week I borrowed five movies from the library - a truly unheard of occurence. And, though I wouldn't recommend them all, they were all interesting. Four were foreign, one was American. A good mix for me.

So... here they are with brief comments just in case you feel artsy and want to view something created with thought and not randomly spewed.

Vodka Lemon (2005)
Kirk and I watched this one together and at the end just looked at each other with the "what did I miss" expression on our faces. According to the cover it was "Stunning. A Magical Movie," "Visually Ravishing - a tribute to just how rapturous life can be," "Heart-stabbing, Wierdly lyrical", and "Frostbitten Fellini." Another mentioned comedy. I think the funniest part for me was finishing it and rereading the above comments listed on the cover. The film critics who wrote those comments surely had a few too many Vodka Lemons under their belts. If you want action, this isn't it. The movie is slow and has little dialogue. The scenery is white with very little color. It is a movie from which you can take away a sense of the people in Armenia and how they live in this one village. For most, I wouldn't recommend it. But, the more I distance myself from it, in restrospect, I can appreciate it a lot more for its humanity and the honest display of a people trying to survive in their native land post-USSR.

The Story of Weeping Camel
This was night two of my mini-film festival. I watched it alone and loved it. National Geographic was part of this wonderful documentary. It followed a nomad tribe of camel breeders living in the Gobi desert. There was very little dialogue and only half of it was translated into English for the subtitles, but it was interesting. I learned a bit about that culture and the camels were beautiful. The story centered around a white camel who was born breech after a difficult labor. Its mother rejected it and wouldn't let it nurse. When all attempts failed, the family sent two sons across the desert to a village to find a violinist. The movie ended with a ceremony using song and the vibration and sound of the violin to reunite the mother and calf. Again, this isn't Terminator, but it was really interesting to watch and the young boy made me smile. He lives in such a different world, and yet he is just a regular kid, wanting ice cream and television and running around.

Rosenstrasse
I really enjoyed this movie. Kirk called it "the ultimate chick flick." In German with English subtitles, Rosenstrasse told two stories: the story of a mother and her daughter in New York in the present time, and the story of Aryan women in 1943's Berlin fighting to get their Jewish husbands released. The stories, of course, are related and interwoven. I could not find a good review for it, but it was really a good movie both in that it told one of history's stories and in the relationships it describes.

Turtles Can Fly
If you want an honest look at pre-Iraqi war Kurdistan, I think this might be it. Because of it's locale, I could not find an non-politicized review of this movie, but the movie is not about politics. It is about a small village in Kurdistan and the children who live there. It is poignant and heart-warming, sad, yet real. It seems effortless. No agenda. Nothing forced. Just sad honesty. Another foreign film, you won't see Brad Pitt, and there isn't a lot of violence, but it's worth seeing.

Hitch
Sometimes when you don't want to think or learn, a good comedy is in order and this is one of my new favorites. I don't like typical Hollywood drivel, but Will Smith is truly fun to watch and without the language and smut you find in many other films.

Well, my plea to the spirits of weather has worked and now they are all working together to provide a near perfect week of blue skies, scattered clouds, rain enough to keep things green, and perfectly cool temperatures. I love it. Unfortunately, I've had errands and other "stuff" to do these last couple days, so we've all enjoyed little outings, time at the park, but nothing monumental. Still, life is good and not every day can be a grand adventure.
On Saturday, I took the kids to feed the ducks at the park in Geilenkirchen. I'd only been there in the winter when the pond was almost completely frozen and the ducks were literally running across the water in a large pack. (a gaggle of geese, a flock of seagulls, a herd of sheep... what is it for ducks? gaggle? flock? I don't know.)

So this day was nice. The gardens are beautifully landscaped and the lake, from a distance is quite pretty. We were disappointed to arrive then and see that one end of the lake was completely black as if Exxon Valdez had landed there. We began to feed the ducks - one activity that all four girls enjoy - so all the water fowl gathered around knowing that our bag must be full of food. As one beautiful pure white goose stood up to get closer to us thick black ooze dripped from her chest. It had the color of tar and the consistancy of maple syrup. Elise threw a whole slice of bread in. A duck grabbed it and ran to the edge. When he pulled it out of the water, it was completely black. Tiara and I felt sad. The area is beautiful and people were there - enjoying the scenery - as if the water was perfectly normal. An older couple sat on benches on the edge just 10 feet from us watching the ducks. Another couple sat in the grass just behind us. I wonder what, if anything, will be done there. It is obviously not normal nor healthy for the critters that live there.

Anyway... we fed the ducks... and this little creature below. A muscrat may be? He was cute. He swam around amongst the ducks looking for donations and occasionally he'd head over to the stone bridge, stand up, and eat with his two front hands like a chipmunk or racoon would. He was sweet and entertaining.
Our sunny-day-duck-feeding-in-the-ooze session was cut off a little early when we ran out of bread and my sweet Luci began throwing clumps of dried you-can-imagine-what that was caked in flaky layers on the cement pier into the water. Yuck.

Elise's toy of the week is my green laundry basket. It's been a favorite of all my girls, but this week Elise has become quite attatched to it. From a boat to a choo-choo to a baby bed, it is an all-purpose utility item.

Remember the rain that came and wouldn't go away? It didn't stop the kids from playing outside. Having an enclosed bricked in courtyard is very nice. The girls play and ride their bikes and I can see them from the living room window. All the girls love playing, singing, and dancing in the rain until they wring-outable. Luci wanted to clean things. She spent her time this particular day with a towel, "washing" her bicycle and Tante Tinny's table.
Arianna sang and rode around in circles. I watched from a little window near the kitchen. By the end of the rain, the girls were absolutely dripping and grinning from ear to ear. Not one complaint of cold nor one blue lip. Elise was wearing only a diaper and didn't quite know what to do with herself. She just ran around in circles flailing her arms about and giggling.

On Sunday as we drove to Meerrsen we had quite a long conversation about our aspirations thanks to Arianna who started it off. Here is how it began.

Arianna: "When I'm eight, would you please, please on my birthday, buy me a fairy dress...?" "I want to be a fairy when I grow up. I changed my mind of being a mom and a teacher." From there she professed that she already knew had to fly and even had a flying license. Luci chimed in that she still wants to be a princess. So between the two of them, we have birthday's all layed out for the next ten years. One year fairy wings for Arianna and a princess dress for Luci, another year crowns, etc.... It must be nice to be young and clueless. I still tell Kirk that I want to be a princess. Not working. There are still dishes to clean.

Another photoless blog here. So, I was really excited about getting a new fancy camera... and I love it, but one unforeseen drawback is that it doesn't fit neatly in my purse, and I've yet to form the habit of automatically grabbing both the purse and camera bag each time I leave the house even though they sit next to each other. But, Kirk liked the little town we visited yesterday and I didn't get enough time to see everything that I wanted to see, so we'll be back, with camera in hand.

Meerrsen is in the hill country of South Limburg only 30 minutes from our house. It's beautiful to get to as it rests on a high plateu with valleys on either side. The town itself was settled long before the Christian era, but there wasn't any evidence to that effect that we could see. It's claim to fame now is its basilika.

Since most of these towns are built with the big church in the center by the markt, driving to the center of town is quite easy. You simply follow the steeple. We were pleasantly surprised when we parked our car to see a sign for a synagogue. Until yesterday, I hadn't seen a synagogue yet in Europe. It was closed with the gate leading to it locked up, but we could still see the beautiful dome and the large entrance door with names crafted onto it.

From there we walked to the markt to see the Basiliek van het Allerheiligste Sacrament. Like all the churches we've seen, this one is intricately detailed and beautiful. The flying butresses show off it's gothic roots and the steeple with two tiers of bells played beautiful music several times while we were in the area. The inside was special. It had beautiful windows like all the others and ornate alters hundreds of years old, but there was something about it. Every little detail was perfect. Without photos, it is near impossible to describe. The teoteca (1500) was amazing. I've never seen anything like it. I think it's the podium from where the sermons are given. This one, had stairs leading to a round platform midway through it's structure. All around were extremely detailed carvings depicting different Bibilical scenes. It was 9 levels tall -nine tiers of carvings with the platform in the middle. Amazing. In the front were candles and three small alcoves in the back had candles to light and benches to pray. A couple knelt in one together. I held Elise and lit one in the other alcove and we shared a quiet moment. By the door was a large stone bowl of water on a stand. The women behind me touched the water and put it to her forehead as we were walking out.

From there we walked around the church, then through a beautifully landscaped garden park behind it with an old stone bridge. Tiara and Kirk ran to the top of the bridge to wait for the rest of us slow people. Then I saw the playground. All I had to do it point and it was like clockwork. Four little heads turned to look, four little voices yelled "park," Tiara asked "can we go," then eight little feet took off running as I nodded yes. They swang and played for a while. Arianna said that she's ready for kindergarted now because she can pump her legs and swing all by herself. Luci did a good job of pumping her legs too.

When that got old we finished up our walk through the park stopping to watch the ducks. When we got back to the square, we found an ice cream place right across from the basilika and had some ice cream before we went home. The ice cream place also had all sorts of little foods... satay rolls, suorma rolls, kip on a stick, satays, luompia, and more. I didn't want ice cream, so I ordered a satay roll and a loumpia. Both were deep fried and too greasy for me though the flavor was good. Tiara and Arianna ended up eating the majority of both.

Driving back I realized how close so many things are and began to plan my next trip there - may be one without the kids so I can see more in a shorter time. There are a lot of little places to stop along the way that would be nice to see.

I have made it my most resolute July's resolution to never, ever, no matter how hot or cold or rainy, complain about the weather. I've learned my lesson. When we moved here I complained that it was too cold and I was rewarded with colder temperatures and a snowstorm. For the last two weeks I (and everyone else I know) complained that it was too hot, so, tired of hearing the griping, Summer packed her bags and left. Yes, she knows how to take a hint. She also knows how to hold a grudge. Thunderstorms came last Saturday, liked it here and decided to move in. It's rained and rained for days. Of course, I LOVE the cooler temperatures. I even love being cold for the first time since, well, June. It is quite nice, but Rain has halted our plans to go to Cologne today. I'm not complaining and I don't want to anger these weather spirits any longer. No, tell Rain that I love her and I love getting a bone-chilling cold shower every time I step out of my car. Looking like a wet cat is the style these days and living in Europe, I DO want to be fashionable. Oh... and those of you in California... please tell Sun that I'm sorry and we'd love a visit again when she cares to bless us with her presence.


Luci

• Kirk has started having father/daughter dates. Two weeks ago he took Arianna out to lunch and bowling. She loved it. Luci was primed and ready for her turn. I asked her what she wanted to do with "daddy" last weekend and she said "go have ice cream and play at the playground and go to the candy store and buy lots of candy." So, Kirk took her to the ice cream place with the playground, then out to lunch, and shopping. She got candy necklaces for her and her sisters and a cute little teddy bear.
• This morning Luci created a new breakfast sensation, some of which she actually ate: Take one bowl of dry cocoa krispies, mix in one peach yogurt, add water to desired consistancy. Yum.
  

Arianna:

• Over the weekend I got out plastic beads and let Arianna and Luci make jewlery. Arianna made her first bracelet for Nevan, the boy that she wants to marry. Then, the second bracelet she made longer. When I suggested it was too big, she said it was for Nevan's mom. Kissing up to the in-laws already - she's smart! On Tuesday she brought the bracelets to school to give. Nevan would like anything from Arianna and loved it. Jennifer, Nevan's mom, was so surprised and touched that she got teary. And she wore the bracelet all day. It was very nice.
• On Wednesday, Tiara and I both got our hair done. When we picked Arianna up from school, she noticed the changes and immediately said, "Tomorrow I want Jenny to come over and paint my hair." I told her that she didn't need her her painted. "But Mom, I want my hair to be pink!"
  
• Aria's favorite movie at the moment is Peter Pan - all versions from Disney to Broadway to Hoffman's Hook. Her latest line is "call me Wendy," though she wants to be Tigerlilly for Halloween.