Get a Dog If...

Get a dog if....

1. You need to get up out of your chair.

2. You need to get regular walking exercise.

3. You need someone to depend on you to make dinner ( breakfast, snack, lunch, brunch, snack, supper, snack, treat).

4. You need someone to talk to (to listen to you talk).

5. You need someone to be kept clean and tick free.

6. You need a shadow.

7. You need someone to pick up after.

8. You need someone to shop for (like dogfood, treats).

9. You need someone to tickle/pet.

10. You need to put it to bed, so you can get some rest.

Petite Pink Paper Love Letter

Most Love Letters that I mailed to my mom and dad back 35 years ago were mailed in envelopes like the one above ( but not with the hole, mind you). The letter I am publishing today was written on tiny pink paper. Don't ask me why! I can't remember that far back!

31 March 1980

We received your list of relatives on Friday along with a nice letter and photographs from S. We will order invitations next week when we go to Olst. I'm going to try to mail them around the 1st of May (or before). 

We looked again for a dress for me. But no luck. Perhaps I'll have to make it myself. J. will go on a tour with 3 Australians the weekend of April 11-13, so I'll have all week-end to sew. I cut out six pieces of fabric on Saturday. Now I have plenty to keep me busy.

The weather is warming a little (50's & low 60's), but there are still no tulips. Some of J's friends from Pittsburg, Pa. will come to visit us the end of April or 1st of May. Maybe I'll get to see some tulip fields then.

We go on Daylight Savings Time at 2:00 a.m. April 6. So for a couple of weeks we will be 8 hours ahead of you. J. and I will go to Olst for the Easter week-end as we haven't been there in 3 weeks. His parents go on holiday to Italy around the 15th of April until mid-May. So we won't see them for a while. 

Don't procrastinate too long about making your flight reservations, as the first week in June is a popular week for Americans to travel to Europe. We don't want you to miss the wedding! And are you planning to spend 3 weeks with us? I hope so!

I especially invited a couple of B.R. friends to come to the wedding, but I haven't heard from any of them. As of right now, you two are the only ones making a trans-Atlantic trip. But we'll have fun anyway.

I will close now, and I will send the information for the Town Talk this week-end.

How is F.? You haven't mentioned him in a while? Tell him to write to me.

Love, Linda

Plaid Wedding Dress and Ondertrouw

Another Love Letter to Mother and Daddy

Photo Source: http://www.hmcdn.eu/ImageRepository/Preview

24 March 1980

Dear Mother and Daddy,

It is my lunch break, but the weather is still too chilly to stay outside too long. So I'll write you a few lines. I wish I were at home taking a nap. We visited J's friends until after 2:00 a.m. on Saturday and then I slept until 8:30 a.m. Last night the same friends arrived here at 11:45 p.m. to spend the night, but I said good-night and went to bed. So now I'm drowsy and lifeless. I'll be glad when 6:15 gets here, and I'll be at home.

I still haven't found a wedding dress. J. is not much help since he has terrible taste in women's clothes. He thinks I should wear plaid skirts and loafers all of the time. Strange! Maybe I'll find something this week-end.

(LOL--Not my dress!!) This beauty is from Heritage of Scotland.

I called S. yesterday to wish W. a Happy Birthday, but she was at the skating rink. But I did get to talk to S. and S. He sounds like he feels better, and he said he sent me a letter. If it comes in 7 days like your last letter did, I'll get it soon. He said he received my package in just a few days. SAL should be just about as fast as airmail (1week), and it is a little cheaper, too. You might want to remember that if someone wants to send me a wedding gift.

I priced wedding invitations ( printed in two languages) last week. I think the cost will run around 200-250 dollars just for the cards. J. said he would find a cheaper printer. I told him I'd duplicate them here at the office, but he said I was being silly.

I have a 2 day holiday for Easter (Good Friday and the Monday after). Then on April 9, I'll take off half the day for the Ondertrouw (one part of getting married). We go to the City Hall and someone talks to us. Then our names are posted in the front of the City Hall for about 2 weeks in case someone objects to the marriage. But we don't even get our license until June. J's parents will probably come to have dinner with us on that evening.

I'll close and get to work. It is 2:00. Write soon.

Love, Linda

Dogs on Our Laps at Wetcreek

If you have ever been through a southern rainstorm, then you will be able to visualize what we experienced late last evening. 

With Flip on J's lap and Nismo on mine, we "rode out the storm." 

Today we are soggy here in Wetcreek. Not sure how many inches of rain we had, since our trusty rain gauge has a huge crack (we just noticed this morning!) and won't hold water.

I turned off the water irrigation system to the tomatoes in the raised veggie beds, since they are drenched. 

And now the sun is coming out. 

We are high and dry here and curious to hear how our son is managing in the flooded Big City.

Calf-deep at midnight Monday in Houston.

Tuesday morning, both deer and human are searching. 

Under water view.

Memorial or Memorable Day 2015?

Since retiring from paid work seven years ago, every single day is a holiday! Because of that, I often lose track of "real" holidays like today - Memorial Day. 

May God bless all of those who have fought in wars and those who died because of wars. Let us remember them all.

But this particular Memorial Day will be a "memorable day" for us. Last evening we received word from our kind neighbor R. in The Netherlands that our deep freezer at the Beltway Apartment had expired, and the contents was "stinking to high heaven." She and an equally kind neighbor gentleman needed our consent and guidance to do something very soon.

Long story short ( and extremely quick, thank goodness!!), the kind neighbor gentleman emptied the freezer and cleaned up as well as he could. 

We are so fortunate to still have a couple of GOOD neighbors at the Beltway!

Thanks, KS, for coming to the rescue. And thanks, of course, to RW for hearing that strange noise coming from our bathroom ( just above her bathroom) that may have been a signal that all was not well in our apartment 5,000 miles away from where we are at Wetcreek.

Let the Wedding Plans Begin: A Really Long (Typed) Love Letter

For followers just checking in on my Wetcreek Blog, here is a long letter I wrote to my American parents explaining how our Dutch wedding (35 years ago!) would run. I was at that moment employed by the South Korean Embassy in The Hague as the secretary to the ambassador and his head councilor. I had access to an electric typewriter and "oodles" of time to plan and to type. And please note that these "traveling guidelines for Europe" are BRS (before Rick Steves ever made a video or a successful television show).

Here goes:

17 March 1980

Dear Mother and Daddy,

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope you are wearing green, because I'm not. I forgot all about it until I looked at the calendar this morning. Oh well, the Koreans don't know about pinching, so I'm safe.

I enjoyed the long phone call yesterday, but you must promise to pay for it with my money. That was the arrangement, remember? I was sorry to hear about S. in the hospital. Tell him that is what old age will do to you. But I am glad that he is better. Maybe he should hire a governess to watch after the kids. It may sound a little strange for Alexandria, but it would sure save many headaches.

Anyway, I got the O.K. today from my boss to take off from June 4-June 24. Please make your flight reservations as soon as possible so you can get the day you want and a cheaper fare. We are planning on you staying three (3) weeks, so that is how long I can take off from work. We thought that the day you arrive you could sleep and rest and get your bearings. On Friday (June 6) morning we must be in Olst to finish up the plans. We can all have a nice rest on Friday night, because Saturday will be hectic. We will eat a warm lunch on Saturday morning at the S's and then get dressed for the wedding.

The wedding (civil) ceremony at the City Hall in Olst is very much like an American church service. Only Daddy and I don't walk down the aisle. We have asked J's friend J.V. to be a witness, and I want Daddy to be my witness. The ceremony lasts for about 45 minutes with exchanging of the vows, rings, kisses, and witness signing. The gentleman from the City Hall even gives a speech. This will take place at 3:00. As we don't know the Dutch minister, I will ask the American pastor here in the Hague to bless our marriage after the wedding, perhaps in July. It will be a private thing with just the pastor, J., and me. I think this is the best solution.

We will return to the house after the ceremony and get ready for the reception. That will begin around 5:00. We will have a receiving line in the living room, J. and I will cut the cake (not a Dutch tradition), and there will be tea and drinks and tidbits to eat. Around 7:00 that should be over. Mr. S. has suggested that the six of us go to a fancy restaurant afterwards to eat. I will have to think about that since I became sick after eating there in June and in December. I think the food is too rich.

On Sunday, June 8, we can leave on our trip or wait until Monday. J. and I will work out a tentative plan to include Holland, Belgium, France (Paris), Germany, Switzerland, and possibly Austria. We can do that in two weeks, but we don't want to tire you out. If you have preferences, please let us know. We will stay in inexpensive hotels and guest houses since most deluxe hotels are too expensive and not so nice anyway. J. and I can pay for the lodging during the trip, and if you want to help us we can figure it out later and you can deposit it into my bank account in Alex. It is just too hard to guess how much money we will need. You can bring souvenir money and extra money for a special time to eat out. On my tours, I always brought $500 for spending, and I brought half of it back. Everything is expensive here. A normal meal for two costs $25 or more. You can guess we will eat lots of good bread, cheese, and sausages on the road. We will plan on one warm meal a day.

You asked about clothes. Remember that June is still quite cool here. The temperature is usually between 45-65 degrees F and there is much rain. Be sure to bring a raincoat and umbrella (fold-up kind). The raincoat should be an all weather type so it can protect you from the rain and cold. Also, European houses ( not ours) are sometimes chilly in the summer, so bring a sweater that you can wear over your regular clothes. Daddy may even want to bring a pullover or two to wear over his shirts. Sleeveless clothes are too cool. Daddy should bring short sleeve and long sleeve shirts, but he will probably wear the long sleeved ones more because of the coolness.

Mother, ladies don't wear pants in Europe like they still do in America. Only teen-agers wear the jeans and such. So I think you will be more comfortable in easy skirts, blouses, or casual dresses. I only wear pants around the house now. You might want to bring a pair to wear around the pool at J's parents. Also, bring your bathing suits. Perhaps the weather will be warm enough to get wet in the pool since it is heated. You don't have to bring too many clothes since we have a washer and dryer and J's mother does, too.

Shoes are the most important thing. Be sure that you have at least two pair of comfortable walking shoes. J. likes to walk in the cities, so be prepared. You might even want to start getting into shape. The shoes you bring for the wedding will be good for any trips to nice restaurants.

Don't forget your camera and film. Film is too expensive here and not of the best quality even when it is Kodak. Also, you may want to get Traveler's Insurance that will be good for your stay. It is a little expensive, but worth every penny. Don't worry about a hair dryer or electric curlers since I have mine. Also, if you bring anything electric, we have adapters, etc. Bring your money in American Traveler's Cheques since they have offices everywhere. And by all means don't forget your passports. If I think of anything else, I will either call or write.

We think we can mail all of the invitations if we get the names, addresses, and zip codes. If we see that it will be too expensive to mail them from here, we will send a bundle of invitations to you with your list and let you mail them from Alex. But I think it will be possible to mail them from here and more interesting, too. Wouldn't you like to get an invitation to a wedding in Holland? About gifts: I am sure people will ask you what to send. If they send parcels, it will be expensive and we may have to pay a duty fee since it is a gift. We suggest that they send money or checks to you. You can deposit it into my account or buy a Traveler's Cheque and bring it with you. But please keep a record of how much I get from whom so I can write Thank You notes. If people send me personal checks, I have to pay $2.50 for each check I cash. So they should send it to you.

Here are some suggested flight routes:

Houston -Amsterdam (KLM)

N.O. -N.Y. -Amst. (Eastern and KLM)

N.O. -Chicago - Amst. (Northwest and KLM)

Alex. -Atlanta -Brussels (Delta and Sabena)

If you fly on Tuesday, June 3, you will arrive here on Wednesday, June 4. If you fly on Wednesday, June 4, you will arrive here on Thursday, June 5. The fare from Atlanta to Brussels on Sabena Airlines is round-trip $503 APEX. The fare from Alex. to Atlanta is round- trip about $200. We can drive only one and one- half hours to Brussels to pick you up. If you land in Amsterdam, we also have to drive about one hour. So wherever you get the best connections is fine for us.

Later I will send you a list of some small things that I want from the States. Also, I will know by then what I am going to wear. J's mother will wear a pastel blue Alcantara (suede cloth) street length dress, and J's dad will wear a three piece dark blue suit with a white shirt. I know that I told you all this, but it is good to get it in writing.

Well, I'll stop and get ready for lunch. Daddy, thank you for the letter. And I'm glad you found a good job. Tell everyone hello and give the baby and kiddoes a kiss for me.

Call me if you need anything or have a question.

Love, Linda

A Night at the Ritz

The day after the night at the Ritz.

Nismo has a new dog mattress and white (vintage) sheets in his sleeping cage. He slept just fine until 7:00 a.m. today. 

Sure am glad Tractor Supply had a mattress. 

Hope the little "king" feels the same.

Simple Shelfie

Have a nice day! 

After three hours of pulling grass out of my boxwoods and flowerbeds, I'm "pooped."

So are the pups!

Three Months Before the Wedding --6 March 1980

(As I read and publish my letters from 35 years ago, I just imagine what life would have been like if we had had computers and especially Google. But then again, these letters would not exist. And there would be nothing to help me remember "how things were in the old days.")

6 March 1980

Donderdag morgen

9:00

Dear Mother and Daddy,

We received your letter of Feb.19 yesterday. Two weeks is entirely too long for mail from the U.S. Perhaps you could try mailing my letter in several different places (write the mailbox location on the envelope flap), and we'll let you know which location makes for the fastest service. By the time we get your letters, the news is too old. I love receiving any news from home, but I also want it as soon as possible. 

How is the new baby? We are curious to know all about her and what she looks like. How does little J. feel now that he isn't the baby? But then I guess he never thought of himself as being a baby. J. still talks about how grown- up he was. When S. was in his way, he said, "Back up." J 's nephew D. will be three next month, and J. out-talks him by far. A. said D. didn't sleep any of the 26 hour flight except the last 30 minutes. Then she couldn't awaken him and had to carry the litttle rascal off the plane. It took 3 airline stewardesses to help her with the children and hand luggage.

Concerning the towels and such that you received in the mail: Just pay the bill and don't worry about reordering, we'll get other towels another time when we are home.  Perhaps you could pack as much as possible in my little red suitcase and then bring it with you in June. Each of you can bring 2 suitcases, so that shouldn't be a problem. If you can't fit everything in the bag, we'll get it another time when we are in the States. Check my balance on my checking account please. I have only written one check (Date-Feb.25-No.136-To:York Quality Namemaker (Handmade by Linda) -Amount: $25.00). But I still have money in my savings, so you may need to transfer some.

I have a savings account here that draws 7 1/4% interest yearly. That is about like I had in BR at the Teacher's Credit Union. I get paid in cash at work, so I don't have much banking to do. And the bank charges me $2.50 to transfer money from my checking account to another, so I do little banking. Hopefully after I marry, they will cut out some of these extra charges.

We haven't made any wedding plans yet. I still have to sit down and figure out exactly what I want. Then I can discuss everything rationally. Otherwise, there will be hurt feelings and misunderstandings. And I've told J. that if there is too much confusion, we'll just elope and forget the rest.

10:00 a.m.

Well, I'm not alone anymore. Everyone is here except my two bosses. I suppose they will arrive soon. I've read the news report in English and the Herald Tribune, so I'm ready for today. I just heard the Ambassador unlock his door, so I'll close and go in to take his mail.

10:50 a.m.

Well, I'm free again. My bosses came, and I've finished my little duties. I hope that I have enough to do today to keep me from being bored.

J. is going to an old car meeting tonight, so I'll wash clothes and get my sewing together. I have 6 things to sew plus I want to hem my skirts a little. I will be busy for a while. Mother, could you mail me the Spring-Summer issue of Bride's Magazine plus any other bride's magazines. I can't get them here, and I need ideas. If you can't find anything don't worry. I'll make do.

I'll close now and find something to read. Take care and write when you can.

Love, Linda and J.

New Grandbaby/Niece--Anno 1980

My niece C (the one with two precious daughters) is celebrating her 35th birthday this year. Here is how we found out back then:

Love Letter

29 February 1980

Dear Mother and Daddy,

Congratulations on the birth of your new grand-daughter. J. and I were pleased to get your phone call on Tuesday night. Calling us wasn't that difficult, was it? S. called us much later (1:39 a.m. here) not knowing that you had called. But we were glad that he called, no matter what time of day or night. The same goes for you. Never hesitate to call. We are always at home during the week and now most week-ends.

Let me know all about C. I wrote and asked S. to send her picture. I really hate that I can't be there to see her. We mailed a small package for the children on C's birthdate. As we sent it by Surface Air Lift, S. should receive it by middle March. I sent the baby a blanket, a carry-all for each of the girls, and a car for J. I didn't feel like I could send the blanket without including something for the others.

We saw A. and the boys off to Sydney, Australia on Wednesday night. She called us last night that she arrived safely. After a 26 hour flight, I am sure she is sleeping well today. She went to a house with rented furniture since her things are still in a big container in the Sidney harbor. There has been so much trouble with the things, that I wonder if she will ever get them.

We will stay here this week-end and give the S's a chance to rest. J's cousin N. and her friend will come to spend the night on Saturday, so I've got my cleaning work cut out for me. I'll work on the cleaning tonight so I can shop tomorrow. I want to buy fabric for new clothes.

Just a few more months, and we'll see you. If you need anything, just let us know.

Love, Linda and J.

Hello! There is Reader View Available!

Where have I been? I just discovered "Reader View Available"!

"Safari has a nice Reader View feature, which removes clutter from websites to make them reader-friendly. If Reader View is available on any website, Safari now shows the text: "Reader View Available" in the address bar. Just tap the three horizontal lines on the left side of the address bar to activate it. Once activated, you can increase or decrease font size as well, which wasn't possible in iOS 7. Tap the big A button at the top of the page to increase text size and the small button to reduce it."

From this:

To this:

How long have you known about Reader View Available?

Like a Good Neighbor

No State Farm commercials here. Just a reminder that we all like good neighbors. 

We are lucky that our neighbors here at Wetcreek are likeable. And good. And just far enough away that I could walk the pup in my nightie, if I wanted to.

On the other hand, at the Beltway Apartment in The Netherlands,  things with the neighbors are not looking so good or so likeable. We are there only a couple of months every year, but from the email messages that are being exchanged at the moment, the atmosphere seems pretty "catty." And not in the sweet, purring way.

Some words of wisdom for dealing with neighbors/Homeowners Association:

"Set boundaries when needed, be considerate and tolerant within reason."

In other words, be that good neighbor!

A Pup Siesta

Flip went off to his bed not two minutes after I made this shot. What a life! This new friend Nismo is wearing this old dog out!

And "boarder" Nismo tried sleeping under the table legs on the left, but opted for under the chair legs. Every moment he is awake, he learns something new. 

Hope he "learns" to be this quiet during the night while sleeping in his cage.

All Night Long! Happy Mother's Day!

From 2:00 am until 8:00 am, this little rascal peeped and screamed in his cage you can see in the photo below.

While I ate my breakfast, he fell asleep under the kitchen table. 

Wonder how long this will last!!

The joys of being the grandmother of a "grand-pup"!

We Just Became Grands!

Remember that I was the gran of "grand-cars"? Well, yesterday I became the gran of this cutie:

Now I have a grand-dog, Nismo. He just spent his first night in his new home with our bachelor son, and it seems he is taking over the place.

Glad he will spend some time with us out here in the country for housebreaking before he breaks down our son's house!

Happy 90th Birthday, Mom

Mom requested a southern specialty--homemade caramel icing on yellow cake. The recipe says "never fail." Sorry that you all can't be the judges.

Refer to my blogpost Here for the recipe.

I Just Phoned to Ask You to Read Your E-mail!

Now how dumb is that? 

Instead of progressing in technology, we are digressing. 

Just now someone phoned with a recorded message to tell me to read my e-mail. (Which I do every single time I pick up my iPad. Which is all day long!)

Am I the only one who reads e-mail?

Don't Send Me Flowers

Our mom turns 90 years old this week. 

While visiting with her yesterday and watering her flowers inside and near her new porch ramp, she and I discussed our plants that need regular attention. I had to climb into her huge corner bath tub to give her neglected ivy a needed drink. She said she thought it had been a couple of months since that had been done. 

Mom lives only a few steps away from my youngest brother and sister-in-law. Those two are great care givers and Mom's "guardian angels" looking after her 24 hours a day. Besides everything else that she does, my sweet sister-in-law keeps Mom's plants on her back porch and in the yard alive 12 months of the year. But I believe that is beyond the call of duty. My mom loves flowers, but she hasn't been able to maintain them on her own for a couple of years now.

So the following lyrics are a kind hint for Mom's friends and family ( and maybe even friends and family of other elderly moms this Mother's Day):

"Don't send flowers, just give me some hours

Just a minute of your time, would really make it shine, so think it over
Don't send flowers, from ivory towers
I just wanna see your face, forever and always, please think it over"

Lyrics by Sheena Easton

Too White, Too Long

When is being white not right? 

Oh, no, this blogpost is not about racism! It is about looking too white, too light, too bright, and too white. Having had some shade of blond hair for most of my 67 years, I am used to being light. Fair skin, invisible eyebrows, pale eyelashes, see-through skin, and blue-grey eyes are who I am. 

But too pale for a passport photo? What The ......?

It is time to renew my passport, and finding someone to make my passport photo out here in the sticks is not an easy task. This week we planned a trip into town and checked out places that made passport photos. Walgreen's! That was convenient, since my hub needed to pick up some batteries at Harbor Freight, and a Walgreen's Pharmacy was nearby.

At the first (notice I wrote first) Walgreen's a kind pale older guy took a photo of me standing in front of a pulled down white screen and then proceeded to try to "fix" the photo background without making me disappear. According to him, fair-skinned folks like he and I are "too white" for the pure white background required by the American government. There was an annoying shadow on the stark white background, and when he made it vanish, so did I. He even took a second photo after having to put new batteries into his camera. Then he began blaming the fluorescent lights and angles and gosh knows what else, so I suggested that I could go somewhere else. He kindly gave me the name of a colleague he "had trained" and who worked at a Walgreen's near the college. She would have better luck, he thought. So off we went!

At the second (yes, there are more!) Walgreen's, Ashley had just gone out for lunch, but the front cashier knew how to make passport photos. That is what she said, anyway. This time I was told to stand far away from the white screen. When I mentioned that a colleague from store no. 1 had had difficulty getting a usable photo because I was too light ( bright, white, whatever), the young woman got really nervous and fiddled with the computer image. She started asking, "What about this? Or this? Think this is okay?" Then she pressed a button and two passport photos popped out. I was so annoyed (P.O'd) by this time that I was ready to grab them and run. Then she said, "The next time you come for passport photos, wear a darker color around your neck!"  At that point I said, "I have been given a run-around all day, so keep the pictures. I'll go somewhere else and wear something dark." I never looked back!

Long, long story shorter, we ended our shopping day at the third Walgreen's across from a Wendy's. On the way to the photo department, I spied a lovely dark blue scarf hanging on a display rack. I grabbed it, threw it around my neck, and dashed over to ask if someone would make my passport photo.I explained that the scarf was Walgreen's property, but I had been told that I needed "color" for the photo shot. The kind young woman helped me look more photogenic and then shouted, "Has the new girl been trained to take passport photos?"

My heart sank! But I smiled and said, "Cheese" to the sweetest teenager who complimented me on my lovely clothes, snapped my picture, snipped the photos, and wished me a "blessed day." And, yes, I told her it was pronounced "Bless id." And she told me thank you, since she planned to study to become an English teacher. 

I am still "laughing out loud."

The Real Scoop on the Poop

One of my " outside jobs" is to knock the leaf eating caterpillars off of our trees, flowers, and all green plants. 

Over the years, I have learned to recognize those critters ( not by name, of course). The most common ones are the big black fuzzy wuzzy ones that creep around on our veranda and love the leaves of the little sapplings along our driveway. 

(Borrowed photo, since I am sick of seeing these guys.)

I use my rustic walking stick to knock them off the branches and leaves and then smash them with my rubber boot. Don't tell me they will develop into beautiful moths. We have enough beautiful moths and butterflies and bees and wasps and mosquitoes and lovebugs, thank you. But nothing should be making a snack out of my plants!

I noticed this morning that something had been munching on my Knock-out roses. Well, here is the culprit:

And it moves with lightning speed.

A truly great unknown photographer got a shot of a "bird poop" caterpillar like the one I stepped on this morning before making a photo.

(Borrowed photo!)

Now you have the real "poop" on my caterpillar invasion!