My body hurts all over but I feel content.
Maarten finally understands the 'wedge' technique, he does some turning now and then and he agrees that learning to stop may be useful occasionally. One can call this a huge step forwards. Last year speed was all that mattered.
Even now he still gets upset if I try to control his speed but there is some awareness rising in our little man, even it is still a very slight one. Besides that he likes to impress girls with his ski style and he definitely hates to fall when they're watching!
PS: Please turn off the PC - speaker!!!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Let's Keep Hope Alive
Today is the inauguration of the U.S. president, Barack H. Obama.
We are all full of hope and even though we do not officially belong to this country, U.S. policy always has a huge influence internationally, no matter which country you belong to.
Obama is also the first elected black president. Or was it John Hanson? That doesn't really matter right now.
I was not aware that some may still have a problem with the president's skin colour.
Anyhow just a day before the inauguration the whole country celebrated the achievements of racial unity and harmony in America accomplished by Martin Luther King Jr.
On Sunday night, I watched the movie Crash confronting me with racial prejudice in Los Angeles' neighbourhoods. I didn't choose this particular movie on purpose, bearing in mind this week's events. My sister recently recommended it to me as a 'thrilling movie' and they had it at the local library. Only a coincidence. That's it.
I was shocked and sad at the same time.
I know it's only a movie but there is probably some truth behind it.
Every place has its dark heart, even California. Though till now this state has appeared to me as a paradise for every nationality or race, who lives next to each other in peace and respect.
Just have a look at Maarten's preschool!
There may be some truth about the remark I got a couple of months ago.
Do we really live here in a kind of golden cage not seeing the 'real American life'?
Racism is everywhere.
I don't see it as an American-only problem.
Unfortunately.
We are all full of hope and even though we do not officially belong to this country, U.S. policy always has a huge influence internationally, no matter which country you belong to.
Obama is also the first elected black president. Or was it John Hanson? That doesn't really matter right now.
I was not aware that some may still have a problem with the president's skin colour.
Anyhow just a day before the inauguration the whole country celebrated the achievements of racial unity and harmony in America accomplished by Martin Luther King Jr.
On Sunday night, I watched the movie Crash confronting me with racial prejudice in Los Angeles' neighbourhoods. I didn't choose this particular movie on purpose, bearing in mind this week's events. My sister recently recommended it to me as a 'thrilling movie' and they had it at the local library. Only a coincidence. That's it.
I was shocked and sad at the same time.
I know it's only a movie but there is probably some truth behind it.
Every place has its dark heart, even California. Though till now this state has appeared to me as a paradise for every nationality or race, who lives next to each other in peace and respect.
Just have a look at Maarten's preschool!
There may be some truth about the remark I got a couple of months ago.
Do we really live here in a kind of golden cage not seeing the 'real American life'?
Racism is everywhere.
I don't see it as an American-only problem.
Unfortunately.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
School Slippers
It's pretty common and, as I remember, even mandatory to change into slippers at Czech schools.
Not only at school but most of the Czechs wear slippers at home as well.
I noticed this seemed to be kind of a strange habit for the Dutch, there was not much difference in Belgium, nor here in the U.S.
Till Maarten brought this note home from his teachers.
He should bring slippers to school to wear during class-time.
What a step towards comfort and hygiene! It can be a long day wearing shoes.
After school Maarten is used to going barefoot as often as the weather allows.
But he is going to start an extended day program beginning in March and the slippers may really be useful.
Any suggestions where to get them?!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Na Nový rok o slepičí krok, o zaječí skok.
OK, I guess I should finally write something.
I don't know where to start, even though we did so much during the holidays.
Maybe that's the reason.
There was no school and Rob was home from work too.
You may ask why Rob gets so many days off (51 for this year to be exact!) while this is not common in the U.S.
Well, he still works for the Belgium sector and therefore, he gets the Belgian employee benefits.
The problem is when he actually wants to use them. It may, by de facto , not be a possibility to take all his days off.
And no, there is not the option of getting the unused days paid out as we used to in Europe.
So, he does his best to use them all.
And naturally it's a pleasure to plan vacations...
As I mentioned in my last post it was pretty cold before Christmas but we had some warm days as well.
Like during our climb to Las Trampas Ridge; it was not only the elevation that made us sweat.
On our way down I taughed Maarten how to 'válet sudy', the Czech way of rolling down hills. Those who know Maarten will understand that he had a blast. Never mind all the cow pies.
There was not much action at Año Nuevo this year. At least not during our visit. It was cold, but sunny and this would be the reason why the bulls were laying down flat, scattered around the sandy dunes. The nice weather would be the reason for the male's laziness. We should have called before to check the local weather, since rain, wind and cold means the most action, according to Bob, the guide.
It wouldn't be so special to spot a coyote in this country (they wake me up during the night pretty often) but we'd never seen them before sneaking around the elephant seals trying to get their newborn pups. One of the coyotes was lucky, feeding on a poor baby seal right in front of our eyes.
I was saving the tickets (Thank you Maria!) for a rainy day. Although this particular rainy day just hasn't come and it would be a shame to let the tickets expire of course.
I didn't have any expectations of the Lawrence Hall of Science but it is a place to return to. Especially the boys were excited. To be honest I was in bad pain, therefore rambling from one exhibit or lab to another was pretty tiring. We spent almost the whole day there by exploring, building, weighing, racing, lifting, pressing...should I go on?
We will sure be back.
After becoming parents our 'Silvestr' (New Years Eve) is almost like any other evening, except for a special dinner then. Knowing that Maarten would wake us up before six anyway, sleeping through it is the most practical and enjoyable way.
I shouldn't forget to mention that after some-years pause Rob made his own oliebollen. Those fried dough balls are a Dutch pastry traditionally eaten on New Year's Eve.
And with the new year finally came some rain. Even though only for a day.
There are no New Years resolutions for us only a wish for health. You may know, that under the circumstances there is a true reason for that...
I don't know where to start, even though we did so much during the holidays.
Maybe that's the reason.
There was no school and Rob was home from work too.
You may ask why Rob gets so many days off (51 for this year to be exact!) while this is not common in the U.S.
Well, he still works for the Belgium sector and therefore, he gets the Belgian employee benefits.
The problem is when he actually wants to use them. It may, by de facto , not be a possibility to take all his days off.
And no, there is not the option of getting the unused days paid out as we used to in Europe.
So, he does his best to use them all.
And naturally it's a pleasure to plan vacations...
As I mentioned in my last post it was pretty cold before Christmas but we had some warm days as well.
Like during our climb to Las Trampas Ridge; it was not only the elevation that made us sweat.
On our way down I taughed Maarten how to 'válet sudy', the Czech way of rolling down hills. Those who know Maarten will understand that he had a blast. Never mind all the cow pies.
There was not much action at Año Nuevo this year. At least not during our visit. It was cold, but sunny and this would be the reason why the bulls were laying down flat, scattered around the sandy dunes. The nice weather would be the reason for the male's laziness. We should have called before to check the local weather, since rain, wind and cold means the most action, according to Bob, the guide.
It wouldn't be so special to spot a coyote in this country (they wake me up during the night pretty often) but we'd never seen them before sneaking around the elephant seals trying to get their newborn pups. One of the coyotes was lucky, feeding on a poor baby seal right in front of our eyes.
I was saving the tickets (Thank you Maria!) for a rainy day. Although this particular rainy day just hasn't come and it would be a shame to let the tickets expire of course.
I didn't have any expectations of the Lawrence Hall of Science but it is a place to return to. Especially the boys were excited. To be honest I was in bad pain, therefore rambling from one exhibit or lab to another was pretty tiring. We spent almost the whole day there by exploring, building, weighing, racing, lifting, pressing...should I go on?
We will sure be back.
After becoming parents our 'Silvestr' (New Years Eve) is almost like any other evening, except for a special dinner then. Knowing that Maarten would wake us up before six anyway, sleeping through it is the most practical and enjoyable way.
I shouldn't forget to mention that after some-years pause Rob made his own oliebollen. Those fried dough balls are a Dutch pastry traditionally eaten on New Year's Eve.
And with the new year finally came some rain. Even though only for a day.
There are no New Years resolutions for us only a wish for health. You may know, that under the circumstances there is a true reason for that...
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
White Christmas?
I was not really crazy about this particular Santa, silly-jumping skinny...probably a recession-friendly one. Though it was not a bad idea to spend the afternoon in a cozy Irish pub and have 'Lunch with Santa'.
Last week was actually the coldest period of our stay here in the Bay Area.
The heater has been on every day.
Rain showers changed to hail and when the clouds cleared, the tops of Mount Diablo and Sunol were dusted with snow.
What a pretty sight! Just perfect for the season.
PS: Another bike accident today...
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Speaking of Biking
It's already dark when Rob returns from his work.
Tonight he 'almost' had an accident with a car.
The driver was about to turn right and obviously didn't see him.
Rob saw the car though. So he braked suddenly which caused him to fly over the handlebars.
Luckily he 'only' ended up with a bad scrape on his knee (and pants) and his front light is probably broken too.
The driver apologized and offered him 20 dollars to make amends.
This is not Holland after all...
Tonight he 'almost' had an accident with a car.
The driver was about to turn right and obviously didn't see him.
Rob saw the car though. So he braked suddenly which caused him to fly over the handlebars.
Luckily he 'only' ended up with a bad scrape on his knee (and pants) and his front light is probably broken too.
The driver apologized and offered him 20 dollars to make amends.
This is not Holland after all...
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Mikuláš
Some of you already know that here, far away from Czech Republic , we still celebrate our traditional Mikuláš.
For the occasion of Saint Nicolas Day the local Czech community organized a CHILDREN'S PARTY.
Maarten was very excited to meet this mysterious Mikuláš /Sinterklaas in person at last.
And there he was all holy and shiny, wearing cloak and mitter (even not red as usual) holding his big golden crozier, accompanied by a beautiful angel and a friendly devil.
Maarten was so impressed.
He did sing his Sinterklaas kapoentje song to them but not as loud as he did before to us.
There are probably no bad or naughty children here in the Bay Area. No one received a lump of coal or a potato in the stocking and the devil didn't put any child in a sack (if he had any).
I hope Maarten understood well that Sinterklaas (the Dutch one who brings presents during the night) is gone to Spain now and Maarten will no longer look in his shoe at 3 o'clock in the morning.
Indeed, I'm dying for a good night's sleep.
For the occasion of Saint Nicolas Day the local Czech community organized a CHILDREN'S PARTY.
Maarten was very excited to meet this mysterious Mikuláš /Sinterklaas in person at last.
And there he was all holy and shiny, wearing cloak and mitter (even not red as usual) holding his big golden crozier, accompanied by a beautiful angel and a friendly devil.
Maarten was so impressed.
He did sing his Sinterklaas kapoentje song to them but not as loud as he did before to us.
There are probably no bad or naughty children here in the Bay Area. No one received a lump of coal or a potato in the stocking and the devil didn't put any child in a sack (if he had any).
I hope Maarten understood well that Sinterklaas (the Dutch one who brings presents during the night) is gone to Spain now and Maarten will no longer look in his shoe at 3 o'clock in the morning.
Indeed, I'm dying for a good night's sleep.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Happy Looking-Out!
I really hate visiting dentists but there are still good things about it.
They are reconstructing my mouth and because I have to wait there for hours (seems pretty normal here) I have plenty of time to read magazines.
That's how I learned about the possibility of renting fire lookouts. Last summer we visited one and we found the idea of spending a night up there pretty exciting.
There are many structures like this atop Sierran peaks. Some are still in service during the fire season, some are abandoned and some are in fact converted for public rental.
The one we visited this weekend was built in a special WINDMILL STYLE once popular throughout California. I appreciated the thirties pictures above each of the wall-to-wall window explaining the panoramic view in every direction. And what a view!
Some previous visitors suggested the trees be cut to improve the 'original' view but I hope the rangers won't listen to such thoughts. The scenery is just perfect. Forested hills, purple-pink glowing sunsets, the wide flat Sierra Valley with its tiny towns shining in the dark... even Maarten got poetic watching the valley's lights deep at night...instead of sleeping!
Actually for the most part the nights spent up here turned out to be a real nightmare. Maarten stayed awake almost the whole night. This was not because of Tuesday night's storm when the whole tower was shaking, the broken windows in the attic rumbling with heavy squalls of wind making loud passing-train-like noise.
And no, Rob and I were not waking up romantically in each other's arms watching the beautiful sunrise...
You see, the cabin wasn't pet free as advertised and therefore Rob spent nights in the car.
Anyhow the stay at the lookout was a delight and the day adventures made up for it for sure.
We did some awesome hikes in the area.
There are so many LAKES here. We hiked past Long Lake, Silver Lake, Cub Lake, Big Bear and Little Bear Lake, a more than 5 mile trip.
I was afraid Maarten would not enjoy the lakes without splashing in the water, but there was another big trigger to keep him walking. Snow and ice along the trail!
It would be too boring to spend both days admiring the local lakes. We set off to hike to the top of SIERRA BUTTES. I had some serious concerns about taking Maarten up there. I wasn't sure how difficult and safe in particular this hike would be. We decided to give it a try. We'll just drive to the trailhead and see.
Once we saw the lookout at the top of the buttes we couldn't resist it. And it was really worth the climb even though Maarten and I spent only a moment at the scary lookout atop. Climbing the steep stairs is compared to climbing Half Dome, but some find it even scarier. My knees were really weak and shaking. Because of the steep climb or fear? I'm not sure. Maarten was behaving and stayed calm. He even tried to comfort me that looking through the grated walkway around the lookout isn't scary at all.
It seems pretty safe if you behave.
But the tiny teddy bear and silk flowers tied to the railing are a reminder of someone who probably didn't.
They are reconstructing my mouth and because I have to wait there for hours (seems pretty normal here) I have plenty of time to read magazines.
That's how I learned about the possibility of renting fire lookouts. Last summer we visited one and we found the idea of spending a night up there pretty exciting.
There are many structures like this atop Sierran peaks. Some are still in service during the fire season, some are abandoned and some are in fact converted for public rental.
The one we visited this weekend was built in a special WINDMILL STYLE once popular throughout California. I appreciated the thirties pictures above each of the wall-to-wall window explaining the panoramic view in every direction. And what a view!
Some previous visitors suggested the trees be cut to improve the 'original' view but I hope the rangers won't listen to such thoughts. The scenery is just perfect. Forested hills, purple-pink glowing sunsets, the wide flat Sierra Valley with its tiny towns shining in the dark... even Maarten got poetic watching the valley's lights deep at night...instead of sleeping!
Actually for the most part the nights spent up here turned out to be a real nightmare. Maarten stayed awake almost the whole night. This was not because of Tuesday night's storm when the whole tower was shaking, the broken windows in the attic rumbling with heavy squalls of wind making loud passing-train-like noise.
And no, Rob and I were not waking up romantically in each other's arms watching the beautiful sunrise...
You see, the cabin wasn't pet free as advertised and therefore Rob spent nights in the car.
Anyhow the stay at the lookout was a delight and the day adventures made up for it for sure.
We did some awesome hikes in the area.
There are so many LAKES here. We hiked past Long Lake, Silver Lake, Cub Lake, Big Bear and Little Bear Lake, a more than 5 mile trip.
I was afraid Maarten would not enjoy the lakes without splashing in the water, but there was another big trigger to keep him walking. Snow and ice along the trail!
It would be too boring to spend both days admiring the local lakes. We set off to hike to the top of SIERRA BUTTES. I had some serious concerns about taking Maarten up there. I wasn't sure how difficult and safe in particular this hike would be. We decided to give it a try. We'll just drive to the trailhead and see.
Once we saw the lookout at the top of the buttes we couldn't resist it. And it was really worth the climb even though Maarten and I spent only a moment at the scary lookout atop. Climbing the steep stairs is compared to climbing Half Dome, but some find it even scarier. My knees were really weak and shaking. Because of the steep climb or fear? I'm not sure. Maarten was behaving and stayed calm. He even tried to comfort me that looking through the grated walkway around the lookout isn't scary at all.
It seems pretty safe if you behave.
But the tiny teddy bear and silk flowers tied to the railing are a reminder of someone who probably didn't.
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