Do you ever look at your calendar and see something scheduled in the not-too-distant future and get a tingle of anticipatory excitement and joy? Perhaps it’s a vacation you have planned, or an outing with a dear friend or family member. It could be an upcoming concert by an artist you follow or the latestContinue reading “Is this in your calendar for 2020?”
Author Archives: kristininholland
Do the Dutch invite you to dinner?
I love having people over for dinner. It gives me an excuse to clean up my house, break out the cookbooks, plan a tasty menu and create the atmosphere for a lovely evening with friends. In the U.S, we spent a good deal of time having friends over for dinner or eating dinner at theirContinue reading “Do the Dutch invite you to dinner?”
Cows before Easter
This morning I awoke to the bellow of cows. At first it made no sense. How could I hear cows through our bedroom window? We don’t live on a farm. We live in the city center of Schagen next to the main square. But my mind accepted these bellowing cows with the same ease inContinue reading “Cows before Easter”
Small Town Vaccine
As a young adult, admitting that I was from a small town was like fessing up to a misdemeanor in the school of cool. Today, I admit my growing-up-in a-small-townness with pride. (Yes, I know townness is not a word.) I’ve been wondering lately, why I have this new affinity and pride in my small-townContinue reading “Small Town Vaccine”
Is it All Just the Same Old Story?
Have you had that experience where you are interested in a specific topic or thing, and suddenly, you come across it everywhere you go? For example, when I was pregnant, I suddenly saw pregnant women everywhere. It was so uncanny, that I thought there must be a baby boom. There wasn’t. I saw all thoseContinue reading “Is it All Just the Same Old Story?”
What is an Hour to You?
In California, as in many other states in the U.S, it’s hardly a thing to drive an hour to visit a friend. In fact, friends an hour to a two-hour’s drive away are considered to be living relatively close by. This makes sense in a country where an hour commute just to get to workContinue reading “What is an Hour to You?”
Heading North
I have news. On the last Thursday of September, I boarded a train in The Hague with a backpack over my shoulder and headed north. Guess why? Weekend getaway?No.Visiting a friend?No.What then?You done guessing?Yes!Okay. I moved out of The Hague.Seriously?Seriously.With just a backpack over your shoulder? Where to and why and all that stuff? LongContinue reading “Heading North”
‘Bling Your ‘Cream’ This Summer
As a kid, I looked upon my mom’s (or grandma’s) souvenir spoon collection with a sense of wonder. Their delicately carved handles crested by a coat of arms, country flag or image of a castle or other location created a sense of grandeur and spoke of travel to far-away places. Sometimes, they were the onlyContinue reading “‘Bling Your ‘Cream’ This Summer”
Crazy Lady Chasing Plastic Bag
One thing that really bothers me–besides males who leave the toilet seat up and all things Trump– is an errant plastic bag. Not just bags, but all plastics gone wild: plastic grocery bags caught in a tree, smeary sandwich wrappers discarded on the sidewalk, bottles stuffed into bushes, plastic forks and straws cracked and muddy inContinue reading “Crazy Lady Chasing Plastic Bag”
I Don’t want to Live in a Monochrome World
I grew up in Solvang, California, a quaint Danish-themed town founded in 1911 by two Danish ministers and a Danish professor. Solvang, which means Sunny Field in Danish, is nestled in the Santa Ynez Valley, a rural area full of equestrian ranches, farms, vineyards, old barns, Christian churches and long and winding roads. People wereContinue reading “I Don’t want to Live in a Monochrome World”
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