A handful of you may know that I’m almost finished with my first novel. This would be a great time for me to mention the title of my book, but unfortunately I’m like a floor fan on a hot summer day when it comes to determining the best title for my debut novel–oscillating between oneContinue reading “Talking with authors”
Category Archives: Den Haag
Multiple Realities
Explosion When I woke up it was sunny. By the time I got breakfast on the table it was sprinkling and overcast. My son was apparently under the spell of the weather, transforming from happy and cooperative to feisty and unbearable within a 15 minute time frame. He exploded. I exploded. Words were exchanged. WeContinue reading “Multiple Realities”
Anti-Graffiti Man
Yesterday, one of the volunteers opened a side door to the church and pointed. “Shit!” I exclaimed before I could push the edit button. Someone had tagged the side entry with the word Gus spray painted in black loopy letters. Gus must be tall, because the letters were above my head and the whole tag wasContinue reading “Anti-Graffiti Man”
Old Books versus Mother Nature
Usually I love nature. Just last week I was saying to my husband how much I want to live in a natural environment, away from the screeching sounds of the tram rails, the bricks and concrete and the compressed feeling I experience when I’m among the crowds in the shopping district. But when a bitingContinue reading “Old Books versus Mother Nature”
Home way from home away from home
When we flew into Schiphol airport outside Amsterdam, I had a great sense of relief: Relief that the long plane ride was over, excitement to see my husband again, and the shoulder-relaxing sensation of being back home. And there I’ve said it. Home. Usually, that’s a term I reserve solely for central California, the place where I grew upContinue reading “Home way from home away from home”
zomerafdwingers (summer enforcers)
Although this post is mainly about the sun, I must first take a little trip down memory lane: On December 31st, 2010 we arrived in the Netherlands to the surreal experience of Dutch New Years on jetlag–every man, woman and child for himself launching legal and illegal fireworks into the air, the neighbors, nearby automobiles; people of all ages standing onContinue reading “zomerafdwingers (summer enforcers)”
Beach Days, Sex Crazed, meditation and Jellyfish
I spoke to my sister-in-law in America last night and she reported having just thought of me while flipping through a sportswear catalog. Among the image laden pages of must-haves was a pair of sleek thermal running pants for extreme climates. She figured I was probably in need of such an item, poor thing, in the miserable weather of Holland. Yet, to herContinue reading “Beach Days, Sex Crazed, meditation and Jellyfish”
Yelling into a crowd
Sitting on a raised basement, our living room is positioned a half story above street level. This provides us with a tree lined view of the urban bike paths, street and busy tram lines just high enough to be seen by passersby, and just low enough that the branches don’t obscure our view. The first few months ofContinue reading “Yelling into a crowd”
A bite into consciousness
Yesterday morning I put on my sweats and raincoat and headed to Den Haagse Bos. As my feet left the pavement and landed on the gravel path leading between the leafy green trees, I inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of nature. Usually this transition from the built environment to a more natural one creates a sense of calm, as if I’ve left the pressures of modern life behind. ButContinue reading “A bite into consciousness”
Sex and other language learning tips
While my friends back home in book club are reading The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, a heady young adult work of fiction about death and other things, I am reading O, O, Olivia, chick lit about a wild, confused young woman in her twenties who has a one night stand. I have a worthy excuse for myContinue reading “Sex and other language learning tips”
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