Escape

Looking for a place to hideaway I suddenly realised I still have this blog. I'll start by altering my profile…sssttt…don’t spread the word

End of the road

Ladies and gentlemen, it is with regret that I have to inform you that this blog has reached the end of the road. After considering all my options I came to the conclusion that it just can’t be done. Two jobs, a family, two blogs and a guestblogger position to keep afloat is just too much of a good thing. There is no turning back. I will keep my Dutch blog because it’s just a little easier to keep it going. There is no turning back for this one though. I will keep on visiting each and everyone of you by adding your blogs to my feedreader.
Thank you for your support, your witty and sweet comments. I really appreciated them.

Out of action

As you can see, I am having a very, very bad cold at the moment. More activity then moving from the bed to the sofa and vice versa is not possible.
It doesn’t seem to be contagious but I’d be careful anyway if I were you.
Mail and such is greatly appreciated though…

A drink with someone from history

If you could have a beer with someone from history, who would it be? Graham asked his readers in general and me in particular. History never really was my favorite subject. In fact I hated the amount we needed to stamp into our heads from an early age. Boring names and dates. They would leave my brain immediately after we had been tested on a certain era.
I spend all weekend thinking about this challenge and I did come up with a few people I would love to sit down and have a drink with

Oscar Wilde would be my first choice. Over a glass of wine I would ask him what possessed him to marry and then coming out of the closet by writing The Picture of Dorian Gray. Its implied homoerotic theme was considered very immoral by the Victorians and he must have known how it would be received.

Sir Francis Drake would probably have a beer with me. To sail to unknown parts of the world being part slave trader, part pirate he must have many a tail to tell. I would love to know what drove him to set sail for the new world.


Marilyn Monroe I would invite for a martini. A women envied by many, loved by even more and died way too young in such a tragic manner . I would love to know if there was more to her then that supposedly dumb blond exterior most people got to see. Of course her alleged affair with John F. Kennedy and how she died would be part of the conversation

Truth or dare

It’s easy to dare me. Ever since I can remember I accepted challenge with open arms and plunged into the deep end without looking. But..I also know when to admit defeat and tell the truth if something is just out of my league. Dale (who is starting to show up here on a regular basis) pushed my button by asking his readers to follow his example and to start pod casting. As much as I hate to admit it, even podcasting for dummies is one pod too deep for me.
I did however manage to record the first episode of self reflections and saved it as MP3
Enjoy

Party!

Come on in,take a seat and have a piece of cake. No,no, don't count the candles. There are to many.

Blog Action Day!

In the seventies I became aware of the perils that threatened our environment . At that time acid rain and ozone depletion was being brought to our attention on a regular basis. I didn’t become active until I settled down and started a family in the mid eighties. Becoming a mom made me want to secure a future for my children and a clean and healthy environment was a priority. I did (and still do) whatever I could to safe energy and to stop wasting water and gas. We got rid of our second car, installed double glazing and made sure our children learned from an early age not to waste water and turn of lights and appliances as soon as they left a room. Even today I still rather take my bike then a bus (even though in Arnhem we have environmental friendly, electric busses) and we use the car only if there is no other option.
I feel that we are heading for disaster and that Im still not doing all that I can. If you see and hear about the melting of the poles, experience the strange weather conditions we seem to have, seasons no longer the way they used to be. It would help if the world leaders, especially the US and China would start giving the environment priority over economic issues.
I would applaud and be active in a new and better organized environmental movement to make our leaders listen, because it might already be too late.

Blog action day II

Just a reminder. Have you written your piece yet?

Indifference

She and I never got along. She could push all the wrong buttons like no other, made me want to quit my job on several occasions. Still, you would think that I would at least feel a little sorry for what happened to her , I would for any other human being.
The small circle of people who really know me would agree if I told you that I am a friendly, pretty open, in your face kinda person. I am distraught when tragedy strikes, where ever, when ever. I cry when my children are sad, I grief when loved ones pass away, I get angry when provoked and I love to laugh. Why then is it impossible for me to feel anything but indifference when told that this co-worker was very seriously hurt in an accident?
Am I really this heartless ?

Action day

October 15, just one day before my birthday a special event is going to take place in blogworld. On that day bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.
I’m game, are you?
Watch the promo video and be inspired.

Found at Ellen's site

Shooting stars

Wishing on a star will never be the same again. Shit happens.

Expiration

Is there an expiration date for jobs, and if not, should there be? More and more I find myself feeling unhappy if not ill at ease where I used to be so very, very happy for a long time. Almost 8 years ago I got hired as a substitute and from the start I knew this was the place for me. During those years I got promoted from sub to one day a week employee to part timer doing 22 hours. I loved every minute and ever change was accepted with open arms. Those days seem long gone. Being part of the workers council gave me a look behind closed doors, that I’d rather not have seen. Little irritations are starting to become obsessions and I feel myself getting pulled deeper and deeper into a feeling of discontent.
Time to put my resume out there and move on?

Men are wimps

Is there anything more annoying then a man who is bedridden for whatever reason? Yesterday they lasered one of his legs to get rid of a very bad varicose vein. Yes, with laser technology. Not stripped like they used to. Some tiny injections to numb the leg and within one hour he was back on the ward. With one heavily bandaged leg (he didn’t give a sound as the nurse expertly applied the bandage) he insisted on driving home himself (and I am such a good driver). As soon as the injections started to wear of the moaning set in. To make matters worse the bandages started to slip and yes, he decided to take them of and asked me to put them back the way they were. Hello! I am a woman of many talents, but a trained nurse I’m not. Not a clue as to how much pressure is right I started to tight, then it wasn’t tight enough. And all the while he groaned and moaned.
Now he drops his pants every five minutes to inspect his upper leg because he thinks it is way out of proportion. “Look” he said ”This is way bigger then the other one. Do you think we need to call the doctor?” He moans when het walks, sits down, gets up or even if he just changes positions on the couch. No man has ever suffred the way he does right now. If this continues he might have to call the men in white coats….for me

Autumn

Autumn to winter, winter into spring,
Spring into summer, summer into fall,
So rolls the changing year, and so we change;
Motion so swift, we know not that we move.
Dinah Maria Mulock
Long before it’s time I feel my body settling into autumn mode. There is a dull pain in my bones that tell me summer is definitely over. I hate autumn. Drab gray hours flow into early darkness long before the day is done. I might have a moment of joy on a sunny day when the park shows it’s full blazing colours from yellow to deep amber brown and fiery red, but most of the time I just wish I’d live in a warmer climate. I need the warmth of the sun to make me sparkle. The feel of a summer breeze on naked skin is like a soft caress. Autumn brings gloom, cold feet and scowling people hiding under umbrella’s that are to big to let you pass safely on a sidewalk.
Autumn, too depressing for words.

Lost

I blame Dale, he posted his image with the link and (being who I am) now I can’t stop playing around with my 3d image.


Please help..I'm lost!

Odd couple

While looking for a soppy Tom Jones song (no, don't ask, just accept it) I found this jewel. Tom and Janis, 1969, priceless

Shameless promotion

To be honest, I have no idea if this is the right way to promote my blog, but you don’t know if you don’t try is my motto. I first was introduced to this interview by Bonez. Being a co host at his site he admitted my name and I got invited to participate. So, dear readers of Double Dutch, click the link and vote for me please? I really would like to see my ratings go sky-high.
(No worries,being delusional is painless)

Memories

Mesmerized I watch the screen. Strings of joy, but also pain tugging at my heart as pictures of yesteryear unfold in front of my eyes. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, all long gone. And there is my mother. Always my mother, so elegant, smiling at the man behind the camera. Her pretty face not yet distorted by the lines of discontent that were formed in later years. My mother as I want to remember her. Happy, young, beautiful. My brothers, sisters, so young. Family outings, the vacations spend at the seaside. The building of our house. Christmas at my grandmothers. Seeing all the familiar faces, the pictures on the wall, the little traditions that we had. I cry for the for the love that was lost, the happiness that disappeared but once had been so obvious.
Four precious DVD’s with images of my youth, my hometown, the street where we lived.
Just for a little while I am back where I belong

Second life

In January 2007, a man named Molotov Alva, disappeared from his Californian home. Recently, a series of video dispatches by a Traveler of the same name have appeared within a popular online world called Second Life.

This is the beginning of the first episode of 'My Second Life', a documentary shot entirely in Second Life. I was fascinated by the voice and the way the story was told but even more by the concept. Not once have I set foot in second life, scared it could suck me in and take over. Could I have been right?
See for yourself..

Thoughtfulness Award

It’s the day after, and still I’m speechless. Ces, who’s writing and artwork I so admire gave me an award. A true honest to God award for thoughtfulness. In her words:
Thoughtful bloggers are those who take the time to acknowledge their visitors and respectfully pays them with a visit. These bloggers just don't visit to leave a "Hello" or "Nice" comment. They are thoughtful and genuinely expressive of their opinions, agreements or disagreements without ever losing grace.

Although I am not sure I deserve this, I am honored and proud that she choose me, of all those that come to her blog on a daily basis, for this award.