An Altogether Busy Week

This week we had a guest from The Netherlands.
Nel is the widow of one of Peter's oldest friends, Gijs van Barneveld. Nel lives in the city of lives in Dordrecht. When Nel arrived on the 2nd of October Autumn had just set in. and when she left on the 10th the season was in full glory.
Nel was awestruck by the colors of our New England season and was constantly making photo's.... Below is one I made of her.
On Tuesday we painted the grandson of Charles Grey. The photo of my painting did not do enough credit to my work, but here is one of Victoria, I liked her painting as well.
Besides playing tourist with our guest touring around, shopping at Macy's, visiting Boston, art museums, etc. etc we celebrated the 50th birthday party for a friend of ours.
Yesterday Nel left, we had a little bit of an empty nest syndrome. She was such a good guest, full of enthousiasm and joy.

Art in the Bank

This month I have a little exhibit at the Princeton branch of the Barre Savings Bank.
There was space for nine paintings.
The branch manager, Mary Tomasello, invites a different atrtist in each month to exhibit. Custumers seem to really apprecitate the monthly change of scenery.....it also gives everyone working in the bank something new and interesting to look at.

The fact that my work is being displayed in an area where people are working, waiting or doing business appeals to me. The space is alive and that adds to the vibrance I try to convey with my work... Plus, I enjoy the exposure I am getting for my art....

Here's a picture with one of my sunflower paintings on the left and a portrait of my grandson Thomas Patrick on the right. As usual you can click on the image for a larger view:
Another one of my sunflowers behind the branch manager's desk (a clutterd workspace is a sign of a clear mind):
A portrait of John in Native American dress on the left and a topographical abstract on the right:

the Mad Hatter

Friday, on my way home through Paxton I noticed an "Estate Sale" sign along the road.
I hit the brakes.
I love estate sales, yard sales, garage sales, fleamarkets, you never know what you might find.

The sale was everything an old lady had kept. The lady of the house had moved into assisted living and her heirs (to be) were selling the furnuture, garden tools, kitchen pots and pans, dishes, knick-knacks, the whole deal.

On the dining room table I couldn't help but notice a tall hatbox with the name" Stetson" on it. I already have a collection of Stetson cowboy hats but no boxes..... yet.
When I asked how much he wanted for the box the man said "they all go together" and pointed at four more hat boxes. One of them had the name of Denholms and McKay company and the others also had local names. I, as a matter of fact, worked in the millinery department there in 1964-65.
In the Denholms box was a pretty pink straw hat, probably from the fifties.... we'll call that one "vintage".
I took them all.

When I unpacked my boxes at home I was surprised that the hat boxes had many "vintage" hats piled into them. I am now the proud owner of at least 15 hats.... fur ones, pink ones, a flowered one, a white one... to many to describe or picture here.
Anyway, here is a sample below. We had a lot of fun trying them out.

From Tradition to Prehistory

While in The Netherlands, just about a week ago now, we sometimes had a evening treat called “Advocaat”. Dutch tradition is to eat this alcoholic beverage with a spoon from a small glass. Today I made a batch….. Here’s the recipe:

• 12 eggs
• 400 gr sugar
• Two tablespoons of vanilla
• 1/2 quart of Brandewijn ( as this is hard to find here in the USA brandy or rum will be a good option, spiced rum even better.)

Break the eggs one by one into a bowl and beat them until smooth. Pour through a sieve and mix once more…. You want this really fine and creamy. Add the sugar while mixing the egg mass and then pour in the alcohol.

Warm the mixture in a double boiler (au bain marie) and keep stirring. Your “product” will start to thicken at about 140 degrees. When the foam is all gone the Advocaat is ready.
Allow it to cool, stirring occasionally.

Advocaat is traditionally served in little glasses, a little larger than a shot glass, topped with whipped cream and eaten with a little spoon (like one of those souvenir spoons).
That is the way it was done when I was growing up.
You might try using it as a pastry filling...
Whatever you do with it, it is delicious.

Paintings this week areTraci from the Nursery and John my neighbour in Native headdress, he collects these artefacts.

Last but not least a photo Coert sent me of a pot he made. He has been interested in prehistoric European “Linear Pottery” for so long he has started making replicas, firing them in an outdoor pit.

Back from Vacation.... Zucchini Soup Recipie

Back from vacation and the garden is overgrown.
What to do with zucchini that is as thick as your fore-arm?
I don't know what I did with my camera so the date is not correct.

Anyway, I was in luck because Dorri had a recipe and had writtren it down for me.
I will translate it from Dutch:
For eight people, (invite friends because it is really very tasty)
Courgette soup (courgette is the French word for zucchini)

• Three pounds of courgettes (zucchini), seeded.
  
• One pound of potatoes
• One onion
• Two pounds of chicken breast
• One stick of butter
• One little jar of green olives with pimento
• Half cup of cream
• One quart of chicken bouillon

Cube the zucchini, potatoes and onion. Put them into the melted butter in a great big pan. Add the bouillon, put the chicken breast on top and bring everything slowly to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, until meat is cooked. Take out the chicken and puree the soup with a mixer. I do not own one so I mashed it with the tool I make mashed potatoes with....it worked fine.
Cut the chicken in small pieces and return it to the soup. Slice the olives and add them with the cream to the soup.
Bring to a boil and add salt and pepper to taste.
This soup is really delicious! Enjoy.

Second Week of My Field Trip Abroad

Well, I've been up to quite a bit this last week. Here's a photo-impression of a few of my activities:

1. I attended my granddaughter Dana's riding lesson:
2. I visited with my sister in-law, Joan Herweijer, a sculptor:

3. I attended a country fair where lost and dying arts were demonstrated, this is a wooden shoe maker making a pair of miniatures:
4. I went with Dorri to the Saturday market in Harderwijk and arrived home laden with flowers:

A Day on the Heath

Today we spent a wonderful day on the heath…. the Hulshorsterzand.

After breakfast this morning Dorri packed a picnic-lunch and we were off.

About six kilometers from where Coert and Dorri live we went to a heath that Coert helped restore (by clear-cutting 18 acres) some ten years ago.

I had a wonderful time just setting up my easel and painting for a few hours.

While I was busy Coert and Dorri were either taking walks in the area or reading in the shade. Dana & Christiaan were busily working on their paintings.

With the heather in full bloom I was reminded of how much I love this landscape..... to see the horizon and all the colors in between.
See the pictures below (click on them for full-sized image):

My First Week in Holland

During this last week I have been observing (and enjoying) the typical Dutch atmosphere.

I have been to Friesland with Dorri to visit her mother enjoying the landscape on the way. One of the excursions on this day was to a distillery in the town of Sneek where they produce the regional “bitter”.

I went swimming with my grandchildren, Dana and Christiaan, went out to dinner with my brothers and spent quite some time on the bicycle on our trips back and forth to Harderwijk…. Averaging ten to 12 kilometers a day.

Today, Saturday, is market day in Harderwijk. We all went to town with saddlebags. Coert even had a little trailer so their dog Esra wouldn’t have to run all the way.

Luck would have it that today was the annual “Flag-day” for the traditional fishing fleet.

The whole harbour was full of old fashioned fishing boats, people in traditional dress, stands showing and selling the lost arts of basket weaving, net-making, broom-tying.

I think the pictures below should be self-explanatory by now:

Arrival in the Netherlands (no weeds in the yard)

Coert, Dorri and the children picked me up at Schiphol Airport Amsterdam Saturday morning. We were back at their house in Hierden by lunchtime. Of course I'm here to celebrate Coert's birthday.... today actually.

Yesterday (Sunday) Coert and Dorri had a bunch of people over for drinks. I didn't get to making any pictures of the festivities that lasted late into the evening. Maybe for the better.

What I did make a picture of is what I saw over the hedge in the neighbor's yard.
I was very surprised to see five well kept pot plants growing there.
Coert told me his neighbor has the right to have five plants for personal use and he is exercising that right with enthusiasm. Although his partner is apparently not that enthused about it.

Myself only once ever trying but never having inhaled the stuff was proud to have recognized the plants.

Thought the folks over by the North Bend might get a kick out of this….

Peter's 72nd Birthday

Peter's 72nd birthday was a weekend of joy.
It all started friday night with our weekly cocktail party. Everybody was there.
We had cake and sang happy birthday in Dutch and English.
Saturday a Dutch friend we had not seen for seventeen years unexpectedly arrived with her husband and two teenagers. As they arrived late we orderd pizza and we had a nice evening catching up and watching the Olympics on the new t.v. Peter got for his birthday.
Victor, our 14 year old guest from the Netherlands, had installed it. We had tried but could not get a picture.Sunday morning Cornalijn, Paul and kids came to be there when the candles were blown out on the birthday cake. Now there was eleven of us. Our dutch guest Corlijn (12 years) old made a painting of my granddaughterLillian. Daniel helped blow out the birthdaycake. We all went for a walk in the backyard to visit my 'thinking rock' (meditation place). While we were on our walk Peter's cousin Bill and his wife Carol had arrived. It was so festive to have so many people around. We all made dinner and had another long evening with lots of laughing and singing. Our friends from the Netherlands left for the Niagra Falls on Monday afternoon.....but not before having seen a Cardinal, an Oriol, Hummingbirds, snakes, squirrils chipmunks.

Now it's time to get ready and pack my suitcase to go visit my son and his family in the Netherlands. I will be there just in time for his birthday.