Paris Parfait

Dusting off the cobwebs...

Spiderweb on a garden gate, the Netherlands. Click photos to enlarge.

 

Hail and farewell, November! Most of the month I've been immersed in the lengthy legal and bureaucratic process required to buy a house in the Netherlands. It's not easy, particularly in a language David and I don't speak. It is hoped the rewards will be worth all the angst!

Meet me back here beginning December 1st for photos and posts of holiday cheer, news and views! Meanwhile, before you head for the hair salon, read this cautionary tale about hair colour. Like everything else these days, we must check the ingredients!

My camera and I had a sunset meeting with these lovely creatures:

The boss.

The young buck, nibbling on grass and leaves.

Bambi. (Yes, that's what they call her at the deer park).

Her calm sibling.

Gulls in the background are trying to steal the deers' food.

"What, those annoying gulls again??!!"

Oh deer!

A reindeer? A tall coated-wire mesh fence prevented me from getting too close in this deer park. I pushed the camera through barbed-wire at the top of the fence and angled the lens downwards to get these shots. Click photos to enlarge.

Munching on a leaf.

This little girl was looking at my camera and ignoring the child trying to climb on the pony.

Meanwhile, weekend Sinterklaas festivities continue, with music and entertainment for children at the local town hall.

Late afternoon view of a canal near the deer park and the 15th-century church.

The church tower viewed from another canal. Looks idyllic, doesn't it? I shall miss this lovely area when we move house in late January. All being well, we'll have a canal view from our back garden.

Speaking of homes, here is an unusual dwelling. Wherever you live, hope you're having a lovely weekend!

Illuminating

Candlelight, 2.a.m.

 

"It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it." - John Steinbeck

Thanksgiving

This shot reminds me of a chandelier, because of the tiny water droplets at the end of each bud. Did you notice the heart-shaped leaf on the right? (Click photo to enlarge).

 

So many things for which to be grateful, including all my dear friends and faithful readers. Thank you for staying the course on this journey! Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy Thanksgiving weekend.

The mystical effects of fog

In the Netherlands, we're emerging from four days of thick fog. Click photos to view detail. My favourite fog-drenched image is here.

Kinderdijk, Zuid-Holland.

Windmills obscured by fog.

Bridge closed.

Molens van Kinderdijk in the mist.

A canal shrouded in fog.

Row of trees.

Ducks strolling down the path.

Green polders.

Ducks swimming in a canal.

The main street.

Church tower enveloped in fog.

Voorstraat.

Into the mist!

Modern controversy over a Dutch tradition

The Zwarte Piet procession Saturday began with people in costume on bicycle and on foot leading the way to the Town Hall.

 

"Zwarte Piet" is a longstanding Dutch tradition, in which Sinterklaas is accompanied by a "slave" child, helping deliver gifts. As a child of the American South, I consider the fact that this tradition continues in 2011 is remarkable - particularly as the wandering minstrel/dressing-in-blackface practice vanished about 50 years ago in America. Recently in Mississippi, college sorority girls were placed on probation for dressing in blackface, supposedly depicting the television series "The Cosbys."

Here's the blog Tiger beatdown's account of attempts to protest Zwarte Piet in the Netherlands:

"Over the years, a small but growing group of people have been protesting this celebration of Black face costumes and ridiculing of minorities. Systematically, these protests have been met with a very strong and stubborn resistance from a majority of White Dutch who refuse to even consider the racist implications of this “tradition." Those who are against the Black Pete depictions are consistently told that there is nothing offensive in it, that the tradition is not up for debate, that they are being oversensitive and that and here comes the usual xenophobic retort, “if they don’t like it, they should go and live some place else."

"Additionally, people who speak against this are also told that they are importing North American models of “political correctness” that have no place in Dutch society. Moreover, the supporters of these Black face depictions are adamant that there is nothing, absolutely nothing racist in Black Pete’s representations and that claiming otherwise is the result of a cultural imperialism brought upon by North American influences.

"According to supporters, Dutch culture is so different from that of the US and the context so incomparable that such discussion should not even take place. Any attempt at contextualizing the role of the Dutch in slavery in the Americas and how the continuation of these racist practices owes everything to the mindset that made such trade possible is met with protestations and the statement that “only Americans see offense in Black face, we, the Dutch, are obviously different and not racist in our traditions." In sum, what they claim is that the rights of white people to don blackface are more or less sacrosanct and native Dutch children have a right to the continuation of this “tradition” undisputed."

Read the full article here.

But my educated, young, white neighbours take their children to participate in the festivities and they don't seem to think there's anything wrong with white people wearing blackface depicting "Zwarte Piet."

Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet.

Sometimes Sinterklaas rides in on a white horse, but this one chose a red convertible.

Even children are dressed in Zwarte Piet costume.

People dressed in Zwarte Piet character wave from an upper window in Town Hall.

A child wearing a Sinterklaas costume.

Children wait to greet Sinterklaas.

Smoke from a Town Hall door brings firemen to the rescue.

Apparently, the problem wasn't too serious, as no one left the stage.

Vantage point.

"Zwarte Piet" hands out candy to children.

As you can see, the children all look happy to be participating in the festivities.

I saw only two actual black persons: a mother reading text on her phone, while her daughter shyly waited for candy.

Sinterklaas addresses the crowd, surrounded by Zwarte Piet characters.

More candy distribution.

I wasn't sure what to make of a "fat Elvis" character wearing blackface. Surely that has nothing to do with tradition??!!

A child wearing blackface rides a bicycle.

Zwarte Piet characters the next day at a local supermarket. The one wearing stilts had to stoop to avoid touching the ceiling.

What's YOUR view of the curious Dutch tradition of Zwarte Piet? 

Foggy afternoon

Foggy afternoon, 15th-century town gate, the Netherlands.

 

I've spent much of the weekend taking photos of various Sinterklass-related festivities - including the controversial Dutch tradition Zwarte Piet.

Today our neighbourhood has been blanketed in fog; a bonus when it comes to photography. I took a long walk on paths through polders and along tree-lined canals, where the only sounds were birds chirping and ducks quacking. Such a peaceful afternoon.

I found cranberries in the supermarket to make Nigella Lawson's cranberry-and-orange stuffing. We've ordered a turkey from the butcher. David will cook the meal, while I'll bake sweet potato and pecan pies. We've invited Dutch friends for dinner, who've never experienced Thanksgiving or even visited the US.

Earlier that day, we have a very important bureaucratic meeting, as part of the house-buying process. Fingers crossed, that will go smoothly, because in my head, I'm considering paint colours and arranging the furniture! (Dare I hope??!!)

Hope you're having a lovely weekend. Check back this week for posts galore from recent photo shoots.

Choosing joy.

Adorable toddler throwing alphabet blocks in the air, England.

 

I have friends who are struggling with grief or facing challenges which require summoning all their strength. Understandably, they're down in the dumps. So I'm hoping this picture of a laughing little boy will help lift their spirits.

"Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day." - Henri Nouwen.

Bon weekend, mon amis!

Of hearth and home

Fireplace mantel in our current 200-year-old maisonette. Click photo to view detail. French gilt and mercury glass mirror circa 1830 (found at Marches aux Puces at Clignacourt, with bits of the frame missing; restored in 2001). From left, 19th-century French beaded handbag; Raku pottery from Northern California; 18th-century Tibetan monk's worn turquoise-lined copper and enamel food bowl and woven carrying basket with leather strap; 18th-century French books; Pomegranate pottery from Whitney Smith, Oakland, CA; small Dutch pottery piece; framed butterfly; pottery bowl handmade by Riley Salyards, Amsterdam; early 20th-century French Art Nouveau iron candlestick; 19th-century French carved wooden easel holding hand-tinted postcard illustration of Reales Alcázares de Sevilla.

 

You may recall we've been searching for a house, as our current abode has been sold. On Wednesday, we met the owners and signed the papers to purchase the lovely house just north of Amsterdam that caught our fancy! The charming owners graciously are donating the rowboat, which they say "belongs with the house."  So barring any unforeseen catastrophe or bureaucratic muddle, we should be moving in late January.

There's no fireplace, but the house has ample room for our global treasures. At last I'll have a proper office, complete with balcony and canal view. We'll make one bedroom a dressing room, so we can find the clothes we need (without searching through suitcases, due to one tiny closet here). We'll also have a guest room with its own balcony, for family and friends!

On Thanksgiving day (!) we'll complete more paperwork to help make the dream a reality. Am hoping and praying all the seeds we've sown come to fruition. My daughter Jordana reminds me to "visualize, visualize."  Meanwhile, your good wishes will be much appreciated!

Random reds

Travel agency vitrine, Utrecht, the Netherlands. As always, click photos to view detail.

Canal barge unloading cargo, Utrecht.

If you dig too deep in the Netherlands, you're likely to find water!

Sidewalk lady bug, Utrecht.

Bakery window, Delft.

Tablescape, Paris department store vitrine.

Memorial to soldiers who died in World War I, Montreuil-sur-Mer, France.

Red epaulets, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Hippodrome de Longchamp, Paris.

Bullfight, Plaza de los Toros, Sevilla, Spain.

Red door, Sevilla.

Sculpture, New Orleans.

Feathers, New Orleans.

Mardi gras costumes, New Orleans.

Tabasco and other Louisiana hot sauce, New Orleans.

Red beads, New Orleans.

Monastery door, Himalayas, Nepal.

Lighting candles near the Tibetan Boudhanath Stupa, Kathmandu.

Lighting candles on a Hindu religious holiday, Bungamati, Nepal.

Lady in red, Bhaktapur.

Bird on a pavilion, Kathmandu.

Curious child, Kathmandu.

Woodworker, Bungamati.

Community, Bungamati.

Raking grain, Bungamati.

A woman's work is never done, Bungamati.

More raking grain in a main square.

...while other grain is covered by tarpulins.

Meanwhile, the men play cards, Bungamati.

And a woman waits near a public bath and toilet.

In Bhakatapur, the same scene is repeated, with women turning the grain in a main square.

Street market in a Nepali village.

Bolts of fabric and beaded slippers, Bhaktapur.

Strings of beads, Bhaktapur.

Bangle bracelets, Bungamati.

In Bungamati, a woman proudly holds her baby, whose eyes are kohl-rimmed "to protect the eyes."

Curbside tailor, Kathmandu.

Motorcycles, the most popular mode of transport in Nepal.

Flowers in a private garden, Kathmandu.

Walking uphill, Bungamati.

Portals of discovery

Reales Alcázares de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.

 

"There were epochs in the history of humanity in which the writer was a sacred person. He wrote the sacred books, universal books, the codes, the epic, the oracles. Sentences inscribed on the walls of the crypts; examples in the portals of the temples. But in those times the writer was not an individual alone; he was the people."  - Augusto Roa Bastos

Cloudy with a chance of sunshine

Houseboats viewed from a balcony, Purmerend, the Netherlands. Click photo to enlarge.

 

"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you." - Maori proverb

It's a grey, misty, foggy day in Holland, but we have good reason to hope.

Other encouraging signs:

Cooler heads prevailed in Mississippi

...and reason triumphed in Ohio.

Ab Fab is coming to movie screens.

And Lemony Snicket gets down to basics,

while credit unions reap benefits of bankers' hubris.

Check out the writing at OccupyWriters.com.

And finally, if you're an American, this article is an eye-opening must-read!

Signs and portents

Islamic symbols, Reales Alcázares de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.

 

So there are choices, many choices, for which I should be grateful. But how do we choose among such a variety of abodes, each with its own particular benefits, as well as imperfections??!!

It may surprise you to know I've never owned a house! As a journalist, all my adult life has been nomadic, moving from city to city; from country to country. So our current quest for a permanent home in the Netherlands is proving an emotional minefield, as I try to come to terms with the idea of stability (!); of finally unpacking all that baggage, real and imagined.

Am trying to trust my instincts. But just when we think we've found the right place, unexpected problems are revealed: a leak that needs repair; a window that requires attention. A 1920s ground-floor apartment with original stained-glass windows seems too small and narrow. A beautiful 1934 bungalow is located on a busy city street. A charming 1930s maisonette is close to a train station, with an enthusiastic noise level to match.

A light-filled mansion is located in a nondescript neighbourhood, with sweeping views of -  other houses! A gorgeous house is amiss in a modern, Stepford-like bedroom community, devoid of character. A place near our current maisonette that ticks most of the boxes is jaw-droppingly expensive. A spacious three-storey house has a tiny, closet-like kitchen. A former schoolhouse converted to a loft has light and space to spare, but would need major renovation and euros to burn.

We've viewed about two dozen places in different cities and neighbourhoods - as well as probably 100 online listings - and it seems our search isn't finished. Meanwhile, we edge a week closer to a late January move date, with no set destination. Perhaps we'll be traveling without reservations?

Clowning around

Musicians clowning around for the camera at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Longchamp, Paris.

 

Wishing you a lovely day, full of joy! If the events on this train journey don't make you smile, nothing will!

Young married woman, Bungamati, Nepal.

And this photo is a happy one on so many levels.

Fall foliage

An afternoon stroll in my neighbourhood. Click photos to view detail.

These houses are built against a wall that once encircled the city.

A duck flaps its wings.

A carpet of leaves leading to a dyke road.

One of the town's historic gates.

The church bell tower, viewed from a distance.

Riot of colour

autumn's last gasp of beauty

before winter's chill

Classic beauty

"They don't make 'em like they used to..." Classic beauty, New Orleans. Click photo to enlarge.

 

The glitz, the glamour

and plush leather seats for you;

running board for us.

Beginnings

Fresh blooms: a bowl of autumn crocus on our windowsill.

It's a new month, a new day and soon a new abode for us. Am wishing and hoping this will be the view from our back garden, Norwegian rowboat and all. Click photos to view detail.

All creative visualisation, positive thinking and good wishes will be much appreciated!