Busy weekends
I made a deal with Rick (and myself) a while back that I would start treating school-related stuff (I still need to write two term papers and a thesis) like a full-time job, meaning I would start waking up at a reasonable hour, and would be better about doing "fun" stuff (reading, poking around in the kitchen, checking various online forums, LJ, etc) in the evenings and on weekends. Otherwise I'm in real danger of not finishing before September, which is, for various reasons, really important to both of us. So I'm a bit behind as far as LJ is concerned, since I've been cramming my nights and weekends with all the stuff I've been wanting to do all day but wasn't "allowed" to. Rick had to go in to the office today, though (he normally works at home), so I can cheat a bit. :)
Last weekend (not this past weekend, but the one before that), we went camping in Vierhuizen, a small town in Groningen near the coast. Rick's great-grandfather and grandfather worked as blacksmiths there for many years before moving to the town of Middenmeer in Noord-Holland (the province where we live) in the 1930's. Every year, that side of the family has a reunion, and while it's usually held in Middenmeer, this year they decided to go "back to their roots" in Groningen. So we spent the weekend huddling together with about 20 of Rick's family members under a tarp in the pouring rain. It sounds horrible, but we actually had a lovely time telling stories, catching up on all the family gossip, and cooking all kinds of lovely things to eat. I've officially earned my place in the family now-- we were all supposed to bring something for a potluck supper, so I brought a stack of tortillas, some cut-up veggies and marinated chicken breasts, sour cream, cheese, salsa, and avocados, and grilled up some chicken fajitas for everyone on our little camp stove. I was a little worried that my marinade would be too spicy since I put some Scotch bonnet peppers in it, but everyone raved how good it was, and it disappeared so fast I only got one fajita myself! The next morning, I made pancakes for breakfast (I had brought along some home-made pancake mix and a bottle of maple syrup), which they all predictably thought was strange (silly Megan, pancakes are for dinner!), but which were gobbled down with equal enthusiasm. So now I got asked to help organize the food for next year's event. :) Once again, I wound up feeling jealous of how cool Rick's family is. Across the board, all of his relatives are smart, funny, friendly, and above all, kind people (well, except for his dad, but that's another story). I feel like I get along with them better than with my own blood relatives, which makes me feel kind of guilty. :-(
This past Saturday, we went to the Indian Summer Festival, an all-day outdoor music festival here in the neighborhood, with a couple of friends of ours. While none of the bands was really spectacular (or maybe it's just that none of them is really my "thing"), we had a great time. The atmosphere was really relaxed and fun, the weather held despite looking like it was gonna rain the whole time, and I ran into a bunch of people I knew. I also got to exercise my creative side-- they had a big canvas for people to draw and paint on, and various groups making arts & crafts for charity. So in between acts, my friend Laura and I painted stuff on the canvas by the entrance, made postcards to send to a school in India, and painted quilt blocks to be made into a quilt depicting the UN Millenium Development Goals. The only bad thing about the day was the fact that they were asking ridiculous prices for all the refreshments (so what else is new?). I can understand making money off of beer and soda, but a small bottle of water cost €4.40! Grrr! At least they had good food there-- I had already resigned myself to eating greasy fries and hot dogs all day, but was pleasantly surprised to find that they had catering by La Place, so I had stir-fried chicken and veggies in coconut milk over basmati rice for dinner, and a huge bowl of strawberries and pineapple later in the day. Yum. :)
This Thursday, we're going to go spend a long weekend hanging out with Rick's cousin, Stef, who just bought a house in Austria. He's been working as a ski instructor in Bad Gastein for the past 6 years or so, and has finally decided to settle there instead of coming home to the Netherlands every summer. We're going to go check out his new place and hopefully spend some time walking/hiking around the area. It'll be our first big road trip since I got my driver's license-- Rick is thrilled to have someone to spell him at the wheel (it's about a 10-hour drive), but I'm a little nervous about driving in Germany (well, in the parts that still have an unlimited speed limit, anyway). I know, I know, it's no big deal, but all those people whizzing by at 100 mph or faster kind of freak me out. Rick says I'll be fine as long as I keep an eye on my rearview mirror and make sure to get over to the right if people behind me are going faster than I am. Which I do here in NL anyway, so I guess it's not that much different. We'll see...
Last weekend (not this past weekend, but the one before that), we went camping in Vierhuizen, a small town in Groningen near the coast. Rick's great-grandfather and grandfather worked as blacksmiths there for many years before moving to the town of Middenmeer in Noord-Holland (the province where we live) in the 1930's. Every year, that side of the family has a reunion, and while it's usually held in Middenmeer, this year they decided to go "back to their roots" in Groningen. So we spent the weekend huddling together with about 20 of Rick's family members under a tarp in the pouring rain. It sounds horrible, but we actually had a lovely time telling stories, catching up on all the family gossip, and cooking all kinds of lovely things to eat. I've officially earned my place in the family now-- we were all supposed to bring something for a potluck supper, so I brought a stack of tortillas, some cut-up veggies and marinated chicken breasts, sour cream, cheese, salsa, and avocados, and grilled up some chicken fajitas for everyone on our little camp stove. I was a little worried that my marinade would be too spicy since I put some Scotch bonnet peppers in it, but everyone raved how good it was, and it disappeared so fast I only got one fajita myself! The next morning, I made pancakes for breakfast (I had brought along some home-made pancake mix and a bottle of maple syrup), which they all predictably thought was strange (silly Megan, pancakes are for dinner!), but which were gobbled down with equal enthusiasm. So now I got asked to help organize the food for next year's event. :) Once again, I wound up feeling jealous of how cool Rick's family is. Across the board, all of his relatives are smart, funny, friendly, and above all, kind people (well, except for his dad, but that's another story). I feel like I get along with them better than with my own blood relatives, which makes me feel kind of guilty. :-(
This past Saturday, we went to the Indian Summer Festival, an all-day outdoor music festival here in the neighborhood, with a couple of friends of ours. While none of the bands was really spectacular (or maybe it's just that none of them is really my "thing"), we had a great time. The atmosphere was really relaxed and fun, the weather held despite looking like it was gonna rain the whole time, and I ran into a bunch of people I knew. I also got to exercise my creative side-- they had a big canvas for people to draw and paint on, and various groups making arts & crafts for charity. So in between acts, my friend Laura and I painted stuff on the canvas by the entrance, made postcards to send to a school in India, and painted quilt blocks to be made into a quilt depicting the UN Millenium Development Goals. The only bad thing about the day was the fact that they were asking ridiculous prices for all the refreshments (so what else is new?). I can understand making money off of beer and soda, but a small bottle of water cost €4.40! Grrr! At least they had good food there-- I had already resigned myself to eating greasy fries and hot dogs all day, but was pleasantly surprised to find that they had catering by La Place, so I had stir-fried chicken and veggies in coconut milk over basmati rice for dinner, and a huge bowl of strawberries and pineapple later in the day. Yum. :)
This Thursday, we're going to go spend a long weekend hanging out with Rick's cousin, Stef, who just bought a house in Austria. He's been working as a ski instructor in Bad Gastein for the past 6 years or so, and has finally decided to settle there instead of coming home to the Netherlands every summer. We're going to go check out his new place and hopefully spend some time walking/hiking around the area. It'll be our first big road trip since I got my driver's license-- Rick is thrilled to have someone to spell him at the wheel (it's about a 10-hour drive), but I'm a little nervous about driving in Germany (well, in the parts that still have an unlimited speed limit, anyway). I know, I know, it's no big deal, but all those people whizzing by at 100 mph or faster kind of freak me out. Rick says I'll be fine as long as I keep an eye on my rearview mirror and make sure to get over to the right if people behind me are going faster than I am. Which I do here in NL anyway, so I guess it's not that much different. We'll see...