Our New Grandson!

Our second grand-son showed his little face to the world yesterday evening around 7.30!

Yes, he is a few weeks early, born with a c-section, but strong and healthy. He is 19" long and weighs 5 pounds and 14 oz. Both mother and youngest little critter are doing well. He has to stay in the hospital for observation for 24 hours. Standard procedure, because he is a little over 36 weeks.

I hope to post some pics soon. For now... our almost one-year-old grandson, unaware yet of having a little brother, is pulling the slippers from my feet, trying to break off some toes. He is up early. But so are we. :-)

Confusing Cultural Differences

Some things are very difficult to get used to, especially when you grew up with the total opposite for about 44 years. Small things, but oh boy, they can really mess up everything!

I was looking at a date this morning and it occurred to me how I constantly have to remind myself that the first number is the month and the next one is the day. In the Netherlands it's exactly the other way around: Day, Month, Year. So today would be 21-03-06 instead of 03/21/06. In the beginning I would think to myself: "There is no 21st month. That must be an error", immediately followed by the realization that it's written the other way around here! Uh oh, gotta keep that in mind before I totally mess up appointments!

Another thing is numbers. 47 here is pronounced forty-seven (which makes good sense) but Dutch says seven and forty. The last number is said first when it concerns the last two digits. I made so many mistakes transposing numbers in the beginning, that my husband thought I was dyslexic, haha. It's getting better although I still prefer numbers from 0-20, no mistake-opportunities there, hehe.

And this would be the killer of all! Writing dollar amounts! If something would cost 2 dollars and 95 cents, it's written $ 2.95 while in the Netherlands it would be written like this $ 2,95 (can't find the euro sign, but you get the point. Or is it comma??). See the difference in the use of the comma and the point/period? When it goes into the thousands, it's exactly the other way around $ 1,000.95 here, and $1.000,95 in Dutch. I better let my husband write the checks, hehe. Might save us some grief!

What seems so normal to some, may seem backwards to others. It's the way we have learned to do things, habits or, in most cases, where we decided to place our values. God's way goes so against our nature that we have to constantly remind ourselves that we are the ones who have it backwards:-)

No Optical Illusion!

My reading glasses are several years old and they may be due for replacement. That would be costly, were it not for this Great Discovery: Zenni Optical!

No matter what prescription glasses you need, there is a wide variety of their own manufactured, high quality frames and fashionable Zenni Optical $8 Rx Glasses and sunglasses. They even sell and ship internationally.

It is the Best Thing Found: Zenni Optical and that is no optical illusion!

Dick Bruna's Economical Impact

From the 18th of February 2006, Dick Bruna's work is on permanent display in the Dick Bruna House, opposite the Centraal Museum in Utrecht. The Dick Bruna house is part of the Central Museum and the Dick Bruna collection comprises more than 1,200 works.

The museum also has a shop where books, with or without CD's and DVD's, T-shirts and other Miffy products are being sold. The collection is not restrained to solely books. Multi-media, home and interior, gifts, hobby, school, office and travel products, clothes, shoes and bags, and so much more are included.

Miffy has starred in 30 of Bruna's 120 books, which have been translated into 40 languages and sold more than 85 million copies worldwide. Dick Bruna has received many awards for his work.

Baby-Shower Update

The baby-shower went real well last Saturday and our Mommy-to-be got overloaded with presents.

Instead of the 14 ladies we had expected, we had 11. Still a nice group. I had taken care of the food and of course we had way too much left. I don't know if that was a good sign, haha.
Our eldest had done a great job concerning the decorations and the games!

One of the games was not to say the word "Baby". If you did, you would have to give the safety pin ( given as soon as you came in) to the one who caught you on it. The one with the most pins at the end, would get a prize.
A young friend of mom-to-be, who lost the game last year, was almost obsessed to win this time. She sure must have had a bad year, haha. Unfortunately she may be looking at some more bad times, since she lost again.

April, the mom-to-be, enjoyed all of it. She got the cutest outfits for the baby! I hope baby Leo will be a bit smaller than his older brother, so they will fit him for a little while.

Not much longer now. 27 days and counting down! :-)

Dick Bruna's Work

At a young age Dick Bruna started drawing. He drew covers for his school newspaper in Walt Disney style. Dick Bruna's first works were based on collages by the French painter Matisse. Bruna has also been noted to have been influenced by the Dutch graphic design movement, De Stijl, in particular the work of architect Gerrit Rietveld. Bruna has spent his later career developing his skills within the picture book genre, creating characters such as miffy.

Dick Bruna is one of the most famous creators of picture books in the world. He has written and illustrated almost 100 books for young children, which have sold 80 million copies worldwide.

In 1955, while on holiday with his wife Irene and their child, he saw a rabbit hopping around their house and he started telling his one-year-old son Sierk stories about a little rabbit. Later Dick made attempts to draw it, thereby creating Miffy. "Miffy" is the Americanized version, whereas "Nijntje" is the original Dutch name of the rabbit, stemming from "konijntje" which is the diminutive form of "konijn" (rabbit). Some of his other famous creations are Snuffie the dog, Poppie Pig, the bears Boris and Barbara, and his most renowned character, Miffy, the white bunny. More than 80 million Miffy and Friends books have been sold in 40 languages throughout the world. Miffy and Friends also appears on television on Noggin.

Dick Bruna is one of the few living Dutch artists to have achieved worldwide fame among young and old. The work of Dick Bruna is distinguished by its simple and direct draughtsmanship. Not only has Bruna made more than a hundred picture books, he has also designed more than two thousand book covers, over one hundred posters, postcards and prints. He illustrated books like the series entitled Zwarte Beertjes (Little Black Bears).

Baby-Shower

We have a big and busy day tomorrow. It is Baby-Shower-Time! :-)

We got all the shopping done this morning and as far as I know, we got everything we need, food-wise, for our guests. I sure hope I didn't forget anything, but that might be a false hope, haha. We will find out tomorrow!

So far, about 12 ladies will be attending. I so hope our daughter will be feeling well and enjoy the baby-shower. She hasn't been doing well lately and is on several different medications. God bless her little heart! We trust the medications aren't dangerous to the baby. Since they were prescribed by her baby-doctor, I think we can safely assume they are not.

Well, about one more month to go before we can welcome our second grandson!!! :-D

Nightmare

It can be horrible to find yourself without any Healthcare Insurance. I see that up close with people who are near and dear to us. The medical bills got them in to debt up to their eyeballs.

Finding the right medical care that is affordable as well, is not always easy, but essential! Especially with (soon to be) two little ones. The kids are covered for a while, but Mom and Dad are not.

I am grateful there are some good Family Insurance Policies available for them. It is worth checking in to some Medical Insurance Quotes and save them from waking up in a nightmare in the future!

About Dick Bruna

Hendrikus Magdalena Bruna, author, artist, illustrator and graphic designer, was born in Utrecht, The Netherland on August 23, 1927.

Dick Bruna's father had a book stand at virtually every one of the country's abundant railway stations. A.W. Bruna & Son started printing books in 1868 and became the Netherlands' largest publisher.

His father's intentions were for Dick to follow in his footsteps. Dick went to London for a year to learn the trade and afterwards to Paris, but Bruna had different plans. Bruna's brother eventually took over the business, but Dick Bruna always remained a close collaborator.

Dick Bruna started drawing at a young age, in 1940. He drew covers for his school newspaper in Walt Disney style and later was also influenced by artists of other art forms, like Rembrandt and Van Gogh, whom he admired. The biggest influence was perhaps Matisse.

In 1953 Dick married Irene de Jongh, the girl next door. They have three children, 2 sons, Sierk born in 1954 and Marc born in 1958 and one daughter, Madelon born in 1961. Recently they have become grandparents.

Dick still works and shows his work to his wife first and makes changes and improvements until she approves.

Although he was named after his grandfather, he got the name Dick because he was a chubby little boy and his family lovingly used to call him Dikkie (Dutch for fatty). Dikkie, Dik (fat) became and remained Dick.

See also my post:
Dick Bruna's Work
Dick Bruna's Economical Impact

Marjolein Bastin's Economical Impact

Marjolein's work resulted not only in appearance on calendars and greeting cards, but there is also a line of dinnerware, stationery, clocks, frames, cross-stitch, quilt covers and decorative items.


Sanna, Marjolein's daugther came up with the initiative to open a Giftshop. The giftshop opened it's doors on May 2, 2001 and the shop features most Marjolein Bastin products currently available. Every season the shop is updated with new gifts and products. There is also an online-giftshop, that ships all over Europe, the US, Japan and Canada, with tax-free shopping for customers outside Europe.

Most products are manufactured by the American company Hallmark and shipped to the store a few times a year. The Hallmark's Nature's Sketchbook by Marjolein Bastin line includes stationery, greeting cards, home décor items, and gifts in , which are among the company's best-selling offerings.

Many of her drawings are available as cross-stitch patterns, through Lanarte and Heye Puzzles offer Bastin's work as Jigsaw Puzzles.

“With my drawings, I try to show it’s our world. I think we all have the same role in nature—we are part of nature. When you are outside, all things come to you—you hear, touch, and smell, you discover so many wonderful things, both tiny and huge. And you’re part of it all.”

Smartie Pants

This was the first time I read this and yes, I took the test. I have to admit it was rather disappointing to see I only got one right. Okay, let's think positive. If the 5 questions each count for 20%, then I was 20% smart!

Go ahead and try it. Don't cheat, just follow the instructions and see how you do. I wonder when you read the answers, you too will hit your forehead and ask yourself how easily you fell for it. grin.

Below are four ( 4 ) questions and a bonus question. You have to answer them instantly. You can't take your time, answer all of them immediately, or all you will have done is prove that you can still cheat . OK?

First Question:
You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?

Answer:
If you answered that you are first, then you are absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are second!

Try not to mess up next time. Now answer the second question, but don't take as much time as you took for the first question, OK ?

Second Question:
If you overtake the last person, then you are...?

Answer:
If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST Person?

You're not very good at this, are you?

Third Question:
Very tricky arithmetic! Note: This must be done in your head only .Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it.
Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000 . Now add 30 . Add another 1000 . Now add 20 . Now add another 1000 Now add 10 . What is the total?

Did you get 5000?
The correct answer is actually 4100. If you don't believe it, check it with a calculator!

Today is definitely not your day, is it? Maybe you'll get the last question right.... ....Maybe.

Fourth Question:
Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?

Did you Answer Nunu?
NO! Of course it isn't. Her name is Mary. Read the question again!

Okay, now the bonus round:
A mute person goes into a shop and wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing his teeth he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done. Next, a blind man comes into the shop who wants to buy a pair of sunglasses; how does HE indicate what he wants?

He just has to open his mouth and ask... It's really very simple....

Maybe you should share your results with your Doctor??

Have a great day y'all, hehe.

Marjolein Bastin's Work

Marjolein's work is all about nature. Nature captivates her, and she captures it to share with others, offering people a simple reminder to pause and enjoy nature and allow it to be a source of serenity, energy, and healing.

Much of her work appears on calendars and greeting cards, but she also designs and illustrates children's books and is the inventor of the character "Vera the Mouse", who starred in an animated movie in 2000.

Marjolein's work falls into three main groupings:
1. Detailed and exact snapshots of nature (close-ups of what she sees around her);
2. Those detailed snapshots also include Marjolein's personal written observations on nature;
3. Works that show the beauty of nature as touched by human hands, including cut flowers, potted plants, and birdhouses built with pencils.

In the artist's own words: "My way of holding forever the impression I love so much in nature."

Pineapple

I love fresh pineapple (don't mix it up with pine cone, haha. I'll tell you that story later sometime, grin). I can't tell you though how surprised I was to read on the label that it was good for the joints. That calls for an investigation!

"BROMELAIN:
Pineapple, Ananas comosus
Where It Comes From:
Enzyme found in pineapple juice that breaks down protein.

Forms and Dosage:
Tablets; 80 mg to 320 mg, two or three times per day for eight to 10 days or as needed for more than 10 days.

What It's Supposed to Do:
Decrease pain and swelling of RA and OA, increase mobility.

What We Know:
Some evidence that enzymes like bromelain, which break down protein, have pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects comparable to NSAIDs. Likely safe.

Studies:
In one human study, a bromelain supplement containing enzymes rutin and trypsin relieved pain and improved function in 73 people with knee OA. The effect was similar to taking an NSAID. No research shows bromelain alone is effective for people with arthritis.

What to Watch For:
Bromelain can cause stomach upset and diarrhea. Avoid if allergic to pineapples. Can increase the effect of blood-thinning medicine.

Extras:
May help reduce swelling after surgery or injury. May have potential to help burn wounds and accelerate healing."
~Arthritis Foundation.

Isn't it wonderful that something you love so much is good for you as well?! You can find it year around, without effort and enjoy it's taste and healing ingredients at the same time.

It also emphasized to me to read labels more often! :-)

About Marjolein Bastin

Another very well known artist of these days is Marjolein Bastin. She was born in 1943 in Loenen aan de Vecht, Netherlands.

Ever since a child she loved nature and collecting things nature had to offer, pine cones, seeds etc. As soon as she could hold a pencil and paintbrush, she began to capture nature and her talent grew with her.

She studied at the Academy of Arts in Arnhem, Netherlands, where she met her husband (and manager), Gaston Bastin. Not long after completing her study, she was asked to do a one-page feature for the popular Dutch women's weekly Libelle. From then on Marjolein and her work became very popular.

Marjolein and her husband Gaston, divide their time between
country homes in Holland and in Missouri, near Hallmark's headquarters, as well a tropical retreat in the Cayman Islands. Each setting provides a unique glimpse of what nature has to offer throughout the world.

The couple has a son, Mischa, born in 1974 and who is a lawyer in Kansas City, USA, and a daughter, Sanna, born in 1973, and two grandchildren. Sanna runs the "Marjolein Bastin Kadowinkel" (The Marjolein Bastin Giftshop), located in Ede, Netherlands.

Her work for Libelle is still ongoing and she gained world wide recognition when a Hallmark designer discovered Marjolein's artwork while on a trip to Holland in the early 1990s, initiating a relationship that has spanned nearly 10 years.

See also my post:
Marjolein Bastin's Work.
Marjolein Bastin's Economical Impact

Tag...I am It!

I am being tagged!

I found so many (weird) habits/traits about me, I shouldn't have a problem with 8, hehe.

1. I am Dutch and yes almost everything said about Dutch stinginess you will prolly find in me, haha. I pick up every penny I stumble across, laying on the ground. I look for cheap and good deals. I try to decorate, re-using what I have or "mold" it into something else. I won't spend any money unless I really have to and even then I have the tendency to "turn it around ten times" before letting go of it.

2. An odd thing is, all of the above applies when it involves myself. Concerning others, I have no problem spending money on or for them. Wasn't always that way. grin.

3. I am so extremely hard-headed at times, I would do well in demolition-work (if it weren't for the head-ache afterwards, grin).

4. I love the color hunters-green. Anything with that color in it grabs my attention and there must be something really wrong with it for me not to like it. Especially when it comes to clothes, hehe.

5. I like to keep anything that might have a potential craft-use. Even when I don't get any ideas at that moment... I never know when it comes in handy. And it has!

6. I am a perfect "copy-cat". I hardly have any ideas myself, but anything I see being made by hands I can do, and will do my best to make it look even better than the original.

7. I freak out over a spider, but have no problems chasing a snake out of our yard. I guess it would be a different story, knowing it would be a poisonous snake. You might see something really weird then, haha.

8. There are some American customs I think to be odd. Like eating black-eyed peas on New Years Day for good luck. I don't like black-eyed peas so I don't eat them. Hence the bad luck??? grin. Oh well, I don't believe in luck anyway, I believe in being blessed, and that I am! :-D

Even though some of my habits and/or traits can be a hindrance, I guess my hard-headedness comes in handy after all. :-)

Anton Pieck's Economical Impact

Anton Pieck's had a great impact on the Dutch economy. He is the founder and designer of the fairy theme park "De Efteling" in Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands. This oldest Theme park of the world was officially opened on May 31, 1952.

At that time The park only consisted of some sports fields, a playground and about 10 Fairy tales in The Fairy Tale Forrest.
In the following decades The Park grew into a full-size theme park along the lines of Disneyland, making The Efteling one of the top Theme Parks with over 3 million visitors a year and winner of several awards, such as the Applause Award for Best Amusement Park in the World in 1992 .

Anton Pieck's original drawings were used for the design of The Efteling. When Anton Pieck was asked to design the initial fairy tales for the park, he made sure the park would live up to his personal high standards: there would be no use of cheap building materials, plastic or concrete. Pieck's illustration style, somewhat grim and dark, yet also romantic and nostalgic, was the thematic base on which most future expansions were built.

In 1968 Pieck was asked to create a place for the collection of old-timers of Mr. Lips. Under contract to family Lips, he designs the "Autotron" in Drunen, Netherlands, which was finished in 1972. It became an impressive building with offices, a restaurant and a large exhibition space. The Autotron was moved to Rosmalen after wanting to expand with an attraction park, but was denied permission.

Anton Pieck's diversity of art is never boring and if you get an opportunity to visit one of his exhibitions, do so. You won't regret it. :-)

Giving Credit

Isn't it incredible how fast the credit card has made it's appearance in almost any business and retail? Hard to imagine you can't pay with it at some places. Even the fast food restaurants accept them nowadays.

I can only imagine how great the flexibility and choice of offers must include, being a provider of credit card services. They are not only dealing with low, but also high risk businesses.

Whether your business or store is online, offline, low or high risk, small, medium or large, or maybe even international, Ms Merchant Accountcovers it all and is happy to answer all your questions. They sure know their business. I have got to give them credit for that! :-)

To Catch A Bug

We started the New Year with a bug. Yeah, all of us. We had hoped to be able to escape it. False hope, sigh.

None of us are feeling well. Our daughter almost passed out the other day and both husband and I are dealing with an upset stomach. Husband seems to be getting better, as well as our daughter. Thank God. Mine is lingering and I suspect why.

Since I have been on Humira, I have been warned to watch out for viruses, since the Humira lowers my immune system. I guess it takes me twice as long, if not more, to recuperate. It's easier said then done to stay away and avoid people who are sick. Especially when it concerns family. So... now that bug is bugging me!

I better chase and catch that bug. Oh wait, I already did, haha.

Anton Pieck's Work

Anton Pieck was an artist who's talent created a multitude of art in a great diversity. His work contains amongst other things; paintings in oil and watercolour, etchings, woodcarvings, engravings, litho's, travel-drawings and textbook- illustrations.

His early charcoal drawings, done before his marriage, are almost unknown and forgotten though. Those can only be described as haunting and it is believed that his style devolved into a form of commercialized art to maintain his family.
Pieck is also credited as being the inventor of the art of decoupage.

His work is widely popular and known for it's nostalgic or fairytale-like character and often appears on cards and calendars. Exhibitions of his work are held on a regular basis.

On June 16th, 1983 a bronze 'Bust' of Anton Pieck was revealed in Overveen and in 1984 the Anton Pieck Museum was opened at the Achterstraat in Hattem, Netherlands. The museum is called "A House for Anton Pieck".

About Anton Pieck

The famous Dutch artist Anton Franciscus Pieck was born in Overveen, The Netherlands, on April 19, 1895. He was the son of Henri Christiaan Pieck and Petronella Neijfs.

In 1922 he married Jo van Poelvoorde and they had 3 children, Elsa, Anneke and Max. Anton's wife died in 1983 and his son Max in 1986.


At the age of 11, Anton already won a prize for a pastel of a still-life and at the age of 17 he got his drawing certificate. Anton worked as a Drawing teacher from 1912 until 1920 at the Bik en Vaandrager institute in The Hague, Netherlands and from 1920 till 1960 at the Kennemer Lyceum in Overveen, Netherlands, also as a Drawing teacher. During his life he received several awards for his work, amongst which the Dr. Egerton-Crispin award in 1929.

Anton had a twin brother, Henri Christiaan Pieck, who also was a painter and illustrator and a Dutch architect. Henri Pieck died in The Hague on January 12, 1972.

Anton Pieck was/is well-known amongst the Dutch. In 2004 he was placed as number 81 in the poll "The greatest Dutchman". In Kaatsheuvel, the Netherlands, a school was named after him. Anton Pieck died on November 25, 1987.

See also my posts:
Anton Pieck's Work
Anton Pieck's Economical Impact

Success

As a former "wannabe" Internet business owner, I am fully aware of the importance of getting traffic to your site and Build Link Popularity. It is not always easy to find a company that offers both affordable online Marketing and services for every kind of business.

Search Engine Promotion and optimization requires intensive research and the time involved is not always available to everyone. However, promotion is needed to drive visitors to your site. Visitors are potential buyers!

The best way to handle all this is to not handle it at all, but to leave it to the Pros. Find a good Marketing Company. A good Internet Marketing Consultant knows exactly how to go about and what is needed to make your business a success.

Thanks!!

One day, long, long ago, there was this woman who did not whine, nag or complain ........

But this was a long time ago.....
and it was just ONE day.

The End.

Geeezzz, Thanks!! grin.
Okay, feel free to burst out laughing, I am a woman and I couldn't help but laugh about this. It is funny, although taking some time to consider this, I have to admitted (just looking at myself) it's true.

We can strive to be as perfect as we can, which I think is admirable.
A small consolation: nobody is totally perfect. I can only imagine how dull and boring the world and life would be if we were!

In case you didn't notice, that last sentence is good justification to keep up the whining, nagging and complaining, haha.

Trade or Trait

Many jokes go around about people living in countries other than ours. Their typical habits and/or behavior tend to lend themselves for it. The Dutch are known as tradesmen and as being economical, especially when it comes to money (some might even call it stingy, hehe). I guess it's true. I don't pass up a penny on the ground!

My grandfather always used to say: " The money lies in the street. Who can't honor the little, is not worthy of the great", ( free translation ). He would pick up empty bottles laying in the shoulders or bushes and cash them in for the deposit. Every now and then he would go to the dump and go through the trash. He would come back with a load of perfectly good stuff people had thrown away and hold a garage sale. He had a nose for making a quarter out of a dime.

So, how do you know you just passed the home of a Dutchman?
When you see the freshly washed toilet-paper hanging out to dry! :-)

Do you know any jokes about the Dutch? Please share. I think we all appreciate a good laugh!

Family

We just talked to our youngest, who is a couple of weeks short from being 8 months pregnant. She wasn't doing so well. Her ligaments are hurting and she is in no condition today to take care of all that needs to be done. Yesterday she felt pretty good, took the opportunity and ... overdid it! She will probably pay for another day.

In the meantime, things would go lacking and she would have to overdo again, just to get caught up. No one benefits from her being in no shape to do anything at all and trying to force, feeling responsible and obligated, to get it done anyway. Here is where family helps out! After all, what are fiends for?! grin.

Recharged

I hope your Holidays were wonderful and joyful.

We made it through the Holidays and even got some time to relax and recharge. We took a drive and showed our daughter some nice spots we found earlier, while exploring.

Since we had the time to ourselves, we were in no rush. We decided to drive down to the Island, picked up something to eat and enjoyed our supper at the beach. It was already getting dark on our way home, which gave us the opportunity to see some of the Christmas lights and decorations of many homes. We normally go to look at Christmas lights right before the Holidays arrive, but this year we hadn't gotten around to it. What a pleasant consequence! :-)

Today it's back to the saltmines, so to speak. May this coming year have lots of good things for you in store! :-)

Happy New Year!

A very Happy and Blessed 2008 to y'all!!

I thought I would do something different, therefor no picture of fireworks, but a typical painting by a very famous Dutch artist Anton Pieck.

I hope you were careful with fireworks and made it back here in one piece, literally! :-)

May your coming New Year be filled with lots of love, joy and happiness and may God's blessings be poured upon you in abundance.