This has certainly been a week to remember. I rarely have weeks with such a variety of activities and people of do things with. It started off with Dennis and our trip to Zeeland last Saturday. (Mentioned in the previous blog.) On Sunday we went to Breda to visit Charles MacLean and his wife who Dennis had known while on his mission here. Monday morning was Dennis flight from Dusseldorf to SLC so we were up and on the road early. I dropped him off and I came back in time to meet with one of the people coming to look and give us a bid for moving us back to the states. After that, I met Armanda at the church and we drove to Germany to the Methorsts for lunch and a little shopping.
Tuesday was Princjesdag, which I've already written a little about. We took the train - my first time - to The Hauge. The fun things about the train was that we had the fortune to sit by some darling young girls who were traveling to their various universities. They were really fun to talk to (maybe because they all spoke such good English) and I was impressed with what they were doing with their lives. Once we got to The Hauge, we had to find our way to the restaurant since all the streets were blocked off. The police officers that we talked to were very helpful and I thought it amazing that they were all so happy and friendly. All in all, it was a long day but very fun.
Wednesday, I went and picked up Marge. She is the mom of Alyna's best friend from the school here. They are native Dutch but speak good English. We went to Milliger Theetuin. It is a two kilometer walk through "nature" to a very nice little tea house. The Dutch really like things to be "natural" and so walking out among the trees and along the river is very special. The tea house was like being dropped into an exotic paradise. It was very peaceful and beautiful. It was a nice, relaxing day. After dropping Marge off, I did a little grocery shopping and then stopped by Vermillions to say hi. I got there at about 4:30 and they invited me to stay to dinner and institute so it was after 10 PM by the time I finally got home. It was fun to be with the YA's of the ward and discuss the scriptures.
Thursday, I was off early and went to pick up Armanda. We drove into Amsterdam and went to the Hermitage Museum. It is a newly opened museum with all kinds of fancy clothes, accessories, portraits, etc. from the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. It was fun to look at the clothes and discuss the fabrics, style, and workmanship of each gown or uniform with Armanda. I wish I had just a little more of that talent. Afterward, we strolled through the booths along the Waterlooplein and found some fun little trinkets. We sat by the canal for a while and did some people watching and then headed back to Armanda's. I spent the night there and the next morning we got up and worked on some of our sewing projects, we always seem to have several going at the same time. Today was skirts and bags. We went shopping to a fabric store about 20 minutes from her house. It is always so fun to do any sewing or crafty things with Armanda because she is so talented and has all the right supplies. We had a nice day.
In the afternoon, I had to head home and get ready for a Young Women Activity. We had our girls and the girls and leaders from Nijmegen come to my home for an activity about photography. Lydia planned a very good activity and we learned a lot and had fun. It was nice to get to know the leaders and girls from the other ward.
Saturday morning, I was out the door early, again! I picked up Lydia and Mickey and Doug and we drove to Ede to see the 65th Anniversary of the Allied troups arrival in the Arnhem area. There were suppose to be about a 1000 parachutists and 120 veterans from the UK participating in the even. It was a beautiful day and there were interesting things to see all day. When we arrived there were para-sailers gliding around and entertaining the crowds. Then all the military vehicles paraded by. There were bagpipers, bands, a two cannon salute, laying of flowers on the marker that commemorated the site, military troops from the US, UK, and Poland, and a lot of different airplanes and parachutists. I thought it was interesting that some of the parachutists were German - how's that for forgiving. It was amazing to see the thousands of people who came to watch and participate in the event. The drop zone was huge and it was ringed by thousands of people.
All in all it was a very fun and interesting week. I was happy to be able to take a nap today and try to gear up for another busy week. Dennis flies in early in the morning so I'll be out the door before the sun is up :).
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