Blankies

I got a new down comforter last weekend, the first blanket/comforter I have ever paid for. (P.S. This is not my bedroom- that would be just too embarrassing.)

I have had the same two wool blankets my whole life, along with rather anemic comforter I got for Christmas aeons ago. The blankets are from Holland (big surprise.) Lately, I just can't seem to stay very warm at night because the comforter has become anorexic and wasn't doing the job. I was talking to my mother about the old blankets. I thought they were inexpensive blankets my parents had gotten whenthey got married.

My mother told me those two wool blankets had kept my great-grandparents warm during the Hunger Winter during WWII. Wow. That sort of made me sit down (chances are I was already sitting down.) I had no idea! One of the blankets is a very thick wool blanket with a velvet edge around it, and the other is made of red and off-white wool. I have had the red one since I was in my cradle.

Immediately, I made plans to retire the wool blankets and get me a certified huge down comforter. And I did. The wool blankets are now in a safe place, where they will retain a place of honor in my house.

And I slept warmly ever after.

"Oopsie"

My younger sister had to put her cat to sleep yesterday. This, of course, was devastating for her. J had had Oopsie (so named because she fell out of a window when she was a kitten, effectively changing her name) for over half her life. Oopsie was, get this, 23 years old. In the end, Oopsie had lung cancer, which I have never heard of a cat getting. No, J doesn't smoke, and never has.
Oopsie's personality was probably what helped her live to such a ripe age. One word- BITCH. That cat didn't love, nor even like anyone but J. In fact, Oopsie once chased my 6' brother around the house. Us bitches are the ones that will live forever, whether we like it or not.
R.I.P., Oopsie. J will miss you something fierce.

How We Met- The Technical Part

Here is video about the International 14s we were sailing when we met. Please note the frequent capsizing occurences. You can become so skilled at capsizing that you can get the boat upright without getting wet. Priceless. Now that's a great ride!

"The High I.Q. Couple"

My husband and I refer to ourselves as the "High I.Q. Couple." Our motto is "We Find the Longest and Slowest Line so You Don't Have To." This our way of dealing with the stupid things we do and decisions we make. Humor has kept us together.One prime example:Years ago we had to buy a car because mine was having some incomprehensible behaviors. B's mother was in the hospital, very ill, and we were under a lot of pressure time-wise. On a freezing January day, we went to a car dealer to look at a CRX. It was late in the afternoon, and it was glaringly sunny. The test drive went well, and we looked the car over closely, and decided to buy it. After we signed all our money over, they brought the car to the front of the dealership so we could drive it off into the sunset. As we got close to it, we saw a huge dent on the passenger side. Yea yea, we looked the car over closely before buying it. So we were stuck. As we were driving home, B said, "Well, we just got f-d over again. The sad part is, I'm starting to enjoy it." I broke out in loud guffaws. This is how the "High I.Q. Couple" stumbles through life. Crap happens- we laugh.

How I Met My Husband, And Why He Should Have Run

Many, many years ago, my husband and I met. It was fate, it was kismet.I raced on an International 14 sailboat (a development-class dinghy capable of going up to 20 knots) every Thursday, and one evening I went down to meet my usual skipper. He said that he had tried to call me, but he couldn't get a hold of me (days before cell-phones.) He wasn't able to sail that night. That was okay- I could say hello to people and then go home. Someone told me that there was a guy looking for someone to sail with, and that's how we met.The 14 is a very squirrely boat- you look at it and it turtles. This was B's first time in one, and since I don't like to skipper, B was on the helm. He didn't believe me when I told him to drop the main NOW, and we capsized frequently and regularly. We were sailing in cold seawater, and even though we were wearing wetsuits, we got pretty cold.I was house-sitting for a friend about a half-hour north of the marina, and she always let me drive her car (a Volvo station wagon.) When I went back to the car, I found that I had locked the keys (including the house keys) in the car, along with all my clean, non-smelly clothes.B was nice enough to drive me in my smelly wet-suit (I never was a pretty sight in one) all the way up the house. I had to crawl in a window and unlock the house, and after I changed, we looked for a spare car key. We thought we had one, and then back down to the car.It wasn't a match. B then turned around once again and drove me to the house. I ended up calling a locksmith the next day.
Now, wouldn't you have run?

A Little More Family History

Here is a bit more of my family history, beginning with my parents' marriage.My parents were married in September 1958, in Ede. Because of the housing situation and job shortages, two weeks later, they were on the converted troopship, the "Zuiderkruis" (the "Southern Cross.) At that time, Canada had very desirable job opportunities for the Dutch, and many people emigrated to Canada. They then took a train all the way across Canada, and ended up in Victoria, BC. My older sister and I were born there (I have dual Dutch-Canadian citizenship.) We then returned to Holland and lived in Kraggenburg (our house is picture on the left), which was a brand new town on reclaimed polder land. My younger sister was born there. Jobs and housing again became an issue, and my dad found a job in Wyoming, so after two years in Holland, we again picked up everything and moved just outside Sheridan. My mother says my older sister and I went to neighboring farms and spoke Dutch, and nobody knew what to do with us.We went on vacation to Vancouver, BC, and my parents really liked the area. He was able to find a job at the University of Washington, and so, with my mother pregnant with my brother, we drove from Sheridan to Washington State. I learned English in Kindergarten (I missed all my playtime) and have lived in the area ever since.This is probably way too much information, but, if you miraculously need anymore, please do ask!

A Little Family Story

Recently my mother gave me a few family items that had come back to her after a long absence. The items: a necklace, bracelet and earrings made from Dutch dimes, and two handmade dolls. They held a wonderful little family story.The dimes- dubbeltjes- are all dated between 1930 and 1941. This was before the occupation, and they are solid silver. There were no coins minted during the war. My grandmother had a step-cousin that had moved to the United States in the 1920's. After the war, she wanted my grandmother to send her some Dutch coins. The U.S. policies did not allow importation of foreign coins so my grandmother saved some of the first dubbeltjes that came back into circulation. She then took them to a jeweler to have the necklace, bracelet and earrings made. When new dimes finally started to be minted again, they were much smaller and not made of solid silver.My grandmother then made two dolls, a boy and a girl. They are about 16" tall. My mother remembers her painstakingly hand-sewing the bodies and the Dutch costumes for them. My grandmother then stuffed the jewelry into the dolls' bodies and then sewed them shut. The dolls were then mailed to America.The dolls and jewelry stayed with the step-cousin's family until they were returned to my mother a couple months ago.Try as I might, I can't picture my grandmother doing something morally questionable let alone illegal. She was very religious and lived a very quiet life.

I guess you never know...

The Hunger Winter

Another re-run due very little time. This is a little more about my family history and the "Hunger Winter" in Holland (1944-45.)

The "war" in the Netherlands lasted only three days- they capitulated on 10 May 1940. They then endured five years of Nazi occupation. My father was born in 1932 in Utrecht, which is geographicaly the center of the Netherlands. He spent the war years in Bilthoven, which is about 4 miles east of Utrecht. Bilthoven is next to the airport at Soesterberg, which the Germans used as a weapon depot. Consequently, the Allies strafed the town regularly. My dad showed me the bullet wounds on the trees when we went back in 2001. He remembers that there were never any windows in his house because of the constant bombings.

My mother was born in 1936 in Den Haag (The Hague.) She spent the war years in Ede, which is east of Bilthoven. Her father, grandmother and grandfather all died in her house during the war. She remembers that a Jewish family down the street was sent off to the concentration camps, and the neighbors were asked to keep their furniture for when they came back- they never came back. The house was still there when I went back in 2001. Her mother was forced to house German POWs during the war. My mother remembers having to walk for miles to beg for food for the family.

In September 1944, there was an Allied plan to move north into Holland to end the war quickly. "Operation Marketgarden" (A Bridge Too Far) failed miserably, and so Holland had to wait for 8 more months to be liberated. During this last winter, the weather was very cold and there was no food. Over 16,000 people starved to death during this time. The Germans made a virtual wall around Northern and central Holland and no food or other humanitarian aid could enter. My father had to eat his pet crow and tulip bulbs, among other things. The house he lived in (pictured) had no windows because the Allies strafed the town almost every day. My father never knew if he would be alive for another day. Finally, when it was obvious that Germany was going to lose the war, a tentative agreement was reached that Allied planes could come and drop food over pre-determined sites to help the people.

The operation was called "Operation Chowhound" for the Americans and "Operation Manna" for the British. The planes (B-17's and Lancasters) were in instructed to fly between 300-400 feet over the drop sites. Even before the papers were signed, planes began the food drops. The Germans had anti-aircraft weapons in case the Allied were going to bomb instead of drop food. Although the food drops were maybe too late to prevent much of the starvation, they did wonders for the morale of the people. The Canadians were then able to liberate Holland on the fifth of May 1945. My mother remembers riding on the Canadian tanks when they liberated Ede. There is still avery special bond between the Dutch and their liberators. After the war, the restoration of Holland was very diffiicult. Most of the infrastructure was completely destroyed. A new government was set up (Socialist) and a new economy was established. The rebuilding was slow and hard. Much farmland had been destroyed, and housing was at a premium for many years.

Since this is a long post, I will continue the story later. Please let me know if you find this interesting!

Our First Halloween

Here is the story of our first Halloween that I mentioned in my last post. It seems like a good time to repeat it.
Our first Halloween was a bit different than most Halloween experiences. My mother made our costumes. We (my older sister, younger sister and I) became witches. My mother made the tall hats, skirts and aprons and put all sorts of "witch-type figures" on them. We carved our pumpkins, and they were attached to the end of sticks so we could carry them. They had lit candles in them (this was before the days of fire safety awareness.)
Okay, here is the corker. My mother knew nothing about Halloween, and the actual day of Halloween fell on a school-night that year. She couldn't imagine that everyone would go out on a school-night, so she took us out on the preceding Saturday. We got some weird looks, but people gave us candy anyway. Needless to say, we were the only costumed kids out there. We got candy!
When my mother found out that kids do go out for Halloween on school nights, she took us out again. We got candy twice!
That was how we learned a little bit more about Halloween.

A Long Time Ago

A Long Time Ago.... was the last time I posted in this here blog. For shame! My bad! I think I have a reason that might suffice for two of those days; the rest of the days fell into my becoming even more compulsive-obsessive.
The large into the small- I came into possession of a bunch of old family papers/documents. For a history fanatic, this was a gold-mine. Included was the service record of my great-great grandfather, dated 1876. What is wonderful is that it has a complete physical description of him, with the shape of his chin and mouth, and even the color of his eyebrows. Way cool. All of this information in beautiful calligraphy (and all in Dutch!) The most emotional were my mother's and grandparents identifications from the war. My mother had no idea that these papers even existed. Most people threw them out after the liberation. There were also food ration coupons from during the war. There were letters dated from 1902, and also during the war.
In Holland, when someone dies, the family has a death notice made. They are on cards with a gray or black border (the envelopes also has the borders.) They are sent out and delivered immediately. I think this is a wonderful thing to do; it honors the person. My grandmother had saved them all from 1905 until she died (1987.) Here are all these cards that people had held so long ago, and meant so much to them. And my grandmothere had saved them.
She had saved a ton of letters also. It amazed me that she kept in such close contact with everyone after she emmigrated. Reading the letters are somewhat of a chore, not only are they in Dutch, the handwriting! Some of it is extremely diagonal.
I am still trying to translate everything, and then I have to scan it and save it to CDs. I have entered everything that I could get so far into the family tree. Based on the information, I was able to add over 100 names to the tree, all by searching the Dutch databases.
I can't figure out how my grandmother was able to save all this stuff. Two World Wars and an emmigration. And my mother didn't even know all these papers still existed. Blows my mind.
So, I'm sorry that I haven't written anything on the blog, but I have been working!