Jack and Petra

Getting ready for Christmas

The worst: not knowing what you want to get your spouse since he buys whatever he wants or needs.
Second worst : a son who doesn't have a wish list.
But, I am happy to say I was done shopping last week. Last Thursday I asked Jack to drop me off at the mall near Carlisle, it has Kohls, Michaels, Target, Petsmart, Pier 1 and several other shops and I figured I could get my shopping done in 2 to 3 hours.  As it turned out, I only needed an hour.
But since Jack would pick me up to get my sons present and the stuff we wanted to get at Pier one and Target for our neighbors, I was forced to snoop around at Michaels, a wonderful place that has every thing that you can imagine for creative people and after that get one of the seasonal Latte's at Starbucks.
It is funny, I would never ever order a normal coffee there, but I love their specials. Just shouldn't do it too often.

We also decided to go to the neighborhood Christmas party this time. Jack never went in the past, but I was asked a few times if we would be there and we thought it might be fun and a good way to meet some of our neighbors. Since a few months I go to the gym with 2 neighbors and we meet several others there, so I had a head start. It turned out to be a lot of fun. Santa would be there for the kids, there was a band and a buffet. Somehow I ended up taking the pictures of all the kids on Santa's lap and after they had some margarita's', a few of the ladies on Santa's lap.
The funny thing is, you will always find a Dutch connection. That night I talked to one of my neighbors who just had found out that his family moved to the US around 1600. He was very curious to hear more about the Netherlands and I didn't mind filling him in on some details.
All in all it was a real fun evening and I will surely sign us up for next year.
Now, close your eyes, since I will be posting a picture with Santa and my gym buddies.

Sunday we took it easy, had to, Jack suddenly had a bad cold and we opted to stay in for the day.
My son went over to one of the neighbors to play X-box and we had a lazy day.
But I was really surprised when we did our 6 PM walk with the dogs. A big group of kids was going from door to door, caroling.
It was great to hear and see. I really thought it was something of the past, but clearly not.
I really hope they will keep up these traditions.


Anyway, I am almost ready for Christmas, just one more package that I hope will arrive tomorrow.
That will be the last of what I need for our late X-mas celebration.
But besides that, I have to pack our bags for me and my son so we can travel to the Netherlands on Wednesday.
Right now it looks ok, but I am watching the weather over there. It is beginning to look a lot like a white Christmas over there.

I must have not gotten that note

The one that says that there is a spending limit on pets.
It's something I have heard quite a lot lately, people with a sick animal that had to go to the vet and then decide, only one more time and the animal is over the spending limit, it won't be taken to the vet anymore and will die or will be re homed.
It was probably on the same note that said, once you have kids, the pets are no longer your replacement kids but 'just' pets that need less care than before.
The same note that makes pets expendable after a certain age.

I am still caught in the assumption that pets are a lifetime responsibility and that there is no need to choose either kids or animals, that they can actually grow up together with respect for each others being.
And I must be crazy probably, but I think no living being should be denied the right care when sick or old.
I don't think pets are  easy exchangeable when they no longer fit your life style or gets old or even just annoying to you, I actually think, and yes I am probably insane, that every animal has it's own character, that it feels pain and experiences love when given, just like kids .
And while my kid will be always # 1, I feel my pets need the same amount of care and love.

I am glad I didn't get that note.

So there, I said it.
You can call me crazy now, I'll be proud of it.

En morgen is het 1 december

Yep, voor de verandering weer eens een Hollands blogje. Om in de spirit te komen zeg maar.
En ook omdat ik 2 glazen wijn op heb en het Nederlands me dan nog steeds gemakkelijker af gaat dan het Engels.

Over 23 dagen zet ik voor het eerst sinds meer dan een jaar weer voet op Nederlandse bodem en natuurlijk zorgt dat voor stof tot nadenken.
In hoe verre ben ik al veramerikaanst, gaat mijn familie me betrappen op een aantal Engelse woordjes en zal ik me daar door onsterfelijk belachelijk  maken? Kan ik iedereen en alles zien in die korte tijd.
Maar vooral, zal ik niet teleurgesteld zijn? Dat is namelijk mijn grootste angst, dat ik het niet meer leuk in Nederland zal vinden.

Waarom ik dat denk vraag je?
Easy, ik heb het hier prima naar mijn zin. Zo goed dat ik me af vraag of ik het in NL niet naar mijn zin had. Eerlijk gezegd zit ik nog steeds te wachten op de nadelen van deze oversteek. Maar tot nu toe heb ik nergens spijt van. Mijn zoon doet het geweldig hier, ik heb het naar mijn zin. Moet alleen nu en dan mijn echtgenoot even laten weten dat ik toch echt wel voor mezelf kan zorgen als Nederlandse en dat ik zeer capabel ben om mensen aan te spreken, de telefoon op te pakken en voor mezelf of zo nodig voor mijn zoon op te komen.
Tja, dat zijn van die dingen die even de kop op steken.

Natuurlijk zie ik er naar uit mijn familie weer te zien, zeker na de schrik die mijn Moeder ons bezorgt heeft. Wil hen beide heel graag weer even zien, voelen, horen, aanraken.
LOL, ben zelfs al een lijstje aan het maken van dingen die mee terug moeten.
Van die gekke dingen, zoals zoetjes, die heb ik hier nog niet gevonden en natuurlijk drop, salmiak, dat soort dingen.

Ja, ik verheug me op kerst in Nederland, met mijn ouders, mijn zusters, zwagers en kinderen.
Maar mijn echtgenoot blijft hier, met onze 4 honden en de kerstboom en de open haard.
Mijn zoon gaat mee, maar verblijft bij zijn vader.

Zucht….
ik zou zo blij moeten zijn dat ik de mogelijkheid heb om dit te doen.
Maar is het zo gek dat ik veel liever mijn eigen gezinnetje bij elkaar heb, bij onze eigen boom, met onze eigen open haard en kadootjes om te openen op kerst ochtend?
Samen, met elkaar, mensen en honden?

Nee toch?

Our fridge is taken hostage by a giant turkey

There is a huge bag of cornbread stuffing blocking the opening of one of my kitchen closets and I was told that we absolutely have to have pumpkin pie for dessert.

Thursday it's Thanks Giving and I am not cooking. Phew….
Totally going to stay away from the kitchen, as far as possible. Jack can handle the beast and everything that comes with it.
I'll just eat it. Not too much, mind you, don't need to gain more than I already did.
This is a dangerous time of the year, Turkey day is the start of an eating fest that doesn't end before the next year has started.
I had kind of hoped that with losing our Sinterklaas celebration, we would skip some of the eating, but we got TG instead.
Just hope we can hit the gym 3 times a week as we do now, but with the kids having so much time off, I fear the worst.

The holidays also mean that one project has come to a short stop.
Remember the auction I put together? It was a success, in a few hours we raised over 800 dollars that will be donated. It also lead to something else. One of the ladies that encouraged me to do this came with a new initiative. A small group of artists that will jump in when there is an animal emergency. Goal is to organize fast actions/auctions to give some financial first aid.
Seems that I am supposed to be one of those 'artists'
Am curious to see if and how this works out. Might be very interesting and inspiring.
Btw, if you are a creative mind and want to join us, let me know. We are spread all over the US and Canada.

Did you know that I am still very pleasantly surprised when I find out that one of my pictures is somewhere featured? (With me ok-ing it off course)
Yesterday I heard that this picture will be todays picture on Planet Earth Daily Photo
Took this picture last Saturday. We went to the outlets in Gettysburg. ( my favorite place, Eddy Bauer, had a sale and my son needed jeans, again….) And after that we thought we might try to see if we could get a parking spot in town. It was the weekend they remember reading the Gettysburg Address and have a parade. We were in luck, we found a great spot to see the parade.
Thousands of people, volunteers, dressed up in the costumes of the Civil War. Groups representing certain divisions of the armies that were fighting in that time. All replica's that could have been made in that time, so well done.
While I really enjoy seeing the re-enactors, I have to say that I am not always so happy with how serious people take this.
Making a little boy salute all those thousands of volunteers since the little kid was dressed up as a little soldier also does make me cringe a bit.
But to each his own I guess. I didn't grow up with the admiration people here have for people who fight wars.
But the parade was fun to watch and we are certainly planning to visit the reenactment of the battle of Gettysburg next year.

See you next time, I'll tell you about the new hobby I started with Paquita and why I am thinking of adopting another pup.

Tomorrow!!!!!!

Is the auction at The Little White Monster and Friends !!!

Please let everyone know, there are some great items to be had, also for non greyhound lovers.
If you are in Europe, you can also bid. To save on shipping I can bring items over to the Netherlands in December and mail it from there!
So let the distance not with hold you from bidding!


Help us help the victims of the cruelty case on the Ebro racetrack in Florida and support the group that tries to rehome all the greyhounds from this track that will no longer race.
GPA EC needs our help, so all greyhounds will find a loving home.

A good start of the day ended up being a great week

Remember my last post in which I told you about winning a camera?
Last Sunday we picked it up, it's cute and I am having fun playing with it.
It is also pretty light, which makes it easier to bring with me on hikes. And yes, you guessed it, I am keeping it.



But some more things happened last week.
First of all it was the end of my sons first marking period at highschool and he got his grades.
All A's!!! I am so proud of him. Hard to believe he has been here for only a year eh? But then, his PSSA results in 8th grade were all in the advanced range.
Very proud Mom here as you probably will understand.


And on Friday I started my first Free Style classes with Paquita which was fun.
It is an introduction class of 4 weeks to doggy dancing and I am amazed about how much she still picks up at age 8. But I always knew she is a smart dog.
The group exists of 10 dogs, but only 8 showed up. I was surprised to find out that most dogs didn't respond friendly to other dogs. Which was something I had hoped for. Paquita loves interacting with other dogs. But no such luck.
It was funny to see how diverse the group was, from a big standard poodle and a pittbull to a yorkie and a bulldog.
At the end of the lesson we got our homework. We have to practice our spins, twirls and weaves.

And than the biggest surprise of the week, Jack decided that I will go home for a few days in December together with my son. It is a shame Jack can't come with us, but he has to work and will take care of all 4 dogs.
When he told me I was hesitant, didn't want to be away for X-mas, but we will be back for New Year. So a tree will be set up before we go and I can have a lot of fun decorating.

As you see, a great week.
Hope the rest of the year will be as positive.

As for this week, I hope it ends really well but it started with a horrible cruelty case at the Ebro racetrack for greyhounds.
I am working on an auction to raise money for the surviving Ebro greyhounds and I got some great donations from Greyhounds in Nood Nederland and May Schnabelreiter from www.halsbanden.com.
Both donated a handmade, leather martingale collar specially made for this auction. Also, Melissa from M.Paige Portraits donates a custom drawn pet portrait and a print of one of her drawings.
And there will be prints and other nice stuff.
The auction is this Sunday, it's just one day from 9 AM to 11 PM eastern time.
So you better be fast.
All information and teasers can be fond the next couple of days on Auction at The Little White Monster and Friends
Check it out.
I am thrilled to do it and hope it will be a success, but I need you guys to bid!

If you want to know more about the reason of this auction, check out these newspaper articles.
But be aware, the story is hard and horrible.

Cruelty case at Ebro racetrack

Trainer arrested after at least 20 greyhounds are found dead