Days Between...

The days between Christmas and New Years are always a blur... they go by all too quickly, and yet each day is so long, and I savor the time of doing nothing... and while I can remember the date of the day, for some reason I lose track of which day of the week it is. I chalk this up to just total relaxation! We watch a lot of movies, and I usually read a lot of books which I never finish (either because I get bored with them quickly, or because by the time I'm in Chapter 3 I already know what the rest is about). It's also a time to take the dog on some leisurely walks...

... a few days ago we had our first real snow, and it too, caused the world to stand still for a few hours...

...I love those few days between as they help me to renew my strength to tackle all those things waiting for me in the new year. Happy New Year and Best Wishes for a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2013!

2012 Holidays

The Bishop family in Delaware wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year in 2013! From left: Michael, Johanna, Liesbeth, Ed, Sophia, and Phillip.

New Faucet

Some Christmas present create new work projects... with the best of intentions, the kids gave us a new kitchen faucet. Love the design of the faucet! It's very 21st century but we have a very 1980's decrepit kitchen... the intention is to redo it...someday... when I have time to devote to a serious remodel. The old faucet was duct-taped together, so any new faucet would be a great improvement!

Somehow, under-the-sink kitchen cabinets wind up collecting a lot of stuff, which you don't really realize is there anymore until you have to work under there! Of course, it took many bosses to take out the old faucet...

...and with no lack of respect for my guys, it was Sophia who finally solved the problem of removing the old faucet, which, according to the guys, wouldn't be off for a couple of days because we needed a new wrench (or something strong enough to remove the old one). This new MOEN faucet is a beauty... and I have to say a welcome improvement over what was there before! Now if I could just finish my dissertation so we could move on to that kitchen remodel... For right now, the new faucet will will be a welcome change to the duct-taped older model that was starting to spritz water from the seams! Thanks kids!

2012 Christmas Greetings

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Americans do Christmas almost as well as the Germans do. Christmas is visible everywhere... from wreaths on the door to festive open house events in historic towns everywhere.

Christmas is more than a day, it is a season beginning with Thanksgiving and ending on New Years... or at our house, until the day after my birthday (also known as the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6). It truly is a season of goodwill as many groups and organizations do a lot of charitable giving at this time of year. This is a season of reflection as we cherish our blessings and think about the future. I am thankful for my family and friends... and cherish our relationships! WISHING EVERYONE GOOD HEALTH, HAPPINESS, and PEACE OF MIND... and a very happy and prosperous 2013!

Anniversary Dinner 2012

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary, and as usual, we celebrate it by going out to dinner as a family. Every year our children remind us that we are unusual because in their circle of friends, there aren’t many parents who have been married as long as we have. When you think about it, it is amazing that we got married at all… given that my father rear-ended Ed’s Datsun 280Z on the way to church. It was a snowy wintry evening and ice, covered with snow, had covered most intersections. As Ed and I slowly came to a stop, he looked in his rear-view mirror and said “Oh sh--, here comes your Dad!” followed by a crash. Just so you can appreciate the car, here we are with Ed's well-loved Datsun... many years ago!

...and just to do homage to our days of being young, in love, and feeling oh so cool, here I am with the famous Datsun...

So I guess you could say that our marriage started with a bang! Quite unorthodox to be sure, but then that’s us…unorthodox people, just a bit out of the ordinary, who after so many years of marriage are still married! Each year we celebrate our anniversary by going out to dinner, with as many children home and available to join in. Of course, they're now all grown, but here they are when they were little...

So this is how I will remember our 2012 anniversary dinner…..conversation revolved around whether or not it was proper to use the modifier “very” in front the of the word “unique.” Opinions at the table were split almost 50-50 as one side argued for and the other against. My position (as a former English teacher) and that of Sophia’s friend Monique, was that “very” is a redundant word and should be eliminated from one’s vocabulary… but the other side saw different shades of unique, whereas I see “unique” as “unique” and not in need of “very.” It’s amazing how long this conversation went on through dinner, and before I knew it my kids were talking (again) about how they had summer projects to work on during summer vacations, and how for years (in their terms although I only remember is as being one summer) they had to study Indonesia. The way Phil and Lili spoke about this summer project makes it sound like punishment, when in reality they simply learned about different countries in the world. When they were little I had hung up a map of the world on the laundry room wall and all through the summer we talked about where different countries existed and where they could be seen on the map. Somehow this then led to discussions of Sophia’s 3rd grade cultural day project, of which she reminded me that she had chosen France to study and brought to school a model of the guillotine which she claims we made together with moveable parts. I confess that I had forgotten about that until she reminded me about it… but I can’t for the life of me remember why we chose to make a model of the guillotine as a 3rd grade school project! Conversations move quickly at the Bishop dinner table… and it makes my head spin just to keep up. Yes, my kids are opinionated about a lot of things… but I’m glad they have opinions, are able to reason well and, not afraid to speak up! While my Dad may have provided the bang to our wedding, it’s our kids who have provided the zest to the family!

Doing Christmas Cards

I have to admit that I'm known for skipping sending Christmas cards because some years it seems like a chore... but this year is different. I was inspired in Holland where I bought some Dutch Christmas cards to send out to American friends and family.

Of course, then I also needed to get American Christmas cards to send out to Dutch friends and family! I settled for Unicef cards figuring they'd also do some good for children somewhere.

When I do send out Christmas cards I also like to get out my stamps and decorate the envelopes. It may seem so silly, but I just love doing this! It always reminds me of my childhood in Holland where one year I received a stamping set from Sinterklaas. They were alphabet stamps, along with a few farm animals.

Guess some things from childhood always stay with us... like some children may remember a favorite toy or truck, I remember those stamps. This year I'm having fun sending Christmas cards!

Christmas Tree 2012

It's done, it's done, it's done! Alleluja!

Busy Week: Holland & Jessup's Tavern

This is what people ususally think of when anyone mentions Holland. I love this quaint part of Holland, and during my recent trip with my sister, we enjoyed much of Holland's history and old architecture. We arrived just a few days before St. Nicholas, as we know him, Sinterklaas day, and everywhere we went there were many "Zwarte Pieten." They are St. Nicholas' helpers and can be seen everywhere collecting money for the needy as well as handing out candy (pepernoten) to children who have been good.

Zwarte Piet is also known to capture bad little boys and girls and take them away in his sack... and when we were children we lived in as much fear of Zwarte Piet as we did relish the capture of the pepernoten he would throw about everywhere. It wasn't uncommon to be visiting an aunt or uncle, and have just Zwarte Piet's white gloved hand appear through the door throwing pepernoten our way, with a stern warning from our elders to be good, or else! It's a wonder that we all grew up fairly normal and well-adjusted. Both aunties from my mother's side had birthdays within days of each other, so naturally this was a warm family get-together. We also had a wonderful evening with my father's side of the family, as we visited with aunt, uncles, and cousins galore!

One afternoon we took the train to The Hague, and visited the Queen's throne room and the houses of parliament.

On my sister's "to-do" list was to eat croquetten, which we enjoyed one afternoon during a cousins outing in Rotterdam. We also saw the 1000 Years of Rotterdam exhibit in the Schieland Huis museum...

...and it was well worth the visit! It was there that I learned that Rotterdammers build their first dikes on the early 1300's... amazing!!! Our cousin then took us shopping in Middleburg, a small medieval town in the south of Holland...

and then to Zeeland, where she lives, and we enjoyed the one dry, sunny day of the week taking a dune walk along the North Sea...

...and then coffee and grocery shopping in the very small town of Haamstede... complete with a small castle!

We did see much more during this trip then we had planned, and it was fun, and gezellig, being with family again!

On Sunday we experienced lunch at Hotel New York in Rotterdam, where we enjoyed this great plate of oysters. Let me go on record to say that oysters from the North Sea do taste differently from oysters from the Chesapeake Bay.

Tuesday it was back to work, and every day since then it's been festive with lunch and dinner outings with my colleagues on the ethics commission and colleagues from work. Thus I was at Jessup's Tavern in Old New Castle twice this week. It's by far and away one of my favorite places.

The ambiance there is always great, and since the weather has been cold, the fireplace inside, even the fake one, just adds a warm feeling. Now it's on to finishing schoolwork and getting ready for Christmas!