Chronicles Continued

The rules include:
No food and/or Drink; No feet on the seat. Was wondering why the tram interiors are so clean and tidy when there are no trash baskets. How this is controlled: one may only board the tram via two entrances. One entrance at the front is next to the driving conductor, the other is the main door in the middle of the cars where a ticket seller and information conductor sits. If one boards with drink or food open, one is asked to step out again.

OlieBolen. These are Oliebollen. They are the donut-like-dough eaten on New Year’s Eve along with a couple of apple treats.

Poffertjes are these round little pancakes sloshed with butter and powdered sugar; eaten all year round. You can stop at a ‘tent’ in the summer and order up a portion.

Or easily make them stove top at home in this special wrought iron pan.

The report on these, slipped between the days of the Old Year morphing into New. These fried dough balls covered in powder sugar are traditionally served New Year’s Eve.
One can buy them the entire month of December at various dedicated-to-poffertjes-food carts. Choose between with currents [small tight raisins], or not. They are often made at home New Year’s Eve day. I asked how that worked because the house will smell of grease for the rest of the celebration party. “Oh, we set up a burner in the garden and make them there in a fryer”. But of course.

Out of the Bag!

Bought a box of wash treatment to better-a-sweater. The instructions: open the box, then open the bag, add the contents of the bag, the powder, to the washing machine with sweater. Wash for an hour long program. When finished, your sweater will look like new. The amazing part of this treatment was the page of instructions; 27 languages listed to explain the process: WasAdvis, Conseils de Lavage, Ratschage Fur Die Wasche*, Consigli per il Bucato, Consejos para el Lavado, Porady Dotyczace Prania*, Sfaturi Priivind Spalarea*, Savjeti za Pranje, Tipy na Pranie, Pokny pro Prani*, Nasveti za Perilo, Saveti za Pranj, Mosasi Tippek*, Tvattrad*, Pesuvinkit, Vasketips,-2x different languages followed- Pesemisjuhised, -Russian-no keyboard to write*-, CbBetn 3a Npahe*, Skalbimo Patarimai, Mazgasanas Ieteikumi*. There you have it. Pick your fluency.

*keyboard deficiency to use proper letter/accents/or marks.

Had to sneak in a picture, it is such a happy plant.

A small museum inspired by a couple’s hobby of collecting purses and bags.

Knitting with beads to create an evening bag.

Thank you E for putting me onto this….

This is a ceremony dating back to the 1600s and derived from Africa. Dating back to slave days, jumping the broom together has been part of weddings for couples who want to honor that tradition. It also has roots in the Celtic culture and including but not limited to Welsh, Celtics, Druids, and Gypsies and some aboriginal or shamanistic cultures. 

Some couples choose to incorporate it into traditional and non-traditional ceremonies. Broom jumping is a brief ceremony usually within the wedding ceremony toward the end. The jumping of the broom is symbolic of binding a couple in marriage and also can be used to symbolize fertility and prosperity of the couple.

The broom has both symbolic and spiritual importance in the African culture. The ritual itself was created by our ancestors during slavery. Because slaves could not legally marry, they created their own rituals to honor their unions. Some say broom jumping comes from an African tribal marriage ritual of placing sticks on the ground representing the couple’s new home. *

*celebrateintimateweddings.com

At the floral shop one of my favorite potted plants suddenly appeared: Baby Tears [Soleirolia soleirolii] or in Dutch “Luck-in-the-Bedroom”, [If you Google the name you find a couple of other cultures have given it some not-so-complimentary names.] I was excited to see it; however It was gussied up for Valentines Day. Stuck into the soil was a small red plush heart, a tiny bouquet of pink plastic flowers plus a small Witches-like broom!. I asked the florist about the inclusion of “the Broom’. She had no idea. I said maybe it was the message, “I love you, even though you are a witch? Rhymes with Witch? I removed the extras and left them on the counter. Three weeks later they are still selling the decorated plants with decorations but for a higher price.

It’s a Book Store: De Slegte. It was in business a long time ago and then it wasn’t. A terrific reunion to find it again in business after all these years. Browsed only the ground floor. The check-out clerk asked if I had gone upstairs. Replied I can only afford one-floor-a-visit. Having joined a book club this is a necessary find.

Years ago, if you were an author this was the last bookstore in town in which you hoped to see your book. The reason? The publisher had discarded all unsold copies