Our kids are getting older and I enjoy every developmental step in their lives. Our oldest is going to college next fall. They are all doing their own thing. Questions arise….do they know enough to be on their own, do they know what to do in an emergency, did we teach them enough? Social skills,… Read More Fun Family activities to do with teenagers
Okay, maybe I’m a little biased here, because I was born and raised in the Netherlands and I did have a year pass when I was 4 years old to the theme park or amusement park called ”de Efteling”. I’ve lived in the USA now for 16 years and we’ve visited several other amusement parks… Read More Why I think ”de Efteling” is the best amusement park in the world.
This is something totally unbelievable. I was shocked!!! I Thought I knew a few things about Anne Frank. You know, being Dutch I’ve read her book (diary), watched some movies, learned a few things in school. But this totally blew my mind! Plus the fact that I’m Dutch AND I’m only 45 minutes away from… Read More What is the link between Anne Frank and Iowa?
It is the end of February. In Limburg, the south of the Netherlands, we celebrate Carnaval. Some people know it as “Carnival” in Brazil or “Mardi Gras” in New Orleans. During these festivities, in the Netherlands we eat some specific foods. On Ash Wednesday there are several ways we eat herring (raw or in a… Read More What are ”Nonnevotten”? How to make them at home for Carnaval.
It was Christmas Eve in 2021. The forecast said it would 64F (18 C), which I had never experienced before. Would it be too crazy to have a Christmas Eve barbecue in the middle of winter in the middle of Iowa? We’ve never done that before (never lived in the Southern Hemisphere to celebrate Christmas… Read More How to make S’mores even better.
One of the things I miss from the Netherlands are some kinds of sweets. I don’t have a sweet tooth at all, but sometimes I do remember candy which I haven’t had for a long time. Especially when I went back to the Netherlands 2 months ago. My mom bought some old fashion candy and… Read More My kids tried Dutch Candy. What did they think?
At my work the other day, our subject was about our 2018 Trip to Amsterdam. We talked mainly about food, but many sentences contained the words “tiny” and “cute”. I have never looked at my home country that way. What is it that the Netherlands is often labeled as tiny and cute? Okay, yes, true,… Read More The Netherlands: tiny and cute in so many ways!
Last week I found a Pinterest board with 1980’s Dutch things on it, from movies, to sweets, toys and home gadgets. One of the things was a small wooden puppet or a wooden toad stool (in English called a knitting Nancy) for spool knitting or “French” knitting. I always thought it was a typical Dutch… Read More Do you remember these Dutch Crafts from school?
Last week I found a Pinterest board with 1980’s Dutch things on it, from movies, to sweets, toys and home gadgets. One of the things were marbles (“knikkers” in Dutch). I use them for the kids to run through a maze, but I had actually forgotten what we used to play with these marbles. More… Read More Remember these typical Dutch games from school?
When I ask people here in the USA what typical Dutch things are, they normally think of tulips, famous painters, mills, how nice people are, how beautiful Amsterdam is, wooden shoes and smoking pot. And sometimes they will say cheese. The Netherlands is one of the most important export countries to ship Dutch dairy products.… Read More What are typical Dutch Dairy products and how to make them at home?
