Category Archives: adventure

The Netherlands Part 2: Market Day

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In Holland every town has market day. Vendors set up in the square selling their wares. Wormerveer’s market day is Wednesday. So on my first full day in The Netherlands Brenda

The open air market in Womerveer

and I went grocery shopping!

Brenda at the green grocer

I did notice that Brenda’s fruits and vegetables do not last as long as the veggies and fruits I buy in the States. It makes me wonder what’s in the food I eat.

The cheese vendor

Cheese is a major part of Dutch society. The cheese and potato vendors seemed to be among the busiest booths.

The Potato Vendors

When we finished our shopping for the week Brenda treated me to Freits with Freitsaus (French Fries with a mayonnaissy like sauce on them).

A lady carrying Freits from the Freit vendor.

Walking back from market I got some shots of Brenda’s neighborhood!

the canal behind Brenda’s home.

Brenda’s dream home on the Zaan

A funky car

The church garden next door

Brenda’s box garden before I took shears to it.

Brenda’s box garden after I took shears to it.

In case you are wondering I did make it out of Wormerveer. On Friday we will explore Amsterdam together. Check in tomorrow because PAstor Wrinkles will be back with more chapter charts….

 

The Netherlands Part 1

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Well I am finally back. I am, slowly getting caught up on all my reading of fellow bloggers. I will be responding to all your comments soon. In the meantime, here for your viewing pleasure are pictures of what I have been up to!

Vacation began on June 18th with a flight out of Boston at 9:30 P.M.

By 6:30 A.M. on the 19th ( which I suppose was sometime around 2 A.M. EST) I was arriving in Iceland. This is a place I would just love to explore someday if God permits!By 7:30 I was back in the air heading for Schipol, The Netherlands. I arrived at 1 P.M. after a three-hour flight (I know time change in the air is really confusing).

My sister greeted me with grapes and soda for the train ride to Wormerveer.

We were about an hour on the train and the bus which dropped us off almost on Brenda’s front step. Her home is called “The Young Prince” by the people of Womerveer and is a converted bed and breakfast. That’s it on the right next to the river. Here is what Brenda sees from her front porch every day.

A houseboat across the river.

The city of Wormeveer upon the Zaan River.

Longboat racers practice on the Zaan

Well dear readers, there will be more tomorrow!

Share Your World With Cee Cee Pt. 12

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This weeks questions are really fun! 🙂

  1. What’s my favorite holiday and why?
    My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving because it is celebrated via some of my favorite methods! Lots of eating followed by a required nap. On what other holiday does your family expect you to take a nap?
  2. Do you prefer your food separated or mixed together? Depends on what I am eating; For instance,  jello and gravy are a bad combo (which often happens at church pot-luck when you over fill your plate);That said, I am a big casserole fan so mixed together is my preferred form.
  3. Before making a phone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? If the phone call is really important then I sometimes even make a script. Usually I at least have a planned purpose in calling. I am not a telephone for fun type of guy.
  4. When yo are with your friends. Do your interactions include much touching—for example, hugging, kissing, rough housing, rubbing backs?   Would you like to have more of this? I live in New England, land of the frozen chosen, so touching is seldom encouraged. Rough housing is usually discouraged except on the playing field and rubbing backs is definitely reserved for private settings. But we do hug in church (sideways hugs only unless you’re related) and you can be kissed on the cheek by a lady over sixty.  A firm handshake is usually the order of the day and grasping the hand with both hands is a sign of deep proper affection. I think I am fairly Victorian in my personality so I am OK with this. 😉

Here are some more pictures from Thailand:

The Very Inspiring Blog Award

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     I have been blessed by three of my friends in the blogging community! Drusilla at  http://drusillamott.wordpress.com/

Angela at http://meetingintheclouds.wordpress.com/

And Kate at http://believeanyway.wordpress.com/

have nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. As I accept the award I need to share seven things about myself and nominate seven other bloggers. This is one of my favorite parts of receiving awards!

7 things about me!

1. I have been a Christian for 31 years.

2. I currently pastor in the church where I first dedicated myself to Christ.

3. I am an unabashed fundamentalist the emphasis being on fun! 🙂

4. I am a type B person living in a type A world. So I spend most of my time asking “Is it time for coffee break?” and hearing “Maybe tomorrow.”

5. My personality index is phlegmatic/ choleric. Yes I am conflicted.

6. I have three children all in Bible college.

7. I am a member of C.cada artist’s community

7 inspiring nominees are:

1. http://thewayeverlasting.com/

2. http://onechristiandad.wordpress.com/

3. http://ofdustandkings.com/

4. http://chiefofleast.com/

5. http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com/

6.  http://twominutesofgrace.wordpress.com/

7. http://pbus1.wordpress.com/

Check these writer’s out!

Prague Vicariously Pt. 2

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Here for your viewing pleasure are a few more pictures of my sister’s recent tour of Prague! Brenda is working for missionary Judy Mensch in The Netherlands. Her role as a missionary associate and as a professional director/ stage manager is to build the drama wing of Kidzark&Zo. For more info on  Kidzark& Zo go to: http://www.gonetherlandsag.com/

Thank you for the cross Lord!A beautiful city!Does anyone have the time?ChiaroscuroBeautiful Blue!

Hallowinter?

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It snowed today!

 

I know it probably won’t last.

Still it’s not even Halloween.The leaves aren’t even off the trees! That makes this Hallowinter!

And these aren’t footprints in beach sand.

Hallowinter is a truly frightening time!

To coin an old New England saying “I’m wicked scayad!”

How do you feel about Hallowinter? 

 

Autumn Drive

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A few weeks ago my sister my daughters and I went leaf peeping. I wanted you to be able to peep in with us on God’s glory!

     We started with lunch at the Flipside Grille In Fitzwilliam NH

This is Brenda and Melanie at the Flipside

Afterwards we took a skip over to the town common which was a great place to grab a few family photos and enjoy the colonial feel the town added to the autumn air.

 

 

     We jaunted north into Troy to show the girls the house my grandmother grew up in during World War I.

This is the view from Gram’s childhood front porch.

Mt. Monadnock is beautiful year round but in the fall the air seems to crystallize around her!

The crab apples were ripe!

 I love country roads!

Autumn moonrise!

I hope you enjoyed leaf peeping with us!

Wooosh

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     That’s the sound of me flying in. No I didn’t fall off the face of the Earth. I fell into Jesus. Let me ‘splain. “Falling Into Jesus” was the name of our art community’s autumn show. It went up yesterday and so I have been “arting” since Friday morning at 8 A.M. 

     It took our team most of twelve hours on Friday to defrock the fellowship hall, hang the show, and shop for the opening reception.      Yesterday, show day, my daughter and I were back at it by 9 A.M. I of course had to buy a new white shirt since mine was more of a greyish brown. Then we were back to the church for what my sister likes to call “dits and fratz”.

     By 2 P.M. we were having our artist devotion and 3-8 P.M. was the show. We had about 250 people out I think! It was a great day of art, music and literature!

                                             The work of Gramma Wendy

      The work of Charlotte Dorais

      I feel so guilty about missing yesterday’s post but man the last few days have been a class five cyclone. I am just taking a few minutes to write between services and then I am off to play piano for evening prayer.

     Hopefully tomorrow I can get back on schedule with the writing. I have so much to tell you!… Well time to go!…WOOSH

Autumn Trek Pt.7: Long Journey Home

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      Since seven is the number of completion I end the tale of my autumn trek with this post.

Monday morning I awoke and took breakfast with my son in the dining commons at VFCC. Aftrewards Joe invited me to his Isaiah class. Since I had his professor 23 years ago I thought it would be fun to see how things had changed. Professor Brubaker did not disappoint! I had an awesome time learning about the OAN’s (oracles against the nations). Then my son and I went to chapel together.

     God has brought Psalm 23 to me over and over again for the last three months. Just before I left on my trek an old friend sent me an e-mail detailing a portion of the Psalm. In the chapel service a message in tongues and an interpretation reminded us that “we were not to fear evil because God was with us. His rod and staff would comfort us on the journey!”

     I learned many years ago that there are no coincidences. God is teaching me something through this Psalm.

      As I drove out of the parking lot at Valley Forge Christian College I thought about all the things I learned in my autumn trek:

1. I learned that life is supposed to follow a rhythm a slow, constant, and intentional rhythm.

2. I learned that when you follow the rhythm other people may not appreciate it. It will go against their rushing spirit.

3. I learned that slow, constant, and intentional can make you just as tired as fast, intermittent, and unplanned but that the satisfaction level of slow and constant is far greater.

4. I learned that God is in charge of the schedule. Not me!

     So following the leading of the Spirit I stopped at Valley Forge National Park on my way out of PA for pictures:          The George Washington Chapel

The Chapel Inside

George Washington’s Headquarters

I also made one more stop on the way home in Sleepy Hollow, New York:

 And of course I had to walk out a creepy path which the town calls its public park.

Can you feel the Headless Horseman on this path. Of course only in Sleepy Hollow would a walk in the public park lead you to a cemetery! No kidding!

Needless to say, I didn’t stay very long in Sleepy Hollow. My long journey home ended at eight and by ten P.M. I was in bed getting my Zz’s for staff meeting the next morning.

What did you discover from my autumn trek?