Pack 'Em Up And Ship 'Em Out

 Day One:  If I had to sum up our Belgian Movers in one word, it would have to be... IMPRESSIVE!  Of all our moves, this one seems to be the best by far.  They arrived early in the morning and seriously jobbed out.   They boxed up the entire first floor and a lot of the second before the kids even got out of school!  These guys are some packing machines.  And they have a great sense of humor.  I love what they did with our Grandfather clock.  The weather was so nice that they used their lunch hour to get some much needed sun in the backyard.  I don't blame them. It was a beautiful day!   

 Day Two:  The movers arrived bright and early once again and finished packing up the house.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature had some tricks up her sleeve.  Typical of the weather here, it quickly went from comfy to cold, sunny to cloudy, and then... it hailed.  A lot.  They were anywhere from pea size to marble size.  Then as quickly as it started, it stopped.  Of all the things here that I will miss, crazy weather is not one of them.  Sorry Belgie!

Day Three:  All of our belongings were quickly loaded up into crates and carted off.  There is nothing left but a few borrowed beds and a loaner couch.  It's kind of sad, but it's also very exciting.  It won't be long until we get to follow them back to the great US of A!  Until then, we sit in our chilly, echoing cavern of a house and wait.  And Russ dreams of the day he will see his baby (Harley) once again.  Provided, of course, that it doesn't become a man made reef at the bottom of the big blue sea.  Heh heh heh.  That will serve him right for saying that's what happened to my van a couple of weeks ago. ;0)

Find A Little Happiness In Every Day

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”   ― Albert Einstein

“You're off to Great Places!  Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting, So... get on your way!” 

― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Pottery Class...Part Deux



Here they are.  My babies from my second round of Pottery Class are glazed, fired, and finally home.  I couldn't be more proud of them.  I tried to go more for quality than quantity this time, and I think I did pretty well.  I'm sure that most people try to master one thing, but I was all over the place with my creations.

This is my strawberry colander, and it's my pride and joy. I can't wait to try it out!  I swiped the idea from Kimberly.  She made one first, and the second I saw it, I knew I had to try it.   



Here are my candle holder, small vase, and plant holder.  The candle holder was sort of an experiment, and I almost trashed it.  (We call it "killing the baby" in class.)  After seeing it glazed, it's turned into one of my favorites. 

 These... are my butter bells.  Poor Danny didn't know what to make of these, but he was very patient and encouraging while I created them.  After I made the one on the right, Sarah told me that it looked like a mushroom.  I added the polka dots, and now it's a work of art.  I can't wait to display it on my kitchen counter!

And last, but not least, I made two more pitchers (pottery code for I can't seem to get the top even) and a coffee mug.  After seeing my last post, I'm sure you're asking yourself why on earth I would need another mug. Each week during class, we would stop half way through and take a coffee break.  Danny would set up a table for us (inside the shop if it was raining, or outside in the sun filled yard if it was not) and serve us fresh coffee and treats while we talked.   And we talked a lot.  We discussed everything from the differences of living in Belgium versus America, food, travel, television, and just about everything you can imagine.   And we laughed.  A lot.   During these breaks, we drank coffee out of mugs that Danny had made inside his shop.  I decided that I wanted to try to make a mug that looked like his, so I would always remember these fantastic days that I spent here.  These are some of the happiest memories that I have made in Belgium.  These are the things that I will miss the most when I leave. 

Hoarders Anonymous

 Did you ever have one of those dreams where you turned into one of those crazy people on that show about hoarders?  You know, those people who keep or collect things that they couldn't possibly really use or need?  And as soon as you try to get them to let go of their stuff, they turn into growling, angry animals who would do whatever it took to protect their precious collections?  

Nope.  Me neither. 

The Tutu Project... Make A Difference

While trolling along the internet, I came across this site called the Tutu Project... and it really got my attention.  I mean, the man is wearing a tutu.  Of course it got my attention, right?  I do love a good sense of humor.  Turns out that it's not only entertaining, but it has a great purpose behind it.  Bob Carey takes self portraits in interesting locations (while wearing a pink tutu), and then gives them to people in return for donations for breast cancer.  It just doesn't get any greater than that, does it?  It's a project that is very important to him, because his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Head on over and check out his website.  He's got a Facebook page as well.  A $500 donation will get you a limited edition print of one of his tutu scenes and a signed book of all of his pictures. If your budget is tighter (whose isn't these days?), you can pick up a t-shirt instead.  His book is going to be released in the Fall, so be sure to pick up a copy.  Like I said, all proceeds go to breast cancer organizations.   

(Photo belongs to Tutu Project, copies available through their website.)

Moving

We don't have much longer is lovely Belgium. In fact, my van ships out in less than two weeks. My furniture leaves a couple of weeks after that. This is the part that makes me nervous. Our lives are boxed up and loaded onto a boat, sailing out across that big big ocean. I feel like I'm holding my breath until it arrives at the other side. I sat down and had a little chat about it with my van the other day. She's very excited to be going back home again. "Wide roads with room for two vehicles to pass without pulling off onto the shoulder?" she asked. "And parking spaces big enough for even me?" You bet, I told her. She practically bounced out of the driveway. Yep. She's excited. Russ and I will drop her off with a pat on the hood and a couple of dramamine in the fuel tank (she gets seasick, don't judge), and she'll be on her merry way. Pretty soon after that, we'll be joining her. Hmmmm. It might be time to start thinking about names for my new blog. Beachy Barb doesn't quite have the same ring to it. Russ tells me that Barb's A Beach probably isn't the best choice as well.

Brussels For Lunch

Can you imagine a prettier place to go for lunch with friends? Me neither. These are the things that I will miss most when we move away. Train rides, laughter, and lots of amazing historical sites to admire. I won't even mention the delicious Belgian waffles we had for lunch. OK, maybe I will. YUM!

I won't, on the other hand, miss some of the costumes Mr. Mennekin-Pis sports. This one had a lot of people shaking their heads and rolling their eyes. I can't say that I blame them one bit.