Tag Archives: living in Maine

Avoiding making rookie mistakes this winter storm

Being a Maine-igrant I have made many rookie mistakes. Like arriving at a party at 6, when the invite says: 6-8. Six in Maine means six-ish and unless you don’t mind that awkward situation when the hostess is still in the shower and the husband is watching TV and there are no other cars in […]

How the Dutch can be second when America comes first

It has been quite a month (or three). I’ve learned to recognize myself as a ‘slow processor’ and now finally dare to say to people: “Sorry, can I get back to you? I need to think that over.” For the past few weeks I have written many half-finished stories, blogs and articles and nothing got […]

Dare to be proud

Recently I read a blog from a friend in the Netherlands, in which he admitted to be proud of himself. It got me thinking. I think here in the US people easier admit to be proud than in the Netherlands. There is an expression in Dutch that literally translates as: “Act normal, that’s crazy enough.” […]

Are the Elections, stomach bugs and organizing frenzy related?

An unexpected stomach bug came to visit me two days after the announcement of the unexpected new President of the United States. I don’t know if and how the two are related, I just know that on Veteran’s Day I spent my entire day and night alternating between sleeping and puking. On Saturday I felt […]

And today? Today I just sat.

It was a regular Wednesday in the third week of school. Slowly, but surely, we all got into our normal routine and in the rhythm of the ‘normal’ week. Husband went to work like usual, kids went to school, and their afterschool activities as piano, Robotics, soccer, cross country and fencing. And I? I make […]

Line drying laundry as an easy way to reflect

I pride myself in being ‘earth conscious’: having solar panels, and energy efficient appliances, doing composting and recycling, and during the summer I line-dry most of my laundry. There is something deeply satisfying about doing laundry that way: I plan it in the morning, so the laundry has all day to dry. That first morning […]