Citizenship Quizz

Recently I met a lady who works for a radio show. It is called 'de buitenkant van Nederland', the outside of the Netherlands. She was telling me about the show, what they call multi cultural, lots of topics concerning immigrants, lots of guests from foreign origin too, and a 'fun quiz' I was told. As in many countries, those who want to get Dutch citizenship need to not only speak fluent Dutch, they also need to pass a test to proof they know enough about our Dutch culture.
Ha, I joked, they have to ring me, I am sure these tests are full of questions most born Dutchies know nothing about. Me and my big mouth....... as sure enough, last Friday night they rang me..........
But, I got all answers right, and today I received my price in the mail. A pair of real Dutch clog slippers!

Doorways

This morning I was going through my collection of photos, and noticed once again how many photos of doorways I have.
This afternoon I was doing a home birth, when I received a text message from a friend; 'is it okay to call you now?'. I told her I was busy, and she answered to get with her when I was done.
A beautiful little girl entered this world, and after all were fed, cleaned and settled I went on my way home.
Sitting in the tram, I noticed a lot of beautiful doorways. I must come back here and take photos of these, I said to myself. And I kept contemplating doorways, watching this baby entering this life, rites of passage, cycles, all the things I find so fascinating about life.
Getting out of the tram, I rang my friend back. She asked me how I was doing and I gave her a brief update but than asked her what was up. Her voice sounded flat. 'I have bad news', she said, 'did you hear about that accident, a car being squashed by a train last Thursday?' No, I had not heard, I don't really keep in touch with the news like that. 'I just learned it was Liesbeth and her dad in that car' she said. 'They are both gone'. I was shocked.....
We shared our shock, isn't life crazy, I just did a birth, my friend just gave birth, and now a third friend passed over.....

Trust Liesbeth to go on Ascension day, with a lot of media coverage and even a little mystery, as it took a little while before they knew how many and whom the victims were due to the severity of this crash.
A beautiful woman has left this world; float freely you wonderful soul!

News flash

Bobby's hearing has been moved, and thus he gets to live at least an other 11 weeks! We continue to be grateful for every day!
No results of his test known yet.

Daniela gave birth to Benjamin Noah Yann early this morning. He is a lovely little man, his mothers beautiful gemstone shiny eyes and for the rest a lot of his dad. He was wide awake all the time I visited them and just curiously looked around at all who wanted to meet him. He's a treasure!

Black and white bird

I am so happy I finally managed to get a photo of this bird! I first noticed this black bird when I came home last December. My brother and myself just stood there, trying to make out what was the matter with this bird. It is a blackbird. But one with white spots. Never seen anything like it. At first we decided that maybe he ran into some other birds droppings. Or maybe even some paint. But I have been seeing this bird in and around my garden ever since now, and his spots have not changed so he must be a black'nwhitebird.
He is not a smart bird though. He, and his ladybird friend build a nest in the garden next to mine. Not in a tree, but in a bush of bamboo. Where things get real rockety of course, especially with the spring winds we have been having here.
Hopefully they will manage to get some little baby birds though and I am curious to see what colour they come out.

Waiting for...............

No, no news yet of Bobby's test. We need to exercise our patience some more it seems.
And I am not the only one waiting. Above is a baby bed I made up today. Not because I was working, but I was visiting my dear friend, who is expecting. They are sooooooo ready for this baby. Would you believe she spent last Christmas putting the baby furniture together? And she is not due for an other 2 weeks? Oh all right, 13 days. Now I am around people who are having a baby all the time. And most of the time I seem to send people out with lists of what they need to get, áfter the baby is born. Or they are still in the middle of moving or renovating. Which is okay, I am so used to improvising and I love the creativity in that.
On the other hand, I really cannot wait to meet the little man who will sleep in this bed either. As much as I am surrounded by babies all the time, it has been a while since a close friend or family member has had one. And knowing that you will watch this child grow up longer than just a few weeks or months is definately special.
So, I am waiting too!