Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

Ready for the woods! My neighbor asked me if I had someone to clean my windows.  I wondered if that was a hint.  I cleaned them in 2 rooms and then went for a bike ride.  It was a good morning. A German friend, Evie, who married an American and then lived in the US for seven years was telling another German friend, Steph, if she’d heard of “German Chocolate Cake.”  “What?!”  Steph looked bewildered.  Evie explained: “It is a chocolate sponge cake.  You know how American cakes always have an icing on them?  Well this icing is a mixture of pecans and coconut.”  Stephanie looked disgusted.  I guess it would be like telling a Frenchman about “French Toast.” Zooming! He was so excited about it that he rode it in the rain. Henry got a new bike.  We were fortunate to buy it second hand from a Kindergarten friend who noticed that his was rather small.  So now 3 of the four of us are zooming around on German bikes.  His is co...

Quote by Goethe in the Keukenhof Thursday morning we took the tram to the Van Gogh museum.  Elisabeth chose to do a treasure hunt offered by the museum.  She was busy searching paintings to answer questions, and writing about which were her favorites.  John and I shared an audio tour, passing the headphones back and forth while we kept our eyes on the kids in the ever thickening crowd.  Henry was listening to a children’s audio tour that was for ages 6-12.  It was a bit beyond him, but it kept his interest.  By the way, in The Netherlands they pronounce Gogh like “Goch,” the ch being a sort of guttural sound. I have always enjoyed Van Gogh’s paintings, but never thought much of the artist himself.  I knew there was some crazy story about him cutting off his ear, and that did not endear me to him.  In my mind I chalked him up as another artist with problems.  When I read the introduction to his self portrait I read for the first time that...

Time for Sun Hats! Last night we changed the clocks and sprung forward.  Tonight I am realizing that we truly are in the northern latitudes and we will have a lot of light nights!  It is 7:55 and the sky is blue, though slowly darkening.  The sun set just 10 minutes ago.   It doesn’t seem like very long ago that I was writing about the darkness that fell so rapidly, so that Elisabeth was home from school for less than an hour and it would be getting dark.  In January we walked together to her piano lessons at at 5:20 it was already dark.  Now here we are 2 1/2 months later and I am thinking perhaps I should’ve gotten the special darkening shades for the kids’ rooms, and perhaps even for my room.  Because after all, it is only March, and we’ve got til June before the days start getting shorter.  While I may sound a bit anxious about the sleeping part (oh, there goes Henry again, coming out of his room) I am overjoyed by the sunshine and look ...