A walk in the neighborhood

We finally have internet and cable at our house.  It has made a world of difference in my mood.
Baby Girl and I had orientation at her school this morning.  She is still there as the new high schoolers meet teachers, find classrooms, eat lunch, etc.  She should be home in about 2 hours.   I think the school is doing a great job helping newcomers be at ease.

Hubby and I took the dog for a walk around the neighborhood recently, and here are a few things we spied.

These are recycling bins for clear glass
and colored glass.

We think this is clothing drop off, next to the
glass recycling.

A house with a thatched roof in
our neighborhood,

Yes, that is a windmill.  On the back side of our
neighborhood is farm land and in the distance you
can see this windmill.  I like walking past it.

A Little Update

I haven't been on the internet much this last week.  I thought while Hubby was back in the US getting our son moved into the dorm, I should unpack and get things more settled feeling.  Mostly I am done, odds and ends to find a place for and more things need to get hung up on the walls.

We had a couple of really hot days, in the mid 90's and for the most part it wasn't terrible in a house without air conditioning.  Luckily, it only lasted 2 days.

Entrance to the park we went to,

Bungee jumping on the trampoline.

Anna and I met a couple of other moms and their children who will be attending the same school with Anna.  They are very friendly and welcoming and we had a picnic at a beautiful park in a neighboring town.  They have young children, so Anna goes between the adult women and the kids.  She finds the adults boring as all we talked about was local grocery stores and cleaning products.

The search for vanilla extract is over.
I found this in the British grocery store in
Waterloo.  This little bottle must have flown
over first class by the priced I paid.

Brownies and Church

I made Brownies from a mix I picked up at Carrefour...Mrs. Oekter brand.

I was concerned about baking in my oven because, there is not a heating coil in the bottom of the oven the way I was used to.

Hubby and Number 1 son left yesterday. Time to get the boy moved into the dorm.  Baby Girl and I headed out to church and went to an English speaking Mass.

No coil at the bottom, but it heats up fine.

The finished product

The directions were in Dutch and French, but luckily enough
pictures with them that I could figure it out.  They were ok.

St. Ann's in Uccle Belgium.  Built in 1912.

Appliances...

I have hinted to some of you my frustrations with the appliances in the house.  They are all in good working order, I just don't have much of clue as how to set them.  The first few days, the washer was taking over 2 hours to do a load.  I adjusted the temp, and it is closer to an hour and half now to wash.

First step...I don't prewash or exrta rinse

I go with 30 degrees, figuring it uses the least energy

This the one that drives me crazy.  The orange
line spins around and makes a ticking sound.
Sometimes it buzzes, I haven't figured out the reason
for the spinning or the buzzing at the beginning of
drying and it is not consistent.  

This the dryer.  Left in on/off, Right is open the door.

I press number 2, sometimes add 7 for the extra 15 minutes.

Amsterdam...part 2

After the Van Gogh museum, we ate at Hard Rock Cafe.  It was really good.  Later, Baby Girl and I just wanted dessert so we stopped into a bakery for coffee and a treat.

That was my BIG Cappuccino and little lemon
tart.  Usually the cappuccinos are tiny.
I didn't drink it all, I was afraid I would be awake for days.

The royal Palace

We headed back to Waterloo Tuesday morning after we saw the Square.  

The "New" Church.  It was built in 1450.  The Old Church was
built in 1250.

Amsterdam...part 1

Sunday I drove the kids to Amsterdam.  It really was a nice drive...not terribly crowded roadways and it was very scenic.  Then we got to Amsterdam...Saturday had been the GayPride Parade and there was so many people walking along the streets and trash filled sidewalks.  We found the parking lot I meant to get to, but then things were not great.  I have no sense of direction, and we actually went north out of the parking garage instead of south to walk the several blocks to our hotel.  The GPS on my phone wouldn't work and no one else had service either.

The line waiting to get into the Museum.

We did find the hotel, after having to ask strangers two different times, which I have no problem with.  It was just so frustrating to be lost, in a very strange feeling city.  We weren't in the red light district, but still plenty of sex shops, bars and marijuana coffee houses, so it was uncomfortable for me and the kids.
 Monday we went to the Van Gogh Museum and on a Canal Cruise.  It was good!

Canal as we are walking to  the Van Gogh

The building in the back is the Riks.  We didn't go into
this one to see the Night Watch...saw that in 1985.

This is our hotel from the Canal Cruise.  The two windows
on the left behind the street light are mine and
Baby Girls room.

People live in house boats along some of
the waterways.

I am Jealous of my son...

A little inconvenient

We are in our house, but we will not have our CableTV/Internet/Landline telephone until August 25.  We have phones with 3G, but they do not offer unlimited data here,   We have  blown through most of our monthes allotment in 5 days.  So Baby Girl and I are sitting in a cafe with coffees to use their free wifi.  I can see us doing this daily!

A busy couple of days

getting help stomping down packing
paper

its good to see familiar  things

More boxes

We are slowly but surely settling in.  The truck came early Monday morning and unloaded everything.  The guys were great, and put beds together before they left.  We unpacked most of the boxes by Monday evening, because the movers came back on Tuesday and hauled away boxes and paper.  We didn't want to have to worry with the recycling.  Things are slowly finding a place to live.  And honestly, it has gone smoother than I thought.  Yesterday, Hubby, Baby Girl and I went to the Commune to be the process of registering to live in the city.  Today a police man came to our house to look at passports and to be sure we were living where we said we would be.  Nice enough man, I just don't know any French.

Lots of boxes!

Baby Girl and I also put Number one Son on the high speed train to Paris this morning from Brussels.  He is meeting a high school buddy there, and then they are both coming back to Waterloo Friday.  I have to say I am proud of myself maneuvering through the Brussels train station, and finding our way back to Waterloo.