Well it is that time of year again, when we set resolutions that we really have no intentions of keeping. Not wanting to feel left out of the fun I have made a list of my top favourite plans for 2008.

1. Make use of my BlueMountain Cards membership – since they renewed my membership for the year even though I had removed my credit card details, I plan to send as many cards as possible and have already started updating the address book function.

2. Complete all of my assignments without asking for an extension – I also plan to make much better use of the time available to me for completing assignments and not leave them to the last minute as per my usual behaviour.

3. Scrapbook more – now that I have some really great resources and supplies (courtesy of my mum) I have all that I need to make some great books.

4. Turn my digital photos into movie dvds – that way I can watch them when I want and I can share them with all of you.

5. Improve my Dutch – I must, must, must complete Stap 1 and Stap 2 and ideally Stap 3.

6. Visit at least one new country – don’t know where yet but it needs to be somewhere new.

7. Complete the 50 Book Challenge – with the huge supply of books I have in the house this should not be a problem as long as I make the time.

8. Get Christmas and Birthday presents organised early – I did really great with buying gifts this year but posting them was very last minute making it not very much fun so I need to get back into the habit. Also I plan to kick RC’s butt into gear so that his gift purchasing is also completed before Christmas Eve.

9. Keep my blog up-to-date including some lovely pictures and links.

10. Explore more of Holland – with the Netherlands Lonely Planet guide there is plenty to see and do.

11. Organise the basement – hopefully things will then be easy to find

There will be many more of course and I will add them as I remember them but for now this is the start of my list.

A very happy new year to all of you…I hope 2008 brings you all that you desire!!

Happy New Year!

Cloggie In Training

Dear Readers,

Please make sure that you do not miss out on all the new changes that are happening all over the blog not just in the normal post area. Whilst I am also making normal posts I have been adding sections on the right hand side (Cloggie In Training points to the right) and at the bottom (Cloggie In Training points to the bottom).

Enjoy and have a great New Years Eve Celebration!

Cloggie In Training

It is a well known fact that Cloggies the world over enjoy making lists. However by lists I don’t mean your ordinary shopping list but instead comparing lists…

Frequently throughout the year Cloggie newspapers will produce the results of an annual testing event. So far in my time living here I have seen the results for the best (and worst) hospital, tasting cup of coffee, fresh herring and most recently the oliebol. For those of you that have missed out on the Christmas delight of the oliebol let me digress slightly to bring you up to speed on it.

The Dutch oliebol appears towards the beginning of December and resembles a fried, ball shaped doughnut which is often then covered with powder sugar. They come in several different flavours but the most favourite are plain and with currants. They are quite tasty and looking at the legend behind them (see below) I am pleased to say I would have been quite safe from Perchta and her evil spirits:

They are said to have been first eaten by Germanic tribes in the Netherlands during the Yule, the period between December 26 and January 6. The Germanic goddess Perchta, together with evil spirits, would fly through the mid-winter sky. To appease these spirits, food was offered, much of which contained deep-fried dough. It was said Perchta would try to cut open the bellies of all she came across, but because of the fat in the oliebollen, her sword would slide off the body of whoever ate them.

Now that you are up to speed on oliebolen we return to the story of the taste tests….

So basically, several times a year a selection of taste successful Cloggies take to the streets of the Netherlands in search of the best and worst tasting food/drink item they are reviewing. This is quite a detailed sport with specific criteria that they are looking at including temperature, smell, texture and taste and the results as I mentioned are published in the newspaper for all to see.

This year we were disappointed that our local oliebollen seller did not even appear on the list whereas in previous years they had scored well. We do still boast the number three spot for the herring test however…wooohoooo….go Keizerswaard!!!

Cloggie In Training

For more information on the oliebal try these websites:

Oliebol

Typical Dutch Stuff – Oliebol Recipe

As promised here are the photos of Holland turned into a winter wonderland…Enjoy!

Apologies for the bluriness of a couple of them…this was me trying to snap the picture before the irritating kids sliding their bikes on the ice got in the way.

Winter Wonderland Photos

Cloggie In Training

Today as we headed off to see RC’s parents new flat I opened two Christmas cards that had arrived.

The first was a Christmas card from my grandparents back in the States and it put a big grin on my face as I noticed it had been signed by ‘Oma and Opa McFarland’. Oma and opa are the words for grandma and grandpa in Dutch and I had recently sent a card to my grandparents which had a cute picture on the front of a grandma and grandpa with the words ‘oma’ and ‘opa’ underneath so it was nice to see that the Dutch words had been absorbed well.

The second card was from a friend whom I used to work with until recently when she went off in search for a different job. The great thing about the Christmas card was inside it was addressed to ‘Heather and RC’. It put a big grin on both my and RC’s face.

Okay, well maybe it isn’t as exciting as impacting on the lives of others but it’s still pretty fun and exciting! )

Off to watch TV…

Cloggie In Training

The weather here has been cold, cold, cold but that has meant that we did luck out with some snow and frost. Everywhere looks like a miniature winter wonderland. I dragged RC out into the cold yesterday and took some pictures which I hope to upload shortly although the computer doesn’t seem to like the memory card.

Its sunny today so all the pretty snow is likely to melt and go away but at least it was nice while it lasted.

But the even better news is that I am now on Christmas holiday! Sixteen whole days of sleeping in, doing what I want and not having to work….it can’t get much better – well maybe winning the lottery would be nice! )

Off to get some things done and maybe even take a bike ride through the snow covered trees before it all melts.

Cloggie In Training

Yippeeeeeeee!!!

The great news is that Cloggie Central can now be found in the famous search engine: Google

Try it out. So far I have found the site in Google when searching for the any of the following:

• cloggie central
• domino day disaster
• hello marcello
• the frugal dutch
• and loads more…

So lets make Cloggie Central even more popular than it already is….google it, pass it on and spread the news.

I’ll keep you updated on all the places we are read in.

Cloggie In Training

Well the weekend is almost over and what a weekend it has been…

Christmas Shopping

On Saturday I went with a fellow ex-pat to Rotterdam for some Christmas shopping. We met at 10:00 am at V&D and then proceeded to invade as many shops as we could fit in during our four and a half hour spending spree, even sparing some time for lunch. It was a fantastic shopping trip and I had loads of fun. Keeping my eyes open to all things Cloggie-like of course I did notice something that seems to go against the frugal Cloggie sense…gift wrapping!

All shops will ask you if your item(s) are a present or not – ‘Is het een kadotje?’ – which I have learned to answer in the correct way, either ja or nee. They always then seem to ask you ‘Voor de kerst?’ meaning ‘for Christmas?’. At this time of year I can’t figure out what else it might be for especially in light of the fact that Sinterklaas is now over but I always have a desire to say something like ‘no its for Easter’ just to see their reaction.

Providing you have answered in the affirmative they will then proceed to wrap your items free of charge. There are two things I find odd about this:

a. That in a country known for their cheapness they will wrap any and all of the gifts you have. Now sometimes it isn’t great wrapping paper but it is Christmas paper and they do even use ribbon and extra trimmings…all free of charge.

b. They seem to have a great passion in the art of wrapping presents. To the point that whilst they are making bows, curling ribbon and adding artistic designs the rest of the shop begins queuing up behind you. It’s a nice gesture and does make a difference in not having to wrap them later but in the end it becomes too much of a hassle to wait the time it takes.

The Cinema

Today RC and I visited the cinema to see the Bee Movie. This was my third time to the cinema in Holland and it is always a bit nerve-wracking when going as I have heard some really bad things about Cloggie behaviour:

‘They talk through the whole movie’ and ‘They actually cheer at the good parts and boo at the bad ones’ being two such stories. However on all occasions all Cloggies have behaved well, including RC, although the whole family that stood in front of the popcorn station taking ten minutes to decide if they wanted zoet (sweet) or zout (salt) popcorn was a bit of a pain. The movie was fantastic and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes those type of movies.

Kitten Socialization

This evening after having put up the majority of the Christmas decorations I was looking on the Internet for information on local pet pounds. Keen to have some sort of voluntary work where I can practice my Dutch I thought this would be a good place to start. Quite quickly I found an advert for volunteer kitten socialization foster parents. Basically you get to keep a kitten for awhile and socialize them so they are all ready for a new home. Having two cats and loving kittens I thought we would be perfect…however RC disagreed. A further 15 minutes of me asking why and him saying because followed. So far I haven’t been able to convince him so I have spoken to the cats and told them to be on their best behaviour and do everything they can to look super cute. Amelia is doing a good job playing with her toys for most of the night but Anya seems less keen…I shall have to bribe her with some Sheba later.

Hope all of my readers also had a good weekend and are enjoying their holiday preparations.

Cloggie In Training

Yesterday evening the residents of the Tieler and Bommelerwaard area were in for a surprise when a Apache helicopter flew into a high voltage tower causing a lack of electricity for the area. This story has obviously been on all the news stations and has included interviews with local residents to hear of their dinning by candle-light experiences.

The Cloggie reporters then went on to interview other people who had been affected by power outages in previous years (obviously power outages are in fashion in Holland). However the interview took an interesting turn when the reporter began to speak to a lady holding a relatively small child. For the convience of those of you who do not speak Dutch I will roughly translate the interview into English.

Reporter: So you were affected by last years power outages weren’t you?

Lady: Yes, yes we were.

Reporter: And this (pointing to the child) was the result of that lack of electricity?

Lady: (not even slightly shocked by this) Yes, yes she was.

Reporter: Do you have any advice for those experiencing it now?

Lady: Yes, go to bed ontime.

So yes, there you have it. Another prime example of how the Dutch have no qualms about discussing their sex life and other such private matters with the general public…only in the Netherlands!!

Cloggie In Training