Winter Returns

Well, seems that Spring isn't quite here yet. The sun has been shining, but it is getting cold! They are even thinking about pulling the dusty ice skates off the shelf. We got some new bikes for the girls, with training wheels, but we can't go far because their mittens are too thin!

I feel ready for spring break this coming week. I wrapped up a few things at school that needed to be done. Shockingly though, our team leader got fired. I thought she was great, but apparently there were a few problems that I didn't know about. A lot of people objected to the 'American' way it was done - she had to pack up her things right after hearing the verdict. The mood at school afterwards was as if someone had died. True enough, this job was her life, and she did most of it really well.

Naomi is thinking about taking a break from her work entirely. We will just have to see how she feels after the holiday, as a lot of teachers feel the same way right now...

I finished constructing the big, heavy coffee table for our Turkish friends. It is a real challenge, and I hear it cracking from time to time as it adjusts to the atmosphere in our house as opposed to the workshop. Makes me nervous. Luckily no broken bones so far, but almost. I partially dropped it when trying to move it. Broke my sawhorses and put a few big holes in the floor. Table was fine, of course. A couple fingers got crunched though. Good thing the floor is soft. Also nice that he was really happy with how it turned out! Now it just needs to be oiled and transported...

Our Neighborhood Nazi

We had a rather unexpected encounter on Wednesday after we were finishing up with our grocery shopping. Naomi was finishing up with buckling Amélie into the car, and a driver pulled up in a little white van honking his horn and revving his engine - he wanted to park next to our car. I was heading to the gym, but I just motioned to him to slow down. When he got out, he told me to stop being so aggressive, so I yelled at him in English.

Naomi was backing out at this point, but listening with the window open. At this point, this guy was brandishing a spray bottle and spouting off some nationalist rhetoric about how I was a dirty foreigner and how I had to go home because foreigners are the source of all the country's problems. At this point Naomi got mad and started yelling at him too.

He then clicked his heels together, straightened his back, raised his right arm, and shouted 'Heil Hitler' in the Aldi parking lot. It became rather surreal, like I was watching a movie. He continued to rant about how he was going to track us down and come to our house. I figured it would be a good idea to get a picture of him and his license plate, so I did, and he came after me with his deadly spray bottle, shouting about how he would spray me in the eyes. Time to go.

I reported the incident to the police, and in their overworked fashion, said we had two options: do nothing or make the guy pay a fine. They said it wasn't smart to do the fine as the nutcase would then be more likely to show up at our house. Hopefully we can just get a police officer to go talk with the guy. Seems like the best option at this point...

The girls had lots of questions about it afterward, and Amélie kept asking if the man would have to sit on the naughty bench. What a cutie!

Full House

It was nice to see Claire and Tung again, they really lucked out with some sunny weather! The visit was too taxing on our family. The girls had trouble sleeping (so we did too) and now I am sick. Naomi is not doing well. Hopefully this weekend will provide enough recovery time...at least the house is mostly cleaned up.

On Friday they celebrated carnival at daycare. When we walked in, there was really loud music and lots of strange people in costumes. Instant tears. I brought the girls to the baby group where they could play for the day. Nice that that was possible, otherwise I would have just had to bring them home. Not sure how such a sensory overload is good for two and three year olds...

I have been busy making a table out of my new santos mahogany floor. It is quite a challenge. I can't use wood bits - they just smoke and screech. Only metal ones work. The edges are so sharp that I have already cut myself a couple times, and just the top is so big and heavy that I can't lift it. The joints are also not gluing up well as it is an oily wood, but the design is starting to shape up and the wood is really pretty. I hope it turns out...

Gluing up the top.

Face paint for daycare.

Amélie giving Tung a shave.

Abigail cuddling with Claire.

Sad goodbye!

The bottom of the top.

Februar...ugh

It is now my least favorite month of the year. The cold and darkness have really gotten old by now. There are basically two good things about this month: it is the shortest one, and the days are getting noticeably longer!

School is rather busy as I need to work on weekends. Yesterday was the open day - a mild form of torture for me. It would have been much more manageable had I brought a lunch, but 5 hours of endless parents and kids with no food is not much fun. Apparently there is also a Sunday coming up that I need to work. Sunday?!

We also have some guests this week, which is usually fun, but Naomi and I are both a bit too dragged down to enjoy much of it. She is really busy with finishing up her backlog of grading and lots of therapy stuff. I have a lot going on with both jobs. The twins have to deal with some grumpy parents, and that creates a negative feedback loop.

Anyway, I guess I just needed to complain a bit. It is February after all.

Finished up Claire's knife block.

The Dip

Last week was really intense, so it makes sense that I was a bit low on energy this week. Thankfully, that is all it was! Normally, this time of year, I would expect to get sick. That hasn't happened in over a month! Must be a new record!!

I managed to finish up the bed project for the twin boys in town. That one lasted over a year. Nice to finally be done! We are all really happy with how it turned out. Now I will finish up Claire's knife block, and then start on some projects for our new friends in the Cube House around the corner.

Amélie is having some kind of growth spurt or something. She has been acting rather strangely. Not sure what the reason is. Lots of mood swings, talking gibberish, and other odd behavior. At least she is eating well!

Yesterday we went for a nice walk in the forest to see all the trees that fell down in the storm. There we a lot! The girls had a lot of fun walking on them and going through the mud puddles with their new rain boots. They walked for over an hour and I didn't carry them at all!

Another Boy's Bedroom.

It is officially springtime in Vaassen!

Working on Claire's knife block.

Little explorers.

Too Intense

I worked a bit too hard this week, so now I am taking some time to rest. School is pretty intense with all the new teacher stuff I have to do, taking on most of the prep work for my section, and developing some new projects. Kind of a lot for just two days a week.

I do enjoy the job though, and it is really nice getting support for my ideas from colleges and management. The idea even came up to go to High Tech High in San Diego at the end of March as it embodies my ideas for the future of education. Not sure if it is really practical for me to go at this point, but at least I can try to put the ideas into practice.

I started working on Claire's knife block, and got everything ready to install the new bed tomorrow. Also busy with getting the next projects lined up. Our new Turkish friends in the cube house around the corner need some things. Nice that there is interest!

On Thursday we had a big wind storm. Lots of trees blown down. The whole country shut down. Roofs were blown off houses and people even blown down the street. Strange to see. A few died. Glad we still have our trees! The neighbors want some of them cut down...

We got a great new bean bag for under Amélie's bed!

I turned the box into a tiny house...

Back to Work

Naomi and I started teaching again this week. She was pretty nervous about it, but it went fine. Thankfully, she will be cutting back on her tasks this Wednesday. This will give her some time to recover.

I had an interesting week at school. On Tuesday I had the idea of getting rid of Math as a subject. I think it should be integrated into other subjects, and the skills immediately applied. The basic problem is that students are not able to take what they learn in one subject (math) and apply it to another subject (physics). The subject teacher has to re-teach the skills anyway.

I would like to develop an integrated, project based approach to this problem, combining the sciences and math at the middle school level. Once things get a bit tougher, then the kids can split up into their different subjects.

Anyway, I talked to the administration and a few teachers about it, and we all agreed to set up a pilot program. We will start with one combined project this year, and hopefully a full blown pilot this coming school year. Nice that they were so supportive and enthusiastic about my idea! The main challenge will be convincing the more traditional teachers...

Getting distracted from their new game...