artful letters

Happy Queen’s Day, everyone! And guess, what …. It didn’t rain!! Sure, it looked like rain all day, which did a wonderful job of keeping the crowds down, and it was often very chilly, but it was dry!!

Queen’s Day is of course a patriotic holiday. Two of our kids got into the spirit with a bit of face-painting (our number two son was having a sulky day) and they look so very Dutch!

Queen’s Day is also, very importantly, a chance for everyone to sell their junk, spreading it out on blankets downtown. Sort of like everyone in town having a yardsale in the same place at the same time. It’s a lot of fun to wander up and down, looking at this and at that. Last year, I got lucky and picked up a hard-to-find collection of traditional Dutch cross stitch patterns. This year I found a truly wonderful book of folk art paintings of Dutch scenes by Dutch artists (for only 2 Euros!) and I simply have to share my favorites (scroll over the pictures for the artist’s names):

I also got my arm twisted into buying – for 25 cents –  a book of children’s stories written and illustrated by a Gypsy named Beshlie, and here’s one of my favorite illustrations from that book. (I think I’ll keep this for myself, actually!). The kids, as always, were able to choose a toy for a Euro or under. That was where the trouble with Nicky started – after he chose a very cute gorilla, he decided he didn’t want it any more and plauged us all with a long, monotonous wail for the rest of the day. There’s one in every crowd, isn’t there?

Arden enjoyed watching the clouds and tree branches pass by overhead, in a sort of semi-trance like state. Every time we stopped for more than a few minutes, he’d begin to squirm, eager to continue. Once home, he had plenty of energy for more tummy time and is now laying beside me as I type this.

On the subject of Dutch art, here is my own humble little contribution.

We have a chicken in the oven that smells pretty good, and the older kids are catching up on some TV they missed earlier. I hope that whatever you’re doing, it brings you a feeling of satisfied contentment. Thank you very much for your kind comments regarding my choice of color changes for “Reader” – and in saying how incredibly adorable Arden is!