Notable for this week ...
February 23, 2007 at 10:02 AM
by Ashleigh
The Netherlands has the happiest children. Unicef's report places Holland tops. In my experience this is very accurate. My kids are happy, sheltered, we eat all our meals together and we have more than 10 books in our home. (Of course we eat our meals together and we have more than 10 books in our home! D'uh! Apparently a lot of families in other places don't.)
Some interesting opinions here.
Plusklassen. I met with the teachers at Seb's school this week. He's doing great. He was shifted from Group 2 to 4 (Grade 2 to Grade 4) at the beginning of the school year. So far he has caught up in the weaker areas and is now top of his class. From Group 5 he will attend a 'plusklas' once a week at another school.
It's basically a special class where he will get to be with children of the same ability. They work on projects that interest them, learn to present their findings and sometimes follow special courses in things like social development etc. I think he'll love it. It's just a pity there isn't one at his school, but they don't have the number of children required to make it a viable opportunity. If you read Dutch you can read more about plusklassen here, and here(the latter is a .doc).
The Prestige. Absolutely fabulous film. Michael Caine was extraordinary. So was David Bowie. Most notable is that I was actually alert and awake for the entire 2 hours of the movie. It has to be good. Go watch it.
Meatballs in tomato sauce from the freezer. I made these to go with pasta. Nice and easy, meatballs using a meatball variation on my hamburger recipe. Cover with tomato sauce (the Bertolli, what can I say I love that sauce) and freeze in an ovenproof container. Place in the oven at 180C for 45 minutes and serve with pasta. Great standby meal.
Coconut raspberry thumbprint cookies. From the latest Good Food magazine, which has a basic cookie recipe that can be dressed up in various ways. I tried the coconut thumbprints and they met with an enthusiastic reception.
Carnaval in lots of countries in Europe. We live in the north of Holland so we don't have it, which is both a good and a bad thing! In the South it's wild!
Embarrassing stories on Somewhat Refined.
Embroidery. Yes! I started sewing again! Tada! One corner of a tablecloth shown above. It's a kit that I got from Rico a few years ago and thus, some of the shading is not as I would have done it if I'd chosen the colours myself, but I like its boldness. There are only three more corners to do. Maybe sometime in 2010 it'll be done?
My orchid is flowering. I feel guilty every time I look at it because, you see, there used to be three of them. Two years ago, in a fit of pique, I threw away two of them. Well, actually I consigned them to a terribly painful death by putting them outside in the snow. I was annoyed that they refused to flower. This one was left. Last year it tried to flower and I moved it at the wrong time and it dropped it's buds. This year we have success. But I still feel guilty.
My Valentine flowers are still alive and gorgeous. Only the ranunculus are fading a little.
Next week, it's crocusvakantie (spring break) in North Holland. Yay!
Comments
Thanks for the BBC link! What a great article.
Orchids are the craziest things. They can stubbornly sit for years with no action, and then suddenly take off. Definitely worth the wait!
Ash, how nice it is to see some stitches. I love embroidery but haven't done any for years. Right now I'm toying with a bit of knitting.
I saw that UNICEF report and thought it was interesting. Germany came bang in the middle and the UK and USA last. I must say that Germany is fabulous for kids, which is one of the reasons we are still here.
Beautiful stitching! I hope your hand is feeling a bit better.
Lovley stitching Ash.
I started on embroidery - don't know if I could remember how to do it though!
Good old UK - bottom of the bag again! If people here were nicer, better mannered and more thoughtful to each other then we might all stop dreaming of the perfect life abroad and actually start liking it here! xxx
Thanks for the link love in your "notable" round-up (good idea, btw), and I like the embroidery! I used to do it but years and years ago..
I love embroidery. I come from a long line of knitters, quilters and crocheters -- and I can do none of it. Except embroidery. However, with the 4 boys I'm raising, I find it kind of useless to do it -- other than writing Batman on a pillow case for them. It's nice to come here and see your work. Any ideas on how to incorporate this into my life would be welcomed.
Ash: Oh wow, I would say - go for making things just for you. If you like to cook, embroider aprons and potholders, if you like to garden make yourself a kneeler. I like to try and make things pretty around me, and embroidery relaxes me immensely (and makes it easier to deal with those boys!) Thanks so much for stopping by!
Your embroidery is superb, Ash! Methinks I've been doing cross stitch for too long, and neglecting the traditional embroidery that I used to do so well. You have motivated me!
Oh my gosh, that's some really lovely stitching you've done, Ash! How's your hand feeling?
I had no idea that Holland had the happiest kids. Though when I do think about moving back to the US, I realize how many of my friends back there don't manage to eat every meal together (which we do). Books - who'd have fewer than 10 books?? Come over to my house and I'll lend you some!
Ash: no, I'll lend you some! (Part of my quest for a clutter free life is to get rid of some of my books!) The hand - a bit sore, but if I don't do too much then it's ok.
February 23, 2007 11:09 AM