An Evening at the Bibelot

This evening, Liesbeth and I enjoyed a nice dinner date at a local French restaurant called The Bibelot. We'd been given some gift certificates as a wedding present, and we thought it'd be special to go out tonight. The restaurant offers top-notch service, and excellent food. I ate some succulent beef and Lies some flavorful venison. For dessert, she had her standard hot chocolate with cream, and I tried the crepes with cream and a small (bibelot means an object of curiosity or rarity) scoop of ice cream. Everything we needed (and some things we didn't) were offered.

Liesbeth commented on the waiters' attentiveness that she wondered what they were saying about their relativelt unsophisticated diners this evening. As customers, we were probably far below their socio-economic mean. There were four other diners there tonight. At one table, a Dutch businessman and his Spanish counterpart discussed tomorrow's negotiations. The Dutch man apparently has a relative in the USA who is a pulmonary doctor in North Carolina, described as "prime smoking country." Said doctor stays very busy, but doesn't like any of Obama's health care ideas, which would make him work more for less. Rather than take that bad deal, he'd leave the profession. The other two diners were an older couple, who were rather quiet.

We had a very romantic dinner. The burning candles served as beautiful metaphors and creators of atmosphere. And now we are home.... and Liesbeth has come to sit beside me, so I shall do the smart thing, and sign off.

Another project crossed off the list ... and a job

When Liesbeth took possession of our apartment this summer, the former tenant sold us the flooring in the living room and bedrooms. The only problem was that not all of the trim had been put on, and there were some large gaps (~2 cm) between the flooring and the wall in very visible places. Every now and then, I'd hear a gentle reminder about the trim not being installed yet, and I finally decided that I'd tackle the project. My father-in-law kindly lent me his miter saw and jig saw, and seven hours later, the job was done. Liesbeth was very happy. To help ensure her happiness, I made a concentrated effort to vacuum up all the sawdust from the living room. Fortunately, my cleaning job received the same high marks as my carpentry job.

It was very handy that I finished that task yesterday, because I'll soon be losing the flexible schedule I've had these last few months. At my brother-in-law Stefan's suggestion, Liesbeth and I visited a greenhouse in Boskoop today. (Boskoop is a village a few kilometers to the north of Waddinxveen.) We walked into their front office and I asked the receptionist about vacancies, and she went to talk to her manager. While we were waiting, a gentleman came around the corner and asked if we needed help. But the secretary was already taking care of us. Her manager told me about the vacancies, and I told her that I like to work hard and learn new things, I've always dreamed of working in greenhouses, and that I have five green thumbs. This sounded interesting. She took my CV, and registered me in their system. At which point, the gentleman who had earlier come around the corner, stepped out of his office, and asked if we could do an interview right then.

Turns out that he was the Productions Manager. We had a nice interview. Marius was quite pleased to find I was a native English speaker, because Starre Group (that's the company name, see www.starregroup.nl for the company website) is currently working on entering the American market. He offered me a temporary position, lasting from February to August. But he seemed quite hopeful, that after I show what I can do for the company (not everyone has five green thumbs), a permanent position may well be forthcoming. Praise the Lord for a job! I was pleasantly surprised to find out during the interview that temp workers also get vacation days ... my contract will give me 14 days vacation!

The company is quite interesting. The big boss (he's three times as big as Marius, weighing in at nearly 160 kilos--350 lbs--according to Marius) is Dutch Reformed. The lunch break begins with quiet time for people to pray, and right after the lunch break is over, the President or one of the managers reads a chapter of the Bible aloud and closes the time in prayer. How unique! I assured Marius that would present no problem to me. He also told me that cursing isn't aloud, and if I heard any of the other temp workers using bad language, I was to remind them of the rule. The company dress code is also very nice ... I'm supposed to wear trousers and decent shirts (no holes, except those for the head and arms) and female workers have to wear skirts and modest blouses/shirts. As he gave me a tour of the premises, it was nice not to hear any worldly music or anything of the sort. I'm very thankful for such a job!

As I conclude this post, I can smell fine fragrances wafting from the kitchen. Supper is almost ready. And I am ready for it, too! Tonight, we have the special privilege of hosting Bro. Philip Mawugbe, a friend from home. Or, rather, he was from home, but he's since moved to Canada. But that's beside the point, which is he's visiting us this weekend en route to Tanzania, where he's joining a missions team. But before I go chasing after more rabbits, I'll sign off ... and go eat supper!

Hot Date in Cold Gouda

I learned something today. This afternoon, Liesbeth and I went out on a very nice afternoon date to Gouda. (To Desmond's probable gratification, we did not ride the bicycles.) I had been wanting to do something special for Lies since she'd been such a nice hostess for my friend, not to mention a wonderful wife for me. Instead of my conventional evening-out-for-dinner date, we went shopping together. It's amazing to witness the transformation in my wife when she enters a store (especially a clothing store). She enters her element; energy courses through her veins; her eyes twinkle and her smile sparkles. And I have found that when her eyes twinkle so affectionately and her smile sparkles so beautifully, and I can say little (translation: nothing). Result: I came home with a new pair of trousers and a new shirt. Once she'd scratched a wardrobe addition for her man off her list, we walked through the old city at a more relaxed pace.

We tried to find a poster of some of Monet's artwork to hang over our couch, but that was unsuccessful. So we perambulated further down the street, poking our head (and wallet) in a few more stores along the way. We found a very beautiful skirt for her (her eyes are still twinkling) and some tasty cups of ... yes, you guessed it: hot chocolate (her favorite). We also found a mouse.

But don't worry. The mouse wasn't in the apple cake, or the hot chocolate, or even the cafe. It was in the Kijk-Shop, which sells miscellaneous items for home electronics. I finally bought a mouse for my laptop, so I can more easily mouse around with my left hand, to give the muscles in the right hand a break.

So, what did I learn? Liesbeth really enjoys shopping, and buying even better. Before today, that was just head knowledge, but now I have personal experience. I even have the shirt to prove it.

Oh, and I'm feeling much better, and Liesbeth is healthy, too, though we still need to keep up on our rest.

Hospitality Transfer, and Sickness Round 3

Yesterday, Desmond embarked to his next destination (Spain). Now, the responsibility for our poor guest's health lies in the hands of a couple of Spaniards. We're hoping he has great health, great weather, and a great time. (It's amazing how important health has become to us these last few weeks!) When Desmond would get up in the morning, we'd bypass the peremptory "good morning's" to ask the real important question: are you still healthy? From the sound of his first blog entry from Spain, he'll need some rest when he returns to the more tranquil Crook household next week. (I have gathered that Spaniards go to bed a little later than the average Crook.) We look forward to hosting him again; we've had a lot of fun together, and we'll miss his helpfulness and humorous travel reports. We consider ourselves quite lucky as we have usually gotten the First Debriefing, which is always the best one, as my mother has oft observed when she talks to Ashton or me on the phone after Dad.

Sickness has continued to make the rounds of Waddinxveen. Marieke, one of my sisters-in-law, had the flu very badly yesterday. And this morning, the sword of Damocles fatefully fell on me: I woke up around 2 o'clock with an upset stomach. It has only now, some twelve hours later, recovered its respite. Liesbeth has been a very caring and helpful nurse. She even read me a story this morning as I lay down to attempt once again to sleep. She just left a few minutes ago to buy some more bananas (we've hit the bananas pretty hard in recent days). Her departure means the patient is no longer supervised; hence, this venture Beyond the Pond. But she's returning soon, so I'd better go before I blow my cover!

Sickness: Round Two

When I first began writing the previous post last night, indeed everyone in the Crook household was feeling very healthy and chipper. But the morning brought bad news, of the viral variety. Lies awoke at 5 this morning with a stomach ache, and the virus exacted its revenge over the next two hours. This morning, the virus also afflicted Lies' sister Ruth, mother of the now healthy Micha. Desmond, fortunately, is still healthy. In fact, he was quite happy that his plans for the day featured a day trip to Amsterdam. He's probably hoping he can keep his distance from us so he can stay healthy for his trip to Spain, for which he embarks on Friday. Thankfully, the author of this blog is still healthy, much to the amazement (and perhaps consternation) of his wife and guest. The words of the Apostle Paul seem fitting: "Brethren, pray for us" (I Thess. 5:25).

Sickness, (Snow) Showers of Blessing, and a Flat Tire

Both of my patients are finally on the road to recovery. Liesbeth, who had a bad case of the flu before Desmond's arrival, has regained her strength. (In the picture to the right, she's looking very sweet in her warm new hat!) And yesterday, we took Desmond to the doctor, who confirmed he was recovering, but cautioned that his cough might stay with him a few weeks. On Monday, Liesbeth's sister Ruth stopped by with her two boys, Micha and Tom, to have lunch with us. Poor Micha had complained all morning of a tummy ache, but Ruth is a good mother and refused to give in. Young Micha went to school. He complained of the same during lunch, but none of us fell for his act. Instead, his teacher bore the brunt of the sickness when he vomited that afternoon. Fortunately, no one has fallen sick again in the Crook household. We all reflected on our harsh thoughts we had harbored about the poor child's "act." And I must say, I think of Jess when I consider this story, who probably knows a bit more than she'd like to about children's sicknesses at school.

Lies and I traveled to Nieuwpoort, Belgium on Friday afternoon to help with the Belgian Youth Convention. I was a member of the video team, and Liesbeth was the sister of the wife of the camp song leader. About 150 young people from about 11 countries gathered in Nieuwpoort. We had four services, and we enjoyed Bro. John Andes’ ministry. The highlight was perhaps Saturday evening, in which he focused on social networking media. He showed how the social networking websites, etc. simply indicate humans’ need to connect. Unfortunately, they often become black holes for time, leaving little to nothing left for Jesus Christ, the One we should have the strongest connection with. I liked how Bro. John handled the topic: he understood why so many young people like sites like FaceBook, MySpace, Blogger, etc. But we must have a strong connection with Jesus Christ. That is exceedingly important.

The host church had rented a hostel that looked over the beach onto the English Channel. Lies and I took a nice walk along the beach before we went home. The youth conference happened to coincide with a gathering of kite enthusiasts. We enjoyed seeing the variety of kites darting about the skies about the beach. When we arrived back at the hostel’s parking lot, we discovered one of our tires was flat. We managed to change the tire without trouble and we departed after this minor delay. We took the tire to a friend of the family last evening, and we’ll learn if it’s reparable this evening.