Nathan-O-Lantern

Nathan has been losing teeth, too bad it's not close to Halloween - a little orange face paint and he'd be all set...

Bread

Most of the bread here in Belgium is very fresh and preservative-free and can be bought for under 2 euro ($2.50 or so). It took us a little while to get used to the drier texture, but we soon grew to prefer it to the breads we used to get at Albertson's. Most people here are pretty particular about their bread. They like it fresh, usually same-day fresh. Without preservatives, it doesn't stay fresh more than 2-3 days. So many people buy their bread each morning. It's wonderfully fresh from the bakery (another difference, there are lots of bakeries - they're like Starbucks). Fresh bread is such a big thing that if the stores are closed (which they are more often than in the US), there are options for getting bread. There are bread machines. I'm not talking about the kind where you put in the ingredients, plug it in and a few hours later you have a home-made loaf. I'm talking bread vending machines. At a gas station not far from our house there are 3 vending machines: one with "drank" - cans of beverages (including beer), one with "snoep" candy and snacks, and one with "brood" loaves of bread. When I told some Oregon friends about this, not surprisingly someone asked "how good could that be?" But you'd be surprised - it's actually not bad at all. Because if it was bad or stale, no one would buy it! So the machine is refilled each day with fresh bread. It's not the best we've had, but it certainly cuts it for sandwiches or to go with spaghetti on a Sunday night. 

A different kind of week

Last week was not a usual week for our family. Kevin was in Belgium working and taking care of the boys without me. The guys all had a good week - they made it to practices and games, survived the week and had some fun without me. And they missed me a little.

I was in Oregon having a testosterone-free week seeing my mom and girlfriends. Aside from saying hello to a couple of the husbands, I spent the whole week having chai teas, lunches, dinners and visits with most of my favorite women! It was so great! I love all my guys, but do feel outbalanced by the men I live with. It was such a treat to spend so much concentrated time with all women! I knew it would be a good thing when I was making the plans, but I underestimated just how much it would feel like I'd recharged my batteries. Thanks to everyone who made time to get together with me in Oregon; I'm thankful for every visit and all the time I spent with my girlfriends. Living out of the country these 3 years is a great thing and we're doing all the things we hoped to do while on this family adventure. But it's nice to know, it's heart-warming to know, that all my close friendships are still intact, as if I hadn't moved. It's a great feeling! 

Ieper

We walked on a frozen moat last Sunday! 

Last weekend, after so many weeks at or below freezing, some of the local ponds and small lakes froze over enough to go out on. This included the moat around the walled city of Ieper (Ypres in french). With the youngest 2 boys at scouts, Kevin, Andrew, Cameron and I went up to Ieper and walked on the moat. There were lots of people out on the ice walking, ice skating, sledding and playing. It was such a festive atmosphere! And the sunset was beautiful. We talked to a man who was with his granddaughter. She was using a chair/sled her grandfather had made for her mom when her mom was little! She sat on the sled and had 2 poles with nails on the end that she used to propel herself along the ice. (You can see some photos at www.flickr.com/clarke-family. The girl on the home-made sled is the first photo.)

I also took the boys and some friends to one of the small lakes on the way to the boys' schools. The guys were in heaven sliding around and using a skateboard deck (just the wood) on the ice. By Monday morning a warm front had come and none of the water was safe to walk on anymore. It's good we went when we did.

We were jealous of all the snow in the NW (though we know it was a little much for some and hindered travel plans). But it looked like a lot of fun and the week off of school in LO had them lamenting that we weren't there this Christmas. We were thinking of all our family and friend in the NW!

It's FREEZING!

We haven't had much of the fluffy white stuff, but it's not because it hasn't been cold enough. This morning it's unofficially -8 c (according to the temperature gauge on my Opal Zaphira). The kids biking to school look sooo cold! We've had cold temps for so long the ponds have a 6-7 inch layer of ice on them! Brrrrrr!