Amsterdam! Day One

Every day in Amsterdam Mom and I went to at least one museum. The first day it was the Rijksmuseum (State Museum).

The Rijksmuseum is one of the museums making up Museumplein (Museum Square) in a bustling corner of Amsterdam. The whole building was designed through contest entries.

Originally founded in 1800 it was decided to hold a contest to design a new building for the museum in 1863.   None of the entries were deemed good enough so in 1876 the contest was run again. this time a winner was declared and the building began construction later that year. Contests didn't end there. Other contests were held for the sculptures, painting and tile tableaus, and stained glass. The result is a palace like building with references to Dutch art and history incorporated into every aspect.

Somehow I never actually got a picture of the museum straight on. The best I can show is the small section visible behind me. 

The museum is home to much of the fine art created during the Dutch Golden Age. Artists such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Frans Hals take up entire rooms. 

Johannes Vermeer's The Milk Maid

Rembrandt's Portrait of a Young Woman Holding Gloves - The closest I may ever come to finding my doppelganger

Apparently Dutch artisans were well renowned during the Dutch Golden Age for their work in silver. This is a trowel used in the ground breaking of some government buildings. 

Unfortunately both Mom and I began falling asleep on our feet. We had been up for over 24 hours due to flying and time changes so much was not appreciated as much as it could have been. I would definitely like to visit this place again for a greater appreciation for all that it could teach.

  

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial day weekend in Bellingham means Ski to Sea! Events take place all over the city for the whole weekend. While walking around on Sunday, slowly making my way across town where the Ski to Sea race finishes up in Fairhaven (a section of Bellingham) I crossed through Boulevard Park where an old car show was taking place! 

The cars themselves were really fun to look at but so were the people. All of the men who owned these cars were standing next to them talking to anyone who would listen. Most had bits of cloth used to shine the vehicles somewhere on their person to keep everything sparkling. Meanwhile the wives had a circle of camp chairs set up behind all the vehicles. They were stocked with coolers, magazines, and the gossip that had built up between the last car show and this one. 

On a side not I discovered the local YWCA is a fallout shelter. You can't see it in the picture but there is tiny writing that says "Capacity: 160". So I will just have to beat the whole town there in case of nuclear disaster. 

By the way- My friends who created a Ski to Sea team that I wrote about earlier got 396 out of 500. They would have done better (the snowboarder got one of the fastest race times of any team for that leg) but the road biker was really ill the night before, got a flat tire and then a bloody nose during the race. It just wasn't a good day for her. The canoers didn't flip over like we thought they might though! 

Garden!

I began planting a garden early to mid April with the hope that at least a little bit of the produce would ripen in time to actually be eaten before I left for the summer. And it did! 

Some of the snap peas were ready to eat today! 

Other garden inhabitants include spinach and green onions. Both are in need of thinning. 

(That is grass in the bottom left corner)

Green beans

 Yellow squash

There is also garlic, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes that aren't pictured. Much of this won't be ready before I leave on my summer adventures. I will have to teach someone else to take care of everything or hope that it can survive with limited supervision.