Travel Notes and a Slide Show

No matter how much I try to keep my thoughts organized, there are always things I think of later that I should have written down in my blog. I particularly wanted to note that when we went walking with Ruth and the girls the first time, Ashley looked at John very seriously and said, "Don't fall in the canal, Grandpa. Only Jesus can walk on the water."

Sometimes it's the little things that sweeten a trip so much. In two more weeks we'll be back home, and I'll be sorting out the 99% of my photos that didn't get put on the blog. I will probably do a slide show or two that will give an overview, something like I did last night. I still haven't figured out how to get it to link with the blog, though, so I'll have to wait for Ben to wake up for that, and hope he has time before work. I imagine it's a simple answer. Getting the music attached was—this morning. Last night it wasn't.

In the slide show you'll see a bike that's been padlocked to a fence and then overgrown with ivy or some kind of creeper plants. I asked Ben about it. With a straight face, he said it happens in a couple of hours. I've seen several bikes like that. I haven't gotten an answer about them yet. I suppose it'll remain a mystery.

When people live so far away, your primary contact is by telephone. From now on, whenever I talk to Ruth on the phone, I will probably be remembering the photos I took of her talking to her mom on the phone last night. The call went on and on, and I had time to go get my camera and take a series of shots of her—and the kids, of course. It's all in the slide show.

One thing I didn't get a picture of, but wish I did, was little one-year-old Kate with her fist full of my home made egg roll, munching away. That child will eat anything. She just loves food, whether it's a banana, a pancake, or an egg roll. She smiles with her whole face, too, and when she catches someone looking at her, she squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her whole body, then looks up at you and grins. I'm not sure what that's all about, but it's beyond adorable. Do it back to her and she'll repeat it. Being a grandmother is awesome.

Enjoy the slide show. John and I are going to ride the canal boat and do some sightseeing today in Amsterdam.