Six bedrooms, a double garage with workshop and a GARDEN at last. After being couped up in two bedroom closets for the past six years it’s an amazing feeling.Guests are welcome…..

Annabel Ivy, originally uploaded by supasuze.

I am 12 weeks pregnant!

My dream of a White Christmas remains unrealised.  Christmas day brought depressing drizzle with thick clouds in various shades of grey.  Even the millions of tiny lights hanging all over the city couldn’t brighten the day. That was until we flew up to heaven, otherwise known as De Librije restaurant in Zwolle.  

It was an inspired idea.  We thought if you can’t be with your family at Christmas why not splash out and go to the best restaurant in the country?  We dressed to the nines.  I tried not to look awe struck as we walked through the beautiful old converted church to our table by the fireplace.  The classical pianist broke my heart and the carol singers brought along the Christmas spirit.   

I cannot describe the food.  At some points I was not sure what I was eating but Jarno and I agreed it was not simply food.  It was an ‘experience’.  Each of the 12 courses came with a wine that complemented the dish.  It was the best wine I have tasted.  Although after glass number 11 everything tastes good.  I think our wine pallets palates may have gone into shock, as they are so accustomed to the cheap Australian chardonnay we get at the supermarket.   

We enjoyed ourselves so much that even the bill seemed reasonable.  As one last surprise we walked outside to find hot gluwijn and olieballen.  Incredibly enough, Jarno still had room to eat and as we strolled back to our hotel along the winding canal covered with mist I wondered if it was possible to have a more romantic Christmas.  But then again, maybe that was the 12 glasses of wine talking. 

We vowed to go back and spend another Christmas there.  Yet with the uncertainty of our moving plans, who knows when that will be?

Look!!

we’re famous…..

I haven’t been spotted on the street yet.  I have been working on my autograph though.

We met at 2pm under the Dom.  It was cross-cultural from the very beginning.  In Holland it’s normal to pick the bride up from her parent’s house (obviously a little far away) and in Aus you see each other in the ceremony (a little scary). So we thought we’d meet under the beautiful gothic arch of the Dom tower.

Then it was off to our ‘Photo Shoot’ around Utrecht.  We tried to get a mix between modern & classic.  We went to the Aboriginal Art Museum for some Aus flavour and then onto canals of Utrecht. 

It was then time for the ceremony.  Surprisingly enough I wasn’t nervous at all.  Everyone else seemed to be though.

This year was no exception. I woke up around 8 and lay awake for half an hour waiting for my breakfast in bed. Jarno was comatose and not responding to my subtle pokes in the ribs. Not a good start.

I went downstairs, made myself coffee and waited for the phone to ring. For a long, long time it didn’t. Jarno surfaced around 10 and told me he didn’t have time to get breakfast because he’d played volleyball the evening before. GRRRR. He gave me the latest Sims game for the playstation and we spent the next couple of hours checking it out.

My parents and Gosia called but no matter how much I stared at my phone it wouldn’t ring. Not even the video shop to tell me I was entitled to a free rental. Around 1pm my stomach growled louder than the Sims music so we decided to go out for bagels. Yum. Jarno agreed to come shopping for an unlimited timeframe which, in my opinion, is one of the best gifts a guy can give. Still no phone calls and I started to get depressed. Miranda? Colleen?? Izzy? Lora? Borderliner? Lenny? Had they all forgotten?!

I resigned myself to the fact that all my friends were thoughtless bitches. To cheer me up Jarno suggested we go out for dinner to my fave italian place. As soon as we entered I saw them all sitting at a table smiling at me. Jarno had organised a surprise party. The food was delish and I was showered with thoughtful presents.

As I sat back and took stock of everybody chatting and laughing together I felt incredibly fortunate. I have built much more of a life here in Holland than I give credit to in my blog. My friends are a bunch of genuinely remarkable people and I’m lucky to have them. Then there’s Jarno. I love him to death, even if he doesn’t give me breakfast in bed on my birthday……

p.s Girls, please ignore the thoughtless bitches part

Yesterday we celebrated our 3-year anniversary. I’m not talking about Jarno and I, I’m referring to my relationship with Holland. Yep, it was way back in 2002 when my plane zoomed into Amsterdam. It won’t surprise you all to hear that we have had a turbulent, love-hate relationship. I’m sure if Holland had ears and could hear all my malicious name-calling, it would have broken up with me ages ago. Yet as my departure date to Australia creeps up, I’m realising just how many positive things Holland has brought to my life.

Naturally, I have my fabulous boyfriend who came home last night with red roses, took me out to a romantic restaurant and told me I’m the best thing that has ever happened to him. Then there’s Gosia and Izzy who have stood by me through thick and thin (and everything in between). Actually I have a whole bunch of friends now that I have a lot of fun with. Yet I think the most unexpected positive experience is being part of a (unpopular) minority group for the first time in my life. Understanding how that feels has given me a fresh insight into equality and respect. I’ve rethought my stance on a lot of issues and I’ve become really conscious of how I treat people. I’ve lost all tolerance for racist, ignorant bullshit and I do my best to fight it (if necessary, ’til the last man standing). Even in these battles I learnt new things, the most compelling being that you can’t fight prejudice with reason. It’s like fighting a shadow, I’m exhausted at the end and the prejudice remains untouched. I think it’s because prejudice comes from fear and fear by nature doesn’t listen to reason. So now I’m struggling with the question, if you can’t fight fear with reason, what can you fight it with?