May Holiday

Posted on Saturday, 26th April, 2008 by ianmacd

Schiphol experienced its busiest day of the year yesterday, as 170,000 passengers milled through the airport and headed off on their way.

It’s the start of the May holiday here, which this year includes Koninginnedag (the queen’s birthday), and Hemelvaartsdag (Ascension Day). That means workers only have to take three days off work to get a nine day consecutive run, so many people have decided to go on holiday this week.

We were originally planning to be a part of this group ourselves, and go to England today to visit Fenella et al in Cornwall. Time is short, however, as Sarah’s folks arrive next weekend, so we’d need to be back by then.

Car, plane and train all seemed inappropriate for this trip. Lucas isn’t yet used to travel and we were reluctant to start him off with a trip that, one way or another, would mean quite a long day in transit. He’s still so young and tiny at the moment, and I feel that we need to stay close to the nest for at least another few weeks.

Not only that, but there are things going on at home, too. The garden, for example.

Yesterday, Eloïse’s climbing frame was delivered and installed; and today, the lawn sods were laid down on top of chicken wire (to thwart the moles), thereby rendering the initial laying of the garden more or less complete.

As I’ve written before, we have yet to put in the new lighting and there are a few places where plants and flowers are still missing, but this should all be taken care of in a matter of weeks. We’ve started looking for new garden furniture and may already have found something appropriate. We’ll know in a few days.

We had beautiful weather today. The Vondelpark was teeming with people. When I got home from having my hair cut, Eloïse was standing atop her climbing frame and clearly enjoying herself.

She spent the rest of the afternoon riding around the garden path and patio area on her outdoor tricycle. She, for one, is clearly going to get a lot of use and enjoyment out of the garden.

The sods need a week or two to settle without being trampled underfoot, so we’re going to have to try and keep Eloïse off them. The problem with that is that the slide of her climbing frame lands on the grass. We’ll have to see how well we can control her tomorrow.

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Here Comes Another Bubble

Posted on Thursday, 24th April, 2008 by ianmacd

This funny clip is still doing the rounds. If you know Silicon Valley and you haven’t seen this yet, it may make you laugh.

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Can’t Change The Value Of Self

Posted on Thursday, 24th April, 2008 by ianmacd

The arrival of new offspring understandably inspires a certain amount of fundamental self-reflection. How have I lived my life? Am I a good father? How do I want to live the remainder of my life? Can I better myself?

Can a leopard change its spots? Imagine my surprise when one day, unexpectedly, my Ruby interpreter provided the answer.




[ianmacd@frankincense]$ irb



irb(main):001:0> self = self.better



SyntaxError: compile error



(irb):1: Can't change the value of self



self = self.better



^



from (irb):1

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Growing Lad

Posted on Wednesday, 23rd April, 2008 by ianmacd

Lucas had his first visit to the Consultatiebureau today, where we learned that he has now grown to 4210g and 53cm. That’s quite an achievement in such a small space of time. No wonder he needs to sleep so much: it must be exhausting to increase your bulk by 20% in just over three weeks.

I’ve put up a few more week three photos, as well as a bunch from this week. The week four photos are definitely the best yet; Lucas even has his eyes open in some of them.

Sarah made a fruit smoothie the other day and added a spoonful of ground placenta to the mix, just to see how it tasted. Whichever positive qualities the placenta possesses, a pleasant taste is not one of them, it has to be said.

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Garden Of Delight

Posted on Wednesday, 23rd April, 2008 by ianmacd

Well, not quite just yet, but it’s coming alone nicely now.

The pathway paving is more or less complete, lots of soil has been strewn on the borders and today, work is being done on a new geveltuin along our perimeter wall.

A geveltuin is a border garden, commonly placed along the facade of a building, but, as in our case, sometimes also along a perimeter wall. They’re very popular here, not least because, for many city dwellers, it’s the only kind of garden they’re able to have. The local council will also do the work to lay one for free, as it’s seen as increasing the allure of the street. All you need to do is file the application. Once you have one, you’re obliged to maintain what you plant in it, but why else would you want one?

To this end, the pavement tiles are being dug up along the edge of the wall and a narrow strip of soil is being laid, so that creepers can be planted and made to climb the wall. Once the plants take hold, it should look really nice and counter the slightly sterile look of the brickwork. It’s hard work, though, as a stone saw is needed to cut through the square tiles, so that just a small piece of each tile can be put back.

The actual planting of the garden starts tomorrow, which should rapidly make our little plot of land look more like a real garden. All of the work so far has been preparatory and, whilst very necessary, provided little of aesthetic value and gave little impression of the progress being made.

I’m really looking forward to seeing the borders full of shrubs and flowers. We’ll still need some outdoor lighting and a new set of garden furniture (the old set is really on its last legs), but the garden will be mostly finished at that point.

Eloïse’s climbing frame should also be erected by the weekend. Hopefully, we’ll have good weather this weekend and she’ll be able to play on it for the first time.

Speaking of the weather, it’s been lovely here over the last few days: gorgeous sun, a warm temperature and no hint of rain. It’s been a real treat after the long cold spell of late. Having said that, it’s drizzling again outside as I write this.

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