Writer's Block

It's what I have!

Ugh - I'm rested up, my chores are done, I'm at my fabulous desk, it's nice and quiet so why aren't the words coming? For the past week, I've noticed I keep starting and stopping other writing projects I'm working on and all my paintings have switched from squid to fat birds, which is all fine and good except I have a project to work on that requires people... and I don't really paint people. Not even cartoony people. Sure there have been one or two exceptions, but in general, no people.

So, not feeling the people-painting thing, I sit down to catch up on the blog. Then...... nothing. It's isn't that we don't have news, it's just that the news isn't getting my brain going.

Examples:
1. We finally sold our house in Virginia - yay! (Problem: Excellent happy news, but not that interesting to write about.)
2. We had a great visit with Mr K's parents! (Problem: Mr K already wrote it up really really well!)
3. I have new recipes and new cookbooks! (Problem: Ya'll don't wanna hear about it!)

We have French class tonight, which always has a numbing effect on my brain. Our instructor is pleasant enough but for various reasons we just hate and dread the classes. She moves too quickly and we never review. She doesn't speak English so even the most basic question of grammar leads to a 30 minute explanation as she tries to basic-French and pantomime her way through it for us with the end result that we nod and wait to look it up after she leaves... These are questions that 3 minutes of English explanation would instantly clear up but instead end up completely derailing the lesson. Topics seem to be chosen at random and nothing ties one lesson to the next. One week we did reflexive verbs... the next? Fruits and vegetables. Stuff like that.

So that's enough of a mini-rant for one day. Tell me something interesting.

Hamster Dance

Woman in Window
Originally uploaded by Arsmor

Hamst...er...Amsterdam - yeah!

So we just got back from our long weekend in Amsterdam to celebrate both of our birthdays and our second anniversary (and the first anniversary we've been together for - last year Mr K was here in Fribourg, scouting out our new home) and a long-long weekend it was, too.

It was nice to travel, but Amsterdam didn't quite live up to the hype - I read that it was one of the most scenic cities in Europe, but I don't consider streets lined with multiple Argentinian steakhouses and neon signs scenic!

Stuff we liked about Amsterdam:
* pancakes with ham and cheese
* Van Deek art supply store
* cheese souffle snack from weird little automats at Febo
* hanging out in the parks and painting
* Wok to Walk Chinese takeout (I liked it - Mr K isn't so into the Chinese food)
*walking walking walking

Stuff we weren't as impressed with:
* neon neon neon
* tourists as far as the eye can see - so crowded
* the canal water looked pretty icky
* most of the food was expensive and not-so-good
* the lights in our hotel room would shut themselves off every 20 minutes or so and then come back on five minutes later
* not nearly as many cats as in Switzerland

Stuff we have no reviews of (because I know you're wondering...):
* workers of the Red Light District "service industry"
* that special "coffee" that draws all the tourists in the first place

Overall: Amsterdam reminded me a lot of New Orleans without the cheap and tasty cajun food and live music. We enjoyed having time off but were definitely ready to get back to beautiful green and peaceful Switzerland.