MOOOOOOOve On Over

MOOOOOOve On Over… 

It’s time to make some Dutch Cheese.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again… the farm animals here in The Netherlands are so beautiful. They are healthy, have beautiful coats and just over all look like a picture postcard.

This week, my friends and I who are part of the Cultural Club in Eindhoven, went to Kaasboerderij De Ruurhoeve. The cheese farm is located in Hoogeloon just a short drive from my house. Who could resist an opportunity to make cheese while living in The Netherlands?!

We washed our hands, gathered around tables, put on our aprons and handkerchiefs and were ready to learn about the process to make the award winning Dutch cheese.

Cheese making, according to our leader, begins in the pasture. The cows are allowed to graze all day on the Dutch green grass. Weather outside in the pasture or inside the barn, the ladies enjoy a nonstop eating buffet. The cow’s healthy chew eventually turn in the stomach where it is digested and eventually ends up in the udder to become milk.

Here’s a link to their site that tells the whole process of making cheese.

 http://www.ruurhoeve.nl/het-ambacht.html

After we finished making our cheese, we ventured into other areas of the farm… our first stop was the calf barn. And yes, a little calf had been born just that same hour that we were there making our cheese. He was still close to his very tired mommy stumbling around trying to get his little legs to work.

We then moved on to the milking barn. All the ladies were lined up with their precious faces sticking out of the gates chomping on the yummy grass. But at the one end of the barn, was an area where the cows were patiently waiting their turn to go in to be milked.

Each cow has a collar with a chipped tag in it that reports when the cow has been milked and how much milk was produced. I like to think of it as a necklace with a little bling bling on it. Every girl just loves her bling.

When the gate opens a cow may enter the milking area. Her chip is read and either an exit gate is opened if it is not time for her milking or she gets to stay and have a yummy treat while the machine fixes onto her to milk her. Also, if the chip reads that she is allowed to visit with her calf a gate will open welcoming her into the area with her baby to nurse and bond.

These precious ladies, who really do so much for us, really are taken care of lovingly and with pride. De Ruurhoeve has been awarded the prize of Cum Laude for 2015.

On April 19th Kaasboerderij De Ruurhoeve would like to invite everyone to a very special day, Cow Dancing Day. Once a year in celebration of the girls first visit outside, the cheese farm puts on a day of fun. Everyone is happy… the cows, the calfs, but also the people who come to see this remarkable display of joy. The cows come skipping and hopping out of the gates letting their legs stretch and enjoying the sunshine.

(See... a cow looking pretty on a  postcard!)

The Cow Dancing Day takes place on April 19th, 2015 from 10:00 – 17:00 with the barn doors opening at 13:30. 

Dominepad 7

5528 NC Hoogeloon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvURcpVNFxo

And how do you make the best tasting cheese ever? Keep the Girls Happy...

Happy Cows Make Happy Cheese

My Little Dutch ABC Book E

My Little Dutch ABC Book

E

 Engles ~ English

Engles, my favorite language because I’m fluent. Of course this is because I was born and raised in a country where English is the primary language. But living in The Netherlands has given me such an amazing appreciation for different languages. In The Netherlands, Dutch is the primary language but most of the country can also speak English fluently as well. Beginning at the age of around 10 years old English is taught to children.

When speaking to someone here, I usually ask if English is ok… or do they speak English? The response is usually the same… either yes, of course…. Or yes, a little. But after a few sentences I discover they are pretty much fluent. I always make sure to compliment the person on how good their English is and I make sure to thank them for speaking English to me.

My funniest story about the word Engles was when after a year of living here one of my daughters was here visiting and we had gone to the movie theater. Two of my kids went off to get popcorn, candy and drinks and as they came back, the movie attendant at the door said something to them. While my older daughter looked at him with a blank stare, my youngest, who was living here and attending Dutch classes at school said…  “spreekt u engels?”… Which of course he started speaking English. My older daughter came back with a huge smile on her face explaining that the younger one had spoken Dutch to the guy… and was saying something about bagels! Well…. Not quite a bagel … but close enough to communicate.

It upsets me whenever I hear back in my home country that people are upset by the amount of people that speak Spanish. To me, it’s an incredible a gift to be able to speak more than one language. I’m truly grateful that the people of The Netherlands have compassion with me and help me with my Nederlands. 

My Little Dutch ABC Book D

My Little Dutch ABC Book

D

Dames ~ Women

This is a great word to know… especially if you are needing to use the restroom. One of my first “emergencies” happened while pleasantly shopping at the mall in Eindhoven. At first, I was just casually looking for the little sign pointing me in the right direction. Then I decided to go into a store and ask for directions. As this was one of my very first weeks in The Netherlands, I had zero Dutch to my knowledge. So I politely asked the sales attendant if she spoke English. She said she spoke a little. Which I came to learn is a common answer when the Dutch are asked if they speak English. So I began my request….

Me: “Can you tell me where the restroom is?”

Sales attendant: Blank Stare

Me: Fumbling... Thinking... And getting a little panicky… “Can you tell me where the bathroom is?

Sales attendant: Blank Stare

Me: Now I’m embarrassed, smiling, and a tad nervous about my request. So I begin just using one word sentences. “Restroom, bathroom…Ummmm toilet?”

Sales attendant: AHHHHH TOITLET!!!  Yes! Go this way, make left right left.. blah blah blah.. and you’re there.

Me: “Thank you so very much!” I slink out of the shop mortified that someone knows I’ve asked for a toilet.

I still haven’t gotten used to boldly asking where the toilet is when I’m lost, but I do make sure I’ve got my coins ready to pay the attendant in the restroom. And I make sure I open the door that says DAMES (Women) not Heren (Men). 

My favorite Toilet sign

at Piet Hein Eek

My Little Dutch ABC Book ~ C

My Little Dutch ABC Book

C

Calendar ~ Kalender

Here’s a little information for those wonderful days of the week and months of the year. When at the doctor or government office or people that ask your birthday…. Always give the number of the day first, then the month, then the year you were born. So for example if your birthday is July 4^th, 1976… then you would say 4, July, 1976 or 4, 7,76. A tad confusing if you’re used to doing it the other way. But it gets even more fun when you go back home for a visit and you have to switch all over again. People usually just stare at you with disbelief that you would not know your own birthday.

And make sure you hang you Kalender in your bathroom. The Dutch have a great tradition of doing this and marking friends and loved ones birthday’s on their special birthday kalender. I love this tradition. Also, try to avoid the temptation to add your own birthday to their kalender, apparently it is not very polite.

 I read one very funny story of a lady whose mother in-law wrote her birthday in pencil and another daughter in-law in ink. I guess the mother is hoping the son will come to his senses.

Monday	maandag
Tuesday	dinsdag
Wednesday	woensdag
Thursday	donderdag
Friday	vrijdag
Saturday	zaterdag
Sunday	zondag

January	januari
February	februari
March	maart
April	april
May	mei
June	juni
July	juli
August	augustus
September	september
October	oktober
November	november
December	december

My Little Dutch ABC Book ~ B

My Little Dutch ABC Book

B

Bitterballen ~ smooshy fried balls that are delicious

Bitterballen or bitterbal if you are only going to have one, is a great snack to have while you are in The Netherlands and you are out at a pub or just sitting along a canal enjoying a glass of wine. They taste kind of like a meat, gravy, butter, flour with other spices that have been whipped into a smoothie consistency and then shaped into balls and deep fried. Throw in some toothpicks and mustard to dip them into….grab a bier and you got yourself a little party!!

My Little Dutch ABC Book ~ A

My Little Dutch ABC Book

A

Aardappel ~ Potato This is a great word to know as you will see and use it often. My most favorite part about the aardappels in The Netherlands is that apparently the people listened when Vincent van Gogh painted his famous paintings

The Potato Eaters in 1885

 and his painting 

The Potato Peeler 1885

  These painting were part of his famous series of Peasant Character Studies. When Vincent said peel and eat potatoes… the people of The Netherlands did… and so I have not had to peel any potatoes while I have lived here. 

I love it! They come in a variety of shapes 

Boiled

and sizes 

Mashed

and delicious dishes ready to be heated and served. 

Au gratin

But what ever you do... don't forget the frietjes and mayo!

Trip Trap Trip Trap~ Falling Down the Dutch Steps!

Trip Trap Trip Trap~ Falling Down the Dutch Steps!

One Snowy day a few weeks ago, I thought it would be a great idea to get outside to take some pictures of my beautiful Dutch home covered with a new blanket of snow. It was absolutely stunning.  Overnight, a few inches of fresh snow had fallen and surprised us in the morning. But being that it was still morning and I was still enjoying my morning cup of Joe, I hastily threw on my Sperry’s (they are boat shoes after all… water resistant) and grabbed my winter coat. Clicking a few pics in the back then coming through the house to head out front. I peeked outside carefully to see if anyone was around… then crept out in my pjs. That’s when I reached the top of my front porch steps, slipped, slammed onto my foot and fell all the way down. Luckily it was only 3 steps but they are made out of concrete…. So 3 was plenty! Scraped and bruised, I limped back into the house thankful that my neighbors hadn’t been out walking their dogs while I put on what for sure must have looked like a scene from a downhill Olympic skiing event crash.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7frGJf77AA

In my current house I do not have the typical scary vertical steps. They are very forgiving but they only have a rail on one side. The other side of the stairs is open. Really quite beautiful but I cling to the rail on the way down. A tad frightening in the middle of the night.

When we were first moving here and we were looking for a house, I was shocked by the stairs or trap as the Dutch call them. 

And to me, that’s exactly what they are like… a trap waiting for me to fall down. 

 A lot of the houses we were looking at were row houses proudly sitting next to each other along beautiful Dutch streets. Tall and skinny… just how the heck would we ever get our furniture up those freighting stairs? But the ingenious Dutch have that figured out as well. On the front of some homes are hooks or hijsbalk that pull the furniture up and through the windows. Several things in our first house had to go through the back up and over a balcony and through a double door. I have no clue how they got my daughter’s furniture to the attic floor. I just decided they knew what they were doing and went to unpack boxes. Sometimes it’s best not to look.

Over the years now, I’ve been up and down many Dutch stairs. My favorite have been the stairs at the Anne Frank home in Amsterdam. You are so overwhelmed by the history that you forget that you are practically scaling a small mountain.

And of course I loved climbing up and down my husband’s man cave apartment stairs when he first moved here to The Netherlands. I literally had to hold the stairs in front of me and climb up like a ladder.

If you’re not climbing up and trying to not have a heart attack or ask for an oxygen mask at the high altitude levels, then you are on your way back down and trying to figure out how to position your feet as not to scrape the back of your heel or fall flat on your face.

Four weeks later and no medal in hand, I’m finally ready to tackle those Dutch stairs!! After the thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat.. I'm ready to try again!!! Oh and by the way... I didn't drop my camera! 

Victory is mine!