Phlog

"Left or right?"
(Guy)

"Happy with it all?"
(Guy)

Shopping Sunday.
One thousand and one lights,
at least,
in the Magna Plaza.
(Guy)

Nice story!
But I have to laugh. Why? Because, leaving out the flat tire, it closely parallels the Great Betty & Lew 2007 Christmas Tree Search. We decided -- to paraphrase a celebrated Dutch writer/photographer -- to avoid the beaten-up, weeks old trees in Providence and go to the country to find the perfect, freshly-cut Tannenbaum. So, off we went, following our map down Route 95, heading into the Rhode Island countryside -- even smaller than that of the Netherlands.
We soon became embroiled (i.e. LOST) in a complexity of back roads twisting around through former countryside, now turned into suburban communities. The tree farm we were aiming for did not exist. We headed further south and west, blundering in and out of villages and past factory complexes converted into loft apartments, donut shops and used car dealerships. We never saw a single Christmas tree vendor of any sort.
Motoring down an on-ramp to Rt. 95, I suggested to Betty that perhaps we should chop down one of the well shaped ornamental evergreen trees planted by the Rhode Island Highway Department.
Back in Providence, we went to a local market where Betty had seen trees. The selection included nothing but 4 to 5 foot trees, a laughable concept under a 15-foot ceiling.
I suggested going to the place we got a tree last year right in Providence. "Worth a try," the navigator said.
Exhausted by our searches, we pulled into the parking lot. We walked into the yard and bought the first tree we pulled from the display, had it loaded on the car roof, went home and dragged it onto the elevator, up and into the apartment.
And here it is, looking tiny and alone, but cheery with six or seven hundred tiny lights on it. It sits on the new electric train platform I assembled for the grandsons. To satisfy Madame Chairman, I had to go out and buy two more strings of lights; there are never enough, she says.
That said, I now have to leave you and get busy putting ornaments on the tree...
Merry Christmas to you and Florence.
Lewis

Heart warming shopping trip.
For Lewis.

"Why we are up so early? To be honest we are quite late. It has become a longer story than we had planned. Yesterday we left the house with the idea to buy a tree that would be less costly than the outrageously expensive trees in Amsterdam. It appeared to be more difficult to pick the tree we had in mind, but we finally found one to our taste and fitting the budget, in a nursery in Boskoop. After a few kilometers our precious tree weighed heavier every hundred meters. In Aalsmeer we got a flat rear tire which was repaired in a bicycle shop that we luckily found in the village not too far from where we broke down. We drank glühwein with the owner who gave us half a dozen of silver balls for the tree, and some useful tips for a shortcut. From then on we swerved a little, we lost our way, and it became dark before we saw it. On the gravel paths in Het Bosplan the tire lost more and more air and really became bothersome when it tried to run off the rim. By the light of the moon we didn't see the nail that the front tire hit on the point and let the air escape with a piercing, hissing sound. Meanwhile we hadn't seen anyone to ask the way, for hours, imagine, but in the dim light we saw some magnificent alternatives for the tree we had been hauling along, and smaller and handier as well. It took me a long time with the saw in my Swiss army knife to make this tree available for an exchange. Helped by plenty adrenalin and brute force I succeeded in mounting the new and lighter tree on the cross of the old one, and we hit the gravel again. Hungry and thirsty we saw the sun rise through the morning mist, but looking back that was an unexpected and actually very rich experience. Bone chilling cold and tired, flat tired you might say, the two of us all alone, and then suddenly this heart warming new light through the mist!"
(Interview Hans Arend de Wit, photo by Guy)

Looking for a Christmas tree in the precinct.
(Guy)

The Park is pretty as a picture.
(Guy)

"It's not cold when you are in love."
(Guy)

The sun's low.
(Guy)

Noon.
"Quick, before the white frost melts."

She will stay home and not go to her troops in Iraq
and wishes us a wonderful Christmas.
Worth a try.

A promising morning.

This year Santa preferred his Volvo
over the horse sleigh.
(Guy)

Saturday.
Much nicer than expected.

"Your sleeping bag or mine?"
(Guy)

"Last bump for today."
(Guy)

"She's grand, but will she wake up?"
(Guy)

"Oh but I bought him a warm dress."
(Guy)

"She's just in need of some air."
(Guy)

Things at late afternoon were looking
very Breughelesque in Providence.
Minus the frolijke boeren, of course.
(Lewis)

What happened Philippe?
"One of the sea lions performing in an act
in the Royal Carré Theater was allowed to take a dive
in the river Amstel. I heard the commotion and ran
outside with my camera. That's what happened.
Haven't seen Guy by the way."
(Philippe)

"Almost too cold to steer."
(Guy)

"What is it you said!"
(Guy)

Thursday.
"We're always in a sunny mood."
(Guy)

"It took us a long walk to see the light in a tree."
(Guy)

"What do you mean with the musical?"
(Guy)

"Folds itself, if you're not careful, in a wink."
(Guy)

Young streetphotographer Astrid,
address unknown.
(Guy)

Wednesday, gray later.
(Guy)

"Have speedboat, will travel, fast."
(Guy)

Collision of two barges
that took one sailor's life.
(Guy)

The press on the spot of the collision.
(Guy)

Gramps is young again.
(Guy)

Max remote controls and drives off
with a Porsche 911 and gets away with it.
Click!

Tuesday, Providence. It's pretty chilly here too. And snowing. The newspapers point out the dropped gate on the Hurricane Barrier. The good news is that the gate is in position to defend downtown from hurricane floods. The bad news is that someone has to find 30,000 dollars in the town budget to get the gate working properly again. (Lewis)

Monday.
Cold in Toronto and relatively cold
in Amsterdam.
DDOI.