Guus Bosman

software executive and technologist

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Haarlem

Ice skating in Haarlem

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 1:37pm

It's been really cold in the Netherlands the last two weeks and many canals and rivers are frozen.

Harm sent me beautiful pictures of a ice skating trip he made through the city of Haarlem, where we used to live. My uncle skated over the Spaarne river from Haarlem to Spaarndam and took nice shots of windmill De Adriaan at the Hooimarkt.

Unlike most Dutchmen, I do not personally enjoy ice skating. My childhood memories of learning to skate are mainly about very cold hands and clumsy falling. When we lived in Opperdoes there was a small river behind our house, with a view of the farmlands surrounding the village. I vividly remember the bitter cold when trying to tie my wooden skates to my boots.

At the other hand I have very happy memories of our wooden sleigh, and my father pushing Ettie and me through the snow.

Cold winters like these are fairly rare in the Netherlands. There was the hope that the Elfstedentocht skating marathon would be held this year, but it was not to be. Ettie and Gerben sent us cute videos of Jasper's first experience on the ice at the Bonkevaart in Leeuwarden. I hope his early childhood memories about the ice will be happy.

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dailylife

Bitterballen in Arlington

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 8:26am

Yesterday we went to a fun Dutch social, or "borrel", in a bar in Ballston.

After work I picked up Sasha, Jeroen and Juan from downtown D.C. and we drove back to Arlington. The monthly meetup was in Frontpage in Ballston. It was a lot of fun and the bitterballen were delicious.

No big plans for this weekend. We've completed almost all the preparations and purchases, so time to relax. Last Saturday I filed our taxes, which was quite a bit of work since we had to file state returns in North Carolina, DC and Virginia. Always a good feeling when that paperwork has been completed.

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ourhouse

Crib arrived

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 7:16am

The crib arrived! It is a present from Opa and Oma, and it is beautiful (thank you!). The crib can also be converted into a toddler bed and even a children's bed, so it will be with us for many years.

I worked from home on Monday to accept the delivery and around 11.30 am they called and brought the big package upstairs. The package shipped from Washington state and was more than 100 lbs.

We put it together on Monday evening and it fits nicely in our bedroom.

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sportstv

Super Bowl 2012

Mon, 02/06/2012 - 8:13am

Yesterday we went to a Super Bowl party to watch the "big game" with several of Sasha's colleagues. It had been two years since I saw a football game and even though we know the rules fairly well it was fun to hear the expert commentary from folks at the party.

The host supported the New England Patriots, who unfortunately lost in the last few minutes, but it was a fun evening nevertheless. The halftime show with Madonna was marvelously over the top.

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dailylife

Baby shower at Sasha's work

Sat, 01/28/2012 - 6:36pm

On Wednesday Sasha's colleagues threw her a baby shower at work.

We received cute presents including several American classic children books, such as "Big Red Barn" and "Goodnight Moon".

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dailylife

Making progress

Sat, 01/28/2012 - 3:24pm

This week we made good progress with the preparations for our new arrival.

Wednesday evening I installed the car seat. It was easy but it's nice to know that it's done.

I stayed home Monday afternoon to receive the delivery of the crib, but it was damaged in shipment so I refused delivery. Hopefully they'll redeliver next week.

We ordered all the other things we need this week, and every day we are receiving new packages. With the exception of clothes and blankets we've ordered almost everything online. It's very helpful to read the reviews on Amazon, especially for things we have never bought before such as these baby items.

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art

"Girl With a Pearl Earring" to visit the USA

Sat, 01/28/2012 - 2:49pm

In the fall of 2004 Sasha, Steven and I went to the Toneelschuur in Haarlem and saw the movie Girl with a Pearl Earring.

A few days later, while I was waiting for my visa to be processed, we saw the painting in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague. It's a gorgeous little painting, and through the movie it became one of Vermeer's best-known works.

Yesterday the news came out that Girl with the Pearl Earring will be shown in three museums in the United States next year, while the Mauritshuis is being renovated. Very exciting news.

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dailylife

Cooking ahead

Mon, 01/23/2012 - 9:32pm

Over the last few days I've done quite some cooking, in preparation of the first weeks when the baby arrives. I'm not exactly sure what's in store for us, but everybody says we'll be very busy and tired so I figured it's useful to have some frozen healthy dinners ready.

I made enough macaroni sauce for seven meals last week, and recently I cooked a huge batch of chili. I'm very happy with my two electric burners that allow me to cook on the balcony -- it's great for "smelly" foods like garlic and onions.

This week I'll also freeze babi pangang and perhaps some other dishes.

Suggestions?

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washington

Snow in Virginia

Sat, 01/21/2012 - 10:52am

It was snowing tonight and we woke up to a white world. It's the first snow this season, and it will disappear soon.

Last year when we visited D.C. for Sasha's interviews there was a very thick layer of snow in February, so there's still a possibility, but it has been a very mild winter so far.

I took three pictures and stitched them together with Hugin, an excellent tool.

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movies

Babies The Movie

Mon, 01/16/2012 - 10:02am

Yesterday we saw a beautiful documentary, "Babies", about the lives of four babies in four different cultures. A baby in Namibia, Tokyo, Mongolia and San Francisco went through the same major milestones in life -- but in very different environments.

The cinematography and music were outstanding. It's a French movie but it has virtually no talking. The film captured beautiful landscapes and most of all great human moments.

Joy, a colleague, recommended this movie. Highly recommended. The trailer of the movie can be found here.

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