Axel the artist

Axel is learning to scribble. So I am helping him to draw a stick figure Axel. I am only letting him use the crayons at the table as I fear for the rough textured walls in this rental if he is allowed to play with them on the floor.

Sunday's race

Looks like Pijnacker was not televised. Jon said but for one last crash he would have been with Chrobak. As it was, he was the last rider not to be lapped (contrary to the report on VeloNews). Cyndi said he was well clear of the finish straight away before Lars and Bart came through. Cyndi also mentioned one crash Jon had. She said one muddy downhill curved away from a drop off way down to a canal, so that if you hit the fence hard enough you would just slide down into the canal. She saw a rider crash there and knew Jon was coming next and thought he would crash there and sure enough he did. She said she knew it was because the prior rider had dug out a crash line, but she felt that she should have been saying "don't crash, don't crash" then he might have gotten around. Neither rider fell into the canal. Jon said his last crash was into a post. I said he should avoid those posts. Ha! more on VeloNews; more on CyclingNews .

Cyndi and Leah were off this AM prior to the crack of dawn for the trip to Paris. They will be back around dinner time tomorrow.

No World Cup on TV

Looks like Belgian TV has gone with a Belgian Tennis Match rather than the Cyclocross World Cup. Jon will be disappointed as he likes to watch them. Perhaps they are broadcasting it at some other time, but I wouldn't know. I have checked vrt.be Sporza and I don't know what else to check. Searching under Wereldbeker World Cup, veldrijdern cyclocross what else?? Cycling TV is no help? Thought they might have it on the radio, but that is really no help.

Slow Sunday

Off and on rain today so we did not go to the park. Baby is napping and Leah is playing in the living room. I read to her and she has been making a knight costume. The sword is currently drying. Heard a loud crash from upstairs. Sounded like the toilet lid was dropped from a large height. Baby is now awake, but she who woke him has to get him up. He slept for about 45 minutes so he should be OK to get up.

Video taping the race

Jon had given me very long complicated directions for how to make a video of the race right before he left. I wrote it all down, but was still unsure of myself. The directions were complicated by the fact that I did not know what channel the race was on. Both copies of the invaluable Belgian Cyclocross newspaper that we had gotten at the first race had gone missing. These had all the TV channels and times for the races. We blame all missing items on the maids. So at quarter to the start of the race at 3PM, I found the channel. Then the baby pooped. As Leah is changing the baby, a process that involved almost totally undressing him and him sampling the diaper creme, I managed to help her and get the recording started. Then the baby found a mud covered rock that had been left on the coffee table. I had seen it there and had thought, as he did, that it was a cookie crumb. So after he gave me the rock and I washed his mouth out and hands off with a baby wipe that crisis was over. We saw Jon at the start of the race, but maybe the baby and the mud was prophetic. Most of the race was deep in mud and Jon did not finish in the top ten. I hope he finished at all and will update as I know more. But mud is not his preference for a racing medium. But at least the race is on video and my favorite next to Jon, Bart Wellens, won.

Update: I see no Jon in the results, but Chris Jones USA a fellow rider was 38th. more here

Leah and baby ate well at dinner. Baby ate mostly dark meat and an entire mango minus the bruised end. He refused tomatoes and sauteed peppers. Then he had dessert of raisin bread in soy milk. Leah had lots of chicken, some tomatoes and a piece of chocolate. Now they are playing upstairs in the living room. His only nap today was the short one in his stroller and he has not been fussy, so we are not in a big rush to put him to bed as we don't want him waking up in the night.

Saturday Market

The parental units are off to the races. So the kinderen and I were off to the Saturday Market. Clothes for me and a bit of candy for Leah. Such a bargain she said. We found a BBQ Kippen and some cheddar cheese (echt Engelse, genuine English). I think we will have the kippen for dinner tonight and make mac and cheese for tomorrow's dinner. Then to Vibra for colored paper for a special project. We also found a chocolate advent calendar for only 1 euro. Such a deal. Then around the corner to the 'T Zant cookie cafe. The place is more than 1/2 full for morning snack. Looks like mostly locals as they greet each other. The baby has fallen asleep so we just push him to the side. Leah had managed to have very little to eat this AM so she was hungry. She ordered a hot chocolate. You make your own. On a cute tray they deliver hot milk, a dish of mixed milk and dark chocolate chips, a dish of assorted types of sugar cubes and crystals, and a dish with a tiny muffin, sugar cookie and small chocolate. She also ordered a large waffle with ice cream and chocolate syrup. She ate all this. I had a small espresso. It also came with a tray of goodies. Most of which the baby got when he woke up. He was very good in the cafe, waving Dag, Dag (hello or bye,bye) to all.

Thursday ride

William took a ride to Sluis, Netherlands on Thursday.

On Thurs the 8th, after heading over early to the bike shop in Fort Lapin to pick up the carry bag for the spare tube, crescent wrench, patch kit, and the all- around universal do-it-all handy gadget of allen wrenches and tire removers, I headed North out of Brugge towards Koolkerke along highway N374. I passed a bakery along the way, did a u-turn, and for 1.25E had a nice torte for the road.

Fort Van Beieren was a bust, no rideable paths, and not much to see, so I continued north towards Oostkerke, notable for its stubby sawed-off tower. Tying into the Damse Vaart canal north of Damme, with its nice smooth bike path, it was clear sailing with the breeze at my back onwards to Sluis and the Netherlands. Jon and Cyndi had ridden there some time before on the 'cross bikes (with better times), but soon I was there and riding the downtown tourist sections with its own H&M, Blokker, Hema, and C&A stores. No "coffee houses" to be seen, but plenty of sex shops lining the streets.

A cafe caught my eye: Cafe Boo. I was thinking of Grandson Benjamin (Boo) and hoping that he was recovering well from his traumatic events. Across from the big, Dutch windmill, Cafe Boo was a nice pit stop for a couple of Leffe Bruin drafts. I soon hit the grocery for a croissant, cheese, and chocolate, then headed back to Brugge.

One of the characteristics of this part of Belgium is that it is as flat as a fart, and being near the North Sea, the winds pick up as the day goes on, moving from sea to land. The light breeze at my back on the way to Sluis now became the 15 mph wind in my face on the return to Brugge. Not much to do except head down and power on. Chocolate power.

Past Damme, close to Brugge, along the canal with hardly anyone about, I was surprised to hear a rider along side me. Glancing over, it was a woman in a flowing, white quilted coat, gray haired, 60ish, speeding by. I tried to keep up; she was steady at a high cadence. I got up on the pedals; she pulled ahead. I tried to follow in her slipstream; she gradually moved ahead. Better legs, for sure! And, for sure, a lifetime of riding.

I caught up to her at the stoplight on the edge of Brugge; the equalizer. I was soaking wet from the effort; she looked cool. I resolved to do more riding in he future.

He took a few pictures on the way: The canal with the ferry that only goes part way.

Windmill in Netherlands

Cafe Boo

Even little cars can have trouble finding the space.

Recipes

We are trying various recipes off of a Belgian Recipe site. We have roasted turkey. Made a meat stuffing recipe and tonight are trying a beef stew.

Tme stamp

Cyndi just told me how to change the time stamp. So I notice all the posts on this page now have the actual post time.

Weekend Plans

Plans have changed for the weekend. I will be staying home with the kinderen. (See how well you know Dutch. You knew what I meant.) Jon has to be at the World Cup venue in Netherlands the day prior to the race. So Jon (elite renner), Cyndi (soigneur), Dad (mechanic) and the bicycles will travel to the Saturday race then on to Netherlands where they will spend the night prior to the World Cup then back late Sunday.

Leah is great with the baby so I know we will be fine. We just have to plan a picnic and route to the good speelplein (playground) on Sunday. Maybe we will take some bread crumbs for the ducks at the lake nearby. Axel likes ducks and knows how to say duck and quack, quack.

Saturday the town is full of tourists, but we can take a route less traveled to the Saturday market where we might shop at the "maatje meer gaan hier" (larger sizes here) shop at the edge of the square. The food stalls are also at the edge and we might get a BBQ Kippen (chicken) and some kaas (cheese) for mac and cheese. Then we will go to the 'T Zant cookie shop for morning tea on the other side of the square. After lunch and baby nap we will find a route on back straats (streets) (hard to push the buggy on crowded streets) to the good frites (french fries) shop, Pickles, and wait in the crowd for an afternoon snack. Belgians are really big on snacks. As we eat and play our way through the weekend it will go quickly and then Moeder, Vader, and Opa will be home.

Dad reminds me that Belgians do not measure the time between one meal and the next but rather the distance, such as "it is 80 meters to lunch." So I think I must be getting a bit Belgian. Leah is getting to be a lot Belgian with her large vocabulary of common school words and phrases. Way beyond me, but Cyndi is trying to have Leah teach her the words in the evening. We'll see how that goes. Leah gets lots of repetition in different circumstances throughout the day, where Cyndi only gets a bit in the evening. Even the baby now says "Dag, Dag" for Bye Bye.

Despite the fact that I have the Dell set for local time (now 930AM 08/11/07). It persists in posting the time as if it were USA Pacific (~1130PM 11/07/07 when I first posted).

Another day's walk in Brugge

Belgium has already broken the record of 148 days without a government on Monday and today the French speakers walked out of the negotiations. So on that note we went for another walk. And found Brugge alive and well.

Minnewater ParkAre there ticks here?

The gray babies still say cheep, cheep.

The museum of the Beguin House, a beguinage which is a religious retreat for women.

Water for the horse carriages.

Zeus, Leda, Prometheus en Pegasus bezoeken (visiting) BruggeAxel has a bath at the end of the day

Jon Baker Article

Read all about Jon on VeloNews

A Diddle Birthday

Leah's 10th Birthday
See Axel eating with a fork and chewing with his two big front teeth at the birthday party.The lovely Belgian birthday cake, a confection of thin layers of cake stuffed with cream and topped with raspberries.A new coatMost all the presents were diddle presents. That is a cartoon mouse that is popular with the school kids here in Brugge.The party wound up in the crazy zone with children dancing on the table as recorded by Cyndi outside through the window.

Another update from Valerie

From Valerie about Ben:

Ben came down with a 102 fever on Friday and we went straight
to the ER. He had some blood taken and it came back fine, and we
went home. Sat he would not take is oral meds, just would spit
them back up, and I found a few little spots on him. Then Sat
afternoon, after I called you, he threw up, so thank God it was
indeed something else, the flu. That is over now, and I figured
out that I can give him his meds while he is sleeping, and that is
working well. so everything is ok now.
I also have now found out that Ben is allergic to bandaids. He gets
a red rash, some a little raised in the exact mark of the bandaid.
Trying out a few different brands now to see if it makes a difference
since his face and hand still need to be covered from surgery. Right
now I have his hand wrapped in gauze, but I can't exactly do that to
his cheek.

Under 16

This is for you Richard:

Het is ten strengste verboten de toestellen te bedienen onder de 16 jaare.

From the laundromat: It is very strongly forbidden for those under the age of 16 to use these machines.

I spend my time waiting for the wash reading "Dag" (today or hello), a movie magazine in Dutch. I learned that Tom Boonen has a cartoon strip about him and his family and that the word for cyclocross in Dutch is veldrijden pronounced felt ray dern. Plus a lot of the usual about movie stars.

After the wash we went to a very nice tearoom for a cappuccino and waffle until the maids were done cleaning the house.See on the trays all you get for the cappuccino, a dish with a small muffin, a cookie and a chocolate and a dish with different types of sugar cubes. My cappuccino was a Belgian style with chocolate bits and a raft of heavy slagroom (whipped cream). The waffle was infinitely better than the ones on the street corners. We had powdered sugar and butter. Drool Drool.

Monday Monday

Leah is off to school. Jon and Cyndi are off on a bike ride. The baby is napping and Wm and I are laptopping. I have planned a Belgian menu for dinner and will go shopping later. We have a lot of carrots on hand so I thought of Courgette and Carrot Soup. Then a meat dish. The butcher shop has turkey parts (kalkoen) so I thought I might try roasting some as I found a Belgian recipe.
No midweek bike race this week. Birthday is tomorrow so we need to go by the pastry shop and reserve the one Leah wants. It is a very pretty confection of cookie and pudding of some sort with a bow tied around it and berries dusted with powdered sugar on top. Will have to get ice cream also. The big gift is the Paris trip scheduled for the 12th with just Cyndi and Leah. The date change was because the train travel is much much more reasonable if booked 2 weeks ahead. I'm not going as the baby likes female companionship as well as DaDa. For the bike races next weekend Cyndi and I are going to split the soigneur duties. I will go to the race and work on Saturday and she will stay home and she will work on Sunday and I will stay home. That way the kids can spend the weekend going to the park and playing etc. I am sure I can learn the soigneur duties fine.

A Day at the Races

Today we all piled in the van and went to the Superprestige at Hamme-Zogge. Jon's knee was sore from a fall yesterday, but he did pretty well. He avoided being lapped by Sven Nys who was breathing down his neck on the last lap. But his time should have been at least a minute better as the officials had taken down the barriers and let a huge crowd on to the course that he had to fight his way through to get to the finish line. Jon said that is just the way. That they do not care much about those who come in after the leaders. We watched the race from a school playground. So the kids had various pieces of equipment to play on in between watching daddy race by. Axel enjoyed waffles at the race.We did not spend much time in the beer tent where this picture was taken. The tables and chairs were nice, but it was not a good place to watch the race and the oompa music was excruciatingly loud. They have big screen TV's scattered around the venue, so that not all the fans are clustered at the edges of the course. The only trouble is they usually only show the leaders on the TV's. It was best to stand at the edge and yell for Jon. He said he heard us and appreciated it.

Crowds of Brits

On Saturday the British come to Belgium to be tourists and shop. The Saturday market was so packed Cyndi felt claustrophobic with the buggy. So the kids went for a ride on a kiddee roller coaster.After lunch and nap we fought the crowds to get to the playground on the other side of the Gros Markt. This playground has a fail safe method for keeping little kids off the high slides. You have to go up a climbing wall to get up to the highest areas and no stairs even to the lower areas.

Welkom op het speelplein
Welcome to the play place

The boys were off racing. Jon did better today as he got a higher call-up and higher final placement despite a tumble or two. He says this is all training as he has not yet fully gotten his cross legs yet. You can see him tall in green near the front at the right center with his helmet still unbuckled, number 31 if you go to the next picture and article on cycling news. He was not ready at the start, which was why he lost time in the first few laps.

Carnival and more

Bill and I went to a small carnival with Leija (Leah in Flemish) today in bicycle square (T'Zant Square). The best thing was the bumper cars. She had a great time and is a very aggressive driver. I forgot my camera. Too bad.
The baby and Cyndi went to play in the small local park and he ate a ladybug.
All worked together on a great dinner. Jon made pasta with a reduction sauce. Cyndi made braised brussels sprouts with bacon and garlic. I made mushrooms stuffed with spiced ground turkey sausage from the butcher and Bill had bought the bread.
When the baby sat down he attacked the food with joyful noises and Leah ate three servings of brussels sprouts.
A typical misty moisty Brugge day.

The Boo is home!

Latest from Valerie:

We are back home with Ben!!! :-) He was released at 2:pm this
afternoon, after his second set of IV meds for the day. We spent
four days at the hospital. He has mostly played outside all
afternoon, and is his happy playful self.

On Tuesday at the hospital, his nurse said we could take him outside,
so we did. Then a little bit later another nurse said they got a
call from Infection Control and Ben could not leave his ward. We
spent about 1/2 of the time at the hospital wandering the ward with
Ben, stopping to watch and talk to everyone, and being careful as
instructed not to have him touch anything.

The blood test from the hospital and the culture test from CareNow
both came back negative. He was already on antibiotics for two days
before the blood test, and I was told by a nurse that the culture
test is wrong sometimes. They assumed it was Invasive MRSA at the
hospital, and it acted as such with the need to increase the doses
and add additional antibiotics to fight as it was spreading in the
bloodstream. I checked online last night and ran into some scary
numbers the CDC just released two weeks ago; the death rate for
hospitalized cases of Invasive MRSA is 1/5. So scary! We are so
happy our little Boo is Okay!!!!!!