The week was mostly eaten up by house renovations which were actually continuing on time in mid April. Given everything I know about (re)construction, this was a miracle. “Never on time and never on budget…”

Comedian Derek Mitchell (American living in the NL) had his second tour around Europe. As soon as I got his email announcing his tour, I organized a group of women from IWCU to go together and it was even more hilarious than I expected. His observations of cultural difference and the difficulties of learning languages as an adult hit just right. In my personal schedule, the timing of the show couldn’t have been worse, but it was also wonderful to take a break from all the things I had to do and have some fun with friends.

Looking him up to share a relevant clip, I realized we both did the 10 questions interview with Brandon H over at DutchNews.nl - funny coincidence and small world. Derek M - 2025 / Beatrice M - 2022. Has it been four years already? The days are long, but the years are indeed short.

Apr 13 – Day 102

On Monday, Internet Archive Europe welcomed a delegation from Aruba to talk about how we can continue to work together and deepen our connections to preserve Aruban cultural history, specifically the language Papiamento. Digitization continues!

Apr 14 – Day 103

Buying the house across the street from ours proved to be useful in ways we hadn’t contemplated. We didn’t hire a “general contractor” to oversee the project for us, we just hired various contractors to each do their part. Early every morning (why do they start so early?!) we would go over bring coffee, chit-chat, check in, answer any questions and see the progress. It was a very good thing as several times we got them to pivot from one decision to another more to our liking. We were super happy with the oak floors which are so much brighter and inviting than the dark grey concrete.

Apr 15 – Day 104

Dum dum dee dum… The kitchen we ordered back in December was finally ready to be delivered! Exciting times. Funnily, we weren’t the only family expecting a kitchen delivery on our street that same day and in our street chat group, we joked that we had to ensure the right kitchen made it into the right house.

Our kitchen was supposed to arrive in the morning around 9 am, but unfortunately the truck broke down and everything had to be moved into a replacement moving truck. Luckily, everything eventually arrived that mid-afternoon and there were no missing parts. Whew.

That evening I biked over to Zuilen (a part of north-eastern Utrecht) to meet up with a group of women from IWCU and see the comedian Derek Mitchell of “Let’s Double Dutch”. At the theatre restaurant, I just had to order a Double Dutch Ginger beer in honor of the show.

Derek is insightful, inquisitive, thoughtful and hilarious. He speaks about the cultural differences and similarities and quirks immigrants all go through. I stayed through to the end to just tell him how much I appreciated his work. Like Josh Johnson, Derek was extraordinarily generous with his time and attention making each interaction feel unique and valuable. That’s such an incredible skill as a performer. You give so much of yourself on stage, to give even more to the audience afterwards, I hope it is somehow energizing and not depleting.

Apr 16 – Day 105

Santi had the brilliant idea to change the back window in the office from a tiny version, to a full window you can actually see out of when sitting at a desk. We got a wonderful recommendation to Reinsmabouw and they did a fantastic job in two days. Super impressed with how everything turned out.

The kitchen was starting to be installed one day after delivery - again, I am super impressed with how the puzzle pieces of all the construction were fitting together so well.

Apr 17 – Day 106

The kitchen installation continued apace and the installer’s partner made this adorable drawing of the layout for us to know how the backsplash will look once we order it and have it installed a month or so later.

Apr 18 – Day 107

Back “at home” and the wisteria I planted in 2024 was going strong. I am a bit sad to leave it behind, but the wonderful thing is that I will get the privilege of looking at it from our kitchen window every spring.

Apr 19 – Day 108

I got this mug from work - it was being “moved along”. The mug instantly reminded me of the pottery a family friend used to make when I was a child. I know it’s not “Monson Pottery”, but it feels familiar and makes me happy to drink my morning cappuccino from the ceramic.

This present week in late May, Santi and I watched the last episode of Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show and there were two musical performances at the end. These could have been bitter and sad, instead the performances were infused with joy - rightly so as the musical band has became known as “Louis Cato and the Great Big Joy Machine”. The pure happiness that you see on Stephen’s (and others) face(s) during their performance on the one hand defies comprehension (I would have been a blubbering mess) and on the other is 100% understandable. Love and Grief are the two sides of the same coin. I encourage you to watch.

Colbert’s life philosophy was greatly shaped by his mother’s perseverance after his father and two of his brothers died in a plane crash when he was 12.

Lorna Colbert held herself together not out of bitterness, but out of a fierce, quiet love, and Stephen watched that and absorbed it into his bones. He later said his mother was never bitter, just broken, and that her example became the blueprint he carried for the rest of his life.

In 2019, Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper together had a beautifully touching and healing conversation about grief. I know that I am grieving the loss of this show, but he isn’t gone…