A very full week that started of with the house viewing and ended with signing the purchase agreement from the couple who made a solid bid and sent a very nice letter telling us why they wanted to buy our house.

January 19 – Day 19

Monday we woke up early to put the final touches to make the house beautiful and Santi made an apple pie to make the house smell nice.

We got updates from the cat sitter about how Pica was adjusting to being in their apartment and he was doing alright. Made me feel a bit better.

David didn’t have school as his teacher was sick and there still wasn’t a substitute, so he came to Amsterdam with me. Impromptu take your kid to work day!

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January 20 – Day 20

After the murder of Renée Good by ICE, I helped organize protests in Utrecht, Amsterdam and the Hague. We made it coordinate with the Women’s March Free America WalkOut on Tuesday at noon. Our gathering was small but present.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

– Margaret Mead

We got some press regarding Utrecht in the local newspaper DUIC.

A small group of people demonstrated against Donald Trump's policy under the bulb roof on Stationsplein in Utrecht on Tuesday afternoon. Similar protests also took place in other cities, in the Netherlands and abroad.

The demonstrators carried signs with slogans such as ‘No, you can't have Greenland, you haven't finished your Venezuela yet’. In addition, there was a portrait of a woman who was shot dead by ICE immigration earlier this year in the United States.

The protest, that the name Free America Walkout wore, was organized by Women's March. In the Netherlands, people took to the streets in Amsterdam, The Hague, Leiden and Utrecht, among others.

The demonstrators in Utrecht largely came from the United States. The organization's website states: “A year after Trump's second term in office, we face an increasing fascist threat. It's time for our communities to scale up too.”

And even more press in the national news for the gathering in the Hague with a video program.

Tuesday was the second day of the house viewings and in total there were about a dozen people who came and saw the house. That evening we received a very nice letter from a couple who are looking to buy their first house and possibly start a family.

January 21 – Day 21

On Wednesday afternoon, we accepted the bid on the house. Another one came in afterwards, but too late.

So many emotions, but mostly relief that we had people seriously interested, that they looked good on paper and our real estate agent got a good feeling from them.

January 22 – Day 22

Thursday I went up to Amsterdam for work and it was cold but beautiful. Pica was happy to be back home and settling back into life here.

January 23 – Day 23

We hosted “Public Domain Movie Night” at the Internet Archive Headquarters and showcased the top three winners and first Honorable Mention of the Internet Archive Public Domain Movie Remix contest. Then we showed a feature film and I just made it home in time to get David to sleep.

The pictures and videos from Friday’s massive general strike and protest in Minneapolis were inspiring. Community coming together to say enough is enough and this all has to stop - ICE OUT.

January 24 – Day 24

Saturday Santi went with friends to Germany and so David and I had a Mom and Son day out. He asked if there was a Video Game Museum and low and behold there was one in Zoetemeer. We bought tickets for the afternoon and had a blast, playing Space Invaders, PacMan, Asteroids, Centipede. The ground floor is one chaotic arcade and then along the sides of the room are small rooms fitted out to be retro living rooms with different old school consoles. Here he is playing Old School Sonic in a room fashioned to be a vintage living room with a red couch and two old big box TV 📺 sets.

When we got home I learned about Alex Pretti and my heart sunk. Various of my text groups lit up as we all tried to comprehend what just happened. Things are spiraling out of control and I hope calmer heads can prevail.

One thing I saw online was this knitting pattern for these red tasseled Norwegian Hats from the 1940s. I have never followed a pattern before but I bought this one and will give it my best shot.

In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design.

All proceeds from the sale of this pattern go to the immigrant aid agencies who will distribute the funds to those impacted by the actions of ICE.

January 25 – Day 25

It was a mostly lazy Sunday (sort of). It was bitterly cold but Santi and a friend went for a road bike-ride and while they were out I went over to the family’s home and caught up with my friend and our kids played together. I was in the middle of making a somewhat healthy banana bread (bananas, oats, eggs, spices and dried fruits) and so brought the batter mixture over and it was cooked in their oven and shared when done. It tasted “very healthy” 🤣

After our guys got home, we went for our own (shorter) bike ride around MaximaPark and luckily it wasn’t quite as freezing as when our guys had headed out earlier - she said this weather is called “lying sun”.

When David I got back home, Santi and I went over the Dutch purchase agreement and digitally signed the document. One major step closer to having the house fully sold. 🙌

That evening I had the distinct pleasure of laughing so much my cheeks hurt. I went with another friend to see the Argentine comedienne group “Guilty Girls” and boy I was not prepared for how hilariously “filthy” they were. They were extremely “Argentine” in that they were constantly talking over each other so that made it a tad more difficult to understand them. I was super proud of myself that I got probably at least 85% of their jokes. It was so cathartic to fully lose ourselves in laughter.

Santi shared this song with me this weekend and so I thought I’d share here. It’s an oldy-but-goodie - enjoy.