Early February started off with a bit of relaxation and then swiftly moved into busy-ness, but good busy-ness where you feel tired but happy.

February 2 – Day 32

I started the week (end of the first night) off with a relaxing bath and this was just the right “prescription”.

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February 3 – Day 33

I went to buy supplies to knit this “Melt the Ice” hat. At the store this evening in the Netherlands, the woman said I was the second person that week to buy supplies to make the Melt the ICE hat. The pattern is available for sale and all proceeds go to the immigrant aid agencies who will help those impacted by the actions of ICE.

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 hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute.

A knitting store in Minneapolis recreated the pattern and you can buy the pattern and proceeds go to help those impacted by ICE.

Mashaal and her team quickly put together a pattern for a red knit cap with a ribbed brim, pointy top and jaunty tassel. They published the “Melt the ICE hat” pattern on Ravelry, the social network for knitters and crocheters, and made it available for download for $5, with proceeds going to the St Louis Park Emergency Program (Step), a group that is helping people affected by ICE raids to pay their rent and bills.

“We thought we’d have a group of 10 people come and knit, and it turned out to be over 💯,” Mashaal said. “Then it started spreading and it’s just been crazy.” Nearly 70,000 copies of the pattern had been sold by Wednesday, less than two weeks after it was first published online. It has been adapted for crochet and other weights of yarn, and has become ubiquitous on knitting social media. Local yarn shops across the country are offering specials on red yarn and hosting knit-alongs of their own.

‘Rage knitting’ against the machine: the hobbyists putting anti-ICE messages into crafts | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) | The Guardian

Makers take a stand through ‘Melt the ICE’ red knit caps and sparkly nails – all while raising funds for those affected by immigration raids

February 4 – Day 34

I met up with several friends throughout the day which was lovely. An old acquaintance has moved into the neighborhood and I’m so glad! This is one of her many kitties that made the move with her - so fluffy and adorable.

In the evening, I got together with a group of women to talk in person about the US political situation and what we are doing about it from the Netherlands. It was a lovey meet up and so much better to talk in person than just chatting online. Looking forward to more in person gatherings.

February 5 – Day 35

I went into the office as I do on Thursdays and took this lovely photo of the upstairs dining / living room. It is a really nice gezellig environment for working.

February 6 – Day 36

Friday I went back into Amsterdam to attend a work event at the “Embassy of the Free Mind”. A colleague has been leading Vibe Coding sessions teaching people how to turn ideas into applications using the combination of AI and human language. The tools are getting more and more powerful and I wanted to learn more about it.

Many buildings in Amsterdam have these huge black flags on their buildings. I’m wondering if we should upgrade the IAE flag as it’s about half the size, however, it means having a much larger and heavier installation for the flag pole. We will see.

The gathering was quite large when we learnt about Vibe Coding with the “Vibe Coding Collective” who came over from the UK to teach people about it.

Afterwards, I went to the US Consulate and met up with Dutchies who gathered to say No to the current US Regime. We came together in the cold and drizzle and made noise while waving white handkerchiefs. We also had a moment of silence. Community is so important and I was glad to be fostering it here in the Netherlands.

February 7 – Day 37

Our son will start middlebarschool (middle/high school) in Sept 2027. A very important step on life’s journey. As a family, you have to start looking at schools the year prior. We visited one school on it’s “OpenDag” and spent all morning checking out the various aspects of the school. While there were numerous cool programs, I don’t know if it will be rigorous enough, but it also would be fine. But of course, one does tend to want the best for one’s children - just hard to know what that is.

February 8 – Day 38

Sunday was a very much needed chill day. Santi had made lovely sandwich bread which was a mixture of sourdough and yeast for a more fluffy texture for David’s school lunches. In the evening we played a new-to-us game that David loves of chasing a spy around London with metro, buses and taxis. He even let me be “Mr X” once.

In case you hadn’t heard, Bad Bunny played at the Superbowl in California and the YouTube video has over 100 million views! You have to click on the link to watch on YouTube.

One thing I found super interesting from a cultural standpoint is the different meanings of the word “America”. When I lived in Argentina and people would ask me where I was from and I said “I’m American”, the usual response is “So am I, where are you from?”. America in Latin America refers to all the continent of North, Central and South America. So, when Bad Bunny said “We are America” and listed all the countries in the continents and blazed all the country flags, that makes complete sense to Latinos.

I can see how people from the US who refer to themselves as Americans had their heads explode a bit because to them, when you say “American” it means you’re from the United States of America. It’s really difficult to talk and understand each other when the words themselves don’t have the same meaning.