Writing on US Thanksgiving weekend (Happy Thanksgiving!!! for those that celebrate), and we had a lovely gathering of friends and family here in Utrecht. That’s what I am eternally grateful for - the community we are surrounded by. Now think back to mid October!

October 13 – Day 339

Monday October 13th, Santi and I went up to Amsterdam for a date night! We even got a “babysitter” to keep David company and get him safely to sleep. We saw the Argentine group “Babasonicos” in the concert hall “Melkweg” (Milky Way) and had a delicious dinner beforehand at a Japanese Restaurant “De Japanner West” Santi found. Was a wonderful date night and I was truly happy and “free” / “light”. Somehow all my responsibilities were able to melt away for some hours.

October 14 – Day 340

We digitally signed a Very Important Document and this screenshot moved us further down a journey that feels “Very Adult” and scary, but the good kind of scary that moves you forward in life.

Unexpectedly, a neighbor is moving away and we are moving houses next year - all the way across the street! We would never voluntarily move away from our street as the community here is wonderful, but the house across the street is a bit of an upgrade and so we made an offer after viewing it and it was accepted! This was not in our plans, but sometimes an opportunity arises and you are able to go with it.

October 15 – Day 341

Back in August at WHY2025, we came across the Home Computer Museum camp and struck up a conversation. We were able to continue our acquaintance in September when Bart visited the the IAE headquarters in Amsterdam and so this felt like a natural fit bringing the Web Display to their incredible museum in Helmond. I picked up everything from the Dutch National Library in the Hague and drove it a couple of hours away to Helmond and set it up in their lobby there as a temporary exhibit. Pretty cool.

October 16 – Day 342

The leaves are falling in our neighborhood and I stopped on my bike to get this shot on my way to pick up David from school.

October 17 – Day 343

David and I flew over the clouds we are usually under and made it back to California in one piece. Getting through customs and back into the country was simple. After reading everything in the news, even as a citizen with passports, I was nervous. But luckily, nothing happened to us. Many others haven’t been so lucky and I feel privileged and horrified and ashamed of my birth country.

October 18 – Day 344

Luckily, there was something citizens could do to express their horror and outrage of the current US Administration and its slide into Authoritarianism. I had helped organize the No Kings Protest in Amsterdam, even though I knew I wasn’t going to be there. But luckily, I was able to attend one in California.

I really wanted to take our son to show him the importance of standing up for your beliefs and building community, but Santi was nervous and so I honored his request and David stayed home in Bolinas as I went off to Pt Reyes Station and protested with about 400 other people. It was very chill and mostly filled with outraged older hippies - like in the meme I shared back in August.

When I got back to Bolinas, I took David for a walk around the town and the beach. It was low tide and beautiful and so we were able to walk all the way around and not get too wet. When David purposefully walked in the tide pools, well… that was on him. 😆

October 19 – Day 345

Sunday started off with family pancake breakfast and in the afternoon, we once again walked downtown to join the community celebration of the return of the Post Office! It had been shut for 948 days - more than two and a half years!! A central community hub of casual encounters of neighbors and friends had been cut off because of a fight between the landlord and the US Post office over who was going to pay to repair the building.

If you watch the video below, you can see the reporter standing in front of our house - Blackberry Farm - making his newscast. Click on the screenshot and it will take you to the news piece.

We finished off the evening with a movie night with David and Uncle Walter. It was so very very sweet.

"Cuando alguien te recomiende una canción, escuchala; porque te está mostrando un pedazo de su felicidad" – Gustavo Cerati.

“When someone recommends a song to you, listen; because they are showing you a piece of their happiness” – Gustavo Cerati

Granted, not all songs show happiness, but I do believe they share a bit of one’s soul, personality and thoughts. The amount of time and agony that went into making mix tapes between friends in the 80s/90s demonstrates the value of the quote above.