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After being greeted at the airport
my CBB's mum Wil, and youngest brother Jerome, we headed back to Chez
De Jong.
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That evening, we took a quick trip to Jerome's place, which happens to be the home where the De Jong boys grew up -- it sounds like they were perfect angels. ;) Jerome's got a kickin' studio there -- with a fabu name: Rock Shop Studio. He & Dejo (otherwise known to you and me as Dejo; otherwise known to his family as Robert -- took me a while to get used to calling him that) did a little jammin' on the guitar & bass, with Jerome taking a turn at the drumset as well. Me? I sat there, resisting the urge to find out what some of those bazillion knobs and buttons on the consoles did. |
After the boogie woogie fever had been quelched for the evening, it was back to Mom & Dad's for dinner, and a quiet evening. That's CBB's dad, Vince, on the left, and a clearer shot of Jerome on the right. In the middle, that's my Cute Blonde Boy. | Dejo & his dad
have a look at a map of the Netherlands (the De Jongs are 1st-generation Dutch -- so very cool!) |
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The next day (Nov 12), Jerome, Dejo
& I headed downtown to the Alberta
Legislature Building for a tour. Very cool building, and a ton of
interesting history.
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| The fountain in the main lobby | The ceiling from the lobby. Those are real palm trees up there! | On the tour, we got to go into the Chamber, where a French college class was conducting a mock assembly. I was just tickled to see them doing the fist-pounding on the desk (you'll have to take the tour yourself, and learn) -- it reminded me of the House of Commons | When the Members doze off, they have a gorgeous ceiling to wake up to. | The fountain in the lobby, from the 3rd or 4th floor. Thre's an amazing acoustic spot where the sound of the water seems to come from above you |
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| Back at the Visitor's Center / Gift Shop, we took the opportunity to try on some stylish duds. Here, Dejo models what the best-dressed Lieutenant Governors are wearing these days.... | ...unless the Lieutenant Governor's a woman, in which case a flowing purple velvet robe is clearly the fashion accessory of choice. | Later that evening, back at the De Jong's, the 2 Brainy Boys worked on a Sudoku puzzle, while Mom & I tackled something more aesthetic. | ||
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| Sunday morning gave me my first introduction to poffertjes -- teeny tiny puffy pancakes. A very tasty Dutch specialty, which Jerome has mastered. | I was surprised to
learn that one serving = one whole pan. But I didn't argue -- pass the melted butter and powdered sugar, please!!! |
Later Sunday afternoon,
Dejo, Jerome & I headed to the Odyssium
(a science museum) for some fun with science (who says a "kid"
has to be a certain age??), then into the planetarium for the last show
of the day. As I discovered, my camera isn't so great at non-flash pictures
when things are moving (that's Dejo's cameraphone streaking through the
dark), but if I can get a still base, I can get some swell pictures of
the Zeiss star projector. |
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Monday the 14th: After a morning
with the parents (at Dad's doctor for some tests, and to the YMCA for
coffee with the ladies), Dejo & I headed to The Mall.
No, not just any ol' mall. The West Edmonton Mall. The largest mall in North America (sorry, Minnesota). 800+ stores, 110 places to eat, a water park, an amusement park, a sea lion show, hotels, an ice rink.....ye gods, where was this when I was a teenage girl?!? |
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Among other things, we headed down
into the Sea Life Caverns. Oh, sure, there were penguins and fish and
iguanas and stuff, but I could not take my eyes off these little guys.
Poisonous, but pretty! And tiny -- about 2" long, at best.
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A roller coaster in a mall? Well, ya
kinda have to do it just for the sheer amusement factor, dontcha?
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Tuesday, Nov. 15 -- among other
things that day (like heading back to Ben's Meats, to pick up a case
of Kinder Eggs and many other goodies), we headed to the Alberta
Aviation Museum, where Dejo's dad volunteers.
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They've got a 737 from Pacific Airways
(I think?) sitting out back, waiting to be let in. How, exactly, does
one get a 737 into a building that's already full of other planes? Ah,
that's the challenge....
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Now THAT's my size plane! (okay, actually
a flight trainer -- but idn't it cute??)
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After checking out the planes at
the museum (and boy, are there a LOT of them! very cool!), we headed
over to Ricky's for dinner. It was great to have one more meal with
the whole family -- though my attmepts to get a decent picture of them
didn't work out quite the way I'd have liked...
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You've got Mr. Photography here, taking
his own pictures....
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....and then being a goof, inflicting
wet willies on his dear brother....
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...then I got closed eyes and a blurry
picture....
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...and finally, a fairly decent one.
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All in all, it was a lovely week,
and Dejo's family are lovely people. I learned all about poffertjes
and wimpys, had several cups of proper tea, learned that if I'm going
to make banana bread I'd better buy the bananas far enough in advance
to ripen, and discovered that the tiny bit of Dutch I'd taught myself
was close enough to right to surprise the CBB (he didn't know I'd been
trying to learn).
I also decided once and for all that yes, I think I'll keep this one for a while-- after all, he hasn't met all of my family. ;) |
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