Years ago Neil Diamond wrote a song called ‘A beautiful noise’. There are noises that are not so attractive (the buzzer when you get an answer wrong on a game show). There are noises that alert us to get out of the way (police and ambulance sirens). These are noises that indicate life (a deep …
Gratitude Challenge – silence
By Merry Mary I drove to and from the gym today without the radio playing. And it made me think…how much do we appreciate silence? I remember in college I had a roommate who required her tv to be on with static — she couldn’t sleep without the white noise. Some people become so accustomed to background noise …
Dutch Delight – Zaandam and Amsterdam and sadly the end of the cruise
By Merry Mary We left Amsterdam for Zaandam, a sleepy Dutch town. There were two options for tours this morning – either a visit to Zaanse Schans windmills or a tour of a Dutch Dairy Farm. Rick Steves wrote that the Zaanse Schans was bit on the touristy side, so I opted for the Dairy Farm. The farm, …
Dutch Delight – Rotterdam
By Merry Mary We’ve landed in Rotterdam on Saturday! And they were celebrating Summer Carnival. It reminded me of my New Orleans Mardi Gras experiences – big floats, crazy costumes. You couldn’t ask for better weather – sunshine! Sadly I didn’t have much free time to catch beads because today was a day full of two tours. We …