The Zane family arrived on Friday night and we're spending a nice Easter weekend together.

The weather was excellent yesterday and we went for a walk to the Italian Store. On our way back we stopped at the Hayes Park where the kids played and we all had a picnic together.

Rob and Jerry attended Gerlof's wedding where they were served various cheeses -- including the excellent Bergense Blonde.

Last Sunday night we were having dinner outside -- the first time this year -- when we saw and heard a firetruck on Kirkwood, down the hill. Then another one, and a third, and even more... I went to take a look.

There apparently was a report of a bush fire near one of the houses opposites 14th Street, maybe the result of a BBQ and strong wind. The Arlington County fire department and police came out in full force and there were some 15 vehicles. Thankfully the fire was out very quickly.

The fire brigade opened two fire hydrants on the street. Later in the evening we had brown water -- we noticed when starting a bath for Nora. After flushing the house for 20 minutes the dirty water was gone. The next days Nora was asking a few times: "water vies?"

When I got home today, my bicycle's parking spot had been taken.

It's very definitely spring now and we hang Nora's martenitsa in a tree this morning. For the first time on a tree in our own yard.

Then we went for a long walk with Nora. As I am writing this, Nora is having lunch in her high chair and talking to herself. All of a sudden I hear: "Geschrokken. Hond!" -- she is remembering that she got scared by a dog halfway the walk.

We worked in the backyard yesterday. The weather was excellent and we bought several flowers and planters for our deck. It was a lot of fun and it looks nice. Now we'll have to keep everything alive.

There is an empty patch of land in the middle of our yard. Last year the previous owners put a few small pansies, but the space is too big and deserve a nice bush. So we're looking into what to put there. Maybe roses, or hydrangeas.

This was also the first weekend we use our umbrella -- it's getting very sunny already.

Yesterday afternoon after I came home Nora and I went for a walk. We looked at the new sidewalk they're making on Kirkwood. It's really nice that our immediate area is improving. This sidewalk has been in the works for years. I remember when they built the first half, maybe two years ago. Little did I know then that we would live so nearby.

From Kirkwood we walked through Lyon Village to the Clarendon dogpark where we met Sasha who came from work. After we walked home together I realized that Nora had walked for almost an hour. Pretty cool -- it's only 10 months ago that she took her first independent steps.

This picture is from March 23rd. The sidewalk is being created where my red marking is.

This weekend we were in Durham, North Carolina to attend the Full Frame Documentary Festival. We lived in Durham for five years and it was wonderful to back.

Full Frame is always great and it was excellent to be in the Carolina Theater again after a two-year hiatus.

We traveled on Friday morning and saw our first movie at 1.00 pm. At night we had dinner at Metro 8, a steakhouse that our Argentine friends once recommended, many years ago. When our order was served, the waiter automatically brought the side of mayonnaise -- a Dutch tradition that they had not forgotten.

Saturday morning we went for a walk around the Duke Golf Course -- another recommendation by Belen and Esteban -- and then watches documentaries all day. Sunday morning we did the same walk again and then drove back home, about 5 hours. We had a great weekend together.

We saw several excellent films -- I'll work on the reviews and recommendations in a separate article.

Here is a short sound recording of Nora singing "het regent, het regent". She is also showing off her counting skills.

Click here to hear it.

Nora, singing:

het zegent
de pannetjes worden nat
kwamen twee boerinnetjes aan
vielen op hun gat

Guus: Heel mooi, kun je dat nog een keer doen?

Nora: een, twee, drie, vier, vijf etc.

Guus: Kun jij een liedje zingen? Over mama?
Nora: mama, mama, mama... een, twee, drie... etc

At the end:

Nora: Deze lezen?
Guus: Gaan we die lezen?
Nora: Ja.

Last night we hung four picture frames on the long wall in our living room.

It was a bit nerve-wrecking but they are hanging beautifully straight and on equal distance from each other.

The frames make the wall look very nice and it's great to have our own photographs on the wall. We chose pictures from our history: one from Antonio's, two from Haarlem and one from a year ago when we learned that we had gotten our house.

That was a surprise -- we got some hail and wet snow this afternoon.

Made me feel smart that I ran in the morning. Next week the weather will be much nicer.