Today we decorated our Christmas tree. We're not completely done yet because we don't have the small hangers for the balls, but we've put the lights and the garlands.
I'm very happy that we have a tree; it's the first time since 2006. It's been a long time since we celebrated Christmas at home (last year we were in Somerset) and I really enjoyed going out and buying a tree.
Friday night we went to Macy's and we bought two new ornaments, including a kabouter!
More pictures when we have the balls and other ornaments in the tree.
Last Thursday I decorated my cubicle and the next day we received an e-mail about a Holiday cubicle decorating contest.
Over the weekend one of my co-workers came in with a real Christmas tree for his cubicle, upping the ante, so I expanded mine as well. He then added a lighted penguin, which I think is cheating because it has nothing to do with the holidays.
I went to my French class again tonight. I skipped twice, once because I was in Holland and last week I had too much of a jet lag, but I was happy that I could go again tonight. It's really fun.
We're working on the subjunctive, and also practiced object pronouns, direct and indirect.
On my way to French I heard about Elizabeth Edward's passing, a sad thing. It's bitter cold here now -- tonight it will be 19 degrees Fahrenheit.
December 5th is traditionally the day for Saint Nicholas celebrations and this weekend there were many events organized by the Dutch-American community. Our calendar showed more than 20 public appearances by Saint Nick in the United States.
Of special note was the arrival of St. Nick in the Los Angeles harbor, organized by the Dutch School of Los Angeles. With help of the LA Harbor fire department St. Nick and his helpers arrived by boat to a huge crowd of children.
Below you'll find a selection of photographs of those events this weekend; there are many more on our Facebook page.
Saint Nick in Los Angeles.
A big crowd of children waiting in Los Angeles. Photos courtesy of the Dutch School Los Angeles & Caroline Verhagen.
Saint Nick in North Carolina, in a celebration organized by Dutch Club De Wieken.
Sinterklaas arriving in Virginia Beach, VA. Photo courtesy of Bas van Rijswijk.
Sinterklaas at the Dutch School in Boston, MA. Photo courtesy of http://www.ensib.org.
Saint Nicholas in Michigan. Photo courtesy of Michigan Cottage Cook, a blog about Dutch heritage information and interesting links to all things Dutch.
On Thursday I was in Leeuwarden, visiting Ettie, Gerben and Jasper.
It was great to spend the day with little Jasper. He was experimenting with his feet, and had a lot of fun grabbing them.
In the afternoon we went for a walk through the city. We had warm chocolate (haha) in Bagels & Beans, and we went to an Indonesian store for some herbs.
I saw the new part of the house, and the new fence in the backyard. Gerben brought me home -- thank you!
In the late afternoon I went to Joost's new office. Joost and Alle Jan started a company earlier this year (they are architects) and it was fun to see their office in downtown Rotterdam. It looked really creative. We went out for drinks, where Ankie quickly joined us, and we had a excellent evening together.
Max Struik is born!
Today we decorated our Christmas tree. We're not completely done yet because we don't have the small hangers for the balls, but we've put the lights and the garlands. 
I went to my French class again tonight. I skipped twice, once because I was in Holland and last week I had too much of a jet lag, but I was happy that I could go again tonight. It's really fun.
December 5th is traditionally the day for Saint Nicholas celebrations and this weekend there were many events organized by the Dutch-American community. 
On Thursday I was in Leeuwarden, visiting Ettie, Gerben and Jasper. 
On Wednesday I spent the day in Rotterdam. I spent the morning in 
