The Anchor 💗⚓️💗 – Edition 39

6/24/19

Dear Friends and Family,

I hope that everyone is having a great summer!  It has been way too long since I have written.  I have been incredibly busy the last few months getting ready to move to Amsterdam. 

T arrived in Amsterdam on March 1st to start his new position within his company.  I visited during my Spring Break in March and we looked for an apartment.  We used a website called Funda to locate an apartment. We placed a “bid” on one apartment and the landlord denied it.  The apartment was completely empty and we asked for a few pieces of furniture, etc.  We were looking for a furnished apartment.   T was adamant on living in a area called De Pijp (The Pipe).  I asked him to show me a map on Funda of where De Pijp was located.  I randomly selected a dot on the map and was pleasantly surprised.  The apartment had many amenities and was fully furnished.  We took a look at it and really liked it and immediately placed a “bid”.  Our bid was accepted!  I am actually drinking fresh coffee from our coffee maker that is built into the cabinetry that grinds fresh coffee beans and makes coffee.  

T arrived back to Texas in June to help get the house “ready” to rent.  Our house had six showings in one weekend and we had three offers.  We were pleased that everything happened so quickly because it gave us the week to “get ready to move”.  The packers came on Tuesday, we had a “working day” on Wednesday, and the movers came on Thursday.  On Friday, our house was empty for the most part, we had our 10 suite cases, 2 duffel bags, and 2 backpacks packed.  

We celebrated T’s birthday by going to an Astros game.  The Astros won and we had a great time watching the fireworks at the end of the game.

On Saturday, we went to my niece’s Graduation Party.  The saddest part of the day was saying goodbye to Maverick.  Maverick will be 13 in August and the move would have been too much for him, so my in-laws are taking good care of him while we are away.  The Littles are here with us in Amsterdam.

On Saturday night, we met up with friends.  It was so nice seeing everyone!  As you get older, it becomes harder to “hang out” with friends.  We all have different priorities and responsibilities and it takes effort to meet up…”adulting”.  My parents and my uncle from Baltimore surprised us and came to the gathering too!

Fast-forward to Monday, June 17th – the day we leave Texas!  We had so much stuff – luggage, bike box, and the dogs that it did not all fit in the airport shuttle.  My parents had to follow the airport shuttle with the bike box and the dogs in their SUV to the airport.  The dogs did excellent on the flight and did not make a peep.  They stayed in their bags the entire 8 1/2 hour flight.    

When we arrived in Amsterdam, it was 10 A.M. on Tuesday.  We found a very large Uber van the fit all of our belongings.  

Fast-forward to June 22nd, my birthday!  We went shopping…to IKEA.  😬 In Houston, IKEA was 5 minutes from our house and I probably went there (maybe) once.  We took the metro to IKEA.   The metro is spotless and you would not think that you were even in a “subway”.  IKEA is one of the major home stores in Amsterdam.  We bought many items and had to take an Uber back to our apartment because we had purchased so many items.

We celebrated my birthday by going to dinner and to wine bars!  The owners of the wine bars are very knowledgeable about their wines. 

If I had to use one word to describe Amsterdam, I would use the word EUTOPIA.  As I write posts for my blog, I will explain that more…  The sun rises at about 5:00 A.M. and does not set until 10 P.M. (American time).  The days are long and we are actually have a “heat wave” right now.  Our apartment gets really hot in the evening and we do not have air conditioning.  As you know, being from Texas, air conditioning is a must!  

I wanted to end this post with the quote above.  It sums up all of the emotions that I have been feeling in this whirlwind of moving and being in a new place!

Anchored in HOPE,

JW