Here I am again!!!

Because I was too busy I wasn't able to write on this blog. Now I have another site too, excuse me, two sites. The first one I made extra is www.exto.nl (look for my name and you certainly will find me), the second one is on Facebook. Someone on LinkedIn suggested to make a Fanpage on FB, so then I was busy making that one. I just started the fanpage on FB today so there is not a lot to see on it yet www.facebook.com/EricaKantersEncausticArtVerhalen This site also is mostly Dutch, sorry you guys and girls, but you always can use a translator from the internet. I know it's not precise the translation, but then you have an impression. If you want me to translate a specific article, just ask and I will be happy to do so. My English isn't as good as yours, but I will try my best. That's one thing that's sure...

Also I have been busy with my encaustic art. I'm making really big ones this time and I must say, they look great. It's difficult to take a picture of this art, but here you have an impression... The boarding (or... I don't know how to say it, but I mean the wood around my art) is made by Frank, my husband. He's a carpenter so we're great together considering my artwork and his of course.
I didn't put this work on my sites, because this already is bought by a friend. His wife returns home from Kunduz in a week and he wants to surprise her with it. He really loves it, but we're not sure she does. That's why I was making another one today. Different colours... Here's an impression of that one... The picture is not great and I didn't photoshop it yet, so you can see my feet. Hihihi!!!
Whoops, the picture doesn't work on this blog... I don't know what happened, but something's not working right... Too bad. Maybe I'll show you another day.
For now, I'm going to watch some tele... Hotter than my daugther. It's a Dutch program showing some mothers who think they're dressed sexy or hot, but they're not. They are too old to wear the clothes they're wearing. The daugthers obviously don't like it to been seen with their mother.
Whoops, it already started... Sorry, I'm off! I hope I wrote everything down okay, because I didn't check it.
Bye for now!!!

Socrates...

Okay, here I am again. I noticed no-one is reading this blog, but I continue anyway. It's not daily any more, because I have other things to do too.
This last week I've not been quite well. My body ached a lot because of Fibromyalgie. I don't know if you know what this means, but in short it means your muscles ache almost all of the time. Especially when you've been too active. This is why I didn't write on this blog.
But now I come to Socrates... Every day I write on my own internet site about the daily oneliner. Today it was Socrates' turn. 'Wisdom start with admiration.' (on the picture you see the Dutch translation)

When I started to read some more about Socrates I read another wisdom, or what you want to call it. It says that you only can know things when you know yourself.

When I was young, very young, and people talked about things I didn't know I wondered how they knew those things. I thought when babies were born they were born with information, if you know what I mean. So I felt very stupid not knowing what they were talking about and how they got that kind of information. Were they born with more information than I was? Was I stupid??? No! Socrates says that kind of information people talk about they've heard from someone else or seen from someone. So this kind of information he call fake-info. It's not to be said the info isn't true, but they only recite someone else. It was something they remembered.
I was relieved to read this, but I'm still looking for my true self. And when I find my true self I have the wisdom. It's a life long search, but it's worth it. Don't you think? It's a difficult search and you'll get hurt along the way too and make mistakes. But mistakes are there to learn. It's not possible to never make a mistake in your life. I've made a lot of mistakes and learned. A few of those mistakes are in relations with men. But after those terrible mistakes, I think I was blind and deaf at that time, I've made progress and finally got married to a great man. Of course we argue every now and then, but that's life too.
I want to thank Socrates with his wise words, although I didn't get into his oneliner for today, it made me curious about him and his thoughts... It made me a wiser woman, a woman in search of her true self. I still have a long way to go.

The devil...

What would you think if your Tarotcard of the day is the Devil?
I always take it into positive... Yes, that's what I do. Because in something negative there must be something positive. I wrote about this card on my website (too bad it's in Dutch...)
The way I look at this Devilcard is like a warning. It's warns me something bad may happen when I don't watch for it. You know what I mean to say?
Sometimes I say things without thinking. How do you say it in English??? We call it, flapuit... Let's look it up in a dictonary... blabbermouth. I thought it was something like that, but I wasn't sure enough, but now I know.
I try not to say things without thinking, but sometimes your mouth is too fast for your thoughts. It can be bad, but it can also be good. When you think you say the wrong things, maybe people think about the things you said and maybe they can learn from it. And maybe not, then you could have made an enemy... But does this say something about you or the other person? I think it says something about the two of you. Where two people fight two people get hurt (do you say it like that???)
We will see how this day is going to be. But I have to get through this day first. This afternoon we're going to a birthday party in a bar. That means there will be alcoholic drinks involved. And you know what happens when people drink alcohol. People start to be honest... if you like it or not. Even when alcohol runs through your veins you ought to think before you speak and that's the difficult part of it all...
Anyhow, I hope it's going to be a nice afternoon at that birthday. I've done all I have to do for today... I updated my site and wrote this blog. But... there's one more thing... You know about Easter Sunday, but do you have an Easter Monday? We do and it's today. I have to look it up on the internet.
I looked it up and there really is an Easter Monday, but why I don't know. We also have two Christmas days and that's weird too don't you think?
But, let's put all these weird things behind us and just enjoy the day. What do you say?

Saturday...

Today is Saturday the day before Easter. Is it called good Saturday or white Saturday? No, I don't think this day has a specific name... Too bad.
We went to visit my father in law, he's back home and looks healthy. That's a good thing.
It's a bit boring today. All I've done is laundry and keeping my webpage up to date.
Yesterday evening we went to a birthday party. We went by bike (yes, we're Dutch, it doesn't cost anything and it's healthy). On the way back home it was raining, but we didn't mind because when we got home we had a little drink and went to sleep but not after we looked in on the girls. They spent their first evening home alone and the house was still there when we got there. Everything cleaned up and they were fast asleep.
This morning the youngest went swimming and the oldest to a game of soccer (also very Dutch, don't you think?)
Now I'm a bit bored and don't know what to do. I want to eat some fries and watch a good movie. So, that's what I think I'm going to do. Eat and watch a movie or something on the television. How BORING, but relaxing... I will be in shape for the Easter bunny to come tomorrow.

Good Friday...

Today, on Good Friday, I had to work and give people their mail. Yes, I'm a postwoman or how you call it in English. I deliver mail in the old fashion way.
But what does Good Friday mean. I don't even know if you call it Good Friday, but it's a few days before Easter and a day after White Thursday. Why do they call these days Good and White? Today they recall the death of Jesus and yesterday was the last supper. But why call thursday white and friday good. White is because of the cloth over the statues in the church and good... maybe they think about the good words Jesus spoke.
I'm not very Catholic, but I always want to know everything. I am really curious, it's my second nature. There's nothing wrong with being curious, I think. But you can be too curious when you want to know really everything about everyone. Some people know or think they know everything about everybody and then they talk about it with other people. When you're not sure about the things you think you know, you shouldn't talk about it with other people only with the ones concerned are present. Gossiping is one thing I can't stand. Sure, I also talk about people but in a way that when they step into the same room they may hear what I have to say. It's no secret when I talk about other people.

Yesterday, my father in law had to go to hospital, there was something wrong with his heart. Today he got operated and got a pacemaker. Everything is fine now, gladly. Tomorrow he comes back home. This was one thing I also had to share with you.

But for now, I go and change because we have to go to a birthday. It will be the first time the girls are home alone at night. It's a bit scary but for everything there's a first. And staying home alone at night is their first today... Let's hope all goes well. I think it will, because they want us already gone. ;)

Who am I?

Who am I? That's the question... And a difficult one too. I can tell you about my life, what I've done in the past, what I'm doing now and what I want to do in the future. But who I really am... You decide...

I will start with telling you about my present time. I'm married to a great man who's a carpenter. He's got two daughters from a previous marriage. When I came into their lives the girls were 8 and 6 years old. My husband's name is Frank and we've got married in a year. That means we will be married for 4 years on april 29 this year. My parents were married at that same date only 42 years before we've got married. So every year on that same date my parents take out the family for dinner. I have got an older brother and sister, but maybe my sister will not attend to this dinnerparty because she's always very busy living her own life and that doesn't include us. But enough about my family and dinnerparty...

As you will already know by reading this piece, I am a step-mom. Not the evil kind but the nice kind. That doesn't mean the girls can do whatever they want. No, I'm strict in a nice way. I try not to yell at them, and I must say I hardly ever yell. I raise my voice to be heard and explain them when I'm angry with them. If they don't agree they can tell me so and then we talk about it. Sometimes, but not that often, I am wrong and then I tell them so. I apologize to them and give them a hug and a kiss.
Normally I don't say I'm a step-mom, I always say I'm a borrow-mom (or should I say loan???) The girls can borrow me when they're at our house, because their mom lives somewhere else, obviously. Hahaha!

Today the 13 year old one, gave me a letter saying how much she loves me and sorry when she's behaving bad. She doesn't want to loose me. HOW SWEET!!! Knowing she's grounded for a month starting this week (she can't leave this house except for school of course).
Does this letter mean I'm a good mother? I hope so! I try my best, but sometimes it's very hard, adolescence kicked in... ;)

My bad habit...

I want to confess something... I have a bad habit, I smoke. No regular cigarettes but , but I role my own cigarettes (I don't know how you call them in English). No, not with anything else in it, just tobacco. Everyone thinks all Dutch smoke weed, but not this girl. In the past I've tried it some times, but I don't like it. It makes your head fuzzy and that's something I don't like. It also smells terrible. But that's what I think of it.
I don't smoke normal cigarettes because my mouth goes dry and I don't like the taste of it. I smoke a brand that's called 'Drum'. When we were on holiday in France we met a English family. It started to get real hilarious some times, because we couldn't find the right words in English for the tobacco we smoke. We call it a 'shaggie' this cigarette you role yourself, but that had a totally different meaning. We were aware of it, but because of some alcohol we just laughed about it. Also the word for sprinkles (the chocolate things you eat on bread, do you know these?) we pronounced the Dutch word in English, 'hagelslag'(this is the Dutch word). We couldn't stop laughing!
And then Vince, the English man, talked about some kind of animal (I can't remember which word it was). Then I had to call my sister back in Holland to ask if she knew what he meant. My sister graduated in English so she would know it and she did.
It was real great meeting these English family and we still keep in touch. One day we went over to them and we had a great time. We went to a small village were some movies were shot, such as Harry Potter and lots more... It was great to walk in the past, because that's what it felt like.

But, I was talking about my bad habit... Well, I don't think I need to say any more about this. Do you?

My break

After writing my blog and updating my website I started again with my encaustic art. Just when I got started Frank, my sweet husband, came home for lunch. Not so good a timing, but it was nice of him to come home during his break. When we were sitting down together, talking, the doorbell rang. It was a package for Frank and I. I expected another parcel, but this was an even better one. A gift from a friend who's in the army working in Kunduz. In two months she'll be back home in Holland, but for now she had sent us a gift. A scarf for me and one for Frank. We never expected to get a gift all the way from Kunduz! How sweet is that!?

After the two surprises, first Frank and then the gift, I went back to my encaustic art to finish my painting. It really looks great. First I started with another painting which wasn't to my liking so I started another one. And then I treated myself to a break, writing... After this writing I can play a game on Facebook, I allow my self to do so. I can be very nice to myself from time to time... So for now I will say: 'See you later!' Although I can't see you at all (if even anyone reads this blog...)

Today... april 5th 2012

Good morning to you all!
This morning is the morning after the day before. Yes, it's true! The day before this morning was a bit emotional, but today I'm feeling a lot better.  One day you're feeling down, the next you're up again! How wonderful life can be.

Today I'm going to ... well, what is it that I'm going to do today??? Right now I'm writing this blog, so that's the first step of beginning the day. The next step, I think, will be writing on my own website. I write down oneliners that I find on my daily calender on the toilet. Yes, that's right, on the wall of the smallest room in our house... When I write down the oneliners I think about the oneliner. Thinking what it means to me. Sometimes they're not so good, but still I have to think about them to write on my website. I don't know if people read my stuff, but to me it's a start of the day. It's something I have to do every day, except the weekends. Then I can skipp a day. But I don't always skipp that day, it depends on how busy or lazy I am.

So, off I go to my oneliner of today... And also my Tarot of today (I forgot to tell you). Every night, just before I go to sleep I take a Tarotcard from the deck. This will be another thing to think about the next day or even the night before. I lay it under my pillow, hoping I dream about it or something. Not really sure why I do it, but it keeps me on track. Really, it's the same as Julie Powell. She's the one who inspired me to write every day. Since I don't like to cook I write about oneliners and Tarot. Thanks to Julie I have a purpose in my own small life. Thank you Julie Powell. ;)

(is my English any good? I hope so! Maybe I'll get better during this year...)

My first blog...

Hello everybody!
This is my first blog on this site. I'm a Dutch woman trying to find herself through everything she gets on her way. And it's not easy if I may say so myself. It's even a little bit more difficult writing everything down in English, but I can always use a dictonary if I'm lost for English words. I simply translate them hoping they will make sense...
So pardon me if I make some mistakes, I'm only Dutch searching for a right way of expressing myself in English. Bla bla bla. I know, I'm brabbeling (is that a right word?I couldn't find it in my online dictonary, but I think you will understand it. Won't you?)

Well, what I'm going to write on this blog are my day to day things. Not very interesting you may think, but maybe you're wrong and it may get interesting. (I do hope so myself! That may mean I will have an interesting life... ) Let's see what will happen during the first few days, weeks or months... It depends on how frequently I will write.

For tonight I will see, nighty night (I think I'm going to bed in about a half hour or so...) Tomorrow I will be back introducing myself a little bit more.

Love, Erica