Christmas Message

Saturday, 22-December-2007 - Veghel - I just updated my home page to include this year's family newsletter. Wishing you a blessed Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.

Fun on Ice

Saturday, 22-December-2007 - Veghel - Yesterday was the shortest day of the year. I've been watching the weather forecast all week, so I knew I could go skating outdoors today right here in Veghel at the Aa-Broeken, a meadow which is flooded to create a wonderful frozen pond. I rode my bike along a magically frozen path. It was only a kilometer away, but I kept stopping to take pictures of this wonderful sight. I wore a helmet, because I didn't want to get another concussion (like the one I got while snowboarding last winter). I tried my cross-country skates, but even after all my in-line skating this past year, my ankles were too unsteady, so after about five rounds I switched to my hockey skates. There, that was better. Now I can have some fun--it was great! I think it was 11 years ago that I went skating here--memories of skating throughout my lifetime came back to me. My father taught me how to skate when I was five years old.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dale.weiss.planet/Fun_on_ice

Frosty Morning before Skating

Saturday, 22-December-2007 - Veghel - Here's what it looked like this morning. What a magical world outside!
http://picasaweb.google.com/dale.weiss.planet/Winter_frost

Coming of Winter Frost

Friday, 21-December-2007 - Tilburg - I saw and felt it getting colder and colder during the past week. Ten days ago, I knew this was coming--large mole hills were pushing up around the grounds at Standard Aero. Already then, I was hoping to go skating this year.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dale.weiss.planet/Coming_of_winter_frost

Standard Aero Christmas Party

Saturday, 15-December-2007 - Berkel-Enshot - Went to the annual Standard Aero BV Christmas Party. This year, it was held at the hotel de Druiventros http://www.druiventros.nl/. My wife, Marij, couldn't make it so I took my youngest daughter, Rosan, instead. The food was delicious. I had a good time, and I saw a lot of people having a good time, too.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dale.weiss.planet/Sabv_christmas_party

Getting Ready for Christmas

Saturday, 8-December-2007 - Veghel - I dug our Christmas tree out of the back yard and got it setup in the living room. It's the third year of service for this tree. I also got the lights up outside. It's the first year for the tree out front, a Norway spruce, picea abies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picea_abies. The one last year was ten years old and got to be seven meters tall. I hated to cut it down, especially with the CO2 problem we're having, but that species can grow to be 50 meters tall--too big for our small patch of ground in front of the house. I did, however, keep the cones for planting the seeds later.

pics (32)

Birthday Flea Market

Sunday, 25-November-2007 - Veghel - It's my birthday today. I spent the day with Marij at a local flea market in Veghel. She had a table where she sold things she collected from here and there.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dale.weiss.planet/Birthday_flea_market

Arrival of Saint Nicholas

Sunday, 18-November-2007 -Veghel - I was a skatepiet (a Saint Nicholas black pete helper on skates) this year--one of eight volunteers from the Fun on Wheels skate club. What a great experience! There were 185 zwartepieten (black petes) this year. It took four boats to bring Sinterklaas and all of his helpers us all the way from Spain to the harbor in Veghel. The links explain the Dutch tradition. Thanks to Vicky for taking the pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dale.weiss.planet/Intocht_sinterklaas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

Trail Riding in Alphen

Sunday, 11-November-2007 - Alphen - It has been raining hard off and on for the past week. Hard winds and rain woke me up during the night. I had my alarm set for 0600. I was ready for my first official trail ride (I went with the Fun on Wheels group in January). I checked the weather radar. It looked like it was going to stop raining around 1000. Chris checked in. He wasn't looking forward to a lot of mud and rain, so he passed. I got Jurien, a Standard Aero colleague, on the phone. He was going to be there with at least one other rider. That was good enough for me. It took me about an hour to drive to the starting point. I started after the others, and was going to meet them at the resting point. I followed the 25 km route. Most of the others went for 45 km. I met Jerry and Gordon, two more Standard Aero colleagues, along the way. I had a hard time getting up the slippery hills during the first part of the trial, but after a while I got the hang of it. I made sure to eat and drink enough--it was hard work. The sky cleared up, and the sun showed itself which made the ride a lot nicer. I decided to cut the ride short and head back to the starting point in Alphen using the hardened bicycle path. I was satisfied to get a taste of riding under extreme conditions. I saw Jerry again at the bike washing spot before I headed back for home.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dale.weiss.planet/Veldtocht_alphen_20071111

Mountain Bike

Saturday, 03-november-2007 - Erp - Ever since my first ride on a mountain bike with Chris this past January (see home page), getting my own mountain bike has been on my list. Well, today was the day. I went to Empella http://www.empella.nl/ in the nearby village of Erp to pick one out. When I got home, I took it out for a short ride. My neighbor, Johan, took a before shot, and his daughter, Vera, took the after pic. Chris came over a little later to check it out. His bike just got out of the shop. His frame broke, and he had to wait for more than two months to get a new one. Next Sunday, we're going to Alphen, North-Brabant for a ride through the woods.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dale.weiss.planet/New_mountainbike