Welcome to Amsterdam

Recently we went for a short break in the lovely city of Amsterdam which I'd never visited before. We can fly from our local airport and the flight is less than two hours, so really easy to get to.  Schiphol Airport is nine miles south of Amsterdam and is a really easy airport to get around with trains leaving from the airport direct to the city.

Statue in the airport

Our hotel was only a ten minute walk from Central Station, once we were walking the right way - we came out of the station on the opposite side to what I thought we were and got a little bit muddled to start with.

We'd booked to stay at Max Brown Hotel Canal District and it was fabulous with lots of unique and arty touches, including a bike hanging up in the window, that really added to the ambience of the place.

Sign in the hallway leading to our room

Once we'd settled into our room we headed out to explore and find somewhere to have our evening meal. I love the architecture of the houses that border the canals, all different and quite narrow.

We found a lovely restaurant down a side street and I had my first Prosecco of the holiday.

The restaurant was lovely and in a really old building.

On the end wall, above the window into the kitchen, was a large screen showing a scene from a cabin in a snowy wonderland, with an open fire, large bed, and comfy chairs - it was very peaceful to watch and I would love to stay somewhere like that.

My arty shot of a candle behind my glass of prosecco.

As we wandered we came across this arcade with an amazing mosaic ceiling and beautiful decorations down the sides including  lit up glass shapes and a huge fish head.

The street we were walking along was called Nieuwendijk - I have no idea how to pronounce that. On this street there were a variety of shops, cafes, restaurants, and souvenir shops. There were many different forms of cannabis and sex related items being sold and I was quite shocked at how in your face it all is. Saying that, it didn't feel seedy as it's the normal for there, and everyone was friendly and enjoying the evening.

Cannabis comes in all shapes and sizes

This very colourful mad hatter is surrounded by various drug paraphernalia for sale.

Look - we even found the Loch Ness Monster in Amsterdam

The below picture is of a shutter covering a shop when it shut - at first glance you think it's a lovely decorative thing, and then you realise it's a slightly x-rated decorative thing.

On the way back to the hotel I had a bit of a chat through the window with this local cat - he must be bilingual as he seemed to understand me fine.

This is one of the bridges near our hotel - the canals are lovely at night with lots of lights decorating them and showing the way for the boats that are out and about.

When we arrived back we sat in the downstairs bar for a drink - Ken had hot chocolate which consisted of hot milk and chocolate buttons to drop into the milk. It also came with a tiny little stroopwafel which is a dutch delicacy.

My drink of choice was an espresso martini which was fabulous, though I did manage to spill some of it on me.

The end of our first day in Amsterdam and I will share the rest but it will have to squeeze in between my A to Z blogging challenge posts which start tomorrow.

Have a peaceful Easter.

Pamela & Ken
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Good Friday's Friendly Fill Ins

It's Good Friday and it's time for the fill ins which are set by Annie at McGuffy's Reader and Ellen at 15andmeowing.com - why don't you come and join us. The words in purple are the prompts that are provided and then the rest is me.

1. For Easter (or Passover), I'm going to take time to remember loved ones that are no longer with us and to think of all the things I have to be grateful for.

2. My favorite Easter (or Passover) treat is a hot cross bun, toasted and slathered with butter, but this year I haven't had a single one. That's very remiss of me.

3. Lately, the song Manamanah by the Muppets is stuck in my head. The radio station we listen to on the way home from work always plays this tune on a Friday, so it's a sign that the weekend has started. It's a great way to wind down from work, listening to muppets sing a nonsense song - it is guaranteed to make me smile, but then I have it in my head for ages.

4. The A-Z Blogging Challenge starts in two days!! Those of us who are crazy enough blog every day of April apart from the Sundays, for every letter of the alphabet. This year I'm doing the theme of romance and dating for married couples - my favourite topic.

Do you get songs stuck in your head easily? Before you go, hop over to Annie's Blog and see what my fellow bloggers have come up with.

Have a peaceful Easter.

Pamela & Ken

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P.S: Today was Bramble Jelly Sassy Pants second birthday so of course we had to get her a Pupcake to celebrate with.

Top Ten Thursday - Self Care

It's Top Ten Thursday and today Tamara (Part-time Working Hockey Mom) has asked us to list the top ten things we did for ourselves in the past couple of days or weeks: for our physical or mental health, for our silly joy, for our further education, whatever we could think of! 

1. Beach Walk - last weekend we went for a walk along Findhorn Beach with Bramble Jelly, enjoying the crisp, cold weather with a bright, blue sky.

2. Breathing - I know that may sound like a really strange thing to put, but taking time to do some slow, deep breathing can make all the difference to how you feel in a day. Doing a short relaxation can help with stress and anxiety levels which ultimately is wonderful self care.

3. Hot Drinks - sometimes just sitting down at home with a nice cup of coffee (my tipple of choice) or tea (Ken's poison) and relaxing can be the best self care in the world.

4. Laughter - having a laugh is great self care, so watching a comedy or doing silly things is perfect for your health. Recently I put a stripe of lipstick down my beloved's forehead on the way to work because he kept swerving when I was trying to put it on. Despite reminding him as I got out of the car at work, he forgot it was there and went shopping to several different shops and to Costa for a drink, before getting back in the car and noticing it when he looked in the mirror. I laughed so much when he told me and I'm sure all the people who encountered him that day did as well.

5. Spring Babies - taking time to enjoy nature is a great form of self care and it always makes me smile when I see the lambs and piglets, especially if Ken stops the car so I can get out to take a photo and have a bit of a chat with them. I try to forget what's going to happen to them in the future and tell myself they're going to live to a ripe old age.

6. No - this is a form of self care that I find really hard so I thought it was important to put in in. I'm really bad at saying no to people and end up doing things that I haven't really got time for or that challenge my sanity at the time. My way of trying to counter this is that my lovely colleagues often double check with me when I say yes to make sure I actually mean this.

7. Fun - we often take selfies so that we have pictures of the two of us together, but it's even more fun if you can find a giant unicorn horn and have it coming out of both of your heads.

8. Reading - this is often my go to thing to help me switch off and recharge, as I can get lost in a book for hours, shutting out the world and immersing myself in the world of my book characters.

9. Manicure - I haven't actually done this for a while, but it is something that I love having done and getting my nails painted at the same time.

10. Hugging - that connection to another human being that can show so many things; reassurance, empathy, friendship, support, and of course love.

Photo from Pixabay.com

There you have my top ten of self care - what's your favourite thing that you do to look after yourself? Before you go, hop over to Tamara's Blog and see what my fellow bloggers have come up with for their list.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and take care of you this week.

Pamela & Ken
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Sparks

Sparks is hosted by Annie at McGuffy's Reader (visit to see everyone else's sparks) and her words are the best to use to explain:

"I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world!"

The aim is to post a positive quote, thought, poem, or verse. My contribution for this week is about being true to you and knowing that you are precious in this world.

Pamela & Ken
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P.S: Lord Rocky Horror and my beloved having a moment this morning

Top Ten Scavenger Hunt & Friday's Friendly Fill Ins

It's time for Top Ten Thursday and Friday Fill Ins combined as I think I've still been in holiday mode this week and have hardly touched my laptop - must find my motivation with the A to Z looming ever closer.

For Top Ten Tamara at Part-time Working Hockey Mom has set us another photo scavenger hunt with the list of things we needed to capture below.

1. Pink
2. Water
3. Busy
4. Teddy Bear
5. Birdhouse
6. Baking
7. Track
8. Bottle
9. Unicorn
10. Bicycle

As we were away in Amsterdam it was very easy to capture all of the above.

Here goes:

1. We did loads of walking in Amsterdam and went down lots of side streets to see the non touristy parts. It was down one of these streets that we found this very rare PINK bird.

2. Getting a picture of WATER definitely wasn't a problem in a city surrounded by water. I took this shot when we were on a boat trip on the canals. 

3. Museum square has this great sign that tourists were having their pictures taken in front of or on top of it. It was way too BUSY to get a picture without lots of other people in it.

4. Blue and white is a bit of a theme in Holland, I think relating to the Delft pottery that they are famous for. I would have loved to take this huge TEDDY BEAR home with us.

5. Another thing that I was tempted by was these really cute BIRDHOUSES in the shape of iconic Dutch buildings. 

6. If you've ever read any of our posts you would know that we love tasting fabulous BAKING, and Amsterdam didn't disappoint. This is a banana and pineapple pancake with vanilla ice cream and banana liquor - scrummy.

7. All throughout the city there are tram TRACKS but I chose to take a picture at Central Station as we were waiting for the train to the airport. The public transport system is really easy to navigate.

8. As we were exploring we came across a canal boat where there were these fabulous sculptures made out of BOTTLES - this was one of four so we think they may have a slight drink problem.

9. I am a self confessed UNICORN fanatic so was incredibly delighted to see loads of them, in all shapes and sizes, all over the city. I decided to share this duck version that was sat on the back of a bicycle - very pretty.

10. This was the one thing on the list that I knew I wouldn't have any problems with, as BICYCLES seem to almost be an extension of the person, so they are everywhere. I liked this pile of bikes that is a bit like a game of pick up sticks.

There you have it, my ten scavenger hunt items, all found in Amsterdam. Make sure you hop over to Tamara's Blog to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with.

And now onto the fill ins which are set by Annie at McGuffy's Reader and Ellen at 15andmeowing.com - why don't you come and join us. The words in purple are the prompts that are provided and then the rest is me.

1. I am the youngest and only girl in my family.

2. I have three siblings who are alive, and one brother who departed this life when he was 16. I also have a friend in America that I call my brother and friends in Australia who are like sisters to me.

3. I am looking forward to being warmer this Spring.

4. The first sign of Spring this year was beautiful croci everywhere.

Are you looking forward to spring or are you one of those odd people that prefer the colder months of winter.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and we hope that all is good with you wherever you are in the world.

Pamela & Ken
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Sparks

Sparks is hosted by Annie at McGuffy's Reader (visit to see everyone else's sparks) and her words are the best to use to explain:

"I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world!"

The aim is to post a positive quote, thought, poem, or verse. Here's my contribution for this week - let's all be nice to each other and help to put smiles on someone elses face.

Pamela & Ken
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The A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal

It's almost April which means the A to Z Blogging Challenge is almost upon us. This will be my third year of doing the challenge and I think I'm even more prepared than usual. For those of you who have never heard of it, the challenge involves writing a post everyday of April, except Sundays, going through the alphabet for each post.

My first year, 2016, I didn't have a theme and just winged it through the month and it became quite stressful by the end. Last year I had a theme and had actually written some of my posts before the month started - 2017 was all about the Scottish Highlands. This year I'm hoping to have all my posts written so that all I have to do is post them and then spend my time visiting other participants blogs.

Now for this years theme, which I 've debated over for ages, and really it could only be one thing for us, and that's romance!!

I've been married to my best friend for over eighteen years and a really important part of those years has been keeping romance alive in our marriage, so I thought I would share some thoughts through April in the A to Z of romance and dating for married couples. 

I hope you come along for the ride, and if you have any really great date ideas I'd love for you to share them with us. 

Until then, have a really lovely day.

Pamela & Ken

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Top Ten Musical Memories and Friday's Fill Ins

After a wonderful break in Amsterdam I'm back at my laptop and today I'm catching up with yesterday's top ten and today's fill ins. There will be posts about our trip to come, as it is a beautiful place to visit.

I'm starting with Top Ten Thursday which is set by Tamara at Part-time Working Hockey Mom and this week we're posting the top ten songs that no matter how much time has gone by, they will always take us back to a very specific moment, place or person. There are so many songs I could have chosen, but I've managed to whittle it down to just ten and then there are some that are too personal to share the reasons behind.

1. Groove is in the Heart - Deee-Lite: a night at Bay Rock in the city I trained in, and whilst this song was playing I was dancing with a friend and the couple next to us were dancing in a way that can only be described as verging on pornographic. Understandably, the two of us didn't know whether to laugh or cringe.

2. I'll Be There - Mariah Carey: I remember listening to this song in Saudi when I first met Ken, and we were having a very serious discussion about how some songs are perfect to listen to when you're feeling miserable, almost like pressing against a tooth when you have toothache.

3. Evergreen - Will Young: One of the hardest things I've ever done is support a patient through his wedding which was being performed because he was dying - he was only in his 20's. This is the song that they had their first dance to and for years I couldn't listen to it without getting tears in my eyes.   

4. Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler: This song takes me back to the same wedding mentioned above, as my patient's new wife sang this to him after the ceremony - heartbreaking. I don'g think there was a dry eye in the room, and it still hurts my heart when I hear it.

5. Time to Say Goodbye - Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli: When Ken and I first started seeing each other, I was still meant to be returning to Australia and had a return ticket. I was at one of those crossroads in life and had gone out and bought the single for this song as it seemed rather fitting. That night I was talking to Ken on the phone (I was in Nottingham and he was in London), and he had bought the same single that day - spooky. This song brings back those emotions that I was going through all those years ago.

6. Can't Help Lovin Dat Man - Showboat: This is one of the first musicals I ever saw live - it was a production by the local music society in Burnie and was at the Civic Centre. I fell in love with musicals and this is my favourite song from Showboat.

7. From This Moment On - Shania Twain: This is the song that we had playing in the church as we signed the marriage register - the first time I officially signed my name as Mrs Pamela Wright, the luckiest girl in the world as I'd just married my best friend and soul mate.

8. All the Young Dudes - Mott the Hoople: We were at a nurses graduation ball in Nottingham, having been invited by two students I'd gotten to know. This song came on and the next thing I knew I was being dragged onto the floor by my beloved, with him shouting "this is the anthem of my youth"!

9. Alive and Kicking - Simple Minds: When I was in Saudi I went to aerobics at least twice a week, sometimes more, which was led by a British girl Jackie. This song was part of the music mix she used, and along with several others, as soon as I hear it I feel like I should be doing certain aerobic moves even though it's twenty five years since I did that routine.

10. Canon in D - Johann Pachelbel: This is the piece of music I walked into the church to for our wedding and whenever I hear it I smile. 

There you have it, ten musical memories - what songs take you back to a particular moment in your life? Before you go, make sure you hop over to Tamara's Blog and see what my fellow bloggers have come up with.

Now onto Friday's Friendly Fill Ins which are set by Annie at McGuffy's Reader and Ellen at 15andmeowing.com - why don't you come and join us. The words in purple are the prompts that are provided and then the rest is me.

1. When I am nervous, I tend to eat even though my stomach may be churning. I've never bitten my nails but I do tap my fingers or twist my hair a lot more than normal.

2. When I am angry, I get really quiet, imagine all sorts of ways to get even with the person I'm angry with, and then just move on. 

3. Today, I know for sure that I am blessed to have a wonderful husband. There were several moments in the last week when I had this thought as exploring new places together is so much fun, especially when my hand is held by his.

4. For St. Patrick’s day, I try to wear green if I remember - more often than not I don't remember that it's St Patrick's day until I'm at work or out and about. It's not really a day that was celebrated in Australia when I was growing up, so it's not uppermost in my mind.

How do you react when nervous or angry? Make sure you hop over to Annie's Blog and see what my fellow bloggers have come up with for their fill ins.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and listen to some good music this week.

Pamela & Ken
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Friday's Friendly Fill Ins

It's the end of another week and time for some fill ins that are set by Annie at McGuffy's Reader and Ellen at 15andmeowing.com - why don't you come and join us. The words in purple are the prompts that are provided and then the rest is me.
1. Before you get too caught up in the busyness of life, you need to make sure that you're taking time to have moments of stillness, calm, and peace. 

2. After all the craziness, hissing, growling, pooing in the wrong place, and just general feline shenanigans, finally a moment of peace.

3. Winter is a necessary evil and I'm very happy when it ends. This years winter has been especially cold and snowy so I've totally had enough of it.

4. Spring is my favourite season as everything is fresh and new. I love all the spring flowers and the new baby animals that are everywhere. I love this picture as it was at this moment, looking at these beautiful little lambs on Orkney in 2016, that I decided to become a pecatarian (fish eating vegetarian).

Are you a fan of winter or spring? Before you go, make sure you hop over to Annie's Blog to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with for their fill ins.

Until next time have a really wonderful weekend and I hope the weather is good wherever you are.

Pamela & Ken
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