Thursday, January 29, 2015

A January Outing into the Dutch Polder


Just 2+ weeks after my knee surgery, I was dying to get back out to the Dutch polder (and our favorite pannenkoeken restaurant, truth be told!).  Last Saturday was a gorgeous, cold but sunny day with a light dusting of snow greeting us when we awakened.

So off we went...crutches and all.


Just for the halibut, here's a snatch of what the polder ride looks like from the car.
The cows and sheep...and weathervanes...are left and right off the road.
It's a very typical backroad, btw, and one of the reasons why I love Holland.

I told Astrid that when we found a group of sheep, I wanted to stop.
I didn't even wander off from the car, as you see.
And btw, I haven't stood that straight, with left knee fully extended, in years!

What can I say.  I'm a glutton for sheep.

We have The Three Stooges on our Shutterchance photoblog,
so when I see a grouping of 3 sheep like this, I always think of Chris, Chad and Bill.

When we reached the pannenkoeken restaurant, I walked across the fresh snow with my crutches.
Carefully!

 We love eating there mid-afternoon when it's almost empty.
It's our best time talking to the owner, waitresses and cooks, catching up on each other.
"Here come the dames!" they love to say.

We normally drink red wine with our meal but since I'm alcohol-free these first 3 weeks after surgery,
we both ordered fresh mint tea, which was worth its weight in gold.
When we both ate all our leaves, the waitress looked at us in awe.
Yes, that's what you do with mint tea!

We always order the melon-ham-dried-tomato-alfalfa-sprouts starter while our pannenkoek is baking.
The pannenkoek of the month happened to be green asparagas with ham and egg.
A no-brainer for us!  We licked the platter clean.

Another btw:  see that fisherman sweater Astrid is wearing?
She made it 30 years ago!

We love everything about this experience.  Everything.
We love it so much, we take all our guests there.
Maybe you will be next?!

18 comments:

  1. You two are something else!

    SO happy you got out and about, and that you can extend your leg. What a great thing!

    Astrid and the sweater!! Is there anything she can't do?

    I smiled, because you are a glutton for mutton. ;) Lovely light throughout, and in that restaurant.

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    1. It's fun, Ruth, isn't it! Our life just won't stop for anything, I don't care what. :) Today is my 3-week milestone and I got my stiches/staples out. YAY. That also meant I was able to take a shower for the first time since the surgery.

      My greatest disappointment about the "glutton for mutton" is that the Dutch really don't have lamb/mutton dishes in restaurants here to speak of...not like in England. They really grow sheep for the wool. Most interesting.

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  2. You look great Ginnie. I think going out and indulging in your passion could only speed up your recovery.

    Sorry sometimes I cannot get to comment because my screen freezes up when I load your site, IDK why.

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    1. Sorry about the freeze-up, Maria, when loading my site. (sigh) I don't know if there's anything I can do about that...do you?

      Anyway, I think you're right about the recovery...being speeded up by not sitting still and just doing what I/we love. So far so good. Thanks.

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  3. It is so lovely to see that you are out and about so soon after the knee op. Well done you! Those brown sheep look quite unusual, what sort are they? And that mint tea looks really good.

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    1. Thanks, Anne, for your encouragement. It seems like a lot longer than 3 weeks. In that regard, I am really able to see my progress. I try not to get so impatient. HA!

      I have no clue what kind of sheep the brown ones are. Just lovely, that's all I know. They tickle me to death.

      And, yes, that mint tea IS good!

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  4. Bravo! On your crutches and on the road. Keep it up and knees straight. My new word for the day, “polder.”

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    1. Thanks, Ted, for your encouragement. I have such a great fan club from all around the world and feel darn-tootin' lucky.

      I LOVE that word, "polder." We have some English friends who call Astrid "Lady Polder" or "Lady from the Polder." I love it. :)

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  5. All I can say is LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE and LOVE some MORE!

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    1. Of course you'd LOVE LOVE LOVE it, Robin, because you've already seen it with your own eyes. :)

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  6. Oh yes if I ever get over there I want to go there for sure....food, glorious food....yummmy! Glad to see that nothing gets you down for long.

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    1. Food, glorious food! I'll be singing that all day now, Donna. :) Thank you. And, yes, if you ever make it over here, you will definitely take this trip with us!

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  7. That was a happy 'day out'....The trip to the pannenkoekenhuis is very special and never the same. I never get tired of it. These things make it that life is good and beautiful. It makes it 'easy' to overcome the little humps, like a new knee and some 'other' repairs to our body, to go for it.
    Great post again and I love the Vimeo. We do live in a wonderful part of the Netherlands.
    Your improvement blows me away. Every week will go better. IHVJ.

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    1. With you as my biggest Fan Club, MLMA, I can never lose. Thank you. You make me feel so proud to be part of your life here in this great country!

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  8. I wish that restaurant would open a branch in Droitwich. Good to see you out and about

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    1. HA! Good one, Bill. As I recall, you figured out how to make your own pannenkoek after eating there! :)

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