Not so old... 1980, Queen Beatrix celebrates 25 years on the throne.
A castle... how lovely is that ?
Everything together.
Tudojuntoaquiaomesmotempoagora.
Colecionar latinha prá mim funciona assim: quanto mais antiguinha... melhor ! Uso todas. TO-DAS. Quer dizer... algumas são do maridovski (ele guarda selinho de desconto que ganha no posto de gasolina). Dá uma peninha se começa a surgir uma ferrugenzinha aqui ou ali... E olha: não troco, não vendo, não barganho. E você ? Gosta... não gosta... ou não tá nem aí ?
When my father was here last summer I requested him a work of art. Yes, I do that a lot ! I tell him exactly what I am dreaming of and somehow he translates my wishes into oil on canvas.
No último verão quando meu pai esteve por aqui ele já veio sabendo da minha encomenda: uma pintura para a casa nova. Eu contei exatamente o que estava buscando e ele me propôs uma pintura com o tema: "floresta esmeralda-tropical-com pássaros em movimento".
For one of the living rooms in my new house I was dreaming of a dense tropical jungle. There are not many pieces of furniture there: a TV and a big couch, and a big vase with a plant. And I want to keep it simple like that.
So I wanted to add some art on the wall... I started discussing with daddy and my husband about the possibilities, the time it would take (hey, we wanted to enjoy our vacations too!), the size, the theme. Above all: I wanted much green on it. The coulour green... that's eyecandy for me. We ended up finding a reasonably big canvas on the shop 4Art in Zaandam.
My father in action. He and I found the price of (oil) painting ok when you compare to what you have to pay for in Brazil. He used oil from the brand Van Gogh because he is rather used to work with it (than acrylic). But the price of canvases in Holland he found expensive though.
Above: a photo of a tucan we have found on the net. It gives perfect inspiration to what my father painted (below).
It is important to search for photos so that yo can check the proportions...
Muito importante ter fotos como referência para a proporção...
I also wanted to add more movement "escaping" from the painting. I think the group of birds below works good on that.
And I also wanted some silhouettes...
Eu também pedi para meu pai acrescentar algumas silhuetas...
The jungle my father built up on the painting is not a real jungle. I mean, the different species of trees and plants come from different tropical forests in the world: Guatemala, Borneo, Congo, Amazon.
A floresta da pintura é uma invenção, um mosaico e não existe na vida real. As diferentes espécies de plantas e árvores vem de lugares como Guatemala, Borneo, Congo e Amazonas.
My father has also "hidden" some insects on the green area of painting, such as a ladybug, a butterfly and a grasshopper.
Meu pai também escondeu na pintura uma joaninha, uma borboleta e um grilo. Para treinar e testar o olho não só das crianças mas dos adultos também. Sacumé.... ver se estão espertas.
Wondering how the painting has become ? Voilà !
Querem saber como ficou o resultado final da pintura ?
It's resting on a garden table for a while... The result is exactly what I had asked to my father: a landscape with lots of shades of green, with different levels of depth and splashes of colour here and there. I LOVE big tropical flowers and birds on canvases - and this is a recurring theme in my home. I think it suits perfeclty in my Dutch home - hey, not so Dutch, after all ! It reminds everyone of my origins: the jungle, haha !
Maybe I will not keep this living area simple.
I am considering in amplifying the kitchy tones to the max.
Maybe I will bring more plants and pillows with banana leaves, ha !
A pintura teve que ficar secando horizontalmente por um mês. E enquanto aguarda um tempo apropriado para ser pendurada ela descansa numa mesa velha. O resultado é exatamente o que imaginei e pedi ao meu pai: uma pasiagem com domínio do verde, com diferentes níveis de profundidade e uns toques de cor viva aqui e ali. Adoro pássaros e flores tropicais pintados a óleo, tenho outras pinturas com esse tema pela casa. Se eu fosse rycah iria ter muito mais, cheia de pinturas com folhas de bananeira, carambola, mico leão dourado, jaca, haha ! Bom, a minha casa holandesa fica bem mais interessante assim, com uma florestinha lembrando a todos as origens da dona.
Most photos you see here are from the book "Jungles", Frans Lanting, Taschen.
Others we have found on the internet.
A maioria das fotos nesse post são do livro Jungles, Frans Lanting, editora Taschen.
As outras fotos achamos na internet.
I hope someday I can have a whole wall depicting several tones of green...
Last summer I have visited with my parents and kids the Verkade museum. It is a section of the Zaanse Museum and is located in the Zaanse Schans in Zaandam.
The Verkade products are very popular in Holland and many are found in other European countries. Specially famous in Holland are the Verkade chocolate letters you find in supermarkets during November and December.
In the 125 years of its existence, Verkade has produced 48 different cookies, several types of chocolate, toffees, bonbons, waffles, cakes, snacks and... candles.
Below, some of the old machines used in the factory.
The Verkade museum also displays a huge quantity of adverstisement produced during the years. Some are quite popular and you can buy such vintage metal plates at Loods 5, in Zaandam.
I love them !
(photo above: The Verkade Museum archive)
At the end of the XIX century, Verkade was one fo the first industries in the world exploiting employing women. The "girls from Verkade" were hundreds of young Amsterdam girls who went every morning to work in Zaandam by train. In the museum, I have read a testimony of a woman working as secretary for Verkade in the beginning of the XX century. She found unbelievable how hard the girls had to work, hour after hour during many long days. She herself was very happy and feeling lucky for doing administrative work and not being one of "those (blue collar) girls". There are also written testimonies of the Verkade girls, how they were gathered in Amsterdam every morning at the Central Station in Amsterdam, how they bonded with each other singing in the train, how they had to perform domestic chores at home after factory hours, and how they tried to steal cookies to take home during the World War II. Life was tough !
The last years you watch now and then on the TV commercials from featuring "the girls from Verkade" - mostly naif, young & sweet girls who make cookies at the company. Hey, but apparently on Fridays they get "a bit naughty" because they make salty cookies with herbs. (Check vid below). Talk about eroticizing products...
Well, that was it. My kids loved visiting the museum while my parents got a little bit disappointed because nothing was in English. The absence of translations in the museum is really a negative aspect. Anyway, next to the exit/entrance to the museum there is a lunch room and a souvenir shop. You can also visit the shop without having to pass by the museum first.
Above: wooden molds (in the shape of a windmill and dolls) for speculaas cookies. I think such molds are also funky when used as decoration items hanging on the walls of a kitchen.
The museum shop is a large one, and has a wide range of items such as reproductions of vintage posters, illustration cards (with themes such as butterflies, flowers, fruits and the Dutch landscape), books, tea sets, trays, kitchen utensils, cookies, chocolates. Very lovely and pretty.
Below, a parody of Verkade girls made by the comediants from the program Koefnoen.
At Verkade we know what delicious means...
You just put blushy blond ladies next to a pack of cookies
and it sells itself.
Thus our sweetenes in a tasteful jacket.
They are de Verkade girls !
A delicious combination of boobs and cookies.
And while you get distracted by them,
the real Verkade ladies are working hard making cookies
When people (=mostly friends and family members visiting the country) ask me about the eficiency of public transport, how to rent a bike, taxis etc. in the Netherlands they get very suprise about the following:
Can anyone believe I have never been into a taxi while living in the Netherlands ?
NEVER.
How's that possible ? Well, my father-in-law brings us to Schiphol airport when we go abroad. He's also there to collect us when we arrive in Dutch soil. When he also goes abroad with us and the rest of the family, we know someone with a mini-bus who will bring us to Schiphol charging a fair rate. For the rest, I will take a tram, a bus, a boat ("de Pont", for free) or ride my bike.
I am also disappointed/sick about the stories I have heard since my first day living here. For a shocking story (in Portuguese) from a fellow blogger in The Hague read here (the taxi chauffer threatened them with an iron bar).For a full article in English click here while the link lasts. The title says all: Amsterdam taxis rank poorly in European test.
On the film below, an experienced Dutch chauffer gives a reasonable point of view. English subtitles.
Tips:
* If at all possible, avoid the Taxi Rank at Amsterdam Central Station (a taxi rank Amsterdammers refer to, without any subtlety, as the "Gaza Strip"). If you do go there, look for a TCA taxi.
*You can also order a TCA taxi. In this case it may be best to have the taxi pick you up in front of the St. Nicholas Church — directly across from Central Station. To order a TCA taxi, call 020 – 777 7777 (7×7)
* If you are a tourist just bring nice comfy shoes and walk around. Amsterdam is a beautiful city, and most tourist attractions can be easily reached by tram.
