patriotic oomph

July 4th is a confusing day for me. After all, I spent my first two decades in Indonesia, travel on an American passport, and now am stretching taproots down into Dutch soil. Having… Continue reading →

white noise

Twas the night before New Year’s and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. We partied from sundown to mid-evening only — by 9:30pm we were crumpled… Continue reading →

bubble-wrapped lovers

I have a new beau! Truth be told, we’ve known each other since I was 10. But if you peeled back the bark and cut a cross-section of our relationship, it would be… Continue reading →

thanksgiving blues [Spiced Pumpkin & Amaranth Bread]

It was just another Wednesday night around these parts. No turkey and no brine bath. No pies in the oven. No bread proofing. Instead of being jampacked with sweet potato ring and wild… Continue reading →

roots.

The high street mannequins are flaunting heavily autumnal get-ups, cable-knit sweaters and corduroy trousers and quirky Aztec-patterned mittens. The ice cream shops are battening down the hatches for their winter hibernation and even… Continue reading →

the blood I lose in translation

My identity lost a lot of blood when I was transplanted to Holland. Three years on, it still looks anemic. Some days I don’t care that I’m not myself in Dutch yet, and… Continue reading →