The backlash in the US is increasing the Republics just lost a Texas House seat in a ruby red distract that was =17 for Dear Leader in 2024, people are pissed and organized, the March No Kings Rally should be interesting turnout wise, I have joined a political action group and we are having a protest Saturday...:offtopic:

Well done Plook- hopefully free and fair voting will still be allowed in the US, after Dumps latest moves.................

I hope that too. I never ever thought I could be concerned about whether or not I'd be allowed on the streets of the US with my standing - but I may be going to the States later this year, and as Carnaval season approaches my costume of the Statue of Freedom is nearing completion. I had the idea two years ago, when I had a bad place for the parade and held my hand high whilst making photos just so I wouldn't be looking at necks all the time. Might as well incorporate that into a costume.

'Course with my posture I mock everything I try to look like. And as a symbol of the USA may not fall in favour with certain growds I was contemplating coming as a "greey" Statue charging exorbitant amounts for post cards and photo ops. Or I could say I seek asylum. Whatever.

I'll also be attending carnaval in Oeteldonk ('s-Hertogenbosch) which has a very lively and unique carnaval tradition. Basically instead of costumes, you wear a keel or a black coat, adorned with patches in red/yellow/white, with red/yellow/white accessories and lots of frogs. I don'have a Carnaval coat yet, so now I'm panic sewing.

I'm done with the panic sewing and only pricked myself about twelve times or so. And I can still type.

Last day, I should be draping green fleece blankets over me to see if I can get a statue of freedom-ish look out of myself. Weather forecast says I'll be freezing my butt off on Saturday.

Bonny you need a thimble...💡

and a blanket

I have a few thimbles, but alas the good Lord gave me a body that's not feminine in some proportions, for instance I have oversized hands and feet to the extent I don't fit in women's shoes or gloves. By extent thimbles are too tiny for me. They should fit around the middle finger of your dominant hand (you use it to push the needle through the fabric) but they just don't fit.

For Saturday I have 2 blankets that I'll use as drapes over my green dress. Below that lots of thermoweave.

Today's Rose Monday, the Monday of the carnaval season.


Oeteldonk (the Carnaval name of 's-Hertogenbosch, where I work) has a very lively Carnaval tradition, with its own outfits, parades, music et al. If you want to celebrate carnaval there you're not let into any cafe unless you're dressed in Oeteldonk style - typically a blue or black blazer or farmer's shirt, decorated with patches that refer to Oeteldonk, frogs and the love for the celebration and its music, culture and beer, combined with accessories in red-white-yellow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFYQpCl4pmc&t=30s Some atmosphere impressions of the bits. https://www.oeteldonkje.nl/ if you're inspired and want to come to the party next year, get your kit here.

Usually I go to Eindhoven or nearby Geldrop (Lampegat and Lappegat respectively) to celebrate carnaval, where costume is normal, and I had made a Statue of Freedom costume this year to flaunt.

But as my colleagues last year had such a great time at the company's carnaval café outing, I decided to make a, Oeteldonk carnaval coat. This involved hand sewing 22 emblem patches onto a perfectly fine black blazer and set me back a bundle as well. (the patches, not the blazer). Panic sewing, but it got done.

Unfortunately, Carnaval is celebrated so majorly among my colleagues that they had given too many people a vacation in this period. Whoops. This meant there was nobody on Carnaval Sunday to work for the Special Care department - my department, so when they asked I decided to help out - and ended up having to help complaints on site. Which is highly stressful and not my area of expertise, I had to be trained to do it even for this one day, which I'd rather spend watching a parade.

So, agenda jam packed. Friday was my day off but the company Carnaval, Saturday day off to be Statue of Freedom at the Lampegat parade, Sunday work on clients with complaints in resort, work from Monday through Thursday, then off to visit BF again and look after his nieces' bunnies.

At the company carnaval I met numerous colleagues in their Carnaval coats, who had the day off and had shown up especially for the company drink. But while the year before the boss had rented the nearby café for snacks and consumptions, this year the company was split in two - and Customer Care basically got a bit of beer or wine and one whole bitterbal.

All us partygoers in our coats were a bit desillusioned at this - as a non-drinker i basically panic sewed a carnaval coat and showed up on my day off for one bitterbal (I love them, don't get me wrong, but it's literally 2 bites and then it's gone), so we hit the town, the seven of us. After arriving at the first stop - a streed with several cafés (where we had lunch, Poly) and it was so insanely busy it took twenty minutes to reach the end of the short street. We paused to get a few pitchers of beer and I decided to head home - which is a tale and a half with so many people.

Came home, exhausted, was so tired I went to bed at 9PM. No alcohol, just that bitterbal.

Was so tired the day after that I gave Lampegat a miss and tried to rest a bit for Sunday. That's one powerful bitterbal!


I told DED about the disappointing one sole bitterbal. He now keeps singing "Bonny has only got one ball..." I'd better get a whole box of them for my birthday.

Woke up at 3AM feeling sick (hoping it doen't grow worse from there because I really want to visit BF this weekend) , was contacted by my mother and had a bird poop on my coat. Not the best day in all, even if they say bird poop is lucky.

Back from BF's so the flu didn't set in, yay! We had a great time, went to the pancake restaurant and played a board game called Cities. The copy had a misprint causing it to miss half the manual so we spent some time searching online for it.


On the way I got a copy of Virgin Suicides at the little book stall in Utrecht where you can leave the books you read and pick up new ones. Finished it before I got home.

Thank goodness the US has a president that is against starting wars...:freak:

Tell me about it. Work is horribly busy now we have dozens of customers trapped in Dubai, some with urgent medical needs, locked in their hotel...

I'm on the emergency phone and getting called at all hours of the night by people stranded in Dubai. :swear:

bad (dumb) all over

Had 15 calls of which 14 were related to the situation in the Middle East - people who were stranded halfway during their repatriation, one who still was in Dubai and didn't think the situation was that bad (I'm happy that's your experience ma'am, the clients I spoke who were at the airport during the drone attack would disagree) and people stranded in Thailand and Zanzibar who had a stop in Dubai.

4:30 AM, client who is stranded in Thailand says: "My flight in 2 days via Dubai is cancelled, but there's another one tomorrow going to Dubai, can I take that one?" Sigh.

I'm flying to LA tomorrow for a funeral the 2nd to last neighborhood mom passed away she was 92 lived in her house 70 years she died one day after my moms day 7 years later, my mom was 85 years old and had been in her house 63 years.

Jeanette was a homemaker but much more she raised 4 kids (her son Jim was one of my good surf & skateboard buddies in the early days).

Their house had a basketball hoop on the garage and the designated spot for endless basketball matches, they had so many broken windows they put bars over them way before they were used to hinder break-ins.

She was more than a mom she was an excellent artist that worked in pastels for many years producing top quality works she had an affinity for doing portraits of Native Americans Indians.

It is a quick turn around flyout tomorrow at 6am get a car drive to Norwalk for the funeral, La Mirada for the graveside service, and then Fullerton for the reception then back to LAX to my room and fly home Wednesday morning at 7am.

It's a tour de force of So Cal driving, woo hoo, but I get to see old neighborhood friends and my good friends Robert & Glory live right by the cemetery so I plan on dropping by to say hello, fun fact my first wife Terri matched made them in the 80's still married and have two wonderful daughters that are great athletes that both went to college on scholarships.

Maybe I can call Bonny if I get stuck in an airport...

Soooo, what were you up to last month?

I had a wild rollercoaster of a month when on March 16th I was informed my contract was not to be extended with the online travel agency I handle complaints for. I was very upset about it - having the Goose down added insult to injury - so the last month was basically panic job application. In total I had 15 job interviews in less than 4 weeks!

Inbetweein it was also Easter, and my birthday on April 4th. I had long planned to visit my boyfriend and do something like stay at a hotel (as it also marks our 10th anniversary together, love ya babe), but the decision threw a spanner in the works and we decided to just have a simple visit instead.

Still, BF was intent to spoil me rotten - the weekend after I was told about my job, I visited him and he took me on an early birthday boating outing to a seal release (official footage here) on International Seal Day, 22 March. It was international indeed - on the boat there were people from China, Japan, Russia, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Spain, South Africa - and the woman next to me came from Eindhoven as well.

For the Easter weekend I went to BF again - and he took me to a place I had been wanting to visit ever since I first heard of it,: the planetarium of Franeker, the world's oldest working orrery. Documentary is attached (you can set subtitles to English in the settings).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0GAcKgOYLY

We also went to the Lego museum in nearby Grootegast, and the WW2 museum right next to it, an inspiring combination, joined together by a 50s diner. The lego museum had a display on Fabuland, the lego I grew up with along with Duplo. I don't think there are better toys imaginable than simple blocks.

Dad's birthday was spent by him being very grumpy over fixing the Goose - it had been more than a month, he contacted my boyfriend who then fixed it in 15 minutes.

I'm keeping him!

Luckily I found a new job, next month I will be working for the Dutch municipality.

Good to see the Goose back online.

I performed live twice in March.

I joined a band called London Zappa Collective in November last year, playing alto sax. The first time I performed with them was Dec 7 last year and on that occasion I also got to do a solo set as Turbulator. We played again on March 14 opening for a seventies rock covers band called MindfooD [sic]. The band is a bit amateurish but now that I'm getting my live chops together I'm hoping to have some influence on upping the ante. I've added in the bari sax as well and the next time we play will be in June and I'll be able to do another Turbulator solo set.

On March 21 I performed solo as Turbulator at Festival Moo-ah! 2026. A very good experience with lots of positive feedback from audience and other musicians. If you haven't heard of it, Festival Moo-ah! is the UK's only Zappa festival and has been revived this year from a long hiatus after being wiped out by Covid.

I've put three live tracks from my Mooah performance on my Youtube Channel.

I hope everyone's well.

Good to see if back- much the same here still posting and making musick