Crouching Bunny, Hidden Hond

Hoi,

Bas here, sorry to all my Nederlandse friends, but I have to write this in Engels....my Mom is my editor and her Nederlands is not so good.

Let me introduce myself. I am a 4 1/2 year old, 55kilo, Anatolian Shepherd (Anatolische Herder). Which makes me a tiny dog....lol...I crack myself up. Actually just normally walking my head is all the way up to my Mom's waist and if I stand on Dad's shoulders I can look into his eyes (effective for hypnotizing him into giving me his dinner...sometimes). My hobbies include sleeping, sleeping, stealing food, tap dancing, sleeping, and howling whenever Mom leaves. Oh, and sleeping.

Now I do enjoy my long walks as well. Speaking of which I gotta tell you about what happened the other night. I had just woken up for my nap and Mom said it was time for our walk before bed. We headed out to the park like we do every evening. Well, everything was going great and I was just relaxing thinking about going to sleep...again...when all of a sudden I was attacked by NINJA BUNNY. I poked my nose into a bush and suddenly this horrifying bunny came flying out and even karate kicked me in the nose. I was so worried about protecting Mom from the Ninja Bunny that I ran hoping the bunny would follow me and spare her life. Wouldn't you know it, I couldn't get far enough away so I jumped behind Mom so I could make sure it didn't attack her from behind. Eventually, things settled down, but on this morning's walk I made sure I took Mom the long way around that bush.

You know Mom goes over to this place in Oldenzaal for a few hours every week. She plays with other dogs and even cats, which is great for me I get to catch up on all the animal news every time she returns. There's this great older dog named Lady, she's about 12 years old, but she's still got alot of spunk.


Then there's Dipper, an Australian Cattle Dog...hey, he's a herder, too and he's a great football player...he's been at the shelter for 3 years honing his soccer skills. Mom even told me about Tonny, the black and white cat that loves to snuggle especially when Mom cleans the cat house. Check out these and a few other friends at http://www.dierentehuisoosttwente.nl/ .

YAAWWWWNNNNN......well, I haven't slept in almost 30 minutes so it's time for my nap. Next time I'll tell you all about my new favorite sport, tennis.

TOT ZIENS!

Howdy Ya'll!!!!

Okay, Texans do not actually say "Howdy", but we do say "ya'll". This is a little introduction to this blog and me ... and of course, Bas.

I'm originally from Fort Worth, Texas ( "Where The West Begins ")... just about 30 minutes from Dallas (remember the TV show). Lived most my life there. I moved a little throughout Texas in the last few years also went over the border to Oklahoma (what was I thinking-Texans and Okies do not like each other) for the last few months. I worked for many years as a corporate trainer, training bartenders, servers, and cooks for the Olive Garden while bartending and serving myself. Olive Garden is a 700 + restaurant chain in the U.S., but I left it and everything else behind. Through a dear friend I met a wonderful Dutch man, fell in love, and decided to uproot myself and move to the Netherlands.

My route here was quite the adventure on its own. I decided to fly out Christmas Day from Tulsa, Oklahoma ... wouldn't ya know it .... it was Tulsa's first ever Christmas Eve blizzard. After spending most of the early morning hours trying to get a taxi to the airport I finally arrived. I got checked in, called Joost to let him know I got to the airport, then sat down with my laptop for a few moments. I could not help but notice the U.S. flag waving proudly outside the very window of the terminal. It was at that moment that everything really hit me. I was leaving my country and everything I knew behind. Everything I had was packed into 2 suitcases and one small briefcase. I admit the tears started a little, but I felt better when I remembered I was starting a whole new life. Well, wouldn't you know it the first flight was delayed 20 minutes ... cleaning the runways. Finally got on board, then another 30 minute delay .. the copilot could not find his bag. Got into the air and arrived in Chicago, ran to the next terminal to head to Philadelphia .. only to discover it was delayed. Left Chicago got to Philadelphia late ... again ... ran to the Amsterdam flight only to find out it was already gone ... wonderful. As I started back to the ticket counter to find out what to do ... a lady stopped me at the terminal desk. After a few moments, she handed me a ticket and get on the flight said "over there now". Which prompted me to ask .. "where am I going?" I'm going to Spain ..... my next question ... and how to I get to Amsterdam from there?! Anyway, without even finding out about my luggage or anything really I boarded the plane for Spain. I called from the plane (my cell was already dead by now) and let Joost know what was happening and that I'd be late. By the way, do not use those airline phones ... 20 euros for a minute. Got to Spain, found my way to the terminal for Amsterdam on ... got it .. and finally was actually heading to the Netherlands. I arrived at 14:45, supposed to be there at 8:05. Went to the luggage pickup ... and found my wonderful Joost looking through the window as I waited for my bags. Bags? Ummmm .... still in Philadelphia, I think .... waited, no luggage (finally got them almost 3 weeks later). Gave up and just left the arrival center, but all was good cause my Joost was there with a teddy bear, a smile, a kiss, and hug ... I was home.

First of all let me say, Overdinkel is very charming and quaint, but everything is so small here. The streets, houses, kitchens, .. everything, but hey, less to keep clean. I've been slowly learning my way around Overdinkel, Losser, and even a bit of Enschede. I'm volunteering a few hours a week at a local animal shelter ... something I used to do in the States. I'm slowly adapting to my new environment and the purpose of this blog is to chronicle my adventures. Joost and I got a new dog, he's a 4 1/2 year old named Karabash, named Bas. He is the biggest, most loveable Goofball I've ever seen. He'll be telling you about his adventures on this blog as well.

Well, that's all for now. Next time I'll tell you about my adventures in cooking, Texas, Southern food with a Dutch twist ... lol.