The great grey curtain

Oh, well, it had to happen. The lint-grey sky has arrived and won't leave until April or May. This is the low, northern European sky. With it comes unusual weather, like hale and big winds. It inhibits alarm clocks. It's the reason that lots of Dutch interiors are painted yellow or orange. In my view, it's the reason for the existence of the most important word in Dutch, namely "gezellig", which usually translates to "cosy", but in Dutch incorporates everything imaginable that contributes to comfort, warmth, security and what one wants at home in the winter. Furniture, clothes, drinks, curtains, music, open hearth and pillows can all be "gezellig". It's now just a quarter past four in the afternoon, but getting darker by the moment. All my house's first floor lights are turned on. Yesterday afternoon, I took a walk through the Leiden woods with a friend, and we had a late lunch at an old-fashioned sort of tea house in the woods. It was the essence of gezellig.

I quit the Amsterdam choir that I recently joined, partly because a late Thursday night return on the train, in winter, around 10:30pm, likely in bad weather, was far too far from anything "gezellig" that I could imagine. The main reason was too much time for too much frustration (not to mention, no pay). Unlike their trains, the Dutch members of the choir always arrived quite late (not knowing their notes), and I didn't want to spend my time being annoyed.

Like the dark, blustering weather, "gezellig" permeates one's body and soul here. It's a good constrast to the low, lint-like sky.

Off to try to absorb another 99 words of vocabulary by 11am tomorrow. This week, it's "business" and "around the farm", all useful words. I'm still trying to understand (but will give this up) why some words are common (formerly, masculine and feminine) and some neuter. While rat and mouse are "common", rabbit is "neuter". Cow and pig are neuter, but goat and bean are common. It's hard to remember which are which, beyond general rules. Hay is neuter, but manure is common (indeed). Right! 'bye for now.