Baked stones: "bak stenen" or bricks

Good evening, all,

I've been meaning to mention the beautiful brick work that one sees all over here. It's not nearly as old as some other construction (plain stone, some wood), but started for domestic construction after some major fires, as in other major cities (Amsterdam, here, in Leiden, Rotterdam, The Hague, Delft, and others).

Anyway, the most typically Dutch-style brickwork is known as "spek laagjes" or bacon layers. A lot of bacon here is sold cut up in little chunky strips, about 1.5 inches long and about 1/4 inch thick, riddled with fat -- it's streaky. Needless to say, it's delectable. I buy the sort that's slightly smoked, and I *do* remove most visible fat.

So, that's the bacon. From at least the 17th century, there has been a lot of domestic and institutional construction with red bricks and some sort of brick-like stuff that's a creamy color. All sorts of styles and patterns were created, but probably the most frequently used was to put red brick to about 8 feet, and from there up to the top, whether a home or a town hall, the brick layers went wild. Most of it is geometic, but one also sees sun ray patterns and occasionally, whimsical patterns. It's elegant, and very typically Dutch. I still stop to look at it and find it elegant: a bit reserved or dignified, but also just beautiful.

Dassit, I think. It's suddenly cold here, but still no frost. I wore gloves for the first time, briefly. I finished my first Harry Potter book today, reluctantly: I loved it, even having seen all the films. Now, to read the rest of them. Like Governor Arnold's "Terminator" films (I saw the first two, when I lived in San Francisco, at the urging of colleagues), the plots felt very mythological: good vs. evil, quest for magical sources and puzzles that required extended effort, both physical and mental, to solve or conquer. At least with Harry, though, the hero (and his friends) live to tell the tale. And the films showcase nearly all of my favorite British actors (even John Cleese, as a ghost, but not Steven Fry or Hugh Laurie, oddly), chief among them, the ever-dark Alan Rickman.

Right: off to forage for dinner.

Stay warm, everybody.

Pamela