Never Never Netherlands: Layers of Levity

Blouse: Candie's, Kohl's

Dress: Speechless, Kohl's

Blouse: Candie's, Kohl's

Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily; Belt: Marshalls; Bag: Francesca's; Yellow bangles: B Fabulous; Pink bangle: Don't Ask, Zulily

Dress: So, Kohl's

Dress: Xhilaration, Target

Sweater: Hooked Up, Macy's

Good things come in layers.  Cakes, bar cookies (which are a lot like cakes), lasagnas, and, of course, clothes!  Spring is the perfect time to slip on a sweater over a dress, or a dress over a blouse.  Here I am doing just that, twice in front of a windmill.  This household has an affinity for all things Dutch (which is fitting, the house itself being a Dutch colonial).  And it doesn't get much more Dutch than a windmill.  My parents got this one for the husband for his birthday a couple of years back, and when the winds are high, it really gets going.  Just last week it was spinning so furiously that I thought it was going to take off.  So I dashed outside to rescue it.  If only the operation went as easily as that sentence suggests!  Once I wrapped my arms around the cedar cylinder, I realized that it was much heavier than I anticipated.  Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, I thought, dragging it off the lawn, then hoisting it over the cement to avoid damaging it (like Larry David, I respect wood).  I got as far as the back door when I put it down, unsure how to wrestle it up the steps.  Then another wind swept in, tilting the windmill precariously toward my car.  Fueled by a surge of adrenaline (mothers save their kids from getting crushed by cars; I save my car from getting crushed by tchotchkes), I lifted it up the steps and forced it through the door.  Exhausted, I left it in the entryway.  In the cramped space it looked even bigger, like a lighthouse protecting a gray sea -- of tile, that is.  I thought maybe we could keep it in the house for good, dismissing the fear that mice or some other vermin might be squatting inside.  Later that night, when the husband came home, he couldn't believe I'd been able to carry it.  When I suggested that it live with us, he was less than amused.  (Well, actually, he was very amused.  But that didn't make him go for it.)

The next morning, the windmill was back out on the lawn.

I don't think there's anything more to say except to quote the chorus of "Feel Good Inc." from Gorillaz:

"Windmill, windmill for the land

Turn forever hand in hand

Take it all in on your stride

It is ticking, falling down

Love forever, love is freely

Turned forever, you and me

Windmill, windmill for the land

Is everybody in?"

I'm sure that whatever they're singing about is far more serious than the fate of some lawn ornament.  That said, the husband is probably right.  Windmills belong out in the elements, taking chances like nature intended.

And providing shelter for the gorillas.