Bullet Hole's 'Day Off'

Yep. That’s me in the picture. With the fly away hair and standing in front of a Dutch wind mill and between two gi-normous yellow wooden shoes. I admit it. I played hooky yesterday. Not for the entire day, you understand. But for some of it. You see, it’s Tulip Time in nearby Pella, Iowa. And if you’ve read any of my Calamity Jayne books, you’ll notice a certain resemblance between Pella and Grandville’s long-time rival, New Holland. Hey. Write what you know.

Anyway, as the red in the thermometer slowly inched its way up to the seventy degree mark, I began to get the almost uncontrollable urge to play hooky. Spring fever had sprung. Big time.

“Kathy, you really shouldn’t,” Bullet Hole told me. “You have books to write. Proposals to put together. A house to clean. Grass to cut.”

“Yeah, but that’s stuffs all gonna be there tomorrow,” Kathy reminded. “Meanwhile, there’s rain moving in Thursday and the temperature is gonna drop back into the fifties. Somehow I don’t see you tip-toeing through the tulips in a rain poncho, Bacus. Don’t forget. Pella was the boyhood home of legendary lawman Wyatt Earp. And there are those Dutch letters to consider.”

Hmm. Sunshine, fresh air, historic figures, and almond pastries. Nobody knows which of my buttons to push like I do.

So, yesterday afternoon my son and I took a road trip to Pella. Pella was founded in 1847 by Separatists from the Netherlands who felt the State Church was becoming too modern and theologically on shaky ground. Pella has kept to its Dutch roots. The architecture of the city reflects its founders’ heritage, a requirement set by the city’s zoning commission, as does its annual tulip festival.

It was breezy (I know--you could tell by my hair, right?) and while this winter has been a little tricky on the tulips and the blooming timetable, the tulips in bloom were still incredible. Reds, yellows, oranges, pinks, the colors were bright and intense. And just so you know, the pictures I’ve posted weren’t taken by me, but by my son who has an artist’s eye for picture taking. Me? I basically point and shoot.

By the time we finished our walk around Pella, we were more than ready for one of Jaarsma Bakery’s legendary Dutch Letters. I forget that not everyone knows what a Dutch Letter is. It’s a weird ‘S’ shaped puffed pastry filled with divine almond paste filling, sprinkled with sugar, and baked to perfection. And did you get a look at the size of that letter? Eight inches of Dutch heaven! At the end of the day I was glad I’d taken a few hours off. I still managed to finish up a proposal for a new project and write an opening chapter. Guess the fresh air did some good. Or maybe it was the Dutch letter.

So, any place near your home you like to go and clear the cobwebs out of your head? Any place you enjoy taking off and driving to spur of the moment?

Today? Well, today it’s back to work. Dang. I wish I’d brought home a six-pack--of Dutch letters, that is.

~Bullet Hole~