Utrecht has another idea about policing, and a wedding

I just returned from a wonderful trip to Ghent and Bruges (Belgium), and Utrecht (The Netherlands). Here are two pictures from Ghent, an interesting and extremely diverse university town—

Here’s Bruges, looking picture perfect—

In Utrecht, we attended the wedding of two young men who are dear family friends. The wedding was officiated by an act called Absolutely Drag, consisting of two celebrated drag queens from Utrecht, Amy Astoria and Victoria Vyper. It was a warm and joyous occasion with friends and family from around the world.

By my observation, Utrecht has terrific ideas for policing. Below are two police officers pulling trash from a canal. Wouldn't it be great if we took away the guns and asked police officers to do this kind of service?

Our travels were filled with dear friends whose children have grown up with our children, and whose parents were adored friends of my parents. There is nothing more nourishing than connecting with loved ones, wherever they may be.

While I was away, two podcasts about THREE MUSES went live. The first is a conversation I had on Writers Radio with Ingrid Rose, a British woman living in Vancouver, Canada. I found her insights to be extremely meaningful. You can listen to our conversation here.

I loved speaking with Joanna Vander Vlugt for JCV Art Studio Podcast as well. You can listen to our conversation here.

Wishing you all a (less soggy) wonderful summer.

Much love,

Martha