Tonight, while grilling the flank steak for fajitas, we heard a lot of sirenes in our neighborhood. Curious as we were, we ran out front to check it out. One of the houses in the street perpendicular to ours was on fire!

All the firemen worked unbelievably hard, and were on-site for a long time. It was great to see that our local fire department runs one smooth operation!

Edited to add: Thanks to 2 LT. Rich Leswing, I now know that it was not a real fire, but rather a Keyport Fire Department Drill

Here are some shots I took:

The fire truck in front of the house that’s on fire:

Fire truck in front of our house:

Fireman coming out of the burning house. It looks bright out, but that’s really because of the huge spotlights on top of the fire truck:

Being from the Netherlands, there are times I miss Dutch food. Well… when that craving hits, we either go to, or order from Kaas en Co. It is our favorite Dutch store here in the US… and, it’s right in Connecticut, so we get orders the next day!

I was really excited when I got home, and the big box of goodies was there…. so here, for your excitement as well, a buildup of all the stuff in the box:

First came out… the several kinds of licorice:

Then we added some Rusk (Beschuit), Syrup, Dutch Mayo, Chocolate, and Stroopwafels:

Next was stuff to put on the rusk… chocolate sprinkles, and chocolate shavings:

As if that wasn’t enough, there was some more licorice, and some honey cake:

One of tomorrow’s dinner ingredients was next: “Mie nestjes” (egg noodles, I think):

We just came back from the Seder at our friends Dr. Bob and Kathy’s house. We went both today, and yesterday. Today it was a small intimate group, while yesterday was a larger group.

Kathy outdid herself, on both nights, with fantastic foods. Every year she goes out of her way to accommodate some of the picky eaters (me!).

Today I brought my camera, and shot a few pictures, before everyone arrived:

Seder Plate:

Matzos:

Dr. Bob: