Der Klompen!

I had an interesting find today in my yard. Although I got home pretty late today, I decided to do some gardening tonight. I wanted to plant some lettuce and felt it would do better in a pot. I remembered that there was a stack of really large pots under a ledge in my yard. So I pulled out the stack. When I pulled out the top pot, I saw that these full sized wooden clogs were in the pot underneath. They were really dirty and covered with dead leaves and spider webs. They actually look like they would fit me.

Okay, here is the cool part of this story. My great grandmother was Dutch. For the past several years I have found Dutch items in really odd circumstances and places, like these shoes. I figure that is the Dutch side of the family sending a hug and letting me know that they are watching over me. Last year I made contact with my Dutch third cousin while do some genealogical research. His grandmother and my great grandmother were sisters. I had the pleasure of speaking with him a couple of times on the phone. The story that I remember the most is that he told me that when he would visit his grandparents, they would never go through the front door, they always entered through the side door. Next to the side door, were always a pair of der klompen, Dutch clogs. I think I will honor that story by keeping these clogs next to my back door (I don't have a side door.)

It always gives me a warm feeling when I come across something like this. I gave the shoes a really good washing and as you can see, they look so pretty. It will make me feel good to see them when I go in and out the back door.