Finding Money

De Tijd Vliegt = Time Flies
Monnickendam, Netherlands

Whether it's a windmill, a lighthouse, a weathervane, a water tower...or as in this case, a gable stone on the front of a brick building...whenever I find one, I feel like I've just found money!

Just like I still feel whenever I find a penny on the sidewalk!  [And yes, I still embarrass my kids when I bend down to pick one up.]

Years ago when then-husband and I were in ministry to college students in Southern California, they gave us a metal detector just for fun.  Actually, I think it was for Bill's birthday.  They knew we loved taking our 2 kids to the beach every possible weekend, summer or winter, to fly kites and body-surf the waves.

Picture it now:  first Bill, then me, then the kids, one by one, all searching for treasures hidden in the sand.  We knew you could find rings and watches and whatever...and coins, of course.  Each of us had our own fantasy of hitting the jackpot.  But who would hit it first!

What is it about that EUREKA hope of finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  Now that St. Paddy's Day has come and gone, many will have had their visions of finding treasures untold totally dashed...never really believing their gold was right there in front of them all along.

And sometimes it's not just money.  It's better than money!

Of all the things I "collect" with my camera here in the Netherlands, gevelstenen (gable stones) rank right up there at the top.  Lucky for me, they can be found in the city centers of almost every Dutch village or city, just waiting to be found.  I look up all the time on those photo hunts, holding my breath...expectant with childlike bliss to find whatever trinket is there just for the taking.

Now here's where the fun takes off.  There are Dutch databases for windmills (1173+) and lighthouses (40) and water towers (175)...AND FOR GABLE STONES (a gazillion)...to help you find where they are. 

As for gable stones, there are so many all over the Netherlands, you have to click on a city in the database to find out exactly how many and on what street.  In Amsterdam, for instance, there are over 800.  When I lived there half of every month for two years, I "collected" over 500 of them.  Talk about a jackpot!  Here in Gorinchem where I live now, there are only 36.  But all are treasures, as good for me as money!

In Monnickendam, which we visited a couple weeks ago, there are 60+ gable stones.  In the 2 hours we were there, I "collected" 33 of them.  The one above is my favorite and is the one where I immediately thought of us women here at V&V.  Once home, I went to the database and found it is a young whipper-snapper from 2003...compared to one I found from 1611, for instance.

"Finding money" means different things to different people, of course.  It certainly says a lot about us what we even call "money" or treasure.  But I can tell you this, when I find it, whatever it is, time stands still...even if it's trying to tell me otherwise.  And even if I can't take it with me!