Week 40
Around the farm...
The weeks are rattling along now!
The Summer House has to be ready next week and the tenants have to move out while the asbestos is removed.
Kids and dayworkers can't be there, either...so we're having a week "off".
We still haven't organised solar panels. The Local "Energy Neutral" group want to use rooves like ours to supply the whole village - Janny said, "OK, just so long as we get ours first!".
It's at times like this that I have to force myself to remember one of Mum's sayings..."bide your time"...maybe the electricity will sort itself out without me having to worry about it.
We found the original water supply...under a line of trees!
New ceiling in the bathroom...
Putting a loop in the water supply so that the "winter-off tap" will now be inside the Summer House... the water will remain on in the house itself and off for the outside taps - all the pipes have to be about 80cm deep to prevent freezing and/or inadvertent discovery whilst digging for something else!
I know I'm getting close to finishing...I spent all of Saturday doing "little things"; toilet roll holder, smoke detectors, fastening pipes, curtain rails; even our old curtains are getting a new life thanks to one of Janny's sisters!
Janny bought a very good 2nd hand mattress for €30,00 - so I had to re-think the bed...
I just went back to find the starting date: 19th of May! That's longer than I would have guessed! Nice to be getting to the end of it! Lucky it didn't have to be a high-quality standard - maybe in the next version!
Taking the old roof off...
In other news...
Sander found the leak (one of his earlier welds). So that's another one off the list! The boat is now out of the water for the winter - only costs €100,00 extra, surprised that I haven't done it before! Booked to go into the work shed in March for some painting work. And then it will be boating time again - already looking forward to it, in anticipation of a not-quite-so-busy year at work!
Animal Day...
Another one of "our" kids has grown up!
It's not so long ago that he used to make Harry Potter wands in my work shed and bring about 10 cuddly toys to keep him company... Highly intelligent, and yet...
He could speak English fluently - a lot of time spent online in chat groups.
He could be quite an asset to an employer if he ends up in the "right" place. For the moment, he has a job, a girlfriend and a scooter...
He came on his own to say goodbye to us and the other kids - "our" twins also came back for the day.
From the newspaper...
A new lock at Makkum
Businesses and investors have presented a proposal (to the Government) for new infrastructure related to shipping in and around the IJsselmeer.
A new 25-metre wide lock is proposed allowing access to the IJsselmeer for coastal shipping and superyachts. Also included; a dry dock at Urk, grain storage at Kampen and a new container crane at Lelystad.
The initiative is being led by the Province of Friesland and the Local Government of Sudwest-Fryslan and includes representatives of Overijssel, Flevoland and North Holland.
The total cost is estimated at €205m., of which €30m will be provided by the Federal Government.
Bridges on the A7 Freeway will have to be replaced and the shipping canals deepened.
Meppel (which surprised me with the extent of it's existing shipping facilities) and Kampen are both expecting huge investment/development.
3000 new jobs are expected and work now being done in Poland and Germany is "expected to return to the Netherlands" (probably luxury superyachts).
I also looked this up on the internet and found a Youtube video from 2014! advocating the very same thing - so the idea has been around for a while now.
Swallows and Floating Horses
My book on the history of the Frisian language has arrived - but it did not include any extra time with which to read it!
Just a paragraph from the introduction.
I've only read the introduction and a few of the original Frisian texts - which is almost impossible to read as it bears little resemblance to current Frisian (just like old English is almost unintelligible to today's English speakers). Janny had a go at reading the old Frisian, but only a few words were recognisable.
It is thought that the original written Frisian was largely to do with legal matters - including water management (flooding, building canals, dike maintenance).
Ben in Australia!
Last job in China!
and finally...
In Australia. Landed in the Gold Coast and headed almost immediately to Byron Bay - in a camper with two (girl) friends (from his residence in Amsterdam).
We expect him to be with family in Melbourne next week...
Lamington National Park
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