Back again after 6 months

It’s now about 6 months that I have not written a thing.
Have done quit a bit in this time.
Went on holiday on Good Friday. We (DD and I) went to the Netherlands.
Arrived on the Saturday and went to Lelystad, stayed there for a couple of days.

Any way we visited a lot of places. Also the places where I was born and have lived.


The street in Amsterdam where I lived till I was 8 years.

Our ancestors were living here in Appingedam where you will find the hanging kitchens

Did couchsurfing, saw the flower procession,


Flower Procession

Visited the flower auctions in Aalsmeer.



This system is so complete different to what is here. They start with the highest price and you press a button when it comes to the price which you want to pay.


The auction board.

They know who is pressing the button and when the car with the flowers comes out of the room straight away there is a strip stuck to it for who the flowers are.


The cars coming out.

On the floor where the flowers are there is a complete chaos. The cars are coming and going everywhere and crisscross over the floor. You would expect a smash but there isn’t.



At the end there are trucks waiting and then they go to the customers in the country itself or outside. They also go by plane overseas.
Have done a lot genealogy research and found a lost member of the family.
This man was born in the 1760’s, lived in Sexbierum, NL and was suddenly gone. Know he was still living when in the Netherlands they had to take on a surname in the early 1800’s, but could not find him. Well to make the story short, I found a trace of him in the Central Bureau of Genealogy in The Hague. Did also find the marriage of my DH’s grandfather' sister. She married a Major and she had 2 children with him in Indonesia and they went then back to NL and he became a councillor in Alkmaar, NL.
Found 4 sons of the grandfather of which my father in law was one.
Was very happy with my findings.

Spend some time in Italy, where we mad a tour around the Amalfi coast. It was a walking tour. Went up and down the mountains had my muscles screaming the first couple of days. After that it became easier.



We went one day to the isle of Capri and made photo's of the coast.
On the last the day of the tour I managed to fall twice. The first was not so bad only a scrape. The second time I fell was more serious, had a big lump and the skin was broken and squashed. Francesco disinfected it and put a cold pack on it,
was still able to walk. We stayed an extra day at the hotel. On the Monday we went back to Naples via Salerno by bus and flied out in the afternoon.
DD had soon to go back home again.

I did see some more people and went to Scotland for a bus trip through the Highlands.

Looks very much like the Sidney Opera House but is in Glasgow, Scotland.

Learned a lot of the Highlands’ history. We went to Culloden and walked around.

Found this hilarious "locally caught" Haggis.

Afterwards the tour guide told us about the author Diane Gabaldon. She is writing a whole series, which start 3 years before the battle with “Cross Stitch”.
You can’t stop reading. Have 6 books, nr 7 will come out very soon.

Was early June back in the country. Needed a rest from my holiday.
There were a couple of messages for me on the telephone and took care of that.
Got some electricity panels on the roof and I am now generating my own electricity. On east side of the house the soil was getting away from the foundations. Made some repair there. First the fence went out, then concrete against the house and a retainer wall so that the soil is now staying.


Working on the retainer wall.

The fence went in again and I put some ready made grass in. This was over a 6 weeks period. Most of it I did. The concreting and putting up the fence was done by someone else.
Rang the council about a tree on the footpath, they had a look and tree is going. It is rotting away and is dangerous. Got an air conditioner put in and will have by the end of this week also insulation.
The insulation is paid for by the government and you are a fool if you are not getting it. Have started painting the house. The lounge is already finished because the air conditioner had to be fitted. Had already earlier this year put in for a subsidy for a solarhotwater system and electricitypanels. The hotwatersystem was in place before I went on holyday and the panels went in after I came.


Both systems on my roof.

There is not much quilting at the present, do quite a bit of knitting. Have been knitting with the blanket of the Wolhemel. Their blocks are finished but I got patterns from internet and are knitting more blocks.

Relocated

Glad the move is over. Live now for about a month in my new home. The first two weeks I went back and forwards. After moving out of the old place there was still a lot left which had to go. Had another moving sale, what was left and still good I packed into boxes and that went to Lifeline.



Got a container and the rest went into this.




There was guttering long 7 metre, which I cut with the electric saw into smaller pieces.




Chairs underwent the same treatment. If it was not cut then it got smashed. It fitted all in a 4cubic metre container.



Have now started on a lot of repairs to the new place. First thing the locks were changed and the sliding doors checked.
Have bought some paint which matches with the colour on the inside doors. There is quite a bit to patch up.
Today the plumber changed the downpipes, which came nearly down. It is raining now, good that it is down. The roof has to be checked and get then a solar hotwater system and panels for electricity. There are so many subsidies for these. It is now affordable.

House sold

Yes my house is now sold. Have bought a new home in Forest Lake. What a process is this..
First you get a sales contract made up, without signing you go to the solicitor and let him have a look at it. He can now change the wording when it is not done properly. You do not want to end up with a house when the sale of your own house is falling through. Then you have a building and termite inspection. If it has termites you can terminate the contract, it has to be on the contract. If the building inspection is not favourable then you start negotiating through the solicitor till you are satisfied with the price.
Then you wait till settlement date and the sellers are out of the house and you can move in.
In the meantime I am cleaning out the house, garage and have a garage sale coming weekend. What is left over after I move out of the house will be thrown out and in a container.

Moving

Have some time ago signed a sales contract and will be moving. To where I do not know yet. Have to buy another home yet. I am not very impressed with what I have seen up to now . Will be looking in a bigger area. Might be seeing something which I will fancy. Hope to have a house by the end of this month.
Past weekend have been on a quilting retreat and had quite a lot of senior moments, forget the lead for the sewing machine. Had enough work to do without machine and will try now to finish a quilt on the quilting meetings.
Dear daughter is planning a trip for the 2 of us going next year to Europe. We leave in April the winter is supposed to be finished then. We will also going to Italy, the Almafi coast doing a trip then.

Gold Coast

On Saturday the 13th went to the Gold Coast for a week with the Babes without boobs.
Got there around 12.30pm after dropping off Jayne at the kennel, picking up books at the library and a cup of coffee at the computer group at the library.
When I got there we went for lunch at the local pub. In the afternoon we had a walk on the beach.
On Sunday we did a boat trip around the canals and went also out.
We had a beautiful morning tea on the boat.



After our boat trip we had a look around and I bought a t-shirt for Robbie. Had an invite for Robby and Linda's birthday party on Saturday.



Started to knit a Carolus and finished it at the end of the week. .



We went to an sculpture exhibition. There were some good sculptures.



This one is made from bird wire.



There are times I feel exactly like this man with everybody pulling at you.



Had a look in Coolangatta and went also to the quiltstore in Tweeds Heads. There is so much, you can spend a long time there. Bought some wool.

We had a restday but in the afternoon I went for a walk and had a look at the kites, the others were flying.

The next day bought also a kite and flew it but after half an hour could not get the kite in the air anymore and had a look at. It was broken down.
Have now a year the time to make myself another one. Have the pattern now and will make one from fabric.



On Friday we left again after cleaning the unit.

On Saterday went to Linda's party and had a good time. Picked up Jayne in the late afternoon. She gets now to know the people, who look after her and is more settled.

When I woke up on saturday in my own bed I heard a bang on the roof and knew straightaway that was the possum, who had been for a long time a boarder at my place.
Before I went to the Coast the overhangings in the carport were covered up by my handyman with animal wire.



When Jayne came home she had a very difficult time hanging on the rafters.






It has not been back yet.

Lord Howe Island

Lord Howe Island is a small island in the Indian Ocean between New Zealand and Australia. The climate is very favourable even in winter. It is not freezing there.



There are a few cars and the speed allowed is 25km. The petrol is even more expensive then on the mainland and people are mixing the used oil from the fast foods outlets with fuel and use it in the cars. There are not many open spaces and what there is, is for the people who live there. The whole island is covered with Kentia palms.



When the seeds from the palms are ready for harvest they are picked and seedlings are raised in the nurseries. Most of these are exported to the Netherlands.

At one stage the island was overrun with rats. There is now a control program in place. You see in places tubes and there is ratsack in it. The rat goes in, eats from it and goes out and dies somewhere.



Everything is imported from the mainland and all the garbage is exported. However what can be recycled, is recycled.



On my walks I went to Little Island. You have to look very good to see it so small is it.


Around the island are a lot of islands. One looks like a whale.



On Friday there was a big walk with a guide to Mount Gower, an eight hour walk. That was too much for me and did not go. Heard later they even had to climb ropes to get to the top. The people who went, were very sore the next morning.



The unit I was living in was very nice.




On the top of one of the smaller mountains





There are also trees with lots of airroots.

Back again

Have not been blogging for 2 months, time is flying by.

On the 20th of July I went on holidays to Lord Howe Island. My friend Jenny brought me to the airport. We had breakfast there.



At five minutes past 9 boarding started, we went with a small van to the plane. It was a very small on, there was only place for about 30 people. We landed from the seaside on Lord Howe.




The weather was beautiful. Were picked up and went by van to Somerset Resort. I got a nice studio unit. Went out and hired a bike for the week. That went not so good the first couple of days, had not been biking for 38 years, even fell a couple of times.



The weather was very windy and raining the whole week but that did not stop me from going out and exploring the island. Have been climbing some mountains and did a lot of walking.





Had a look at the weather balloon going up. The weather man turned out to be Doug. I had been working with him in Melbourne at Philips. He was in goods inwards and I in stock control. He recognised me.





They had also a museum and looked at it. There was also a café and had most of the time coffee and afterwards some lunch there.

Watched one day the plane going out. It was very, very windy that day. It was scaring to look it at but up it went. The wind was across of the runway.




One morning I went to see the feeding of the fishes.



Have been knitting another Lodewijk on Lord Howe Island, have now three.





On the Sunday I flew out again. Lucky there was not that much wind as during the week. Had a good flight back. Jenny picked me up.

Have been working hard on the bathroom it is nearly finished.

The small quilts which are going over the armrests are going fine. The top is finished and am doing the quilting now. Then the small ones have to be stitched together with the big top. Will have to work that out.

Yesterday there was Holland Festival at the Dutch club in Richlands. Went there and had a good time.
Have been eating coffee and cake, salted herring, oliebollen (they are a bit like donuts but then round with dried fruit in it), poffertjes. Watched Maori people singing and dancing, this was very entertaining. Bought a lot of Dutch foodstuff, which you hardly see in a supermarket.