Busy

The sky is grey again! It is obvious that we will have to just get on with life and not be distracted by sunshine. The Dutch, being a hardy lot, are out riding their cycles as usual.

More trips to the tip/recycling area, which is very impressive and very well organised. You try not to leave any mess when you unload the car otherwise you might get into trouble. There are lots of people watching you.

The girls helped me cut down the small trees in the patch of garden at the back, then Walter very kindly finished off and dug out the roots.

The area before we started, it really was overgrown, although it does not look it!

Getting there!
All finished!
The new hob is installed, great to use and will not explode like the last hob.

The old hob, looking more smashed after Aldert got to work on it! The new hob, looking very new and shiny.
This evening we went to a fund raising event at de Brug school, where each class organised activities and items for sale. The proceeds (1200 Euros) will go to children in Nepal. The school has a web site http://www.obs-debrug.nl/ which is very informative, as long as you can read Dutch of course, but the website also has lots of photographs of the children and the activities they undertake. There is one of Mia practising her Dutch with three girls from Group 8 (Year 7) and a couple of photos 0f her taken at the recent Carnival celebrations.

We are getting ready for one of Mia's teachers, who came to lunch today. Very exciting!

All go here!

Today was sunny - such bliss! The last time I was here this scene was shrouded in mist.
Aldert has returnd to the job after a week away so it is all go again here. Today he put in a velux type window into the laundry upstairs plus altered the door into Aaron and Kylie's bedroom.
Walter and Kylie took away three loads of rubbish to the tip, while I cleared up the back patio area.
Looking happy!
Lots of cardboard!
Mia's bedroom is finished - very sunny and a great view of the street.All in order.
The bathroom is finished - such luxury. The bath is reflected in the mirror. The blue tiles look very Mediterranean! Tomorrow Walter and Kylie will be off to Ikea to buy wardrobes, doors, a hob (the last one exploded) and a new bed. I am going to tackle the self sown trees in the tiny patch of garden. I believe it is going to be sunny again.

Off to Holland

This morning we tied the bicycles onto our new cycle carrier and left home, in order to travel to Holland. The sun was shining! Fantastic. We caught the 10 am ferry (DFDS Seaways - once Norfolk Lines) from Dover to Dunkerque. It was still sunny, the sea was smooth, the coffee very good and the chairs extremely comfortable and we thought we were on a cruise for two hours. Well we were in a way. The ferry is very modern and is certainly better than P and O and Sea France. It is also much cheaper too.

The view from the side windows of the ferry. Looks like summer time! Walter looking happy and relaxed!
A view inside the ferry. I love the big windows!

When we got to Holland the sun was still shining and it is predicted to be so for the next few days. Too good to be true.

A new car

We have bought a new car (at least for us). It is a Citroen Xsara Picasso, 2006 registration. An ordinary car for ordinary people but an extremely useful vehicle. In other words not a classy vehicle but very practical. It is a small people carrier so is useful for carrying around our grandchildren and our visitors, taking the rubbish to the tip and travelling to Holland. It is great to get in and out of, unlike the BMW which requires a massive effort to haul yourself out.

We have also added a towbar and purchased a tow bar mounted cycle carrier so there will no stopping us! For sale: An old BMW. Lots of power. Leather seats. Great for exercising leg and arm muscles when you need to get out of it. Cheap price too!

The Bromley house is really taking shape

Emma and Steve's house in Bromley is really taking shape. All carpets are down now, except the stairs to the loft rooms, and they have moved in with most of their belongings. Exciting!

The small sitting room. A very cosy room and my favourite!

Those lovely stairs again, but with carpet this time!

Emma and Steve's room with a special feature wall - very cool! Jackson's room - one bright red wall with a very handy recessed cupboard for special toys. And his own telephone! Isabel's room - two white walls and two blue walls and lots of handy recesses. Very chic!

Steep stairs down from the loft rooms. All painted and awaiting the carpet.

The bath is in and shower working. Looks fantastic. The kitchen is nearly finished as well. Then they can work on the dining room, which will be the centre of all activities, I think. At the moment the study is full of furniture.

A home at last!

Garden

Today we paid Scott to cut down the conifers beside the front steps. It works both ways. Scott is always keen to earn some extra money and we are happy because he does the jobs that we hate doing, like cutting down conifers that have grown too big for the garden. Now I can be creative and look at different planting for this part of the garden.
Scott cutting the last part of the last conifer. Not an easy job!

The mole in the front garden is starting to get on my nerves. There are holes erupting everywhere, so it has to go but how! I must go onto Google and find a way to get rid of it. The front garden is surrounded by concrete steps, walls, house, road and driveways so it is amazing how the mole managed to get into the garden in the first place. But it must be removed!
A very busy mole!

The back garden is really bursting into bloom and leaf. I dug over the small vegetable patch, not the size of my allotment by any means, but enough for a lady who spends a lot of time away. Today I planted two elephant garlic bulbs (not really garlic but belong to the leek family), put ginger into a tub in the shed to sprout, put some potatoes in the shed to sprout, planted broad bean seeds and spring onion seeds. Apparently if you gradually pick the spring onions as they come up you will have small onions to eat first and then you leave the last few to grow into large spring onions. Hopefully they will all germinate so that I can test this theory. I don't have much luck with rhubarb here, although I had a huge patch of it at the allotment. I think I am killing it with kindness in this garden. I have planted new raspberry canes so hopefully can start a new raspberry patch off again.The blackcurrant bushes are bursting into leaf, the green strip is chard (silver beet) which I planted last August, the black plastic covers the weeds which I hope will become compost in two weeks (in my dreams!). My mini allotment!

The weather was grey today and very cold.

New stove

Today we finally had the oven installed, well partly, as we now need to get the gas plumber back to move the gas pipe at the back of the oven so we can fit the oven in. The oven is currently sticking out a few centimetres. The purchase of a new oven and hob was relatively easy and we got a good deal from B & Q. Then installation became very complicated. First we needed to get a gas plumber to connect the hob and then we got the electrician to wire in the oven. The previous oven was plugged into an ordinary 13 amp power point but now that ovens are more powerful they need their own power source. The price of the oven and hob has increased dramatically with the cost of the installation.

So why are we buying a new oven and hob? It is not a desire to produce gourmet food or to make sure we spend all our pension money! It is more about having to replace an oven which decided it would no longer work.

Of course it all happened on a night which was frantic anyway. Walter had prepared pizzas for two very hungry children and five adults as we rushed around getting ready for Donna's 40th birthday party. A babysitter was also due to arrive to look after Mia, Abi and Raphy. Then the oven would not work. So after frantically checking fuses etc it was decided that the oven was never going to work again. Walter very kindly made pan fried pizzas, which saved the day.

At least our oven just stopped working, unlike the dramatic finish of Aaron and Kylie's hob in Holland. It was a flash ceramic affair which exploded one day sending glass all over the kitchen. Luckily no one was hurt.

So we are now we are the proud owners of a new oven and a hob to match, which should improve my cooking skills as well.

It was grey again today and cold too, which I felt as I rushed into the car to drive to Emma and Steve's house. Donna reminded me that the weather has not been mild, especially for people who have to stand on a platform and wait for a train. She also wears a cranberry coloured coat and has a pink and black umbrella, in a bid to brighten up the day. I must say that I wear a long shiny maroon coat which makes me stand out like a Christmas tree ornament. Kylie says that February in Holland is extremely grey but then all the mad cycling takes ones mind off the gloom, I suppose.