Week 43 Beanie Weather!

Week 43 Beanie Weather

Up and about again this week although still not into walking that much....

Around the farm

Finally getting on with the old hayshed. This is actually a "project" for one of our clients. When he came to us he was living in a caravan, debts were mounting and all-in-all, life was going downhill. His Case Manager found him a proper place to live and a "day-work" place with us. He has only been able to come one day a week while he gets the other stuff sorted out - hence the slow progress on his (future) workshop. He used to be a furniture maker, so he is very handy and has some great tools, which we are also storing for him. We actually get on quite well together and I find that I am enjoying working with him - much better than doing bookkeeping!! More importantly, life is improving for him - a big plus for "The System".

When it's finished, we'll try to make some proper things to sell "From The Care Farm".

Note the changing colour of the leaves. The yellow/red are from the beech trees; the rest are oaks, which are always the last to change.

For my Birthday....

The Cheesecake Challenge

Being Sunday, we'll just do coffee and cake for the whole day as Janny's family feel like dropping in. 

I made my standard lemon cheesecake and Janny was inspired to make one of her own - a Cranberry Cheesecake - and something else...the name escapes me.. Nice to have all the room of the Big Kitchen out the back.

Mine

Janny's, on the lower shelf

And some sausage rolls....

The Neighbours

Our neigbours kids have called Janny "KenJanny" for years now. The parents must have always called us Ken en Janny (en = and). We have always had a laugh about it, but they are probably old enough now to know that there are two of us.

 They always come over to our place to play or knock on the door to show us things - nice family, nice kids.

They came on Saturday to ask if they could blow and rake our leaves! At a price, of course!

(The eldest is not in the photo. They had lots of trouble in achieving the first baby.... and then, suddenly, there were four!)

So, it's not really child labour....

Our Syrians

On Saturday, I took a van load of belongings to their new house in Ureterp - about 8kms away.

They have been given (by the Local Council) new furniture, including fridge, washing machine, microwave, couches, etc., etc.  The full works, so they are almost settled!

I still have to find and fit a door, but that is not urgent. We'll do the last of the moving on Monday - and then send our bill to the Council! We haven't heard anything of another family - by rights, we should have already had two. When they first asked us it was oh, so urgent. In the 12 months(!) that it took to get it organised, the urgency seems to have disappeared.

I put this plaster wall in 

and showed Achmed what he had to do to fill the screw holes. He is 17 and very polite and helpful. They've been in the Netherlands for more than 12 months now and their Dutch should be better. They could all do with a bit of a rocket to get on top of it.

One of our clients came to help

From the News

Just a little snippet that I thought was interesting. A Dutch Documentary looking at "the" election ( a Horror story in the making?) went to New Orleans to look at the poverty and other issues.

People at or below the Poverty Line number at just over 19%

For America in general the number is 14%

In the Netherlands it is 7%

And Ben in Hong Kong...

The Great Gatsby (Party)

(There was a Police Raid at the premises - everybody had to sit still and show their ID cards - Ben doesn't know what it was about - presumably looking for someone).

A visit to Monkey Mountain