Week 50

Week 50

(A couple of people have left comments, which I appreciate very much .ie please leave more!. I'm still learning how to deal with them).

Mostly photos this week, with a little bit of explanation....and reflection.

Kangaroo! from the Lidl (a bit like Aldi).

I couldn't resist it but I can only remember eating it once before, about 25 years ago at the Ghengis Khan restaurant in Darwin. Janny was with me then and we had quite a few nights there, including "semi-official" nights out with Fire and Police personnel.

We also had water buffalo and crocodile, but to be honest we could hardly taste the difference when it was all cooked up "Mongolian Grill" style.

Tree felling - preparation for new building.

A forestry worker who was at school with Janny came to do the work - all for the price of a "cream cake" for the workers! I still have to cut it into fire size blocks yet; hopefully monday, weather permitting.

Three of our "boys". The twins have been with us for about 5 years now - all of a sudden they have turned 14 and their future seems so much more important. I often find myself thinking about what the kids will be able to do; I teach them all how to drive my mini- tractor when they turn 12. Handtools in the workshed - I do most of it myself, but it's just trying to generate some interest. We even get them to strip down old washing machines and dryers, just to get used to using spanners and other tools.
There is so much dairy farming around here that an obvious work option would be as a farmhand. Most of them just want to drive the tractor but I keep telling them to get off sometimes, in order to do the real "work".
The kids are free on Wednesday afternoons, so we have about 4 or 5 who come then, as well as weekends. This was a Wednesday afternoon job, picking up the firewood. Actually, the twins are getting to be quite good "helpers" - but somehow I still feel worn out at the end of the day!

We left 3 trees in front of the chook shed.

 Janny's parents 60th wedding anniversary.

Last Tuesday. The 6 kids went to the house at 0700 and made breakfast. It must have been hectic when they were growing up, as well!

The "hangers on" put up the arch with roses while the others were having breakfast.

Special gift.....

The family name is Rozema - hence the roses. It is a Frisian thing that the names often end in "ma" - not too sure why. A local woman, originally from New Zealand, made the glass and lead design - in an old cast iron farmhouse window frame. The two main roses with 6 others around the outside. (And an unformed bud in the centre representing a not much talked about miscarriage). There are two more frames still being worked on, which have cows as the theme. (Janny's Dad's business over the years).

Thomas and I out on the heath.

The water pools here are called "pingo's" and date from the ice age (apparently). In any case it is a lovely walk with different colours every time, depending on the time of day and time of year.

Week 49

Week 49

Photos

Ben in Amsterdam

Health Matters

Weather

Ben in Spain
Workshop photos

The light at the end of the tunnel

Heading back to the farm from Haulerwijk

Sunday night, Ben went to a food hall in Amsterdam (somewhere). Sent us some photos of pumpkins.....

Health Matters

Maybe just because I turned 65, "they" sent me a bowel cancer testing kit..... in the form of an "invitation" to participate. Now, I don't know how the system really works here... we pay our health insurance every month, which includes dental and hospital. We have 2 doctors in Bakkeveen, husband and wife, and luckily I see them only rarely but enough to say hello whenever we see them on other occasions. I have always had to go and ask for checkups and blood tests etc., usually because I think I should, rather than having anything wrong with me. I try to argue the "preventative" case but I think the system might be more geared to healing rather than preventing..... In any case, I thought it was interesting to get an "invitation" for the bowel cancer test kit and I also ticked the box for a similar test every 2 years. The "all clear" result came back within a few days. (all done by post). 
footnote: I asked Janny's parents and they said it is purely random testing, so it doesn't apply to everyone. Maybe I can find out how many and the philosophy behind it from somewhere else.

Weather

November 2015. Friesland and 3 other (Northern) provinces had the warmest November on record; 9.9 degrees C (Normal is 6.7 C) .. It was also much wetter  with 134mm of rain compared with the normal 82mm.

Ben in Spain

He flew from Schiphol to Barcelona, stayed overnight and then Barcelona to Santiago de Compostela, the next day. He and a Belgian chap were picked up at the airport and driven to A Corhuna, where the HQ of Zara is located.

Hotel room, Barcelona

Schedule

Ben said it was all fairly relaxed; first day photos and fitting in preparation for the actual modelling/presentations on days 2 and 3.

Janny and I just shake our heads and think what a wonderful experience he is having.

He overslept and nearly missed the flight home. Arrived back in Amsterdam, went to work and then traveled by train back to Heerenveen where Janny picked him up. He then slept for more than 12 hours! - sometimes it's just good to be back "home".

Thomas

We continue to provide care for Thomas; Janny even had to pick him up from school and take him to hospital (Mum had gym!!). We think he may have pinched an "energy" drink from the fridge at his home (what??!!). The "system" now seems agonisingly slow when the situation is screaming for something to be done.

Workshop

Gifts prepared for the church in Bakkeveen

Coffee break "selfie".

Out for a walk

Lucas and Shararah

Betty - a volunteer helper.

Week 48

Week 49

On the way to pick up Lucas - around 0810 each day. Most times just gray and wet, but occasionally good enough to take a photo. Still counting down to the shortest day, so it will probably be dark at this time before too long.

From the newspaper

Last week I noted the earthquakes in Groningen due to the gas extraction; an engineer from the region this week came out with the revelation that "holding the hand on the gas tap" probably won't make any difference. Which is more or less what I thought, that the token reduction in production is probably more a gesture than a practical measure

Uber cars (taxi service??) tried to get a foothold in Amsterdam and the greater area known as the Randstad (densest population in Europe) but have finally ceased operations. They were told to stop in 2014 but kept operating.... the fines per driver were increased to €50000 so they have now stopped!

In Leeuwarden, the capital of Friesland, they have decided that they were "aiming too high" with trying to become energy neutral. It is simply too expensive at the moment, so the target date of 2020 will be revised.

I think all the birds with any sense have departed. These ducks are almost a daily occurrence as they settle overnight on the ice age pools in the forest opposite our place.

Adventures of Ben (continued...)

On Monday night he flies to Barcelona and then to A Coruña on Tuesday . More photo shooting and/or actual modelling for Zara. - for 3 days.

This from Wikipedia.....

Amancio Ortega opened the first Zara store in 1975 in a central street in downtown A Coruña, Galicia, Spain.^[5] Ortega named his store Zorba after watching the classic film Zorba the Greek, but apparently there was a bar that was called the same, Zorba, two blocks away, and the owner of the bar came and said, "this is going to confuse things to have two Zorbas." They had already made the molds for the letters in the sign, so they just rearranged them to see what they could find, and they found Zara, which leaves fans wondering where the additional A came from, but there is speculation that they had more than one set of letters.^[6] In addition, the price for the letters "B" and "O" were double the price as it costs more to make them round and at the time this presented a significant cost for the new company. The first store featured low-priced lookalike products of popular, higher-end clothing fashions. The store proved to be a success, and Ortega began opening more Zara stores throughout Spain. During the 1980s, Ortega started changing the design, manufacturing, and distribution process to reduce lead times and react to new trends in a quicker way, in what he called "instant fashions". The company based its improvements in the use of information technologies and using groups of designers instead of individuals.

Ground water

This is the site of the new building works. With all the rain the water levels just rise under foot. None of this water has come from outside. Friesland is just a big sponge! (my theory). We'll pump it out and then fill it with sand and a layer of concrete with the floor heating in it. The ground water will still rise and fall....out of sight.

Week 47

Week 47

Boat ready for the Winter

Had a couple of missteps but now it is ready. Handy (garden) pump to get the last of the water out of the boiler.

Hasn't been very cold this year (yet). A couple of things of note: being so late in getting it finished means that I only have to wait 4 months instead of 5! I've also been pondering how to extend the season a little: I'm getting a quote on installing a diesel heater to replace the existing gas heater - which I have never dared to use. 

So here she is ready for the first winter in her new home. I also told the Harbour Master how glad we are to be here - a much better "at home" feeling.

I've booked the work shed for 2 weeks to get the paintwork up to scratch - in February, by which time I reckon I'll be needing a break from the building project.

The grass kept growing....

I normally stop mowing by mid October but this year the grass just kept on growing.... but what is not visible from this photo is the fact that the ground is just too water-logged to mow. I'd probably get bogged on the low side.

As I've written before, I go to pick up Lucas every morning and as I turn the first corner, I am quite often raised in spirit by the sight of the early morning sun.

Sometimes I get in the mood to make some bread....

From the newspaper..

Gas in Groningen

We get our gas from Groningen and we actually pay a little less because it is so close by. ie the cost of the pipeline. It's a while ago now so I can't remember the exact details.

In any case, the gas production in Groningen has been causing earthquakes, no less. In the beginning the court cases were such that the affected people had to prove that the Gas company was at fault. Now, the gas company has to prove that they were NOT the cause of the problems; huge cracks in houses and other buildings being the main symptoms.

There has just been a decision to reduce this year's production to 27 BILLION cubic metres, with an allowance of an extra 6 Billion cubic metres IF we have an extremely cold winter. We pay 65 cents per cubic metre for ours, so it is obviously big business. I can't quite see how the reduced volume will reduce the risk of earthquakes, though?

Week 46

Week 46

Tractor in bits.

Not as bad as it looks; it just comes apart like this - in this case to get to the fly wheel which needs a new starter ring (cogs or teeth).

Weather.

Turning nasty now. We have had very warm days (for here).. ie not as cold as it should be! I'm still rattling through the firewood though, as I figure we have already paid for it so I might as well use it instead of doubling up on the gas bills. We have had the stormy, windy weather which dumps all the leaves in my front lawn. Our work experience lad has blown them all away and it was even dry enough to mow "one last time" for this year. And now we have the rain which leaves the ground sodden for the next few months..... unless it snows, which they are predicting for next week.

Clients

We have Thomas for 5 nights a week under strange circumstances which I can't really go into here. Basically we are helping out until he gets put into institutional care as his Mum doesn't want him to go to foster parents. We prefer the latter as he just needs to be cared for and loved, which he is not getting at home. We have our moments here but nothing extreme. Maybe it will become more of a problem as he gets older and falls further behind kids of his own age. I'm actually teaching him to speak English which he is rather good at - and it is a bit of fun for me. Janny and I take turns on doing the night shift through the week - otherwise it would be costing us money to pay personnel.

Building Project

We have just about sorted out the quotes and settled on a Builder, but as usual, I am concerned that any misunderstandings on my part will only end up costing us money. So, I need to sit down again with the chosen company to go through it all again. The floor heating is not going to cost as much as I feared, so that is one good thing.

Winjewoude Engergie Neutraal (WEN)

http://wijnjewoude.net/energieneutraal/

In my own words: The idea is that everyone in this village can live "energy neutral" by 2025. I couldn't get to the last meeting as I was "working", but from the meeting before, I understand that we have formed a "Corporation" as one step on the way to achieving the goal for our village. There are more than 400 villages in Friesland and I have heard of at least a couple of others who are trying to do something similar. I'll have to write more at a later time - when I understand it better. As an example of how it could effect us - if we had enough money we could invest it at the moment and make yearly savings of €15000 to €20000 a year.... or.... there are already companies that that will provide the solar panels and other infrastructure and we get to "own" it after a number of years (7)(??). In the interim they use the power that is produced. On a village-wide scale they are talking of "large roof areas" (like ours) generating electricity for others who don't have the capacity. There are already subsidies in place for houses in the built-up areas (of villages in our Local Government Area) and which are under a pre-determined rateable value. We know of two people who were accepted for this within a couple of days of applying.

Via Google Translate:

The Dream Is:

In 2025 we produce in Wijnjewoude least as much renewable energy as we need in our village. We are become richer, live comfortably and are completely independent of commercial parties. There is a great togetherness and we are very proud that we have delivered on this sustainable dream together. Our village is known for. People want to be like to live. Everyone is used to it, we would not want to go back.

With WEN - an initiative of Local Importance - we work as village together to save energy and at the same time we are going to produce renewable energy. As a result, we jointly generate at least as much renewable energy in 2025, we meet the village needs.

As we work together for a sustainable future, everyone's energy costs go down and are no longer dependent on commercial energy companies, so we can use the profits for our village. The WEN is organized by a group of enthusiastic volunteers.

WEN is a pilot project for which the municipality Opsterland our village invited in 2014. The project is supported and accompanied by various expert bodies and governments.

WEN, sustainable village dream that we can make true together.

Step by step we are TOGETHER:

Saving on energy costs

Green energy generation

Working towards a sustainable future

Acquire and deploy smart subsidy for the village

Work in the Sheltered Workshop 

A local Church asked us to prepare an "end of year" gift for it's members - about 250! So the clients have been hard at work - it's good for them to have a sense of purpose.

Week 45

Week 45

Fixing up old shed at the back of the hay shed. A new client has "hired" the storage space AND is also fixing it up! He seems to be a bit of a hoarder though, so we need to keep an eye on the "boundaries" and the number of old cars and trailers!

Our temporary driveway while the building works are going on. Still waiting on revised estimates for the work.....

Lucas celebrated 7 years with us - he is always enthusiastic and really enjoys being involved.

One of our former kids used to like anything to to do with wood fires - he knew all about best wood to burn, drying times and different models. He made contact with Janny on Facebook and asked for updated photos of our fires in action! He must be close to 20 now and is apparently still keen on his hobby.

A new girl started this week - just for the day on Saturdays - she had a good time and wants to come back - always a good sign! It was funny to see the different dynamic with a few of the boys - all of a sudden they seem to be growing up as well. 

From the newspaper this week.

A couple of things caught my eye; 

1. Friesland's biggest ever marijuana growing operation being found by the authorities. Not far from Wijnjewoude - in an old dairy products factory in Esloo. 10000 plants, no less. The people who did it must be fairly stupid is all I could think of..... the police had a tip off from the electricity supplier for the region. Even though they had tapped the electricity illegally, the high usage was still being detected by the company. Apparently it takes a lot of power to give light and warmth to the plants when they are indoors - the power consumption is often the main giveaway. It was also the second time the building had been used for this function. The (remote) owner had no knowledge of the operation as he just let the facilities as storage. The social "norm" here would be for people to report anything remotely suspicious, so I can't imagine anywhere in Friesland or The Netherlands for that matter, escaping the eye of inquisitive neighbours.

2. A shipload of potatoes left Harlingen for Algeria - just got my attention because of the logistics and organisation of the whole exercise.

Car Taxes

In a word UNBELIEVABLE! 

I have often wondered at the 45% "Special Private Motor Tax" known as BPM. I remember talking to a guy probably 20 years ago - when I queried him about it - in terms of "why not throw the Government out for daring to impoverish it's own people" ? He just shrugged his shoulders and said something like "they would just get it another way". This shrug is now known to me as "The Netherlands Shrug" - they truly seem to just accept it as part of life.

My thinking has changed over the years as far as high taxes in general (and the obvious benefits thereof) but the Special Automobile Tax remains in the realm of Totally Unreasonable. The reason it has come to my attention again is that we are looking for another car.... we found an Audi Station wagon in Germany - 2007 model with ALL extras as the Germans like to do - for only €7000.

But to import it and pay the BPM makes it €11000 in The Netherlands. The Dutch Government is the only one in the EU that has this level of car tax - I thought they had been told by the EU that it had to go, but not yet, evidently. I am reminded of my years earlier conversation that "they will just find another way".

Below is a table showing how the price of a €25000 (Catalogue Price) car, becomes €48000 (remember, ONLY in The Netherlands). They even apply the GST (BTW) first - now 22% and THEN the 42.5% BPM. (Some of this is related to CO2 emissions - the area where Volkswagen have landed in trouble - by declaring lower emissions, the Dutch people have paid less tax on their new car - so the Govt. are now talking of reclaiming that money from Volkswagen.

catalogusprijs (netto)		€	25.040
BTW (21,0%)		€	5.258
BPM (0,0%)		€	0
BPM brandstoftoeslag		€	0
BPM toeslag energielabel		€	0
BPM toeslag CO2-uitstoot		€	17.747
catalogusprijs (bruto)		€	48.045

Week 44

Getting stuck in to the firewood - already! Still reckon I'll have enough for the start of 2018....

Autumn colours..... and the leaves. of course!

Getting colder...

Every winter I have to turn the outside taps off  and disconnect the hoses. One year I forgot to take the tap (red handle) away and so I found it shattered (due to water inside it freezing) next time I went to use it.

Building Project

We have had to get the builders to revise their estimates due to our change in plans. We didn't know if the old concrete floor would have to be replaced - and now we do! So the plan is to pour the floor for old and new as one - with all the drains, pipes, heating, electricity, insulation. When that's done, they can put the new structure on and I'll go ahead as best I can with the old part. This will be much better than whatever else we had in mind at the beginning - hence the new estimates. Luckily we have a bit of time to play with.

Canal in Drachten - new Haven

We had lunch at the new restaurant as they were getting ready for the Grand Opening Ceremony in the afternoon (hence the tent in the background)

Boat Maintenance

Electric pump for the oil worked better than expected. 

Lawn Mower

The main drive belt was shredded - should get it back tomorrow - with an outside chance of doing one more mow before the official start of Leaf Raking Season.

Oh, and the small matter of turning 65!

We got to see Ben for the first time in a month. Didn't do the traditional Coffee and Cake thing with Janny's family... I suspect that I preferred to think that it wasn't really happening. We did however have a small celebration with a few of our clients and will do that again tomorrow with the few who missed it last week.

Thai food AND Mexican with Ben! and he drove us home!