Week 42 Think of a number....and Double It

Week 42

Walking

I'm (luckily) hardly ever sick but I came down with Man Flu...... also lucky that it was the end of the week, so I could simply "go to bed".

Around the Farm

Finished the front of the chookshed.

Just in time for Janny's Dad's Birthday prezzie..(the (ex-wine) barrel).

Four Wives!

Some things get lost in translation. I mentioned to one of the Syrian's friends that I had kids and grandkids in Australia - just making conversation. The next day our man Ali came and asked me "you have wife in Australia, yes?" - ah no, an ex-wife and kids and grandkids, etc... He then said "In Damascus, I can have 4 wives - but I have only one". I mumbled something about "one being more than enough" and left it at that.

A couple of other things occurred that made me wonder about the cultural differences...

I was in their apartment where they have non-stop Arabic on the TV - via  a tablet and You Tube sent to the TV via wifi. There was a film about  Abdul Nasser and the crowd scenes were what I think of as so very typical - not a woman in sight!. So I asked Ali - why are there no women in the streets? - "Ah, no, no, at home, in the kitchen!". He had a smile, but I don't think he was joking.

I listen to the Economist every week, time permitting. One story that struck a nerve this week was about sex-education for migrants - ie young men. Even showing them how to put on a condom rated a mention as it was the source of much nervous tittering. As older teens and young men, they are not permitted to talk to the young women - so even that "norm" has to be taught here. The best line was when they were shown photos of women in fancy clothes - they have to learn that it is "simply a means of self-expression, not an invitation".

Hunting for Vintage

We're probably too late now, because it is very much the "in" thing......resulting in the "think of a number....and double it" ....to arrive at the price!

Janny dragged me out of bed and we had a look, anyway. A lot of the stuff seemed to come out of old Russian or Chechoslovakian factories......Eastern Bloc, at least. Good luck to them; they have obviously gone to a lot of trouble to collect it all....but oh!, those prices!

Meanwhile, Ben's Study

They had another typhoon warning, which gave Ben an extra day to study for an exam. Yes, he is managing to squeeze in some schoolwork...

This one resulted in a lot of rain. The following "dedication to one's daily coffee" photo went viral - the chap drinking his coffee despite the place being flooded!

Not much worse than that according to Ben, and the following day back to normal. His group went to dinner at this restaurant.

Inside the restaurant....

Oh, by the way, "I'm going to Tokyo........"

Week 41 The Passion Flower

Week 41 The Passion Flower

Walking

Bad week, too much bookkeeping! (End of 3rd Quarter)

Around The Farm

Haven't done much this week - mostly due to the bookkeeping. I've had to learn some new entries so that we can claim some of the GST back. This has changed since we have had the apartments. All too complicated for me (doubly so in Double Dutch) but all I have to do is present it in a form useable by the accountant.

With the warmer weather, the "passiebloem" (Passion Flower) has been thriving.

The Chook shed.....

has never looked so good. With Passion Flowers and new spouting. The roofing sheets were too long and I was quite happy to let the water just run off without spouting. But Janny's Dad kept asking me when was I "going to do the spouting?". It required more thinking about "how?" rather than the actual doing... and I finally came up with this solution..

Our Syrians have a new "home" or house, at least.

They'll probably be like me and always "Call Australia  Syria Home".

I did ask them about their house in Damascus - they said it was bigger than their new house but it was "damaged". I'm slowly getting little bits of information, but only if they want to talk about it - and still only with "hands and feet" talking.

To my mind, the house is fairly typical of a normal but old-style (Dutch) house. One of a row of houses with 3 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Living/dining room, kitchen, laundry and toilet downstairs. I remember now that one of the very first things we did at our place was to put an extra bathroom and toilet upstairs - but we had the room for it.

They have already knocked out a section of a wall from the hallway entrance into the living room - so that they can close the opening that goes directly from the kitchen. This is to prevent the cooking smells from going into the living/lounge room. The previous owner had done the reverse, and so they are only restoring it to it's original layout. I have to close up the opening on Sunday morning, so that it is ready for them to move in on Wednesday. A few of their "countrymen" knocked the wall out and did a pretty good job of it. They borrowed my tools and we all had a good laugh later on. I have to say that I felt really moved by how open and friendly they all were.

Back to Work

Janny and I had to work with some kids again - first time in quite a while. Saturday and our normal personnel had other things to do. So, I cooked my standard fare - lasagne - which the kids love, by the way!

Just 3 kids. one new girl who is 20 but sadly so much younger in capabilities. And our twins who have been with us for 6 or so years - they're getting older now - 15 in November - and I struggle to think what the future might hold. Tough on the parents, of course, but so gratifying to know we are helping in some way.

More on Ben

Another Boat Party......

Nice quiet place for studying..........

And finally, 

On Boating........

Week 40 Eikenlaan 51

Week 40

Walking

Hard to see in the photo, but the birds are migrating again - they make a haunting sound as they fly over - maybe it's their way of saying "enjoy the winter......." or "we'll be back"?

Around the Farm

"Our" trees

A while ago I mentioned about the Local Government plan to remove some of the oak trees along our road. Janny attended another meeting which delivered some interesting information (to me, at least).

Some of the trees date from 1870!

"The Arthur Clough Oak".
The "expert" showed a series of photos of one famous English tree from 1910, showing how the crown dies out (due to the longer distance of "feeding" through the trunk). The next crown then grows due to more sunlight. The upper crown disappears, allowing further development of the new one. 

The trees along our road have never had a chance to develop in this way, in my opinion, as they have had to be cut back from the road for both cars and trucks. It is indicative, however, of the research being done, which will also help to convince the naysayers that the work is being undertaken responsibly.

In any case, some of our trees are sick and will have to go despite the inevitable protests.

I'll also look more closely in the forest to see if there are any "normal" free-standing oaks that look similar to the example given.

What I found to be of particular interest was that our road used to have a different name...

Eikenlaan (Oak Lane). So our address used to be 51 Oak Lane (Or Eikenlaan 51 as they say in Dutch - with the house number last).

Edit: I have planted more than 200 oaks "out the back" and have often lamented how slowly they grow!

Winter preparations...

.....all seem to come at once 

fire alarm testing 

first aid boxes refilled

water off - the outside taps

fire extinguishers checked

fireplace chimneys cleaned

we even had an evacuation drill. Meeting Point - The Chook Shed

And we found a pumpkin place, not very far away. They didn't have any Queensland Blue, but promised to include them next year. The woman did say that it was touch and go with them this year - too much water - and they really only kicked on in the last couple of weeks with the unusually warm weather.

The Cooking Club (Country Women's Association)

They're back! We had forgotten that they were coming but luckily we had cleaned the kitchen thoroughly - that same day!

We ate too much, but at least I didn't have to cook!

I also had a cooking lesson from the Syrians - Deep Fried Cauliflower - served with mince lamb, coriander and rice.

On the Boat

In 2008 Ivan, Louise and I hired a boat from Haskerdijken - one of these, called Antares.

(That's 8 years ago now, but much more recent than that -  in my mind!).

I found what I wrote at the time (I haven't re-read it yet).

Edit: I did read it and found some information (in English) about Friesland that I have been looking for. It was published on a website of an organisation in Leeuwarden - whose role it is to look at how people live and work (among other things). It is no longer available on - line, so I'm very pleased to have rediscovered it.....albeit a bit dated, now.






A brief description of Fryslân

The province of Fryslân is one of twelve provinces in the Netherlands and is situated in the north of the country. Fryslân has a population of about 630.000 distributed over 417 villages, which have been grouped into 31 local authorities. The capital, Leeuwarden, has about 83.000 inhabitants. Of the 417 villages, as many as 347 have less than 1500 inhabitants, and over 200 villages have less than 500 inhabitants!

Fryslân is not a large rural area, compared with other areas in Europe. Friesland's unique situation - a large number of small villages - can give rise to many problems. The Frisian language is used in addition to Dutch in most of this region, and Fryslân has its own distinctive culture. Traditionally, agriculture - livestock farming as well as crop farming - has been the mainstay of the Frisian economy. Frisian cattle, dairy products and potatoes have been and still are the major export products.

However, as in many other rural areas, agriculture has lost ground as a result of the expansion in scale and government measures. This has resulted in a gradual decline in population, especially in the western part of the province. This, in turn, has had a negative effect on the public facilities available, particularly in the smaller villages. The shops, the post office and sometimes even the primary school have had to close down and community life is under threat. It can be difficult to find alternatives to declining employment in the absence of new opportunities. Nevertheless over 200 villages with a population of less than 1500 inhabitants still have primary schools. Almost every village has its own villagers' association, comprising village inhabitants, which takes care of the needs and interests of the village. In many villages these associations stimulate and support changes and improvements and represent the village in regional government.

http://hireboat2008.blogspot.nl/2008/09/july-2008-its-all-in-planning.html

These boats, and ours, were made by the same company - part of a hire boat fleet from Noordman's. The hull of ours dates from circa 1900 (so they told me) and the superstructure from around 1976. I presume that the boats in the photo have a similar history.

Now, I went this week to ask what it would cost to hire one next year for Robin and Joy - yes, I've touched a nerve in Robin's adventurous spirit! They are considering buying a boat but a trial for a month would be a good idea. The alternative is a camper van - also an attractive idea.

But.... all the boats (in the photo) have been sold to AirBnB in Amsterdam and will be available at €100,00 per night!.

Who could have imagined this (rather unfortunate) end, 40 years ago?

Edit: After raiding the Pensioner's Piggy Bank we have booked the boat in for painting - goes in the shed on 23 December - for three weeks. I did my old joke of "does it cost more if the owner helps?" - and it wasn't at all funny - I am NOT allowed to help! He gets sick of the owners always finding "something more" that needs to be done. He advised against the matt black - too hard to keep clean - but we may well decide on another colour - the green hire fleet will no longer be around........? We still love the red but it does fade rather alarmingly, it seems.

More on Ben

Just popped over to Seoul for a long weekend!  Again, not letting study get in the way of a wonderful experience. (It's all good "background" for a Journalist......?).

He was a bit surprised at just how Westernised it is.... and how nationalistic.

Going to the DMZ on Sunday....

A new girlfriend?

He's been trying out lots of different food, but he described the worms as "rather disgusting actually".

Week 39 Bread with Ointment

Week 39 Bread with Ointment

Walking

A few misses this week.....

Around the farm

The oversized squash in front is my only success with pumpkins this year. It was the only one that survived because it was on slightly higher ground,,,,,, I gave it to the Syrians.....(I suspect that the pumpkin they bought up the road was grown for decorative purposes only).

With an old friend visiting and a few days away on the boat, there is not much to report. The temperature has to stay below 7 degrees for the grass to stop growing......... (it is still growing).

I did manage to make an extra bit of fencing from "leftovers".

Terschelling - another "Bucket List" item (for Janny's Mum)

Janny, Rennie (Mum) and a couple of Jannys' sisters went away for the weekend to one of the Frisian Islands  - Terschelling. The ferry boat from Harlingen takes two hours and they took a couple of electric bikes with them for getting around on the island itself.

I took the Syrians into Drachten for shopping (looks like being a regular Friday "thing"). I explained that Janny was away and that I would be looking after things (including Hendrik) until they came back. You wouldn't believe it, but at 1700 hrs they brought us dinner! Chicken, rice and salad....

Now, Janny's parents normally only have "one hot meal a day" - at lunchtime - but Hendrik enjoyed his chicken and rice very much.

I was reminded of Robin's travelling philosophy that 99.5% of all people are basically "good" - he too has found mostly warmth and hospitality in his worldly travels.

A couple of days away on Motortjalk Australia (aka "The African Queen)

Excellent weather for this time of the year.....

Day 1

With enough food and beer, Robin and I headed off - once again to Boornzwaag. The restaurant was closed so there was no harbour master to collect our haven money.... and we had free wifi!

We swapped war stories as if there hadn't been a 12 year gap in between. Robin is a good cook so we ate well..... and slept well.

Day 2 about 36 kms in 6 hours

Next day we headed off into new territory for me, planning for Sloten after traversing a section of the Prinses Margriet Canal - a major commercial shipping canal. We saw a few large tankers and container ships - you have to keep your eyes open fore and aft (in case they sneak up on you). (I think there were three fatal accidents last year - with boats being "run over").

Not the only mishap for the trip, I managed to touch bottom when cutting a corner instead of following the channel markers. At least I was able to figure out what I should have done.

We stopped for "lunch" at a nice pub in Sloten - after first deciding that we wouldn't really fit under a 1.45 metre bridge! A lovely walk - first mate had apple strudel AND ice-cream!

He also had the distinction of placing 1 euro in the swinging clog (payment for opening the bridge).

Sloten - bridges too low for us

We motored (what else?) further to cross the Tjeukermeer and back up to Boornzwaag for the night - again free! About 6 hours travel for the day.

The haven at Boornzwaag has a webcam

http://www.webcam-harlingen.nl/webcam-friesemeren/pages/cameras/boornzwaag--langweer.php

which Janny used it to take a photo of us sitting at the end of the jetty. (Sittin' On The Dock of The Bay?).

Wednesday found us heading home early, as we didn't have to wait for the bridge operators who start at 0900 hrs.

The second mishap occurred when I missed a turn off - probably too busy talking - and we found ourselves in unfamiliar (to me) territory! There was a very low bridge, or so it seemed, which I hadn't seen before - I even went to measure it - and then found it on the chart - it was 2.5 metres and so we had plenty of room - above! The chart showed only 1 metre depth - I allow 90cms so it was going to be close. We could barely turn around so we pushed on at a slow rate - very much African Queen stuff. We ended up in Goingarijp and scuttled through a 4 metre wide lock back into one of the lakes. All good fun and makes for a memorable trip....(now).

Blue = route taken Red = Normal route

The wind was starting to pick up as we neared Heerenveen - always a problem - and led to another mishap or at least some difficulties. Took me three goes to get moored properly - once the wind takes hold there's a lot of high revving in reverse and bow - thrusting and cursing - but I took a deep breath went out to turn around ...... and just glided in as easy you like. Luckily, not too many spectators. They have a saying in Dutch that "the best skipper is always standing on the dock".

It was so good for me to get out on the boat and I thoroughly enjoyed the time catching up with Robin. It was he who taught me how to catch Barramundi in the Northern Territory - with Janny being on the lookout for crocodiles - always makes a good story and one we'll never forget.

Bread with Ointment

We finished the day by going to our local restaurant De Stripe. Robin was given the English Menu which had "Bread with Ointment". It was supposed to be bread with different toppings or spreads. They use a word "smeren" which means and sounds like smear - for butter and so on - so I guess the translation turned out to be ointment. Anyway, we had a laugh and will tell the owner next time.

Time to say "goodbye".... hopefully "until the next time".....

Robin got underway at about 0800 hrs and was heading over the afsluitdijk and then south east to Maastricht - he made it to a campsite in Belgium for the night - although he first thought it might have been France due to the French language!

A Roze(ema) between two thorns.....

Ben in Hong Kong

It still doesn't look like he is going to let study get in the way........

(although he does have an exam next week, so he has been studying over the weekend).

A visit to the Ambassador's House...

A Boat Party

Learning "chopsticks"....