An Easy Week

Two of my classes were in Bath, England this week, so I had a pretty relaxed time at school. I was able to work ahead a little and spend more time at home. The sun was shining a lot so I even had a chance to make some progress on the chest! On Thursday we were able to see the babies again...everything is still going well.

Friday night we had a big volleyball tournament. There were 15 or 20 teams of teachers from all sorts of different schools in the area. Our original 8 turned into 5 as some people cancelled (which is good as far as I am concerned), and we ended up winning the whole thing! Makes sense I suppose as 4 of us had played a decent amount before, and many of the other teams had teachers who hadn't - even though they had nice uniforms and everything. Now we have a trophy to put in the case!

On Saturday morning we drove to the cottage. The first thing we did was to pack the seatless car full with stuff and drop it off ant the second hand shop. They were really happy with it. We also ran into Naomi's cousin there which was fun. We got some things sorted out and also enjoyed the beautiful weather.

This week will be a short one at school - we have Thursday and Friday off for Ascension day. Hopefully we will be able to meet up with Claire in France. We are looking at a place in Metz...

Week 23

Back to School

This week ended well because two of the big issues I have been dealing with (bad Internet and bad counselor) were addressed, so I feel much better. Next week two of my classes will be traveling to Bath in England, so things will be a bit quieter. This is the first time all year where I have felt really caught up on my school work, that I didn't have much on the horizon that needed to be done. We will see how long that lasts...

Work at home and the cottage is the total opposite. There are a million things that I want to do and not nearly enough time. I guess that is another good reason to stay here this summer. We did some much needed gardening this week, went out for an anniversary dinner, and saw some friends and family. Today it is a beautiful day and there is lots to be done, so I should probably get started with heating up some pancakes for Naomi.

Week 22 - her fuzzy sweatpants stopped fitting her along with some of her maternity clothing...

Vacation Over

Over the course of these last two weeks we had about the worst weather possible. The sun only came out two days and the last few have been really windy and rainy. So much so that most of my tomato plants have been eaten by slugs or damaged by hail. I guess I planted them too early.

This morning I did something I haven't done in years - slept past noon. Strange. I guess my body figured it was the last possible moment to get some rest for awhile.

We got so much done at the cottage. The mess has been sequestered to areas where we can shut the door, and things are now more livable. Friday night we had a nice dinner at Hans and Erna's house - Naomi's aunt and uncle.

The list of things to do that we made two weeks ago is only about half done, but we didn't get much time to rest. Good thing we had two weeks off - it was much needed!

Week 21

The Cottage

We have been here in Goor since Monday. It has not been a vacation. There is so much to sort through and get rid of that I hit my limit yesterday. I told Naomi that if I see one more plastic bag I will need to set it on fire or something. I started on the shed and it is a nightmare. After taking away two carloads (with the back seats removed) worth of junk it looks like I haven't even made a dent yet.

I guess it is time to back off a bit, as Naomi's Aunt Erna suggested, and save some for later. Time to enjoy the vacation a bit. It wasn't all bad either. We are setting up a little online store which is kind of fun. It is also a bit of a treasure hunt - never quite sure what you might find. One of the most surprising things I found was a brand new, unopened, Miele vacuum cleaner. Must be the only time that the outside of the box matches the inside.

Today is Naomi's birthday party. The weather says it won't rain, but right now it is cloudy and overcast. Hopefully we will still have a nice time, even though one of the main reasons to have it here was to sit out on the patio. I guess we used up our week's allotment of sunshine yesterday. Tomorrow we head back to Rotterdam, and I am looking forward to it.

I started writing a bit again...nice to get back into it.

A few crisp syllables of Italian reached his ears and without hesitation he grasped the handle fully although a part of him half expected to feel a searing pain. The door opened before him and he was greeted with a billowing cloud of smoke. His eyes instantly blurred and after some of the relatively fresh hallway air cleared the smoke, he took in a scene that put him instantly at ease.

A small voice in the back of his head had been constantly wondering what was leading him to this place, but once Jack saw the poker table before him he figured that on some subconscious level he was searching for a card came. The voice wasn’t appeased for long...

Week 20

It might not look like much progress...but it took ages.