Claire & Matt

We had a really fun week together! They brought a bit of Switzerland with them...to the indoors anyway. We did some skiing and some rock climbing. Opened presents, played some fun games, and even went ice skating. Plenty of good food too.

I even managed to finish up a project that has taken more than 80 hours and over a year. What a relief to finally have that done!

Also nice to get into a vacation routine of our own. Lots of things that need to be taken care of, but we need some down time with just the four of us as well. Now we just have to get through all the fireworks...

Finally finished the bathroom cabinet.

Rock climbing in Zwolle.

Skiing at Bottrop - Amélie went backwards for a moment in the pictures there.

Opening presents.

Christmas Dinner dessert.

Making the presents from Grandma and Grandpa - painted bags.

Ice skating in Deventer.

Abigail drew her seal again.

Wrapping Up

It was the last school week of the year. What a relief! I was able to wrap things up nicely, and didn't even have to come on Friday. There was an activity for the students that I didn't need to be a part of. The girls had a little Christmas celebration with their classes on Wednesday evening.

Yesterday I was so sick that I spent most of the day in bed. Yuck. Feeling a bit better today though. Hopefully that lasts, because we have  a lot of plans for this holiday. As usual, it won't be too restful. Should be fun though. Claire and Matt are on their way up and Ron and Edith are coming today as well.

I got the drawer finished up and ready to install. Maybe this morning. Or not. Could take 45 minutes or it could take 3 hours. Hard to say. Probably won't have time for it with all the prep work that still needs to happen.

2019 Christmas Picture.

The Christmas celebration at school.

Naomi finished up Amélie's headband!

Naomi and Erna went to the big church in Apeldoorn for a special concert. 

The girls made a gift for Helene, the lady who brings them to school on Mondays.

Naomi made some fondue in a pumpkin.

Fun with friends. 

Almost There

Getting through this week has been a bit of a drag. I did enjoy the teaching on Friday though. Happy that I was able to switch my workday from Tuesday to Friday at the beginning of the year. Working on Fridays is more relaxed, peaceful, and fun. Everyone is busy and stressed out in the middle of the week. Hopefully this coming week on Friday I won't have to work at all!

The girls have friends at school that are also sisters. Abigail's best friend in her class is Elin, and she has an older sister who is 7 or 8, Anne, who Amélie gets along really well with. The same lady who takes care of our girls on Monday mornings also watches these girls throughout the week. On Friday, Elin came here to play with Abigail, and Amélie went to their house to play with Anne. Kind of a fun setup.

I made a mistake on the drawer I have been working on - put the groove for the panel in the wrong side. In the end, I think it might end up working out better this way though. It will at least be more interesting. I also got some interest from a potential new client in making something that I have always wanted to make, so we will see if that goes anywhere. Probably not, but you never know.

Naomi has been working hard to make head warmers for the girls. Abigail's turned out well!

Back to the Shop

It has been a while, but I finally got started on another woodworking project. Well, to be more precise, finally decided to finish one. The middle drawer has been missing from our sink in the bathroom upstairs for a long time. Hopefully this coming week I can get it ready for paint, and then installed before Christmas. Nice to finally have a bit of energy to put into the shop.

Had the big confrontational conversation with the bosses at work on Thursday. Intense. Didn't get the impression that anything significant would change though. The director wants to spread out the responsibility so that nobody is really in charge. I don't see how a program can be built that way. Now the guy that was kind of in charge is on a six week holiday. I guess we will just see what happens. I just need to stop making it my problem.

All of the big Sinterklaas celebrations were this week. It was his birthday on Thursday, and then he took the steam train back to Spain on Friday. Lots of sugar and overstimulation. The girls are still a bit afraid of him and the Piet's. A couple even showed up to their dance lesson...

Notice the white and grey herons in the tall pine.

Went for a nice walk at the castle on Wednesday.

Dancing Piet's...still scary for Abigail.

We thought the head wrap was because she was cold...but she told us it was to keep the hair out of her face.

Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday with our friends from Rotterdam. It has become a yearly tradition. We were a bit surprised at the price tag on the turkey this year though - 60 euro for a 4.5 kilo bird! We also celebrated Sinterklaas. The girls did really well. We didn't eat until 7:30 and they didn't get to bed until 9:30, but there was no whining or complaining from them. Before the guests arrived, we even walked to the grocery store (25 mins) and they carried back some groceries in their backpacks all the way home. This morning they actually seem okay!

Yesterday Abigail surprised us by tracing a picture and then writing her first sentence on it. In Dutch, of course because Dutch is a lot easier. The girls are naturally more comfortable with Dutch than English, but when it comes to reading and writing, Dutch is much easier because the letters are much more consistent - they pretty much always make the same sounds.

I finally feel better about work. I realized that I was fighting an unwinnable battle, so I just gave up. What a relief! Kind of funny to talk to Karmen about it, because it turns out that we are doing a lot of the same work. Steering transitions, designing and facilitating meeting structures, building programs, consulting, etc. She gets paid a lot more for it though! Makes me want to leave education, but that probably won't happen anytime soon.

The Thanksgiving Feast.

Abigail wrote her first sentence - "I traced this."