Roller Coaster

We have been trying to figure out if we can and should visit the States or not this summer. It has been a roller coaster, and there aren't any clear conclusions yet. Still need more information. It is a really difficult process.

Yesterday we managed to visit our old friend from Mali, Joost, and his girlfriend Julie. She is from Texas, and is adjusting surprisingly well to life in the NL. They live about an hour west of us. Nice little spot in Hilversum. We had a really nice time with them. She makes soap, and hopefully Naomi can learn how to do that from her at some point.

The year is almost half over, and I am just getting my first little job for the business. I have been busy with other projects, but nothing paid until now. Not a great start to the year, especially since I have had more time to work than usual. Nice to finally get something in the books though.

Finally finished the dome slice. Took about 60 hours in total.

I have been taking some nice walks while the girls are at dance lessons.

Fun climbing a tree in Hilversum.

Assembly

Yesterday I started putting the dome slice together. It is nearly done, but my design needs some big adjustments. Good thing I started with a small prototype. I think I will be able to fix the design and keep the struts curved, 'depixelating' the dome, by using circular hub connectors instead of pentagons and hexagons. Not sure how long this one will last as the hub connectors are already falling apart. Should have used maple for them instead of fir. The girls helped a little which was fun, but they have a short attention span.

Speaking of the girls, they are happy to be back at school. Life is mostly back to normal for them. Still no swimming lessons though! This morning they will take their longest bike ride ever - 45 minutes one way - to the beach. There is a little lake nearby. Hopefully they aren't too tired to eat lunch by the time we get home. They got up just after 5 this morning. Too early! The birds wake up just after 4 though as the sky is getting light then...but then I suppose it is the longest day of the year!

The tomatoes have exploded. Lots of little ones on all the plants. I will need to start trimming them soon as they have grown over their supports. We got the little swimming pool out because it will be hot this week. Amazing how a bit of water can entertain those girls for hours!

My bike ride was interrupted with tons of ripe blueberries!

Making progress. 

Tickets

Yesterday was a bit stressful as I looked into the status of our trip to the States this summer, and it had just disappeared. Didn't say it was cancelled, didn't give us vouchers, just gone. Delta had a 2.5 hour wait time and I wasn't up for that. Maybe in a couple of days there will be more information, but it seems like there are possible routes that we could take. Complicated though.

The girls had a great time getting back into school this week. They were tired, but had lots of fun, and even got to play with some friends after school. It was also nice to have a bit of peace and quiet around the house. I was able to get back into the novel. Rewriting parts of the ending now.

This coming week I should be able to finish up the dome slice for our trellis. Gluing up the last few struts. Maybe I can work on that Tuesday when waiting for a Delta representative...

Bath before dinner outside. They love to wear Mommy's shoes!

Transitioning Again

This week Naomi started going back to school. I get to keep teaching from home due to my missing kidney. Naomi is happy to be back on her bike, but said it is pretty chaotic and badly arranged at her school. No surprise there. Reports from mine are not much different. I am happy to stay home for a while longer.

The girls had one day of school this week and got to play with friends after. Then on Friday Naomi took them to a museum. Fun to be able to start that up again. The girls start going to school every day on Monday. Hopefully getting back into that routine doesn't drain them too much, but they are looking forward to it.

I think we just might stick with the online groceries for a while. Now that we got used to the system it does simplify things. Today we are planning to go back to the Bosrand for the first time in months. Having tea, coffee, and playing a game there was our weekly Sunday morning routine before it got shut down, so we are happy to give it a try again. Hopefully we don't get rained on.

Happy tomatoes.

Garden nap.

She likes to be like mommy - wearing her eyeshade as a bra.

We had a critter in the roof keeping us awake at night, so I plugged up the hole and smeared some oily stuff around the drain pipe so it would have trouble climbing up. Hopefully it doesn't find another way in.

A baby bird fell out of its nest and the girls took care of it for a while. Now the mother found it and is feeding it, so we keep our distance and try to scare the cat away.

A visit to the Africa museum.