Auntie Claire!

What a perfect weekend for Auntie Claire to be here. Naomi and I have been working hard to get the house into shape, and if it wasn't for Claire the girls would have had a rotten weekend. Instead, they had a great time!

Claire took the to their ice skating lesson yesterday and had a treat at Starbucks afterwards. They have been having fun in the kitchen, playing games, listening to music, reading books, and even helping to clean up a bit. 

Finally finished the workshop today. It looks so empty and big now. Plenty of wood ready for the fireplace down in the cellar. Amélie put too much wood in the fireplace again and we got that bad smell. Had to air things out this morning. Hopefully things pick up with the business now that China is up and running again. Signed up our first new class in months yesterday! Good start to the Year of the Rabbit.

The girls had fun at Heleen's house while Auntie Claire was working.

Projects Done

This week we finished up the cellar, the painting, and the caulk work. Now it is just a matter of putting up with the smell, getting the rest of the stuff cleaned out and brought away, then the final cleaning before pictures on Wednesday in about 10 days. Should be manageable, but just barely. It will be great to have it all done before Naomi's surgery though. Helps that it is Chinese New Year, so I don't have much to do with the business. 

Also finished up working with my editor on the book. Working on the blurbs and such along with some final proofreading. Beth is busy with the spine and the back cover. Also figured out how to format it for publishing.

An investor just dumped 17 of their rentals on the market in Marquette, more than doubling the inventory. They tried to sell a lot of these properties two years ago, without any luck. Prices have dropped since then, so that is a good sign for us. Unfortunately, none of them are really fitting what we have in mind, and we aren't ready to pick up an investment property until after we get there and we have a better grip on our financial situation.

They approved our latest round of green card documents ahead of schedule, but said that we don't meet the financial requirements and a decision will be taken during the interview.

No More Free Time!

The crush has begun. We are trying to get our house on the market. So much to do before we can have pictures taken in two weeks! Decided that I won't be able to bring my woodworking machines with, as they are 50hz machines, and the US is odd not only because they don't use the metric system, but they also run their electricity at 60hz. Very annoying. Need to find some buyers. Trying to get all the 'scrap' wood cleared out in the meantime. Feels wrong to put it in the fireplace.

Naomi is also busy with green card stuff and all her medical problems. She got a date for her surgery, February 6th, so she will be able to get some rest while she is recovering. I guess that's the only way to get a break. 

The girls are adjusting to being back at school. Amélie stopped with gymnastics, so that will create a bit more rest. It's Chinese New Year, so things are chaotic with the business. Hopefully we can find more students as things go back to normal in China. We have lost quite a few. 

Sad to start dismantling the workshop. 

Goodbyes

We had a tough time saying goodbye to all our family! It was a great visit. Also nice to have the house to ourselves again and get things cleaned up and ready for the routine. Got a lot done this holiday: immigration paperwork, tree trimming, painting upstairs, starting to clean out the cellar, my music, and dad even went through the old magazines from our house in Rotterdam. 

Also had a lot of fun. Ron and Edith came on Sunday and Ron got us all Chinese for dinner. Had to say goodbye to Claire and Matt on Monday. We will see Claire again at the end of the month, though! We had some time to relax around the house, and on Tuesday Naomi and I went out for a date night. We got some Indian food and it was very tasty. 

On Wednesday the girls went shopping in Apeldoorn and Dad and I did some projects around the house, had lentil soup with beer from the Open Air Museum, and played some cribbage. Went for a long hike on Thursday and on Friday it was time for goodbyes. This weekend is all about cleaning up and getting ready for school. Sure wish we had some down time!

Last round of pancakes with Grandpa.

2022 in Review

We had a great week with the family! Lots of presents and games on Christmas. No shortage of good food. The girls got to sleep over. On Thursday Kalia, Joshua and Evi left for a day in Amsterdam, and they just got back to Anchorage. What a long flight! On Wednesday we went to the zoo and had a great time. We were the first ones there! On Friday we went to the Open Air Museum. They had a skating rink that Claire and the girls enjoyed. Mom and Dad really had fun checking out the museum - it is my favorite one. Matt had to go back to the States for a funeral, but he just arrived in Amsterdam. Tomorrow they will head back to Switzerland. For New Years Eve we had Swiss Fondue at Claire's apartment. The fireworks were fun to watch over the rooftops and the girls had 'champagne' with Grandma and Grandpa in their bedroom which has the best view. I won't miss all the fireworks in Marquette, though.

It has been a very busy year. We traveled on each of the holidays, which means we went on a lot of vacations. That meant we had to work extra hard during the weeks to do the stuff that usually gets done during time off from school. The trips we took were really great. 

Naomi has been dealing with a lot of health issues. We sure hope they can be resolved for the most part before we immigrate this summer. Dealing with immigration has also been a challenge. After a four month delay, we have most of our paperwork in for the next steps, now we need to wait again. 

School has really been winding down for both of us. Not much left for us there. We have outgrown the system. Unfortunately, the Chinese business hasn't grown like we had hoped. It should still provide some income. Sure hope Naomi is able to find a job in the fall to fill the gap! 

The novel has been coming along really well. Enjoying the final editing phase and working on the cover design with Beth, blurbs, and other things. Hopefully it will be ready soon. Also good to edit all our home movies and put together a blog book. No shortage of computer work! Good thing I have extra time at school to get things done. 

It's hard to imagine, but 2023 promises to be even busier than 2022. It will be tough saying goodbye to the Netherlands and wrapping up our lives here, but I can't wait for a fresh start in Marquette. 

Christmas feast.

Sleepover with cousin Evi.

First ones at the zoo!

Ice skating at the Open Air Museum.

Pretending to be in Switzerland.

Happy New Year!!