happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling
Today was Queensday. Last year the weather was great, so we kind of hoped, maybe even foolishly expected to have a day like that again. We started at the flea market in Gouda, but I only bought two books (Jessica Fletcher, I love her). We went home very soon, because we were very cold and wet. We never even tried to see the enterntainment on the townsquare, since it’s always even colder and windier there.
The rest of the day we spent at home, reading, relaxing. Which is also good.
I try this every spring and summer but it somehow never works out. I guess it has something to do with the moist (the windows get condensed when it’s cold and rainy) and the sun (when it is shining it’s quite bright and hot behind these windows). But I like trying.
I’m also fond really fond of the watering can. I always buy vintage ones, but have broken the handles of two of them (the plastic gets hard over the years). I do hope this one will last. At least until my red-loving period (I seem to be adding red to the kitchen almost weekly) is over.
Oh and I know the herb on the right is not thyme, but there was no planter for parsley and I hardly ever use thyme (I used to make coughing syrope, but I bought thyme in the herbshop for that ).
This is across the street. We live on a dike and as you can see, we have quite a view from our home. There will be some building going on next to that farm on the right, but because our home is build on the side of the dike, not on top of it, we won’t see much of it. From where I sit now (diningroom table) I can only see the top of that farm.
The sheep are on a field that will remain as it is. There is a road behind it and building will only be done behind that road.
We have been living here for almost three years now and I still feel very lucky to have this great view, both in front and at the back of our house. We look forward to the sheep wandering on the other side of the road again. It kind of marks the beginning of summer for us. The lambs are late this year, we don’t often see them this small on this field.
For Holland this is really extreme freedom. We live just outside Rotterdam, in the most crowded area of the country. There are more empty spaces like this, but not close to the city, which is necessary for dh’s IT-bussiness. He has most of his clients in Rotterdam and can reach them within 15 minutes or half an hour (depending on the trafficjams).
We have been moving around quite a bit (this is our fifth home) but I think we will stay here at least until we retire…
Not all of them, by the way, I have four big binders on an other cupboard and four cookbooks that are part of a sixties series of household books.
I don’t use them much, I have to admit that I’m not a very adventurous cook. I do a lot of stir frying and we also have plain potato-meat-vegetable meals. I do plan to try some more recipes soon, but I plan to do a lot…
I could tell you a lot about the individual books, but I’m way too tired. (And my lovely teenagegirls are having a rather loud discussion in the same room, so it’s kind of hard to form good -english- sentences)
This was yesterday, those flowers are blown off quickly now.
I’m going to watch this tree and try to get a picture of the cherries before the birds get them.
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He really wanted to sleep on my (clean) laundry, but the basket of clothespins was on top of it (on purpose, to keep him from sleeping in my laundry).
So he decided to compromize: he is sleeping in the basket that is on top of the laundry. And also on top of the clothespins, so I doubt if he is really comfortable.
But hey, it’s all a matter of principle, isn’t it?
Actually it’s not a corner, it’s the middle of the wall. The weights are from a clock that used to belong to dh’s grandfather.
I bought the flowers last week and they are finally open. I like having flowers in the house, in a vase or on a plant, but I’m not that good with blooming plants. Green plants do very well, I have nourished several back from almost dead. When I brought back a schoolplant I had taken care of during the summervacation, the teacher even thought I had bought a new one. But I just gave it some fresh soil and plenty of water.
Some people say take care of my plants too well, that’s why they don’t get flowers. Flowers are there to make seeds and plants do that when they think they won’t survive. Mine just never fear death.
Well, at least it sounds better than just not being able to sustain any flowering plants…
It’s done, just in time for the big event. It’s not too bad, I think, but I made her promise to use the same dress next year. She agreed (it was a great idea to let her work on it with me, so now she nows just how much work it was).
I had a lot more fun making a matching bag.
NOT A STATION 