I took my knitting to the Caribbean

So this “thing” I’ve been hinting about for a while now… I have been writing blogposts in my mind for days now and I’m not sure what exactly to tell about it.

The good stuff is simple.

The good part goes like this: hey, we’ve temporarily moved to a tropical island to live and work there until the end of March. And we’re probably going to move here permanently within a few years.

Yes. We’re back on our lovely island in the Dutch Caribbean, Curaçao. (If you’re new here and curious about previous visits, you can read about them here – if you’re wondering how Curacao is on the other side of the world but still sort of in our own country; I found this wonderful and funny video explaining it all (and also the difference between Hollanders and Dutch – I’m both)

So what’s the bad part, you ask? To make a long story short: I’m worried about my husband’s health (though he does feel better in the tropics) and I feel guilty about being 8000 kilometers away from my family. I have to admit though, being here again feels good. It’s hard to describe. It’s a sense of belonging, feeling home.

People say about this island you either love it or you hate it. I”ve loved it and all it’s quirks and faults since I first set foot on it five years ago. I always cry when we leave and I teared up when I saw the first glimpses of it from the plane just before landing (our last visit was a very short week in May 2015).

Anyway. We’re here now and we’re trying to work out the kinks. Meanwhile I try to enjoy our time here as much as I can. We’re staying with friends in the most luxury apartment we’ve ever stayed in and the view from our porch is stunning. I plan to enjoy the much simpler housekeeping here and to write a lot, figure out where to go with my blogs, my novel writing and my dreams of earning some money with that (since we’d love to buy a house here).

One more important issue: can one knit here? The answer is simple: yes! I did that before. I also knew I’d go crazy here without knitting since I tried that a few years ago. That time I didn’t bring any knitting and I found out buying yarn here is a challenge, so this time I packed 11 skeins, at least enough to make a hat a week. I’m going to look around to see if I can buy yarn somewhere. I guess wool is too hot, but cotton could be nice. My husband promised me to find a way to import yarn if we end up living here permanently.

I have to be careful what yarn to bring, since 100% synthetic tends to melt a bit, which makes it hard to work with. Wool, wool blends and cotton work fine though.

I’m working on the third hat right now.

 (linking up with Jeannie Gray Knits’ Maker’s Monday)