Song of the day: “Coconut” by Harry Nilsson. It is more
because of the fact that I have been playing it a lot lately, rather than
anything else. Hah.
So…lots has happened since the last time I wrote, isn’t
there? Yes, as mentioned during the last blog, the big move did happen, and as
of last week (gawd, this week went fast!) we are in the Netherlands.
It was a long, long trip, following a similarly long day
that involved going through the last bits that were still necessary to do
before we got on the plane. There was that final check of the suitcases,
sorting through old paint up by the gate (dogs had been going through the
remainder of our stock for a while, searching for reptiles and rodents, no
doubt) eating a proper meal, standing in my corner of the porch wondering what
the heck I was forgetting and then heading out to deal with the final details
of selling our Land Rover. It was a funny affair, really, in particular since
none of us had a clue how to go about filling out the form and getting
everything sorted while getting the payment over and done with. Were very much
relieved when everything was signed and we had the money in our pockets. I don’t
know why, but I kept worrying that something would go wrong and it just wouldn’t
work out at the last possible moment. It did, though, and within an hour we
were back at the house, meeting with the younger sibs to go over the final
details of stuff they needed to know once we were gone. Left it a little late,
but what the heck.
After all that, saying goodbye started, which was hard. Said
goodbye to the family, not the dogs, mind you. For them I wanted it to seem as
if we were just going out for the evening, nothing unusual, just a normal day
for as far as they were concerned…I don’t think we pulled it off completely,
but at least they weren’t too upset (like me) when T came to pick us up, and we
loaded all our suitcases in her friend’s SUV. Then, while big brother went back
to the house because he’d forgotten his phone (big brother has a tendency to do
that), T and I stood crying our eyes out as we stood at the gate, looking in at
the dogs, staring up at us with rather puzzled expressions on their faces. Bet
they thought we were acting weird.
Anyway, I was a mess during the trip to the airport, but I
managed to get things under control before we got there. Then saying goodbye to
T made that worse again (she’s going to come visit in a few months, though, so
it wasn’t for too long), before we had to hurry inside to load up our gazillion
suitcases. (Not really a gazillion of them, but it seemed that way, hah.) Had a
couple of pounds too many with us, but they didn’t make a fuss, so…yay! Customs
didn’t make a fuss either, so that’s a double yay.
Then the waiting started of course; we had arrived on time,
meaning that it took at least 45 minutes before the flight information appeared
on the board. Tried to lose myself a little in reading on my tablet, but
regretfully my thoughts kept straying, making the wait a little harder than it
had needed to be.
Anyway, the flight was uneventful, and even shorter than
usual, due to a brisk wind that swept us along. Then…there was more waiting.
*sigh* Yep. The car rental agency wouldn’t open until seven, meaning we had to
kill time at the airport for a whopping five hours, or so. Ate some…me with my
leg up, because the dratted thing was pounding like mad…at a burger king…well
big brother got it, while I watched our luggage, and tried to read some. Got
more tired by the half hour, so we ended up searching for a horizontal surface
where we’d be able to catch some Zzzzzs. Finally found a marble pyramid of
sorts where other folks had already conked out, and both stretched out on one
level, one hand on our luggage and then trying to sleep…did get a few winks,
but not much. And by then it was five thirty, meaning that airport security
came past, waking everyone up, and warning them that you were no longer allowed
to lie down anywhere because the first stores around the airport were opening.
So, we headed back the to rental desks, where we continued to wait until
opening time…luckily the very nice girl working there gave us a nice hot,
strong coffee, because she felt so sorry for having to make us wait until
opening hours. But in the end, we did get our rental, and were on our way to
the parking garage (the walk took forever, especially with the frigging
pounding leg and by then shoulder, too) where we loaded everything up (it fit
just barely) it a Citroën C3 and left the airport.
The weather here was…well, nicely fresh when we set out, and
then rapidly gaining in heat as time passed. By the time we got to our new
digs, the air was already getting muggy…as luck would have it we arrived in the
middle of a heat wave, which was splendid with me wearing a supportive sock
(mandatory still) for my leg. The house we’re staying until we find a rental,
or some such, is an oldie…1930s at least…and not in a particularly good state,
but it’s cute in its own way.
We disturbed our land lady just before she was about to hop
in the shower…that shows us for thinking that the trip from the airport would
take longer than it did…but she took, it well, and asked us to wait in the
living room while she finished up.
The tour that followed after drinks and talk, was a short
one, but I was seriously fading by then, so we headed on up to the attic (our
intended living arrangement) where we conked out on a couple of mattresses.
Sure, we had gotten the option of two rooms, one in the house and one in what
used to be the warehouse office, (the latter big brother might take later on,
once we’ve settled) but I like the attic with its niches and angles and pointy
roof…despite it being the veritable oven on the afternoon of our first day
there.
The siesta was not much of a success on my part. Of the three
hours we spent on the attic, I caught an hour of sleep at most. I was just too
wired, I guess, not to mention that the place was so dusty that I kept having
tickles in my throat and nose. I don’t think that our land lady figured we
would stick with the attic once we saw it, but it’s cute, you’ll see once I
take some decent photos.
It was just dusty bare space when we got here, but now we have
a couple of beds, a work corner, a small kitchen, with only a sink failing, and
otherwise perfectly comfortable….or at least, it is now that it’s clean and
furnished. Hah.
Bee rather busy since our arrival. There were groceries to
do, of course, and going to second hand stores to get at least the most basic
of furniture. Added to that, our land lady’s warehouse is filled with both
treasures and junk and we’re more than welcome to help ourselves to the junk.
Which we did. We’ve got a table for our kitchen, a couple of arm chairs, a
nightstand, a couple of side tables, a really old, wobbly wardrobe and some lights.
Added to that, she had a small cooking stove we could use and some chairs for
the kitchen table. The rest; a nice wooden table to work at with our computers,
a painting for the wall, a coat rack a couple of cupboards and basically we
have all the comforts of home. Hah.
Since we are also free to borrow a couple of old bicycles,
we have been mobile ever since returning the rental, and are slowly becoming
familiar with the town.
Visited grandpa, cousin Ed and Tenant on Saturday, which
wasn’t really a good visit, because, let’s face it, I was exhausted and not
really good company. I was achy and so tired, that it took a lot not start
crying at the drop of a hat. Strange how that works, eh?
The visit was mainly to bring more stuff to grandpa, and to
pick up the suitcases big brother left there with his last visit. Again we had
the car stocked, but since it was just the two of us on the way back, late at
night, that wasn’t a bad thing. Sunday I spent cleaning. Hah.
Monday here was spent with official stuff, by the way. We
had to go to town hall, signing ourselves into the municipality. We went there
to gather information and instructions, but ended up with some papers for our
land lady to sign and an appointment later that day. Got that all sorted, and
were back with ample time for our appointment. So we explored the town for a
bit, getting to know the lay of the land, so to speak. There was some confusion
at town hall when we got there to register…partly because we had made our
appointment on site, so the lady who was supposed to help us hadn’t refreshed
her schedule and thus wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Secondly, we’d been
away for so long that we were not present in the digital database…I know, how
bad is that, eh? But, it was alright, the lady said she would just have to
request a old fashioned verification, which could take up to two weeks. We were
a bit disheartened afterward, since we had planned to get a bank account right
after registering, which now wasn’t possible…yes, we’d checked, hah.
We were in luck, however, about thirty minutes later, we
were still in the car on our way back to the place we’re staying at (this was
on the day before we had to return the rental) when I got a phone call from the
lady at town hall: she had found our information in an antiquated (I kid you
not) database, and we were now fully registered. Phew. Big relief there. Went
straight back to the center of town and the bank.
Were helped by a rather nice young man, he used to work in
the hospitality industry, and we got to chatting while we were going through
the tedious motions of getting a fully functional bank account. Ended up
inviting him for dinner some day, together with his girlfriend, which should be
fun if he even remembers.
Throughout the past week we have gradually been adding and
improving the attic. Got some furniture now. There’re a couple 2nd
hand stores in the area and a free give-away charity shop, which has been
tremendously helpful. Strange folk working there, mostly from rehab and such,
but friendly none the less.
Had some rainy days, already. Have been experiencing trouble
with the internet and phones, partly because there is something wrong with our
new contracts. Very annoying, in particular because it was the weekend and
there wasn’t anything we could do about it until Monday. Got that sorted,
though, so this blog is posted with the new mobile connection, yay! It was all
very complicated, so basically big brother who had been talked through it by
customer service, had to talk me through it.
Next thing on the list was to request social security. I
know, embarrassing, right? But what can you do. We’re broke, unemployment is
high, even here, and until we find work, we need to live, naturally. So we went
to the local office (in the rain on our new 2nd hand bikes) only to
hear that we have to apply for an appointment by phone or Internet. The latter
we still didn’t have, and the first wasn’t picking up. So we went back to the
land lady’s place and tried again. Got to the right place, explained my
situation, and gave my important stats before I handed her over to big brother,
who went through the same procedure. An hour later I got a call from the same
lady, saying that my number wrong. The date of birth was correct, but the name
popping up was completely wrong. She sounded out of sorts. So I explained,
again, that due to the fact of us leaving the country before the digital era,
we didn’t actually have that particular number, but that I would go to town
hall to try to figure it all out.
Back on the bike, in the rain, and straight to town hall
where we were, thankfully, sent through to the right desk where they dove into
the computers in an attempt to locate me. Turns out that my last known address
in the Netherlands was some hick town in east Spain. I don’t know how that
happened, but we did finally ascertain that I exist. Phew. They were all very
nice about it, it was just that everything that I’ve been doing this past week
with that particular number, had to be redone today, including my spanking new
bank account, which isn’t all that easy to do. Apparently, this number never
changes, so the program doesn’t allow for changes in that particular section,
or some such nonsense. *deep sigh* So, back to town hall, checking to see when
I get confirmation about my residency next week, if it has that number and all
my details on the paper, and I will have that, so, it should be possible to
verify everything soon. Phew. What else can go wrong, I can’t help but wonder.
Once back at the house, another phone call for me (they do
everything here by phone, which is taking some getting used to for me. I’m used
to do everything in Spain in person), this time with the insurance company
where I was trying to get myself insured because…you’re seeing this coming,
aren’t you?...I used that wrong number there too. This one wasn’t as bad. They
just say, apply for a new one, because the one with the wrong number will be
dismissed anyway. Big relief, that.
What else…had visitors this Sunday. Remember when big
brother and I went out to eat in Ronda last year, the friends up in the
mountains, well, they’ve moved here last month as well, (wonderful to have
familiar faces nearby) and they came over for tea, and cut veggie sticks to
serve with a yogurt/garden herbs dip. Was a very nice afternoon, after a
gorgeous bike trip through the local woods, right before.
Also spent some time in the yard, cutting back dead plants
and trees, creating some order in a garden that has been suffering from some
neglect lately. Love it. In particular since the weather wasn’t too cold…or
hot, for that matter, meaning that I could shut down my brain (it wants to keep
worrying about stuff I can’t change anyway) for a while, and just, BE.
Been exploring the local stores, looking for the best
bargains where we can get food of affordable prices. Got a few spots where the
prices are similar to those in Spain. At least food expenses here won’t been
worse then over there…although here we won’t have those weekly donations of the
drug rehab place.
As for our dogs…I try to think of them as little as
possible, to be honest. Pim, grandpa’s cocker mix, left for Finland this
morning (T was nice enough to let me know that it all went according to plan).
Middle sister was kind enough to adopt my Dax, which is a relief. Part of the
reason why I worried about leaving them with the sibs and mom in Spain was
because that offer hadn’t been made prior to my departure, and considering
Sitabah will be going to Finland in August to get her own new boss, I’m very
happy that little Dax is with middle sister now. From what I’ve heard is that,
they were a bit out of sorts those first few days, waiting at the gate for us,
but slowly things are quieting down, and that’s for the best. Soon they will
forget us…at least, that is what I keep telling myself. I do admit to finding
that one of the hardest things.
Weather I am not sure who is better off. Here we have temps
in mid-seventies, and in Spain they’re battling the triple digits since
yesterday. What do you think…I had chattering teeth this morning. *sigh* Pros
and cons everywhere, aren’t there?
Well, you’re all back up to date. I gotta go.
A quick place of our new attic.
Needs work, but it is starting to be cosy at least.
