Quicky update

So, there is a reason I haven’t been writing recently. Got some bad news…well, several bits of bad news, I fear. First off, I got the news that I need to move out of my apartment on the 3^rd of October, sow what with big brother needing to go on the 1^st of September, we are now, once again busily looking for a place to live. 

Ain’t life grand? Well, sort of, anyway. Perhaps it is time for change…does look that way, considering that last week I heard that the sauna I work for went bankrupt. Yep, the job is also on the line. Funny how that works. At the moment both big brother and I are on the seesaw, wondering what is going to happen next, and wondering what to do now. We can’t start looking for a place to live because we don’t know if we’re going to have work to support us, and until we know for sure that the job is over, we can’t actually start looking for new work.

Added to that we have a humongous amount of paperwork to go through, a new job interview to do for a job that we have been doing for more than a year, which is downright weird, I tell ya. Worse yet, the atmosphere at work is incredibly tense, because everyone is terribly worried about their jobs, and lastly, we have been grossly understaffed ever since one of our colleagues’ contract was  discontinued and we have been working with even less people than before. Nutters, I tell ya. At this point I’m so friggin’ tired, that I don’t think I’d really mind getting fired, and being able to relax for a little while, while we look for a new job.

Other than that things are semi-okay. My hospital exam at the beginning of the month showed no massive problem, meaning that I’m not at death’s door, at least, despite feeling that way, occasionally. Hah.

Cooking wise I had a few good successes this past month. Had a couple of friends over for dinner, which was cosy. Also went over to visit with our colleagues a few times, and went to the sea on our father’s birthday where we had a picnic in the wild, walked through the dunes for a few hours and had French fries for supper before going to the cinema with our father, stepmother and littlest brother…which reminds me, did I already mention that we had littlest brother over for dinner the first time at the end of last month, which was a strange, but fascinating experience. He’s a rather serious, handsome young man, and I am looking forward to getting to know him better…which reminds me of another thing, littlest brother is planning a sort of reunion thing at the end of the month, involving mostly cousins, I think. This is also fascinating, especially since I’m curious about the lot.

Well, this short sum-up has to be enough for now. I will write again as soon as possible, hopefully with good news about all this shaite.

Under the weather for a bit.

Song of the day: “Express yourself” by Madonna.

Got several Madonna’s on my music list at work, so after months of playing the same list over and over, this one does manage to get a little under my skin. Gotta take it off the list, ‘cause it is starting to tick me off. Hah.

Yeah, I know, I’ve been remiss again, but I admit to having an excuse for not writing. I haven’t been my best this past month. After Finland I’ve been pretty sick, needing to visit a doctor, of all things, which got me a prescription--that did help, but what with all the hard work, busy days, short nights, I had a bit of relapse this past week, meaning that now I’m home sick (had to call in this morning at work, which is a total pain) and have until Sunday to get well again. Nothing like a couple of free days to recuperate, right?

So, what’s been happening...I’m not sure. Lots of work, duh (am I boring, or what?) which means that five days a week, for an average of seven hours a day I’m not worth much of anything, once I get the necessary stuff at home done, cleaning, cooking, groceries) the day is pretty much over, isn’t it? Am planning to use the next couple of days, though, and darn the consequence. I can cough at the computer as easily as I can in bed, can’t I? Let’s see if I can get some writing, or at least some editing done, eh?

Well, I have been cooking, which is naturally a vital part of life. Nothing superbly interesting, but good nutritional values regardless. Had an awesome broccoli soup last week, a couple of really good spinach quiches, oats, nuts and cranberry cookies, a really super pasta funghi and a rather nice salad with gomasio (japanese sesame salt) rather than a dressing...was really lovely. You should try it some time. Mix some veggies of choice (a few hard ones, like carrot and cauliflower) add a dash of olive oil, some parsely, chives and then sprinkle a nice full teaspoon of gomasio over it. Delicious.

Have had the semi-official news that the remodel of my apartment building is starting in october, which means that until that time I’m set. It is after that that I’m going to have to start worrying about a place to live again. It could take a few more months before I would actually have to move after that, but still, not a nice thought looming over my head, is it. That’s how the anti-squatting works, however, and it is something I need to get used to. A pity that I’m a nester, isn’t it? Might need to work on that a bit. Won’t do any good to be a nester in this particular time of my life. Ah well...no sense in wallowing in that. It’ll sort itself out.

Finally got myself a sewing machine. Nothing fancy, mind you, but good enough for repairing clothes and the likes. Actually already used it to repair two of my work jeans, so, yay!!!

Which reminds me...you are not going to believe what happened to me at work. Seriously. There I was, doing my long days instead of big brother (he had his off, b*st*rd!!!) working on the sauna’s water testing, when our team leader came in to ask me if I could “give him a hand” with one of the clogged toilets...you’re sensing something, aren´t you, well, wait for it...so, I finished part of the test, and went on up, to find him in one of the bathrooms on a stepladder, and a variety of empty buckets around him. Took me all of five seconds to figure out what he wanted to do, so I suggested I get some cover plastics and the likes to protect the downstairs bathroom.

I sure know that I was in doubt about the plan even before I was asked to stand under one of the buckets and hold it up, and yes, it was a big disaster. You do not want to know what I was covered with, I don’t want to know what I was covered with, but I assure you that it took me three showers to feel clean again, and I had to dig stuff from behind m ears that I refused to look at.

Was so lucky that I had a spare pants at work, and that big brother had left his sweater there at some point, meaning that I could change clothes instead of walking around in a bathrobe like our team leader. Got the bathroom cleaned in about an hour. Washed down the walls and floor with bleech three times...gawd what a mess. I was not happy afterward, I tell ya. Also, everyone who heard about the incident was laughing, and so was big brother who was really happy not to have worked that day. Grrr.

Luckily I was in a much better mood the day after, because by the time I got home I was seriously grumpy.

Had a nice afternoon having beer at our colleague’s place. The weather was nice that day, so we sat on the balcony, talked and played with the neighbor’s kids who often visit at our friend’s place. Was a nice relaxing afternoon. I rarely have the time and energy, let alone the inclination, to spend the remainder of a workday that way.

Discovered that I have some sort of fine in Spain in my name, and not a clue as to what it is. Am trying to find out what it might be, how to resolve it, but it’s going to be a pickle. Spanish government is not known to be the most helpful toward those who do not speak the language adequately. I’ll have to keep you posted, I guess, it is just such a pain in the behind, not to mention expensive. Grrr.

And now something completely insignificant and totally “girly”: I found my favorite workout pants (again) at a sports store and they were on sale. They were so cheap I could get four for the normal price of one. Yay! I got four yoga pants! Which I’m wearing, like, all the time when I get home. Hah.

Okay, enough girly. Haven’t been doing a lot of workout sessions, partly because of my problem last month. Just didn’t have the energy, and just work was already draining me, so the workout kinda fell away...not surprisingly. Am planning on fully getting back to that asap...at the very least some serious stretches and the likes. Need the endorphins for sure.

Weather wise it has been somewhat horrid over here this summer. In fact it has been so very abysmal with rain that big supermarkets have been warning that there will be a shortage of fresh veggies if things don’t dry out fast. Imagine that; that much water! It’s a novel idea.

Well, that’s it for now. Not very glamorous, but at least you’re sorta up to date again. I’ll be back.

Back from Vacation!!!!

Song of the day: “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars. Very cheerful song to have in your head, so not a bad one at all to experience it as an earworm every now and then.

Vacation in Finland! Yep. You guessed it: I’m back...have in fact been back for five days already, meaning that I should have gotten to this blog sooner, but what with going back to work immediately, that just wasn’t in the books. Seriously, I was still pretty bushed from our flight back when we were back to the grind, doing our usual stuff at the sauna the next day.

But no matter, our trip to Finland was a friggin’ success as in that I loved seeing T again, meet her family and see her in her “natural habitat”. Also, considering it was a five day journey, rather than a rushed weekend like last year when I had to go fetch Pimmetje over there. Weather wise we were both lucky and unlucky. Beautifully sunny days on the most part, but also cold, with an occasional splash of rain that caught us off guard at times. Luckily I’m the proverbial girl scout and had enough summer clothes with me to make layers work for me. Hah. Had we gone a week earlier or later, we would have been have enjoyed hotter temps, but it worked out well enough in the end. The cold made for beautifully clear skies and (a big one) thankfully less mosquitoes, because those babies were massive, I tell ya.

So, let’s see if I can give you a recount of my visit to Finland. The trip there was uneventful. Cousin Ed came to spend the night, I fed her dinner the night before and we departed from our place around nine in the morning so that we would be at the airport in time, despite rush hour still being in reluctant swing. Hah. It was a tight fit in her tiny Fiat, especially since she had three dogs with her and quite a bit of her own luggage because she was going straight on to her new place after she dropped us off at the airport. I guess we could have taken our own car, but that meant that she would have to bring it back afterward and then drive home. This was easier. Considering that father was going to pick us up at our return, it seemed wasteful to leave the car in airport parking somewhere.

Nah. This was way better.

So yeah, we arrived on time in Finland after a semi-quiet flight, and caused E (the same friend who hosted my stay the last time) some worry when we didn’t appear when expected. Apparently we followed the wrong signs and ended up at a wrong exit. No worries though, did find her in the end and soon we were on our way to her family’s vacation place in the country, where we would meet up with T later in the day. A long drive for sure, about two hours in fact, but beautiful country-side. I will try to post some photos at the end of the blog so you can get a taste.

As warned by E, our resting place for the night was a tad primitive. There was power, wifi, a roof over our heads, soft mattresses and plenty of food but, alas, no running water or in-house plumbing . Aaaaaargh. If you are female, you will know why these two things came as a bit of a startle to me at this particular time of the month. * sigh * Still made due, however, so it was no big disaster. In fact, I could actually laugh about it at times. I will have you know that this was the first time in my entire life that I used a genuine outhouse, which, I will tell you, I always thought as something exotic and part of history, rather than still in full practice. So strange to use “the can” and rather than flush sprinkle on some saw dust to fight odors...actually worked too, the smells weren’t too horrible, thank gawd!

Water came from a well, and yes, it could be pumped up by hand...instead, there was an electrical pump. Nice water too. Very soft and almost sweet. Came straight from the rich forest soil, too, so that was rather nice.

I will tell you that it was a special experience not to have any real night darkness. In fact, it seemed as if there was only a few hours of twilight before the sun came up again. I could get used to that kind of thing, I tell ya...at least, better than I could get used to permanent darkness which would definitely be a problem for me. Hah.

As it was, a walk after ten in the evening was still in full sunlight, and when I woke around six in the morning the sun was out and about again, confusing me for all of twenty seconds before I dropped off once more. Breakfast was a cheery occasion with both T and E, of which the latter’s parents were hosting our stay. A nice old couple that genuinely seemed to enjoy the company of “young folks” livening things up. They were very sweet and excellent hosts, and went as far as offering us a place to return to, should we so desire in the future. There was a language problem, naturally, seeing as our knowledge of Finnish (Suomi) is limited to counting to three, hello and goodbye. Pity, that. There were times I was tempted by the thought of maybe moving there some day, but I am definitely not doing that again. No more countries where I’m not fluent in the language, thank you very much.

Saw some beautiful sights in woods, lakes, sea...all of which there are plenty of over there. Day two, after another two hours’ drive, we arrived at T’s parents’ place where we spent the remainder of our visit. T’s parents, too, were incredibly nice. Her mom could do pretty good English, and her father not a word, but we all managed to get along well enough. Mom’s hospitality was tremendously generous, if the food was any indication. You’d think she thought we were starving orphans what with all the food served. Neither big brother nor I are shy eaters (picky, yes, but we don’t eat tiny amounts by any means...we’re rather big people, if in nothing more than height) but we were incapable of stowing away the amounts of food that were offered during breakfast, lunch and dinner, and it made me realize that I will have to be careful whenever I have guests over. Should never over-feed by keeping up offering food. Common courtesy makes you fold way too fast...it made a walk after breakfast and dinner every day essential.

Considering they were warned of our vegetarian tendencies, we didn’t get to try a lot of Finnish dishes, but the few that we did get were tasty and more than a little cute in appearances. Am definitely going to base some of my own experiments on their design in the near future. Hah

We saw the town of Naantali, which is T’s birth town. Visited the local hotspots, saw the presidential summer place, and some wonderfully authentic architecture. I love all the wood.

Also went to the city of Turku, which has some wonderful architecture as well, and a old handcrafts’ museum located in the old part of town that consisted of buildings that had just barely survived the big fire of 1827, leaving some structures that were up to two hundred years old. Impressive, considering it was wood built. Loved going through that place, which seeped with history. I kid you not, I played tourist for a few hours and took pictures of EVERYTHING! Hah

Before the museum we roamed the city a bit, went to genuine fresh produce market where they had a delicious variety of strawberries for sale. Seriously, you could get strawberries from Finland, Sweden and Spain of all places. Actually got to compare tastes, and gotta admit that taste wise the Finnish ones were tastiest. They do berries really well over there. They also like their cucumbers and cheeses, the latter of which I actually liked, surprising, considering I am picky about my cheeses.

Visited with a couple of close friends of T, one with three daughters, living out in the country in a gorgeous old farm that was for sale…was sorely tempted, I tell ya...if I had any money and the inclination to move to a country where I don’t know the language. Hah. It was wonderfully old, made of logs and with a gorgeous set of stoves in the center of the house around which all the rooms at been constructed.

I’ll see about putting some pictures off this below...and also the location was absolutely gorgeous. In case you’re wondering, basically every house in Finland has it’s own sauna (even the one without the plumbing) and they use it like us poor westerners use their shower: every evening. Imagine that, most folks pay good money for an outing to a sauna, and there they are, treating it like a daily thing never the wiser about what is considered a luxury around these parts.

The next day we visited another friend of T’s who makes a habit of fostering dogs...from Spain, too… so I got to play with doggies for a bit. It was nice, but it made me a little sad, too. When you don’t have them around you on a day to day basis, you forget how much you miss them, don’t you?

Had a small one rutting on my lap for quite a while, which was rather endearing; she (the doggie) has been experiencing some discomfort lately, so we discussed possible treatments before it was time for us to leave. Seriously, these people live in the most gorgeous places. This one, too, had a house right in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by woods everywhere. So jealous!

Also picked up T’s semi-son-in-law, who arrived by train on Friday afternoon. Cute kid, with a great sense of humor, especially for a 12 year old. Had loads of fun with him there, and it sure made the coming party that evening (T’s aunt likes to give a karaoke party this time of year, especially when they have international guests) a lot more fun, since it guaranteed conversation. Only a few of T’s relatives were adapt (or not too shy) at English, and I didn’t want to hoard all of T’s attention seeing these few days were about twenty percent of her own vacation that was to be an opportunity to reconnect with her family. Was a very cozy evening, all in all. Mostly a clear sky, so the sun stayed out keeping us semi-comfortable at least. Still, I was mighty happy about the three layers I had bothered to don at the beginning of the evening.

First thing at the party was a real Finnish game that took quite a bit of time and required mostly patience and a steady hand. There were 12 little trunks with numbers on them, and one without which you had to throw at the lot. I could go on about the whole system, but won’t bore you with it. It was all about reaching fifty, without going over it. The one who got there first, won, and suffice it to say I didn’t win...neither did big brother, considering the price was to sing Karaoke first. Hah...added to that “incentive” big brother also got seriously buzzed on the whiskey that was liberally offered to him during the course of the evening, and which threw off his aim, and thankfully for him, some of his shyness, at least.

In case you’re wondering...Yes, I did karaoke! Three times, in fact, and admittedly it was mostly because T’s family was so nice about it. Had been playing with the idea, naturally, figuring I was now old and confident enough to do some singing in public (and let’s face it, at work I am totally capable of forgetting that are colleagues around to hear me) but it was mostly T’s semi-son-in-law. I made a deal with him that if he’d sing, I’d sing, and he did, so I was pretty much toast. Hah. Ended up singing first an easy one: Madonna’s “Don’t cry for me Argentina”, which thankfully went without a hitch, followed later on in the evening, after a second cider, by Allanah Miles’s “Black Velvet”. Went well up until the last crooned “if you please”, but by then I didn’t mind all that much and was well content with my endeavors for the evening. Ended the evening, after one in the morning no less, with a duet...or triplet, more accurately of Ronan Keating’s “When you say nothing at all”, which didn’t go well at all, since we started too low, T, the kid and I. Hah. No matter. Were in bed after three (the drive back was almost another hour) and it would have to be an semi-early morning because we still had to drive a nice 200 miles back to Helsinki to catch our flight.

Fell asleep on the ride, so it went faster than expected. Made our goodbyes to T and the kid somewhat rushed, which was a pity. Before you know it we were inside the airport, through customs and waiting endlessly for boarding to be announced. Like the flight to Finland, the one back was packed to full capacity once more, had another half hour nap during that, and then we were back in the Netherlands with father waiting at the exit for us. Strange to see him standing there, but nice, too, despite me being pretty bushed.

He and mother-in-law took us out for dinner in Amsterdam, at this cozy little vegetarian place near the center. Had a very nice meal together before they drove us home where big brother quickly checked if the car was still working (fine, battery was still working, yay!) before we went to our respective apartments to unpack. Were a tad late getting to bed, too, considering we had a nightcap, but were back at work on the dot the next day, as planned.

Well, that about sums that up. Let’s see about those pics.

 Here we have E, together with T's lovely pugs, Nero and Fidel.

 A lake...duh!

Countryside.

A lake!

A paddock after ten in the evening.

Part of the sea, but it looked more like a lake. After nine in the evening.

T. As you can see, it was already cold by then.

Crop fields.

 

Meadow...gorgeous, right?

The day we went to Turku. How 'bout those strange clouds.

A museum...wouldn't you love have a courtyard like this?

I thought these rocks lovely. Had a lot of this over there, a combination of rocks and trees. Love it.

This used to be the town covered market. Now it was transformed into a place with tiny little restaurants, bistros and shops inside. It looked like a movieset...remember Cheers? That style. Wonderful. Too dark for a proper photo, however.

Next one is at the museum of the handcraft. You see T there, her mom and big brother's back. Hah.

 Up here the Karaoke party, with T, the kid and her mom singing together, and below here the kid posing for the pic.

Now let's do the house that was for sale. I absolutely loved the kitchen.

As you will see from the amount of pics I took of it. Hah.

See the pallets that were used for couches. Very cosy.
Logs were ancient, and in the room below here untreated.

In every room in the center you had a piece of art called a stove. All of them different, all of them lovely.

See that door in the corner. Old fridge. They used to build it in the coldest corner of the house so stuff stayed good. Nifty.

See that structure down here. It was a loom from the 17th century. Very cute.

Kitchen again.

And more kitchen. I want it...

 The poles by the stairs used to be used for drying of the hay. I thought it very nice in this way.

E, playing monster under the stairs.

The upper floor was one big room. Parts of the walls were papered with newspapers. I loved the look. Am going to remember that.

The stairs from the other side. The branches are a very nice touch. Kept everything open and light.

The outside. Typically finnish, actually.

And the time of the year was the best. Still blossoms everywhere.

A sauna.

 A converted barn. Cold as heck in winter, naturally, but incredibly cute in summer.

An outhouse...these seemed to be everywhere!

 And lastly, one more time, the kitchen with the three girls on top of the stove. like a triplet of pixies, right? Wonderful.

And with this, I'll leave you for now. Time to get to bed, and ready for work in the morning.

Seeya.

Pat

Song of the day: “Royals”, but rather than by Lorde, I hear it from Jasmine Thomson, which is a really cute acoustic version.

Hi all. Sorry to have took so long, but my last post was difficult for me, and I was reluctant to return to the “scene of the crime” so to speak. But I’m back, and life has settled once more, so...let’s get to it.

Work as usual, although there have been some trials and tribulations in that regard. First off there was that little incident with my hip that took a couple of weeks to get back to normal. Seriously, do not slip when you are washing massive windows. I paid for that for a solid two weeks, thank you very much. And secondly, wear a hat, always, when working underneath the benches in the saunas, (for hosing it out, ya know) because builders are not picky about what happens underneath with screws and such. I was under there about four days ago and am still enjoying it. There I was, hosing out gawd knows what dirt (eeeeeewwww) and wham! I slammed the side of my head into one of the top beams. Wouldn’t have been all that bad either, had it not been for the screw end that stuck out and went straight for my temple, right onto the double-lined edge of one of my favorite baseball caps! (Love that cap even more now. I’m thinking of framing it.) Yep, yours truly has a genuine, if mild, concussion. Had a doctor’s visit and everything—meaning that we have an actual GP now, as is obligated round these parts, or so we discovered on that particular day—with this very nice older GP who will do just fine. His practice mixes traditional medicine with holistic and dietary, so it will be a good match.

The head hurt for only a little bit, but what worried me...and my colleagues...was the rising nausea and unsteadiness. In the end I got forced to sit down for half an hour with an ice bag on my head, while I struggled to keep down what little breakfast I had had. Did just that for a bit, then cowboyed up and got back to work. It was slow going, like wading through molasses, but still, got the job done. Had planned to finish my full Monday workday (which is usually nine to ten hours) but was feeling increasingly worse, so in the end I asked our teamleader if I could stop a bit earlier, and got permission to do just that. Went home, had doubted for a bit if I should drive, but only the nausea had remained by then, and being extremely tired (physically, not mentally, duh) so I risked it. No problems there, thankfully. Got home fine, went straight to bed, only to be interrupted by big brother with the concern that I might have a concussion. Debated a bit because I wasn’t experiencing any actual headache, except for an occasional stab and a somewhat floaty feeling in the back of my head, went over a list online about symptoms: nausea, dizzy, unsteady, blurry memory, light and noise sensitivity (I turned off my music player during work!!! *gasp*) sluggishness, etc. Finally we did decide to find a doctor, which isn’t all that easy. Did find one, and after explaining the symptoms, I was invited to come over within the next ten minutes. Since it is around the corner that actually was possible.

Had to wait for a bit, but since there were forms to fill in, that wasn’t a problem and before you know it, the doctor herded me into his office.

Talked for about half an hour, sort of like an intake. (He’s one of those starers, which could be uncomfortable, but is always better than a doctor who only stares at his computer screen while he asks you questions, hah.) Talked a bit about how I was raised, vegetarian, organic, holistic stuff, and how I am not really positive about traditional medicine except in emergencies, to which he assured me that he is not the kind to prescribe any medicine willy-nilly, so I could rest assured. We touched on sever topics, including my residual weight, and he agreed that the slow way which I have been applying is the best way to go. He is not of the diet mind, apparently, as seems to be the fashion this day and age. Balanced meals, an active life and going at it steadily is much better. Yay!

But back to my head thing. I went through a few tests, he checked my motor skills, eyes, pallor, etc, we went through a check list and he determined that though I could be bothered by the symptoms for up to eleven days, it was unlikely that it was more than a mild concussion. He did advise big brother waking me every two hours just to be on the safe side, which we agreed on.

Considering the next day was another working day, neither of us was happy about that, but what the heck. Wasn’t feeling worse the day after, and could find my Zen at times, meaning that I wasn’t bothered, so all in all that potential disaster finished with the proverbial puff of smoke.

What else...been incredibly busy. Went out to Cousin Ed’s a couple of times. Visited tenant who is now settled at a very nice senior home in her old home town (her choice). She’s got a nice double room, sitting area with an open kitchen and a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, with a gorgeous view of the place’s wooden garden and it’s massive pond where she claims herons come to hunt in the mornings. She was rather emotional when she saw us, making it clear that she had been feeling a tad down (the way I suspected when I first saw her, and she hadn’t seen us yet), she struggled with tears a bit, had trouble talking, but then she quieted down and we talking for a bit. Then the lure of TV became too big for her (it had just been installed the day before and she’d missed it dearly) so we only stayed for a little bit, considering it was late in the afternoon already and we still had to pick up a free rubber mattress for big brother, who’s been troubled by his back. Guess the spring mattress he got from our last landlady finally gave the spirit, because he’s been feeling the springs lately. Now he’s got a genuine rubber one that should do the trick.

Gotta admit to feeling a little sad about tenant when we left her new place. However cozy and pretty, it felt very much like we were leaving her to spend her final days in a strange place, which is not something I wished for her. Not that there is a different option, it’s just...sad. A pity that society has come to a point where it is considered normal to stuff old folks in a comfy corner where staff takes care of them rather than family, but careers, civil obligations, cramped living spaces don’t really allow for anything else, do they? Like I said, a pity.

On a more positive note, I went to a Bryan Adams concert. Cousin Ed swore that if he ever came to the Netherlands she was going to go see him, and kindly invited me to go along. So…Yay! Was an evening filled with traffic and waiting, standing in line and waiting, going through security, finding a spot within the Ziggo Dome and and then...you guessed it...waiting some more, albeit cosily chatting with BA fans, folks that had been dragged along to the concert by said fans, and youngsters who were surprisingly big fans as well. Were about five yards from the stage, right in front of BA’s microphone, so that was very cool, except for the extremely tall dude who sometimes stepped in front of me. (Bugger.) Then the band came on stage and the remainder of the evening rushed passed with singing, shouting, whistling and bouncing. It was splendid, despite the fact that I liked the Reckless tour performance better, and we didn’t get home until after midnight. Passed out for the night, and didn’t even hear Cousin Ed depart early because she had to go to a job interview.

Went to the fitness club (Yay!) and did about 45 minutes of kick boxing, core training, stretches, weight lifting and rowing...then about four hundred yards into my 1 mile full speed row I felt my energy levels drop (too little sleep the night before and forgot lunch) meaning I managed to hold out half a mile before giving up on the day’s workout. Considering big brother had down a full day’s work compared to my five hour sprint in the morning, that was convenient. Hah.

Did quite a bit of experimenting in the kitchen these past weeks. Had a gorgeous eggplant zucchini lasagna. Made a very tasty pumpkin compote, partly for a colleague at work who is following a diet on medical advise where she isn’t allowed to eat raw meat and cheese, which limited her breakfast options. Made her the pumpkin compote as a substitute spread, and she’s loving it. Yay. Added to that I was inspired to work with oats again. (Always on the lookout for those iron filled ingredients, hah.) Had a sudden vision of three types of oat cookies. Oats, apple, cranberry, and spices, which is yummy, and semi healthy with only some raw cane sugar and honey for sweetness. The salty version would be oats, red bell pepper, onion, Italian herbs and Parmesan, which was just as yummy...and filling, considering could only eat a couple before I was stuffed. (One cookie is about 2x2 inches, at most.)

Another experiment were buckwheat burgers. Gotta say that the Netherlands supplies this particular ingredient a lot easier than Spain. Also, it is much more affordable. Prices are reduced almost by half, which makes it something worthwhile in the kitchen.

Had several visits with our father and stepmother, one an impromptu one, because we got a tax form that we couldn’t make heads or tails of, so our father offered to come and take a look at it with us. The problem is that the form is for half in this country and half in Spain, which is a whole can of worms that I won’t even begin to explain to you. Let’s just say, it is a pain in the behind. We did sort most of it out, about how to file and everything, so let’s hope that this is the end of it. This little visit led to a nice dinner together, including the buckwheat burgers, leftover lasagna and the pumpkin compote.

No writing since the last time, just some editing here and there in the Greek mythology story. Big brother and I are working on getting some sort of schedule worked out where we can work on a story together again, because that is still our future for as far as we are concerned. Everything else is making a living and surviving, which is not something we plan on during for the rest of our lives. Keep your fingers crossed.

Been having some trouble missing the doggies lately. I tend to fawn over dogs that I come across in the streets, which is not a good thing. I think it could freak folks out. Hah. Like yesterday I came across a 14 year old greyhound, muzzled because he’d apparently killed a small dog in his youth and was therefore obligated to wear a muzzle for the remainder of his life, and ended up smooching with the sweetheart that licked my face and ears rather affectionately. Stuff like that is the pits when you try to not remember your own dogs. Grrrr.

The weather has been poor lately. Mostly cloudy, some thunderstorms (not as bad as in the south of the country where it had been declared a stage orange just the other day) and only an occasional day with full sun. Did enjoy those tremendously.

Finally found a place where I can get some decent Jeans that fit proper and are not extremely expensive. Regretfully I’ve not been at all successful in finding anything useful at the thrift stores lately, so I’ve resorted to wading through normal stores, darn it. But these are okay, sturdy and the fit is good, so Yay! Much relief there. Was already worried I’d have to go to work in a bathing suit, or something (Hah) when even the last of my pantses gave the spirit during one of many water tests. Am going to have to go the store to get a couple more and then I’ll be all set.

Our vacation is coming up, of which we will be spending five days in Finland. T’s invitation bore fruit and it is official. It’ll be an experience, for sure, in particular since the other option of vacation would be staying at home and sleeping the week away. Hah. I know, very unadventurous of me. But seriously, sleeping for a week sounds very tempting. Still, the trip will be fun, and it will be splendid to see T again, this time on her turf, and meeting her family, seeing E again, which has been almost a year when I went to pick up grandpa’s dog in Finland, and visiting a country where the sun now won’t set until the 26^th of June! Can you imagine? No night? I’m so curious!

Talking of grandpa’s dog(s)...since tenant is unable to take care of a dog on her own, Cousin Ed was forced to find a home for grandpa’s wee dog Ollie, but he landed splendidly with a family that has two chihuahuas, which he now dominates like the little macho he is. Apparently he’s already very fond of his new mistress, so that is one worry less, at least. Pim, the one I fetched from Finland, has already settled with a bachelor in the North of the country, who lives on a boat (which Pim loves, apparently) and travels to the UK frequently to visit his girlfriend, taking Pim along. So there everything is all neat and pat.

Lots of folks pregnant or trying to be here. An interesting concept that. Makes me wonder how I feel about that. The way I figure, I gotta meet a very special dude to find the idea attractive, because at the moment it would just seem like a tremendous hassle, not to mention one big worry. Am having fun watching said folks being all excited, though. Some of them actually glow with pleasure.

Went with a colleague to a holistic doctor in Zoelen. Was an interesting experience, in particular when I discovered that the guy worked with Vega tests, which was a throwback to my childhood where mom worked with that too. Actually had a really nice talk with the guy, but was was a bit astounded that he couldn’t give me the ingredients used for some homeopathic remedy he prescribed to my colleague. I would think that if you prescribe it, you are at least interested in the contents, but apparently assuming that was a bit presumptuous. Hah. It amazes me sometimes, I tell ya. If you work with something, the least you can do is know as much as you can about it, right? I mean, even I am starting to learn about components of sanitary components. It comes with the friggin’ territory...or at least I thought it did.

Well, that about sums it up for now. Jabbered on for about four pages anyway, so it should tide us all over for a while again, right? Have a good one, I’ll be back!