Back to work on Monday after an exhausting IKEA weekend: long trip to the mainland on Saturday, then six hours shuffling round the blue and yellow megabox, sustained only by Swedish meatballs and a family-size bag of Daims; Sunday busy with the allen keys, baffled by pictogram instructions simplified for our 23-language community.
What did [...]
Pre-dawn awakening to the sounds of baby Sam, our attic bedroom muted grey from the snow-covered skylights. From the panoramic kitchen windows downstairs, we enjoyed the views of virginal roads and footpaths. It was another hour before another soul stirred outside and spoiled the pristine effect. Another hour before the sun rose.
Went sledding with H-girl, [...]
Our plan last night was to put up shelves in our wardrobe and further reduce the chaos of our living conditions, which seems to involve shifting boxes from one room to another, until it becomes unmanageable, then redistributing the boxes to other rooms. Every few days we generate enough garbage to fill the bus and [...]
In 2009 we have lived in five different short-term rentals, beginning in Dakar and ending on a small Dutch island in the North Sea. Each time we never fully unpacked our bags, and the kids got used to surviving with a Nintendo DS rather than setting out their Lego cities and Playmobile schools. I hope [...]
After living in sprawling, overcrowded capitals for most of my adult life, I am thoroughly enjoying life on a small island in the North Sea, living in a converted barn outside a village of 1300 souls. Or to be precise, 650 souls from the Dutch Reformed Church and 650 souls from the Restored Reformed Church.
They [...]
Say what?!