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Snow day followup
Before we left, we checked the weather forecasts. No big storms, no freezes so we decided to not shut off the water while we were on our cruise.
So imagine our surprise, while we are in the hot tub, to get an alert with this picture from our doorbell camera:
…….. and for forecasts about frozen pipes etc. Fortunately, we were in contact with Stacy, and she will check our house as soon as weather and traffic conditions permit. And shut off the water if there is a leak.
Guess we better never trust weather forecasts again…. We just survived the last big freeze and had to fix some major leaks. Hopefully our house survives this freeze with no damage
Tanya and Shane’s visit
Tanya and Shane live on their sailboat, currently in the BVI (or vicinity). They came back to Texas for a visit with family, friends and doctors. They stayed at our house for 6 days. We had a great visit, but didn’t do much worthy of a blog post – but it was great for the family.
We did go for a walk, and Shane got to try out his new 360 camera (on the stick poking up in the picture). Some interesting imagery that way! Romola, Tanya, Stacy and I went to a very interesting concert. They played the movie “Home Alone” in the Myerson, with the Symphony Orchestra playing the music soundtrack. Most interesting!
We were sad to see them go but know they were looking forward to their visit with Mary, Shane’s mother. Then they had a long trip back to their boat.
Vancouver, BC
First, thanks to Jack and Cindy, they have been great hosts. First at their “cottage” on the Sunshine Coast, then at their home. They made our family visit fun. And not to forget Jude, their wonder dog..
And talk about food… first at the Cactus Cafe with their superb lettuce wraps, then Joey’s Shipyard for steaks and an amazing view of Seattle.
On a sad note, we had been planning this visit for several years. My sister in law Wilma has been ill for some time and we really wanted to visit. We made to the Canadian border in 2020 and 2021, but we’re unable to cross the border due to COVID. And cancer took her away last February so we never had a chance to visit with her. But we were please to see the rest of our family this trip.
Now we’re in the airport, sad to leave but glad to be going home. Until our next adventure….
Victoria, BC
Our cruise was enjoyable, just 4 days of relaxing and of course eating. The ship has a passenger capacity of 1,900 but actual count was about 1,000 so no lines to worry about. There were no big production shows but there were some very good music performances to enjoy. Good weather and calm Seas didn’t hurt either.
We met up with my brother Anton and wife Ita, sister Anne with husband Dick, niece Cat, and nephew Louis in Victoria and had a nice visit. A good time to rehash some old family memories.
Holland, last day
Our family is quite large and spread around the globe. Makes keeping up with many of them difficult, to say the least. In my early teens we lived in Holland, and we were fairly close to the Bolhuis family. This was my aunt Tine (my mother’s sister), uncle Jans, and daughters Hilda, Anneke, Ina and Aukje. Of these, Anneke lives fairly close to where we were staying and she invited us to their house for lunch.
And what a lunch. She made a real Dutch lunch, including Dutch vegetable soup, raisin rolls, krokets, smoked meat, cheese and more. She also gave me some very old family pictures to add to my collection. And yummy fattening things to take home with us.
My brother Chris was born in 1933 and died in 1987. Here are some baby pictures from then.
Left picture: my Mom, her brother Wietze, my Oma, her sister Tine and her brother Jan. Picture taken in Holland in the 1920s. My dad died suddenly when visiting Jan.
Right picture: my Dad, my Mom, uncle Jitse and aunt Remy. They lived in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. Picture probably taken in the 1950s.
My sister Inge, Mom, myself, Oma, Jans and Tina. Probably taken around 1957 at my Oma’s house in Ten Post.
Holland, day 4
Sundays is usually quiet in Holland, today no exception. But we had another beautiful sunny day. Met Miriam and Els on a farm/bakery/restaurant called “Vroeg” (Dutch for early) for brunch and a lot of tales about our family history. Making new memories and reliving old ones.
The rest of the afternoon was just relaxing, and tonight we’re looking forward to fast food Dutch fish and chips. They are really 👍 . Our favorite place is called “Manneke Pis”, after the Belgian statue. They have some of the best French fries!
I mentioned our Hampton hotel room is small, but it is perfectly located, actually inside an upscale shopping mall. It has an unusual shape, kind of all rounded edges and different color windows. It is right adjacent to the main station for train, tram and bus service.
I have been increasingly nervous about our upcoming COVID test. If you don’t pass the test one day before flying, you don’t go. That would really be a problem for us as we have to be back home this week. Holland is a crowded place, and now almost totally mask free. It is impossible to avoid others, even just walking down the street.
We brought two home COVID tests with us, and it was a real relief that we were both negative. Makes us feel much better about going for our “real” test tomorrow!
Holland, day 3
This was mostly a family day. Jaap, Els and us started by going to a “rommelmart”, Dutch for flea market. This was in a small town named Benschop, their mart is famous for having household items. Not much for us, but Els found some things for her son.
We then had lunch at a very nice restaurant located on the river Lek. I had one of my favorite sandwiches as a kid in Holland called “uitsmijter”, this was my first one in about 60 years!
Later that afternoon we went to Hans’s new house, met up with the whole family for a take out Indonesian dinner. Sure, good food again, but mostly just good family time.
Holland, days 1 and 2
Our 15 hr. travel day from Dallas to Utrecht was quite uneventful, except for for a mad dash in Heathrow. Got to the Hampton in Utrecht and checked into the smallest hotel room ever. But it’s got a good shower and bed.
Met brother-in-law Jaap and niece Els for a wonderful dinner. A new concept, a high end kitchen serving small gourmet dishes. Fixed price for as many as you can eat. Only limit was that you could order only two at a time. I recommend it, try http://www.deutrechter.nl for full info. Then to bed with a time zone interrupted sleep.
Got up this morning and a short walk on the market. Yes, cheese, fish, and street food a plenty. But didn’t eat much, still absorbing last night’s meal.
Took Els’s advice and visited the University of Utrecht’s Botanical Gardens (she works at the university). Site of an old army fort that is now preserved as part of the garden. The walk to the top, maybe only two stories high, did give a good view. Probably one of the few times we got above sea level 😀.
Back to the hotel with some fast food to tide us over until dinner. Transportation is so quick, easy and cheap in Holland….. no car needed. A relaxing dinner is planned tonight, then on to more family fun tomorrow.
New boat; Ft. Lauderdale
Tanya and Shane have been sailing for years and decided they wanted to buy a sailboat and go on the water full time. About the time we were looking for a house, they found the boat of their dreams, a Leopard 45 Sailing Catamaran. They are popular, and not easy to find, so they bought it. Located in Fort Lauderdale, it meant frequent trips from DFW to FLL to outfit their new home on the water.
That worked well for us, since they had to get rid of everything in their house. An estate auction was set up, but we had a chance to buy some of the items we were interested in before the auction. So if Tanya and Shane come and stay here, they will feel right at home!
So Stacy is settled in her house, we in ours, and Tanya and Shane about to hit the briny deep. It made sense to spend Christmas vacation together on their boat. So Stacy, Romola and I flew to FLL where Shane picked us up.
Staying in their boat worked well. It is a 3 bedroom/3 bath boat, so there was room for all of us. So we all got together and admired their new home, and even did a day sail in Miami Bay.
Utrecht, Holland
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