Snail mail

Dear Jenny,

 

It’s a cold winter day here, brrrr! Two of the girls are coming home (giggle, giggle) from their sports school and I’m just sitting down to write to you. I think I started a letter to you in my head a thousand times this last year. Shame on me, it’s November, almost a year has passed. I do hope you forgive me my great neglect.

 

Last week I did buy some maps to bring some order into piles of papers. There’s a special map called Jenny now, grins. I printed out the last mails and wow! that felt good. When I have the time I can ‘read back’ and catch up. I just ordered a new birthday calendar (the girls were so bored with the old one and put it away in the cupboard, oops!) and I was thinking that you must have had your birthday without a message from me. I am truly sorry. You have written about the date and I shall find it back!

 

I do hope you are all doing fine. Are you having a more quiet time now and are both your parents doing okay? Did Scott and Andrew start their new job on those lovely wooden Christmas statues? (I spotted the box you sent us in the attic last week and it will come out soon, hurray!) And are Scott, Andrew, Emily and you in good health and happy? I sincerely hope so. From time to time I see a new picture of Emily on her Facebook page, she’s a beautiful young lady, that’s for sure.

I hope there’s time for you to relax and maybe make some stitches. I didn’t have much chance to stitch the last year but ‘ordered’ myself to do so now. It’s saving me from getting insane from time to time ... Joking, but it’s true in a way.

 

We do live in a very nice but old house. We have been working hard to get the main things done. There still is a lot to do. Finish the kitchen, ‘attack’ the master bedroom, the halls and the staircase, a shed for the bikes, to name only the big projects. We’re very lazy at the moment, we’re both too busy on the working front etc. and you can’t go on forever. And that’s why I ordered myself tomake some stitches. And that's so good! I bet you do recognize this.

 

I made the baby quilt, which was fun. Yesterday my colleague came to the crematorium to show her lovely baby daughter Valentine. I went to visit her (between the ceremonies) and even could hold Valentine in my arms for awhile. Joehoe!!! And guess what was lying as a cover in the pram? Yes, my pinwheel quilt. Daniëlle told me she loved the quilt. She did buy a big quilt for herself some time ago, during the sales. We had a chat about quilts and I was so glad to see that she REALLY loved it.

Apart from that I started on another Amish crossstitch pattern: the Blueberry Homecoming. It's the twin of the one Sofia made for me (the Raspberry Homecoming) and we decided it's time to hang this one near Sofia's one soon, grins ... Must make a new picture of it, the one I made is another one who only can be shown upside-down, it's a mystery (yes, have a laugh ;)

Your bell pull is also waiting. Plus the thimble quilt for Sofia.

But to be honest ... there's so little time and time flies! It's busy - as usual - at the crematorium and we had quite some changes there. In April our boss informed us that he had sold the crematorium and the cemeteries to the DELA (a big, big company in Holland) ... and he had done that on January 1st, 2013! The way everything (or better said nothing) was communicated didn't impress us. I bet everyone had some sleepless nights: what will happen now? I mean, in my case we just bought our house and I'm in the whole thing concerning the finances, mortgage etc... It was a 'restless' time from that day on.

We do have confidence now that things are turning out okay for us (everybody is keeping their job) and the first impressions are good (I'm so thankful for that!) Many things will change though (catering, interior, some of our tasks). Let's say we stay awake like this ;) It was a strange time, though ... Imagine: I'm wearing a kind of walkie talkie-thing now, headphone etc. Training for the FBI, don't tell anyone ... LOL

 

Well, I'm just marching on. It was an intense, tiring time (still having that tennis arm, ggrrr) but as we know: a cat always falls on her feet in the end.

I'm off to make some dinner now (tagliatelle). I'm sorry to jump from things to other things, I hope you can follow me in my silly ways. And forgive me my long intervals in writing to you.

 

 

 

Last thing: must tell you that your scarf is so lovely. Seen the weather I'm wearing it daily, thank you!!! The winter can come ...

Many Dutch hugs and waves from across the ocean for all of you, dear friend.

 

Love, Carolien

 

I hope this works better ...

Dear Jenny,

I was so glad to receive your letter, many, many thanks! You're such a sweet friend. I will be writing you back on this blog and I think you can open this blog just simple now. First I installed it as a blog 'just to read for you', but yes, you aways have to log in and maybe that's not too handy. So I opened  the gate, grins! And as long as nobody else knows about this blog, it's okay, isn't it?

I will make a start with my letter but I fear it must come in fragments. I do have (as we call it here) a tennis arm and I don't know how long I can type like this. We'll see. It will come in bits and pieces, I guess.

First of all: how sad to read about Scott's mom and the leukemia she's suffering of. I think of her in my prayers. It seems you are constantly 'moving and caring' for your beloved families for a long time now. I wish you all the strength you need in this.

On the other side: congratulations on all the anniversaries in your family! My, Emily is 18 years old now, just like our twins. From time tot time I see the girls wearing the lovely bracelets Emily made them. She's a very talented girl for sure. Does she already knows what to do after her exams? And are you having your holidays, just like us here?

We are enjoying our holidays just now. One week behind us, 2 more to go. We're having the most beautiful weather here (finally...). We just came back from a biking tour (André, Fleur, Valérie and I). We didn't see the Volendammer ladies working like this (and certainly not on Sunday!), but it's the same time of year. The hay is laying on the field, waiting to get in tomorrow. The surroundings here are great. I knew I would love it anyway, but seeing it like this, on bike in summer, makes it so lovely! It reminds me a lot of my childhood. My grandparents lived in Wageningen, not so far from here. The landscape is almost the same (the river Rhine as mean feature). I love it.

I'm glad we live here now. We don't regret ONE bit our move to Zevenaar. We're doing okay, really okay. Even the girls have settled down here nicely and enjoy it. I can't tell you how glad I am that they do like it here now.

I do feel I have to stop for now, thanks to that arm of mine. It is very frustrating not being able to lift things, make any stitches (VERY frustrating, Grumpy!!!) and help out as much as you can. Imagine: we're in the middle of a kitchen renovation. Dust is everywhere. Really everywhere. Little Jenny is sneezing from time to time and I already promised her a bath the coming week. (She sends you her love, by the way.) Mess in the house. Plenty of things to do, of course. Ahhh! I'll show you more in a next post, must take my time for that. Anyway, I guess I'm doomed to read a little now and have some more 'holiday'. Sigh. But no, we're having a good time too. We take our time but this little Busy Lizzie Always wants more.

Tonight the neighbours have invited us over for a barbecue in their garden. We really do live in such a nice and friendly neighbourhood. Our neighbours are so sweet. Tell you more about that. I really have to stop or André will get mad at me.

Big waves from over the ocean. Lots of Dutch hugs and again many, many thanks for your friendship, that means so much to me!

With love and greetings,
Carolien

It's about time to start again!

Dear, dear Jenny, after almost half a year I'm finally sitting down to write you a letter. In a bare master bedroom, on a wobbly stool behind my desk. I'm trying to start a blog that you alone can read. I have been thinking about it quite a lot. Mailing and adding pictures isn't always a friendly way in my view. The 'storytelling' of a blog is much more fun to read, I think. When I'm totally wrong, please let me know. Anyway, I tried to get it done like this and noticed you will receive an invitation to this new blog. And I haven't finished my first letter yet! Typing like hell right now. Well, just wait a second, I'm taking this laptop out.



We (it's a miracle!!!) have a nice day and I'm desperate for some sunshine. Hold on. Well, have your laugh: I couldn't see one bit on my screen outside and was even sitting in my kitchen for awhile. Talking about our kitchen: here is a picture of the same view a few weeks ago.

First of all: I hope you, Scott, Emily and Andrew are doing well. How are your parents doing, are they recovering well? I hope so! I am very, very sorry I didn't write you earlier. I feel like an 'E.T. being thing' when thinking of communication to family and friends. I stayed 'awake' a little by Facebook for André's family etc. We had some visitors the last few months in our new house, mostly from Amersfoort. I couldn't keep up with it all, to be honest. All the things together was simply too much to do. We are both working and trying to get the house a little renovated (badly needed) and comfortable and my ... this was and is quite a job! Last week we tried to tackle André's room (a little study where he can work in quiet if needed) and it's even not done yet. Old houses ... I bet you know what I'm talking about. I had a week off from work and André could manage to free himself a little from the parish work. I feel like a little wreck now and keep quiet today, because my fellow-female-colleague is going to Bali tomorrow and guess who'll be working many hours the coming week ...

When I'm traveling by train I will at least see the mill of Zevenaar. I will be thinking of you then, grins ... I do drive by car to my work a lot, actually. Saves me 2 hours/day and when the working hours are favourable, I can often take the car. Dou you want a close-up picture of the mill? Here it comes (taken much earlier in the year, as you can see):

I discovered the mill isn't used nowadays, such a pity. The mill of Babberich, a small village nearby is working though. You can buy flour etc. there. Must go there soon and take some pictures for you. There is so much to catch up with and I hope you're not mad at me due to my long, long absence. I'm so, so sorry and I promised myself to 'let things go a bit more' to keep in touch again, FINALLY, with my good friends. It's really time to do so and I missed it a lot. I hope you did too.

I'm off now to help André with his study: I painted his ugly (yukkie-ugly) dark gray drawer-thing of steel and we have to move it. It's so heavy ... but not that ugly anymore, giggle. Oh my, to have your own house renovated is quite something, sigh.

Anyway, take care, dear Jenny, have a great day and many Dutch hugs and waves from over the big pond.  (I hope everything went all right and that you read the message for this blog soon!)

With lots of love, Carolien