Week 20 Back on the Boat

 

Week 20

0500 starts - the long days are fantastic

Definitely a counting our blessings day as I'm sitting on the boat writing this. (even though it is raining!).

We stayed on board overnight on Friday in Heerenveen - mainly just to say hello to Ron and Nettie. We all went for dinner in Heerenveen and then a few card games and Bananagrams.



 On Saturday morning it was a last minute decision to go into the Turf Route and invite Ron and Nettie for the day. We had doubts about the weather and wind - but it turned out just perfect as we arrived at our destination at 1500hrs and the rain arrived at 1600hrs as predicted.






It was interesting to note in Gorredijk that there was a sign saying that "Due to the drought, there will be only 4 lock openings per day". The boat in front had been waiting for us to arrive (the lock keepers knew we were coming). This meant that we could just keep going through without having to wait - it's all in the timing! Janny and Nettie hopped off and went to buy some kibbling (cod pieces in batter) for lunch - we got them back on board after we went through the lock :-)






Our destination was the new house of Greethilda and Albert (sister and brother-in-law).

6 hours in total - usually more than enough travelling  in one day.




We then took them to have a look at the new works at our place and then  back to Heerenveen to resume their normal boating adventures on Houtrib.

We picked up our car as well - all very well organised after an enjoyable day.




This morning we took Boeke for a walk along the canal...






I woke up to find that there was a "leak" under the solar panels - or so it looked like...but it turned out to be the galley exhaust fan - with some water running down the inside of the ceiling lining - ie coming out at a totally different spot - still needs some fixing but much easier when you know what it is! I'll take the cover off before we go home and put some plastic over it - and sort it out tomorrow - we have electricity from Greethilda and Albert if I need some tools.

Around the farm

Still working on our fencing project...



...where the fence used to be - house in the background - behind all the (finally) green!




NATO exercises using (tiny) Drachten airport - for the last 2 weeks

Sometimes the helicoptors go directly over our house.

 I noticed that (deaf) Lucas "feels" them coming almost before I can hear them





My main bosmaaier (brushcutter/slasher/strimmer) is on it's last legs - almost 20 years old - I usually have to ask Tjeerd to start it for me so it becomes a mental block as much as anything else - but Janny spoilt me and bought a very strong battery model - so I'll just use the old one for the thicker brush using the blade.


The batteries are worth (cost) €500,00 EACH - so the machine "only" cost 500 - but already it is a pleasure to use - one battery lasts about 30 minutes, so I have to have a break now and then...


So, I got all the ditches done at the front (haven't been done for a couple of years) and we did the hedge - which was also missed last year.










Chop Suey


I was watching something on TV the other day and was suddenly reminded of Mum's Chop Suey recipe - from the 1960's, I guessed. So, I did a Google search and was delighted to find that other people remembered it as well - I'll probably have a go at it if I can find anything remotely like the chicken noodle soup packet...



Comments

  1. Leigh Copeland25 May 2025 at 17:15

    Mum made the chop suey almost once a week for a while. A friend offered her a recipe for chow mein - but it was the same recipe. We can get the chicken noodle soup in our local Asian grocery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Copeland&Co_Europe201026 May 2025 at 00:16

      I remember grandmas Chow mein. Mum (Dianne) also made it. Delicious and healthy.

      Delete

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