Week 22 Pottering

 

Week 22

Ben came home from Mexico...and this week he is in Barcelona...

Granddaughter Madeline is in London with a girlfriend, on their way to here...

Last time was 2010, as a 3 year old (nearly 4). It was also at the same time of the year - ye Olde Village Fair Week - so we have to work around that for a few things - including Janny being in a local Stage Show Production

It's also a long weekend here - and a long wait for the real footy this week :-)...

...and it's wet - just as well we did the mowing.

Finishing of the boat...

...The paint is the right number (Koopmans 234 Antique Wit), but it's not really matching - maybe the existing paint has weathered a bit? Or, maybe it's a different brand... I'm planning a (probably final) paint job in September. Thinking of selling the boat...but as usual, not quite yet :-). Still enjoying it too much and not wanting to "give in".

I found a beaut anti-rust product that removes the yellow rust stains in 15 minutes - with a warning not to leave it on any longer than that - and then wash it off.

From nu.nl (Buying a house in the Netherlands getting more difficult)

The desire of young people to buy a house fell last year for the first time in a decade. In 2024, 52 percent of young people between the ages of 25 and 34 wanted to buy their own home, while in a previous survey this was still 58 percent. It is the first decline since 2012.


This is reported by Rabobank , which suspects that this is because many young people have simply given up hope. They often have incomes that make buying a house hardly a realistic option.


For example, the bank reports that in 2023, only one in three homes sold could be paid for with an average income. In 2011, this was still two in three.


Young couples in particular with a joint income of less than twice the modal income (89,000 euros gross per year) are giving up. "People tailor their housing needs to the possibilities they think they have," explains Rabobank economist Carola de Groot.


"Due to the rapid house price increases and the tight housing market, it is conceivable that home seekers no longer expect that buying a home is a possibility. And ultimately, they abandon their desire to buy."

Around the farm

New starter motor required for the tractor

Again, first a photo of the wiring...

New one surprisingly easy to fit - even though the connectors were indeed different.

The tool buggy... (without welding)

Boat Photos, et al

On Friday morning we went for a cuppa with Ron and Nettie in Gorredijk. They had met a Canadian couple (Ken & Donna) a few years before - we had also met them for about 5 minutes 3 years ago - and we all caught up again...which is nice. They sold up their property in Canada and are now building a house in Mexico - with cooling and humidifying insulation problems to solve - compared to our heating/energy problems.

It was almost by accident that they stumbled on "boating in the Netherlands". Donna said she was scared stiff when they first bought their boat...and now they just love it. (It looks like the boat was bought at Smelne Cruisers - in Drachten - an Otter Kruiser @ 10 metres

Then we did some mowing and headed off to the "holiday house" for Friday evening...totally relaxing - with nothing to do (says Boeke)

I've written before that there used to be a tram service from Gorredijk to Oosterwolde - closed down in 1947 iirc. ( I just looked it up - there was much greater coverage than I had imagined).

And it was steam powered! The old video (below)is narrated in Dutch. Not sure how videos work in this setting?

trambrêge = Frisian for tram bridge.

Thick Black lines = tram

Some photos by Greethilda...