This Week In Wijnjewoude 2025

  Week 38  ...ok, only Autumn, but winter enough... Last Sunday, we drove down to Zwolle to meet Ben - he was there for a mate's 30th. It was 13 years ago that Ben left home (age 17) to live in Zwolle and attend University.  Zwolle really is a nice city - it was good to see a bit more of it. As luck would have it, we had brunch at Bennies... (Horrors, luckily Ben never got got Benny). Ben had picked up a hire bike from the train station - simply by inserting his travel card - as one does for other public transport. Water Sports In the Netherlands, a country rich in water, water recreation is a popular leisure activity. The 2024 Water Sports Survey shows that almost a third of the Dutch population aged 18 and older, or approximately 4.6 million people, participated in one or more water sports activities in the Netherlands in 2024.   About 55 % of people interviewed stayed in "familiar territory" 32% found that Friesland was the most attractive 87% thought that the nat...

Week 37 Didn't do much this week  - there goes my theory about being an "active 75 year old". I've been hoping that my work around here is enough - especially as I enjoy it so much... We have kids this weekend and my usual two hopped in and did some cleaning up and ONE fence pole - before it started raining! One of the boys has ended up at a "practical" school, after some deliberation. It turns out that he just loves it - so hopefully he is on the right path. During the week... About a metre deep... Tassie the cat helped me with my bookkeeping... With winter coming on a few things have to be organised...painting the boat is probably the biggest job - I've allowed two weeks "in the shed" in October.  photo from a previous time... Paint, brushes, rollers, trays, filler, scrapers, rust treatment, sanders, masking tape. I'm planning 3 days at the start of the first week with Tjeerd (topside first) and then me alone for 3 days - maybe sleeping i...

  Week 36 We just slotted back into working with the clients - 17 years now with 3 of them. Ankie is on holidays for another week so Janny has to do the main work, with me relieving occasionally. Happily, it still doesn't feel like "work". We had some delightful time on the boat this year, but Winter seems to be coming in a rush as we had the chimney sweep in last week and the first log fire for the clients "just to get the chill off" in the morning. Red sky in the morning... On Monday, Tjeerd and I did a bit more fencing...might take another month at this rate. Rudy came to help and took a couple of photos. Unfortunately, he can't do much anymore, but he has a wealth of knowledge that he can pass on to Tjeerd - welding, plumbing, electrical, furniture making, door and window framing, (old) car repairs - good practical instincts about just about everything! And Tjeerd is a keen learner - so it is a good combination and they get on well together. At this time...