Life is an adventure
Today we had a socially distant farewell party for a colleague. A small group of us met at her house for a bbq and I have to say it is amazing to spend some time with work people in person.
I loved the friendly banter and the uncontrolled laughter that happens when some story is coincidentally funny. I realised that is how community is formed.
The world is different this year, but hopefully we can appreciate each other a bit more.
Be kind. Stay safe
Just another manic Monday.
Be kind. Stay safe.
Today is my niece’s birthday. On the one hand I was sad what I couldn’t celebrate with her this year, or with any of my other nieces and nephew, because I’m on this side of the world due to Corona.
On the other hand I could wake up to a picture of her holding her present, and we could send voice notes and video messages back and forth on the family chat. At the risk of repeating myself: Thank God for modern technology.
The reason I’m telling you all this, however is because of how cool that present is. Her parents took note of her interests and got her a super cool kids sewing machine for her birthday. I wish I was there to check it out and maybe help her thread it the first couple of times, because on excited to share my hobby with her.
Maybe she will be the new name on fashion design. Maybe she will revolutionise the way we do things forever. Maybe she’ll develop further interests or maybe she will not, and that’s OK. Perhaps it will be a phase or maybe a life long hobby.
The important thing is to do something that makes you happy and to explore your possibilities.
In this lockdown time, I realised once again how lucky I am to have many interesting hobbies that keep me occupied, especially in the times when I don’t get to see my friends as often as I’d like. Although I’ve been sewing for many years, on and off, I still enjoy the thrill of starting and finishing a new project. I enjoy the challenges of learning new techniques, and I enjoy working with pretty and interesting materials and tools.
Be kind. Stay safe.
There was a press conference last night again, about the state of the COVID-19 infections. There has been a spike in cases in recent days, and in certain areas such as Amsterdam bars and cafés have to close early to curb infections.
Luckily the amount of hospitalised people are less, possibly because the people getting sick now are younger. But that implies that they are out and about with the chance of infecting others.
I keep a keen eye on the news developments. South Africa is opening international borders again, but I’m not yet sure if I’ll be able to go home for Christmas to see my family. I would love to, but I don’t want to place them at risk.
Be kind. Stay safe.
Today we harvested the apples from the tree in Marinus’s garden.
This bucket of apples(and a smaller overflow bucket not pictured here) is like a world of possibilities… Will it become cider? Or Dutch apple pie? Or another apple cake like the one from the Coelocanth Café? Or appelstroop, the thick caramel like substance that I encountered here for the first time?
Only time will tell!
Be kind. Stay safe.
I was floored by a mysterious illness yesterday. Not the respiratory kind, luckily, as this is the big scare at the moment, but I had the worst stomach cramps imaginable.
I cancelled my training session and my drinks with friends. Instead I tried to recover at home.
What surprised me however, is that although I was thankfully better on Thursday, I was deflated and without energy the whole of the next day. So often we take our health for granted, and don’t realise how everything is finely balanced. Mess up one thing and everything else is out of kilter.
I was also reminded of how often we don’t see the difficulties of others, especially if it’s not obviously visible, like in the case of a broken leg. It would make the world a bit more friendly if we all took that into account every now and then.
Be kind. Stay safe.
It’s half a year since we went into lockdown.
Life isn’t quite as locked to as it used to be, but it’s far different from life before Corona.
Everyone now has a favorite mask; some even have some decorative features on them like a gold trim or sequins. I have one that have a print of the South African flag.
At the checkout counter of every shop you have a selection of scented hand sanitiser for sale.
Where people gather in big groups, close together, they get looks from bystanders.
Meeting people are no longer accompanied by a handshake, but rather an awkward exchange of words or the lift of an elbow in recognition.
Economies around the world are under pressure, and whole industries have taken a knock.
My first summer in the Netherlands is definitely something different from anything I have experienced before.
Be kind. Stay safe.
After the noise of yesterday I requested permission to go into the office today. It is kind of nice to wear office clothes bike into work.
I even managed to have an in person meeting that was scheduled to be by video call, but we were both in thd office so it was nice to sit and talk.
Over lunch it was lovely to talk to colleagues and share stories about weekends and vacation plans, and looking for work clothes that fit after all the corona kilos.
Be kind. Stay safe.
Mondays are a bit of an adjustment from the weekend and sometimes a reluctant one. Today was that and more.
Not only was I dwarfed by the mountain of work that needs to get done this week, but I was also blind sided by the construction going on in tut apartment below mine.
They are changing the windows in our entire building to double sided glass, and I know our day is also coming, but I wasn’t mentally prepared for the noise and disruption this week.
Luckily modern technology has delivered to us headphones, which helps a bit to drown out the disruption.
Be kind. Stay safe
The charm about living in a different country, is there is lots to explore. The charm about the country like the Netherlands, is that everything is relatively close by!
So, after an easy Sunday morning start, we headed out to Dordrecht for some sightseeing and general touristing.
I am not entirely sure what I expected from the city, but I was sort of surprised anyway!
Part of the charm is the fact that even though its such an old city (apparently the oldest in the Netherlands) its still a living city and people are going about their lives. At the harbour a bunch of kids were playing in the water, and we were lucky enough to witness how an excited young boy pulled a bike out of the canal, and one without lock at that!
Be kind. Stay safe.
mcharlottesmith 