A house and a home

Familiar roads
familiar places
breathing in deep
wide open spaces
the views quite stunning
the smells pure delight
back home
back in Kessel
freedom in all it's might

Good morning my friends

Its been a while, i know cause i was kinda busy with so much organizing and planning and moving and most of all enjoying !!

Last monday i got my key, well 5 keys actually to my house and they fit on all the locks.
After inspection i now had the idea what i needed and started planning how to get it here.

My house is small but spacey, there are several videos on my facebook page in case you have not seen them yet. One bedroom downstairs with a sliding door to the bathroom, also access to the bathroom from the living room.
Small kitchen but totally cute, i love my living room with a big window and a door to enter the back yard which is filled with pebbles, how appropriate. I learned that the side of the house, that part of the garden is also included so i can start gardening, have it all in my head but for some parts i need to wait.
Upstairs is the attic and one bedroom, i still need a bed for it so the girls can come for sleep overs and i am going to put a table or desk there so i can paint etc.
I learned from my neighbor Nelly that renovation next year will include painting the outside walls white so the climbing plants like roses and clematis have to wait.
New roof, new windows, double glass and a new bathroom also are planned, i think i will go to Bulgaria for a while then hehe.

Monday afternoon i got my first things that were given to me, all for free, hurrah for friends.
Brigit and Sabien dropped off an almost brand new washer, with cool lights and it plays music when its done, i love it. They also brought a microwave en an oven....oh and coffee since i didn't have a coffee maker or even didn't know if i had water yet.
I didn't have to worry about that after all, everything taken care of and after they left, i received my modem and tv box and set up...i was online.

TV was set up on wednesday  since i had to wait for the tv to arrive, i love it !!

Tuesday, my brother and his friend came with me to fetch some furniture, tv cabinet, bed room wardrobe,two leather chairs, big coffee table en pots, pans, silverware, lamps, more cabinets, vacuum cleaner, i am so blessed to get all this.
Wednesday they went back to to get the big cabinet, i couldn't resist and it looks awesome.
They also brought the fridge and the stove but since then i decided that i don't feel save using this stove, its from 2004 and does not have the safety that is common now.
I ordered a new one, stove works on natural gas (it comes through a pipe into the house,no tank or so) and the oven works on electricity which is brilliant for baking. They will install it on tuesday and take the old one with them for free. Normally you need to pay a fee for disposal of electric appliances and you need to take them to a special place that does recycling.

After setting up the wardrobe which cost me a bruised and slightly skinned hand and my brother an decent bump on his head we placed the temp bed in the bedroom and that was it.
My big bed will come next week, i had to rearrange a few times of course, that's what women do and now its no longer a house, its home !!

I love the peace and quiet, hardly any traffic, not hearing cars all the time, no sirens of police cars or ambulances, no sounds of shooting, what more can you ask for.

I make daily bike trips, walks, cemetery where my parents are and some of Martin's ashes is only a five minute walk, same for food store.
Weather has been awesome, a bit cooler these last days about 64 but of course i have central heating, next week will be warmer like mid seventies.

A lot of other things happened besides the move, last night the documentary i was in with 7 other people telling about corona and how it affects our lives and my home town was aired on regional tv and tonight it will be shown on national tv. I already received many compliments about it and about my contribution, i think it's extremely good and i don't say that because i am in. Now the link to it also is on my facebook but..its in Limburgs, subtitles are in Dutch so y'all wont be able to understand i am afraid.

Also yesterday i was asked to be a host for radio, the request show on sunday, two hours from 11 till 1 starts again on may 31 and they have a vacancy so i said yes, gladly, i missed making radio so much over all the last 12 years. Funny but my last show was on may 25 2008.

Also the tourist store that i will volunteer for opens again coming wednesday afternoon, only 2,5 hours to start with so as you can see, i wont have time to be bored at all, as if i ever am.

So my next blog will mainly be about how that all went and such, i love writing !!

Stay safe, Mariet

 PS adding some pics from my house and a drawing that i received from a friend and that i cherish totally...

The original pic was taken Thanksgiving 2008 outside the house of Ricky and Memaw by Brittany

my bathroom

my kitchen

view from kitchen into living room

and vice versa

living room

living room

Almost on my own..

The moonlight softens
Her wrinkled face
I watch her 
Hidden in the grass
Admire her grace
She dances on music
That I can't hear
She swirls around
Like a young maiden
Lifts her head
A Laugh, pure joy
And while the stars are fading
I watch her disappear
Into the morning mist
I will have to come back tomorrow night
She is me
In a hundred years
So how can I....
Resist

Good morning my dear friends

It's still early, monday morning and May 4.
For most of this world that means, May the forth (force) be with you but for my country it means, remembering all the people that died in world war 2 all over the world.
Military but also alot of civilians, in camps, bombings, executed, mines, starvation.
Normally the King will lay flowers at the national monument in Amsterdam across from the royal Palace with people gathered around it. Tonight he will have to do it also but with no public.
I was blessed to be present as a guest one year, the ceremony in the church and outside was very impressive and it made me humble and thankful for all those that gave their life so i can live this life.

Tomorrow is May 5th when we celebrated the end of the war on may 5 1945 when the allies liberated Holland after being occupied for 5 years.

It's been a busy time since last blog but i got so much done.
This coming wednesday i will hear from the company that rents out our houses here when i will get my key, hopefully i won't have to wait till june 1. It all depends on how much needs to be done in the house.
I had a meeting with the family of the lady that passed away, she lived there, died march 24 from corona at the age of 96.
I know her daughters from way back, we agreed on everything i could take, beautiful floors, curtains. They will leave couch and chairs, also dining table and 4 chairs, all oak. They will leave all light fixtures, ceiling and walls, several little cabinets that i like, dishwasher and a almost brand new cooker/stove hood for above the stove.

The house is perfect for me in every way.
I will have a decent size living room. Kitchen is separate and has door but they took it out and i will keep it that way. Kitchen would be big enough to put in a table and chair but i rather spend that space to something else. Kitchen has a window, living room a big window and a door to go outside into the backyard.
My downstairs bedroom has one window, is not super big but a queen size bed and a wardrobe should fit nicely. No walk in closet there.
From the living room and from the bed room i can step into the bathroom with shower and toilet. When i go from the living room, there is a little corridor with space under that stairs with shelves to store things like groceries but also for instance a vacuum cleaner
When coming in through the front door there is a little hallway with a room to put a washer etc. Also there is room to stall my bike.

Then there are stairs leading up to the attic which contains two spaces, a second bedroom which is spacey, if not for the stairs, i would sleep there but my knees aren't always willing. Then there is enough space to store things with a big wardrobe for clothes.
Outside the back yard isn't big, mainly covered with pebbles, how appropriate (for those who wonder, my nickname in chat when i met Martin was pebble) and a little terrace. On the side there is also a garden that i want to make a little prettier, i am thinking roses, lavender and hosta's but probably that will be a project for next spring.

about ten of these houses, especially for seniors, are gathered in a circle, just around the corner from my brother Martin, 5 minutes walk to the local foodstore and also 5 minutes from the center of town and the river...i love it.

Next step was furniture and appliances, since i don't have that much to spend, my social security here might take till june/july to start being paid, i put a shout out on facebook and i was blown away by responses, within 24 hours i had everything i needed.

An old friend offered, his father going to a facility and the family was clearing out the house so we already picked up a stove with oven, both on gas, a fridge with a separate freezer unit, iron board with iron, cooking and baking stuff and all kinds of kitchen utensils, a beautiful big pan that i already used this weekend to make split pea soup.

Then i got offered a washer and microwave from another friend.

I also visited a cousin, her inlaws were selling the apartment and oh boy did they have beautiful stuff. From there i will get a wardrobe for my bedroom, coffee table and two leather chairs to relax in, also all the silverware, glasses, more cooking pans and pots, a big mirror for my hallway, too much to mention, needs to be picked up by june 1 which i hope by then i will have my keys for sure.

I got more offers, earth ware, porcelain, i am  so grateful for all these people that share.

My best friend's son will get a new box spring, i can pick up the old one which old is not really true, maybe a few years in it.

The weather these last days made me stay in alot, no biking, it's cold and saturday we had hail. Yesterday the wind was blowing much less so i took a walk to get some groceries, i can ask my brother and the car but i love the outside here, everything is so green.

Today should be the start to warmer and better weather but its very clouded outside and rained very early this morning so i might not get that bike ride i wanted to do today, maybe this afternoon.

My brother is back to work today after being off for a week, we have so much fun together, i haven't laughed this loud in ages. He has this weird humor that i like, i will miss that when i am back on my own but he promised me that he will come to dinner at least once a week.
This house, his house, takes me back to so many memories, we moved here when i was 12 and i left here when i was 21 and getting married. I spent my teenager years in here, little bedroom upstairs, my folks spirits are still here, i am listening for my father's voice and the smell of fresh apple pie from my mother's kitchen

Life is treating me kind, people care and help in anyway they can, i am blessed...

Love, Mariet

Getting used to....

In a circle
No beginning
No end
I reach out
And let you in
No wasted time to spend
Like there is no tomorrow
And yesterday
Was in another life
A long time ago
Today's happiness
Today's tenderness
Love
Is all I want
That I know

Good afternoon my dear friends

Its been three weeks today that i arrived, finally, in my beloved Kessel and in these three weeks i got busy but also i had loads of time to reflect, on my walks, bike rides or just sitting in the couch, talking to Paul and laughing...

I am still not completely in my rythm, some days, i wake at 7 like today, some days i sleep in till 1030 like yesterday morning while i go to bed at the same time, way too late because i so enjoy watching tv together, not alone and talking, weird humor that we both have.

Some of the things needed are done, i finally since last thursday, am registered to be living here, also i got my code and my tax info much needed to be eligible for a house. That's all be sent so i am waiting to hear from them, tomorrow of course hopefully, all the houses available i love so i would say yes to each of them. They all have 2 bed, one bath, one has a balcony, the others a little garden which i prefer but still and all of them i can afford. 
I also have my health insurance taken care of, apart from att's which it seems they didn't get that i don't need it anymore so they sent me a bill, yeah right, good luck on that. I am going to have to call them, tomorrow to get the straightened.
My social security here, i also have to call about, couldn't get it done online for some vague reason but at least there is progress.

I so much enjoy walking, biking, just be outside in nature, i so missed it. Last week i crossed the river to make some video's from the other side, everything can be found on facebook.

Friday was my sister Ine's birthday, i was there for a bit, outside in the sun, no hugs and kisses but a present and i brought company. A journalist from a Dutch paper wanted to interview me and since it couldn't be done where i live now, Ine offered. The story will be in the papers later this year, its about me, Kessel, Corona and how to deal with things.
Coming week i will have a meeting with someone else, they want to do a documentary about Kessel and Corona and i was asked to participate and read a poem, who can say no to that.

I bought a smart tv already, using it in my bedroom now, i hope to hear about a house in the coming weeks and then i will get what i need like a bed, i don't want to sleep the rest of my life in a single bed like now. I have a table and chairs for in and outside, a coffee table, a beautiful cabinet for the living room, three cabinets on the way and i have a sort of lazy chair. I will have to get a couch, something for the kitchen, depending on size of that kitchen and then of course alot of smaller things which are partly on the way over the ocean also.

What i also got is pots and seeds and herbs, growing chives, parsley, oregano, rosemary and several sorts of mint to make fresh tea. Basket with wild flower seeds, it all looks so beautiful.

Its again gorgeous today, this morning it was grey and misty but now the sun shines and its mid 70ties i guess. I walked to the river this morning to pick some pebbles, i bought paint and brushes and will start painting again soon, ladybugs mainly to start with, its been so long since i haven done that.

In my home town corona seems to be slowing down, we haven't heard of anyone dying now for several days so hopefully it goes into the right direction. I still see everyone from a distance, i wont take any risk at all. I just enjoy going out, to the store like this morning cause after all we have to eat,
On the stove is a big pan of homemade tomato soup simmering, it just needs to cook a bit more, than i will ad cream and meatballs and we will have a gorgeous meal tonight. I totally enjoy cooking all my old favorites with all the right ingredients for a change.
I am walking away from trying to eat everything i love, there is no limit in time, i am not leaving again so there is plenty of time to re enjoy.

So what did you miss, i hear you all think. Well, there are a few things like Dutch snacks but i am mainly now on liverwurst, black pudding, headcheese, pickled and raw herring, all those things i couldn't get for so long.

This morning i picked flowers, coming back from the river and now they are in a little vase, you dont see them in Florida but they so belong to this time of year, like Lily of the valley also. These flowers are called sering, they come on purple and white and they have this awesome smell. In English, its called Lilac

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringa

Have a wonderful week and stay safe...

Mariet