Catching my tale

It's been over two weeks since I posted my last travel blog, and again, I find it hard to accept that the time has passed so quickly. However, I do know where it's gone: for once, we've had a spell of lovely dry weather, as well as some gloriously sunny days here in the Netherlands. The consequences for me are obvious. I've been working on the boat maintenance chores needed before winter sets in.

Still, that doesn't tell you about all the other things we've been doing since we arrived back from our holiday, so here's a quick summary.

Right at the end of August, we had a visit from a very dear South African friend. I've known Bobbity (her nickname) since the early nineties after we moved to Johannesburg. She and I became close throughout the decade and I spent many a day at her out-of-town smallholding in Krugersdorp with my girls. Since I moved back to Europe, I've been back several times but haven't always managed to see her, so it was a real delight when she decided to come and see us during a visit to her son in Munich this summer. For most people, travelling from southern Germany to the Netherlands for a weekend would be quite something, but Bobbity is South African used to long distances, and for her, it wasn't a big deal. Nevertheless, I was humbled and hugely grateful she made the journey.

I met her in the beautiful city of Middelburg on the Friday, where we roamed the centre and had coffee at a lovely café. Then, we went home and shared news, walks and chats. On Saturday, we took her to Ghent (compulsory, of course), where we had lunch and a stroll through the beautiful historic centre, which we all loved. Sadly, on Sunday, she had to go, but it was worth every precious minute to see her again.

Bobbity with daughter 1, Jo, in Ghent

The castle in Ghent

The castle from the water

Just over a week later, on September the 8th, I took a drive to the charming traditional Dutch town of Willemstad (no, not the Curaçao one) to join daughter 2, Mo, for a Shanty Choir festival. In truth, it was more a chance to walk the dogs around the lovely old fortifications and have a natter, but the shanty choirs were fun and the town was thronging with people enjoying the sunny, festive afternoon. Here are a few photos I snapped on the day.

View of the moat with a fountain from the fortifications

Willemstad village viewed from the path on the fortifications

Willemstad

Festival goers enjoying the lovely weather

Heading towards the shanty choir stage

One of the many shanty choirs performing

Singers and the public mingling together

Ten days later, Koos and I had a few away days in France. On September the 18th, we drove down to the Haute-Marne where Mo has her house and spent a few gloriously hot, sunny days in this area we've come to love. We have definite ideas about spending more time in the region and also bringing the Hennie H down the canals to Joinville or Froncles, both of which have good moorings. 

We visited the villages of Laferté-sur-Aube, Bossancourt (about 10 km north west of Bar-sur-Aube) and also a few villages along the Marne, notably Villiers-sur-Marne, which has the Koos ideal of a level crossing and a canal close together. I can hardly believe what beautiful weather we had because in the interim, it was pretty wet and miserable. Anyway, we were really lucky and had a lovely time. Here are a few photos of our adventure. The first five photos are of Laferté-sur-Aube and the next, including the one of Zoe are of Bossancourt. The sunflowers were in a field on our way home.

We returned home on the 22nd and the rest of September was quiet with rainy weather to accompany the resumption of my teaching work. I am busy with some PhD students, giving them guidance on writing their theses in English. It's what I enjoy doing as I learn so much from the subjects they're studying.

However, at the beginning of October, I had to go up to Rotterdam to the dentist, which also gave me the opportunity to visit some friends and enjoy yet another beautiful day in my old home town.

Bikes galore as usual

Trams, tracks and cables are another familiar feature

Some of the remaining pre-bombardment city houses on
the Oostzeedijk

Hotel barges in one of the inner city harbours
The Wijnhaven

The end of the Wijnhaven leading into
the Leuvehaven

On my friend's barge

His adorable little dog, Bruce

Then on the 6th, Koos went off on a photo trip to Slovakia, which gave me some fun time painting walls, clearing clutter and working on the boats, in between my teaching, of course. All of this work was facilitated by having dreary weather, and I was particularly pleased with the little shoe rack I made from pieces of scrap wood we had in store.

I've since added an extra shelf because we
needed room for six pairs of shoes and slippers

While Koos was away, poor Zoe developed a huge abscess on her neck. It came up literally overnight and within 48 hours, it was the size of a tennis ball. Luckily, our vet opens on a Saturday morning, so even though I had an appointment for the Monday, I was able to rush her in and get it seen to. We started her on strong antibiotics and, thanks heavens, she responded to them well. By Monday, when I took her back for a check-up, it had reduced significantly and there was no need to drain it. Such a relief, especially as she didn't seem to be in any pain. She was just very tired from fighting the infection.

Extra drinks needed on our walk
Don't you love that tongue?

Feeling much better now, thanks Mum

With Zoe recovered I've spent my free time in the last week catching up with essential boat maintenance. Since Koos returned, the sun has come out again and it hasn't rained at all. It's been quite lovely in the harbour and we have the best view in the world. These photos below are some that I've taken in the past days when we stayed on Vereeniging so I could take advantage of the lovely days. The mornings were cold and the dew very heavy, but at least I could get the decks painted, a big achievement, although there's still lots to do—there always is. As they say here, koop een boot, werk je dood (buy a boat, work yourself to death...yes!).

But it wasn't all labour. We also took took the chance for a short spuddle on the Hennie H, which is always exhilarating on a sparkling day.

A spuddle to visit Vereeniging is always fun

Being out on the canal is a joy

I love all the canal 'furniture'

Back on the towpath the sights are just as good

And the best view is from Vereeniging herself. This
monster shop came past while I was deck painting

So, allemaal, I've finally caught up and am back in the present. It looks as if we're going to have dry days until next weekend, so you can guess where I'm going to be. Enjoy your week wherever you are and I'll be back with an update as soon as I can drag my hands away from scraping, sanding and painting.