under construction II

as i promised, the workers take that great hive out of it's "cave". it is a huge hive, and as we did a bit of research, hornets build hives with up to 12 levels. they also spread toward the sides, if the place allows it. in that regard, it is just a normal sized hornets hive. amazing to see and once more we enjoy the beauty of nature up close. the nest is for the moment being in the garage, and of course the kids are showing it to their friends. and i think, what a wonderful thing it is to share this little bit of nature with all the people coming and going at our house.

and then there is the painter. up there on the scafolding sanding and working hard. all this in the heat of over 80F. we are still not used to such heat and especially not if the humidity is high too. but the past two days were like that and i served water and ice creme to the workers, to keep them happy and working.
it is better today, much better, but the air cooled down because of the rain. yup rain, and that is what really is not needed and not wanted at all for this kind of work...

under construction I

there is a lot going on on our roof these days. more tha half of the roof shingles are taken down so far and insulation is being mounted. the old windows are taken out and will be replaced with new ones. we were expecting to find badly damaged wood beams, so far so good. the finds were better than we could hope for.

 this hornets nest is 2/3s of a yard in diameter. you can't really appreciate it, as i had to take the photo on the roof, through a little gap in the "under roof". we might be able to take it out later, when the eastern part of the roof is taken down. if this is so, i will show you a picture to see it in comparison.

and then lots and lots of wasp nests. they all were abandond (likely because of the hornets). it takes my breath away to see how those little animals make their house. such wonderful construction and perfectly hidden from any predetors...

scrubbing and enjoying it

 it has become part of my "end of summer" things to do. scrubbing the pool. we really enjoyed it all summer long. from the day we set it up in mid june until we came back from holland. lots of people enjoyed a swim or splash now and then. one house mate has been in the water almost every day, with some exceptions, when it stormed, rained or we had lightning and thunder...
it has served us well. not me really, as i'm absolutely no water person, i have not jumped in once. but i also don't mind it too much, to do just the cleaning. it is a couple hours of scrubbing and yes it is kind of hard labor, but it is also fun and this year, joel, thea and amos helped a lot. the weather also was perfect for clean up. i could plan the work well and work on it over the course of three days, which really made it easy and doable without having to work to long at once.

with the pool being packed up and put into storage in our garage, officially summer is done. but you know what, summer is still here. i love it and savor every moment of it very much!

work goes on, right now i'm in the coffee brewing business as we have a hand full of guys working on the roof. rather say, taking down the roof, taking out the roof windows and replacing beams. insulating it all and within the coming 10 days, we should have new tiles up there, keeping the rain out.

the week :: through the lens

it has been on the back burner, i have not been taking a lot of photos for a while now, and that should change. so i put the "hand made" lens back on the camera body and got started this week. it touched me in a special way, as i wander and have the camera ready be it in the kitchen, or living room table... this enables me to see with new eyes and i like it. we will see if it sticks, it is a start to a new friday review of what caught my eye. there is to be said, that i was inspired by erin boyle and her blog "reading my tea leaves". she does a wonderful job and it is so inspirational to have a look at her photos...

:: 1. a healthy snack, this one still taken on the boat from last week

:: 2. and this one also from last week, i like the matching color of the collar...

:: 3. and here is the finished fairy dust cardigan

:: 4. the first signs of a cooler time are showing up

:: 5. the scaffolding is built up around our house, we get a new roof...

bare feet

summer is in it's last swing, the nights are already cool again. still i love to run around bare fee, short skirts and sleeveless tops, though some cardigans are already coming out again. it has been a warm and wonderful time. i really enjoyed the past weeks and feel strengthened and rejuvenated after week we spent in friesland as a family. lots of rest and do nothing. time to read and forget all the tasks, the lists and chores for a moment. though i'm also glad to be back home. standing in the middle of life and back in the middle of all the people and relationships which make me so rich.
it has been a smooth transition and the community life is treating me well. living in a big household, i learned again, is a wonderful thing. baking bread, cooking and organizing a household of 13 people is exciting. i'm glad to have this passion of mine discovered again. it was put on the back burner and i have it experienced more as a big chore than anything else over the past 7 months. school has taken up a lot of time and of course the household has to be run. often i realize now, i just skipped chores and then it caught up with me and swamped me the next day or coming week. but having just two school days until mid october and teaching just one course this semester a class of 4th graders every second week for 3h seems much more managable.

yup, i'm here and i stand firm. loving life and embracing all of it, with the daily dose of still and contemplation, with the reading of God's word and the disciplin to look after myself.

fairy dust

the first fairy dust cardigan has been so delightful to knit. quick as the baby is to be born soon... her mama has been ready for a couple weeks already, but she seems to take her time and is in no hurry. fine with me, as i had no rush and could enjoy every stitch of it.
i had planned this little project to get underway by mid july, but could just not cast on until we were settled on the boat last week.
i was a bit nervouse, but it worked all out. by now, the not yet arrived little one even has a name. we are all so excited and can hardly wait to welcome her in our neighborhood.

anyway, we are back home, the buttons are sewn on and all the threads taken care of. i like the look and am especially fond of the baby alpaca which i added on the bottom and the end of the sleeves. i know the baby will like it and chew it all up. and that is exactly what it is for, to love this little cardigan and be worn out until it's gone.

there has been a second one on my needles, while on the boat. a soft pink one, in the size for a one year old. and no i don't have anyone girl in my mind to give it to, but certainly there will be one when ever the buttons are added and i'm in the mood to cast on the next...

friesland on the boat II

a little stroll now and then, finding groceries and just walking a bit on solid ground was a welcome change for all of us. of course this ment finding a spot to tie the boat. this finding game was fun, and i have to say, elias has gotten realy good at pulling in and out of all kinds of narrow spots...

biking along the channals was fun too, now and then amos hopped on the bike, naomi too and once i had to gove that little wheeled bike a trie, it is fun and peddaling is fast whith such small wheels...
not just under bridges, but over high ways are those wather ways in friesland. mighty via ducts, this is a special idea, cruising over a high way with a boat...

wild life was enjoyed, lots of birds, not just gulls. many herons and ducks, cormorants and of course we tried the fishing thing. it was interesting, as the first time elias cast the rod he cought a fish and then for the coming 4 days there was nothing, but really nothing on the hook, once thea and amos tried it and also caught a fish (the same species). well and we almost gave up, but didn't. every day the fishing was on the program and so on the second to last day elias caught two more fish. all of them were quickly released again.
the most avid reader of us was not me or joel, nope, amos read to two consequetive books... (the expanse: cibola burn and nemesis games) he was very much enjoying the reading of them back to back and just diving up, into his own world.

playing was somewhat unending, every night the teenagers played and played, played on, way beyond my bedtime.... no one ever complained about not having no access to the interwebs. that is definitely one of the best things happening to me this week.

friesland on the boat I

traveling to holland, more precise to friesland by train was the first challenge. the swiss rail way system almost failed us... but it didn't, as the conducter of the 11 o'clock train from basel to köln took petty on us, knocking on the door of her train, she opened it up again, even 5 minutes after it should have left the station in basel! and we gladly hopped on. other wise we would have stayed for the first night of our vacation at the train station in basel, unplanned and unwanted...

arriving in sneek and taking the long walk to the warf where we could check in on the boat was not all without grumbling. but we quickly forgot all the hard work to arrive on the boat and call it ours for 6 days. a wonderful moment to just be and take it all in. elias and joel got a 2h instruction on all of it and off we went. all seemed a bit out of my regular world and a new knitting project in hand... the fairy dust

spectacular landscapes. it is all flat, just plain flat and green! so new to me, so much sky to see and growing up in switzerland, having lived 12 years in the new england area, it is just so very different. and i could not get enough, the fastness of it all, the green pastures, the sheep and cows, the channels and just all of it. so special to me. all the bridges, under and over high ways...
especially that slauerhoffbrug outside leeuwaurden.

and impressive windmills, not just historic ones, but many modern electricity generating wind turbines belong to the landscape of friesland.

the evenings with such fast horizons were fantastic. the weather was still warm enough, so we enjoyed many hours on deck, reading, playing and just enjoying. moments of still and dusk covering me with beauty and awe.

the week :: through the lens

it has been on the back burner, i have not been taking a lot of photos for a while now, and that should change. so i put the "hand made" lens back on the camera body and got started this week. it touched me in a special way, as i wander and have the camera ready be it in the kitchen, or living room table... this enables me to see with new eyes and i like it. we will see if it sticks, it is a start to a new friday review of what caught my eye. there is to be said, that i was inspired by erin boyle and her blog "reading my tea leaves". she does a wonderful job and it is so inspirational to have a look at her photos...

:: 1. those little chicks are growing fast

:: 2. what a wonderful place to take an afternoon nap

:: 3. the low tech VR Cardboard v2 googles

:: 4. lovely cherry tomato crop, it's pretty and super yummy to

:: 5. this week was all about cooking for 47 international women and children, together with my ma