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I had it all planned out. As soon as I would have a day off (like today), I would write a post regaling you with what is happening in my life. But wouldn't you know it: nothing much is happening right now. I am still working a couple of days a week and yesterday was another scare about missing the ferry and such (made it with 3 minutes to spare, big sigh), but other than that: not much. 

You don't want to know about my laundry, or the yarn which seems to multiply whenever I look at it. So I tend not to look at it too much. Unpacking will be such a joy, especially if I get help. There is yarn in this microwave, why? And there is yarn in this box as well, why? Basically, I stuff it every which way to get rid of it. 

Other than that, it is cold here in Northern Ireland. Not Norway cold, but still, gloves, scarf and hat cold. And that is all the news I have. Wow, finally some time to write and nothing to write about. That's life I guess...

The old news

The view from the attic room where I will be residing

For those of you who are not in my email list and are therefore wondering what on earth is happening: another move? What?? Well, yes. There is going to be another move. And pretty soon as well for that matter. 

This time the move will be back home. Back to the Netherlands. Back to Mum and Dad. Literally. Yes, I will be moving back in with my parents until I can find a place of my own. The Netherlands have their own rules about renting. Where in Norway most of it is done privately and here in Northern Ireland it's quite similar, in the Netherlands it's not like that at all and renting on a handshake (as I did here) is never going to happen. So, back to my parents it is, while my stuff will be stored somewhere. 

My room while growing up

The reasons for the move have been given by me a while ago: loneliness, homesickness, on my way to a depression and a burn-out. I won't say it will all disappear the minute I cross the English-Dutch border (somewhere in the middle of the North Sea), but I do hope that the loneliness and homesickness at least will lessen. As my sister said a while ago: when you're back in the Netherlands, don't rely on old friends and family, make new friends as well. Did I ever tell you that I have a very clever sister? Well, I have a very clever sister!

I quit my job last week and have only this and next week left to work. Then there is a week in which I will have to get everything packed that I haven't already, then my stuff will be collected and then I have to clean the place. In the mean time (from when I finish work next Friday), me and Miss O and Brom (and Mouse) will move back in with my sister for the remainder of my stay here in Northern Ireland. 

I got some herbal stuff for Miss O to help her relax a bit more for our journey home: we are driving and both for her and for us, it would be nice if she didn't have to howl the whole time. Like two days! I so hope they work. 

So, that's my (old) news. 

Photo on Sunday 2019-01

Let's see whether I can actually do 52 Photos on Sunday this year. My first one is a golden oldie, as I don't have any new photos to show at this moment. Taken sometime between 1975 and 1976 I would say. BG in any case.

Happy 2019

First things first: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Right, and then back to business. It's already been more than a week since I last posted and even that one was a pre-post. No, I haven't been working, they managed to get me off, but I have been on holiday. And Brom decided he wanted to have a holiday as well, so that meant neither of us wrote. We don't feel sorry at all for that. We just wanted some nice time with my sister.

On Saturday the 22nd we made our way to my sister's. Miss O was NOT amused by the journey, especially when I turned the radio up during a nice sing-along number. But, once at my sister's, she was okay. On the Sunday we went to church for a service unlike any I have ever seen. But, according to friends of my sister's, neither had they! After church we had to drive back to mine, to pick up some forgotten things, but after that we relaxed. In the evening we went to the cinema: Fantastic Beasts part 2. I liked it very much and can't wait for number 3! 

Taking Lego apart. It took an afternoon.

Christmas Eve saw me making my Dronning Maud pudding. Yes, the Norwegian desert that is so scrumptious and yummy, I couldn't resist making it again. We watched television and did nothing special. Christmas Day dawned and we were going to have duck. Which we did. I had managed to persuade my sister to get me some sprouts (I love them, she hates them) and the whole dinner was exactly as we wanted. Yum. With a severe amount of left-overs though, we had several more days of food. 

Boxing Day was left-over food, more relaxing, more television. I read, my sister crocheted, Miss O slept. During the days that followed, we cleared out some cabinets in my sister's kitchen, resulting in a trip to the second hand shop (I had some stuff too) and we made sure we got rid of the old electrical appliances we both had and were gathering dust and being in the way. We needed to rent a van to do that, since we also needed to move her bed back. 

A new project, to be on sale from November

Then, the whole show went on the road. An empty suitcase, a cat, a litterbox, food and drink. Everything had to move to mine where we were going to be spending New Year's. Once here, we did more of what we had already done: relaxing. Watching television, reading (Gera), knitting (me), sleeping (Miss O). Oh, and we listened to the radio. The Dutch radio always has a top 2000 of the most favourite songs ever starting at Christmas, so we listened to that. 

On New Year's Eve I made oliebollen (oily balls, the forerunner of the donut, but much better) and we sang out the old year listening to the radio, reading, knitting and sleeping. New Year's Day dawned and I started getting some things sorted. We had taken an empty suitcase from my sister's and that was going to be filled with summer clothes. As I don't know how long I will live with my parents before finding my own place again and I don't want to get caught out again, I decided summer clothes needed to come. 

The plan had been that one case was meant for the summer clothes and the other for the winter clothes. There was a slight problem however: I don't have anywhere near enough summer clothes to fill up a suitcase! So, in with the winter clothes as well and the second case would be used for yarn. Priorities and such(!) you know. Boxes were also filled and taken down to the garage. I only have a month left before leaving (three weeks until my stuff gets picked up in fact), so I need to get a move on. 

At the end of the afternoon my sister decided she wanted to go home again, since she would be back at work today. I think it had something to do with the dishes she didn't want to do again... I stayed here, knitted some more while Miss O slept some more. Today I have another day off, but tomorrow it's back to work: the Glasgow run again, both tomorrow and Friday. I did the dishes, will soon sort out the boxes that have been filled and need to go down and will tackle some other stuff as well. 

So, that's us. A lovely Christmas break that was very much needed. 

Photo on Sunday 2018-31

Mara, Brom (and Mouse) and Miss Oswin

Nearly there!

It hasn't officially started yet, but the job I was due to do today was cancelled, so you could say it did anyway: my Christmas holiday. A bit of a scare two days ago when I saw they had me working four days next week (!) when I had asked for time off. Money wise it would have been a better move, but for half a day more pay... It got sorted though and I am now off until past the New Year.

We are not expecting snow and if we do get it, Miss O will not be going out!

My sister also got time off for the week and we are spending it together. Tonight or tomorrow morning (depends on whether I get everything done by tonight), me, Miss O, Brom (and Mouse) are heading over to her to celebrate Christmas with Gera. Yes, Miss O is coming as well. She will hate the journey over of course, but she won't mind spending time in Gera's house: windows to look out of!

My sister is a church goer, so I will accompany her. You never know, it might do me some good 😀.  We will watch some Christmas television, there will be plenty on. But of course we will also have some food. We were getting goose which according to my sister is very good and she had had a few years ago when my parents came over. They ate the whole goose in under two days she said. Well, the packaging around the goose said 8-10 people and I doubt we will be able to eat that within two days, so we opted for duck instead. 

Dronning Maud Pudding

We will also be making some other things: filled speculaas (mmmmmm) and the Queen Maud Pudding I learned about in Norway. I am salivating as is! We will probably make more than that, but those are the things that are certain. 

Oliebollen

Then, sometime between Christmas and New Year, we will all move to mine to celebrate New Year's Eve over here. More goodies are expected, like the Dutch oily balls which will be made in the garage to try and prevent the cooking smell to permeate the whole place. 

Part of Dunluce Castle

If the weather is nice during the holidays, we will finish our big tour we started last February: the Mourne Coastal Route. We have done two thirds now, but still have the last bit left. And if that goes faster than we think, then we might continue on the Causeway Coastal Route, which takes in the north coast. We have done some bits of that route already and visited some places (like Dunluce Castle and the Giant's Causeway), but there is plenty more to see. 

Sorting

My ballroom test for Gold star. 

Over the past six years I have moved several times and each time I have thrown lots of stuff out. And when I say lots, I mean lots. One thing however that I never really touched were papers. Not newspapers, but my own paperwork. 

I felt it was time though to sort through that. And I found some treasures along the way. Class photos where I recognise one person (ie me), report cards saying I have to do better in the neatness of my writing (got there eventually), high school diploma. I have my baptism program, my vaccination booklet, my swimming diploma. 

Apart from myself, I might be able to name one other person: the teacher!

I scanned a lot and threw some of it out after scanning. Other stuff I kept though. It may not be the way things are done now (with the paperwork I mean), but it gives me an idea how it was done back then. Everything left now is contained in a small green container instead of a jumble in a large tin box!

Along the way I also found coloured pens I never use, empty note books which will come in handy as I now always grab a sheet of paper from the printer and cd roms. Who uses those anymore? Not me that's for sure! 

My name badge when working for Club Med

I also found a French social security number for me. I didn't even know I had one, which is rather silly as I worked on a French contract for 6 months in France. Mind you, I worked in Italy on an English contract and in Yugoslavia on a Swiss contract. Anyway, I think I will keep that note with the number, you never know if I have some pension due in due time. 

To Glasgow or not to Glasgow

On Monday night I took the ferry home from Cairnryan to Belfast. It was the last one that day as the next two sailings were both canceled due to the coming storm. And yes, it was a choppy crossing I can tell you!

During the night the wind was howling and the storm was very real. As I woke up several times I was worried about my journey to Glasgow on Tuesday. But when I woke up at 8 am, the wind had died down and the weather was really good. No worries then!

And there weren't. Until I arrived in the port of Belfast and there was no ferry! I was told the ferry would be two hours late, so the first thing to do was ring the office, before I was going to check in. Well, all ferries that day would be two hours late and I could get on. They would get a relief driver for when I got back to Belfast at whatever time I would get back. 

Nearly an hour after we were supposed to leave, the ferry arrived. The departure time had already been pushed back to 2.30pm (three hours late) and we waited. And waited. And waited. Finally we were allowed to board. I had blagged my way to a 'front row seat', because I needed to get off that ferry asap, then on to Glasgow and then back to catch the ferry again. 

Because we arrived so late, by the time we got to Glasgow, the traffic was not rushing anymore. However, by that time I had already been told that I had been booked onto the 11.30 sailing as the two hour delay was no more and the ferry that I had hoped to catch was leaving early. *Sigh*

I dropped off one lot of passengers, picked up the return lot and drove back to port. Brilliant. Fantastic. Great. The ferry arrived on time and they started disembarkation. After that there was the shunting of unaccompanied freight. However...

In the early morning a ferry from Larne in Northern Ireland to Cairnryan in Scotland, had had a massive incident as several lorries had toppled over. It must have been in sight of the harbour, as apparently several people were injured and the ferry would be out of commission for a while. Which meant that a lot of traffic that would have used that service, had to use the service I was on. 

You know where this is going don't you? It took ages to get everybody on, because it has to be just so to make it fit. And instead of 11.30 pm, we left an hour later. Of course. Someone in the office had had the bright idea to send me to Glasgow again today (after all, I would be relieved in Belfast), but that was a big no-no from me! So, they took me off, which was good, because I didn't see my bed until gone 4 am. Absolutely knackered. 

I believe I mentioned I don't like ferries?

Money money money

I got a message last week from my Norwegian bank. I had to pay my credit card. And I was wondering why? Since I had paid off the credit card a long time ago and had blocked it being used everywhere. Turns out a membership to something that I was sure I had transferred to my British account, was paid using my Norwegian card. I was in the minus again.

Being in the minus meant I had to transfer money again. Which is an expensive business. It's cheaper to just put money in an envelope and send it off! Anyway, I found the money, sent it off (paid 15 pounds to get it sent) and it arrived in Norway. Where I had to pay another 10 pounds to get it received. Meaning: I still lacked funds to pay off my credit card! How annoying.

Fortunately I know one or two people in Norway. And after posting on Facebook that I needed some money (about 3 pounds), one of my friends said she would be quite willing to help me out. The money arrived today and I paid off the credit card immediately. 

I decided after that that I would close all accounts I still have in Norway. They are empty and when I get my tax money next year, I will just have to get it transferred to a foreign account for them. Receiving money only costs me 5 pounds anyway...

Photo on Sunday 2018-30

We went to the cinema yesterday. A film with Christmas and bears and chickens and things. It was of course 'A Muppet Christmas Carol', the definitive version we all believe (especially Brom, but he might be biased) of Charles Dickens' Christmas story. We sang along and enjoyed ourselves immensely. 

Photo by my sister Gera who was of course there with us!