Photo on Sunday 2019-26

Taken during a walk on Saturday

The itch

It started before I left Northern Ireland. At the time I didn't know what it was, I just felt an itch and an itch needs scratching. Which I did. And did. And did some more. Until eventually my hand was bleeding, while the itch was still there. 

Then I started seeing dots on both hands. And guess what: they itched! I saw a doctor and she told me: eczema! What? I was told to use heavy duty fatty creme on my hands, I was prescribed some hormone stuff. But the itch continued. To my upper legs this time and to my upper arms. Fortunately both legs and arms don't itch as much, but the hands...

Yesterday my parents and I were talking about the back pain I had last year. Lumbago according to my dad. His father used to suffer from it, especially in the autumn. And then my grandmother had to rub cajaput oil on his back and that apparently relieved the pain somewhat. I had never heard of that oil, but we soon found out it came from the other side of the world: Australia/Indonesia and the word is Malay. It was a relative of the tea tree. 

I was familiar with the tea tree as I had used tea tree oil on one of my cats years ago to relief him of some itch he had. Hm. Itch...

Does anybody have any experiences with tea tree oil?

Photo on Sunday 2019-25

Last week's trip to the town of Elburg showed some nice little streets filled with summer flowers.

The week that was

Every week I promise myself: I will blog more. And every week I seem to break that promise. Which is annoying to be honest. Mind you, not much happens anyway, but that's got nothing to do with the price of eggs!

So, just a small recap of this past week. Well, my birthday present (which cost me 15 euro) won! Yes, I won the lottery. Okay, it was 5 euro, but still, I won! Not sure yet what I will do with that enormous price though. I might 'invest' it in a new ticket...

The weather finally turned nice. Nothing like boiling saunas and cooking flesh as you touch the metal on your seat belt. Twenty degrees (that's like 68 in weird temperature). It makes it nice to drive the bus as it doesn't get too warm. It makes it nice to do stuff in general. Plus it made it nice to sleep which was a definite plus.

I painted my tootsies! Pink and sparkly...

I moved. Well, I had already moved the week before, but I moved back. Because I live in the attic (no flowers there), it gets a tad hot when trying to sleep. So before the big heat assault last week, I dragged a matress downstairs. As my parents were away on holiday, it was nice and quiet. Well, apart from the frogs and the traffic, but other than that: it was lovely. But with these better temps, I moved back up. 

Speaking of moving: no. Nothing yet. The thing is, the only real option I have is going housing corporation. Which means I can get some help with my rent for the first year at least and that my rental agreements offer a lot more security for me. The private market would be possible, but houses may not be well maintained, rent will be higher and tenant protection is much more difficult. The downside of the first option is that I need to build up about 7 years of being registered to actually have a chance of finding a place as so many people are looking. Although sometimes there is pot luck: 150 seekers for one place! I think I will 'invest' in a new ticket...

The fully illustrated HP and the Chamber of Secrets arrived today
A birthday present from my sister

From next week we will (finally) start on a rota. Up until now the rule was that we would know when to work 10 days in advance. What with illness of planners and it being the busiest time of the season, that was impossible. But somebody stepped up and churned out a proper roster which shows us until the end of days which days we have to work and which days we have off. The main downside is that I only have a complete weekend off every SIX weeks. Fortunately it will only last until the end of October.

Going out

Modern garden art

Last Saturday I was going to buy myself a birthday present. And to that end I was going to a small town about 30 minutes away. It was hot. Really hot. As in 'what else can I take off to give me any relief?' hot. There wasn't and I just had to bear it. But going in to shops helped a bit. 

Houses against the town wall. And yes, they are that narrow!

The town is a really lovely town, all cobbled streets and pretty houses and once you got one street away from the center, quite quiet. In the center there was a shanty-choir thing going on, which meant there were plenty of choirs showing off their art. 

The residence/warehouse/Jewish school is now a museum

Even though it's a fairly small town, there are plenty of things packed in: a large church, a former Jewish school, an orphanage, a convent. Although granted, some of those things were re-purposed. I saw my new favourite house, tried not to twist my ankle on the cobbles and took refuge in the large church for a while (see yesterday's post). 

After a couple of hours, I made my way back to my car and home. And the gift? Well, if the numbers fall my way... (I bought a lottery ticket in the end).

Video on Sunday 2019-24

Home alone

Well, I am not completely alone of course. There is Miss Oswin, wanting to go out at all hours of the day. There is Brom who is happy to know his traveling days aren't over and there is Mouse, who is just happy to be where Brom is. But the human count at this point is 1. My parents have gone on holiday!

Which isn't as simple as it sounds really. Because the car had to be packed. And anything from toilet paper to lace making equipment was coming. No joke! The shops in Germany are closed on a Sunday and waiting until Monday to get the dish washing liquid they might need was not good. 

Ah well, them not being here means I have the house to myself. And for the the coming two and a half weeks there will be no football. No darts. No tennis. No cycling. NO SPORTS! Instead I watched some crime shows yesterday and I must admit: much better. My mum at this point of course is thinking (and probably saying out loud as well) "you know what to do then: move out!" 

Anyway, I am going to enjoy my time alone. Even if I have to make my own dinner and do my own laundry now...

Life and such

Goodness me, nearly two weeks without a sign from me! So, a little update is in order I think. I have been to the cinema with a friend and her two children. Aladdin and I loved it. I had never seen the animated version, only snippets, but this real-life version was brilliant. And the thing I loved the most was that they used actors that fit the story. Nobody blonde and blue-eyed. The only really well-known name was Will Smith as the Genie and he was brilliant. Very well cast. 

Yep, my favourite

I still haven't found a place to live, but that won't happen anyway for a few months yet. I need to be able to show at least three months of wage slips and I am only up to two right now. Then I will have to have enough money to pay the rent and the deposit. Flooring and walls need covering probably, all costing money as well. For now I am fine where I am and saving up.

Yes, I am saving up, but spending it as well. Not the move-money, but other savings. Like my holiday fund. Well, I say fund, it's the runt of the litter piggy-wise and there wasn't that much in it. But, enough to pay for not one, not two, not three, but four flights! Two return trips. I will be spending Christmas and New Year's at my sister's, so my ticket to Belfast and back has been booked. 

Trevi Fountain in Rome on a previous visit

The other ticket that has been booked already is two return tickets to Rome. Two, because I paid for my sister as well. I owe her money anyway, so whether I pay her back and than she has to pay me back or I take it out of her pay-back account immediately... I have been to Rome twice before and loved both times. It is a beautiful city and this time around we can do things at our own pace. We have several things planned and are both really looking forward to it. I would like to see the Pope this time around though, that would be nice. I will keep you posted.

The other things I have planned are a visit to a musical. We Will Rock You will come to the Netherlands with Anastacia playing the lead role. My mum and I will be going to one of the try-outs, but I don't think it will be worse than the actual show. 

I am still working as well. Until yesterday that is. That's when I had to call in sick. I had trouble falling asleep on the night before, but that sometimes happens. I went down to get myself a peanut butter sandwich (mmm) and then went back up to bed. It took another half hour or so to finally fall asleep and then two and a half hours later I was wide awake. There was pain/severe discomfort in the area just below my breasts. I tossed and turned, sitting on hands and knees in bed until I finally gave up. 

I went down again, taking a bowl with me as well as I kept feeling as if I had to throw up (which only happened with some help). The pain/discomfort was quite severe and there was no sleep to be had apart from the odd minute here and there. I phoned in sick at a halfway decent time (7am), feeling that working like I felt with so little sleep was not good. At all.

On occasion she can be a tad indecent...

After my parents had come down I made my way back to my room, but the discomfort made it impossible for me to sleep. I got up again. Wandered about a bit. To the bathroom. Then to my parents' bedroom, which was noisy because by now family had started to arrive as it was my father's 74th birthday. The window washer made more noise. I got up again. Took a shower and went downstairs feeling like a wet rag. After half an hour of family I was getting dizzy and tired. Up to bed I went again. Where I managed to at least doze for about an hour, while Miss O kept me company.

After that the pain/discomfort had started to lessen and I went downstairs again. I was able to get some food down (soup, ice-cream, the proper food for sick people!) and slowly I picked up. By evening the pain had gone and the only thing remaining was a slight headache: not enough to drink and definitely not enough sleep will do that to me. Today the only thing I feel is a slight headache (still) and muscle ache. Coughing, laughing and bending the wrong way are felt. If anybody has a clue about what this might have been: answer on a postcard to the usual address. Or in the comments...

Our mimosa plant in bloom

Today I had a day off anyway and tomorrow I will be back at work. And that's it for me. Future fun and current not so fun (although the birthday was fun). Oh, and nearly three weeks of solitude as my parents are leaving on their holiday tomorrow.

Photo on Sunday 2019-23

These filters on that photo program are pretty nifty I think... And yes, this is me!

Strike

Empty buses today

On Tuesday there was a national strike in the public transport sector in the Netherlands. A strike to focus people's attention on the retirement age which is being put up to 67 (and beyond) and they want it frozen at 66. Fair enough.

I am a member of a union. I was before I left for Norway, I was in Norway and I have recently become a member again here in the Netherlands. I think it's important as it has done so much for working people in the past and will hopefully continue to do so in the future. 

I drove my bus on Tuesday. On a public transport route. Me and my colleagues were the only ones. We were not busy at all. At some point somebody who cycled towards me made no-no-no movements with his hands. I shouldn't have been driving, I should have been on strike.

The thing is however, I don't work for the public transport company, I work for a coach company and they were not on strike. Which would have meant I would have had a hard time getting strike money. Besides, did I completely agree with what they were striking about?

Well, no. Yes, the age of retirement should not go up indefinitely. Personally I think 67 is fine or 66 for that matter if they do get that sorted. But the fact of the matter is that it will be most likely that I will have to work beyond that anyway to get any sort of decent pension. What with me having worked abroad, I have what they call over here a pension deficit. I am still not sure I will be getting any money from Norway, I know for a fact that I won't be getting anything from the UK.

But even that is not what is causing the biggest deficit. It's the fact that I work for a temping agency. If I work, I save up for the state pension. If I don't work, I don't save. There are apparently more jobs than applicants right now, yet it is still very hard to get a steady job. Which in turn influences my pension, my ability to get a loan, my ability to get a mortgage, my ability even to rent certain homes. 

I also don't know from one week to the next how many hours I will be making or how much money will show up in my bank account. It makes life very uncertain and I am not the only one. Several of my colleagues have lost their jobs (downsizing a favourite reason) recently and have had to retrain as a bus driver. They are at the bottom of the pay grades (I am at the top, which is at least one good thing). They do have mortgages, families, obligations. But no certainty about their pay check. 

I don't want to work until I am 69 or beyond. But I feel that the unions would serve a lot more people a lot better with a fight over temporary work and how long that is allowed. Jus' saying...