Carnaval continued

Yes I know, I am dragging this out a bit, but there is not much happening in my life right now. Unless you count me getting my Proof of Good Behaviour already! Liking that very much. Anyway, back to carnaval. 

Let's get some historic and religious context here. Originally it was a pagan feast, celebrated as early as 5,000 years ago by the Mesopotamians. The Egyptians, the Romans, basically everybody had a feast where the boundaries between owner and slave were down, where the slave could dress like the owner and even make fun of him. Usually this feast was between the winter solstice and the winter equinox (ie December and March).

Herman Brood (bread) was a musician and artist from Zwolle

When the church entered the arena and they started converting all those pagan peoples, several feasts were kept to not alienate the new Christians. One of them being this New Year's or Midwinter feast. It would however get a more Christian context. 

According to the Bible, Jesus fasted for 40 days in the dessert, before he was eventually taken from his disciples and died on the cross. There had not been something to mark the beginning of the fasting period before, but now there was!

The basics were still the same: dress up or down, make fun of your 'betters', eat and drink. But now, instead of celebrating the coming of spring, it would announce the coming of the fasting period. It would start on the Sunday and finish on Shrove Tuesday. Three days of painting the town red. Then from Ash Wednesday, the fasting would start.

When the Reformation started in Europe, most countries (even the ones that remained Catholic) abolished carnaval, but in the years that followed some have taken it up again. It is celebrated all over the world, New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro being the most famous ones of course. 

Confetti

So, enough school mistress today. I hope you enjoyed the remaining photos and little films I had.

Carnaval

On Saturday I wanted to get to town. I needed some different coloured threads and there would be a parade because of carnaval. Which is what I went to see first.

I didn't have the best view: several people in front of me bobbing their heads up and down, but overall I was okay. We stood for a long time waiting though. And the two minutes away was easily ten minutes, but eventually they started coming.

The first two photos are of people finding their way to the beginning of the parade or just to their friends. It seemed to me that a lot of effort had been made to look fun. The lady with the green face actually had a little (stuffed) dog slung over her shoulder!

The third photo is of the head of the parade. He was a member of the official carnaval clubs that exist in and around our town, hence the head gear. 

This was part of one of the floats. Those floats are quite old and will be used year after year. As long as they can get rid of all the 'snot in a can' of course!

This gentleman was dressed as 'Dorus'. He was a variety artist, who did mostly sketches and singing. One song of his dealt with two moths living in his coat, because "you shouldn't wreck young love". 

I loved this Japanese/Chinese inspired ladies/gentlemen. They carried signs around as well which were quite funny, but I didn't manage to capture any of those! Which was annoying.

The last thing I want to show you is a little video I shot as well. One of the floats that came by and the type of music you can expect to hear during the carnaval weekend: loud, silly and loud!

Photo on Sunday 2019-08

Crocuses in my parents' garden

The first daffodil in my parents' garden

Mill on the IJssel

As I was standing on the dyke looking out over the River IJssel this week, I took some photos of the village on the other side: Hattem. And thanks to my lovely lens, it actually seemed quite close as well. 

At the right of the photo, you can see a mill. At first I didn't realise it was actually turning its sails, thinking it was a trick of the eye, but as you can see in the photos: they did. 

The mill is called 'Fortune' and is an old flour mill. This one and its ancestors have been there a long time, taking advantage of the wind.

The way the sails are positioned when paused tells you something about what is happening to the miller. The top position for example would mean Short Break. And the position in the third photo would mean 'Happiness', due to a birth or something similar.  Other meanings were Sadness, Wedding/Party or Emergency. All expressed in the position of the sails.

During the war, they would also use the sails to tell people in the surrounding area what was happening. Like 'Enemy Approaching' or 'All Clear'. 

I will try and get closer to the mill soon to show you a bit more.

Enjoying the spring weather

A zew? A cobra? Whatever it was, it was weird!

Last week I showed my Mum's orchids to join in for Nature Friday, which is organised by those lovable canines Rosy, Arty and Jakey. This week I decided to enjoy the nature that was actually outside and helped by the absolute gorgeous weather (summer temperatures in February), that wasn't a hardship at all.

I already showed you some of the photos I took with my smaller camera and decided I needed to go back with my better camera to get some really good shots. I had planned to do it on Wednesday, when the weather was still really lovely, but in the end I went on Thursday. The temperatures were still good, the sky not so much. 

The home of the...

But I still managed to get some good shots. Now, there was one main reason I really wanted to go back for and I know I will be back later in the year as well, because what I saw were...

...stork

Storks! Usually storks travel south for the winter, but there are always some that find their home in the Netherlands nice enough to stay during the colder months and as long as there is enough food and the weather doesn't become too atrocious, they should be fine. 

I didn't just see storks though, there were also a lot of geese. Not sure whether they are on their way north already, or whether they stayed as well for the winter. There were quite a few of them in the flood plain of the River IJssel and occasionally some of them would take off, honking for the others it seemed.

The third animal I saw, albeit from a distance, were bees. There were about 10 hives or so and there was already a lot of activity in front of them. There won't be much for the bees yet though, although daffodils are starting to flower already. 

Pollard willows that have just had the chop

Do you know I spent my teenage years in this town and I moved back home to my parental home now. I had never realised it was so close to the River IJssel! Only five minutes on my bike and there is peace and quiet and birds. Fingers crossed for curlews during summer!

Miss Oswin goes exploring

Miaow

Well, what can I say. Perhaps this move wasn't so bad after all! First I have a great big house to live in, with windows everywhere so I can see out. Second I have an Oma with a lot of cat toys in her room that I will one day play with. And third that very same Oma wanted to have some fresh air in the house today.

Which meant opening the garden door! Mara had called me down first of all, so I could see what was happening. And then she let me go out! It was lovely. The sun was shining, there were birds singing and the smells... So many smells...

This gate is not going to stop me!

I explored a bit in the garden and then I crawled underneath the garden gate and found a whole wide world. There was a car that smelt funny. Then another one. There were plants everywhere. I found the opening to the yard at the front door, but didn't stay there long.

I think it drove to the supermarket today

I went back to the garden and found the door again. Mara was very pleased with me because she says it's very important for me to know where I live. After all I am a Norwegian cat who does not speak the same language as the other cats in the neighbourhood. And if I get lost*, I might not understand them. 

After a while Mara stopped following me around with her big camera and went inside. I remembered the last time I was outside and decided to check whether it was the right house and went in as well. It was (pfew) and I went out again. 

I think it smells like the black and white cat that I always see

I went in and out a couple of times, just to make sure and in the end I stayed in It's hard work this exploring you know! Oma then closed the door, because it is still winter you know. When Opa came down, he wanted to see for himself how I reacted and he opened the door again. He was also very pleased with me.

Real grass!

I hope they will open the door again soon, but Mara says the temperatures will go down and they are expecting rain as well. I can tell you know: I do not like getting wet!

*Miss Oswin is chipped and has now been registered in the Dutch database, so even if she were to get lost, they would be able to track me down as the owner and re-unite us.

Like riding a bike... again

A regular road, but very little traffic

Yesterday's title may have been a bit confusing, but originally the post was meant to be about the cycle tour I did yesterday. The weather was so beautiful and I really wanted to get out of the house for a few hours. 

A former hay barn, the poles with the hinge things on top, would have lifted the roof as there would have been more hay.
This is a new fixed roof and I doubt whether there was any hay in there!

I had taken my camera with me, but obviously the wrong one: only the point and shoot and there were several shots I really would have liked to make with my other camera. So, hopefully the weather will hold out for a few more days and I can make my way with my big camera and its two lenses.

The new railway bridge spanning the River IJssel

I live in Zwolle now, which is located quite near the River IJssel and that was basically my port of call so to say. In fact, I did make it to a place where a ferry would land, but only from Miss O's birthday onwards (which also happens to be the birthday of the King of the Netherlands: Willem Alexander), so no boats at the moment. 

Shot isn't the best, but I loved this house!

I saw beautiful houses and farms, plenty of geese, sheep, ponies, horses and a plastic cow. And some other animals, but I won't show them today, you will have to wait until Friday. 

This is where the (pedestrian and bike) ferry would arrive
If you look at the right of the photo, you can see two more poles on the other side: the other side of the river

I bought my bike in Northern Ireland as a birthday present and I love it. It has a basket at the front in which I can keep my bag and my camera and so on. Because I am now in the Netherlands, I have left the helmet behind, nobody wears those here, apart from some children. Mind you, most cycle routes are cycles only or on occasion a 'car is a guest' road. 

A pollard willow. 

One of the photos above is of a pollard willow. Basically it's a regular willow, but every few years the branches will be cut off to be used in furniture and basket making. For some reason the trees tend to sort of fall apart after a while (several decades) and this was a good example. 

Like riding a bike

I won't be moving anytime soon by the look of things

Living with my parents is all fine and dandy, but I do need a job to fill both my days and my bank account. On day 2 of my return here my sister and I made our way to the temping agency that would actually deal with my application to become a bus driver here again. I had to call a certain person who dealt with it. 

I called on day 3 and was told to send my cv. On day 4 I heard back: somebody would contact me during the following week or the week after that. Right. I never heard a thing, which was a bit annoying, so in the end I sent them a message saying I would need to work as I have no income at the moment. The next day somebody rang and we arranged for a meeting. 

Mooooo

That meeting was yesterday: three weeks after my return. I would need two things before I can work: a medical and a proof of good behaviour, although the latter has to be applied for and that will be enough. I was sent the link to set up a medical, which couldn't take place until well into March! Without it there is no way I can drive. *Sigh*

The proof is another matter. That is now in the works, but will take any time between 2 and 4 weeks to come back. Not that much of a problem, but without the medical... Looking at all this, it means I probably won't be back driving a bus until the end of March, beginning of April. Not the best of news obviously. 

River barge on the River IJssel

And with that news, I decided that in the mean time I need to have some sort of other job. Factory work or something like that. Problem is that most jobs will need a period of training, lasting anything from 1 to 4 weeks! By which time I will start driving and I won't be available anymore. 

Obviously I had hoped to be working a lot faster than this. For my sanity as much as anything else. But it seems it is not to be. Until then I will be enjoying the weather (beautiful at this moment, really springy), knit and watch television. Good thing I have a roof over my head and some savings...

Photo on Sunday 2019-07

Pepperfly sent me this proof of Linette thinking a plant pot was the perfect place to sleep in. Whether it fit or not!

Nature Friday

Linette when she already lived at Pepperfly's. She loved plants!

I don't often join in, but today I will. As you know I have recently moved back in with my parents in the Netherlands. When I was growing up, the window sill would be filled with plants. Geraniums and other iums and ias and whathaveyous. My grandmothers, my aunts and basically everybody I knew had plants on the window sill. 

Over the years less and less people have their whole sill full. Most have a few plants and then some ornaments. I never had a lot of plants, but I did have a few. Which were sometimes appropriated by a cat...

As Miss O lives here now as well, my mother decided to make some room for her. Very much appreciated by Miss O, but there was one sill that my mother decided not to empty. There is a bit of room, but there are also four pots of orchids there. And my mother is very proud of them. 

She bought the orchids several years ago when they were in full bloom. But once they had stopped blooming, she didn't throw them out, she kept them and tried to get them to bloom again. Which she managed beautifully. 

A bit scary this one, but still my favourite of them all!

So, today I am not going to bring you nature as it is outside, but as it is inside. Well, sort of anyway, as I took each separate orchid and took photos of them that way...

Fortunately Miss O has decided that they are not for her and so far she hasn't really tried to climb into any of them. Although my mother saw her dip her paw in one of the other plants this morning: she had just watered them all and there was some water in the dish!

This post was written as part of Nature Friday, organised by the lovable canines at LLB in Our Backyard.