Photo on Sunday 2019-21

I had to go to the town hall yesterday to have an official 'welcome' to the town of Zwolle. I shook hands with the mayor, listened to their introduction, had a little wander and then there was a bus tour through Zwolle. The photo is of a silver cabinet in the main entrance hall. I loved it, but wouldn't want to be the one who has to do the dusting!

Of jobs and such

Not only did I get work to do starting this Sunday, in fact, from this Sunday I am working right through until next Sunday! No, not all on the bus (not allowed for starters), but I do have one day off where I will volunteer at the shelter. Talk about throwing somebody in at the deep end! It had better be worth it.

However, the job itself was throwing up a problem. Basically: how am I going to get there? The plan had been of course to find a job in Zwolle and cycle to work. As the job in Zwolle was a no-go, cycling would be difficult too. And public transport is out of the question as well, as I sometimes start before or finish after buses go. 

Which meant I would another form of transportation. Like a moped or a car. I have never been on a moped in my life and thought that if I were to get fouling-up-the-environment mobile, I might as well get a car. 

My very first car

On Thursday I checked the local car sites to find a car within my price range. Which is basically zero, but I might be able to get a bit more together. I found three cars below my maximum, all three of a certain age. My mum and I headed out to see two of those three cars (same lot) and check whether they were any good. 

They were both large Renault Scenic MPV's, one from 2002 and the other from 2003. The latter looked better, but they were very similar. The main difference being the odometers: 203.000 vs 215.000 kilometers (a lot a lot of miles). They were both out of my immediate price range though, so our next stop was the bank, where they were willing, but not too willing.

Today me and my dad checked out the third car. Again an older car (1998), but it looked a lot better, both on the in- as the outside. And the odometer stood at just over 103.000 kilometers! It had had one careful owner, it was virtually immaculate and it had always been serviced by that garage. They could do something about the price (thanks dad), they could offer insurance and tomorrow I can pick it up. With a new MOT, battery and two tires. 

So, if you see me scooting around in my new old car, give me a wave!

Caption contest (for eternal glory)

I thought I would show you two more inhabitants of the Orchid Farm. But I know you can tell the story so much better than I can! Give it a go!!

Intake

Remember what I wrote last week about the animal shelter? About me having an intake and tour through said shelter on Tuesday? You don't?? Tsk tsk...

Anyway, on Tuesday I had a tour and an intake at the animal shelter. And I thought that as I didn't have a job yet, I might as well help out once a week. So, from next week Tuesday I will be cleaning cages, petting cats, feeding and on occasion perhaps take a dog for a walk. 

There won't be many photos however. The agreement that I signed stated quite specifically that I was not to share any photos of any animals on social media. I might on occasion ask (especially with a lot of kittens) whether I am allowed, but don't count on it!

I had also contacted the temping agency again. I first spoke to somebody from the agency on February 5th. I was referred, didn't hear anything, prodded them, got an interview, had to do some stuff (legal and medical) and then nothing happened. And I must admit that I felt quite down in the dumps yesterday.

I decided I needed to be a bit more pro-active. Even though I would prefer to do public transport (for the regularity mainly), that seems to be impossible in this region. Other regions are not really an option, as I won't be able to live there and traveling that far would be out of the question for me. Perhaps a coach company? And the one I know is the one I used to work for. 

Today I took a bus to the town where they now are based. I walked in the door and two minutes later the question was: do you want to work? Ehm, yes! When can you start?? In fact, he had wanted to contact me after learning I would return to the Netherlands, but thought I had found another job already! 

My official employer will still be the temping agency, but I will be working as a coach driver, doing the same thing as I did, albeit with less foreign work probably. My first day at work will be this coming Sunday. Still have to figure out how to get there though.

And guess what. My last job before I left the company was a public transport route. My first job on returning to the company will be the exact same route! Life is funny.

Orchids

Yesterday I showed you a little teaser of where my mother and I went on Saturday. As my father was away for the weekend, we had the use of the car and we decided to go to the Orchid Farm. It started off years ago as a farm where they farmed orchids, but then they decided to sell them, then show them, they added a butterfly garden and more and more was added. 

The first part we got to see was the orchid bit, where orchids were everywhere, in pots, in tree trunks, clinging to tree bark. The most beautiful ones. With tiny flowers or with the bigger flowers. There was water flowing and in that water were goldfish and turtles aplenty. 

But, going through one gate, we got to a similar part with monkeys. Well, one type of tiny monkey, the white-lipped tamarin. And they had the run of the place as well! Plenty of flowers, small banana trees, flowing water. I bet there aren't that many zoos with such an environment. They weren't bothered by the humans passing through and taking photos either. They just did their own thing.

We continued on our way. Admiring orchids and other (house) plants along the way, we got to the rainbow lorikeet enclosure and what a noisy bunch they were! Because we could feed them (with approved juice), they weren't afraid of people at all, happily sitting on hands and fingers to drink or on heads and shoulders. 

We finally arrived at the butterfly zone. Plenty of beautiful butterflies, albeit very difficult to 'catch'. On occasion one of them would sit still, but they would invariably have their wings closed. *Sigh* Then my mum 'caught' not one, but two. Both had just emerged from their cocoons and were still a bit drowsy I guess.

One landed on my mother's shoulder, the other on her knee. But as we were wanting a bite to eat, she had to get rid of them. I gently put my finger underneath one and it stepped on no problem. I moved it to a nearby bush where it sat. The second one was already a bit more 'with it', as it grabbed my finger quite well and as I moved to put it onto the same bush, it flew off.

As we entered the food area we were both amazed: flowers dangling from the ceiling everywhere. I called it a floating garden on Facebook, but I should have said hanging or hovering garden really. It was quite fantastic to eat my sandwich underneath. The only downside being that in a small pot on the table was a PLASTIC flower! Honestly? With all those gorgeous blooms in the whole place, they put plastic flowers on the table!

Anyway, after lunch we had to get our coats, because the last bit we were going to see were the lemurs. There weren't that many of them, and the only one we saw outside had moved inside by the time we got close. 

There were however also a fair few ducks and flamingos. And some alpaca and two of the cutest mini donkeys. To take home, but I remembered what my mum said last week, so they both remained.

After this lovely day we visited my old home-town where not much had changed over the last six years. We drove home and then in the evening we went and got pancakes. The perfect ending to the perfect day!

Plenty of carvings throughout of animals or just faces. 

Orchids

Photo on Sunday 2019-20

The M

So, this M. This thing that has been bothering me for as long as I can remember. What's the deal with it? Where does it come from, how do I get it and more importantly: how do I get rid of it?

Let's start first of all with the 'regular' culprits: cheese, chocolate and red wine. Well, I tried not eating them. For years I barely ate cheese and chocolate. I never like red wine anyway, so that one was easy. Did the migraines become less or less severe? Nope! Back to cheese and chocolate it was.

Then this week I got a letter in the post. From friends who had read an article in a certain paper concerning migraines. Very interesting. And very disheartening as well, because even this Neurology Professor from the University Medical Center in Leiden didn't know what caused it. 

He has ideas, but nothing is set in stone. There are some clues, but they are vague mostly. There are no clear answers. He knows it's a brain condition which comes in attacks. The headaches in a migraine probably come from a sterile (ie no virus or bacteria involved) infection of the meninges. Probably!

It is partially hereditary. There are 44 genetical factors known right now, but there might be more than a hundred! The combination of factors is responsible for the chance and seriousness of the disease. But exactly what exactly causes it? No idea. 

Estrogen and especially the fluctuations in the level of estrogen are participants, after all 75% of patients are female and the male patients often have a higher level of estrogen than would be normal in men. It's not definitive proof though, it is just something that they have noticed really. 

Stress, the weather and other things might trigger an attack, but don't always. When I moved to Northern Ireland I was basically free from during the whole move. During this last move (which went a lot smoother and easier) I had several. When I was recovering from my operation and doing nothing in 2015, I didn't get an attack for over 6 weeks! I am now not doing much either and have had two attacks in the same time frame.

Even the medication to prevent is a bit of a question mark really. The medication I have now (Beta blocker) was originally for patients with high blood pressure. But those suffering from migraines noticed their migraines became less or disappeared altogether. Other medication like triptanes are based on the blood vessel narrowing properties. Which apparently has no effect, yet two other properties did! 

I am in the starting stages of my preventative medication. The lowest option. A week in and today was the first day of full dosage. I started off with half a dose to get used to the medication and especially the side effects of lower heart rate and blood pressure which can cause dizziness when standing up. For now I don't know whether or not this will work. Too soon to tell, but I am hopeful.

I am also hopeful that one day they will find out exactly what causes migraines and how to deal with it swiftly and safely. 

Naked babies

Every country has its own food habits. I grew up in the Netherlands and even though I have lived abroad for several years, my basic cooking style is always Dutch. With some foreign influences thrown in.

Of course food has names and sometimes those names can be a bit weird. Like the other day, when we had 'naked babies in the grass' for dinner. And before you all call the Dutch police: no real babies were used in this dish. I think.

Basically it's string beans (a type of flat green bean) that is sliced in small strips. They represent the grass. The babies are the white beans that are added. It is a dish that you can get ready made in jars, but when asking my parents about it: my father had never heard of it until he met my mother, whereas my mother had grown up with it.

The other food on the plate? Well, potato with gravy, all mashed up by fork and a lovely sausage. It may not be the prettiest plate of food, but as long as the food tastes good...

Result

Remember this kitty? 

A couple of weeks ago I wanted to do more than just sit at home, knit and crochet, watch television and wait for the medical etc. So, I applied at a local animal shelter to give me something to do, even after a job would be secured. I never heard back and then I got ill and everything went out of my head to make room for the M.

My mother then asked me about it one day and I said I hadn't heard anything yet and it must be over two weeks already. My mother turned to the jeu de boules club she is a member of. One of the other members was a volunteer for the shelter and she said that they really needed volunteers and didn't understand. 

She turned into this beautiful lady

The next day I heard back: there had been some website trouble and could I please fill out the form again. This was last week and today I heard back yet again: there will be an intake next week where they will show the shelter and talk through what they do. 

My mother has given me one warning though: under no circumstances am I to take any cat, dog or other critter home, not even temporary. Otherwise I will be out on my backside...

Photo on Sunday 2019-09

We always eat something extra nice on Sunday. Usually it's store bought, this time I thought to make it myself: my apple pie! Mmmmmmm