This Week in Wijnjewoude 2024

Week 17 "We would not be who we are today without the calamities of our yesterdays" - Salman Rushdie With so much fake news these days, I am really appreciating my subscription to The Economist. One of the stories was a Book Review of Knife by Salman Rushdie. Instead of doing my bookkeeping this morning, I've been reading up on some of the effects of climate change in the Netherlands. There is a new report out - called The Delta Scenarios. https://pub.kennisbank.deltares.nl/details/fullCatalogue/1000021640 (It's a large pdf file in Dutch. I had to split it into parts under 10mb then Google Documents Translate can handle it) It's far removed from enjoying our time on the water with the boat - but I have always found it interesting to read up on the water management as a whole. I read the "Water Levels" every week https://www.waterpeilen.nl/ ...and there are a few stories now and then about individuals trying to do their small part... "More people a...

Week 16   Odd Spot Last year 85,000 bike thefts were reported to the police, up 10% on 2022 and a 25% increase on 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic, according to research by comparison website Independer . Most bikes were stolen in Noord-Holland province, which accounted for some 20,000 of the total, with almost 11,000 of that down to Amsterdam. The new floor 9  circuits Electricity cables also through the floor The concrete was almost a dry mix, with just a little water added so that it could be pumped in. Over a few days the water rises to the top - we are assured that it will harden nicely with a grey, swirly colour. We plan to live on it for a couple of years - with rugs here and there - while we see how it feels. It's been a rainy week but we managed to do a bit of outside work - cleaning and replacing the fence - and preparing for the paving to go back in. The climbing foliage should return pretty quickly - not that anything really grows quickly here - apart from the...

Week 15 We've been doing the house renovations for 5.5 months now - along with a few other projects and the normal business routine...so we had a weekend off - on the boat! A mammoth journey of 21 kms - or about 7 kms as the crow flies...as Janny said "we could have walked there faster". But we had a much-needed relaxing weekend - walking, eating, enjoying not having anything to do. We ate out twice!! New shelves I'm still mucking around with AI - ChatGTP and Gemini (from Google's Gemini - I asked it for a brief history of Joure) Joure, nestled in the heart of Friesland, boasts a rich history dating back centuries. Here's a glimpse into the town's fascinating past: Early Beginnings (Medieval Era): Strategic Location: Joure's story likely begins around the 8th or 9th century AD. Its location at the crossroads of the river Joustervaart and the Tjonger waterway proved to be strategically important.exclamation Settlements likely arose around this time, tak...

 Week 14 Boot te plek (boat in place) Windows in Kids'weekend Windows in The floor heating and under floor electrics come this week - then the floor itself next week. Kids' weekend Finally, some time outside. Still too wet to mow - but the grass keeps growing!! I took a few with me for my Sunday walk... they were trying to make didgeridoo sounds... We'll try to take this photo every two weeks... Aussie burgers - with the lot! I usually keep an eye on the water levels because of the boating -but also because the chap doing the research and writing does it so well https://www.waterpeilen.nl/ Does El Niño also influence the river discharges of the Rhine and Meuse? It has often been in the news lately that there is currently an El Niño in the Pacific Ocean. The sea water off the coast of South America is then noticeably warm and its influence extends to a much larger area than just the coastal area of ​​South America. A study by the KNMI (Weather Bureau) shows that spring in pa...