This is the front entrance (there are three entrances in all) of our apartment complex in Den Haag. Very impressive 1930's building of quite charming dimensions. We think now we are not going to go for 'old' but we haven't finished weighing up the pros and cons.Another disturbed night - and I was sleeping on the couch! Yes, I snore, and the only solution currently is the couch (or the hallway outside the apartment!) I couldn't switch off my mind regarding houses to buy, so there I am - slept fine for a couple of hours, then awake, dry throat, check time...it's a sort of ritual. I'm in the dark, awake with my eyes closed, thinking about room sizes, neighbourhoods, which trams/buses needed to get to the five schools I have available should it be horrible weather and I decide to not cycle....and so it goes on. Then there's that bit where you really get annoyed with yourself, mutter out loud with hushed expressions about settling and sleeping....and so on. Finally, a couple of hours later, sleep finally happens, you wake up hours later in daylight and feeling less than rested. Two nights in a row now, but a solution is at hand - decision time is here - after many, many viewings, we are going back for a second time to see two new apartments in a brand new complex near the harbour, following calls back and forth today between Rene and the makelaar. There is a good rebate on the asking prices, and we both really like the complex and the area. Resolution within days is believable; whether I sleep soundly tonight is another matter.
I was also amazed to watch live on Sky News Australia, streamed on my computer, Kevin Rudd's decision to quit as Foreign Minister. I like the guy, but I'm also a bit in line with Wayne Swan, the Deputy PM, who says that Krudd is unreliable and has lost many of basic Labor principles that are the essence of being different to the Opposition. I know my way to the Australian Embassy, and I may soon see the interior as well. Imagine, in Queensland; local government elections, a state election and the prospect of a federal election all within a few weeks/months? I'm thinking I'm happy to be away from it all.
First civil unions in Queensland take place on March 5. The comments from Joe Public below the Courier Mail article today on line are both scary and humorous. I know the sky won't fall in on the 5th, and I also know that if there is a God, that entity will be all forgiving and all embracing - so good on the Queenslanders who are taking this historic step. Rene and I are fortunate to have a married status here in Nederlands that is totally legal and equal in every respect to that of a straight couple. It is 'marriage' as defined in Napoleonic Law - a legal state of being. The Dutch who wish to have their civil ceremony blessed by the Church have a separate ceremony in a religious setting, sometimes days after the civil ceremony, but the only way to be regarded as 'married' is for it to be conducted by the State. I like that!
I've been looking at the weather in Queensland lately, and it is typical for February with high temperatures, humidity and regular storms. Would you believe that on BBC news the other night SE England has been declared officially in drought, with low rainfalls and higher temperatures playing havoc with the dams. Even here, over the past three weeks, we haven't had all that much rain. Yesterday afternoon coming back home it was 10C, this afternoon as I type it is 8C and quite windy. Oh well, spring officially starts here on March 21st so not long to wait.
I was also amazed to watch live on Sky News Australia, streamed on my computer, Kevin Rudd's decision to quit as Foreign Minister. I like the guy, but I'm also a bit in line with Wayne Swan, the Deputy PM, who says that Krudd is unreliable and has lost many of basic Labor principles that are the essence of being different to the Opposition. I know my way to the Australian Embassy, and I may soon see the interior as well. Imagine, in Queensland; local government elections, a state election and the prospect of a federal election all within a few weeks/months? I'm thinking I'm happy to be away from it all.
First civil unions in Queensland take place on March 5. The comments from Joe Public below the Courier Mail article today on line are both scary and humorous. I know the sky won't fall in on the 5th, and I also know that if there is a God, that entity will be all forgiving and all embracing - so good on the Queenslanders who are taking this historic step. Rene and I are fortunate to have a married status here in Nederlands that is totally legal and equal in every respect to that of a straight couple. It is 'marriage' as defined in Napoleonic Law - a legal state of being. The Dutch who wish to have their civil ceremony blessed by the Church have a separate ceremony in a religious setting, sometimes days after the civil ceremony, but the only way to be regarded as 'married' is for it to be conducted by the State. I like that!
I've been looking at the weather in Queensland lately, and it is typical for February with high temperatures, humidity and regular storms. Would you believe that on BBC news the other night SE England has been declared officially in drought, with low rainfalls and higher temperatures playing havoc with the dams. Even here, over the past three weeks, we haven't had all that much rain. Yesterday afternoon coming back home it was 10C, this afternoon as I type it is 8C and quite windy. Oh well, spring officially starts here on March 21st so not long to wait.
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