Eleven sleeps later...

We have now been in the apartment for eleven nights.  It has been very hectic, and quite tiring.  Things that were unpacked and placed 'somewhere' have now to be placed where common sense would have placed them had we not had three men unpacking for us and needing to know where they ought to put things.  Hence the kitchen needs to be resorted, but there is not enough cupboard space (small kitchen) so much stuff is either strewn around the area (tidily) or in boxes.  We haven't got either a costing or a likely delivery date for the kitchen cabinets, so not much will change for a while. We had one arrangement for the living area, but today we have changed that around (again) and it sort of looks and feels better, but it is only four hours old.  You have to live with a space for a while before things feel settled and just right.

The first picture at Easter time with my new phone - the Samsung Galaxy S2.  If you click on it you'll appreciate the clarity of detail - an 8 megapixel camera (better than my first digital camera). The sweets were my token Easter decorations.

The lounge and dining room in its first incantation - since today changed again.  Note the boxes tucked away to the right.  They'll stay that way for another couple of months. They contain books, CDs  and record albums.  They will be in cupboards that are currently stacked with kitchen stuff.

A plant given to us by Family for a house warming present when they visited on Easter Sunday.  Below another Family gift of candles in holders, Australian wine and more plants.  We had nine for dinner on Easter Sunday and we coped well.  Rene was the chef that day and everyone dined well. Shops were actually closed on Easter Sunday, but not on Good Friday.  In Australia it is changing too, from a long public holiday to quite a short one - I know everything closes for Good Friday.  Here Ascension Day is still observed with shops closed, whereas in Australia they remain open.  Interesting.

We all ventured to the beach on Easter Sunday - not that it was particularly fabulous beach weather, but it wasn't too bad either.  If you look below and enlarge the picture you'll see a lady and her sixteen or so dogs that go to the beach every day.  Dogs are banned on this beach (and many others) from May until October.  Some other more distant beaches remain open all year, but as it gets busier in summer these popular local beaches are dog free for five months.

Three days ago I was walking to a government office, rendezvousing with Rene who had gone by bike (doing another task along the way) when I came across an amazing sight - a very formal old fashioned funeral procession.  Now you will have to click on the picture for maximum effect because my picture is less than adequate (I just reached for my phone).  It consisted of the main hearse drawn by two magnificent black horses, black plumes as well, and three black carriages each drawn by a pair of black horses.  The attendants were dressed formally in black, and every horse and hair was immaculately turned out.  Later we came across the cortege outside a church in Scheveningen as we walked to yet another government office (bureaucracy - AHHH!!).

We still have a lot to do here.  Rene and I have the IKEA wardrobes completed and they look very fine indeed.  The street bedroom windows are having a film attached to the lower sections this coming Friday - a lady is doing them to ensure they are cut perfectly and aligned correctly.  Our lower bedroom windows are 1m above the footpath but are still huge - 5.2m long and 2.6m high - and we have both bedrooms with similar dimensions.  I'll be happy with the film on the lower sections, although Rene wouldn't have bothered if it was left to him.  We have four huge windows to curtain, and the art hanging system is going up on Thursday (installed for us). 

Tulips are originally Turkish, but the Dutch have made them their own.

Part of the 5400 hectare Floriade International Horticultural Expo site at Venlo.

We are ready for our very first house guest tomorrow.  Our friend Kay Galton, from Toowoomba, is coming from Paris on the Thalys (high speed) train and we are meeting her in Rotterdam.  Since the elevated high speed track opened, The Hague is skipped now, so passengers either get off at Rotterdam Centraal or Amsterdam Centraal and get a local train to Den Haag.  She is staying until the end of the month when Queen's Day is celebrated.  While she is here we'll visit Keukenhof to see the tulip fields plus the Floriade at Venlo (in the east) which only happens every ten years. Together with Koninginnedag (Queen's Day) she should have a fascinating and fun visit.