Week 32 New Boat

Week 32

 Almost a blank page this week...

After 2.5 weeks of rain my grass was almost unmowable - I had to use the tractor to get through some of it...

We finished off some more electrical work.

The apartments are all spoken for again. One woman wants to bring her two cats - we normally have a "no pets" policy - but I guess it doesn't matter that much.

The two Greek chaps are heading "home" for a holiday - it's the Builders' Holiday - (Bouwvakkers Vakantie) - they all seem to go on holidays at the same time.

Janny made an extended weekend for the kids - also on holidays. They spent most of the time in the swimming pool at  Bakkeveen - and Janny took them fishing on Saturday...

It was the first time fishing for some of them - they enjoyed it so much that we will try to take it further...one of our day clients is a "vismeester" - perhaps he can organise some lessons for our kids - he did it years ago for a previous group.

By the end of the day, they were even putting their own maggots on the hooks!

It could be a good thing to get them away from their mobiles and Play Stations - we used to have a "No Computers" rule at the Care Farm - but that has certainly changed over the years.

From John P. Weiss this week

We forget that life is short, and the things that actually matter in this world are family, friends, and improving one another’s lives.

On Thursday, I took Tjeerd up to Dokkum - he had only been there once - he helped me take the boat there last year - but it was wet and we drove home almost straight away. This time, I took him for a walk around the Bolwerken - fortified bulwarks - for a bit of sightseeing.

We had to shift the boat by one place so that nobody walks past Boeke's Territory...he still sees them at the top of the bulwarks, so we keep the curtains closed.

From here...

To here...

Still haven't resolved the battery situation - have decided to wait for the return trip and try to put them under more load - our magician boat technician had installed the sternthruster so that it switches the two 12V batteries to 24V only for the time that the sternthruster is in use. 

Ironically, I have been deliberately trying NOT to use the sternthruster in everyday use (I only had it installed when I imagined that I might head off on my own). So, it's there now only if I need it - but I'll try it out on the way home just to see if the batteries are coping with it.

Around the farm...

Chaos in the Workshed...

(I'm workin' on it)

Part of my workshed is used for storing my tools - some recent additions from Robin and one of our clients meant that I simply don't have enough room to store it all - let alone remember what and where everything is! 

The main workshed gets full of sawdust, so I keep as much as I can in plastic crates and/or in the rear storage room - again too much stuff - but it "comes in handy" every now and then. All of my electrical and other tools are kept in the rear room...

In the workshop, some of my crates are labelled...

Boat Stuff

Fencing

Angle Iron

Soldering

Electrical

Lamps

Shoe Cleaning

Tape

Hose Fittings

In the rear storage room, labels include...

Screws

Bolts,

Paint brushes

Nails.

Chisels

Drill Bits

and many more..

Another section of the Workshed has a Paint Cupboard and all of the garden tools...

Like I said...I'm working on it - one of the kids helped me by sorting out all the spanners by size - and the screwdrivers by type. (I have often thought about the English word "spanner" - in Dutch "spanning" means tension - so I guess the same origin as "spanner".).

Janny bought a new (used) boat...with electric motor - we'll try it out in Dokkum. The battery lasts for an hour - but it has paddles as well :)