Week 46 The Election

The Election

Nah, not that one...we have one coming up in March

A few talking points came up in an article I read...

1. It is normally senior citizens who man the polling stations. ie the most vulnerable age group for Covid - so maybe they will re-think that one.

2. We are allowed one "proxy" vote at the moment - ie. Janny could take my vote in - with all the authorisation and matching signatures. They may increase this to 2 or 3 - so that Janny could take mine and her Mum's, for example.

3. Surprisingly, to me at least, there is some doubt about the security of mail-in votes.

It is rather reassuring that I have never seen any gerrymandering or voter suppression - "imagine giving that Australian guy a vote" - and I'm pretty sure they won't try to dismantle the postal service to help one way or the other...just sayin'...

Just on the Postal service - we have delivery 6 days a week - I imagine someone fought for that sometime in the past. The funny thing for us is that we get a swag of mail on Saturdays and hardly ever anything on the Monday

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Again, it is reassuring to note that the mail is next day delivery throughout the country, although it seems like 7 days a week with parcel deliveries.

And in the meantime...

I'm trying to listen to and read only the BBC and The Economist - The Dutch Government stuff is very informative and quite often in English. But I'm switching back to Audio Books in my attempts to remain "unalgorithmed"...Ben has even convinced me to try Yuval Noah Harari - a far cry from my (still) favorite author Robert Goddard - for at least the books that I have enjoyed the most in recent years. They might even get a re-run...(22 audio books at over 20 hours each!).

For Covid news - The National Institute for Public Health

https://www.rivm.nl/en/international

Current information

https://www.rivm.nl/en/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/current-information

The Boat...

In 2009/2010 I had the gas installation renewed and upgraded - gas cylinders in a sealed steel box, fixed pipework, gas outlet (in case of leaks). Perfectly safe and "approved" with all the relevant documentation, or else we wouldn't have done it - plus a red cloth showing if the gas was "on" - and we would call out "gas on" or gas off" as a reminder to each other...

( Early in 2019 a 70 plusser (rings a bell?) from Amsterdam died after an explosion in his boat - I haven't found the results of the investigation, but at the time it was thought to be a gas explosion).

But, some things are sent to try us, as I remember Mum used to say...

They changed the rules! Our authorised Gas man checked it over and agreed that our set up is as good as any he has seen - BUT it doesn't comply with the current regs - he double-checked - "under no circumstances can the cylinders be inside the boat". So that's that!!

Luckily, he has thought of an alternative solution...yet to be explained to me...we shall see...

as early as the first week in December - as I have the boat booked in for painting and varnishing - we'll be able to get an early start next season - I'm working on a heater ! (just have to convince Janny).

Hello Fresh...

I'm not totally convinced, as they started with a bad name over here...but Ben organised a free trial for us - 5 days for 3 people.

Ben and I have shared the cooking and there is certainly enough food

Gestoomde bao bun met speklap in ketjapmarinade (steamed bun with pork).

Wildzwijnburger met kaas en chutney (wild? pork burger with cheese)

Pizza-portobello

Mac & cheese with Pumpkin

Chicken thighs with roasted paprika

Not bad for a no-obligation trial.

Again, we shall see...It could well be a Covid thing - avoid going to the supermarket and pay a little extra for food that we wouldn't normally try. Or, we could put in extra effort and buy the ingredients ourselves - and have it delivered in any case.

Around the farm...

More firewood...

Cleaning up...

All the tractor machinery is about 15 years old - starting to show a bit of wear and tear...

We're trying to get it all inside for the winter - after cleaning it.

An aside...one of our nephews used to be a top mechanic at a tractor sales and repair business - he was "head-hunted" to become a practical teacher at a trade school in Heerenveen. (More pay and more time off!). Anyway, it is likely that he will take our stuff, including the tractor, for the students to learn on - we only have to pay for any parts. So, a good deal all round - but we have to clean it first!

I bought this mower when we were in Lower Plenty (30 years ago!). It still starts on the first pull! I have put one set of new blades on it - and I once changed the spark plug - but only because I thought I should...

And still room for 3 cars in the garage!

We put a new motion sensor light on one of the apartments...and then wondered why it wouldn't work! duh...

Peter found something new to make...

...and Janny found this at an Op Shop - made from old bicycle wheels - something for Rudie to make.

Out and about...

Just about all beech trees in this section of the forest

and the new landscaping behind our house...

This mound is for a row of oak trees - to line up with the existing oaks in the background. There used to be the remains of an old house to the left of them - until about 15 years ago (or more!).

and, "our" bit of forest across the road