Wednesday 24 June 2009

Back in the old country



It's great to be back in my own country! Of course it's lovely to see our friends and family again after more than 2 years, but it's also wonderful to be able to speak my own language all of the time, to ride a bike without wearing a helmet and to see all the beautiful old buildings. The one in the photo above is the Menkemaborg, a 14th century castle in Uithuizen, a small village in the province of Groningen, where my father lives.

We are now staying with my mother-in-law in Zutphen, a very beautiful and very old city in the eastern part of the Netherlands. She lives on the edge of the town, near the fields and the woods.



June of course is a wonderful time to be visiting the Netherlands - everything is so green and the weather is lovely.



Last Sunday my friends had organized a surprise party for my upcoming 40th birthday (September 18th, when we will be back in Australia). I had not expected it at all, so it really was a surprise! I got this beautiful bracelet as a gift from everyone at the party:



And just one quilty thing to end this posting: my mother-in-law has asked me if I would like to make a quilt for her to hang in her living room, over the piano. I am very flattered and look forward to starting on it when we get back to Brisbane!



PS More photos on our family blog!

1 comment:

Sandra said...

Welkom in Nederland, ik hoop dat jullie een heerlijke tijd hebben en genieten van alle hollandse dingen. Het weer werkt in ieder geval mee. Have fun!