Let's talk about the darker days before Christmas

A village near the sea, grey and rainy days, an old renovated fishing cottage, ancestral furniture, dogs, candles. All topped with a fluffy mist....
This is my well being in the darker days before Christmas.

Of course I love light and sunshine, it makes the world so much brighter and we need it, but these darker days...... Every year again I am looking forward to them. I can't wait to lit my candles. To embrace the soft glowing light creating comfortable shadows and giving a warm glow to my furniture, maintained and loved by many generations before me. To listen to Bach, to read a book. To drink hot chocolate or Winter tea.

No, I do not live with ghosts from the pasts. Maybe it has to do with not always feeling comfortable in this modern world although I benefit from technology and improved health care too!
Often I crave for a more quiet world, less distractions, more simple. With more simple I mean more quiet, alone with your thoughts, less white noise. There is so much noise: traffic, plains, machines, radios.....  Living in a quiet village near the sea, is a blessing.

My former house, a renovated small farmhouse, was far more isolated although situated near a drive trough country road. At the back and the front no neighbours, just country views. I loved the house, it was comfortable and cosy. Still... in my new house I feel even more comfortable. More at home.
Last week I talked to my lovely neighbour about our mutual feelings for this village and the beautiful Wadden Sea. She and her husband moved here 35 years ago, she originates from Germany.
Even now she can get emotional talking about how wonderful it is to live here, which caused me 'wet eyes' when I agreed.

One of my ancestors owned a plot of land in a nearby fishing village. With my huge amount of Scandinavian DNA (the Vikings did not only ravaged the Friesian coast but also 'mingled' with members of the local population) it is not surprising that I feel so rooted here.
The current exhibition 'We Vikings' in the Friesian Musem in Leeuwarden is a 'must see' and on top of my list.

My DNA is used to long dark winters full of fires and stories to pass the time. I can imagine myself listening in front of a fire. My fantasy at work about elves, trolls, giant birds...... I love standing in the middle of nature, inhaling the cold air, watching the many stars we still see here, my feet guided by the night when walking the wet lands.
Genetic memories and reality.

Soon the Christmas tree will be up again. I respect our Dutch Sinterklaas but the very first Saturday after this wonderful festivity for children, the tree goes up. And already I am planning which changes I have to make to my sitting room to give it a prominent place. It will stay there for at least 4 weeks, spreading it's soft light. Adding to my home feeling.

Photo: Ike Roelfsema

I am also looking forward to the Christmas illumination of the village. There are so many old and beautiful cottages here. Often built close to the next one to shelter each other for the fierce cold wind from sea.
To hear the church bells in the 800 year old tower, wishing it could speak. Wishing it tells stories about all those Christmases it witnessed. In mostly hard times where people struggled to survive, but also happy times of new marriages, new born children.

The darker days before Christmas: simplicity and soft glows.....

Love,

Helen

Let's talk about the power of Autumn

Last night I stood on top of the dike near the sea and watched the light house beams kissing the waves. The strong wind embraced me, I felt happy and content.

The people who know me well, know how much I love Autumn.

Ever since I was a child, Autumn has been my friend. A friend that gives me energy, that fires my heart, that feeds me with expectations.

When I was 3 years young, we lived temporarily near the sea and although memories of that time are mostly vague, I still remember the sound of the sea, the scent and the light.
I remember that very day when there was a huge storm and I all of a sudden 'disappeared'.
My parents were devastated, a 3 year old little girl, gone, traceless.

But they knew me of course so well and had a pretty accurate guess of where I could be. A thorough search led to the toddler that walked on the beach, all on her own, in wind force 9 with her hands on her back, in perfect harmony with the elements, not understanding the hassle about her solitude promenade.

And I have not changed much. I still love the elements. I need them like we all need oxygen.
I need views, endless views whether it is near the sea, a lake, the fields or the hills.
I am occasionally called a Child of the North and I have always been proud of that name. My Scandinavian, Baltic and Celtic DNA (half of all my DNA) is so obvious.

I have spent Autumns in Scandinavia where I walked for hours through the forest, along the lakes. Where I sat still to listen.

Where Summer in Scandinavia can be warm and lazy, full of heavy scents of all those flowers blooming at once to celebrate the short period of constant light, Autumn is the time of year in which nature is busy preparing itself for a long dark, magical period called Winter.

The mushrooms flourish, berries turning flaming red, black or deep blue to provide food for animals and humans. The scent of mushrooms mingles with the scent of decaying leaves.
The sound of running mice, climbing squirrels, foraging bears, foxes, lynxes, deer and elks which all know now it is time to eat or store as much as you can.

Birds leave for warmer areas, birds stay or arrive to spend the Winter.

Photo: Ike Roelfsema Photography

The first mist spreading its voile over the lake, changing the forest into a magical place full of white and grey shadows, muffling sounds to whispers. Water drops falling from the trees, sound like little silver bells. These are all early Autumn sounds and so wonderful to listen to.

The first mist that lays its blanket over the sea, fading the transition between water and sky, adding soft pastels, soothing the water and sounds.

Then comes the first night frost which turns the small world into a fairytale with a crisp white layer where the Autumn colours glow underneath.
And nature comes to a hold. Only silence, a very deep silence that speaks more to me than any other sound. A silence I inhale, adopt, treasure.
A silence so close to true love. The love that makes you tremble with expectation, that opens up your heart, makes you mellow and soft. The love that you do not only keep in your heart but also in your hands, to offer it to whom this love is worthy, that very special person.

This special gift of Autumn lifts me up, makes me extremely happy.  I carry it with me, in my heart, my soul, my body.

Autumns other gift is its beautiful promise of Spring, a promise always kept, a promise never failing. Love that promise, hold it close to you, very close.

Love,

Helen

Johan Sebastian Bach: Concerto for 2 harpsichords, string and b.c. in
C minor BWV 1062 'Allegro assai'

Let's talk about settling

It has been a while since my move from one little village to another.
In my previous blog post I was still sorting all my belongings and packing numerous removal boxes.

I was surprised how many things one can gather over the years. It was a mix of more then one household and what wasn't needed or 'to sort out on short term but it never happened' was boxed and stored in the garage.
Anyone who moved more than once will admit that it is the best opportunity to get rid of what you never missed over the past years, or what you probably will not use in the future. Or more realistic, what does not fit in the new home which is considerably smaller then the previous home.

Apart from taking much to the skip and the charity shop, I was also able to provide friends with nice things. Giving is so much nicer than selling, particularly when a happy face says "Thank you!"
I could not have done otherwise than giving warm hearted because I was surrounded by wonderful people who took the time to help me shifting. One couple even cooked meals for me! And not to forget the moral support from friends all over the world. I know, what ever I gave them, it will never be enough to express how thankful I was and still am.

I will not go deeper into the move other than that it was a logistic nightmare but I survived. The weeks or even months around the move can best be described as a 'tough job with lots of over time'  and a 'full time work out'. And yes, my physical condition definitely improved! (There is always a good side to everything!)

I loved my previous house, I lived there for over 10 years without one day of regret and I felt so sorry for the house that I was not able to maintain it anymore. It deserved new caring owners and that is what it got.
But I also love my new home, a small rental cottage in a fishing village close to the Wadden Sea.
From day one I felt comfortable and at ease. Of course, decorated with precious items which have been in the family for many generations, I had to feel at home. But it is not just that. It is the home it self. Built in 1890 and gently renovated over the past century, it is now up to the modern standards but still with originally features such as beams and wooden floors.

It does not have a garden at the back but a nice cosy patio where I spend more time reading and enjoying the sun than I ever did before.
It is situated in a tiny but very hospitable fishing village with a church with an 800 year old tower where the church bells still ring every 30 minutes to announce the time. I love the sound!
There is a wonderful Pub 'De Kalkman' where they serve several local brewed beers and very tasty food for very reasonable prices.

I also love the sound of the seagulls, geese and all other Wadden birds. I love the smell of the Wad.
I love that special light near the coast which changes every other minute.
A day can not start better than standing on top of the dike watching the clouds, the sun, the tides, an occasional sailing boat spending the night and waiting for high tide to leave again.

A village is only hospitable by to the people living here. They made me feel very welcome, do not

Photo by Ike Roelfsema Photography

hesitate to introduce them selves and to take the time to talk to me. I already received home grown apples, plums and raspberries.
They asked me to participate in the Village Fair by creating an oil painting (first time in my life).
The Fair was so nice although I did not attend the big parties at night. All streets were decorated with colourful small flags and lights and home made artistic creations which have been photographed by the many tourists that enjoy the village and the Wadden Sea.

I love the sunshine but also the rain and are looking forward to the famous sea mist that suddenly appears to cover the village in a mysterious soft grey light. I love the spectacular sunsets and cloud formations.
I do not have to explain my camera being my loyal companion.....

Happiness my dear readers, is all around me and I realize how very fortunate I am.
I share this happiness with you and if you ever want to visit 'my' village drop me a message.

Lots of love,

Helen

Let's talk about ageing....

Whether you are young or whether you are old, each stage in life has it's advantages.
Personally I like getting older. Yes, yes, you might not at all agree, at least not now, maybe at the end of my story.

Your childhood is precious and passes too fast. Impatience is part of the growing up. Particularly when you enter puberty. That stage that you are 13 coming up 30.
Parents talk rubbish, are embarrassing, don't understand you, are old fashioned and above all, extremely meddlesome.
You never sigh so often and so deep as in your teenage life. Neither will you ever roll your eyes as often. After all 'been their, done that', you know it all much better as a modern child of old fashioned parents who - sigh slash eye roll - do not even take the effort to understand you.
Although you consider yourself being an adult, you can't wait to grow up even faster and the proverb 'youth is waisted on the young' isn't meaningful to you.

You rush with big steps into the real life of earning your own money and living in your own apartment or house.
Whilst you overthink this all being that hasty teenager, you completely forget that adult life comes with loads of responsibilities. From doing your own laundry to paying your bills and TAX. From 8 to 5 jobs or being self employed with much longer working hours, to being woken up by impatient children at unearthly hours. And everything in between of which you suddenly realize your parents did it all without you even knowing or caring about it.

Well.... welcome to the world of the grown ups!

My memories of my childhood are care free and full of love, laughter, warm long summers and winters full of ice and snow.
My memories of being a teenager are confusing, upset hormones, heartaches, misunderstandings. Besides love and shelter of course. The proverb  'too large for a serviette and too small for a table cloth' was very appropriate. The one minute I felt confident and the next minute totally unsure.

I could not wait growing up and leaving it all behind me.

I also disliked the institute 'school'. No, I was not stupid and perfectly capable of learning but as I just said, to me it was an institute that locks you up for most of the day. And during my youth, children still went to school on the Saturday mornings as did most people work on the Saturday mornings.
Maybe it has to do with  being an introvert. If I couldn't remember staring out of the windows instead of concentrating on my fellow students and teaching material, the remarks in my reports still tell me.
All I wanted is being somewhere on my own, not surrounded by other people.

I was brought up in a lovely family with one brother but many other young people flocking the house sharing meals and laughter. I liked it at times but also had a small space in the garden where I could hide to enjoy solitude.

It changed when I had a job I truly loved: being a receptionist/telephonist and regularly a hostess on exhibitions. Surrounded by hundreds of people but I loved it. This is where my self-confidence evaluated to normal standards.
And suddenly being the non-official-adopted foster daughter of a Yorkshire couple helped a lot too! Being part of the British way of life made me complete. But this is a different story...

We now arrive in our twenties, a steep learning curve towards our thirties and still it can not go fast enough. You still make mistakes (did I know by then that making mistakes is part of learning and learning is equal to developing and that is what you need to do until your very last breath), you hate making mistakes because you see yourself (finally) as the adult you should be.
Society is demanding, so is making a success of friendships, relationships, your job and last but not least your marriage.

Looking back, these twenties and thirties did not differ much: you have loads of energy to cope with all your plans and mental growth. You learn to cope with the responsibilities you definitely were not aware of in your teens. Loads of energy to make your life successful.

Then come the forties, not for everyone but yes, for me the life changing era.
The end of the marriage, the start of a totally different life with totally different expectations and opportunities. Challenges.
And although the divorce, Cancer and several operations, self employed, part time jobs elsewhere until an 80 hours per week job with travelling within Europe, I still had the necessary amount of energy to live a life like this.

This is also the stage in life you realize that being just you and being at ease with yourself, doing the right things in life and being honest, is the true base of your life. Nothing more and nothing less.
The opinion about me of people who passed by in my life, has never been of much importance to me. I was brought up with the intention to be a nice person and a personality, not the 'go with the flow' and not a 'part of a large group' person. And you will agree that 50 different people have 50 different opinions about you. You can not please them all, that is simply impossible, a waste of energy which can better be spend on those who are close to you with mutual respect.

It is in this stage of life you learn where your priorities are. Or even better: with whom. You have the energy to learn this and paying it attention. You are half way your life (technically spoken) and want it to be good with no worries about things you can not change. You learn to turn the unchangeable nasty things into good things. And slowly you grow towards your fifties......

Photo: Ike Roelfsema Photography

You might not realise it at first (fifty sounds old though, middle aged....) but this is the stage in life you can be just you. You will notice, whatever you do - being silly or seriously, dancing in the streets or jumping in pools getting soaked, or up to your knees in the mud during a refreshing walk - youngsters smile and think "That is a silly person but who cares, she/he is old anyway". Where the elderly people think "I wished I could still do that. And who cares, she/he is still young! Such a blessing!"
With this in mind, make the very best of this stage in your life! Live it to the full and stay responsible.

I am more than happy to say that this feeling is still appropriate at my current age, I can not speak for beyond early sixties. Though I do have lovely close friends beyond seventy who do not only share this view on life but who still 'dance in the street', who are energetic and active, who enjoy being who they are, being alive and kicking. Still discovering new challenges in life....

Ah.... life! It is still a party but it is yóú who has to put up the decorations!

Cheers!!!

Helen

World wide Blog visitors

The stats of this Blog shows world wide visitors with The Netherlands and Russia on top.
Because my Blog is in English, I expected more visitors from the US (as is the case with my Skype Lifestyle Blog) or the UK but Russia surprises me. Dear Russian visitors: a warm welcome!

I was thinking about the countries where you, my visitor,  live and wondering how the weather is at your side. With the Climate Changes it might be high Summer in Alaska and mid Winter in Maroc. You can't tell.
In Holland it is mid Autumn right now: storms, thunderstorms and rain. Cosy indoors but nothing like Spring or Summer. And it is only two weeks from now that Summer begins. Oh dear....

My 'office' is my kitchen, my view is garden, fields and trees. And the trees are waving heavily at me, bowing in the wind. The trouble with storms in the Summer are the leaves at the trees. You will be familiar with the proverb "High trees catch much wind". Well, they do today!

Not a day for food shopping which was my plan. Instead I am writing a short story for a writing contest; dead line end of June. And writing is what I like to do most.
While typing away, I listen to the snoring sound of one of my dogs. They love to be outdoors but don't like this weather. They have chosen to sleep curled up, in their dog bed right in front of the large window with the garden view so if they wake up they can still see what is going on outside.
Even the birds in the garden keep quiet. And according to the forecast, we haven't had the worst yet.

Are you familiar with the word 'freubelen'? I doubt. It is similar to'fiddle (with), tinker (with/up).
With the word 'freubelen' you think of toddlers making beautiful things of paper but one can also 'freubel' (I love that word) digital. And that is what I did the past few days. I updated my Dutch Blog and simplified navigating on all blogs.
And I added Pinterst. One need to be on top of all the Social Media!

I hope you have much better weather, where ever you live. Enjoy the sunshine, enjoy each others company and above all: smile!

Helen