Sunday, June 22, 2014

Straatfeest, Haarlem Style.....annnnd plans for the future!

It has been a few months since I last posted. Since that time I met friends (Pat, Donna and Mary) in Poland for a 10 day tour, then they came to Haarlem to visit; our friend Kristen and her Mom Sharon came to visit for a few days; my friend Nina came to visit and she and I traveled to Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro; Dan, Michelle and the girls (Andrew's brother and family) came to visit. It has been a busy few months with lots of travel and many visitors!

Last night was our last Straatfeest (Street Party) in Haarlem. The end of the street was closed off to traffic, so we were able to set up tables and chairs. We had such a great time!  Everyone brought food to share. We had our BBQ set up for everyone to use, so burgers and sausages were cooking for all! I made chili (toned the spiciness down a bit!) which was enjoyed by all!

Yesterday was the longest day of the year. Sunrise was 0518hrs. and sunset was at 2207hrs. It didn't actually get dark till almost 2300hrs! Several of us were out in the street till after midnight talking. What a great day!

We have been so blessed to have such wonderful neighbors and friends!










 Sammy had a great time too!

















 Dancing in the streets!

 Taking Sammy for a walk!



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We are starting to make plans to move back to the U.S. Andrew got confirmation last week that he has a job waiting for him in the Bay Area (CA) October 1st. We have decided that we will get into a month to month place for about two months while we look for a place to rent for a couple of years. We will both fly back at the same time in September.

Sooooooo, we are working on getting prices for shipping Sammy and shipping a few household goods back. There's a lot to think about and I'm thankful that this time I'm not trying to work too while having to do it all!

We are trying to get confirmation from our landlords if they want us to leave the furnishings in the house when we leave (so they can rent it out fully furnished), or if they want us to empty the house.