Life goes on.......

...a life where information had to be absorbed like shrapnel...

That used to be my life. I think back and wonder how I made it through those crazy busy days!

Today, in my 'golden years' of retirement sometimes I miss being busy and having more of a sense of purpose. I feel as if my life is on hold as we go through our days in The Netherlands. My plan was to do a lot of volunteer work in my retirement-that will have to wait till we return to the States. I also want to raise bees on our property. In the meantime, while in The Netherlands, I am working on my family tree and learning to enbrace the quiet. We are also trying to do as much traveling as time and money will allow. So much to see and do!

There are so many unknowns about what our future holds. Andrew may continue working for his company when we return to the States next fall. If he does, it will be in North Carolina. If they don't have a job for him then he plans to quit and we will have to figure out where we want to live.

We have been discussing that quite a bit lately. Because of family health issues, we have come to the realization that we do not want to be far away from all of our children. We'd like to be able to spend time with our children and grandchildren and not have to drive or fly hours and hours. So, now we are again considering California, and have added Texas to one of our choices as I have two children there now.

My iMac laptop died a few days ago, so I have been using my iPad. Luckily about a year ago I had bought a wireless keyboard, which works great!  I just can't type very well on the iPad keyboard.
We are planning to go to England soon and I will look at getting a new laptop then. Because I had an iPhone here, and the guys in the store told me it was all switched over to English....and I still get a lot of things in Dutch, I do not want that to happen with a laptop that I plan to have for years.

I've been looking on line at what kinds of home we can afford in both areas. Of course, you don't get much in California for your money. But,we don't have to live in the Bay Area, which is nice. So, we can get more for our money in that respect.

Only God knows what our future holds.....

Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem

We've lived here for a year and a half now, and sorry to say, had never been to the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem. We had been missing out on a beautiful experience!  The Museum is in what was once an orphanage, and has been there since 1913. The building, which used to be called the Oude Mannenhuis (old man's house), was founded in 1609. It was then occupied by the orphanage from 1810 till 1908.

 We made our way inside.....

We were able to use our Museumkaart for entry, saving €10 each. We have used the cards enough now that we're in 'the black' now!

As you enter, they have you go through the gift shop, which is lovely. It overlooks the hofje (a courtyard garden).

A few of the pieces of art on display:

life is short.......

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art comes in many forms....not just paintings:

It was fun to see Haarlem depicted in old paintings and be able to compare it to today's life in Haarlem! (please excuse my shadow in some of the photos, there was no way to avoid it!)

The Capture of Damietta depicted:

(taken from http://www.haarlemmarketing.co.uk/about-haarlem/history/monuments.html#anchor6596)

Grote or St. Bavokerk (St Bavo’s Church)

The biggest church in Haarlem is Grote or Sint Bavokerk in Grote Markt square. This Gothic cruciform church is a significant feature in the Haarlem cityscape. The nave was built around 1400. The tower was only finished in 1520 and is over 75 metres high. The characteristic ringing of the Damiaatjes church bells can be heard every evening and commemorates the heroic role Haarlem citizens played in the capture of the Egyptian city of Damietta in 1219. Inside the church are the famous Müller organ from 1738, which Mozart played as a young boy, and the gravestones of Frans Hals, Pieter Teyler, Pieter Jansz. Saenredam and many others. This was originally a catholic church which after the violent seizure by Protestants during the Haarlemse Beeldenstorm (Haarlem iconoclastic outbreak) became a Protestant church.

The hofje:

and the famous Haarlem artist.....Frans Hals:

Another Dutch artist....Vroom:

 What a wonderful experience it was to go through the Frans Hals Museum. I highly recommend taking the time to see it.