Fietsen!

Yesterday our neighbor, Bruce, came over after he got off work and helped me go on-line to a website that is like E-Bay to look for a bicycle. It's all in Dutch, so he helped me by interpreting and showing me how to get around on the website. We found a couple of bikes under 200 Euro, so I emailed about one and called the owner of the other one.

When Andrew got home tonight we drove to the Vijfhuisen area of Harlemmermeer, which is about a 10 minute drive away to look at the bicycle. It's perfect for me!  It has several speeds (not sure how many...but more than I'll ever need I'm sure!) and it's the perfect height!  The guy we bought it from said he had bought it for his 75 year old mother and she never rode it. We got it for 150 Euro....which is a great deal for a used bike! It has a lock on the back of it and I'll have to buy another chain lock for it tomorrow. I'm going to take it to the bike shop to have them check the front brake and put a basket on the front so I can use it for hauling groceries.  I rode it in a straight line home.....but I'm quite nervous riding right now. I'm going to force myself to "get over it" and get comfortable...it's reallllllly the only way to get around here!

Earlier today I was sitting in the dining area having a cup of tea thinking about my life and how much has changed over the last several months. I guess I was feeling "homesick".......our house has been sold, I've stopped working and we moved away from all our children and friends. It's definitely going to take some adjusting.