Hooray it's Spring

Dear Bloggers,


After a long winter with a lot of snow and ice, people are longing for spring weather. When I am waiting in front of the school to pick up my kids, you hear the others whining about the cold weather that we had for weeks. You can read it on everybodies face when the temperatures are rising and we do not need to wear hats and gloves aymore. Ok it is not warm enough to take off the warm winterjacket. When the sun is coming out you see the first ones working in their garden and washing their windows.

Spring is in the air
This week it became finally warmer weather. Finally we could enjoy the rays of the Sun Just look around you, the coming days. Everywhere the hormones start to work again. It is also called Spring Fever. Nature is getting busy. The crows build their nests in the tallest trees. You see the sheep having already the first lambs. The crocuses find their way to the light and the duck is sitting already on her eggs. The planning in the economy is also already made again. The leaflets with the bargains are coming in the mail again. And what will you do the next few days?

Some are going to the campsite to their mobile home to get things back in order. The boat is out of the garage and the motorbike is being polished up again. What comes back is an energy release in humans. And it will become be even warmer, as expected from the weatherforecast. Do you notice it yourself, even it is only a little bit?

In this period of year I drift of in my memories: Years back when I still lived with my parents. It seems so long ago, but it is not that long ago. What did my mother do and what we do not nowadays. And if you think about it is already very long ago, or I am getting quickly older.

What a difference
There was also much more reason that the spring cleaning had to be done. There was a coal stove or coal fire. And that gave a lot of dust. Every morning the ashdrawer had to be emptied. In wintertime you threw the ashes on your doorstep. And of course the covers of the beds. A quilt was not yet born. And the mattress with the springs. The spiral springs were of iron. Everything was brougth outside to let it the air and the dust was beaten out. Even the carpet beater was used for all rugs. The blankets and matresses were beaten by two people. We also did the books from the bookshelf. And all of us needed to help with it. We walked with a stack of books, outside and beat it. For my mother it was nice to have a big family as these extra hands could help.

Other times
Fortunately we live in a different time. The vacuum cleaner became a lot better and I slightly lower the teperature of te central heating. Hot water I get from the tap for things to clean. And in the meantime the washingmachine cleaned my laundry and I only have to put it into the dryer. And if have washed the windows, the next load of washing can go on the dryingline. So in this present time we have some more time to enjoy the sun and all the other beautiful things that nature brings. The thought alone, and springitches are born.

The summer should not start too quickly, otherwise we could not enjoy the pretty part of nature.

The Old Sailor,

Spring has come at last

Dear Bloggers,

Spring has come at last to the low country.
Heralded in by the song of the frogs in the duck pond, the roaring sound of agricultural machinery is all around.
The air is alive with the constant song of native birds, the melody and harmony of all these birds is telling the story of the spring.

I used to say I can tell the season by my hands.
Yes, it’s spring.
A blister from shoveling, a blood blister from pliers, a torn cuticle from a hammer, a cut finger from barbed wire, and more.
My hands are swollen in the mornings when I wake up.
I do not like that feeling.
I know they have worked.
My hands are my tools.
Their idle time is over.
My wedding ring no longer fits.
I managed to squeeze it off, rather painfully, and now I am waiting to see if we can have it stretched to accommodate the swelling.
I miss the feel of the simple metal band, no longer there on my hand where I expect to feel it.



Also my hands and wrists are swelling up now and I have days that I cannot wear my watch as it is too painful.
And working in the garden is long time ago.
When I was diagnosed with costocohondritis and figured out that my body was my enemy in this case.
Ok I still was mowing the lawn on good days, but shoveling or redoing the tiles and oiling the deck has not been my job anymore.
Although my wife has taken over these jobs and my kids are helping to pick the weed, I really feel manytimes that I became useless.
Sometimes I sit down and cry as I can hardly bear it that my body has so given up on me.
Everyday is different and I experienced pain in the strangest places.
Although it hurts like hell every now and then, I keep on going as everybody tells me to keep in motion.


A good reason to keep on moving

A biking tour from 30km as in my “old days” I can dream about that, but if I can keep up on doing my daily tour of 3 km.
When I come home I am fully done and crash into a deep sleep on the couch.
What the **** has happened to the old me.
It is not that I want you to feel sorry for me but it can be mighty frustrating,
I try to enjoy life as much as possible.
There are enough negative people in this world.
I am doing my best to make my wife and kids as happy as I possibly can.

Living off in the countryside has given me the opportunity to experience my fair share of country stories.
Most of which, I really can not tell you… but here’s one that is rather appropriate.
It involves herbal love… and gardening!
The days that I was young I had a teacher who was much into herbs.
They lived very close to nature and they were nearly never sick.



Now I am having pain and the medical people can still not really figure out what is attacking my body from inside.
The only thing they give you are painkillers (bad motherfuckers) as you are being high of them all the time and your body is ending up with a lot of toxic waste.
When I asked the therapist if there was a friendlier way of taking the pain.
She laughed and said I cannot cure you but maybe I can make your live less painful. But do not expect miracles, well it is a bit short term but I am using a little less painkillers.
It is a herbal mix and I have too follow the schedule, let’s hope it will give more results on the long term.


The flower that might give some relief

My question is why are these people still placed in the corner of witches and charlatans?
Why don’t we look at nature as a pharmacy and we still have not discovered all curing plants.
And why are all these doctors so afraid of these natural healers is this only because of money?
I should think that they should join eachother and believe in eachothers knowledge. So we need to spend less money on finding the right medication by listening to the patient.
I am quite a sceptic if it comes to medication at all, but I am not afraid to try new things.

I am waiting for less rainy days in my life.

The Old Sailor,