Some routine has settled in the Lambregts household now, and after a busy and stressful time we are ready for a long summer break. School will finish next Wednesday, and we will drive straight to France. Mary and the girls will stay for some 7 weeks, and Piet will be there for 4 weeks, split into 3 sessions. So what else has happened the last few weeks?
The court case (see post of June 5th): our downstairs neighbour finally signed the agreed compromise, and Mary went back to Utrecht on a peace mission. Both the neighbour and we had arranged our own contractor to inspect the leakage problem. All met at the house, and both contactors had a good look, and will come up with a joint proposal. The work should be initialised as soon as possible and paid for 50-50. We are now one step closer to a solution and can go on holiday with some peace of mind.
The house in The Hague: Mary has been very, very busy; she has fixed up Paula’s attic room (with some help from all of us). The walls are clean and whitewashed; all Paula’s things are up there, including photographs of our Egyptian horses Adham and Mirinda. It is a nice teenager room now, and the next big project is to get the windows extended to make the room larger (the famous Dutch “dakkapel”). Dorien was less lucky, her attic room needs to be extended first, otherwise it is not possible to stand upright in most of it. She has been stuck in a small (future guest-) room on the first floor, which just fits her bed, a desk and a bookshelf. But she is perfectly happy there. Our bedroom was done as well, the walls were whitewashed, the sideboards replaced and a large 5-piece wardrobe installed. With our bed and a rug it looks just like new!
Almost all boxes have been unpacked now and most things have found their own place. It is starting to be possible again to move around the garage and the cellar and the house really feels like home.
Horse riding: Mary and the girls managed to wriggle themselves into the riding lessons at the stable across the road “De Wildhoef”. Like with a lot of things in The Netherlands there was a waiting list, but with some flexibility and persistence they got in. On Saturday afternoon Paula is riding with the teenage advanced group, and on Monday Dorien is riding with the advanced group of her age. Thursday evening all three together join an adult group, and they have been riding on the beach a few times, although most lessons are inside in the paddock. Although they miss the freedom from Egypt they are enjoying the riding very much. And that it is just a 5 minute walk from the house makes it only better.
The beach: one of the best things with the location of the house is the short distance to the beach. Just a 10 minute walk or a 5 minute bike ride and we are there, and all our visitors end up there as well. Every weekend we go for a walk, to test the seawater temperature, to swim (! Piet and Dorien on a windless, sunny day) or to try out our kite. There are always people on the beach, but because there is no parking area nearby it lacks the busy resort atmosphere of nearby Scheveningen. And that we also like!
Paula in her attic room
Paula and Passoa are ready for a lesson
Lining up for a lesson in the paddock of "De Wildhoef"
Dorien flying her kite
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