2009 Yearbook
2008 Yearbook
2007 Yearbook
2006 Yearbook
2005 Yearbook
2004 Yearbook
2003 Yearbook
Saturday, December 3
Selling the farm you were
born on and have worked for all of your life, must be one of the most
difficult choices to make. Even when you're selling your farm to a couple
of adorable neighbors like us. That's why we wanted to change this sad
occasion into a memorable day for our neighbors. Something positive
to reminisce. After coffee with their children and all the other neighbors,
a small boat took us to a restaurant on the other side of the lake where
we had a wonderful lunch and signed the final contract (
).
It's unreal: the farm is definitely ours! We are now the proud owners
of one of the nicest spots in the heart of Holland...
Thursday, December 8
Christmas is a very important holiday for us. Not only a time to rest, when there's not much to do outside. But also a time for contemplation, thanking the spirits and coccooning with our loved-ones in front of a burning woodstove, waiting for the days to grow longer again. Already in August do we start with the design of our own special Christmas cards.
This year is different. The previous months have been so hectic, running from hospital to hospital, that we didn't have time to think of any cards at all. Actually, when we arrived in Athens today, we were kind of surprised to see the city smile under this shiny blanket of Christmas lights.
Tuesday, December 13
Well maybe we're not in a holiday mood (yet) because we have other things on our mind. For today, within a week, there's another contract waiting to be signed: that of our own apartment on our favorite Greek island in the east of the Agean Sea. The house is still being built and due to be surrendered in June 2006. But we can already say that it's going to be more beautiful than what we've ever dared to imagine it to be.
Saturday, December 24
Christmas Eve: most of
Holland is roaming the shops in order to do some last minute X-mas shopping.
The streets are flocked with jumpy grocery bags. We're too tired for
that! Instead we visit the oldest museum of the Netherlands (),
just one block from where Tallotter was raised. It has a superb international
exhibition with drawings by Michelangelo ()
that'll soon move to London. In a sense it's tasty religious gay porn.
What could be a more appropriate introduction to the right Holiday spirit?!
Thursday, December 29
The ravages of this Tuesday's
major pruning session against an early morning sky, make a suitable
image for the last photo of 2005's Yearbook.
On Boxing Day JG's mum
was brought to the IC-unit again because of heart and kidney failure.
Yesterday we had a chat with the doctor of the nursing home to prolong
Tallotter's father's stay there. Today Tallotter's sister will have
her gall blatter removed. And JG's brother was already in hospital because
of mental problems.
At the same time there is all the more reason
to be grateful. We have each other, we have our wonderful friends, and
- despite these health problems - we still have most of our parents
with us. We're on the eve of the renovation of the farm, which will
turn the Fraternity into a true Locus Amoenus ().
And soon we'll have our own place on our favorite Greek island. We had
no earthquakes, no tsunami's, no day-to-day bomb attacks, no hunger
and (still) no war. So in a way, we're very blessed.
We wish you all a very happy and healthy 2006!
Friday, December 30
Late yesterday evening, Mum died peacefully in hospital, surrounded by her husband and children. Words can not even begin to describe how much we will miss her. But we'll cherish the love she gave us and nurture what was her mission in life. "Love and take care of each other, no matter what."