Saturday PM - Philadelphia, USA

Last night at about 6 o'clock the entire family and myself piled in the car and off we went to adventure! First we drove to a nearby train station where we picked up Bazil, a cousin of Bradley who often comes to spend some time when his studies allow for it. He studies Computer Science at Drexel University in Philadelphia and is a very amiable young man from Kenya. With the car full of lively people we happily drove on through town down the main street and all of a sudden we noticed honking cars, some pulled over, while others just drove by the corner of the street where a man and a woman were fighting, rolling on the street, pulling on a backpack and screaming at each other. Bradley pulled over also, he checked it out for a few seconds and then got out of the car, while Katee in the backseat rolled down the window and yelled: STOP IT! STOP IT! and then she started calling 911! Bradley walked over to the scene and started talking. His voice lowered at least 2 octaves and sounded booming and very intimidating. Another man came out also to help Bradley and they got them off of each other, but they were still yelling and screaming, and then they started walking down the sidewalk. Katee was still on the phone with the 911 dispatcher and gave physical descriptions while 3 police cars came by with sirens on and intercepted the man and woman. They handcuffed the man and made the woman sit down to talk to her. The whole thing did probably not take more than 3 or 4 minutes, but can I just say it was intense?! Really. This is the world that the members of Katee and Bradley's youth group live in and that is very foreign to me. I can assure you that a lot of prayer went up in our car during those few minutes!

Anyhow, we got back on track to the most famous Philly cheesesteak restaurant in Philadelphia: Pat's King of Steaks. Pat's is located in a relatively small building that is surrounded by sidewalks and streets. There are steel picknick tables all around the building on the sidewalks on the street side and on the inside of the sidewalk towards the building is the line of people wanting to order food. I am not kidding you, the line went all the way around the building when we got there and it took one hour to get our food on the table. Fortunately we were able to get a table quickly so Katee and I sat down, while Bradley, Bazil and Joshua stood in line. It turned out to be so busy for several reasons: it was a beautiful and balmy evening, the send-off game for the USA soccer team to the World Championships in South Africa had just ended (they played Turkey in Philadelphia!) and lots of fans came to Pat's for some cheesesteak and there had also been some other game for which lots of people had come to town. It was nice sitting there, talking to Katee and watching people! And the food was great!!! I am pretty sure I have seen Pat's King of Steaks restaurant on FoodTV in one of those series where they check out local delicacies... After all was consumed and enjoyed we drove around in the city for a little bit and I saw some historic buildings and the Liberty Bell which was really nice. We were home a little bit before 10 and I was in bed by 11, very tired and also proud and satisfied that I was able to do this little bit!

And I almost forgot: I also walked from the back of the house to the end of the backyard to admire Katee and Bradley's brandnew fenced garden where the tomatoe plants of several varieties and other vegetables are growing. It's so sweet! And of course there are the usual enemies of garden life: govers, groundhogs and bugs. Bradley is determined to eliminate and potentially destroy any and all opposition to the growth of his crop! Yes, they brought me a chair so I could rest before I walked back :-), but I was pretty proud of myself that I did it without too much trouble!

This morning I did not wake up until after 9, which I interpreted such that I was very tired and maybe had overdone the activities a little bit. Today Bradley's sister will get baptized and the entire Wangia clan will come to Katee and Bradley's house for a barbecue after church, so I will get to meet a lot of Bradley's relatives! Very exciting!

Part 2 - Switzerland/USA

It's Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend, I am showered, injected and dressed and now sitting outside in the Wangia's backyard, recovering from this morning's activity (which are basically the above-mentioned things; they take a lot of energy, believe me). I am able to put some weight on my leg now, which makes me so very happy! That means that walking is a bit easier and I don't need to lean heavily on Katee anymore (I mean that literally) to get around. I try to be smart about what I take where and what I am going to use there, but I also have no problem to ask Katee or Bradley to go get something for me. How strange life is. Katee took Joshua to the pool at the YMCA and Bradley is working on a project in the backyard. Of course, I would have rather gone with Katee to play in the pool with Joshua, but I honestly would not be able to do so. This afternoon after Joshua's nap, we will go do something fun together like yesterday (we drove to and around in Valley Forge which is a National Historic Park close to where the Wangia's live) and had ice cream at Dairy Queen. It was my first outing and I was so proud!

I want to tell you a little bit more about my 48 hour stay in the hospital. You can not be in the hospital to rest. There is a constant flurry of activity in the hallways and in your room. Nurses, nurses aides, student nurses, housekeeping, food delivery people, doctors, lab people, physical therapy people, maintenance people, you name it and they come by your bed to ask if you are ok, if you need anything, if they can take your vitals, if they can draw your blood, if they are treating you well, if you want bacon and eggs for breakfast, if the toilet is flushing well (which you don't know because you have not seen the toilet since you are on involuntary bedrest and need to call for help to use the commode or bedpan), and really: are you ok? Do you need anything? It starts before 6 o'clock in the morning and it lasts until after midnight. You may have a few hours of uninterrupted sleep if you or your roommate do not need to be put on the commode or bedpan, because then the flurry starts back up with 2 people in the room who are awake and working: are you ok, do you need anything, do you want to roll this way or the other way and so on and so forth. The food was quite alright, there was always plenty of ice water on my bedside table and everybody was extraordinarily kind.

Being discharged on Thursday was exciting, but also scary. After 2 days in the flurry of activity, it had also become a safe place, these people were comforting me by not freaking out when I was in a lot of pain and saying that it was normal for this Deep Vein Trombosis blood clot situation and part of the process. Helpful. Very helpful. Don't freak out when you are on your own, injecting yourself with blood thinner. The doctor says you will definitely know when things don't go well. Come back when it gets worse or when you experience shortness of breath. You will be alright to travel on Monday. Go see your doctor immediately. Ok. Alright. I understand. I promise. Katee comes and a volunteer pushes my wheelchair all the way to the curb where I pull myself into Katee's SUV. Painful. Gravity has its way with my blood flow or so it feels. I can't wait to get home and elevate my leg. Katee is my crutch so I can go to the bathroom and up the stairs when it is time for bed. Everything takes a lot of time and energy, and willingness to take the pain. I have also learned that I can not take my trusted Advil PM any more at night to help me sleep, because that interferes with what the blood thinner does. So that is another challenge: will I be able to sleep ok without? I am sure that there are other things out there I could use, but I have to do some research on all that. The nurse told me that I could use Tylenol for mild pain, and the doctor prescribed me something serious for when the pain got severe (he made me promise not to use them if not necessary ~ so far so good).

Anyhow, I woke up Friday morning and things seem to look up a bit. I seemed to be getting around a little bit easier, felt a little bit more confident, and after Joshua woke up from his nap, we decided that it was ok to go on a little road trip and have some icecream. That was really lovely! The weather was nice, the trees and grass were green, and the vanilla ice cream with chocolate topping was delicious! We came home, Katee made dinner, we watched a silly movie and had a great time just hanging out together.

This morning I am in fairly good shape, considering what it has been. As I said before I can put a little bit more weight on my leg now which makes it a lot easier to walk without having to hold on to anything and everything along the way. It is also easier to inject my medication. I believe now that one day in the (hopefully near) future, I will be able to walk normally again.

This afternoon, Katee and I are going shopping for a maternity shirt for her. Yes, the woman is almost 2 months pregnant and the family is very excited! Joshua cannot hold his mouth shut about being a Big Brother, although he does not entirely get the gender concept. In case the baby is a girl he would be a Big Sister in his mind. Oh well, he is only two and a half, he will get it! And we are going out to dinner! I so enjoy the freedom, ability and mobility!!! And I promise not to overdo; what the nurse told me is really true: my leg tells me what I can do and what not. I need to listen and obey... haven't I heard that before?

Sunday through Friday - Switzerland/USA

Hi everybody, it's been a trip, what can I say?! I am tired, feel beat up a bit, and also am so grateful for how the Lord covered me, because as they say in Minnesota: "It could 'ave been worse." Here is the latest news: I am out of the hospital since Thursday noon or so, I give myself shots with blood thinner in my belly twice a day, I am allowed to use my leg as much as it allows me, I elevate the leg, I rest it as much as possible but one has to go to the bathroom, I don't use razors any more, I try to not cut or bruise myself, and sometimes there are times that I believe that this pain will never go away. There are other times where I do believe that this will also pass. It occured to me in the hospital, while waiting for the vascular ultrasound and sharing an ER room with 2 other people, that if our very basic bodily functions do not properly do their job, very often everything else is of no importance any longer. I will leave it at that for now. I admire doctors and nurses. I admire them very, very much.

So my last post was on Saturday when I was still in Zurich with Silvia and James having a good and quiet time. The three of us went out to dinner in Rapperwil on Sunday evening to a nice Italian restaurant where we sat out on the patio with a view of the Lake of Zurich, and we also walked around a little bit in the beautiful and picturesque old city. At that time I felt a little bit of pain in my right calf but did not think much of it because I thought it was just the same injury as I had in Poland acting up again (I had felt the same thing after I had gotten off the train in Zurich on Friday evening). On Monday morning while walking inside the Zurich airport checking in and getting through security and multiple passport check points, the pain was back and worse than it was before. After the first leg of my trip (nine and a half hours in the plane, right next to a young man, barely aged to be drinking and who took full advantage of the privilege during the flight), I got off the plane in Atlanta in very much pain. Then I walked to and through Immigration, collected my suitcase and went through customs. After all was said and done, my right leg was swollen, sore and tender, and I was crying and in such pain I did not know what to do with myself. And I still was not in Philadelphia (a little over two hours to go). When I got off the plane in Philly, a young airline employee was offering his services with a wheel chair to me. After he said that the baggage claim area was 3 miles away from where the plane was, I gladly accepted his services and he tried every which way to cheer me up; very sweet! Katee and her 2-year old son Joshua met us at the baggage claim while Bradley was driving around in circles in front of the building. I was so very grateful to see familiar faces! Of course I told them about my leg (they already knew about the kidney thing) and in the evening, I elevated my right leg and it felt a tadbit better.

The next morning was pretty much the same, and considering how it had hurt the day before and how unusual the pain felt to me, I figured it would probably be smart to have it checked out. So Katee brought me to the ER at Montgomery Hospital in Norristown, PA, just about a 20-minute drive away from their home in Eagleville. When the ER's first line of defense mentioned the reality of blood clots after listening to what I had been doing in the last 7 weeks, I was shocked. Blood clots? You've got to be kidding me! I can't have blood clots! But ok, we should make sure, I agreed. Next thing I know, I am on a bed in the ER (I called it the bunker) in a room with 2 or 3 other patients who are wheezing and moaning and groaning. My nurse comes and talks to me about my situation: Great, a world traveler; we haven't had many of those lately... the doctor will probably want to make sure that there are no blood clots in that leg... I go: really, do you think that I have a blood clot? I can't believe that... so I mull that over for a while. I can't call anybody because my cell phone does not work in the bunker. The doctor comes and talks to me. Nice young man, good bed side manners. Let's just make sure there are no blood clots in your right leg: a vascular ultrasound of my right leg is coming up. While I am waiting, people next to me are getting ready to leave while an 85-year old man is brought in by ambulance people. He has a lot of pain in his abdomen and after a little bit of Q & A, the doctor decides the man suffers from a bowel obstruction and that can be fixed easily. The people next to me have really left now (bronchitis and urinary tract infection), and in comes a lady who is probably 10 years older than I. She has had diahrea for the last 2 weeks (sorry). When the doctor asked her what she ate and drank during the last 2 weeks, she said: Beer. Honestly.

Anyhow, the wheelchair shows up with a volunteer to bring me over to Radiology to get me to the ultrasound. I tell my story again to the technician, who nods and says: yes it's probably good to check for blood clots. He goes down my right upper leg and all is clear. He goes down the back of my knee and says: I've got something. Yes.

At that moment, I felt very small and frightenend. I told him so and he looked at me with kind eyes. He continued his search down my calf and found a few more clots in the two veins that go down the leg towards my foot. Then we were done, he gave me a preliminary report and I sat back down in the wheel chair and my kind driver came back to take me back to the bunker. Back there, I cried and prayed and did not know what else to do. Then the doctor came and confirmed that the technician found blood clots and he talked to me about the blood thinning treatment, which is mostly preventative to make sure no more blood clots are forming or the existing ones expanding. The blood clots will at some point in time dissolve (nobody committed to giving me any time frame). I have to stay in the hospital for 1 or 2 nights because blood thinning medication need to be watched closely. A male nurse came to draw blood and put an IV line in my arm (just in case). His name was Bob and he thought it was his job to cheerfully poke people and he tried the little bit of German on me that he knew. He was funny, and also very kind to me when I could not hold back my tears. Than another nurse showed up and gave me the first injection with blood thinner in my belly. By this time, the 85-year old was fixed up and ready to go home. I have no idea what was happening to the beer lady (and I will never know). Shortly thereafter my wheelchair showed up again and off we went to room 231 where I had the bed by the door. Around 4 in the afternoon or so, I was situated (well you know, what does it really take when you did not bring anything). In the mean time I had been able to call Katee from the bunker on the telephone behind my bunkerbed which I did not know was there until the nurse kindly handed it to me, so at least she knew what was going on, and she would come and visit and bring some things I wanted to have with me. It was great to see her friendly face before dinner and she brought me some snacks and even dark chocolate! So great!

I am going to publish this post now, and will finish the story later. I also wanted to let you all know that I cancelled all my travel plans for next week, and that I will be coming home on Monday, May 31 (Memorial Day). I will be arriving in San Jose, CA at 7:40pm and Lorraine will pick me up. The doctor agreed that I could travel to go home only if I would learn how to do the injections and if I promised to make an appointment to see my doctor the next day after my arrival. I agreed to both for obvious reasons. Overall, I am doing better than Monday and Tuesday. Walking is very painful and giving myself shots is odd and a little freaky. I am glad to be with Katee and Bradley and will tell you more about them later also. Thank you for your support, love and prayers!

Update on Danielle from Lorraine DerMott

Hello to you all. Danielle has asked me to give you a brief update on her health to this day. She is presently in North Town, Pennsylvania, staying in the Montgomery Hospital. When she landed back on US soil on Monday she had severe pain in her right leg. On Tuesday Katee took her to the emergency room and they discovered three blood clots. They are working on thinning her blood and trying to dissolve the clots. She will also be instructed on how to give herself the shots that are needed and at that time she would be able to leave the hospital and be with Katee and her family. She will be monitored closely I am sure, with the goal of being able to travel again on Monday. Please continue to pray for her health and safe travels.
Lorraine

Thursday Through The Next Week Saturday - France/Switzerland

Yes, you are going to get this from the horse's mouth. Today is Saturday, and at the time of this posting I am in the lovely home of my friend Silvia Pflueger (aka Silvia Steiner) who was at Coastlands for an internship and she also was the internship director for a while back in 2002 or so. Silvia is now married to James and they live in a nice apartment in the town of Altendorf, which is about a 45-minute drive from Zurich, Switzerland. But let me tell you how I got here...

After I posted my last French blog a week and a half ago, my sister insisted that I rest for at least two days and if I did not get better, she would take me to the doctor. So, after throwing a fit, I came to the conclusion that she was right and I was wrong. I should rest and see what happened. When I woke up on Friday morning, I knew that something definetely was not right. The pain in my back was moving around from left to right and back, there were certain points in my shoulders that were very sore, I could harldy lie down on my back, I was short of breath because of the pain in my back, and we agreed that we should go see a doctor. Hannie got on the phone and made an appointment for Saturday morning at 8:30. In the mean time, I had called Cathy and Martin Jacobi in Geneva that I was sick and was not able to come as planned on Saturday, but hopefully I could make it on Monday depending on what the doctor said.

Saturday morning Hijmen drove Hannie and I to the third village down the river from Le Coulet, it's called Saint Saveur de Montagut, and it has everything you think a French village should have: a bakery, a bar, a church and a grocery store (of course there are a few more things, but you get my drift). We went into the doctor's office and waited a few minutes, until the doctor himself came to get us. No fuss with assistants weighing you, taking your blood pressure and asking why you're there. He sat behind a large dark wooden desk and Hannie and I in nice chairs in front of the desk; behind him was a very large and tall, dark wooden cabinet that divided the room into two: office in front and examination room behind the wooden "wall". Hannie is a very smart woman who knows the language much better than I do, and so she and I had sat down the evening before and she had written down what was wrong with me, where the pain was, how long I had had it (actually that was since I first got to the Netherlands), and that I thought I was all muscle-related due to a messenger bag that I carried with me during my travels and that I hung cross-wise over my head and on my right shoulder. So, the doctor looks at me, raises his eyebrows, says something to the effect of yes, that could be, but is not convinced. Then he calls me back to the examination room where he checks if all my ribs are still attached to my spine, and sure enough they are. No pain there. Then he listens to my breathing, he gets concerned and has me lie down and points a fever pistol at me. Bingo. Fever. Then he takes my blood pressure. Too high. Then he examines the organs in my abdomen and starts making very concerning noises. He thinks I have a kidney infection, with the way my shoulder tendons are hurting and how that is connected to the muscles that are hurting me on the side of my ribcage just below my armpit. Definetely the kidneys. More traveling? CRAZYTALK! He throws his hands up in the air, shakes his head, and tells me: 4 days of bedrest, here and no talking back. He says: you seem very calm, but you are very, very sick! Then I tell him about my other kidney infections and what kind of antibiotic my American doctor prescribes. He writes a list of four medications to take to the pharmacy across the street. He writes referrals for bloodwork and for X-rays of my lungs and abdomen. And while he talks to Hannie, I sort of doze of into lalaland while I realize: I am sick and I better listen.
I pay Monsieur le Docteur 20 euro for his services, and we go to the pharmacy where I get a candybag full of boxes with pills and I pay them 40 euro for the whole kit'nkaboodle. Then we went home and I took the prescribed pills and a long nap. That was pretty much Saturday and Sunday: take the pills and take naps on the couch which was also my bed. And of course I called Geneva again to call off my visit. On Sunday evening I also called Ruth and Volker Heitz in Basel where I was planning to be from Thursday through Sunday morning, and told Ruth about the current events.

So then we arrive at Monday, the day of the hospital visit! My sister's friend Muriel who also lives in Le Coulet (see my earlier posts) had been so kind to make the appointments at the hospital in Valence (closest hospital - 1 hour drive) and she would also come with us because she speaks excellent French. We left Le Coulet at 9:30 in the morning, we stopped at the bank so I could get some more euros (no idea how much that would cost me), and were at the hospital before 10:45 where I first had the bloodwork done by a grandfatherly man with gray hair who was an excellent bloodworker: he got it right in the first try in a rather odd place (inside of my right wrist)... He was obviously glad that Muriel was present, because he did not speak any English. I paid the administrative assistant 32 euro for the bloodwork to check the kidney function. After a cup of coffee and a "pain de chocolat" we go to Radiology, sign up and in for my 11:30 appointment. The lady who takes the X-rays is very concerned because she sees I have trouble breathing deeply, questions about smoking, pneumonia, bronchitis etc etc. Then she sets me up in another examination room where the radiologist himself will do an ultra-sound of my abdomen. Muriel is here also present to great relief of the docteur; he talks, she asks questions and translates. Wonderful arrangment! No kidney stones, all organs look good, just some scar tissue from other infections, no blockages, everything is fine. He dicated a report, I paid 117 euros and within 45 minutes we were done and on our way. The results of the bloodwork would be in the mail on Wednesday. We were back at Le Coulet around 1:30 in the afternoon and after I ate a little bit I slept for two and a half hours. My days consisted of sleeping, resting, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner at the kitchen table if I felt I could. That was really it. I read a few books and we did crossword puzzles with the three of us, which was really an awful lot of fun. On the second day since I had started taking the antibiotics, we could see some improvement in my condition, and slowly but surely things started clearing up in my head and my body. The results of the bloodwork were indeed in the mail on Wednesday and Hannie made a follow up appointment with the doctor for Thursday. I had already talked to Katthrin in Basel to let her know about my decision to not go to Basel although it was with pain in my heart, because my visit would be at the same time when mission team from Coastlands would be arriving there on Friday for a Fathers-Daughters Camp. It would have been so great to see my friends there!

But I had not listened to my body and I had let this infection go on for a very long time, in my determination to do what I had planned to do: I could not get sick! I remember talking with Lorraine before I left if I should take a supply of antibiotics with me, just in case, and I decided not to because "I am not going to get sick". Haha. It's on my list of necessary items now, believe me. And it also makes me think about why I kept going. Of course there are all kinds of considerations: there was no fever like all the other times, I honestly thought it was just muscle pain and spasms, so I took some pain meds to relieve the muscle pain. But those pain meds must have also reduced the fever I was having, and so I did not feel bad enough (I thought) to stop and have a doctor look at it until my big sister took the fire and laid down the law. I am really very grateful that she did. And I also would like to go back to her beautiful little Le Coulet to enjoy it the way it should be enjoyed: walking, eating and drinking, building a decent fire in Jotuul and hanging your laundry on the line to dry. It is truly a beautiful place! www.lecoulet.nl

Anyhow, on Thursday we went back to the doctor and when we walked into the waiting room, he was already there to welcome the patient scheduled to see him before us. He looked at me and said: Oh, you are much better! Which I confirmed gladly! We were called into his office a few minutes later, he looked over the results of the tests and said: You are healed! You can travel all you want now! He shook my hand and shoved us out of his office without wanting any payment at all. Funny people those French men. He did have some interesting things to say about the American health care system though...

So having all things considered, I did not want to catch up with Basel or anything like that, I just wanted to catch up with myself. And knowing that my (long) plane ride from Zurich to Philadelphia was scheduled for Monday, May 24, I figured that if I spread the travel a little bit then I could rest in between. I called Silvia and asked if she could find me a hotel in Zurich for a few nights so I could travel first to Switzerland and rest a few days before getting on the plane. We decided that I would take the train on Friday from Valence to Zurich on Friday, I would stay one night in Zurich and then Saturday morning Silvia would pick me up and bring me to her home in Altendorf where I would be until Monday morning when she will bring me to the Zurich Airport. I thought that was a lovely arrangment and so it happened. H&H brought me to Valence and put me on the right train a little bit after 12 noon, I changed trains in Geneva around 3:30 and got off in Zurich at about 6:40 in the evening or so.

Today is Saturday, May 21, eight o'clock in the evening. The church bells have rung many times this afternoon and evening. This weekend is a holiday weekend in Europe: Pentacost! The promise of Jesus was fulfilled that the Comforter would come after He had left this earth. I need that comfort every minute of every day.

I have just exhausted myself and the battery on my little computer. I will be quiet again on Sunday and traveling on Monday. I hope to post again on Tuesday! I am grateful for your support and prayers, my friends!

YOU'RE INVITED TO OUR THANK YOU RECEPTION

That’s right they are both back! Danielle is home from her trip around Europe and the FatherKids camp team is home from an adventure packed week in Switzerland!
Come and enjoy a BBQ lunch with them as they share testimonies and pictures from their trips.
For questions contact meghan@coastlands.org or call 831 688 5775 ext. 227
Danielle Mueller
FatherKids Camp: Peter & Blanca Otvos, Dave & Alisa Detter, Eric & Makena Wetzel

What: Thank You Reception
BBQ Style
When: Sunday, June 13 From 2-4pm
Where: Otvos Home
431 Quinta
Watsonville, CA 95076

The Coastlands - 280 State Park Dr - Aptos, CA 95003

Second Update from Lorraine DerMott

It is Thursday morning and I have just spoken to Danielle, and she sounds so well. Her doctor has given her a clean bill of health. She continues to tire easily but is doing very well.

Tomorrow, Friday, she is going to Zurich and will have internet access again within the next few days. She will then give an update to her last few days.

Update on Danielle from Lorraine DerMott

I have just spoken to Danielle and she has asked me to please give you an update on her health and travels.

She is in France with her sister and brother-in-law who are taking very good care of her, but she does not have access to the internet.

The pain in her back that she spoke of in her last posting is an infection in her kidneys. She saw the doctor on Saturday, who has given her antibiotics and other medications to help her regain her health and strength. She went to the hospital today, Monday, at the request of her doctor, and x-rays were taken and blood work done. She will see the doctor again on Thursday and will have more information regarding the tests that were taken.

Her travels are on hold at this point. Decisions as to what is next can only come after she receives the results of the tests from the doctor on Thursday.

Please continue to pray for her that the Lord will heal her body. This infection is something she has dealt with here at home in the past but why it keeps recurring is the answer that is needed.

Saturday through Wednesday - France Part 2

I have made myself at home in a cafe in Privas, a small town about 25 kilometers from Le Coulet. Free wireless internet access is available throughout the town because there is an antenne on top of the cityhall! So nice and kind of the French!

So let me tell you a little bit more about the last few days. The trip on Saturday took indeed 12 hours and included a few necessary bathroom stops, driver changes and a grocery run when we were almost there. The two cats, Karel (18 years old) and Lotje (16 years old), were mostly well behaved. Lotje quickly understood what was going on, but Karel was a little bit more difficult and he cried and cried and there was nothing to be done about it until we got there.

Le Coulet is a rather small conglomeration of buildings with a "street" running right through the middle of it: Le Grand Rue is about 4 feet wide and should be maintained by the community of Gluiras (a town with a mayor of dictotatorial tendencies and lots of stories). Gluiras is about 13 kilometers from Le Coulet and nobody there really cares about what is going on in Le Coulet. When you come from the road along the river L'Eyrieux and up the mountain towards Le Coulet, we ended up in a small overgrown parking lot where we unloaded the car, and brought everything down "Grand Rue" (Main Street). On the right side of the Grand Rue is basically one large building which exists out of four separate homes with an inner courtyard and there are several caves underneath the homes which are now storage spaces. All these homes are rebuild, restored and renovated by friends of Hannie and Hijmen: Wim and Muriel. For the last many, many years Wim has worked and worked with help from a lot of handyman friends (Hijmen included) to restore these four homes, and he and his wife now have sold one of them to my sister and brother-in-law (H&H for short from now on) and all four are for rent for any length of time. H&H go to their home when it's not rented out; so they are hardly there in high season (July & August), but in the winter, spring and fall you can find them there; it really is their second home. The cats are at home, and all necessary things are available.

I will tell you a little bit about H&H's home: when you come in through the backdoor from the courtyard, you find yourself on the basement level the door across the back door goes to the storage cave. On that level you will find the toilet and the bathroom, as well as a hallway and a storage closet. Down there is also a gas heater which provides heat to go up through the stairwell to the next level where the kitchen is located. In the kitchen are also some wall heaters, but the greatest joy is the wood burning stove which we call "Jotuultje". Jotuultje is a temperamental little wood burning stove and needs large amounts TLC when we start to build a fire there in the afternoons. But the longer we sit around her and speak kind words to her, she gets more and more content and all is well with the world! Around Jotuultje is a mantle built with very old stones, some of which have writing on them that nobody can read (Wim has had several experts of old languages look at it, to no avail). In the kitchen is also the dining table and the front door which leads to a small front porch and stairs that lead down to a patio covered with fresh new green wine leaves, with a large wooden table and a magnificent view across the valley to other mountain ranges. Yes, it really is like you see those pictures in the magazines. Now up the second stairwell from the kitchen is H&H's bedroom and the baskets for the two cats. When you go to the left (when facing the stairwells) and down four steps you are in the Salon (or living room), with a couch, a few chairs and yes, another stairwell, which leads to another bedroom with three beds right under the roof.

Life here is quite different than anything I have seen so far. When the weather is nice, we go outside and work around the house (potting plants, cutting grass, pulling weeds, rebuilding old walls, going for a walk down Grand Rue towards the point where you have four choices of paths to follow, or just sit in a chair to read and enjoy the view). When the weather is not so nice (we have had a tremendous amount of rain, and thunder storms and even a poweroutage), we stay in the house and reading, cooking and drawing are activities of choice. Yesterday morning the power went out only because there was too much electricity in the air, and the safety feature built into the system made sure we would not be electrocuted. I thought that was fabulous!

But I should continue to tell you about Le Coulet. So the four finished homes are on the right side of Le Grande Rue. First on the left side are the ruins of what Wim and Muriel think was a small castle. I am not allowed to go in there, because it's too dangerous with walls falling over and such; it really is quite impressive. Further down on the left side is the home of Wim and Muriel, and that they have rebuild, renovated and restaured. Saturday evening after our 12-hour road trip, H&H and I were invited for dinner at Wim and Muriel's home. It was delightful and rather uncanny to sit in a room with walls surrounding us that are 800 years old or something like that. In a corner of the room stood a 17th century front loader rifle Wim had found while cleaning out the area where we were having dinner that Saturday evening. Funny stuff to think about, isn't it?!?

Sunday, Hannie and I went on few small walks in the neighborhood even though it rained most of the day. The first walk brought us to the "Rock with a View" from which we saw many kayaks go down the river L'Eyrieux for competitions for the French championships! Later that afternoon we took a second walk along the path of hanging trees aka the Path to the Waterfall. (Path of the Hanging Trees is my invention: in two places there were fallen tree trunks stuck and hanging upside down in other trees.) Both walks were beautiful and the leaves are sooooo green! And of course, I slipped and got one of my feet wet in the little creek while crossing; another war story to tell, I guess!

On Monday the temperature suddenly shot up to a very humid, probably 75-80 degrees and we thought that summer had arrived. Well, it only lasted for about 2 hours after which there was more rain and later even thunder and lighting. Hannie and I went on a little shopping trip that afternoon because we needed catfood and a few other things. I have already cooked a few dinners and a breakfast; so much fun!

On Tuesday, Hannie had a doctor's appointment and Hijmen and I took the opportunity to go to the internet cafe where I posted the short addition to my blog. On our way home we took a detour and H&H showed me the grand town of Gluiras and the home of the mayor, who is actually no longer the mayor, but his secretary is now. Village politics. Go figure.

Today is Wedneday, and we went to the town Privas where there is a nice outdoor market on Wednesdays. We bought fruit, vegetables, goat cheese and local sausage, and we found this French cafe where we had lunch and where I now sit and type this blog. The biggest excitement this afteroon was to see the horse races on television; every respectable gambler seemed to be in the cafe right here to watch the race on the big flat screen tv. Never a dull moment. The cafe owner/cook won 28 euro. Honestly!

P.S. I don't really know how to say this; I will just fumble my way through it, because this is also the reality of my life. I have been traveling now for more than 6 weeks, and I am very tired. I miss Bob. Very much. I have had some (very painful sometimes) muscle-related backaches and spasms in the last few weeks. I have cried a lot and will cry more. I will be ok. Pray for me.

Saturday through Wednesday - France

My dear friends,

There is something about living in France. I don't have time to tell you all, but here are some headlines: the weather is unpredictable (so far we have NOT had any hail, snow or frost ~ all other kinds are freely moving about the country with enormous amounts of water coming down); the grass is indeed greener; the place is old, much older than you have ever seen. The little village (Le Coulet) my sister and brother-in-law have this small house in, has been talked about in the 12th century when people lived and worked there. Edna has taken a liking to the Watchman (I will explain later). The two geriatric cats do well in France. The bread and cheese are great. Right now I am in an internet cafe in Le Cheylard. Time is money :-). French keyboards are difficult to use. Life has come down to basics: food, heat and a roof over the head.

Got to go now, until later!

Thursday and Friday - Netherlands

Thursday morning from breakfast until after lunch, Do and I (and later Guy and Do and I, after he returned from a lenghty errand) talked and talked and talked about life and church and more about life... so good and so easy and comfortable like we had seen each other last week. It really amazes me when that happens over and over. It really makes it clear that we truly believe in the same God and that we are trying to listen to His voice and following His direction.

After lunch, we went to a region close to Ede; it's called "De Betuwe" and consists of beautiful landscapes with green meadows, cows, tall trees with fresh green leaves, lovely small villages, fruit trees and lonely farm houses along the narrow roads flanked by canals. So nice and really, really lovely! We visited the small village of Hemmen where we walked the small paths and sat down on a bench by a pond where some geese with ducklings had made their home. And there we talked some more :-)!

We drove back through a beautiful river landscape with dikes and water flowing and ferries constantly crossing the rivers. We had a cup of coffee with some real Dutch apple pie and drove home where we had some old-fashioned "boerenkool met worst" for dinner. Yes, that is kale with mashed potatoes and smoked sausage; did I say old-fashioned already? Because it is. And delicious! Of course after dinner, we had a cup of tea with "boterkoek", which is very buttery and solid and a heart attack waiting to happen. So good! And then we talked some more until it was time to go to bed.

The next day we just continued talking, had breakfast and talked some more, and we prayed for each other, which is always so encouraging and uplifting! Around 11, Guy and Do dropped me off at the train station in Ede, where I took the train to Utrecht and then from there back to Rotterdam. I walked from the train station in Rotterdam to my sister and brother-in-law's apartment (no, I did not get lost although I had my doubts at one point).

Tomorrow morning very early (yes, between 4 and 4:30), Hannie, Hijmen and I will get in their car and drive 12 hours to their vacation home in the south-eastern part of France where we will be more than 35 kilometers away from the nearest village (35 kilometers equals almost 22 miles). There will be no internet access in their little home; I will only be able to check my email and update my blog when we go to the village and set up shop in the local cafe with internet service... All this to say that this will be the last addition to Danielle's Adventures until we are in need of bread, cheese and some other French necessities...

Au revoir, mes amis!

Tot ziens, vrienden!

Until next time, my friends!

P.S. Thursday evening, I called my friend Martin Sloots to see how he was doing, so here is the latest news: the procedure was done on Tuesday in the hospital in Groningen after I had left. It was discovered that one of the major arteries was blocked and the doctor put in a stent to create proper bloodflow. When I talked to Martin on Thursday evening, he was at home and feeling much, much better: no chest pain and no pressure. Thank God!

Wednesday - Netherlands

Wednesday morning by 9:30 I was back at a train station, this time in Heerenveen where I took the train south to Zwolle, where I then changed trains to go to Zutphen and there I took a bus which brought me to Doetinchem. Now the bus was a bit of a treacherous ordeal. When the driver walked by the bus to get in, he noticed that there was a leak under the bus and that some yellow/green fluids were flowing... Of course he called the mechanics and then they decided that he could still drive the bus to wherever it needed to go, and since I was the only passenger, we were quickly on our way. To be honest with you, I had my doubts but decided that if the driver was ok with it, I would be ok also. Halfway through the trip the smell of fuel was permanently present inside the bus, and to top it all off one of the heavy plastic covers of a light fixture in the bus fell down in the aisle. It made me jump and the driver curse, which was rather funny in and of itself... Never a dull moment. Fortunately nobody got hurt and I was glad I could leave the bus when I saw Liesbeth Hilderink (now married Van Hemert) at one of the bus stops!

Liesbeth was an intern at Coastlands in 1996/1997 and came back to visit a few times, the last time in 2006 when Bob and I had the privilege to pick her up from the San Francisco airport. We had lunch in the city at a place by the name of "Picknick" and had a great time catching up. She showed me her home and we went to her husband's workshop to she could introduce us to each other. Liesbeth and Bert met in November of 2006 and married in October 2007. So much fun to see old friends and meet a new one!

Liesbeth dropped me off at the train station in Zevenaar at 4:15 in the afternoon and off I went to Ede to see Leontien Vierhuizen and her husband Hans. Leontien was an intern in 1997 and visited last with her husband in the summer of 2008, of which we all have fond memories of a great Sunday lunch at Bill and Lorraine's with great conversation and laughter! Almost 4 hours went by in a flash while we talked and listened and talked and listened to each other. It was a lovely time of recognition and tears, delight and sadness. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here and see what and how the Lord works and teaches us.

At 8:30 in the evening, Leontien brought me and my bags to Guy and Do de Jong who also live in Ede, and who also lived on campus when I was an intern, back in the day...! It is so good to see them, to encourage and to receive encouragement.

As you can imagine, I was very tired emotionally and physically at the end of the day. Tomorrow is a new day!

Tuesday - Netherlands

One of the people I wanted to visit while here in the flat land, is Martin Sloots and his wife Liesbeth. I have known Martin and Liesbeth since 1991 when they lived in Bergen op Zoom and were involved with the christian counseling organization "Koinonia" where I had living arrangements and where I worked before I came to California. Our dear Linda Mulder (now Barnum) came to Coastlands several years back from the church Martin and Liesbeth started in Beilen 12 years ago. Martin also visited Coastlands a few times over the years.
I had sent him an email several weeks before the start of my trip to see about the possibility of a visit, and promised to call him when I was in the country. Last week Tuesday morning I called his home and spoke with Liesbeth. She told me that Martin was not feeling well, that he had had (and still has) chest pains and that he was on the list for a heart catheterization where they insert tubes through the veins to see what is going on, and that they had no idea when he was going to be called in. We decided that she would call me to let me know. Saturday evening Liesbeth called to let me know that the same Tuesday, in the evening, Martin was brought to the hospital by ambulance because of severe chest pain. The hospital in Assen tried to do the catheterization procedure, unfortunately to no avail. Some of Martin's arteries are not like others and they could not get it done. He was still in the hospital in Assen where they tried to figure out what to do next. Liesbeth gave me his cell phone number so I could call him myself.
I was trying to plan the next week of my stay in The Netherlands, and was not sure what to do now. Then on Sunday in the service in the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam with my sister, I understood that no matter what happened I was to go see Martin wherever he was. So Monday morning I called his cell phone number and left a message, and I kept calling his home number until I got a hold of Liesbeth and asked what the status was. She said that nothing had happened yet, he was still in the hospital in Assen, but that he would be transferred to the University Hospital in Groningen on Tuesday where they would try again the procedure to see what is going on in Martin's heart. So I went to Groningen today!

Else and Jeroen put me on the train at 10 in the morning and around 1:30 in the afternoon I walked into Martin's hospital room with all my luggage :-); it must have been a sight to behold! He was happy to see me! We sat down and talked about the early days and talked about the present days, we talked about the future days and how Coastlands could encourage Martin and Liesbeth's church and we prayed for each other. It was a wonderful 40-minute visit, while waiting for the nurses to show up to take him away to get the procedure done; however they did not come during those 40 minutes. I am grateful that I went to see him!

I decided to have lunch in the hospital's restaurant before getting back on the bus and the train to go to Jubbega, which is a small town in the province Friesland, where my friend Thirza and her husband Hans and their daughters Elise and Suzan live. Almost 2 hours after I left the hospital, Thirza and Elise picked me up from the busstop and brought me to their beautiful home. Thirza and I used to be roommates (in 2 different houses) from December 1990 until September 1994 at which time I came to Coastlands. They moved to Jubbega from Rotterdam at the end of 2008, and they love their home, and they are also involved in the one and only local church where they bring the flavor of Jesus and faith that people find very surprising and intrigueing! I think it's absolutely marvelous and great! Missionaries in their own country!

We had a lovely time together before, during and after dinner when I got the tour around the property, the shed and the guest house in the making. Thirza and I sat in their very old camper bus for quite some time, just catching up... I went to bed a little before 11 in the evening and realized that firstly, this was the eleventh place I laid my head to rest in the last four weeks, and secondly, I had never slept on a waterbed before...

Monday - Netherlands

Another dreary day dawned on Monday. Ton, Ineke and I just sat around, had breakfast, and baby sat Rosa, who is Ton and Ineke's second granddaughter by their daughter Lotte. Lotte had a work emergency and called her mom to see if she could watch Rosa for an hour and a half. So Ineke went and picked up Rosa and we had a great time entertaining and being entertained by a gorgeous 1-year old little girl!

After lunch, Ineke turned on the Tom-Tom (yes, the European navigation system) and off we went with my luggage to see my friends Else and Jeroen in Leiderdorp. I have known Else since 1987 when I decided to join the "Leidse Cantorij" which is a small choir which made very joyful noises during regular church services, but which also sang wonderful British evensongs and Christmas carols. Else and I became great friends over the years and even now it is like we just saw each other the other day! I feel very comfortable and at home in her company. We had a great time talking, walking and discussing what life, love and God is like in this time of our life... Else and Jeroen married 12 years ago next month, and Jeroen's son Jochem lives with them. Jochem gave me the greatest compliment during dinner. He said that he wishes he was about 50 instead of 17, because he likes me!

The picture you see here, shows Else, Jeroen and Jochem, and they are all excited because FC Twente became the 2010 champion of the Dutch soccer competition on Sunday and celebrations were fervent and widespread! Since Jeroen comes from the same region this soccer club originates from, the celebration was very serious, personal and family-wide! It was great fun to participate!

Sunday - Netherlands

This morning we woke up to a gray, dreary and rainy day, and that is the way it stayed all day long! A little bit before 9 o'clock, Hannie and I left the house and walked to the Laurenskerk. Hijmen stayed home with their granddaughter Jasmijn and Hannie and I went to church. The Laurenskerk is a massive and old building with a beautiful organ. It was great to sing together again in a space with such great accoustic! After the service, Hannie and I poured coffee for everyone who wanted; that was great fun! Before we were on our way home, Hijmen showed up with Jasmijn, and the four of us walked back home, stomping through the puddles!!!


After coffee and leftover birthday cake at home, we packed ourselves up and left for a city by the name of Ouddorp where my niece Annelies owns and operates a restaurant for the last few years. Jasmijn's parents, Remco and Annemarie, also came and we all had lunch together in a cute room while the rain came down like crazy. It's May vacation in the next 2 weeks, so Annelies expects to be very busy with people being on vacation and not wanting to cook.

By about 3:30 in the afternoon, Remco and Annemarie took their little girl Jasmijn and went home to Capelle aan de IJssel, and Hannie and Hijmen and I drove back in the direction of Rotterdam. They put me on the train to go see my friends Ineke and Ton van Butselaar who live in Alphen aan de Rijn. This evening though I got off the train in Bodegraven where their oldest daughter Marinke lives. Ton and Ineke helped her along this weekend since her husband was gone for the weekend with the youthgroup of their church. Back in May 2004 Marinke and her cousin Miriam came to visit California, and I took them on a week-long road trip to Disneyland, Death Valley, and San Francisco. Right after they returned to the Netherlands, Marinke met the young man who is now her husband. They married and are now proud parents of a 2.5-year old boy Joost and an 11-month old girl Laura. Beautiful people altogether! This was again one of those occassions where I knew that this get-to-gether with Marinke was ordained and timely. Amazing and awesome!

I have known Ineke since about 1985, during my first job at a publishing company where we had great fun and great conversation... it's been a long time and yet it is so easy to be together and hang out. Marvellous! We were home around 10:30 (I think) and in bed before midnight :-) (I can hardly believe I was still awake at that time.)

Saturday - Netherlands

All along I knew that Edna was quite a character (who wouldn't be with a face like that), but I did not expect her to have the capacity to build a conspiracy.

Let me explain. My sister Klasien loves bright colors: lovely greens and blues all flow together and there is so many pretty things to see in her home! My sister also loves parakeets: tiny little birds who live in a cage and who get to fly around the living room every now and again. Last year when I came, a parakeet by the name of Liefie (Sweety or Honey) used to fly around the house and to be honest with you, it frightened me. All the flapping and fluttering right around my head and ears made me want to flap and flutter my hands and that could have deadly consequences for a tiny bird. But, you know, I was brave and got used to Liefie, and she even accepted me in the house. Some time during last year's summer, Liefie was unfortunately chased and caught by a neighbor's cat. Yes. Very unfortunate.



Klasien decided she wanted another parakeet, or actually two: Elsje and Simon live now with her, two beautiful parakeets. Elsje is mostly green and weighs all of one and a quarter ounce and Simon is green with a little bit of blue and weighs in at exactly 1 ounce. Here is Simon on my shoulder rather peacefully.

When I arrived on Wednesday all was well. They were excited about my arrival, that's all I could see and when Klasien let them fly on Thursday, I was ok with it and dealt well with the dive bombs... Those two birds fly like torpedos! I tried not to walk in their fly zone for fear of massive collisions. Here they both are picking at my shoes and pants.

Well, some time on Friday, the tide turned on me. The excitement about my arrival died and a certain attitude surfaced in the birds... While I was making lunch in the kitchen, they started seriously interfering in my bread and cheese routine! They sat on my plate, picked at my food and had an overall very challenging look in their eyes. I tried to make them go away, but they did not follow my suggestions, they just decided to retreat a little bit and make an awful lot of noise while I finished making lunch. I got out of that kitchen as fast as I could. And that was only the start of things. In the evening I was back in the kitchen (one must eat again), and a full attack took place with Elsje being the fanatic. I stood by the counter minding my own business, when she flew in like a kamikaze pilot, landed on my right shoulder and viciously started picking at my right ear. I screamed, she flew away and landed on my right hand, bit me there, back to my ear and bit again... I was screaming and flapping my hands, but trying NOT to hit the bird as I knew that that would have devastating consequences. Klasien came to my rescue: she caught the bird, put her back in the cage and spoke reassuring words to her. After I had calmed down, we decided that it was either hormones and Elsje was in a serious state of PMS or something or she was plain jealous of all the attention I was getting.

This morning, I woke up and found Edna next to the cage. Who would have thought?!??!!!!

I knew it was time to leave. I packed my bags pronto pronto, and went with Reinie and Ab to my oldest sister Hannie and her husband Hijmen in Rotterdam for another birthday party. Together my sister and brother-in-law are 125 years old on Monday (Hannie's birthday was April 25 and Hijmen's birthday is May 3). It was really nice to see Hijmen's siblings after a very, very long time, as well as some of Hannie and Hijmen's old friends! And of course there was the bowl (same recipe as Reinie's) and this time pasta salad.

I went to bed in Rotterdam at about 10:30 pm with the reassuring knowledge that there were no birds here; only two sweet, geriatric cats. I rested my head in peace.