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.)