George turned 12 yesterday and Henry did last Saturday. Yesterday afternoon, at the end of a long afternoon of open houses (six in a 4 hour window), they got their plain cheeseburger from McDonald’s served to them on the back deck of Astrid’s trunk. As with so many other occasions, this never fails to make them happy.

Today was the real birthday celebration. Their very own Tante Snoep (literally translates to Aunt Candy) and her little dog Mika came to pick up for a trip to the beach. As if the beach were not enough, they got an enormous doggy gift basket which I am not letting them open yet – might as well spread the happiness out to another day 🙂

The beach was wonderful: windy, grey, dry and perfect for getting the fog out of your head. The first of October is the first day that horses and dogs can be on the beaches all day instead of only after 7PM and before 9AM. Enjoyment could be had no matter what your size!

But of course, I know the question everyone wants the answer to is why has Little C suddenly been renamed to Tante Snoep? I think I have mentioned previously that if we go out with Mika and her mom, we never have to bring anything because Little C always has the dog dish, poop bags, water and most importantly – a never ending supply of dog treats in her pocket. Believe me, they know this…

After this picture was taken, George snuggled up beside her. Seemingly looking for a hug, but what he was really trying to do was get his nose into her jacket pocket where the dog candy was. George came to our family with an inborn skill for pickpocketing – we’ve tried to keep him focused on using his powers for good.

Right now, the boys have had their dinner and are practicing for the Snore Symphony, they walked a long way today.

As for me, I am trying to remember that today is Sunday, which is the weekend and not just a prep day for Monday and the week to come! I am drinking my tea and thinking about how much effort I want to put into dinner. I start my program this week, it’s kind of like a master’s program but without the certificate. It’s multi disclipinary. It’s 11 weeks in a row so I should be able to handle it.

The class I went to last week at Erasmus is really making me hungry to study again, to learn deeply. Part of this I can do independently and will continue to do so yet I would like to go back to a more formal experience. So maybe the Avondbildung program as it’s called will be a good starting point. The idea behind Bildung as education theory comes from the Germans in the late 1700s. It’s a method of education that is normally focused on teachers but they are trying an experiment with the public. I’m intrigued and I think it certainly will get me thinking!

Oh dear, someone just farted from their basket underneath my desk…

Going back to yesterday’s Open House Day – 6 houses in 3 different towns, we have been able to narrow things down a bit. We’ve made the choice for one city and from now on, we will only be looking there. I guess this is the best step I can hope for right now. Except waiting with patience for people to put their houses on the market that are what we are looking for is taking WAY too long 😉 It was also hard to turn away from the beautiful old house with the biggest garden I have seen in a long time, on a working harbor, surrounded by old houses from 16something because they are not well connected to public transit – which GG needs for the immediate future. However, that’s how it goes. It did help us both to decide on the city we have chosen. Green is important, so there’s going to need to be some sort of yard, not just a roof terrace. It’s going to need a few rough edges and not be sanitized for our protection if you know what I mean.