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photo page 23 |
Driving home from Austria went without a hitch. Amitsa
slept most of the way, apart from the occasional walk outside. The minivan
zoomed effortlessly to Holland.
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Unfortunately, our Shai cannot go back to Israel, at least not for
the moment, because the Mediterranean is quite choppy in autumn, and because
of tax regulations in Israel. We intend to buy some second-hand car over
there. An old jeep or landrover would fit the bill just fine: going off-road
and through the desert. To test the ground, we visit a 4x4 event in the south
of Holland.
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Hmmm, yeah, that's what we are looking for. As reliable, easy-going
and convenient Shai is, its off-road qualities are a bit below par. We almost
needed a tow just to leave the perfectly flat meadow where it was parked.
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Ma had joined us at this sunny sunday in september, and after
the 4x4 event we did a sentimental journey to the Loonse en Drunense duinen.
Had dinner there, and made a wonderful walk along the sands and the oddly
shaped trees.
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Talking about trees: the maple that accidentally rooted in the small
patch behind our house in Holland, had gone a bit out of hand. It reached
far above the roof of the house, ruined the tiles, and threatened the wall
of the house. Professional gardeners were either too busy or charged ridiculous
sums of money (€ 750,= !!!!) so it was time for some serious DIY.
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After renting a telescopic hand saw, a chain
saw, and a trailer, Henk first cut off all the branches while standing on
the roof terrace of the first floor. Sonja dragged all the branches through
the workshop to the street, and into the trailer.
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Almost done: just one more branch to clear the trunk.
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The "chain saw massacre". Henk had never before used a
chain saw, and wielding the howling beast was a bit unnerving. The upper
four meters could not be reached from the ladder, and had to the chopped
off at once. It almost fell in the wrong direction, but with a rope it was
caught and lowered smoothly to the ground. The rest of the trunk was chopped
in small blocks and dropped down. Those pieces were nevertheless so heavy
that they smashed the thick concrete tiles of the ground floor.
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The branches completely filled the first trailer, even after
Henk put his weight behind it. A second trip to the garbage disposal was
needed to remove the trunk.
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Another chore for these weeks in Holland: clearing
the ground floor of the house, either for repair of the rotting foundation,
or for renting it out. There was still a lot of stuff around from the
Exatech time: work benches, storage racks, tools, administration..... Clearing
everything out took 2 weeks, and 3 cubic meter of paper and 2 cubic meters
of waste have been removed.
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And this is the result: a completely vacated ground floor, with a sign "for
rent". Foundation repairs hang in the balance, since several neighbors must
agree, and some will but can't, and some can but won't. Quite maddening!
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But we have our retreat: just before turning completely berserk about
the neighbors, we move to Eilat for another two and a half months, by train,
plane and bus, and off course with the cat. To see her traveling pictures
(with Dutch comments) click here
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