tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56846177297721139722024-03-18T23:34:29.335-05:00Taz-Tangs CornerTaztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.comBlogger237125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-61773217015389595802023-10-09T07:26:00.000-05:002023-10-09T07:26:03.301-05:00Well......... Hell!<p>Just looked back thru the blog as a "where the H did I leave off" and found most of the pictures gone, and my picture file empty........ No idea how long that has been, but I have no way of finding out which picture I posted with what entry, so I think I'm just quietly going to remove the picture frames from the posts... but the address of the blog has changed as well, so it might have been "done" at the same time. Nice to be told... I had a heck of a time finding my way back when I started posting again, but hadn't checked out the rest of the blog yet.... Something to put on my "to do-list" :-)</p><p> Temperatures are slowly coming down, but it nowhere near feels like fall is around the corner and the trees aren't turning yet, just losing some of their leaves. I did put some light up pumpkins on the coffee-table but keep forgetting to light them, but I "keep thinking on it" ROFL! </p><p>Life is still weird and wacky, we still have no resolve on anything so no further explanation needed there ;-0</p><p><br /></p><p>Don't forget to hug a Love One!</p><p>Love and hugs!</p><p>Pauli<br /></p>Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-1688833368763541462023-09-12T05:25:00.000-05:002023-09-12T05:25:55.004-05:00Diggin' out from under....<p>hopefully.......<br />
<br />
It's been a while..... Too long, too much going on, too many things going wrong and too little going right, but I'm trying. Being on overload for this long is draining my energy, knowing there's no end in sight...... Lets just say, I'm here right now..... </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEk51FpOOcCi0qyBOklAAB-fTbMgTcKTxsR9nv5c9Y7hzQNFmkJZqGDpw6o75mnbhFlkohgQvfntUM2TwBKKUentrhwTdUcH0w8ERpF1kJOw8p-JL7nNtt2xKmm1F-oelU1jSMc8xqA7wMm-Ar4GKB6_MYoRyRbf8qO2kDtzr8UXVddNSkQbkZDPigKLA/s540/347411931_10229861569939214_8913066982020190724_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="503" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEk51FpOOcCi0qyBOklAAB-fTbMgTcKTxsR9nv5c9Y7hzQNFmkJZqGDpw6o75mnbhFlkohgQvfntUM2TwBKKUentrhwTdUcH0w8ERpF1kJOw8p-JL7nNtt2xKmm1F-oelU1jSMc8xqA7wMm-Ar4GKB6_MYoRyRbf8qO2kDtzr8UXVddNSkQbkZDPigKLA/s320/347411931_10229861569939214_8913066982020190724_n.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>and I like to go back to this.....</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWKKBuGgm_jlindfvDACtQ3mcO41fKr7sG28aanR3MptUvi8WCrGY-vpZ7-VVEC8IBppw-UqvpFsF3HrMfOGXyc-zMuDGgtodu4L0NI7I33YGLzhHllJoWYWRbBb2oHPxG0LJGoNJ-Ke19BXOSc4nYBtXLbi6TIMXRGskWZFIFmu7gQF0tfYk6-wlrLT8/s1800/349151068_10229912753978783_618545715716218193_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWKKBuGgm_jlindfvDACtQ3mcO41fKr7sG28aanR3MptUvi8WCrGY-vpZ7-VVEC8IBppw-UqvpFsF3HrMfOGXyc-zMuDGgtodu4L0NI7I33YGLzhHllJoWYWRbBb2oHPxG0LJGoNJ-Ke19BXOSc4nYBtXLbi6TIMXRGskWZFIFmu7gQF0tfYk6-wlrLT8/s320/349151068_10229912753978783_618545715716218193_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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I won't bore you with details, just sling me an email if you want to know and I'll fill you in, but I have 2 choices at this point, give up or go on, and since giving up was never in my cards, "onwards" it is :-)<br />
<br />
I opened up my genealogy blog today. It's been under construction way too long. I started it in 2015, and never got any further than the "coming soon" indication, so, it's time...... Sofar it only has one post. The announcement that it's open for business, basically. Hopefully soon, I'll be able to go thru some of the boxes with the family tree information, and I'll make an effort to "get on with it" In case you're interested it resides here: https://bit.ly/332tROB<p></p><p>Also, I may start a blog with bookreviews.... Not sure yet, though. Baby-steps is all I'm able to take right now, so if it doesn't materialize soon, I've gotten sidetracked with life. </p><p>The Castle page has been neglected as well, and I will try to fill in the blanks, as mentioned, the genealogy page information (The search is on...) will be "transferred" to the Gathering across the Miles blog, and I will try and post information on how to find information and such on a page on that blog as well.</p><p>So pretty ambitious, but I need to get back to life, and this is a nice way to ease into being productive and a little more social, so I hope to see comments here and there...<br /></p>Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-56521095159287272272020-08-01T02:38:00.003-05:002023-10-09T06:59:04.445-05:00SOOOOO much to catch up on.....Well......... 2019 kinda went to hell in a handbasket right after my post in March :-) Nothing really "new", although a little different than normal. I'll give you a small list in order of events and maybe at a later date, I'll circle back to the "points".....<br />
<br />
May - Mike changed jobs from AAFES to The Commissary, doing the same job, with better pay and instead of 1st shift he now works 2nd shift.<br />
June was a busy month for our family of 3 and we were all included in the "good news".<br />
- Mike was in the hospital for 3 days, was released without ever seeing a doctor and got worse and worse.<br />
- Perky was diagnosed with kidney failure, and we were told that the progression of the disease could have us saying goodbye to our fuzzy roommate anywhere between 6 and 18 months.<br />
- In an effort to appease the powers that be to do community service for at least 20 hours per week.... I became Coordinator for the petting zoo at the castle and was tasked with setting up the care and wellbeing of the animals, as well as figuring out just how to set it all up so we could become a certified petting zoo, however, when I took the job, I wasn't aware that I had to yield to whatever the wife of the director decided.... When I didn't fall into step I was reminded that it wasn't MY petting zoo, I had no say and I just had to follow orders..... making me wonder why she did't take the job in the first place.<br />
July - Mike was admitted as an emergency admittance into the hospital (A different and better one) for 3 weeks, after which he was on bedrest for the rest of the year, with woundcare coming to the house twice a week.<br />
August - I completely lost my shit! By this time instead of a couple times a week, I had a panic attack at least once a day, sometimes 3, couldn't stop crying and just wanted to get away, with nowhere to go. Mike's vacation and sick-pay had run out, so we were completely dependent on the municipality for our bills. Luckily the boss kept paying for his medical insurance, so we at least didn't have to worry about that. (Famous last words!)<br />
De rest of the year followed a pattern.... Keep up a good front and try to hide the panic attacks so Mike wouldn't worry about me as well as everything else and try and take care of him as best I can.<br />
November - After sobbing and freaking out in the office during round "who knows how many" of trying to explain the fact that while off work, Mike wasn't getting paid, and his insurance wasn't paying the bills because the hospital didn't bill according to how the way the insurance wanted to be billed and the insurance wouldn't accept that according to the Dutch practices, the hospital was billing correctly, I was already down to 1 meal every other day while hiding it from Mike so he wouldn't worry, and how the hell was I supposed to make ends meet on a one person allowance, because for the paying out part, Mike doesn't exist... The coach first tried to help by telling me that instead of paying for Perky's medicine and special food, we could save 60€ if we were to just put him to sleep, since he was dying anyway and after that netted them me having an actual panic attack in their office, decided to "go easy on me" by sending me to a company doctor to determine my "mental vulnerability" so I could get a job quicker.....<br />
<br />
Forward to 2020....<br />
First week of January Mike was released from basic "couch rest", and could start walking around the house and as soon as he did that, he also wanted to/was pressured into go back to work, .... Which he did. He went back to work on February 12th, 4 days a week for 6 hours. No easing into it in either hours or duties. On his feet from the get go. Than Covid19 came around, and ............ Mikes kept going to work and his hours got bumped up to 40 because the Dutch hires had to adhere to the shelter at home rules but Dutch rules do not apply to American workers, I still am not allowed to pursue my business, still need to fulfill my community service (not a hardship, but still.... I don't see healthy people half my age in the same boat?) get absolutely no help in finding a paying job and I still have multiple panic attacks. So I'm not sure if it's good, bad, progress or what, exactly.<br />
<br />
My sister is supportive in letting me know she's there when I need her (or her guestroom), and to let her know every once in a while that I'm still breathing, my dad....... not so much (after all, nobody has anything going on in their life, and he's entitled to my attention).<br />
<br />
It seems hard for people to understand that I've been doing shit by myself for so long without any form of support system, that the last thing I want is have people around when I'm freaking out and I do a total communication shutdown... I turn off the ringer on my phone, and check email as little as I can get away with, and even when I get the emails, I don't always hurry and answer. This seems to piss my dad off and instead of getting the hint as well as several not so gentle explanations to leave me be for a bit so I can do what absolutely has to be done, between freak-outs, and to give me time to get my bearings... he insists on letting me know how my actions inconvenience him. I get 6 calls in a row, no voicemails, just call after call, while you have to figure out that if I don't answer the call now, there's a good chance that when you hang up and call right back, I won't answer either......especially when I'm no where near it. When I send him an email with an update, because talking isn't an option without going to pieces, he never answers.... So WTeverlovingF is up with that!?<br />
<br />
I know life is a challenge for most people these days and I don't mean to complain. Life does what it does without a whole lot of input from us,with the only option being to deal with it as best we can, but I figured after this long, I should possibly give some kind of explanation, just in case your attempts for contact went unanswered. It's nothing personal, just me trying to get my head around things :-)<br />
<br />
On a MUCH happier note..... The castle started building on the gatehouse and the blacksmith-shop now has solid walls and rafters!!<br />
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<br />Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-41706522894907108892019-03-16T16:54:00.001-05:002019-03-16T16:54:47.007-05:00Have I told you.....how much some "rule enforcers" suck!? No? Well, maybe not all humans are shitheads, but sometimes you have to wonder, right? :-)<br />
<br />
We have a couple of updates. In general they're good, one biggie..... not so much, but what else is new? Let me start with telling you that life as a whole is trotting along, it's just those darned details that'll get ya!<br />
<br />
Since my last post, I have lost 2 aunts, got told to take a hike by 3 people (oddly enough all family.... hmmm) We lost a dear friend, followed by 2 neighbors, and moved our household...... So needless to say I have had my fill of funerals for a while, am thoroughly done with packing/unpacking, and I'm ready to go take it easy and get a job! LOL. However, that last thought isn't progressing the way I would have liked, but I've made it this far and there's just does not seem a whole lot of sense in giving up now....<br />
<br />
The one thing I keep forgetting is how people are. Movingcompany ripped us a new one on the bill, and refused to pay for damage done by their personnel, handyman ripped us off, by charging for 2 people doing the work, while one was a highschool kid, trying to decide if he wanted to do this job or another for the rest of his life, plus they charged me for the time they spend in the truck having their lunch. When I questioned time/charges vs what we got out of it, he said, "Well, after I send out the bills, the paperwork gets discarded, so I have no way of knowing......" Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but as a business man, isn't it a) stupid b)backwards and c)illegal, to throw away who worked what job, how long and where? (Especially since the taxman can question your paperwork for 10 years after filing?) the kicker came when he suggested, that "If I would mention this issue, the next time I enlisted his services, he would make me a deal, but bills that were sent out, needed to get paid in full" AS IF!! What turnip truck does he think I fell off of?! The old landlord discovered asbestos under our laminate, so we couldn't take it with us, and we couldn't let the new renters buy it from us, however, we had to leave it, and the new renters could keep it.... THAT was one cost we hadn't figured on, because our new livingroom is a little shorter and than the old one, we figured we would just swap it over, and use the leftover flooring in the upstairs boxroom and hallway, and now we had to get all new stuff. The new renters seemed nice, and told me right up front that they would pay for the flooring because it saved them money not to have to buy new. Stupid me, I believed them! And I'm still waiting on the payment. Right after all this I discovered that one municipality is definitly NOT the same as another! We had things figured with our old city to where we would have the same income every month, I would get less when Mike had more hours, and more when he had less, but "total" would be a little below minimum wage for a 2 person household. There was no problem with me depositing money in my account to pay the bills, because they knew Mike gets paid in Dollars, we would take out Euro's and deposit them to cover the bills... Same with doctor bills, we would pay (when we could), send in the bills to his insurance and either get reimbursed, or not, and depending on whether my account was low, deposit, or leave it in his account or pay the bill and make up the difference (and there always is a difference!) well, this new place not so much.<br />
<br />
I felt like I needed a lawyer, just to get thru the "interview"! The "dickhead-in-charge" kept telling me... "I bet you didn't have to prove ALL your income at the other town, did ya!?" as if I was making things up as I went along..... I couldn't get thru to him, that my deposits were not "income" because it came from Mike's paycheck, OR that the deposits from the insurance company, we'd already paid, and were NOT income but reimbursement, or, the fact that I don't have an enddate to my Web Designer title, doesn't mean I'm actually making money at it (or that I wouldn't tell them if I did, which was very overtly implied), and neither does the fact that I spend a couple of hours every day looking at designs, practice codes, keep up with trends and learn new things, mean that it brings in any money, or that the potential is there to make 300 to 2000€ with a website, but that I haven't had any takers, or that I have my website online, because I paid for the hosting, but I'm not getting any traffic, because I'm not allowed to advertise...... I couldn't get thru that if I don't do anything for a couple of weeks (let alone months) I might as well forget about ever working at it, because I'll be sofar behind in tech and knowledge, that I won't be able to catch up, and besides, what else can I do all day? It's not like we have money to go do things away from home..... He looked at it as "income potential" and thus, deductable from possible financial help... and he had the guts to tell me that "if the glass house I had placed myself
in by applying for financial help, was too much, maybe I should
consider withdrawing the application" Mind you, these are the people that are supposed to help.... I would hate to see the ones that aren't. <br />
<br />
All I have been able to think the last couple of months is: WTF!? This whole process is wrong on so many levels, that I can't even get my head around it anymore.... Obviously, they rather pay for me to sit on my butt all day than that I improve my skills? When I refused to give anymore information (as in Mikes medical information as a back up for the insurance reimbursements) they denied the claim, so I have no idea where next months bills are going to have to get paid from.... I have been physically ill since this happened and mentally I'm in such a
dark hole, it's not even funny, and there's nothing I can do to fix things. Things that would take my mind for a mini-vacation, now just are impositions and in contest with worrying.. I'm dreading "having" to go to the castle, starting next month, haven't thought about scrapbooking nor did I want to, can't keep my mind together long enough to learn what I need to learn, I guess, on the upside..... I will be able to honestly tell them that I don't do shit all day, when they ask again!<br />
<br />
I reapplied, more than a month ago, and they want the same information,
but now, instead of going back the mandatory 3 months with information gathering, they want it 6
months... I think I need to change my name and get a tan, maybe claim
somekind of status other than "Dutch, over 50 and screwed"...... I'm walking around in a daze, worrying where my next meal is coming
from, wondering how long we'll be able to stay here, if we can't pay the
rent (and would we want to) but where would be go? I can't go with Mike if he goes home, he is very close to the point of not wanting to stay here... we have nothing there, and everything we've been trying to build up here gets taken away.... <br />
<br />
So, in short, this has been the reason I haven't been around, and the
fact that my FB, my blog AND my LinkedIn account are being watched for
possible indications of me making money..... So glad I'm "home"....
we've been in this boat for going on 8 years and I'm getting to the
point that I'm done..... Done being nice, done trying not to be "mad all the time" as I was told that
that was really a downer for the people around me, done putting up a brave face so I don't upset anybody, done trying to do the right thing, done trying to do better
....... just.... DONE! I'm not good company right now, haven't been for a while, so I'll be taking my leave..... IF or when I do better, I'll be back. (Maybe sooner, if I need to "talk", but I'll try not to bust your chops with my "drama" as it was put to me)<br />
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Don't forget to hug those loved ones? Those that are quietly there for you when you don't realize you need them, and "in your face" there when you do :-)<br />
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Love and hugs and hopefully "talk soon"<br />
PauliTaztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-23653833438766587932018-12-21T11:08:00.004-06:002018-12-21T11:08:56.519-06:00I couldn'tlet the year end without letting you know that despite life hitting the fan in so many awkward, unexpected and miserable ways, we're still kicking :-)<br />
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To you, and all you hold dear.....</div>
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Don't forget to bear-hug those loved ones!!</div>
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Love and hugs,</div>
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Pauli</div>
Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-44798508481158703842018-08-04T08:11:00.001-05:002018-08-04T08:11:46.040-05:00I thought I had seen a lot, butthis was a whole "new one" for me.....<br />
<br />
How would you like to drive to a restaurant, find a parking spot, get in and sit down, look at the menu, decide what you want, PULL OUT YOUR PHONE AND CALL A WAITER?<br />
<br />
I kid you not! As soon as I saw the sign "Call and order" on the table this kid "packed up and left" LOL! <br />
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I took my aunt to the train this morning, and figured, to stave off the blues, I walk around town, have a cup of tea and pick up some creme for Perky's pads. His left foot pad has a cut in it, and the vet recommended Calendula oil..... NOT available here, so would have had to make a trip for it anyway, and figured might as well do it today :-) So after that, I decided it was too friggin' hot to be walking around and before starting the train trip home, it was time for tea, maybe a sandwich because after all, it was closing in on 2 in the afternoon...... Never got the tea OR the train!. Turns out there hadn't been trains running between our town and Heerlen since 10.30. (We were supposed to take the train at 10.50 to catch the connector to Eindhoven....... Glad Mike had to go in later than we thought, and dropped us off. We would have never made it.) So I walked to the busstation, only to find out that the only bus left that goes to our town, didn't stop at the busstation at all....... But "down the road a bit"...<br />
The good thing is, I did 5400 steps today! ROFL!<br />
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After I DID have my cup of tea once I got home, I checked the train Ann was on, and turned out, she had the last train out of Eindhoven that ran without a problem..... With all the work they do on the stations (taking out comfort and convenience), maybe they ought to have checked the trains and tracks?<br />
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Oh well, water, bridge, I'm over it, except that I just lost the ONE little restaurant I really liked, and was introduced to in Singapore by my sister... Delifrance, where the bread was made fresh, and tasted very similar to the bread you get in Paris!<br />
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Stay cool, and don't forget to hug that (fuzzy) loved one?<br />
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Hugs,<br />
PauliTaztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-51700239686812138082018-07-18T00:14:00.002-05:002018-07-18T00:14:36.122-05:00I'm so happy!My dad just sent an email, saying my Aunt from Australia is coming to visit him. It's the sister just below him in age. His older sister died a couple of years ago, and his youngest sister, although living in The Netherlands, doesn't have contact with the family, so Anne is really his only sibling. I met her in the late seventies, but for my parents I was (although around 18 at the time, and able to vote) still in that stage of "seen but not heard"...... Looking back, that was sooooooo wrong, but at the time, we didn't know any better, but I digress. I've talked to her on the phone a couple of times, not lately though, and I was just thinking of her Sunday.... small wonder :-) We hit it off, and we're very comfortable talking on the phone, and in letters (she doesn't "do" internet. LOL) but it will be super cool to meet her as adult to adult. (Or old geezer to old geezer by now. ROFL)<br />
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Just in a sharing mood today :-)<br />
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Don't forget to hug a loved one? <br />
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Love and hugs,<br />
PauliTaztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-64574719320287081142018-07-11T09:13:00.001-05:002018-07-24T07:54:25.950-05:00Canundrum.....Hope I spelled that right, but too lazy for spellcheck right now LOL!<br />
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Soooooo how have you been?😇<br />
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I checked my facebook this morning, and kinda went thru "cleaning up", because, you know, when you are jobhunting, you don't want all your rants, raves and weird pictures out there........ And while doing that, I noticed a couple of my rants had drawn "WOW" as a reaction...... and I began to wonder about that..... Was that a happy "WOW, glad I'm not the only one thinking this", a "WOW, I'm glad that didn't happen to me" OR a "WOW, what a bitch!" WOW?<br />
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Not sure I wanted to answer to any of those questions, so I quietly moved on......<br />
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NO, I'm not off my rocker, just wanted to make you wonder as well.... It's a little lonely in my little corner right now :-)<br />
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Don't forget to hug a loved one!<br />
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Love and hugs,<br />
PauliTaztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-56357358099341607062018-07-08T15:05:00.001-05:002018-07-08T15:05:52.933-05:00YIKES!Hope you had a good Easter and Independence day, and all/any holidays in between. I had no idea it had been this long since I posted. It's not that I was having fun, but time obviously got away from me anyway :-)<br />
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Well, there is no big news from this end, so that may also be a reason I haven't been talking..... Mike is healing nicely and slowly catching up on what is "normal" in the healing time department. He's getting better, but how good he will be at the end...... no one can tell. He can reach, still throws like a girl (hi hi), but his aim is getting better and he has more control over what the muscles do, he's up to lifting 20LB and he is down to twice a week on his physio...... so before long, he'll be back on full duty. We still haven't heard what is going to happen with work, but in the last month 2 people have left, but there is a "we can't talk about it" rule in effect, so I'm thinking it doesn't have anything to do with the job cuts. It feels kinda strange, on the one hand, you feel bad for them because both were with the company 20 years, but at the same time, you're happy because that increases Mikes chances of still having a job when all this is over......<br />
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I'm trying to find a job, but it gets tiresome to be told you're "not in our demographics", or "we're a young team" if you know you have to work at least 17 more years before you can retire, and not have to apply for jobs anymore to keep getting financial help so you can pay the bills. Which, at the moment, isn't much help, since it was decided that we should be able to make the bills AND eat on €900 (The minimal minimum income for one person). I was told "it's doable" and when I asked if she had tried it before, I was told the interview was over, so I took that as a "Hell no!" Oh well, some things don't change. <br />
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Castle is going along swimmingly. The foundation is laid for the blacksmith shop, drawings are in the final stages for the gatehouse, I'm almost done with the animal selection for the petting zoo, and the plans are made for where the stables and such are going to be. We got confirmation that the foundation cannot be used for the gatehouse, so we're going to put poles alongside it, put a buffer on top of the poles, and build the building on top of this "pillow". The impression is that none of the rest of the foundations is in any better shape so this will be the norm for the farm buildings.<br />
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Our fuzzy roommate thought it would be fun to jump out of the front window a couple of weeks ago. We had the windows wide open, and normally he doesn't really pay much attention, but you can imagine my horror when I come walking into the living room, and all I see is a tail disappearing from view. I don't think I've been downstairs in this short of a timespan EVER, but once I got there, the little shit was nibbling on the plants, as if he had planned it. The lady downstairs told me a week or so ago, that she saw him come by her window, but she didn't have the heart to go look if he landed ok. Oh, that boy! :-) It did something to him, though and he hasn't been himself, it's like in one dive, his body decided that he was, indeed 14 years old. He's not jumping on the table (he'll jump off it, though) but finds a way to get there in stages (floor, chair, tabletop or floor, couch, bookcase, tabletop) but he runs and plays, eats in his normal picky way, and grooms himself, so he's going to be checked out by the vet this week to make sure it's just mental caution. Hopefully, he's just sore and realizing he isn't a kitten anymore. <br />
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Well, this isn't much for the better half of 7 months of silence, but I think you're caught up on the highlights ;-)<br />
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Don't forget to hug a loved one?<br />
<br />
Love and hugs,<br />
PauliTaztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-71316915494908823882018-01-01T03:46:00.001-06:002018-01-01T03:46:36.837-06:00HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!I wish you and yours all the best in the coming years, and on the chance that I'm repeating myself....<br />
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<i style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold;">May the best of your past, be the worst of the future!!</i></div>
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This pretty much sums up my wish, for everyone :-)</div>
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I think life has simmered down to a dull roar. Mikes surgery on his right eye was a perfect success! He completely freaked me out on the day after surgery, when we went in to get the bandage taken off. We're sitting in a waiting hall, about 10 feet from a door with writing on it, and all of a sudden he asks me "what does "kunden hilfe" mean? After telling him that it means customer service, I'm trying to figure out where he got it from, when I spot the grey door, with white writing on it........ I'm floored! He always made fun of himself, saying that if he takes off his glasses, he might as well close his eyes, because he can't see past 10 inches, and here he is, reading at 10 ft..... When we got home is when it really hit me what he's been going thru the last couple of years....... Miepje, the neighbors calico-cat that he's been feeding, because its owner kicks it outside 23 hours of the day in wind, rain, snow or heat, usually comes running when he comes home, or out the door. When we got out of the car, she did what she usually does... came out of nowhere, and circled his feet, rubbing his legs and purring. He does what HE usually does, bends over and rubs her and talks to her. Only this time, he stops with his hand on her back, gets real quiet en says...... Sweetie, you're beautiful! I just about cried. Turns out he hasn't seen colors in a couple of years! He told me later, that it got gradually darker, greyer and blurrier.... No wonder he hasn't been into going places! So I made this sneaky plan, to take him to Amsterdam, to the national museum this summer. Not entirely sure how to pull that off yet, but it's going to happen! :-)</div>
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At his pre-op we got a little bit of a shock though..... We're getting information on what time to be there, what kind of lens they're going to put in, how long the healing will be and a date for when he'll have surgery on his left eye! WHAT!? We're looking first at each other, and than at the doc like he has 2 heads and horns when he tells us that. On our initial visit, he said that his left eye has a little bit of a problem, but it will keep, and not even 6 weeks later, it needs done as well? Turns out, that Mikes eyes need such a high corrective lens that with one eye almost perfect and one with the strength he has, will give him headaches and balance problems. And after seeing that he hasn't wore his glasses since he got home from surgery......... We're ok with it. So, January 15th is pre-op for that, and January 31st is surgery, and the start of a new look on life for him. I AM SOOOOO HAPPY FOR HIM!!</div>
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Shoulder is progressing slowly, but progressing. Work agreed to pay the bills, but there was initially no indication when, and whether they will also pay the enormous late fees. I did get an ETA after I completely freaked out because the hospital was going to send a court appointed appraiser to our house, so they can see what we own that they can take to sell and pay our bills that way.... The appointed person taking care of his account looks at it every 45 days........ so if they look at it today, and we send them a bill tomorrow, it will be 6 weeks before they do anything with it..... (i.e send it to the translators, get it back, look at the charges, decide on payment, send it to accounting and cut a check, mail it out, and hope it goes priority mail and not by boat) but at least I have something to tell the doctors offices when they call for payment 😕</div>
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Today I'm taking the day off. We have nothing planned, no "need to do's" so I'm not even getting out of my jammy's. LOL. Tomorrow we have a check up for Mikes eye, Wednesday Physio, Thursday Physio, Doc and base and we're back to the races.... </div>
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My appointment in Maastricht got rescheduled to the 8th of Januari and the 12th of January I'm spending the morning at City Hall........ Appointment with my caseworker, appointment with someone that may be able to help me actually work at being a webdesigner after all, and pick up the parking permit, so we can park in front of our own house on Saturdays........ </div>
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Castle is open one more week, and than it closes until Carnaval vacation to open up for the season day after Easter.... Other plans than this......... I don't have at the moment :-)</div>
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I hope you have an awesome year, I will keep you posted on our goings on and plan on doing it a little bit more often, but mainly a little bit more upbeat. I was reading back a bit, to see where I left off, and noticed a trend of whining, complaining and grumbling....... NOT what I want to be! So my plan for the new year is, to notice something that amazed me and makes me happy at the end of every day.</div>
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Well, there's a bacon, eggs and waffle breakfast calling my name, so I'll take my leave. Don't forget to hug a loved one?</div>
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Love and hugs,</div>
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Pauli</div>
Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-53587749727016273052017-12-11T07:23:00.003-06:002017-12-11T07:23:49.488-06:00Update...Things are mellowing out....... I think :-)<br />
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This whole proces has been an adventure of no information......<br />
No news from the surgeon, no check ups into how the healing is progressing, no indication what should be happening, or when. There was no indication when he should start physical therapy, but after we asked when the stitches were taken out 2 weeks after surgery, we were told he should have been doing physical therapy within 5 days of surgery!<br />
The only answer we got without asking was from work..... The day after he got out of hospital we got a letter stating that his claim for work comp was denied because the employer contested the claim. No explanation, no nothing, just a "you're on your own, and have a nice life" I was sooooo mad, it took me a day and a half to simmer down enough to organize my thoughts and make a plan of attack.<br />
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First we went to base, only to get an email address from the regional HR person, no other information was provided.<br />
So we asked what the problem was, because<br />
a) it happened at work <br />
b) there were witnesses, including his supervisor AND her boss <br />
c) he filled in a mountain of paperwork....<br />
and what else was needed to make this a workmans compensation issue?<br />
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Mind you, that was October 25, and we still don't have an answer from her! Not a "got your message, but fU!"...... nothing at all. Although we did figure out the answer to be just that. We sent all information we received by way of diagnosis and prognoses to the company we got the paperwork from, telling us work was contesting the claim, in hopes that all they were waiting for was that, but since no-one is getting back to us from work, we don't know what they need. We're guessing! Still haven't gotten ANY of the dokter bills paid for that we sent on, but no further information whether they ever will, or when, if they are..... Meanwhile, every couple of weeks, we get a whole new set of bills, with collection charges added to it, because they really don't care what is going on, they just want to get paid.<br />
My problem is....... we don't have the money to pay them, and we hope that if they ever decide they're going to pay us, they'll include all the late fees. If not, be it that they don't pay at all, we'll be selling everything we own, to make the payments after all, and if they don't pay the the difference, I hope they'll take installments.<br />
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Wednesday we're taking a dear friend to the station to fly back to the US. He's selling the house he's had here for going on 20 years, so we're thinking he won't be making too many more trips back for visits...... He's been in de same boat as all none refugees that live here in that he can only stay 3 months at a time. He has had the good fortune to be able to come and go every 3 months, so we cram 6 months of visits and socializing in the 3 months that he's here :-)<br />
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Thursday Mike goes in for Physio, after which we have to "fly low" to Maastricht, so I can give blood and wait 2 hours to hear that I'm OK and Friday Mike has Pre-Op for his cataract surgery, which is to take place on the 19th. Plans after that include: healing, healing and working to get range of motion and strength back for Mike and for me getting my website figured out, again (Did I mention that I broke it? LOL) and work on my presentation for the castle. I'm doing a presentation on archeology in April. So there is some fun to be had, a lot of "have to's" and I'm quietly dreading the stuff we didn't plan for, and are going to hit us out of left field........but the optimist in me keeps thinking that we have everything figured out as best as we can, and we'll cross any treacherous, rickety bridge when we get to it!<br />
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Mike is healing ok as far as the Physical Therapist is concerned, and way too slow for the patient. I'm hoping that after his eye surgery, the climbing the walls will be replaced with being able to read, since his computer/tv time will be drastically decreased for a bit, that he will be more up to "doing things" and enjoy himself a little more than he has been. Please keep him in mind on the 19th and send good thoughts his way?<br />
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I think you're all caught up, or at least got the highlights, LOL, so I'll sign off, and see if I can straighten out my code a bit :-)<br />
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Don't forget to hug a loved one?<br />
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Love and hugs,<br />
PauliTaztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-87582608401193603742017-10-26T01:00:00.000-05:002017-10-26T01:00:13.388-05:00Update.....It doesn't feel like I stopped running since September 20th............. But that's nothing new :-) although the fact that I know the date is!<br />
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Mike had shoulder surgery last Friday, and I spent 3 days in the hospital with him. As bad as my German is, it's still better than his, and better than the English a lot of the hospital staff spoke, so it was kind of helpful as well as nice. Turned out he had a tear in a shoulder tendon, and a tear in a bicep muscle, and because of where the muscle runs, they couldn't put it back where it had to be, so they had to cut the bicep muscle, screw it into the bone. He'll be tied up for a couple of weeks before they attempt physical therapy and I'm fulltime chauffeur, cleaner, caretaker of hubby and cat, administrator and a couple of things I can't remember LOL. Odd thing is, I hadn't slept much before his surgery, being that he doesn't like to wake up from the anesthetic and has a heavy reaction to almost all pain meds, except Tylenol, but I've been sleeping pretty good, starting Friday-night. We had to be at the hospital by 7, and being who we are, we were there at 6.30 and I got home around 8.15, was sound asleep at 8.30 woke up at a little before 6, went tot he hospital, got home around 7.30, watched one episode of the "the black tower" mystery, went to bed by about 8.30, got up at 6.30, went to the hospital and waited for Mike to be released, and the pattern has been holding, an average of 7 hours per night..... I got more sleep in the last week than I have the month before. LOL.<br />
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The hospital is odd. Visiting hours are "whenever you want to be there, between the hours of 7AM and 9PM, so that was AWESOME!! The rest was kinda weird. His surgery was scheduled for between 10 and 11, and around 9, 3 nurses fly into the room, and while one is taping up his arm and one is putting in an IV, the third one takes the brakes off the bed, and starts running with it..... I watched her flying down the hallway with it, and the way she had to hit the brakes, literally by digging her heals in, was a little disconcerting.... My sister came up and we sat together, cutting the waitstress to almost nothing, until I realised how long it had been, and than I just paced. The half hour surgery turned into almost 4 hours, without a word from anybody. I saw him be rolled by the visitors area and followed him into the room, otherwise I have no idea if they would have thought to come find me. The surgeon never came by, we were never briefed whether the surgery went according to plan, what the next step was, what to look out for or anything. A very far cry from what we were used to in the US, but nobody seemed bothered by the proceedings, but me.... (Take the hint and let it go, maybe?) What really bothered me, was that they measured his blood-sugar when he came in, and it was high. (He was taken off his meds on Wednesday, so it wasn't a total surprise) They gave him a shot of insuline, and it came down. After surgery, they kept checking it, and it kept going up. All the way to 418, and they didn't do anything. He started to look bad, before he started to feel bad, and I finally went off on the chick that did the blood-checks, that he was not feeling good, he was dizzy, sweating and shaking, what was the sense in taking down vitals, if you didn't do anything with it because they should have seen that it was getting higher and given him insuline, and to get a goddamn nurse in there!? The nurse never came (They pretty much stayed in hiding), but the orderly, did give him a shot of insuline, which made it almost instantly better. They also added an EKG to the treatment. Gotta love it. Not doing anything, and than pulling out all the stops to figure out what happened..... <br />
The cafeteria was cool. Only about 20 tables, but the food was super good, with portions that would stump a woodsman! While we were there for pre-op, we had coffee there, and I saw a plate of spaghetti go by that would have fed me for a week, but it smelled SOOOOO GOOD! :-) Odd thing was, they stopped serving food at 2.30, and closed all together at 6... Weekdays they opened at 7, Saturday and Sunday at 10.30, so that was a little bit of a bummer, since both days I flew out of the house without breakfast :-) It almost felt like it was a staff cafeteria, and if the public wanted some, they would accommodate. (Prices were good too, having a full dinner, including coffee and desert, for about 6€) It reminded me of the cafeteria when I worked at Saint Mary's in Reno. Good memories :-)<br />
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The brace they gave him is a trip. It came with a pictogram on how to put it on, but there are way more options to put it together than pictograms! We've been fighting it ever since the physical therapy lady came in on Saturday and took it off. I thought we had it figured yesterday, after he showered, but this morning it was a total mess, which should not happen, so we're going by the physical therapy office at the end of the street here, and ask for a demo. I'm so lucky I "do" DumbBlond really good! LOL<br />
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While he's off for this, which we still don't know if the company accepts the claim as Workman's Comp, he also needs surgery on his right eye. They're going to have to replace his own lens with an artificial one. Not sure why the guy here only hinted at the procedure, and never said it might be cataracts, because that would have leveled out the stress considerably.... Thing is, we are having problems with his insurance, in that we can't get into the "secure member website" to see what we need to do, and what we will have to pay before we make the appointment. Our account has been "disabled" and they want us to call. I really don't want to pay 3€ per minute to make a call that they could, if they were so inclined, take care of by email. So we're still working on that. Once life comes down to a dull roar, and I have time to think, I will work on that. I'm still waiting on the pre-cert for his shoulder, that I put in for on the 13th.<br />
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Castle is closing for the season after Sunday, except for appointments, and will open at Christmas, Falconer ok'd some of the dates for workshops, and I'm waiting on the others.<br />
Drumroll..... I have a whole afternoon with the regional archeologist on November 28th! I couldn't believe it. I had contacted her to see if I could drop off a list of questions, to pick them up later, so I could get clarification on some things I've read in different reports, and she emailed me back to tell me she had cleared her afternoon for me, so we had some time! SOOOOOO AWESOME!!!! What's funny (in a super cool way) to me, is that she, as well as our archeologist, knew me by name the last time they were at the castle for a presentation a year ago, and I had only talked to them once before that. They either have a steeltrap mind for names and faces, or somehow, I stood out. Don't know, don't care, as long as I can pick their brain. LOL.<br />
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well, I think you're all caught up on my shenanigans...... I'll swing by every once in a while and keep up the intel, until we have some sort of "normal" :-) Don't forget to hug a loved one, twice if they're fuzzy and count your blessings :-)<br />
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Love and hugs,<br />
Pauli<br />
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PS: Did I mention that Mike is the color of HellBoy for most of his right side? <span style="text-align: center;">It's awesome! I think they used a mop to put it on him. It's all over! LOL.</span><br />
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Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-29700980397016286992017-10-13T15:39:00.002-05:002017-10-13T15:39:34.860-05:00There's still some ......undiscovered animals out there. Oddly enough, they seem to be illusive most of the year, and more out in the open around October........<br />
I stole these from a YouTube feed by Marco, by the way.<br />
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I realize there are people that do not like Halloween the way we do, but I hope you will take these as they are intended. I am amazed at the creativity, and the painting skills on these!</div>
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Don't forget to love a hugged one? :-)</div>
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Love and Hugs!</div>
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Pauli</div>
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PS: I wish I would have thought about this when I was trying to teach 9 year olds what was happening inside their horse. LOL.</div>
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<br />Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-73372199440937097842017-09-30T01:23:00.002-05:002017-09-30T01:23:27.400-05:00"He got better"is one of my favorite movie quotes. It is said after the question..... "I thought he died?"<br />
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The reason this one came to mind this morning, is because I was looking at an add for clothes and the mention of this new fabric called Tencel. I got all happy, it won the EU- Flower prize, because of the way it is manufactured, it claims to be all natural, without chemical additives, cool is summer, warm in winter, breathable...... WinWin! I never heard of it, so I looked it up. The proces is chlorine free, but uses oxygene, hydrogenperoxide and ozone.....and this "environmentally friendly process releases acids and water in the air, plus the process uses a lot of energy (it partly re-uses the leftovers from the process for this, but the rest has to be generated thru the grid) As contrary as this may be to "all natural and environmentally friendly" this is not the part that got me here....<br />
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In a study into "health issues and the air we breathe" from Belgium, this is mentioned:<br />
"Ozon concentrations in the air can be unhealthy for individuals and can cause shortness of breath, irritation of the airways, inabillity to breathe due to irreversible damage to the lungs and dizzyness. Plants die before their natural time and crops have lesser yields." This also wasn't a big shock. However the next part of this study was..... "Although there is no direct connection between Ozone and chronic disease, during the period between 1997 and 2003 an average of 120 people PER YEAR died prematurely because of increased Ozone in Flandres" ...... Now, I'm not a doctor, but DEAD seams pretty chronic to me! As is an increased amount of COPD, Lungcancer, Skincancer, and deminished lungfunction.....<br />
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This makes me wonder how BAD you have to be for the environment to be passed over for the environmental prize?<br />
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It also drills down to do your research if something is hailed as "all natural" and "environmentally friendly"............ Maybe we should just go back to the ways of early man..... wool, linen and such. Grab a sheep, shear it, spin it, weave it, wear it...... Plant some flax watch it grow, harvest the seeds to make oil, save some of the flowers for coloring the fabric and use the leftover bits to make linen clothing. No muss, no fuss, all natural. REALLY!<br />
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Getting of the soapbox now, but wanted to make you think, just a little :-)<br />
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Don't forget to hug a loved one!?<br />
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Hugs,<br />
PauliTaztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-58838028054331363662017-09-20T09:33:00.000-05:002017-09-20T09:33:09.724-05:00Just pile it on......... I can still carry something.Just heard from the powers that be...... I can't start my business!<br />
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Last week Monday, I got a visit from an independent counselor to decide if my business was viable, and I have what it takes to make it work. He started off pissy, and didn't improve during the inquisition. He was here for 3 hours, and nothing I had done, or was planning on was right, so somehow I didn't expect it to go my way, but because to make it out of the financial help plan, I only need to make 500€ per month, I was hoping it was not going to be a big deal. Well, I was wrong. According to him, I have no business being IN business, my office space is laughable, and anything but professional, he hasn't seen anything that gives any indication that I'm the least bit creative, let alone creative enough to be paid for it and I'm not even close to being even a mediocre business owner. I don't think I could have felt any smaller by the time he was done talking, and can't wait till I get that in writing! (His attitude when he visited was so obvious that 3 different neighbors who knew he was coming asked me about it, so I know it wasn't just me.....) </div>
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I tried to tell him... All I need to make my business work, is a place where I can sit, do my thing and be alone.... I can do that. I don't expect, or even want people in my house. And as for not being a business owner, I indicated I needed help in the "doing business" part. I know I don't have the experience. But he wouldn't listen. I'll have to wait for the official send off, but I'm busy replanning. With everything that hangs in the balance, I'm nowhere near ready to give up. My own business will be the only thing that I've found sofar, that will allow us a little more security and stress relief.</div>
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The thing that urks me about this whole thing, is that they rather pay me the rest of my life, than give me a chance to get out from under. I don't need to earn 60K a year. I just need to earn enough to keep us here, if anything happens to Mikes job, and a little extra so we can take a couple of days vacation per year, and not have to look seventeen times at every penny we spend.<br />
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While I was writing this, this morning, I got a call from Mike. He has blown out his shoulder while unloading a truck at work, and if I could come and get him........ It never stops. We have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow morning. I initially made the appointment, because after he got to work, Mike called that his right eye was so cloudy, it was like looking thru a dirty window in heavy rain, and he would like a referral to a specialist. The doc wanted to see him before he wrote the referral........ So now, tomorrow will be a "two-fer"....... I don't know how to do this anymore, and I'm taking the rest of the week off ......... If the saying "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" holds true, I should be as strong as Ayrs Rock by now :-)<br />
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For now, take care, don't forget to hug a loved one, and please count your blessings.....<br />
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Hugs,<br />
Pauli</div>
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Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-5522625869540391232017-09-19T16:57:00.002-05:002017-09-19T16:57:46.765-05:00I want one of these.......I found this site where you can build yourself a cat, in lego's! Well, not Lego's but something just as cool. Check these guys out!<br />
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The site sais it takes about a day if you don't have any interruptions to build one, but who cares how long it takes.... SOOOOOO COOOL!!! <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JekcaWorld" target="_blank">facebook JekcaWorld</a></div>
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Check out their <a href="https://www.jekca.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=198" target="_blank">website</a> as well...... there's a contest to win a kit on <a href="https://www.thepurringtonpost.com/cat-lego/#comment-4176" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Purrington Post</a></div>
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Don't forget to hug a loved one? </div>
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Pauli</div>
Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-30262759700658886462017-08-17T07:31:00.001-05:002017-08-17T07:31:45.367-05:00Anybody there?I went to Amsterdam to my nieces' house yesterday!<br />
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OK, I'll play nice and catch you up gradually. This may take a while, so grab a cup of something ( I promise, it won't have to be strong, this time. LOL)<br />
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It's been a while...... a long while...... but although not completely over the moon, I'm not so far underground that all I need is a shovel with dirt to finish the process. If you've been reading my blog for a bit, you know that nothing ever goes easy, streamlined or even halfway according to any other rule not to mention (dare I say it out loud?) PLAN, and that bit hasn't changed. But I think I'm just a bit better equipped to deal with things.<br />
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What did the trick, was an email from my sister in law, after I asked if everybody was ok, since I hadn't heard from anybody, and was basically told: "Nothing personal, but F-off!" That's as clear as a message can get! Sent one back that I will not bother the family again, and I meant it. I didn't sleep for 3 nights wondering if I could have done more, better, different and caught a whopper of a migraine because of it (on top of everything else) and decided enough was enough. I'm no longer trying to appease people that will not listen, at ANY level of my personal interactions. Somehow, making that decision grounded me. I will do what I can, I will help where I can, I will care about people as far as I can handle it, but mainly, I will make sure that my family of 2 is taken care of, and if anybody, and I really mean ANYBODY has anything to say, about this family, they can take a long walk off a short pier as far as I'm concerned. Nothing personal, of course! LOL.<br />
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SO! Next on my project list, is cajoling the Gemeente into letting me start my business, and starting to enjoy the second chance we've gotten almost 6 years ago, by taking a day here and there and do things that make us happy, even if it is on a baby shoestring :-)<br />
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THAT part of the program happened yesterday. I'd been talking to my cousin (my moms sisters daughter - I can never keep that straight! LOL) about the family pictures she has, from when her moms house got put up for sale, and that she has no idea who some of these people are.... Her daughter had to make a family tree for school, and also came up empty, so we exchanged information for about a year. She's closer to the archives, and I had more family information as in dates, names and lines.... It was decided we would get together, and finally made it a date, yesterday.<br />
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Mike dropped me off at Schinnen station at 7.25 to load up my OV-chip card, and I hopped the train at 7.32. Had my morning coffee at the station in Sittard, while waiting until I could travel at 9. Train-trip took 2.5 hours from there. Out the backside of the station I went, onto the ferry that would take me to the busstop, and at 12.15 we saw each other for the first time since my granddad died in 1983.<br />
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It was like we had been visiting for all the years we hadn't seen each other. Well, except for questions like, how old are the girls, where do you work, how long have you lived here, and "OH! CAN'T BELIEVE YOU HAVE A GARDEN IN AMSTERDAM!!" LOL, but it was really comfortable. We had lunch (eierkoek with strawberries ARE the best!) and than started on the pictures. She had started separating them, but if you don't know who you're looking at, there are going to be way too many stacks to make it really organized ;-) We looked at the different packets she had made, and A LOT of new information surfaced. we also made the decision, I would take one packet home, scan them, and return the originals to her for safe keeping and take the next stack, untill all pictures and memorabelia's were scanned and returned. I would send some of the scans to my dad, to see if he recognized people, because (This is going to sound obnoxious, but it's not meant that way. ) most people in the pictures are younger, most having lived through the Second World War, and by the time I met them, they were already old, and not just because I was 10. LOL.<br />
So this will keep me occupied in a good way. I have limited myself to one hour of scanning a day, or figuring connections, and only on days that Mike is off. I know me... if I don't set boundaries I'll keep at it until I'm done to the detriment of anything else. I'm learning.... boundaries are good :-)<br />
Last year I tried the concept "change is good" but I'm not yet on board with that one. LOL.<br />
(I wonder what's next on that list of life's lessons to learn.... "Love thy fellow man"? Hope not, there's some serious wankers out there!)<br />
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No news yet from Mikes job, as indicated, no news yet on my business, only more and more things to figure out, decisions to consider and more of the same that put me on the ropes a couple of months ago, but I've made a decision on that as well......<br />
- Make plan and stick to it,<br />
- until something gums up the works,<br />
- adjust course and lett-her-rip! <br />
Not sure if it is a healthy approach for the long haul, but for now, it will have to do. If you have any ideas on the subject, let me know?<br />
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My sister has a new roommate. <b>D E R E A M Y!</b> If he wasn't hers, I'd seriously consider of stealing him! Meet Tommy....... <br />
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Not sure what you were thinking..... :-)<br />
He's a Australian Shepherd/Border Collie mix, and just the cutest little hellcat you could wish for. LOL. I'm sure you'll see him come by once or twice more....<br />
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we also discovered we have really big gophers at the castle......<br />
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So, I guess this is my longwinded way of saying.... "SHE'S BAAAAAACK!"<br />
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Don't forget to hug a loved one?<br />
Hugs,<br />
Pauli<br />
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<br />Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-34138310896870934752017-05-20T06:15:00.002-05:002017-05-20T06:15:58.803-05:00I'll be back, hopefully.....Maybe it's the "having walked on eggshells since January", maybe I'm just too damn tired to get excited, but it's been a calm couple of weeks....... of sorts :-)<br />
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I was perusing "the net" this morning, and within 20 minutes, I found the following 2 pictures.... Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something.....<br />
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The one with the Panda's is telling the Panda's that arrived in Ouwehand Zoo to have fun with "inburgering", which translates into the legal adjustment to Dutch laws, regulations, customs and language, before being able to stay in the country......<br />
De second one is advise to have your animals chipped and not let them become Asylum Seekers. The word "asiel" means both asylum and pound......<br />
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I know both signs are meant funny, and 6 months ago, I probably would have been rolling with laughter at the play of words, but after the last couple of months, the puns taste a little sour. I never thought I would lose my sense of humor, mainly because I kept it through the worst of time.... but I think I sadly have to admit, that it's happening. I'm too tired to fight anymore, too far down the hole to claw my way up again, and no end in sight of the downs-piral. Every step I take to make our life better, even if it is in the (forseeable) future ends up biting me in the backside some other way. Not enough time in the day, or energy left, to fight the battles that need fighting and although I'm not giving up, I think for everybody's sanity, it's better that I'm closing down the blog for a while......<br />
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Signing off......<br />
Don't forget to hug a loved one for a long long time!?<br />
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Love and hugs,<br />
Pauli<br />
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<br />Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-63124511786233522962017-04-05T02:01:00.003-05:002017-04-05T02:01:39.596-05:00What do you get when you take a Ford Fiesta, and slap ugly all over it?<br />
The new Ford Ka+ 😕<br />
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Maybe if they hadn't called it a KA, it might not be so bad, but to call this thing a KA, is an insult to the name :-) IT IS UGLY! It is NOT a KA...... Whoever thought this was a good idea, needs to go back on his medication. I hadn't seen one "in person" yet, you can't find them in the dealerships, so when I had to go to check on the name of a part for my baby, Mike took a stroll thru the showroom, and showed it to me on the way out. Except for the signature eyeblinding yellow they put on it, it looked nothing like a KA, improved or otherwise.<br />
The KA is not meant for families, speedcontrol for parents that have young drivers (controlfreak much?), voice activated ANYthing or being able to plug in every gadget on the planet. It is meant to get you from A to B in a fun way, easy to handle, easy to fix, and fun to kick around in, and especially in a country that figures that a 1.5 lane 2 way street, with parking on at least 1 side, needs planters every 50 feet to slow traffic.... easy to park!<br />
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To illustrate....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "improved" version</td></tr>
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What is funny to me, is that on the page where they introduced it, in the middle of the text, were 2 adds..... one was for a foil to change the paint job on your car, the other was "wanna get rid of your car fast?" next to a picture of the KA+..... </div>
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Maybe I'm not being fair, (I'll admid, I'm not impartial by any stretch of the imagination) maybe it's not as ugly as I think it is, maybe it's a good car..... Just don't call it a KA and think you're going to endear KA-lovers to it. One thing I've learned since we've had ours...... There are 2 kinds of people. Those who absolutely LOVE the looks of the KA, and those who absolutely hate it..... So who knows, maybe the people that absolutely hate the rucksack version, will end up driving a KA afterall.......... Silverlining? LOL.<br />
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Well, this is all I had to "get rid off" this morning...... There's more, like how I lost 3 weeks of work in 3 minutes, and the special event at the castle on the 22nd and 23rd of April, but that will keep till after "work hours" :-)<br />
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For now, I'm going to work, so don't forget to hug a loved one?<br />
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Love and hugs,<br />
PauliTaztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-78467588801540344072017-03-03T04:31:00.002-06:002017-03-03T04:31:13.256-06:00Another day in the jungle.....Not a whole lot of news to tell. There's a couple of pictures I want to share with you from our Bird of Pray workshop last Sunday. Finally got around to downloading, distributing and organizing them. My computerstudent didn't show, so I'm freed up. Just discovered that our fuzzy roommate has food in his bowl, but no more than that, so as soon as the petshop opens up, I'll be heading there...... But the highlight of my day is that I get to go visit "Lars" in Maastricht. Remember I told you that a couple of the tourguides were going to the History Museum in Maastricht, and that I might be able to "see and feel how things are done"? Well, TODAY IS THAT DAY! I'll be picked up at noon, and will not hit the house until about 5..... And in between? <i style="font-weight: bold;">BLISS!!!</i> (Information on the museum and <a href="http://nhmmaastricht.nl/vroeger/lars.html" target="_blank">Lars</a> )<br />
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It's always a joy to see the faces of people when they're doing something they never thought they could... and the workshops are no exception. The kids are the most obvious, because the grin won't leave their face the whole time they are there, but if you look closely at the adults, you see the same thing in their eyes :-) The group was really small this time, There were about 10 people signed up and 2 didn't show, and it completely changed the dynamic of the workshop compared to the first one. I think I like the smaller ones better. It's less hectic, and more personal, but we'll take however many people sign up :-) The photo-workshop is not happening this spring, but it's a good possibility for the fall, since we'll have a full 6 months to make it happen, instead of 2. I'm quietly planning ahead, keeping track of castle to-do's, and what people are saying they would like to see. The trick is going to be to set a date to talk to Wim about things, after he closes for the season at the zoo, and in time to get things figured and going.<br />
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But you didn't stop by to hear me think, now did you? LOL. Enjoy the pictures. (Someday they'll show up as scrapped pages, just don't ask me when....) I adjusted my camera with higher ISO and depth, but looking at the pictures on the computer, I may have sacrificed a little in quality. Something to figure out before the next workshop.....<br />
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My favorite moment of the show was when Wim brought out the Great Horned Owl, and told me to get in line to hold her.... SO SO COOL!! I protested only ever so slightly that I wasn't part of the workshop, just the fotographer, before I gave in. These majestic birds always have had a fascination for me, but I never, ever been this close to any of them. I'm interested who's in the "mystery box" on the 19th :-)</div>
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My favorite picture of the show..........<br />
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Couldn't believe how soft the paws were, and how much they reminded me of the wolfspider you see in zoo's! LOL. Paul told me that she used to fly over tables at a restaurant to show how little air displacement a big bird like her has..... so maybe we can incorporate that when we have the owl-workshop in the fall........ It's a thought :-)</div>
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Well, my ride is going to be here soon, so I best get going :-)</div>
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Don't forget to hug a loved one?</div>
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Love and hugs,</div>
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Pauli</div>
<br />Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-62702587420068465812017-02-20T09:08:00.001-06:002017-02-20T09:08:48.818-06:00I GOT TO HOLD SARAH!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Nope, not a newborn or a puppy, and (gasp!) not even a kitten, but a Chiliean Eagle!</div>
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Yesterday was the first of 3 Bird of Prey Workshops at the castle, and I was one of the "contestants". IT WAS AWESOME!!<br />
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My sister was in on it as well, and even though we didn't get to sit and talk (I had duty at the castle as well, so I was also doing the coffee, cake and general running interference) it DID feel like an impromptu sisterday. She asked I didn't post any pictures of her on line, so I kinda found a way around it, just to share the fun. LOL.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqSSjibcp2nCCjHDhdvgALyWGVrdfVZyQP60lWoa556paSNtNaCnksmnI06Se9l0ICI7OD4rAzMEcGYouFqDMh1i0Yl73-7ptEEOF0JKRg2Tb-spKzStDrY7zNDdpFSQCW5fKVdH6isNU/s1600/P1070416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqSSjibcp2nCCjHDhdvgALyWGVrdfVZyQP60lWoa556paSNtNaCnksmnI06Se9l0ICI7OD4rAzMEcGYouFqDMh1i0Yl73-7ptEEOF0JKRg2Tb-spKzStDrY7zNDdpFSQCW5fKVdH6isNU/s400/P1070416.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I don't think anybody'd recognise her, so it's ok...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHNHjrg7bxu_LbqvIQEF25n6yhVmUYCov7NlTIK4FesSelFb44JWJd2lXKq2rY_9LkFhWtnab1V4GSMs2mTztIV_RhCNZQPknB2Lr4vlOTIEuqXhztYuObI7-VXMGkpAOk5GHkEEnZ3o/s1600/P1070430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHNHjrg7bxu_LbqvIQEF25n6yhVmUYCov7NlTIK4FesSelFb44JWJd2lXKq2rY_9LkFhWtnab1V4GSMs2mTztIV_RhCNZQPknB2Lr4vlOTIEuqXhztYuObI7-VXMGkpAOk5GHkEEnZ3o/s400/P1070430.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harris Hawk</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIG7xg2MDiGqNJn1JE2C3-YjeFUUsZ5Xo8WEu55tVk-3HJBN1L4YuYt5bvASdspRDGOX5O0uFbttyVnMFmFJAeE2Ztp2wfPEYDFgNZmxOor8vN7wVQrr6TQsvka2MhKymZsKc_AjuaEKo/s1600/P1070447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIG7xg2MDiGqNJn1JE2C3-YjeFUUsZ5Xo8WEu55tVk-3HJBN1L4YuYt5bvASdspRDGOX5O0uFbttyVnMFmFJAeE2Ztp2wfPEYDFgNZmxOor8vN7wVQrr6TQsvka2MhKymZsKc_AjuaEKo/s400/P1070447.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boobook owl (Ninox Novaeseelandiae)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fisher Eagle</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7olefOL5AD-SovFi5_yPMZkktJaZwaaroahxogkuKwh4-dBMGhwOyUIPVoZ5Y4UMR2-MsKhm_M0iEoXTzatSQdDLIY_GkZdG5EuSF-Qv3seCY7C3bM-9OqVOOXpL9YlAnbCEULiboDgw/s1600/P1070467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7olefOL5AD-SovFi5_yPMZkktJaZwaaroahxogkuKwh4-dBMGhwOyUIPVoZ5Y4UMR2-MsKhm_M0iEoXTzatSQdDLIY_GkZdG5EuSF-Qv3seCY7C3bM-9OqVOOXpL9YlAnbCEULiboDgw/s400/P1070467.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Redtailed Hawk (Buteo Jamaicensis)</td></tr>
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and........ SARAH!</div>
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<br />It was sooo much fun to watch the little (and not so little) kids' eyes gleam when they were holding the birds. One little one would not let go of the boobook owl, thru a piece of pie, cup of soup and glas of soda! He kept the glove on, with the owl attached thru a cord looped from the "shoe" on his leg to a ring on the glove.<div>
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It was a great day, and there are 2 more to come before the falconer has to go back to his "day job" at Planckendael Zoo in Belgium...... Already can't wait till he gets back in November. LOL.</div>
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Life may suck on so many levels right now, but yesterday was a "definite awesome" on this slippery rock we're on! You HAVE to love "friends" who, when you tell them your life is coming apart at the seams, simply look at you and ask what this will do to their computer-class or a ride you promised in the future..... You reschedule a class, because you just can't handle the histrionics that day, and you get a complete meltdown that "you've changed, and what, oh what did I do wrong, for you to do this to me?" Let me tell you, there's a lot of things that would make not having "friends" a real good feeling right now.... At least I would know I was in this alone. Whatever happened to thinking of a friends wellbeing before your own?</div>
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Signing off to do a little coding and redesign on my website. Haven't heard from the coach since I turned in my homework a week ago, we're off to a Motorcycle show on Friday, castle on Sunday and in between, I keep learning :-)</div>
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Don't forget to hug a loved one?</div>
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Love and hugs,</div>
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Pauli<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-74269996993071655512017-01-27T17:09:00.000-06:002017-01-27T17:09:16.537-06:00We're somewhere between<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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and</div>
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and sometimes I think it's just more humane if somebody would just take us out and get it over with...</div>
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As you can tell, I'm not having a good time right now. The Tuesday after inventory, everybody got called in a meeting, and it was announced that within 18 months, they have to be down to 9 jobs. One job is considered somebody that works 20 hours, meaning you take the 40 hour people as 2 parts (being management), and you guessed it... that leaves actually 3 people out of 18 with a job.</div>
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Top that with.... "We don't know if the lay-offs start next Monday or June of next year" and "performance will not be taken in account" and you really know you're screwed!</div>
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I'm so messed up right now, I'm crying half the time, and pissed-off he other half. I didn't want to come back here, but I'm finally settling in and figuring out how things are done, and building some kind of normalcy in a place that feels more alien to me than The States did when I first got there but I have my family within reach and a little bit of my passion back, and I'm working on getting my business going, so we have options..... but obviously that was way too much fun and something needed to be adjusted...... We don't know if he's losing his job, we don't know when we'll know whether he has a job or not, unless you figure that if we haven't heard by September of next year, we're good...... I'm scared to death that Mike will have another heart attack with the stress that it's putting on him. He's convinced that losing his job in Iowa had a big part in his heart-attack, so even thinking that puts him at risk for another one....And I'm not even considering what the thought of his feeling this way does to me, aside from the uncertainty and no safety-net what so ever. We don't have another income, or a pension to fall back on. This job is not so we can shop on base, and no big deal if it goes away. We're completely, utterly and royally screwed without his job, because we'll have 3 months to leave the country, and no place to go, or money to get there if we did.... So to spare you my rantings, ravings, doubts and outburst, but also because I'll be busy going crazy.... I'll probably won't be around much for a while. Wish us luck, and if you have an opportunity, if you could send some good thoughts our way, it's appreciated....</div>
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Don't forget to hug a loved one? And remember.... hug them twice if they're fuzzy :-)</div>
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Love and hugs,</div>
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Pauli</div>
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<br />Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-48011109636529846142017-01-11T07:09:00.001-06:002017-01-11T07:09:08.375-06:00Happy New Year.....Our little gumdrop never liked winter. Pretty much like the cat, when the temperature drops, she didn't want to leave the house. LOL. It got to the point, that we needed a jump twice in the last month, and while trying to start, she sounded like she had a bad cough. Yes, I'm still talking about our KA. LOL. So Friday, I called my "go to" guy at EDAC, and he could check her out this morning and yesterday, I arranged for a jumpstart this morning, in time to get me to the garage to have her looked at. By the sounds we heard, the little harder start every time until it finally wouldn't start, the fact that she doesn't like cold weather, and putting that together with what I found online.... we were afraid, that the engine was losing compression, which would have meant that we would have to put a "For Sale" sign in the window, so I went to the garage preparing to lose my baby.... I'm pretty sure Edwin has never seen anybody happier when he showed me the battery test, that read 185 out of possible 395 of whatever he tested, and told me that I needed a new battery. LOL. It wasn't really a decision that needed lots of thought, without a new battery, I would have had to leave the car where it sat, because it wouldn't start, just from doing a 3 minute full load test, until we got a new one..... so he ordered it, handed me a cup of coffee, and said it would be there in about an hour while I sat in the car and made my weekly plan....<br />
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When the battery got there and he started to take the old one out, I heard him mumble, so I went to look. He is used to me hovering when he's working on the car, asking questions and wanting to know what he's doing and why. Not because I don't trust him, quite the opposite, actuallly, (if he tells me it needs fixing, I KNOW it needs fixing, because he will also tell me if it doesn't need fixing, just cleaned, adjusted or what have you). I want to learn how our KA fits together, and he gets that, and happily answers questions, and points things out if I don't get the connection right a way, but for a simple battery swap, I figured, I'd done it, seen it done, and honestly, I didn't really want to leave my seat..... When I get around to the front of the car, he is holding up the battery, looking at it from all angles and points to the Ford logo on one side of it........ IT WAS THE ORIGINAL BATTERY!!! The "born on date" of our Lady in Red is January 2000....... so that battery lasted 16 years, and more than 100000 KM! I considered taking a picture, just for a second :-) The new one has a 2 year warranty, and as far as everything I read on batteries these days, if you get 5 years out of them, you're a lucky duck, so she did good :-)<br />
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On a castle note.... Bird of pray workshops are set for February 12th and 19th, and more will be added if there is a need. I will be there, so I will "report" afterward.<br />
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Mike is in the middle of inventory this week, it's starting to snow, (well actually, there's 10 raindrops followed by one snowflake that melts with it hits the ground, but I'm not complaining. LOL) and I should be getting back to work. I found this really cool looking menu for my website, but I have a hard time getting it to work, but I am also adjusting my logo and colors, to see if there is a more professional way that still looks like "me" .... If I'm not happy with anything I'm coming up with, I'll stick with my first idea..... I think.....maybe...... Oh, I don't know. LOL.<br />
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This is all I have to tell you today, so I'm signing off. Don't forget to hug a loved one, may they be human or of the furry variety, and enjoy your day :-)<br />
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Hugs,<br />
Pauli<br />
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Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-90462643570938408152016-12-29T02:04:00.003-06:002016-12-29T02:04:54.283-06:00I should already be "at work"but I wanted to share yesterday with you..........<br />
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It was cold, but there was no wind, and even the sun showed up, ever so briefly.......<br />
We had SUCH a good day at the castle. I don't know the exact figures, but the castle was bustling. Our poor parkinglot couldn't handle the cars. SO COOL!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Halfway up the tower, looking at the second island......You can see the lean-to that will hold our beehives in a couple of months.</td></tr>
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I took a couple of pictures, but my camera is not much of a match for what I wanted to show you..... <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul with the Harris Hawk</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very young falconer in training... (I didn't get his name)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The falconer with a Golden Eagle and 2 of my co-volunteers</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The falconer with his little volunteers to hold the birds.</td></tr>
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Like a well oiled machine, Wim and Paul divided the kids in 2 camps and flew the birds from one group to the other, so they could accommodate every one. I did see some of them go around and join the other group after their turn. LOL (Can't blame them, really)<br /><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul with his little helpers</td></tr>
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It was so much fun. The group you see in these pictures were only part of what was there during the show. As soon as the falconer said that was the end, and if there were little ones that wanted to hold a bird, or anyone with questions was welcome, most people bailed in favor of warmth and coffee.<div>
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The birds will fly really close to the ground, as to not give away their position to others, so they really skimmed the crowd sometimes. You should have heard the kids squeel (and try to get in the path of the birds at the next fly over)...... :-)</div>
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Next time, Wim promised to fly from the tower....... when he has had time to practice and after the birds are used to the premises. All flew with a tracker yesterday, and will for a while, just in case they get spooked and don't land in the right spot......</div>
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What I really liked about the show, was while he was flying the birds, Wim would be explaining their habits, how old they were vs how old they can get, their habitat and even how they use thermal currents to float..... Very interesting stuff. Even if a little bit of it sticks, you'll learn something.</div>
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Wim also mentioned that he would be open for foto workshops...... </div>
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Well, I'm well past my start time, so I best get to steppin' LOL.</div>
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Don"t foget to hug a loved one, and have a safe "rutch" as they call it in Limburg. Meaning "slide safely into the new year"</div>
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Love and hugs,</div>
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Pauli<br /><br /></div>
Taztang68http://www.blogger.com/profile/07043965098540944070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684617729772113972.post-73614359977052812362016-12-20T08:10:00.003-06:002016-12-20T08:10:55.259-06:00YEEHA! It worked!The castle officially has a falconer!<br />
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You may remember that I was working on getting a falconer for the open days in September? Well, my favorite one contacted me right before winter close to see if we were still having a Christmas market this year, and if he could come up with a couple of birds and test the waters for workshops at our castle..... I sadly had to tell him that we weren't going to have one this year, but we would love the workshops. So he came by the castle, we talked, and walked the grounds. The minute he hit the gate, I could see his mind starting to work and the more we talked and walked the grounds, the more engaged he became. We set up a meeting with the big boss, and he was on board as well. So "all" that was left to do, was figuring out the details. I made a list of possible questions we could get asked, questions that needed answers before we even started, and possible thoughts on what else we could do, and set another meeting, and another. I arranged for our resident photographer to come and take pictures of the falconer, on site, with some birds, because I couldn't really get the extractions the way I wanted them. Somehow they kept looking "put together".<br />
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Last Tuesday, the falconer came by, with a couple of birds to figure out the best place to do the show from. <b>By the way, did I tell you that he's giving two shows on December 28th?</b> Sorry :-)<br />
We were having a conversation about the glove he uses, and how to train the birds to come and go and he puts the glove on my arm.... I didn't really think about it, figured it was part of the conversation, to show what it feels like, but imagine my confusion when I was halfway thru that thought and I had a Harris hawk about 5 inches off my face and on my arm.... It was unreal, and SO so awesome! He flew back and forth a couple of times, and I was surprised how light he was on landing and take-off, for such a big bird. I know their bones are hollow, but you would figure they'd way atleast a little bit more than nothing..... Later on, I also got to hold a Horned Owl. No matter what the rest of the day would have brought..... I had a great day! (and pictures..... LOL)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wim (with Steppe Eagle) and Paul in the courtyard</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wim and Grey Eagle Buzzard on our castle wall-walkaround</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wim picked up his Blue Eagle 22 years ago from Chili..... </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some lady with a Harris Hawk</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our photographer photographed with a Horned Owl</td></tr>
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I'm not sure yet how to pull it off, but I'm going to try and sign up for one of his workshops.... Maybe I can talk Mike into doing it together for our anniversary :-)<div>
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In closing, I want to wish you a very merry Christmas, and the best year yet for 2017!</div>
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