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Thursday, September 15, 2016

Welkom Huis


Anyone who has ever moved knows it can be a difficult to find the next home which feels just right for you.  When Guy arrived here in March, the task was no different for us.  It was a long process of long phone conversations and pictures being sent via text and email.  Trying to schedule conversations in a seven hour time difference while he was starting a new job, and I was shuttling kids to school and activities and trying to get our shipment ready for our sea container.  But, after two months and Guy living in an apartment over here, he and our realtor here (with some input from yours truly) found a perfect place for our family.  I have found out that it is not a traditional Dutch custom to just stop by someone’s home to say hello.  So, in true Dutch fashion, I am inviting you into my home to see where we will be “Hanging our hats’” for the next few years.  Welkom Huis! (Welcome Home!)

This is our home from the outside.


Our home is in an old Dutch building and I am not quite sure the age of the building, but when I saw it, it reminded me of the canal houses I saw in Amsterdam when we were there in 2009.  Both doors lead to our home.  Some homes on our street are divided into two separate apartments.  The door on the left would lead to the downstairs apartment and the door on the right, would lead to the upstairs apartment.  Our landlord owns all three floors and has turned it into a three story home.:)

I have to say I am really surprised by how warm it has been since we arrived the end of August.  I wasn’t expecting Holland to be quite so warm.  This past week the temperatures have hovered between 27 and 30 degrees Celsius (I am quickly adapting to the rest of the world!) and there is no A/C since the days in Holland of those types of temperatures aren’t as long as in Houston.  But, this American girl is not used to having open windows (without screens) to let the air in when it is so hot.  And believe me, on the third floor, where our bedroom is...it is reminiscent of a Texas summer by the end of the day.:)  Here are a few pictures of the rooms on the third floor.  There is a full bathroom up there, too..but I thought I’d spare you a picture of that.:)


A few pics of our bedroom on the third floor.:)
Guest room:)




Kids’ study room with their desks on the third floor:)

Then there are the stairs.  I know I have told my friends about the staircases in our new home.  Knowing that Dutch people are among the tallest in the world, I cannot for the life of me understand how skinny and steep the stairs are in many of the homes I have seen here.


Staircase going from the third floor down to the second floor. 
The kids’ bedrooms, the “X box” room and another full bathroom are on the second floor...
Here are a few pictures of Jeremy’s room.  He has a balcony off of his bedroom with an awning that can be put out and retracted depending on the time of day and how much sun you want in the room.  There is even a box garden on the balcony which had strawberries growing there in June when we were visiting.:)



And, Elizabeth’s room...



Both the kids’ rooms have doors they can go in from the hall and there is also a sliding glass door separating the rooms as well.  So depending on if they are getting along at any given moment, they can open or close them.:)


The X box room:)

Then, the staircase down from the second to the first floor...

It’s so great to be married to a handy man!  I knew that we were going to need a place to keep our shoes and coats especially for when the cold weather hits, and Guy (being the engineer that he is) blocked off the second entrance door to the house and built some shelving for a “coat closet”..perfect!!
One of the kids favorite things about our new home is the old fashioned door bell and the mail slot!  I have to tell you that when the mail has come on a few occasions, It has sounded like someone has been trying to crawl through our door when the postman is delivering it and it thumps on the floor.  I al almost used to it now....and I have only had a few panic attacks this week when the mail has arrived!:)


Hallway when you enter our home.:)
At the end of the hallway, you turn left and immediately on the left is our living room..

The dining room is opposite the living room and looks out into our courtyard..

Yes, indeed folks, those are grapes growing in our backyard.:)


Just off of the dining room is a small work area where I have my desk and Elizabeth has her piano.  From there, you walk into the kitchen which also looks out into the courtyard.:)



Note our landlord and his family wrote for us on the built in chalkboard before we moved in...so sweet:)


my European size oven

My American sized refrigerator sans working ice maker
Through the kitchen is the pantry and laundry room and a half bathroom...

My European washer and dryer...we have an on again off again relationship...

I know that whenever I have friend who moves, I always wonder what their new place looks like.  I wanted to share our home with you.  I really love the different aspects of the home here that make it so unique.  You may have noticed that almost every room has a fireplace.  None of them are working anymore, but at some point in history they did..and I like to think of all the people who have lived here over the years and who they were.  I have to give a shout out to Guy for doing such a great job with all of the legwork to find our home here. I love that I can ride my bike everywhere in town from our house.  The kids love that they can ride bikes to school each day.  Each and every day we are here, we are settling in and this house is feeling more like our home.:)
Thanks for stopping by to see our new huis.:)
Doei!


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