J_ whistling (?) through life

[J_]

Today. I am in a short flight from Austria to the Netherlands in the early morning, a distance of about 1000 km. Besides me teenagers looking on their phone to a series or play. I make notes in a little note-book with a pencil, (age gap youngsters/me about 50 years….).
These notes will become a start of my journal on the ERE forum.

With a walk, a mountainous train tract, another walk, a flight, another train tract through flat and wet looking land and a last walk I changed living places within 6 hours.

Yesterday morning I enjoyed the already strong sunshine on my almost naked body, though in the shadow the temperature was around zero Celsius (32 F). Later I waxed my x-country skis on the same balcony and in the afternoon I made a short trip on my xc-skis in the valley.
This year’s winter is amazing in the Alps. Since our arrival in December snow is plenty and sunshine is plenty.
For almost two decades I habituate the winter high in the mountains. I know my neighbors, their family, the nearby other villages, I am member of the local library, managed by volunteers whom I now by name. Once I gave a guest lesson on a primary school about a cow swimming in my other-home town-canals. I think the children laughed more about my dutch-german-accent, than about the story.

The apartment (masonnette) where DW and I live in Austria is about 56 m2 (602 ft2), has a small separate kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, a toilet and a shower/bath. And an eastern oriented balcony for the morning winter sun. The 40 appts have a communal washer/dryer, an intern place to stall bicycles (for summer), a dryer room and a place for skis.
We have pleasant local neighbors in the building. One lady does para gliding in winter from the nearby mountains and lands directly in the adjacent meadow.
There are three groceries on walking distance, a train station and plenty of busses to reach the surrounding villages and xc skiing areas. The xc skiing areas amount about 200 km (124 m). In a good snow year (like this year) you can ski from village to village and take a bus to go home.

But now I have traveled mid winter to my home in the Netherlands. Because next week we have a court session here, where a judge will hear us and our local government. We claim the government was wrong about giving building permission to our neighbor. Our early emotions were strong, but now (2 years later) we are more stoic about it. We will see whats the judge decides.
That is a story for another entry.

[Seppia]

Super excited for this
Great to read you J

[bos]

Happy to see you started a journal J. I'm following along

[delay]

Thanks for sharing your journal! I think the Dutch building permit system is too restrictive. You should be allowed to paint your house purple if you want to. I'm secretly rooting for your neighbors

[J_]

Thanks for sharing your journal! I think the Dutch building permit system is too restrictive. You should be allowed to paint your house purple if you want to. I'm secretly rooting for your neighbors

@ delay You are right about the maze of building regulations in the Netherlands. It is a puzzle. So much that even the local government has difficulties to govern them. DW and I have studied the rules extensive, we see/use the our court case as an intelligent real life game.
You are a brute to take the side of my neighbor. Now my changes to win are diminishing :

[chenda]

@ delay You are right about the maze of building regulations in the Netherlands.

It's a very densley populated country so that doesn't surprise me. What has your neighbour done which you are objecting too?

[rube]

Hi J_, I remember you told about this neighbour and the case with the municipality. I hope you can indeed see it as much as possible as a "game". Life and time is too important to let these external circumstances influence your beautiful life and situation too much.
I'll be following your journal with interest.

[delay]

we see/use the our court case as an intelligent real life game.

Oof, interesting. A court case consumes money to inflict pain on someone else. Your neighbor will suffer even if he wins. If I were just playing a game, I'd be afraid of his pain finding its way back to me.

I offer my wishes for a pleasant outcome of the court case.

[J_]

It's a very densley populated country so that doesn't surprise me. What has your neighbour done which you are objecting too?

@chenda Yes this country is very densley populated and densley build too. Especially in our very old town center. The (new) neighbour has extended his ground floor. The houses are directly connected. His building works have damaged the wall which separate our houses. We can start a civil or even a penal court case. But for us the most simple way (and cost effective as we can do this without a laywer) is what we do now.

[chenda]

The (new) neighbour has extended his ground floor. The houses are directly connected. His building works have damaged the wall which separate our houses.

I see, that's what we would call a party wall issue.

[J_]

Almost effortless am I skating over the loipe (xc-ski-skating tract). It is morning, quiet, the sky is blue and it is already warm. DW and I love both xc skiing. Most of the time we go together. We inspire each other. If I am a bit lazy and she goes, I go too and vice versa. DW is a natural talent and goes elegant. I am more a toiler.

My physical condition is not constant, it changes up and down even in one week. One day you feel strong and vigorous, and some days later even a stair climb feels like an effort. I have learned to accept and adapt.

End of March we return to the Netherlands. In April we will hear the decision of the court about the walls. @rube: thanks for your advice to let the court case not spoil our days. You are right: it is not worth it.

This winter I read “The listening society” and “Nordic Ideology”. Both a good read and good advice to my opinion. Although at the moment some-one goes in the opposite direction. I do think in time the counter reaction will be in line with the developments described in both books (I am an optimist)

I read “Nexus” by Harari. For a novice on “bots” and “Artificial Intelligence” like me it is an eye-opening book. Thanks @Gilberto de Piento for how to counter the algorithm chase of me. Later I found an elaborate forum thread started by @sky “Pseudoanonymity and/or exiting cyberspace” with useful information and a wise reaction about hiding or not hiding by @jacob.

DW found in a secondhand shop an old, small, chrome plated table clock in art deco style. The winding clock work was not working. I re-placed it with a small aa battery electric clockwork and new hands. Now, for € 7, it shows time and style.

[J_]

Before we left for the Netherlands we have spring-cleaned the apartment in the Alps and did a round of diminishing stuff. We also stocked groceries up. As we come again we have enough to eat for weeks. So it can function as a back-up place. Long ago we had a marriage-struggle and one of us went here to take literally distance. It helped to overcome the struggle.

Yesterday I was rowing in a C3 (three persons rowing-boat). It feels good to be on the water again. We do a round over the canals in and out of the city. On our way back we have to fight against strong cold winds over the open meadows. We see a harrier hunting for goose-chickens. Afterwards we have a coffee and talk on the sheltered and sunny club-terrace. My companions on this trip are a PCP (also called GP or huisarts) and a teacher. Both women are speaking about their retirement (at 65) at the end of this year, and what changes that will bring in their lives. One of them wonders about what to do then…

Spring is busy. Our little motorboat will go out of the boat-shed, where we hire a winter-place. The boat needs maintenance and conservation. I am lucky, DW takes at least the half of the scrapping and painting-works to make the boat ready for a new season on the water. I renew an zinc-anode and a part of the wooden rubbing strake.
In May we want to travel/sail the boat to a canal just behind the sea-coast. There we have easy acces to the beautiful natural dunes and the North-sea. We leave it there for some time and can sleep and cook our meals on the boat and swim in the sea. The place is within bicycle reach to our house, the rowing-club and the tennis club of DW. And a grocery on walking distance.

The verdict came in about our „game” with the municipality about the partly demolished house-wall by our neighbour with consent of the municipality. It was not a solving verdict but transplanted a part of the case to an other court hearing in July. I tried to stay stoic about it, it keeps mulling in my mind. Is beeing a stoic realy feasible for a human? I keep saying to myself it is not important, we can repair the damage. It is just the the feeling of „hurt by injustice”.

A rather stupid feeling because when I count my many blessings in life I realise how very lucky I am, and such a little dent is not important at all.

[DutchGirl]

It's tough sometimes, isn't it? To shake a feeling, even if rationally you know that feeling doesn't help. And also tough to look at all the good things instead of the little issue - it's like a little splinter in your foot perhaps.

It's good to take your mind off things and just go out and enjoy nature and the weather. That really helps.

The doctor and the teacher both have professions that may not only have been theirs for the money, but also because they put their heart and soul in it. I can understand it may be harder to say goodbye to such professions. I know that my personal huisarts/GP sold his practice and then less than a year later he was back, part time, hired by the new doctor to help him out. He had missed it, but going part time (and not being the owner of the practice) made it a much lighter load. My mom was a teacher, and since retirement she has been helping out at the schools of her grandchildren - the schools sometimes put out a call for (very) part time teachers when one of the class teachers has things like a wedding or a medical issue and them my mother steps in and teaches for a day or two until other the class teacher is back or more permanent arrangements have been made in case of illness. She loves that too, feels useful and also enjoys that a lot of the administrative bullshit of having your own class is no longer hers to deal with.

So hopefully your two boat mates will find their way in this. Maybe you also gave them some examples of all the awesome and good things one can do with their free time?

[delay]

Thanks for your journal update!

It is just the the feeling of „hurt by injustice”.

I wonder if there is anyone whose life improved after suing their neighbors. It sounds like the judges will continue to inflict pain on both of you until you sort it out.

[J_]

It's good to take your mind off things and just go out and enjoy nature and the weather. That really helps.

I wonder if there is anyone whose life improved after suing their neighbors. It sounds like the judges will continue to inflict pain on both of you until you sort it out.

Thank you both for your reaction.
@delay: As before I think your remarks hit home. I will give it a try to approach my dear neighbor again. At last moment he did not appear in court although he had written he would come.

[J_]

The doctor and the teacher both have professions that may not only have been theirs for the money, but also because they put their heart and soul in it. I can understand it may be harder to say goodbye to such professions..
So hopefully your two boat mates will find their way in this. Maybe you also gave them some examples of all the awesome and good things one can do with their free time?

Your guess is right. The teacher had suddenly strange feelings about doing parts of her job. Like grading papers and realizing that this would be the last time in her life. She likes teaching. So she had a plan to get a grade as a yoga teacher to give lessons at times and quantities as she liked. And she want to do outdoor sports every day as I do.

The GP has so many interests, she said to her it is no problem at all to fill in her freedom.

[DutchGirl]

...Oh, my mother also has done tutoring - that might be something for the retired teacher as well, to focus some of her teaching efforts on one or a couple of kids and maybe on a favorite subject that she taught before?

[ertyu]

Being a yoga teacher isn't half-bad, especially if one can combine it with a specialization, e.g. being able to deliver improved mobility to the elderly or to those with injuries that impact mobility

[J_]

A lot happened since my last journal entry.

DIY: kerosine heater in my boat did not function. I had to take out the heater (difficult: narrow space). Dismantle the heater, renew the filament (glow-spiral) and build the heater in again with all the wiring and fuel tubes; 3 days work!
Repair a leaking urinal in house. Made the pump of the underfloor heating of the kitchen running again. Made a barrier against a wasp nest on our attic. Tried to remove a sewer blockage with a hand turning deblocade-wire. That did not work, I had to call for a professional company with a high pressure jet to blow the blockage.

Leisure/outdoor: DW and I got a subscription for this season on an outdoor swimming pool (50 m) in a village on bike distance. We go there 2 times a week.
We made three-day trip with our little motorboat just behind the dunes and the North Sea. The early mornings are very fresh so I made use the repaired heater.
We made walks in the dunes and woods in the neighborhood.
I could maintain rowing in the canals around our city 2 times a week, except on windy days > 4 Bft.
This morning during my rowing trip I got a rain-shower, and after changing to dry cloths during my bike ride home another downpour. Just like @Jean I am luckily not water soluble.

Health: This month I went for the first time in years to a gp because I noticed on my Garmin watch unexpected periods of higher heart-rates and some fatigue. I visited a cardiologist thereafter. Atrium fibrillation.
My heart will be watched 2 times a week on distance: I got an app from the hospital to place my fingertip on the camera lens of my mobile. It measures my heart-rate and other specifics and send it to the hospital. A report is send to the cardiologist and back to me. Perhaps it will be necessary to get a light electroshock to get my heart-rithm normal again.
The medics have no other explanation for it than mention my age (77). My thyroid (which regulates heart-rate) stimulation hormone (TSH) test was just ok but indicated a what slower working thyroid

I do think, due to my strict plant-based eat-pattern without much bread (with iodine salt), I have depleted my thyroid from iodine. So I add some iodine drops to my daily water-drinks (I take care no going over the maximum recommended daily quantity).
I notice doing outdoor sports helps to avoid unexplained higher heart-rates.
Will see how it develops in the coming month(s).

Although still in good health, I do get older and have to adapt to slow down a little.

[guitarplayer]

You're so active and quite rightly so. My mum recently told me that life passes so quickly recently, I responded saying she should do more things, and in particular more things for the first time.

We made three-day trip with our little motorboat just behind the dunes and the North Sea. The early mornings are very fresh so I made use the repaired heater.
We made walks in the dunes and woods in the neighborhood.

We miss the dunes that we got used to on the east coast of Scotland some years back. If you could point us some nice dunes this summer that would be great!

I do think, due to my strict plant-based eat-pattern without much bread (with iodine salt), I have depleted my thyroid from iodine. So I add some iodine drops to my daily water-drinks (I take care no going over the maximum recommended daily quantity).

You know we eat the same so thought about iodine as well. We have two options in the house: nori sheets, the ones used to made sushi. Two 20 cm x 20 cm sheets a day should give daily quantity, we get them from eBay. And also supplements which have the benefit of being 10% of the price of the nori sheets.