Last June, I sent these three photos to the Europe and Architecture Photography Contest organized by Almere's New Library and the Europe Direct Almere. Now they are part of an exhibition in Almere Haven's Library until August, 7. After they will be in Almere Buiten's Library until August, 31. I went already to the exhibition in Haven's Library and there are great photos that deserve to win. Good luck to everybody!
I enjoyed so much to participate in this contest! I like to live in Flevoland! It's a green, quiet and relaxed province with very pretty places to visit and enjoy!
We also have many cultural activities! Flevoland is pure gezelligheid! :-)
We won the prize I really wanted to win! One day out at Orchideeën Hoeve in Luttelgeest , a very pretty place with colourful orchids, many butterflies, tropical fishes and exquisite plants! ;-))
Last week, Cozinha dos Vurdóns and (In)Cultura blogs invited me to join them in a blogland chain against famine. It's a big joy for me to join them, as well as other blogs, in this effort to help those who are suffering now.
In (In)Cultura blog, I told a story of mine to Ana, about the best present I've ever had. She found it a very beautiful story and asked me to share it with my readers. Here it is :-)
The best gift that I've received in my lifetime was a typical cookie from Portugal given to me by a 13 years old boy who was very poor and sometimes didn't have nothing to eat at home. The cookie was made by him in his traditional oven.
João was a lovely and well educated boy, but living with many difficulties in one of the poorest areas of the country. He must be 27 years old by now. I hope he is happy now with a nice family of his own and an interesting job.
Beijinhos, para ti, meu querido, estejas onde estiveres!
So... :-) You will be very welcome to join this blogland chain against famine and share some special stories with us. :-)
Meanwhile, you may already noticed that I've placed the UNICEF's link on the blog. Any help is precious!
Have a beautiful day!
Nick Cave and the Bad Steeds,
"O Children"
Pass me that lovely little gun My dear, my darling one The cleaners are coming, one by one You don't even want to let them start
They are knocking now upon your door They measure the room, they know the score They're mopping up the butcher's floor Of your broken little hearts
O children
Forgive us now for what we've done It started out as a bit of fun Here, take these before we run away The keys to the gulag
O children Lift up your voice, lift up your voice Children Rejoice, rejoice
Here comes Frank and poor old Jim They're gathering round with all my friends We're older now, the light is dim And you are only just beginning
O children
We have the answer to all your fears It's short, it's simple, it's crystal clear It's round about and it's somewhere here Lost amongst our winnings
O children Lift up your voice, lift up your voice Children Rejoice, rejoice
The cleaners have done their job on you They're hip to it, man, they're in the groove They've hosed you down, you're good as new They're lining up to inspect you
O children
Poor old Jim's white as a ghost He's found the answer that we lost We're all weeping now, weeping because There ain't nothing we can do to protect you
O children Lift up your voice, lift up your voice Children Rejoice, rejoice
Hey little train! We are all jumping on The train that goes to the Kingdom We're happy, Ma, we're having fun And the train ain't even left the station
Hey, little train! Wait for me! I once was blind but now I see Have you left a seat for me? Is that such a stretch of the imagination?
Hey little train! Wait for me! I was held in chains but now I'm free I'm hanging in there, don't you see In this process of elimination
Hey little train! We are all jumping on The train that goes to the Kingdom We're happy, Ma, we're having fun It's beyond my wildest expectation
Hey little train! We are all jumping on The train that goes to the Kingdom We're happy, Ma, we're having fun And the train ain't even left the station
The weather was also nice. A sunny and warm day, very pleasant for a walk and to admire the replica of "Batavia", a ship that was built in Amsterdam in 1628 at the behest of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).
On the site about Batavia, we can read the whole story: "On 4 June, 1629,however, the ship, carrying a crew of 332 and heading for Java, was wrecked on its maiden voyage off the coast of Western Australia.
[...] The reconstruction of the Batavia was an initiative of master shipbuilder Willem Vos. It started in 1985 and under Vos's impassioned guidance, a changing group of long-term unemployed, volunteers and employees worked on the ship.
The basic aim was to create an authentic reconstruction, using original materials and a traditional construction method. The ship is built entirely out of Danish oak and decorated with several hundred hand-carved figures and ornaments. The rigging and guns have also been reconstructed.
On 7 April 1995, the ‘Batavia' was christened and launched by Queen Beatrix. Since then, the Batavia has attracted visitors to Batavia Yard in Lelystad on a daily basis."
I will come back to Batavia Stad. I want to visit Batavia and also the Niew Land and the RACM museums.
The Nieuw Land museum introduces visitors to the history of Flevoland. We can learn about the neolithic Swifterbant Culture inhabitants of the marsh lands, past the medieval lords of Kuinre, the fishermen and island dwellers through to stories about the land reclamation and pioneers of the new land, and also admire seven magnificent model ships from the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
RACM is about nautical and sub-aquatic archaeology. The RACM is home to the largest nautical archaeological depot of the Netherlands. More than 30,000 artifacts are shown, all taken from ships. There are even complete ship wrecks: from a Roman vessel to a regular barge service vessel. Besides, specialists will be working while we visit. This I found very interesting!
On this entry I told you what was necessary to bring my cat by plane from Portugal to the Netherlands. On today's entry I will tell you how it was his first visit to the vet.
Fofinho is in the Netherlands since September 2008. However, only last month I went to the veterinary clinic (dierenkliniek) to make an appointment with the vet and to ask how I could change Fofinho's chip data.
The recepcionist said I should send an email to the Portuguese organisation SIRA/SNMV (Sistema de Identificação e Registo Animal/Sindicato Nacional dos Médicos Veterinários) to change my cat's data. So I did, without extra costs, and now, my name, my new address, my email and my phone number are there. I've already received a confirmation letter. As you may remember my cat came with my mother and so the chip had her information, not mine.
On our first meeting with the vet, Fofinho did a general check-up (heart, weight, eyes, ears, hair and teeth).
Fofinho was ok. In fact, he lost some weight (3 kg). I think it's his daily walkings in the street. We live in a quiet, clean and safe street, so I feel more confident to let him leave.
Fofinho also took as a routine procedure a vaccine (vaccin) to protect him against different kinds of health problems and a tablet (tablet) for the treatment (behandeling) of mixed infections (infecties) with worms (wormen).
However, he needed to do a surgery (chirurgie) to remove a tooth (tand). I made another appointment. The surgery went well. Fofinho has received an anesthesia (anesthesie) and stayed all day long with the vet. The following two days he was a bit dizzy, but it was all.
On the first appointment I paid € 66.77 and for the second one I paid € 160.61. That means between the expenses to bring Fofinho from Portugal and the medical costs I spent almost € 500. So, if you are portuguese, you wish to live here and you want to bring your cat, this is more or less what you may spend.
I must say I had to spend € 61 more on the following week because Fofinho had a problem with one of his legs. He couldn't walk properly. He went to the dierenkliniek again and the vet said it was probably a fight with another cat. Fofinho took a medicine (geneesmiddel) for the pain (pijn) and now he is ok and walking again.
Now I want to buy more garden decorations and take away the tree in front of the kitchen's window.
I will give it to Masha, the daughter of the previous owners. She planted it when she was younger. It's Masha's tree ;-)
I'm thinking about planting red roses instead, you see... :-)
