Flying over Amerongen

This past Saturday we returned, once again, from the Netherlands. This time it was a trip that we had planned a long time ago. But the timing was well suited, since we had a chance to see everybody again, were able to witness the slow but steady improvement of my dad, and to meet my sister’s new boyfriend for the first time (approved!). The trip really felt like a vacation. Sure, we spent quite a bit of time around Amerongen, with my parents, but we also had lots of time and opportunities to do our own thing. We spent a day in Arnhem, had lunch with Anja and Susan, and absolutely enjoyed the wonderful weather: mid-twenties for the most part, lots of sun, and really no rain to speak of. So all in all a really good trip.

Saturday we flew back via Frankfurt, Germany. A bit of a detour, but Air Canada flies directly from Frankfurt to Ottawa, and it’s so nice to Ottawa, rather than Montreal. On our flight from Frankfurt we actually flew just a little south of Amerongen, but since had seats facing north, we could see Amerongen, the castle, the ‘Lonely Oak’, surrounding towns and the forest we had walked in many times during that week. Really cool to see! And what are the chances you fly over the area you just spent the last week! Ok, maybe not that impressive for some people, but I thought it was rather cool.

When we came home, the cats were completely relaxed and happy. I think we found the perfect cat sitter! Our neighbours kept an eye on the house, and their middle son looked after the cats, actually befriended them (which is not always easy to do with Murphy), and spent time with them while playing the Wii. When we asked if he would do it again, he said yes without any hesitation. It’s just really nice to see it worked out so well. Definitely one less thing to worry about.

When we returned we had to shift back to ‘spring that is about to come’; quite a change from the full blown summer feeling we had experienced the week before. However, slowly but surely spring is finding its way to our area as well. That is to say, the grass is getting greener, buds are about to burst and daffodils are popping up. If only the temperature would rise a bit, and perhaps the rain could hold of for a day or two? Is that really too much to ask for??

Our running mojo is gone, but we decided that now we’re back in Canada, we’ll get back at it. Although we won’t run the Ottawa half marathon, we will start training again, and aim for lots of trail running this summer. So May will be our ‘getting back to running and eating healthy’ month. Our vacation definitely made us fall off the wagon a bit, so many delicious foods, cheeses, and wine! Which we made sure we enjoyed…

This week, we also moved back to our totally refurbished office on Booth Street. I’m one of the lucky ones that got a cubicle with a window. That is the good news. The bad news is that is somewhat chilly here, so I might have to bring a sweater in next time…