Catching Up ...

I know , we faded from view ...  My laptop felt peaky , WiFi vanished and I rediscovered Outside .
Since when , a lot has been done and thoroughly enjoyed ....

 There's been very old buildings ... with  stairs  , spiral and endless ... and not such old ones . Surprises . I discovered that , on hot days ,  Selfridges staff enjoy a roof terrace with bean bags , deck chairs and Astroturf

 

and that our local mayor has a hard hat and clogs handy by the fireplace in his office .

There were museums and a talk on interior architecture in Leeuwarden during the Golden Age . Ancient wallpaper

 

 and not such ancient three-piece suites .

 

 And unexpected details .

Animals , herb gardens and city farms .

 

 And, best of all ,  grandchildren . Air guitar and chocolate buttons . Fearless holding of falcons , and having to hunt for a suddenly lost front tooth till we agreed that it must have been swallowed ...  and the ensuing discussions about the Tooth Fairy's job description as laid down in her work contract . Books and songs , swings and all manner of furry elephants  . And loving presents of squashed bananas and beaming smiles ...
 Trains , buses ( you have no idea just how long ten hours can be till you go from Amsterdam to London on a Eurolines bus ) and boats . Sunsets and stained glass

 

And food , lots and lots of delicious food ... which , sensibly,  I just ate without taking a single photo .