Winter in The Netherlands
Wow, just like that… it seems out of nowhere, we really have winter weather in the Netherlands. Icy cold, cutting wind that makes you feel like you're walking in your underwear. And then you walk wrapped up in a thick winter coat, a charming hat to protect your ears from the cold, and with your hands pulled away in the sleeves of your jacket to protect your bare hands somewhat ... because in those hands is a dog leash clamped. And in this weather it is important that you hold that dog leash well because an accident can happen in no time.
There is a thick layer of snow that you walk through… the dog you have on a leash makes crazy jumps with joy and visibly enjoys this white world.
Few things stopped me from going
I wanted to go out with the camera today to take pictures, but there were a few things that stopped me from going. First, I found out that I had to charge the battery of my camera, but when I found out it was already late… because I had to wait for a heating engineer beforehand. He needed to come by to look at the boiler. Besides the fact that the heating was not working, which we only found out when we wanted to switch it on once to prevent the pipes from freezing, we also ran out of hot water.
We almost never use the Central Heating System. The gas that is fired by the central heating boiler here is already terribly expensive to use. And given that we don't have an unlimited supply of money, we usually heat a small oil heater, which only heats the living room. In the rest of the house it is therefore always cold in winter. But now even the living room could not get warmer than 11 to 12 degrees, which is cold! Too cold even for us. So the heating had to be turned on, and as I said, to keep the pipes from freezing, it had to be turned on anyway. Then we noticed that the heating was not working. So no heating… we had already accepted that. Yes it is cold, especially when you consider that it will also freeze around 12 to 16 degrees outside later this week in the nights.
Do we call for a technician or not
We were already starting to doubt whether it would be better to call a technician, but then again, those costs are not fun. Well, let's think about it. So then I just take a shower… And there came the big turnaround. A technician had to come. Because there was no more hot water from the shower. And to take a cold shower in this Siberian temperatures now didn't seem like such an attractive idea. So well, a technician had to come. And then the waiting begins, and not just waiting… we decided to keep moving, because when you move it is also a lot less cold. So it became cleaning, not my biggest hobby ... but more of a necessary evil, which works well to keep warm. Cleaning the kitchen, cleaning the utility room, cleaning the bathroom, cleaning the toilet ... Just a hot cup of tea. Quickly let the dogs out… again.
Drink some hot tea
It is a pity that the battery of the camera was not yet charged ... another hot cup of tea, but quickly back into the garden with the dogs. That too is a trick to get warmer. Just outside in the cold, then when you come inside it is suddenly nice and warm, even if it is only 12 degrees. And then finally, the mechanic arrives.
Thousands of people without Central Heating right now
So it appeared that snow had entered the pipe of the boiler, causing the boiler to fail. But we already heard that we were not the only ones who had problems with that. Thousands of people in the Netherlands turned out to be without a Central Heating System and only those who are really out in the cold are still helped. The repair technicians are just too busy… That just shows that the weather in the Netherlands is really extreme at the moment. And that can also be seen in the many centimeters of snow that our country now has.
We have big snow dunes in the back of the garden… which the dogs enjoy.
Playing with the dogs
Unfortunately, no photos have been taken with my good camera yet. But I managed to take a few phone pictures of Skipper and Myla in the snow, before Skipper decided it would be more fun if I just played with him in the snow. He jumped me from behind, I fall forward on my knees in the snow. He dives on top of me and the result was that I could later go back out to look for my driver's license and bank card in the snow… Sigh! Dogs…
Still enjoying it to the fullest
No, without kidding. We are cold, it is REALLY a winter week as we have not seen for years, but we enjoy it to the fullest. Although I must admit that personally I will be very happy when spring arrives and winter kicks out the country with its sunbeams and warm mild temperatures.
For now… we enjoy the snow together, and we make beautiful memories so that after this winter week we can look back on it with a good feeling. And after the visit of the mechanic I could at least take a hot shower AND for a change also heating up on a burning central heating system. So that is even more enjoyable now. Thank you technician …
well arranged
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BEER.It must be getting very cold I hope they can repair the central heating. You can tell the dog enjoys his walk in the snow.
Yup, it's not really warm ... and the dogs do enjoy it very much so. But after a few days of this, even the dogs seem to feel they'd rather have Spring or Summer. The magic seems to disappear for them too.
I can imagine it, I think the most pleasant weather for them must be spring
WOW, Icy cold. winter weather in the Netherlands... brrrr!!!
Skipper (? is it Skipper) seems to be enjoying it!
It is Spring-like here in California.
Pretty soon too, it will be there!
How are you otherwise, @hetty-rowan!
Oh really, I wish it would be spring-like here in The Netherlands, but we're going to have -15 this night. I can't wait for spring to kick in. Besides that, I'm ok. Been busy with many things offline ... and if everything works the way we hope it will, I will be much more often busy with offline things soon.
How are you?
We had some warm days here last week but now the temperature has dropped again and it's back to wearing coats. No snow where I am, but I can see it on the mountain top. Love the photos of Skipper and Myla xxxx
Oh that's a shame that the temperature dropped down again. It's always so good to feel the warmth after the cold winter days, and even more hard to get a drop in the temperature like that after some warm days.
I really hope the warmth will come our way soon. I'm ready for that ...
Thanks for your comment and glad to see you again. How are you doing?