Week 7
Week 7
because I write this for my family...(inspired by the Lizzie Letters from 1895)
What do we owe the dead? (John P. Weiss)
What is our responsibility to those who came before us? The ones who began or carried forward our family line. The ones who worked, endured, sacrificed, and loved in ways that made our lives possible.
I believe we owe them three things.
First, remembrance. We tell their stories. We speak their names. We teach our children and grandchildren that they are part of something older than themselves. There will be light and shadow in every family story. We learn from both.
Second, honor. If they lived well, we carry that forward. If they fell short, we improve upon what we were given. We mend what was broken. We build something steadier from what we inherited. There is a quiet redemption in that.
Third, forgiveness. Beyond anger and disappointment, we try to see them as they once were. Children. Before life hardened them. Before fear or failure reshaped them. Forgiveness is not approval. It is the decision to let mercy land somewhere.
Sometimes that is the only peace available to us.
I woke up this morning after a rare good night's sleep - and listened to a regular podcast - The Banned Book Club - and have yet another book to read - The Candy House by Jennifer Egan. I found it on my IRC bookz channel....
It's Kids' Weekend again - but Janny cancelled it because a few of them had "other things to do" as they are getting older... so I'll have time for the book, hopefully.
Around the Farm
Definitely not much this week as I "somehow" ended up with the flu... so I cheated - getting my thoughts together on Friday instead of Sunday...
...but I did resolve to attempt at least one job a day, if possible - and keep out of the way of the clients and others...
We've had this corner for firewood for many, many years... one of my regular jobs is to light the fire first thing in the morning. I happened to empty it and thought that I could (finally) tidy it up a bit...
...more recycling
It's been very cold for the last few weeks... I think the first thing Janny's Dad ever said to me was "deur dicht!" - I didn't actually understand what he said - but I got the meaning immediately.
The kids use our big hallway out the back as a playing/hanging area - and Janny had been going crook at them (and others) for leaving the door to the garage open...
Now, in about 1997-1999 - I was fully involved in converting the dairy farm buildings into Groups' Accommodation - exit doors and fire separation being my "thing" - I'm sure I was more demanding than the Local Council...so, all the fire doors needed self closers on them - about 15 iirc - and I still remember what they cost - in the guilders of the time f111,00. A few have been removed over the years, so I used an old one to fix the current "problem".
we had the fire on in the main dining room for the clients to watch the Olympics...
What a dumb system...
Currently, every vote is not equal throughout the United States—for reasons including the formula for allocating electoral votes to the states, intra-decade population changes, and turnout differences that increase or decrease the value of a voter’s vote. Voters in the closely divided battleground states have an average of 200 times the weight of voters elsewhere in deciding the outcome.
https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/written-explanation
Peat Bogs
The Netherlands still has lots of peat ... but a lot of it was dug up when it was arguably the biggest energy source of it's time... peat areas are being preserved - I have always had an interest in the history of peat - for some of the waterways that its extraction has given us - and also for the social implications in Friesland, in particular.
I often marvel at the fact that it took 200 years to dig out our own favourite Turf Route canal.
But this story is from Finland...where they think that restoring the peat bogs might help with limiting the effects of climate change...
https://eos.org/articles/restored-peatlands-could-become-carbon-sinks-within-decades
Peatlands are waterlogged, which largely prevents the peat from decomposing, but also limits how well trees and other plants can grow. Forestry and agricultural companies, governments, and private landowners often dig trenches to drain off some of the water, making the land available for other uses. But draining peat exposes it to oxygen, which then allows microbes to break it down, releasing carbon dioxide.
Buurtzorg (Neighbourhood Care)
(A bit of a read - we're all getting older ( but it is much more than just the aged) , so I wonder how it compares in Oz?)
( A new client just started with us - I haven't had much time with him yet - but I'm very interested in the fact that he lived for 18 years in Sweden - I'd like to know more about that).
Buurtzorg. This is a care organisation operating in the Netherlands (alongside many other care organisations - I have yet to look into just where they are operating and what the differences might be).
In my mind, we are closely related - all our clients have "home care" to some degree. For example, Lucas and his brother have house cleaning and meals that I know of...their sister manages their other affairs, presumably also with help.
We are a Zorgboerderij - a Care Farm
Buurt = neighbourhood
Zorg = care
Boerderij = farm
(I remember fondly the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Darwin who was named Bill Goedegebuur - I didn't realise at the time that the name means "Good Neighbour" - people referred to him as "Goody"). (There was a period in Dutch history when people were required to give themselves a (family) name - presumably for administrative reasons - so I imagine that Good Neighbour was thought of in those times - in our family we have van de Velde "of the field", for example. De Boer is the farmer...so many more are identifiable now. One of my favorites is "Bierenbroodspot" - Beer and bread spot - again, in my imagination, maybe from a wayside inn or some such). ( I think that some people gave themselves an off-beat name thinking that "this idea/ruling probably won't last").
Information from "The Conversation" - a newsletter that I subscribe to...
More detailed information...
As of 2018, there are around 10,000 Buurtzorg nurses in 900 independent teams, caring for more than 70,000 patients a year. According to de Blok, 60 percent of community nurses in the Netherlands were working for Buurtzorg in 2013: “What you see is a lot of other homecare organisations are changing their models into more self-steering teams. And it’s had a big impact on the national policy of elderly care.” While long-term care costs still amount to 4.3 percent of Holland’s GDP (more than in any other OECD country), it is estimated that if Buurtzorg was to provide all home care, the Dutch economy would save EUR2 billion a year.
Ukraine/Netherlands
Since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in May 2014, thousands of Ukrainian children have gone missing. The Netherlands is committed to identifying them and returning them to Ukraine. In 2026, the Netherlands allocated an additional €2 million for this purpose. This will include providing DNA kits to help reunite abducted children with their families.
Epstein/Dutchies
At least ten Dutch models appear in the millions of released files about Jeffrey Epstein. Nieuwsuur delved into the matter and saw how several Dutch girls and women were also introduced to the convicted sex offender. According to Epstein's biographer, he abused three to four girls daily. The number of girls must have been enormous, he says.
Anne Mae van Tilburg is an editor at Nieuwsuur and reads some of the emails that have surfaced in this podcast. The girls and women were passed on to Epstein through recruiters around the world, such as Daniel Siad. The Dutch models are shocked by this revelation. They wish to remain anonymous, for fear of being forever associated with Jeffrey Epstein.
The Travels of Ben
After about a month in Bangkok, Ben is now in India - for a friend's wedding...
looks very posh...
More photos...
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