Hello again - I'm back from my hols! We have been in the Netherlands for a week in a sweet little house near the sea. All three of our grown up children came with us and B's lovely boyfriend T as well which made it even better. We haven't been abroad as a family for many years and didn't have a holiday last year, so we were really looking forward to it.
It was such a wonderful change of scene - a beautiful, friendly country which was new to us all, we stayed in Zeeland which is a coastal area, made up of expansive beaches, soft fields and meadows and beautiful old towns.
There are lots of sand dunes, and because the land is flat our first glimpse of the sea was from the top of them.
There are lots of sand dunes, and because the land is flat our first glimpse of the sea was from the top of them.
What a view! There is so much space.
And so many cockle shells, deeply-ridged in colours I've never seen them in before: black, grey, blue, rust, dark brown and striped.
I got out my crochet and started to do some, but to be truthful I found the surroundings so distracting that I didn't get very far!
We hired bikes on J's birthday and cycled through the town to a local beach where we had a picnic and swam. It was very exciting to discover that the bikes have no gears or brakes and that you have to pedal backwards to stop! Here I am on my bike - my first appearance on my blog!
However at the start of the week it was a different story, weather-wise. A strong wind blew for several days and we had thunderstorms with some very heavy showers indeed.
The landscape took on a different aspect with gunmetal grey skies, billowing clouds and choppy, white-crested seas. Shells and sand were blasted by the wind.
Flags flapped and snapped in the breeze.
The sea and sand were pale and bleached of colour. Horse riders galloped along the beach past a little 'shipwreck' playground.
These modern, curved beach huts caught my eye - they seemed to fit their bleak surroundings perfectly.
When the sun came out from behind the clouds, blue returned to the scene. How good it was to be out in the weather experiencing it changing around us.
However, about 10 minutes after I took this photo it rained very hard indeed and, as we had a long walk to the car we were soaked by the time we got back.
I love this view of the North Sea with white horses rushing onto the sand below and scudding clouds above. This holiday has really blown some cobwebs away.
