Surprise

On my chilly walk to the other apartment. I love the
reeds in the frozen pond though. 

It has been a week full of surprises. Most of them pleasant ones. The first was not though. We went up to our other apartment to heat it, so we don't have frozen pipes and to have a bath while we were up there. At one point the people upstairs must also have been having a bath and let the water out. We heard it gurgling through the pipes and it didn't sound good. I went into the kitchen to find that there was water gushing out of an outlet pipe. Sigh! I quickly got the wet and dry vacuum out and started to suck the water up. Fortunately not much, but still more water seeping into the floor probably on top of those other occasions when we've had a leak at that apartment. It would probably have gurgled up into the bath if we hadn't already had the plug in and water in the bath. We know where the problem is because there have been previous problems with the outlet pipe and so we will call a local company, who hopefully have the right kind of equipment to unblock the pipe.

The sky was glorious though. Winter sky at its best. 

At least the rest of the week was much more pleasant. First of all we got a call and an invite to dinner. It was much appreciated as the call came before I had thought about what we were going to eat. It makes a nice change not to have to think about it. I do all the cooking in our house and Ian washes up - I sometimes make that a difficult job for him. Hahaha! Ian got out of washing up too as they have a dishwasher, so a win all round. I did take a cake but I needed to bake as Ian has now recovered his appetite since we are no longer the house of plague.

As Ian wasn't out on the land today, I had to dig out some
photos from another week. This is Lady V about to eat the
snow

Another plus is our friend's house is warmer than our apartment has been all week. It would seem that the new company does not seem much better than the old one. We are back to temperatures around 16C on normal days like last winter even though it hasn't been too bad up until recently, more like 17-18C. The school apparently wasn't warm enough after the holidays either. Not a good reflection on our local government - again. I was doing a lot of typing one day and so sitting around and suddenly felt rather chilly. The cold had been creeping up on me and when I looked at the thermometer it was reading 14C. No wonder it was a bit chilly for sitting around in.

Not a very good picture, as the barn was rather
dark and the kids wouldn't stay still.

We had to go and update the details for our farm, which a friend of ours does online. When we got to their house they were eating and since we hadn't eaten yet they quickly got out some more plates and we joined them for food. Two meals out in one week. It is so nice to be well enough to visit friends. It would be nice to be able to update the details ourselves but the website is not particularly user friendly even for Latvians. It's a good excuse for a visit anyway and we had plenty of time to chat, until it was time for our friend to go and see to her goats. They are starting to pop at quite a rate again and I think about 2/3rds of the pregnant goats have given birth so far, which I seem to remember was over 40 kids. Phew!

Here the kids are jostling for a place on a
cardboard box. These are all the bottle fed
ones

The next surprise was kind of mind-blowing. I was invited to a meeting in Riga about hosting refugees. I was asked if I would share my brief experience. I hummed and I hawed about it. In the end I thought I was being stupid; just because I was tired, just because I'd been ill, just because it was winter and would mean either an early bus ride in or taking the car and leaving Ian without transport out on the land was not sufficient excuse. It just did not compare to the refugees' often perilous journeys to get to Latvia. I decided I really should go and Ian felt I should too. The next decision was whether to take the bus or car. What decided me was kind of selfish, I took the car as it meant I didn't have to get up so early.

Chanel and Freddie sunbathing next to the alpaca house

To continue a rather bizarre chain of events, at Christmas time my mother had given me some beads to give to a refugee family who were earning a living making jewellery. I asked the family what time they went to church to see if I could arrange a time to pass these beads on. I thought it might clash with the other meeting that I had now decided to go to and was happening at another church, elsewhere in Riga. As it turned out, they would be having coffee before their meeting and it was perfect timing for me to still get to the other meeting. So I arranged to go there first, have a coffee and meet with the couple who ran the church who were British but I hadn't met them before and then make tracks to the other meeting. As I was having my coffee a young American couple were chatting to the the husband about refugees.

Mr. B. It makes us realise how big he is after seeing another
herd of alpacas today. He would tower above them

It turned out they worked with refugees in Texas and had come across to help friends make their own connections with the refugees here in Latvia. It hadn't turned out the way they had hoped as their friends had backed away from the initiatives as they felt it was too hard to help them here in Latvia. People generally have a very negative reaction to refugees for many reasons, mostly out of fear but also historical reasons from Soviet times. The young couple therefore had come to the church I was visiting briefly after finding out the church had had some connections with refugees in the past. They had come to see if they could finally get the kind of connections where they could help out and be of use. The pastor was telling them they didn't really have much contact these days when I chipped in. I told the couple that I was heading to a meeting that afternoon and they would be welcome to join me. I thought the meeting would have the kinds of connections they were after.

Herkules with fully fleeced ears. It is so nice to see this after
all his health issues a few years ago.

So how bizarre is that? This was their last ditch attempt at making the connections they had come all the way from America to make and I just happened to be dropping off a bag of beads to a Syrian jeweller and had the car to take them to a meeting. If that wasn't bizarre enough, I thought I actually recognised the young chap from America. I asked him if he had been to Latvia before and he had. He had lived over here for about six years. I asked him if he had been to our village before (bearing in mind we are about 100km outside of Riga in the middle of nowhere) and he had. It turns out we had met before about 12-13 years ago and he had even worked with one of our sons on the camp next to our land. We met him when we were still only visiting Latvia and hadn't yet moved here, in fact we were still living in Denmark at the time.

Herkules almost looks like he's smiling here too. Such
bright eyes as well.

The refugee meeting itself went fine and we were all able to make connections that should enable us to help more refugees in the future. I returned back home in a bit of a mind-blown daze after dropping the young couple off in town. Just one more bizarre fact, the young American couple are expecting a baby around the same time that our son, who he worked with and his wife are expecting their third. Ian and I ended up eating at the local bakery, as I wanted to process what had happened rather than having to think about what to cook. Well one excuse is as good as another and our bakery does make rather nice cakes.

Tellus in contemplative mood, chewing a piece of grass

Today's adventure was off to a place quite close to somewhere I know quite well. I have visited the little village of Kaldabruņa a few times to meet with an organisation there who are doing fantastic development work with the local people. It turns out that a couple have bought a house and some alpacas quite close to there and so we went to pay them a visit. Any excuse for Ian to talk alpacas really, even if it is quite a trek to get there at this time of year. I heard about this couple from two different sources, there was a lady who had visited recently who had met one of them on a veterinary course for small agricultural animals and then through a friend of a friend of theirs who have three alpacas. I found out about the three alpacas and their owner from the couple who are buying our apartment. Are you still following all this? Life never ceases to amaze me at times with type of networks you can make when you are open to making new contacts.

Sunbathing

After a chilly chat in the barn looking at the alpacas we were warmly welcomed into the home for home-made pizza and apple strudel. Every time my plate was empty the mother of the family put more on my plate, so I was well fed, but Ian talked so much he didn't get to eat as much. The mother commented that Ian's eyes were shining when he was talking about the alpacas and I had to laugh. It sure is a topic close to his heart.

Turbjørn in contemplative mood too. Having alpacas was
not on the horizon for us ten years back. 

And to cap a week of surprises, it is a surprise I am still blogging after 10 years. My first blog was the 18th January 2008 and I started it as we were preparing to move to Latvia. My blog sure documents how much can change in a decade! All three of our children have either got married or got partners and now had their own children. So our family of five is now a family of fifteen and soon to be sixteen. We have gone from one apartment when we moved here to two apartments, 13ha of land, eleven alpacas, three sheep, two cats and 25 chickens. We have got to know people from so many different places in that time too, including people in Estonia on alpaca farms and in Tartu where I am attempting to finish off my PhD. What a journey it has been and little did I realise when I named the blog a Journey to Somewhere, quite what a journey it would be. I wonder what the next ten years will bring?

Reflecting

Our land is on the flight path for quite a few flights. Ian
follows them on a flight tracker to see where they are
going.

Well we are back in Latvia after spending time in the UK for Ian's mother's funeral. It did feel a little surreal at times, firstly we stayed in his mother's house and of course she was not there. It was a sad occasion, but everyone was really happy to meet together. I think every member of the family almost felt guilty for enjoying the time we spent together, as everyone pretty much made a weekend of it. I think part of the reason for that was that her death was not unexpected, she had been ill for so many years and she seemed tired before Christmas. In some ways it was a relief to see her go and not suffer any more. I think we all dreaded a time when she wouldn't be able to cope on her own at home. She was adamant she was not going into a home and the thought of having to make that decision would have been immensely hard on the family, especially those living close by. So going after just a brief stay in hospital seemed the kindest way to go for her.

Grandma Lolly at our daughter's wedding

Grandma Lolly in her younger days

The funeral was a fitting tribute to the feisty little lady. She had planned much of it herself and all was paid for. That made the planning much easier on Ian's brother and testament to her thoughtfulness on such issues. Her two eldest granddaughters read a eulogy with a great deal of love and warmth and her youngest granddaughter, our daughter, sang Amazing Grace beautifully in her own distinctive style. One of Ian's school friends turned up for the funeral unexpectedly. He had read the obituary on my blog and checked out the details so he could be there. All three of us were amused that he had been mistaken for one of the undertakers by a family member and became a bit of a running joke through our catching up conversation.

It has been sunny here for the last two days and Sofie has
been lapping up the sun in the sunniest spots in the
greenhouse

Hard to believe that this morning it was -18C outside but
the temperatures in the greenhouse have been going up
during the day. Could Spring be on its way so soon?

Green in the UK when we left and definitely still white here

Funerals do have a tendency to make you reflect on life and the meaning of it. One reflection was how things have changed since Ian's father died eight years ago (not nine like I mentioned before - not that anyone is counting really). The same two granddaughters read the eulogy then and our daughter sang at that funeral too, but a few spouses had been added along the way and the number of little family members had grown. All of our children were single at their Grandad's funeral and now all of them have spouses and children in tow and our children weren't the only ones. When we went to the wake after the funeral each of the brothers had a big round table with their families around them, there was no fitting around one table, it was physically impossible. Seeing all my own family sitting there, really brought home to me how much our own family has grown.

Our two little grandchildren choosing their evening meal
(Photo courtesy of our son)

The remnants of the ice from the greenhouse broken up
and showered on the path by Ian's hard work and then
the snowblower

One family member lamented that the matriarch had gone now and wondered if we would all fracture into separate entities. After all when we go to England our primary focus will be our own children and grandchildren and that was expected of us and not said in a begrudging way. It doesn't help that Ian's family live so far north and our family is scattered around the UK. I'm sure we will be able to work something out, maybe holidays with family up in the North East would be the answer. Only time will tell though and it will take commitment on all sides to keep in touch.

We visited my mother and father too. This is a view from
their window - they had a bit of snow as well (Photo
courtesy of our son)

Deep tractor tracks to deliver hay to the animals

One of the things that struck Ian was how a connection with part of his past has gone. He can't ask his Mam if she remembers an incident and when we were looking through the photographs there were so many who he didn't know. It made us realise how important it is to document things so the information is not lost. We would hope to scan in photos and make comments on them, so that our own children will know who the people are and know part of their own history. As our son-in-law commented it will be nice to have the photos on the computer and they would take up less room than the bags upon bags of photos and mementoes. Having said that, there is also something special about holding history in your hands.

Grandad Ronnie and Grandma Lolly on their
wedding day

Berry bushes just poking through the snow

One of the sad things was parting with so many things that reminded us of Mam and Dad. There was only so much we could take back with us, such as some of the special gifts we had given them from our trips or just the little things that reminded us of them. We don't want to clutter our own home with too much stuff, just for the sake of it, after all that would just be a headache for our own children too one day. In one drawer was a whole load of tablecloths and napkins, so reminiscent of my own grandmothers, the difference was that I remember my grandmothers actually making those items and I had no idea if Ian's mother had sown or crocheted any of those things or if they were made by family members. Since I have a draw full of those things I didn't really feel I should take any of these, but I was so pleased to find a friend of ours who lives nearby to Ian's family who was able to take them for her own photographic projects and to share with other creative types. That seems a very fitting use for them.

Grandad time (Photo courtesy of our son)

Looks like Aggie is communing with the chicken. Wonder
what they are saying?

There were also reflections on what happens when we go! Our family will not only have our funeral to deal with, it is likely to be in a foreign place with foreign laws to deal with. What will happen to the alpacas? Will we still have them by then? Would they still want the land we are so passionately connected to? Would it pass into the family or be sold off? What would our legacy be? Would our grandchildren be saying kind things about us or will we hardly know them? So many things to think about, but at least as we processed these thoughts we got plenty of time to watch and cuddle our grandchildren. Mind you, I am not sure I want to sing "Row, row, row the boat, gently down the stream, if you see a crocodile don't forget to scream" and various other versions for at least a little while. I was our little granddaughter's in-car entertainment for many an hour.

Thar's snow on them thar hills. Actually there was snow in
the garden too

Diamond encrusted trees

We stayed for part of the time at our daughter's new house. It was really weird to be in a town in Derbyshire that we knew so well and now our daughter is actually living there. We have walked the streets of this town so many times and then walked back to our car and driven home in years past, this time we just walked up the hill to her house. On the night we arrived our daughter invited some old friends of ours to a meal on the night, it was lovely to hear their plans for the future and talk about where we are at. We also tried to visit a cafe that we had been to more times than I can remember and was one of the treat places for our kids too. We didn't take them to McDonalds or places like that, we took them to little cafes in Derbyshire mainly, where we would have cakes and drinks. We didn't often have meals out, as we couldn't afford them very often and I wasn't going to take them somewhere to eat junk food. Unfortunately Caudwell's Mill in Rowsley was as popular as ever and we couldn't get a seat and a certain little lady wanted some lunch. It was only afterwards that I remembered, if we were going to eat there, we went a tad before 12pm to get a seat. Still we ended up at another little cafe, The Eating house, Calver, that we have also been to before and the cakes were super and came with a little bowl of fruit too. I am sure it made the great wedge of cake healthy.

Our little grandson

Animal tracks and chicken tracks

There were a few irritating thing that happened before we left for the UK, one was the U-bend on our sink coming apart. It does do this from time to time due to the pipe leading to the tap that is extendable interfering with the outlet pipe somehow. That meant a flooded kitchen unit that needed emptying and leaving to dry while we were away. Ian has now tied up the pipe to try and stop it happening again. Another and rather more serious problem was the hand brake on the car freezing again and now the hand brake doesn't really work. The brakes aren't that good too and so it was a little worrying heading into Riga. Ian fortunately tends to use engine breaking rather than the brake pedals, especially on the ice, but they are still useful. He tried to fix them today, but it was -18C and the barn doors won't open enough to get the car in, so he had to try and bleed them on a bit of a slant.

Daddy time

More crazy patterns on the greenhouse

Another irritation was getting our clocks wrong. On the day of the funeral we needed to get up early and so I set the alarm on my ipad to get up at 7am. We thought we would be up early anyway, but just in case I set the alarm. Hmmph! When travelling one should make sure that all clocks are changed on all relevant items or at least take the time difference into account. Latvia is two hours ahead of the UK and so we actually woke up at 5am and by the time I realised my mistake it was too late. Ian rubbed it in! The next day, we had kind of come to and I asked what time it was? Ian said 7:20am but it wasn't. In the dark he cannot see so well without his glasses at that distance and it actually was only 6:20am. What a pair we make!

One of Ian's family holidays, this one to Ostend, with his
father, mother, godfather and his godfather's wife.
His father isn't in this picture - long story.

Caption time! 

We went to an alpaca farm while we were up in the North East. We were intrigued how they had managed to go from a few alpacas to over 100 and wondered what were the issues when scaling up. She said up to 25 was as much work as 3 or thereabouts, but above that was rather different. That probably explains why quite a few have about 25 and only a few are much bigger than that. We would probably aim to have around 25 and then see where we go. We think our land could support that many, but above that we would have to buy in hay or rent land. A lot of money had been poured into that venture too and that is something we can't do now, but at least it has given us some ideas, so watch this space.

This is Ian's father in his later years

Snowdrop in meditative mood and sat next to her daughter.
They don't often sit next to each other these days.

Our animals were in good hands while we were away and have not misbehaved since we got back either - remarkably! We did get an early phone call while we were away though as our youngest alpaca didn't eat her food that morning. Our friend looking after the animals knows herd animals very well and knows that when a herd animal goes off their food it can be serious very quickly and so he was obviously worried. Fortunately we guessed the reason might actually be the trace of spit from her mother in the bowl. Snowdrop is our alpaca that is likely to spit and has been known to spit in everyone else's bowl and then none of the others will eat, she then goes and polishes off all the food. She is much better now than she used to be, but still! Anyway later on in the day the little one was fine.

Playing nicely at my parent's house

So there is the ramble through the last two weeks and now we are kind of back to normal, with me finishing off some work for the blessed paper I have been writing for years (well it feels like that) and some work for my online job and Ian back out on the land, shifting snow, poo and hay.