Just in my last post, I was writing about that I had been panicking a little bit lately about the state of my finances. We were barely getting by and on top of that, it seems like one thing after the other needs to be repaired.
See, I have an understanding with my landlord(s), because they are also friends. They are just happy to have someone in their house, and in return I pay a very low rent for Irish standards. But we also agreed that if 'little' things need to get fixed, I would at least try to fix it myself. They live in Scotland now, so it would be a problem if I'd call them for things like a clogged toilet every month. I never had any issues with that, because I've always been quite independent when it comes to these things and since I've been a single mother for quite some time, I've learned to rely on myself. I can hang a shelf, drill holes in the wall, and these days I chop a stack of wood for the week in about an hour.
It also feels more like it's actually our house. Especially since they have no intentions of coming back, and even if they would: the house would be on the small side for them with four children. It's barely big enough for us, I wouldn't want to add another person to the list.

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Anyway, just before Christmas, they came to Ireland to visit their families here and he visited the house because there were still a few things in the attic that they didn't bring when they moved. The first thing he asked when he walked in was if anything was broken that needed to get fixed. No, there wasn't. Now, it was like the house heard me, because shortly after this, it seemed like everything was breaking. Between Christmas and New Year, the worst possible time, we had, what looked like, the beginnings of a chimney fire. Crap! Fortunately, the rain kicked in and things didn't get out of hand, so no fire department had to be called. But it's a problem. We rely on our Dutch oven/stove entirely to heat the home ***and *** water. There is a little stove in the sitting area of the house, but that will keep you warm if you sit right in front of it, nothing more. The water can also be heated by turning on the immersion, which is basically a huge water boiler. You don't want to know how much electricity the thing uses, so I'd rather not use it unless I really have to. Of course, there was no one in the area who would come out to the house to sweep the chimney in that time, so that really sucked. Then, as if it wasn't enough, about two days later, our toilet clogged up again.
The last time was just before Steemfest, so not the right time, and this time...well, it wasn't either.
I mean, when is it ever the right time to go out in rain gear, with a shovel to....well, you can fill in the blanks. Trust me: it isn't pretty. Now, last week, I walk into my daughter's room and catch a strange smell...the smell of moisture...somewhere... I look up, and YUP: mold on the wall, near the ceiling. Luckily I knew for sure that it hadn't been there longer than a few days, because I had just vacuumed the spider webs from her ceiling and I never saw anything then. I knew it wasn't an 'indoor problem' but an outdoor one.
Yeah, living in the countryside of Ireland makes you aware of things you'd never dream of knowing. The 7 years in this country have turned this city girl into a die-hard farm woman with survival skills...
The reason why there was mold? Well, the damn gutters. Of course, since we've lived in this house, I have never even thought of the things. But if you don't, there will be crap, and sand and crap and leaves etc. that goes in there, gets stuck and prevents the water from flowing freely...down and away. The result: trapped water that causes mold. YUCK.
Now I am not a girl who worries about getting her hands dirty or break a fingernail. But having to get on the roof, in this kinda weather? Not my hobby. But... a woman's gotta do, what a woman's gotta do. So up on the roof, it is. And I HATE heights. So yeah, with all that, I've had my fill. The house is back to standard, and our butts are warm..on the couch and in the shower. Mommy 1 - Murphy 0.
Oh yah, and my car needs one new tyre...ONE! I haven't got a clue how I did that, because usually, it takes two at the same time, but now it's one. I'll take it.

OK, now that you've worked your way through my rant and complaints about life in Ireland, I might as well tell you about the "flow" thing I was going to tell you about.

Move over negativity! So there we go: Just when I was panicking about all these things, the hammer hit me and I realized I had to let things go. Panic has never done anyone any good, so we might as well leave it at the back-door.
So then I got that translation job a few weeks ago. A little breather. Pfew.
But of course, bills still need to be paid, so a little breather like that is gone in no time.

But instead of going back to complaining and panicking, I decided to get more calm about things than I ever was. If my mother were alive, she'd probably tell me I was being too passive, and how could I remain so calm? Well, she isn't here, but if she were, I would tell her: well, sometimes there's just nothing you can do and you just have to sit back and wait for something...something...
So right after I wrote my last post before this one, I decided to check the status of my coins. The little bit that I still have, that is.
And to my surprise, I found that one of them had gone up by 42%!
Now, it had gone up a little before that too, in slow steps, but I never did anything then. Now I am happy I didn't, because in total I made a 67% profit with one measly coin. Well, a few of them, because they ain't worth crap, but still: 67% is not bad to begin the year with. It was the first time in months where I had the "YEEEEHAAAHHH"-feeling again. It's been a while. I'm sure many of you remember that "YEEEEHAAAAHHH"-feeling from 2017 and the beginning of 2018, before it all went down to lazy town. It's a great feeling. I LOVE it! Now, I sold them damn coins, and they've since gone up by another 23% but I don't care...profit is profit. And greed can make us lose miserably. I learned to take a win when I see one.
Now, I didn't go and transfer this money to spend. Of course not. Re-investing is key.
It won't pay for the tyre just yet, but a win is a win. YEEEEEEHAAAAAA!!

A phone call...the first one.

Yesterday morning, I was awoken by one of my best and longest friends in Holland.
Somehow the peeps in Holland just can't seem to figure out that calling early in the morning means that it's even earlier here...but hey, I didn't complain this time.
We used to work together for a long time, and we even started a non-profit together, which she is still running now. She also runs a very successful company aside from that, so yeah, she's doing great. She asked me if I had the time to translate three manuals for her from English to Dutch. Of course, she'd pay me.
And even though I would have done it for her either way, this was even better.
It's a three day job. I thought: Oh, manuals...easy peasy...
Well, it's not. It's from a Chinese company who translated their manuals to English, so I have to puzzle the pieces together to a more logical English, before I can translate. And aside from that, it's a jpg...SOOOOO, not the best way to work on a project, but I'm doing it. Because of that, it's a three day job. Something that will give me a little more than a little time to breathe.
Isn't it funny that even though everything seemed to go wrong, once you let that go, things will just fall into place.
It's amazing to see these things unfold, and I am looking forward to see more of it coming our way.

Another phone call...from Amsterdam

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Last night, I was typing away and translating Chinese-English into Dutch, when my WhatsApp rang (yes, I know..I still have it though, for the free calls...).
It was 1.30 a.m., so at first, I was wondering who the hell was calling me in the middle of the night. But when I saw the name, it was more than just a surprise.
It was an old friend of mine and ex-co-worker. I've known that woman since she was 12! But ever since I left Holland (to Asia) we kinda lost track of each other.
Even when I returned because she had since moved to Amsterdam.
I hadn't seen or spoken to her in at least 20 years!
So you can probably understand that, at first, I thought she was calling me with some bad news... or something. So I answered, a bit wary...
Her happy voice hadn't changed. "HEYYYYY HUN!!! How are you??? DO you know who's here with me?" Uhm, no, I didn't know...how could I know?
"Well, I am here with Marc (mutual friend) and we were talking about our time way back when, and your name came up...we were thinking of you. So we had to call you."

AWEEEEEE.....Isn't that just the best thing ever? It is such a great thing to hear that people from your past still remember you, and the great times we had...
At least, for me it is. We had a little chat between the three of us. She's happy in Amsterdam, has a good life, he's happy in our city, and they just sounded great. Just like old times. When was I coming to Holland, because they were planning to do some kind of reunion...if I was up for it. Of course I am! We are planning to visit Holland somewhere in the spring/summer...so yeah, definitely meeting up. It's a deal.

I just love things like that. Unexpected joys like that. It made me smile from ear to ear, and I am still smiling. And now, I have another thing to look forward to.
Maybe I should tell my sister that she will be minding the kids for a day or two somewhere in Spring or Summer...Because I am going to Amsterdam...

Can't wait...