A Big Family
This morning we visited Oasis to see Annette who is not very well. It was a lovely visit and we had some good discussion and many laughs together. Annette wanted to know how it was for Adam and I living together at La Ville au Roi since Modgala's return to London. In fact, it works extremely well. Perhaps it is tempting providence to write it down, but as things stand, we are a very harmonious community of two. I think this is helped by our sense that there are quite a few other people who are not at Eleusis right at this minute whom we feel to be members of our extended family. These particularly include those who have visited this year or who have a long standing connection. We appreciate their contributions to the site, conversations of skype and other efforts to stay in touch. It is also very good to have such a good neighbour in Annette to the extent that Oasis and Eleusis seem almost as if they were two campuses of a single project. That does seem like the true Dharma spirit. Adam has been a great help to me and it is impressive to see him trying to master the French language, getting on with practical jobs, picking up things that need doing, chauffeuring me about and making himself useful in so many ways.
Outdoors
In the afternoon there was plenty of physical work to do back at Eleusis, but we were both a little tired after our journey yesterday so it was important not to over extend oneself. Nonetheless, I did want to get outside and so did some more liming while Adam got on with preparing ground for laying some more concrete slabs and then, later, cutting grass. It is a healthy life. There was a frost last night, but by afternoon there was some nice sunshine. The wind is chilly but the sun is quite hot when it comes out from the clouds. The meteo is predicting a minimum of 2 degrees tonight, but I would not be surprised if we get another frost.
Replies
I've copied it fom wikipedia but I think it is accurate:
Following German Occupation of the Netherlands, the Dutch royal family took refuge in Canada. Princess Margriet was born in exile while her family lived in Ottawa. The maternity ward of Ottawa Civic Hospital in which Princess Margriet was born was temporarily declared to be extraterritorial by the Canadian government, thereby allowing her citizenship to be solely influenced by her mother's Dutch citizenship. To commemorate the birth, the Canadian Parliament flew the Dutch flag over Peace Tower. This is the only time a foreign flag has flown over the Canadian Parliament Building.[1]
J
Many Thanks spelt-out on the ground in tulips after Operation Manna over the then-occupied Netherlands
During 1945, the First Canadian Army was responsible for liberating the Netherlands, which they did through battles such as the Battle of the Scheldt and the Liberation of Arnhem. The liberation of the Randstad, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, is especially notable because the civilian population there was still suffering from the horrific effects of the Hongerwinter ('Hungerwinter'). It was cut off from food that was available in the rest of the Netherlands. German forces in the Netherlands would finally surrender in Wageningen, on 5 May 1945, but not before some 18,000 Dutch civilians died as a result of starvation and malnutrition (desperate coordinated air drops of food had already been staged by the Royal Canadian Air Force over German-occupied Dutch territory in Operation Manna. Civilians wrote "Thank You Canadians!" on their rooftops in response). Immediately following the surrender, Canadian units were able to move into the Randstad and rapidly distribute desperately needed food supplies, causing many to see the Canadians not only as liberators but as saviours.
In appreciation, the Dutch people sent tens of thousands of tulips (the Dutch national flower) to Ottawa. In the following year, the royal family contributed thousands as well, and a further ten thousand yearly since. The donations became an annual tradition, culminating in the Canadian Tulip Festival.
Wonderful. Happy to read this. Lots of love for you both. I am glad Adam is with you. Namo Amida Bu