Good intentions

Lavinia, Friday 10 January 2020

Early this morning at 5 o’clock we woke up brutally by the alarm ringing loudly. At first we thought there were burglars in the villa that is annexed with our alarm system, so the adrenaline shot sky high. Wim put on his bathrobe to go and have a look, but I wasn’t at all comfortable in it at all. When he took a closer look at the app where the info is on, fortunately it turned out to be our own back door. Apparently it wasn’t completely closed and it failed at 5 o’clock… And as soon as the door is no longer in the lock, the alarm is activated. Result : we are wide awake, despite the fact that I was still deep asleep. Sleep that I need very much, after another few nights of severe sleep deprivation. But -‘every disadvantage has its advantage’- and I can write another article in my blog 😊

The parties and visits are over. Time to get back to work. The day before yesterday we waved goodbye to our mentor, Mieke, and her daughter who stayed here for a week. It was incredibly enjoyable, laughing, a few trips, eating, playing Pictionary, delicious.

The nice weather with temperatures of just over 30 degrees in the sun made everything shine even more. We finally got to know the real Elie -daughter of Mieke. Because, after 30 years of friendship between Mieke and me, you see each other’s children grow up, but they still remain the children of… Now that you live so close together, you get to know each other, and it has to be said, she’s a top girl. We have already experienced several times that the daughters of our G5-friends who came to visit here stole our hearts. Moreover, they seem to feel really good about themselves here, which makes me feel particularly good. The feeling that also young people find their place here very well, and even more, apparently they also enjoy spending a lot of time together with us. And that only because they feel at home with Wim and me. In April my two eldest children come to visit us – we close the second week of the Easter holidays. Unfortunately the other children can’t, but that doesn’t alter the fact that I am very much looking forward to welcome them here and show them where Wim and their mummy have lost their hearts. I am curious if they too will see what we see. But most of all I am happy to spend a few more days with them, to spoil them a bit with good food, to get out and to catch up a lot.

But before that happens, there’s still a lot to be done. This weekend they will come to do preparatory work for a new project that we will keep quiet for a while. The following week the 8 pines will be removed and the wall at the entrance will be partially demolished, renewed and reinforced.  Heavy works, heavy costs, but all for the benefit of our guests of course. I myself am busy making our house a bit more cosy, and I feel an enormous amount of creativity coming up and I feel like decorating everything further. We want to decorate the bar better, there are still things to be done in the sauna, I want to install  cosy corners in the garden, and I want to start growing my own vegetables. All nice things I can enjoy enormously. In the house everything is starting to get okay. Only Wim’s office still needs to be cleaned up thoroughly. And that is quite some work.

We only have a month and a half to go before our first guests arrive, that may seem like a lot of time to some, but there is still a lot to be done. We also have a lot to discuss in terms of operational matters, the website will be completely adjusted, we’ll write out the excursions, and we’ll try out new ideas to offer our guests even more.

Luckily the bookings come in very smoothly, which still gives a feeling of peace of mind. Soon, by the way, another couple who is on holiday in the neighbourhood will come to meet us and visit Lavinia. The article Filip Naudts and his wife wrote appeared in the Dutch magazine UIT! We are quite proud of it.

Next week is going to be quite exciting. For the first time the Award for the best nude accommodation organised by Blootkompas (the Michelin guide for naturists) will be presented. The winner will be announced at the holiday fair in Utrecht. Wondering who will win it. We secretly hope to be among the contenders. We have had a lot of positive reviews from our guests, and a fairly high score. But is that enough? It would really be the crowning glory, but we have to be realistic, and above all patient. In the end, the 180 accommodations listed in it all stand a chance. And we only started  up last year, but still, hope lives, you never know…

Because we have eaten very irresponsibly over the past months, we have decided to take a much healthier approach again. I feel all over my body that it is tired and unhealthy because of the many unhealthy sugars and fats. We want – as probably 90% of the European population – to start living healthier again as a good intention for the new year. So cartloads of fruit and vegetables are brought in, I’m looking for new recipes, I’m looking for healthy alternatives to sugar, I’m making my own yoghurts, and you name it.

We want to get our bodies in good shape by the time the season starts. I feel like it, because I know that this will only give me good and positive energy. The first two days I already started well. Keeping up is of course much harder, but also all the start is difficult 😉. So, let’s go for it. Who will take up the challenge?

Hasta luego,

Annemie or Ana