After weeks of pouring rain and cold days, this morning we woke to blazing sunshine and heat so intense we had to throw off blankets and put our hair up. Yay!!! We’re pretty darn excited. πŸ™‚

Today I’m tucked away in my room whilst painters work until late into the night finishing up the last of the paint jobs. It looks like a bio-hazard scene in here with everything draped in sheets of plastic and men dressed all in white wandering about. πŸ™‚

Here are a few more shots from the wonderful canal boat ride we took the other day through Broek in Waterland. Many of the cottages you see were the vacation homes of Amsterdam’s upper class during the 17th century. They remain vacation homes to this day since it’s too wet to live here year round.

This was one of my favorite places. I was captivated by those dazzling red shutters and the wild, overgrown garden.

Red shutters

A peaceful section of the canal, still and quiet on a stormy afternoon.

Canal boats yellow

This cracked me up! What a splendid place for a driveway. We had to duck down to get under it. πŸ™‚

Canal bridge

I just love the profusion of cheery nasturtiums along that old wooden fence and the bright orange boat. Rainy days could never get you down puttering in a boat that color.

Orange canal boat

Tomorrow I’ll show you some of the gorgeous and wild countryside we saw as we meandered through a nature preserve just as the storm broke.

What would be your favorite type of vacation home?