Bikes and babies

Lately it seems to be motorbikes and babies that everyone is involved in. The men are talking bikes, riding bikes, discussing which ones to buy, plans for trips etc. Friends of ours gave us DVDs to watch and they have a bike each. My boss has bought a Ducati very similar to Nico’s last year. Nico’ youngest brother just send a picture of his BMW bike as he just got his license. The DVDs of the Long Way Round and the Long Way Down by Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor are amazing. To be fair, I’m absolutely hooked. These DVDs positively will GET you on a bike. That’s how neat it is. They ride through countries like Mongolia and Siberia and the whole continent of Africa. www.longwayround.com/lwr.php + www.longwaydown.com/

Then there are the babies. My sister in law is pregnant, one of my best friends has a kid I see every week, partners of mates are pregnant or just had a baby, my brother and sister in law had a baby last year. I see pregnant customers, I see pregnant women in the street. I tell you the baby bounciness has definitely hit me. There’s no escape! This does not mean I feel the baby cravings coming on though. It’s terrible to say this but I’m very practical in that regard. Nico and I are up to our earlobes in farm + work and a baby is very much the last thing on our minds… so I continue to swallow the pill with conviction. (Sorry mums and dads.)

Anyway, there it is! I have no idea why the bikes and babies have come upon us but they have. Maybe travelling with a baby is on the cards. For the life of me, I don’t know what it means. I find it very funny though. Nico is amused we were discussing babies again because of this. I think he’s still a bit afraid of the topic. He’s not the only one. Bikes though, that’s an entirely different matter…. Shall I go get my license? Steve’s wanting to sell his bike… now there’s another thought! Broomm broomm

The art of spending

My friend Cara and her husband Charlie have a gorgeous boy, Oska and he’s 1 year old. He is as precious as he is squishy. Most of his communication is done with noises. His face displays various expressions and it’s interesting to see it change one second from the next. He can say a few words and enforces these with a ‘yeah’… ‘yeah’… Very cool kid. Cara was saying how interesting it is that her son has got more designer clothing then her and Charles. These garments are sent to her from her family in Sweden and England. We discuss how fascinating it is that a lot of people spend tons on dressing up their offspring or their families’. Is it the same as turning their children’s bedroom into this small palace? Is it something to do about that we didn’t have ourselves when we were little? Are we compensating or just want to show the world that we ‘know our stuff’. God knows.

I am always amazed what Kiwis are willing to spend on their kids and their bedrooms. The truth is that my own bedroom is as modest as you can get. It’s got a duvet and two pillows and that is it. Not 10 scatter cushions, no fancy dress up. My excuse is that a.) I’m Dutch and we do not dress up our bedrooms, it’s a very straightforward practical arrangement and b.) my husband and I do not like having all this frilly business on our bed full stop. We rather get excited about each other than our bed linen and we rarely visit a store that has these bed frilliness things in stock. Instead we’d rather get a very good chair, a beautiful piece of art or great food. The bonus is I guess that this way we keep a bit more money in the bank, but that might be accidental as we just do not contemplate the art of bed linen.