Click to enlarge...
The mists of the past ...
The Happy Parsonage..
The parsonage in B., where my sister and her family lived for 27 years, is at least 150 years old. We spent many holidays there, during the time that my brother-in-law was a minister of the Reformed Church in this village. Two of their children were born here. My mother celebrated her eightieth birthday here and in the church opposite the house, two of her grandchildren sang and played for her. The house has 5 bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor. Downstairs are two livingrooms, a study, an enormous kitchen and a sun room. My broter-in-law has been retired since 1994 now and he and my sister live in a far smaller house now. Their children have their own homes and come to stay every now and then.
I remember that my children loved to stay with their aunt and uncle when they were young. My sister has a lot of imagination. One day she told the children that there was an old treasure hidden in a hollow tree in the garden. It was all written on an old map of the garden, but they had to look for the map first. She then suggested that such old maps are sometimes hidden in old bibles like the one she had on the mantelpiece in the largest livingroom. Of course the children went looking for the map in the bible. And lo and behold there it was: an old dirty map of the garden with miraculously enough the same trees that must have been there 120 years ago. There was also the hollow tree and when they went climbing in it, they found a real treasure. ( My sister had bought some plastic necklaces and rings in the supermarket). The children had been busy all afternoon and they had enjoyed themselves immensely.Opposite this house, which is no longer a parsonage, is the church, built in the Middle Ages.
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24 comments:
wow!!!! great pitures...awesome..nice place to live in..very tranquil...
Love the new header, reader wil.
What a lovely story about the hidden treasure - it is that kind of adventure that will stay with a child for life.
Your sister's house sounds beautiful. The treasure map hidden was a nice memory for all of you. Have a great day!
So nice that your sister took the time to arrange the treasure hunt. Too often today, a DVD passes for interaction with children. Hope you haven't all ready answered, but what kind of tree is that in the header? Really interesting.
Wil.......what a devine place!
Wow! The treasure hunt idea was great, I may try that with my Grans this summer.
Hugs,
Carol
What a great treasure hunt! We must have one at Necky Knoll House - whoopee!
Your new spring header is lovely.
What a lovely house and church! I think that style of house is very Dutch colonial, that's my impression and I guess in Zeeland I haven't seen too many in the country as it seems to be all post- 1953 houses, except in some villages. In Kerkwerve there is a lovely Ring with an old church that stood above the floodwater in the old photos, but much of the village was submerged. The high water mark is marked on some house walls, and it certainly is deep in the national psyche in that area particularly. Lucky for your sister to have had that house for those years her husband was the pastor of the church! Thanks for the info on your post of the polder!
Hi Wil,
I love the house. It looks like a parsonage described in some beautiful, romantic novel! And the treasure hunt was a neat experience for the children; a great memory builder!
Hugs and blessings,
Renie
A magical place - and post!
Aloha-
Such a lovely story from the past, reminded me of my holidays I spent with my cousins.
Moet wel iets speciaals zijn om in zo'n oude woning te leven, alleen het gedacht al wat die woning allemaal heeft meegemaakt.
Groetjes
A friend told me, only the other day, that she 'doesn't waste time on memories'! I think she's missing a lot.
What a marvelous story, Wil. Sweet memories of days gone by. Thanks for sharing.
Nice photos i love these houses
De merveilleux souvenirs, pour vous et vos enfants et de paisibles photos (H is also for" house")
Votre soeur était très pédagogue ,car les enfants adorent les chasses aux trésors !
Thank you for the ID on the Pollard Willows. Such striking trees and I guess Van Gogh thought so also.
Both the house and church are beautiful, and how neat it must have been for your sister's family to live in such an old house.. lots of history. I love the treasure hunt story! My uncle planned a similar one for us once when we were little, and it's so entertaining for the whole family :)
What a cute story, :) I would also have enjoyed your sister's imagination too.
Great photo of the parsonage and great structure too.
Goede morgen,
nog een paar uurtjes en is weer zover, SWF.
Groetjes
These are wonderful photos from your world. LOVE IT! Stop by my garden sometime. I can't wait to see what the next season holds for your wonderful blog. The photos are amazing!
It is great to see these familiar sights, Wil - thank you for sharing. It's nice when kids have uncles and aunts they like!
This was a very personal post tiptoeing into your past.
Lovely family story, Wil.
Love the pictures too.
Wow!! Love the header photo, but then it's mountains, my favourite.
The other photos are nice too.
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