In Huib's large work shed hung a list of things he was going to make. At the top at the moment was the veranda for the guesthouse. The slats, each with its own simple tulip shape at different heights in it, were to be the basis for the balustrade. The floor of the veranda at the guesthouse was still fine, but the balustrade had been fleetingly put together with straight boards at the time. He had never liked it and was glad to be allowed to change it now.

After the veranda there were already three jobs on the list that he had received as a result of the property in the village.

Huib had asked Elly if she had also received assignments in connection with her mural in the building. That was not the case. On the other hand, she did get new orders through social media and the website. So far it had gone smoothly for both of them, quietly, no pressure of an overdose of commissions, and certainly no lack of work.

Besides being creative Huib was also quite practical. The list was intended as a target list for this month. After the assignments he had received through his "shop" in the village, this month he also wanted to make pergolas for the estate, just from simple, unadorned slats. He didn't expect to manage to get all of those done this month. He would see how far he got.

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Thanks to the calm spring weather Sjaak was able to work in the garden, create new plant beds and expand the garden near the guesthouse. He did it in the calm way that was so characteristic of him. In the past he used to think that because of his calm pace he would never get his work done on time. Erik had given him a bit of guidance in this, helped him find his way in it, and especially emphasized that it was precisely important that he wouldn’t rush himself.

"Your work should remain your hobby, you should keep enjoying it."

That was a phrase Erik had often repeated to him. It had helped him to go through a piece of process around the subject of slavery and rushing yourself. Before that, he had been his own slave; now his work was indeed his hobby. He loved working in the garden every day, enjoying everything he planted and tended.

He looked forward to the moment when Huib would be ready to finish the pergolas. He himself had already driven the poles that would serve as a base into the ground. Huib would help connect them with simple networks of laths. And then Sjaak would buy climbing plants, especially climbing hydrangeas and climbing roses, and put them in the ground next to the poles.

At times when he was quietly thinking about the garden, he saw the paths he wanted to build going under the pergolas. He wanted to put stepping stones on the paths on the earth, pushing the stones in a little bit, so that walkers would not have to walk through the earth.

He had seen the stepping stones in front of him. They were flat, and it looked like they had been taken right out of rocks. He had looked them up on the Internet and found them at a company that sold all kinds of natural stones. When the pergolas were finished, with the climbing plants added, he would drive there to buy them. In their photos he had seen how grass and sprigs of plant life grew between the tiles. And that had touched him, the combination of the ease of stone with the naturalness of plants. It seemed to be perfect!

To chapter 235. Plans for the furnishing of the shelter

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