Anyone who has read my earlier journal entry below...I was wrong. Dad was quite quick back on the hospital ward as the inputting of the stent in his large intestine has failed! The team who would do the big operation is another team than the one who tried to put in the stent, so that's why he was back so soon. Unfortunately, because this failed and something needs to be done...he will now need a full blown bowel operation. He will have that this Friday. What they will do (what happens is up to the surgeon) is that they will either remove part of the large intestine (part with the cancer) or make a stoma if they think the first option is too tricky. So basically it's gonna be another nerve wracking couple of days. It's shit that they have to do this as it means it's gonna be a big operation and he is already not as strong as he was... so we are worried big time. And also: he will need to be fully recovered from this operation before they even want to start talking about chemo... So please, please: think positive thoughts if you want to! Then finally, finally something nice happened. Our friends Lianne & Paul are over in Amsterdam for 1 day (flew in late last night, flying out tomorrow morning early, wheather permitting). We had arranged to meet them for dinner and we did. It was great seeing them again! The last time we saw them was in October when we stayed over at their place in Bangor, Wales and when we had a lovely holiday. Their stay here was short but at least we got to meet them. We had a lovely dinner at Restaurant Toscana in Amsterdam just chatting away. Obviously also took some pictures, but as that was with their camera we will have to wait till they are back. As soon as they've emailed some of the pics I will post a couple of them! It was just great! It was obviously wonderful to see them again! :)

They were stunned to see so much snow though! It's absolutely amazing we've had so much snow and it's already the 2nd of March. I just can't believe how much snow there is! It feels like Christmas and it feels foreign. We (Angela and I) have been in the Czech Republic and Ukraine and parts of Germany some years ago and that's what I associate this amount (or more) of snow with. Not with Holland and surely not with either Amsterdam or IJmuiden. So for Paul and Lianne it was great as now they really have got some unique pictures! It has been snowing continuously during the day which I don't think I have ever seen in my life. I just hope the bus will be driving tomorrow morning, but if it keeps on snowing through the night it might not and I might have to ask Angela to bring me to work. I do mind driving in the snow and ice a bit...not because I don't trust Angela (she's the best driver in the world and she knows what she's doing) I just distrust all the other idiots that are on the road. Even though she's careful the other people might not be... Anyway, we will see. We made it from my workplace to Amsterdam and back to IJmuiden in one piece! I wore my snowboots today (which I bought in the Czech Republic 4 years ago) and I really needed them! I still can't believe it!

I've got loads more to say, also about work, but I'm just too tired at the moment and I should go to bed. It was a mixed day but it ended on a really positive note though...that dinner with Paul and Lianne was just marvellous! I want to end on that high note now, will write more later but now I just want to sleep...

Just quickly a couple of things (I'll write more tonight). Most important: dad has had the small operation, not the big one. More later.

My journal is a bit bugged... to go to 27th of February entry you have to click 70 times...lol. So don't go there...I'm still working on it (or other people are working on it).

I'm off to do some work...more later.