Calling to work that he's ill

Because everyone is so afraid for the mexican flu my working son is told he's not welcome at his job, a shop, when he doesn't feel well.

So this morning I woke him up at 7 because he had to call work in time so they could ask someone else to cover for him.

No one there.

8.30 Colleagues have arrived, but none can handle a call about illness. But someone would be in at 8.

8.01 Another call. No one has arrived yet. But someone knows management will be in at 9.

Let's hope so.
It'll be too late to call in a substitute, because the shop is already full functioning at 8.

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Alicia de Larrocha

It's fascinating that some people have such a talent and commitment to music that they really touch the lives of others.

She was 6 when she first performed, and 4000 performances later she retired.
But music stayed with her as a dear friend.

Today she died. 86 years.
Leaving us lots to remember her by.

Alicia de Larrocha.

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Earthquake Bhutan and Assam

Today Bhutan and the north Indian state Assam were hit by an earthquake of 6.3 on the scale of Richter.

The epicentre was 180 km east of Thimpu, the capital of Bhutan, and 125 km north of Gauhati, the capital of the Indian state Assam.
Reports of feeling the quake come from as far as Bangladesh and Lhasa, but no damage was done there.

Not many reports are in yet, but from Gauhati we hear about buildings with cracked walls.

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old age is fun

There are days that the passing of time really frightens me.
Getting old seems to be a curse, when I should believe politicians and economical oriented fellow citizens.
It's like old people are good for nothing and it's so depressing to read the papers and see how people consider old age.

My gram was a very energetic person until she was beyond 90, so I should be able to balance all the bad news. But I keep forgetting that.

Now I've found something that will make me smile whenever I see it.

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Remembrance of WW2

In the area around Arnhem and Nijmegen in The Netherlands many veterans, their family and dutch people are gathering this week to remember those who lost their lives during Operation Market Garden and to thank those who fought the terrible battle to free Europe from the German occupation.

It's now 65 years ago that thousands were dropped at different places above the area with the aim to take the bridges over the Waal and Rhine and secure them, so the roads would be open to free the rest of The Netherlands.

The operation wasn't completely successful, so the people in the north half of the country suffered the hunger winter, while the people in Nijmegen faced massive bombings and shell attacks as a frontline city.

Queen Beatrix and Prince Philip of England will be present at the memorial service on sunday and the festivities of gratitude afterwards.

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Smoking

I don't understand why people still smoke.
They know all the dangers, they know it will harm them and the people around them.

Sometimes I come across people who are just not using their mind.

Like a pregnant woman nearby who told me she didn't mind that her child would be smaller than usual, so she wouldn't stop smoking. In fact, she said, she was helpign herself, because delivering a smaller baby would be easier.

Well, the brains of the child will also be smaller, with lesser chance of survival.

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demolishion doesn't always go as planned

No, Ramon, demolishion doesn't always go as planned.

In turkey this happened:

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Right contactadres

Helen, can you give me the rigth contactadres so I an answer your question immediately.

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Ryan-paid-air

We were supposed to travel with this organisation!

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How to make a link

Lani asked how it's possible to put a link in a comment section.

Because blogger would take away the fun and display only the link here I've uploaded a graphic with the code.



The quality of the graphic was OK, but blogger blurred it.
But I'm sure you'll grasp the meaning.

Have fun commenting!

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which laundry machine

Astrid asked which laundry machine is best for a large family.

Well, that depends.
When you dry your clothes in a dryer, it's best to have equal heavy loads.
That way your wet laundry won't stay in the machine too long, causing smell.

When you dry on the line I prefer a washing machine with as large a load as possible.
I can't afford an industrial machine, because it requires large wardrobes, so I opt for a 7 kilo one.

I don't care for many buttons.
Just the temperatures, full and half load and the possibility of centrifuge only.

It needs to give a good balance between clean clothes and saving energy.

For me a front loader is best, because I can put the basket under it and just pull the laundry out.

The filter needs to be at a level that I can put a small bowl underneath it to let the water out.
A filter that's too low is a problem, because it means using towels or stuff to catch the water.

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beautiful

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For you

A friend called to tell me he will be here this summer.
He asked for some musicians and then my memories just started to flow.

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thousand hands

Thousand hands...creating beauty from single movements.

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fool for fundraising

I'm bombarded by mails of people who want me to publicize their fund raising campaigns for autism.

Like last year I'm fundraising for autism too.

But unlike last year people don't have much money to spend.

In fact: I haven't received one single euro or dollar.

That means that overpowering people with even more fundraisers would be foolish.

Considering the fact that I find myself blogging an advertising post for 2 dollars, spending a lot of time to write a decent post for a firm that could buy me my dream, an autism house, within a second without blinking an eye just once, I have declared myself a fool for fundraising this month.

I hope this last week will change things a lot.

Well, there's 2 dollars.....

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Introducing nature to your child

I was asked when I started to make my children aware of nature.

Isn't it strange that we're now so conscious about introducing nature into the lives of our children?

In the past we just lives and nature was part of us.

When my children were born, the first 23 years ago, I wasn't conscious at all about the subject.
I just took my baby walking a few days a week.
Which was quite an enterprise... taking the pram downstairs three steep stairs.. and after that the baby. (Well, that was the reason we moved.)

When we moved, we had a garden and I put the pram in the garden for the afternoon sleep of the baby.
When he woke up, he heard the birds.
(And me chasing a cat! LOL! I didn't want cats to jump on the pram.)

I also often walked into the garden holding my child and pointing out the flowers, smelling the roses.
There mini-walks learned them that some insects needed to stay away and that could be done by slowly walking away. Not by trying to slap them.

When my children got a bit older and were able to walk themselves I took them to the park and we tried to find the plants we had in our garden and to see which animals were new. Like the ducks.
I taught them the difference between swans and geese, and warned them for their power.
Etc etc.

I just followed my heart and explained everything my dad explained to me, like never stepping at the part between the land and the ice on the lake, because the rim is the weakest.

It was fun!!

Over and over again.

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Yes! ShopWiki in The Netherlands too!

2 items that made this week into a memorable one:
Susan Boyle (Need I say more?), and....

drums.....

tada!!!!!!...

ShopWiki is available for The Netherlands too!

I'm so glad, because ShopWiki really makes a difference.

I know, because ShopWiki already exists for Germany and France, and ofcourse in the UK and the USA: http://www.shopwiki.com.

Wiki means "fast", and in this case it means that you can get a fast comparison of products and prizes.

Because shops are not charged to be added, no advertising is involved.
For us, Dutch, it's the way it should be: clean, no ornaments and elbow work.
Just a plain representation of the facts.

Right now over 7000 online shops are participating and I'm sure that number will increase.
I don't know the amount of products are in the system now, but I'm sure it's huge.
Being the cheapest means not only that the consumer gains, but also that ShopWiki sends a lot of customers and potential customers to a shop.

Yesterday I had a dynamic discussion with the man in the house. I want to have one of those little hand-vaccuumcleaners and he'd seen one for 82 euros.
I had seen one for 49 euros, but I knew they were cheaper.... somewhere....
He just didn't believe me because I couldn't prove it.

Just a moment ago I showed him this page, and he was amazed how easy it was to find products and prizes.
Just chose the name of the brand, chose the product and your at a page where a lot of information is provided.

When it's too much: adjust the prize range at the top right.
Or when you just want to know the information about a certain color, chose the color.

ShopWiki gives you the best prizes and the shops where you can go, links included.
New products are added as soon as possible, with the date of addition mentioned.

Additional information, like descriptions and warnings are given too.

Whenever a similar product is available you'll find a link at the top of the page.
In this case I went to this page, where I found items with more gadgets attached.

Another way of shopping is using the list.
We wanted to know more about cleaning the computer and found good tips. The links in the text and a list of related products at the bottom provided us with the products we need, ofcourse with the welknown ShopWiki prize comparison.

We've bookmarked http://www.ShopWiki.nl and take my advice: you should bookmark this site too.

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When to plant bulbs

This week I was asked when to plant bulbs.

Well, it depends.

Some bulbs need to be planted six weeks before it starts freezing, so that's before winter.
When you're not sure, then follow another rule.
The ground should be to 55°F, that's 12°Celcius or cooler.
When the soil is too warm or moist the bulbs will start to rot.

Some bulbs can be planted in spring.
It will say so on the package.

When you're not sure, buy bulbs in containers and put them outside at the time their collegues bloom.
Never ever put them outside just like that.

First water them and keep them in a cool area with temperatures above freezing for a few days.
When the narcisses and tulips are flowering you can put them in the ground.
Remove the container and plant the bulbs in the ground. Not too deep, but at the same level from the top as they were in the container.

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recycling chemical waste

When I blogged the other day how we deal with waste, someone was amazed we even have a seperate system for getting rid of our chemical waste.

We're talking about small chemical waste.

• batteries
• medicines
• paint and other DIY products like thinner
  
• lampbulbs
• oil
• mercury thermometers
• injection needles
• products used when developing photos
  

These are products that shouldn't be burned with other household waste, because they contain lead, mercury and other materials that will contaminate the restproducts which are recycled, they'll cause airpollution or waterpollution.

All these products are collected at special cars which are found at special times at shoppingcentres. (Chemocars, we call them.)
And we can bring these products to the waste organisation where they have a chemocar available too.

Some products, like batteries, are even collected in many shops that sell them.

As much as possible of the elements is recycled.

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earthquakes in The Netherlands?

I was asked whether we experience earthquakes in The Netherlands.

The answer is: YES.

But we're not in a ring of fire or an area where the bottom is moving because of the shift of continents.
Our earthquakes are relatively small.

In the south of our country, Limburg, coals where mined for generations.
Once in a while part of an old coalmine collapses and it causes some shaking.
There are some breaks in the earthcrust which cause some movement too.

I've witnessed the worst with a magnitude of 5,8.
It was during a night that the earth moved.
It was like a huge truck was driving into our back yard.

Then everything started shaking and my meds fell from the shelves.

First I woke up my husband and he told I was nuts.

Then I switched on the radio.
The studio is situated far more north, and the quake even reached them.
They called: "What's that? What's that?"
Then my husband finally believed me.

In the north of the country quakes are induced because gas is taken out of the ground.
The quakes are minor too.

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