Red, white and blue.

It's Queensday in The Netherlands. A special day for all the Dutch and certainly a day to use the national flag.

Already in 1572 the Dutch had their own flag, which consisted of three horizontal colours: orange, white and blue.
Soon after it came to use the orange colour was exchanged for red.
It's not known why. Maybe the orange colours bleached too quick in the sun, maybe the sailors wanted red as it can be seen better.

Some americans mean they have to claim the colours, but they forget that the american flag was not even in use in 1572 and it would take another 200 years before some consensus would be reached about a flag there.

Because in the past century the colours red, white and blue got associated too much with america and the american politics and wars, the dutch started to use the colour of orange far more than before.
When I was young the colours of Queensday were red , white and blue, and the orange was only used as an accent. Now the flag is still decorated with an orange fane on special occasions to honour the royal house, which is called the house of orange, but the main colour of queensday has become orange.

Photographs

When you're visiting elderly people of your family ask them to show the photographs they have.
Take notes of names, so they won't be forgotten.

It's also nice to record the songs old people know from their youth.

Exchange alarms

When you won't wake up at the sound of your own alarm anymore, why not exchange it with one of your friends?

Many people need a new sound once in a while, so you're both helped.

Tip for your hair

Do you want nice hair?

Before you wash your hair, rinse a whole egg in your hair and leave it there for a short while.

Wash your hair throughly after that with your regular shampoo.

When you're done, rinse your hair with the juice of a half a lemon.

You'll smell nice, and look wonderful.

Smelly shoes

With boys and their desire to buy their own shoes I've been faced quite a couple of times weith the results of shoes which were not made of leather.

The smell!!
Arghhhh!!

Take a washcloth or an old sock when you don't want to use your best lace of roses fabric and fill it with either baking soda, tea leaves or kitty litter, close it and put it in the shoes during the night.

These small bags can be used over and over again.

Wax and candle holders

When you don't want the candle to melt at the bottom, just pour a bit of water in the holder and put the candle on top.

You can also use an old aluminium cup of a candle or make one from a tealight.

Preparing to move

When you need to move to a complete new house and make it into your home, why not prepare yourself well?

Get old magazines and advertisements. Ask the shops for brochures.

Cut out what you like and put it in a box.
You can do that for years if you want to.

Go through it once a while and throw out what you don't like anymore.

When the move is coming closer you'll have a far better idea of colours, which furniture you want and where to buy it.

drawstrings

I found my wintercoat with an old.. too old... drawstring and suddenly remembered the care I always showed when the coats and caqrdigans of the children had a drawstring.

For children who are caught up in play they're very dangerous.
The string might get caught on elements of the playground for instance and strangle a child.

Each year children die because of a drawstring.

Insurance

Stay informed about your insurance, and keep the booklet at a place where you can find it without problems.

For certain procedures you need their permission first, others are only allowed every so many times during so many years.

Many insurances have a central mailaddress, so you can reach them without problems.

Ask in your mail to send you proof they have received the mail, simply by replying with "received".

Keep track of dates, so they'll answer you within the lawful time.

Ask for diploma's

When you are refereed to a free situated practice of a psychologist, physiotherapist, docotr, etc etc. it's good to ask for a diploma.

Some people feel rather hesitant, thinking it is a statement of distrust.
Don't think that way.

People who are professionals don't mind other people guarding their wellbeing by asking if someone is a real professional.

rainwear

With the bad weather we're having this summer I decided to go for a luxury: 2 sets of rainwear.
I think everyone should have two sets.

One to dry and one to get wet.

Instead of coat and trousers I prefer a poncho.
Less hassle to get dressed and ready to go, and less cold when it rains a lot.

What do you prefer?

waterproof

It's the time of the year for the northern hemisphere to make your boots and shoes waterproof.

They need to be clean and dry before you spray them.
Keep a distance of about 30 cm and be careful not to spray near a fire.
It's best to do it outside and with the wind blowing in your back, not towards you.

Leave the treated items to dry well before using them.

Photos of your street

Not many people make photos of their streets, but when they're older they regret the haven't taken them.

Creating memories is sometimes so very easy, but people don't take the opportunity to create them in a visible way, because they think their brains caught the moments and they won't be gone.

But something might happen to you.

Photos are a great way to get your memory back, or to keep your memory alive.
People who suffer from dementia or other problems of age can feel very happy with those memories.

So please yourself and make photos of your street and neighbourhood.
Sometimes there are such huge changes that you'll be very happy with the photos.

Heating against humidity

It's the time of humidity again.
Like every autumn the nigh temperatures are going down while the humidity goes up.
Especially in the house that can cause problems. First in the bathroom when there's no active ventilation device, but only passive airchange, then in the rest of the house.

Putting the heating on in the evenings isn't only comfortable, but it's also wise to prevent damp places in the house and the consequent fungus.

So switch on the heating for a while during the evening and turn it down to an acceptable night temperature an hour before going to sleep.

Time to spray your shoes

It's time to spray your shoes with an anti-rain spray.

First clean your shoes properly and take care of them in such a way that they ate ready for a complete new season.

So see if there's any stitching gone, of something else needs to be repaired or replaced.

Then ner sure the shoes are dry.

Spray them from about 30 cm in a short way and let dry.
Try to spray in one spray the whole shoe.
Leave it to dry and have a new spray after about an hour, or as the package states.

exchanging summer- for autumnclothes

There's no way of escaping: autum is approaching.

So it's time to clean out your closets and put the autumnclothes in there.

Many people take at one day all the clothes out and have a mess in their home for a few days to get it all sorted.

Why not take it easy?

Take the clothes that are washed and dried apart.
Will they be used next year? On one pile.
Are they OK to be given away? On another pile.

When you take out the summerclothes after laundry before the summerseason has ended you'll wear those clothes that you've missed this summer too.

Always keep some nice tops for christmas and other occassions!

Polish with toothpaste

My mother used to have a cupboard full with all sorts of polish.
Polish for silver, polish for copper, etc etc etc.

They smelled awful and whenever I had the chance I tried to stay away from the firm rubbing of the objects of her attention. That was almost impossible, as she had so much things to polish that it took hours.

My gram had nothing to polish.
She told me toothpaste was more than enough to do all the jobs.
You shouldn't use the toothpaste that promisses white teeth, but the regular toothpaste.

Cats in your garden?

We used to have many cats in this neighbourhood.
They all had bosses but considered themselves to be their own boss.
During the day they couldn't enter their won homes and they used to tiptoe around and enter gardens and even houses.

There are plenty of good tips how to keep the cats out of your garden, and an electric fence is one of them.
Not very friendly though.

Go to the woods and collect pine cones.
When you place them around your plants the cats won't use them as their personal loo.

When you place them at the spots where the cat enters your garden he might not even enter your space anymore.

Have a try!

Awesome!

Eevn ruines that have been researched wellreveil new treasures.

In Petra, the wonderful old city in Jordania, a wallpainting has been revealed which is thousands of years old.
It's detailed, delicate and gorgeous.

I hope you can see the video.

Gratitude and friends

Do you ever thank your friends for being the person they are?
So many times friends are taken for granted.
They deserve far better.

Why not buy them a nice present, or organise a surprise party?

I once had a friend who wrote down everything I'd done for him during three months.
That was quite a list and I'd never realised before how much I'd done for him.
For each act of kindness he gave me a beautiful rose.

That was quite a bouquet.
I've never been moer happy with a present than the day he gave me that one.