Yesterday morning, I had to wait on the telephone for someone. I was reconnected, waited again,  “Please, just one moment!” and I started to draw a bit, on a piece of paper.  I drew nothing important, just some lines, some curves, some penises…

OK, I admit, I drew pics of… Read full post »

This is a true story.

In December 1973, a day after Christmas, my mother and I got a physical check-up,  in order to get a real Seamans book. It was all done in a hurry, in Amsterdam, and from that moment on we were supposed to be stewardesses. It says/… Read full post »

"Hallo, this is Jacoba speaking."

"Good evening, my name is Sofie, and I have a very special offer for you!"

"Why are you crying, dear?"

"Oh, nothing. My offer is as follows: You can read the Morning Gazette for four weeks, without any payment whatsoever! And no strings attached!"

"Are you… Read full post »

New York, October 31, 1995

Dear Anna

It is time. I want to tell you about the past.

Eighteen I was then. I had just nicely finished grammar school, with all good marks. Therefore my mother has thought of a reward: she and I were to spend a while on… Read full post »

Now I had no idea, but we are going to get a sort of president in Europe soon ! It will be a formality job, really. Now what candidate is most likely to get it? It has to be a politician, he/she has to be chosen by that mysterical institution called… Read full post »

The times they are changing. Tonight at 3 time goes back one hour (here anyway) as wintertime starts.  I always wondered what would happen if you got a twin during that mysterious hour, the first one born at 2.40 at night, the second one born 3.30 at night but that would be… Read full post »

 Today I found out how to make a pic of myself with the laptop.   Since I have this new one with camera, I can Skype and watch my son in his boarding house on the mainland.  And talk to him. Well, talk...

"So is that your laundry on the floor?"

"I… Read full post »

This is probably old for English speaking readers, but it was new for me.  Someone put this pic on a Dutch blog. I googled and found this on "Bill Stickers is innocent":

"In the UK in the 1960s an attempt was made to reduce fly posting (the illegal pasting up of… Read full post »

"Nuts!"

"Laptops!"

"Wood!"

Rumour had it yesterday that this was all washed ashore on our island, or was on its way over, so we went to the beach and checked.  We decided to take our change at Formerum aan Zee, and see if there were Landrovers and Jeeps and in what direction… Read full post »

This picture was made in a Danish port, about 1927/1929 I think.  The little girl is my mother, born 1924, the others are her parents Harmannes and Neeltje, and brothers Jan and Wubbo.  The ship was called Dankbaarheid, (Greatfullness, Gratitude) a tjalk, with sails, on w/… Read full post »

The last summerlike day it was, when we walked behind the hearse to the graveyard to burry my mother, who died September 20. We all carried one white rose.

The ceremony had been sober, with my husband speaking about her life, my text.  We had some music. There were people from… Read full post »

This blog might not be up to standard, as I am typing in between visits to the old peoples home where my mother is dying. She is 85 and she had been suffering from dementia for years. She weighs almost nothing now, and she is unconcious, as she is dehydrating, she… Read full post »

Tonight, 150 young girls were going along to Durbar Court in London's Whitehall, for a rather traditional event - but one which has fallen out of favour in recent years. The last few years not many ladies met the standard the organization was looking for.   Cheryl Jones-Fortescu… Read full post »

When the romantic term Weltschmerz (worldpain, hurt of the world?) was ‘invented’ by Jean Paul, born  as Johann Paul Frielrich Richter ( 21-03-1763  - 14-11-1825), a German writer,  the World  as he knew it was quite smaller than we do nowadays and he meant quite somet… Read full post »

Two weeks ago my husband, our youngest son and I went to Amsterdam for a short visit. We took the fast ferry to Harlingen at 7.30.  For our teenager that was a bit early but he took it as a man.

… Read full post »