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Being frugal is the national stereotype, and true to a point. The generation after the war (my parents generation, boomers) were raised with austerity and kept that habit, especially when it comes to food and cooking. Also, Dutch women were largely educated by the 'household schools' which considered frugality a religious virtue and a housewife's duty. This comes from Calvinism, a very popular Dutch protestant traditition.

So being tight on money and always looking for the best deal has long been a national virtue, and it still is ingrained in the nation's psyche because such things don't go away entirely in one or two generations. My friend and my generation (early millenials, 80s kids) are less frugal than our parents and more willing to spend money on food and going out to eat but it's still not quite as common as in other European countries.

My cooking and eating habits are considered exotic by many Dutch people, the usual way of eating here is two meals with a simple sandwich and a simple carb/meat/veg dinner and maybe a dinner out once every two weeks to try something 'exotic' like Chinese or other countries foods. It's certainly a healthy lifestyle, but rather boring.

A famous anecdote is that after the war, the American president came to visit the Dutch president and he got offered a cup of tea and exactly ONE small biscuit as a welcome. That's when the Marshall plan was realised, because we Dutch must have been really short on food! :roflmao:

One Dutch guy I worked for smoked cigars, he was loaded, drove a V8 two seater sports car Mercedes. ( not original motor) I started smoking cigars too. He got me gambling on horses as well. He spoilt his kids and wife. Wife died of an asthma attack. His 4 kids amounted to nothing. Hooker and druggies.

Russ
 
Do any of you folks have horned frogs? They are actually lizards, but have been called horned frogs or horned toads in Texas for ever. They are even the mascot for TCU (Texas Christian University).

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I don't have them in my area. About fifty miles West of me is where you start to see them.

CD

Nope - we do have some native lizards but I haven't seen once since I was a kid. It seems there are actual frogs called horned frogs although I don't see much of a horn on this one. That last phrase could be deemed lewd in the UK.:giggle:

Argentinian Horned Frog.
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I'll PM you about a new vacuum cleaner to avoid derailing this thread... I bought one recently.
Sorry to derail even further, but have you noticed the abundence of TV adverts for vacuum cleaners at the moment? I am becoming quite expert in essential vacuum cleaner features: Twin tank technology, easy reach flexology, anti hair wrap floorhead, powered lift-away XL... I could go on, but probably shouldn't. Just beware TastyReuben, it's a minefield out there.
 
Sorry to derail even further, but have you noticed the abundence of TV adverts for vacuum cleaners at the moment? I am becoming quite expert in essential vacuum cleaner features: Twin tank technology, easy reach flexology, anti hair wrap floorhead, powered lift-away XL... I could go on, but probably shouldn't. Just beware TastyReuben, it's a minefield out there.
Whilst it's derailed, I keep getting e-mails from Tripadvisor saying that they miss me because I haven't posted any reviews recently.
 
Tried to cheer up my mouth mask by wearing my elf fantasy not-sure-what-you-call-it, but I still feel much like a ninja or niqabi wearing this. Haven't found any masks that aren't outrageously expensive that aren't black. So I guess this will have to do as masks will be mandatory here from 1 june in public transport.
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Made from vintage kimonos, $50US for a four-pack, they include a sleeve for an added filter if you like, and for every four-pack sold, she makes some stuff for the medical community.

Oh that is really beautiful!

The advantage mine has is that it is very breathable, I went out for groceries today and it was almost like normal breathing. Which is important for me because I still have lung damage from the embolisms and don't want to be wheezing and coughing outside now.
 
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