I enjoyed FriesLand , my FriesLand, My Home. I loved the water pump in the kitchen and the 'Hock', where the boots and working clothes , washing machine and wringer was kept. And outside but next to the back door was the 'Hooska' our wooden toilet, no flush just a wide plank of wood, well worn and rounded with a hole in the middle and very rough mid grey toilet paper ( you didn't need or want much of that, to wipe your bottie ouch!!). Every now and then these huge men with leather flap things on their shoulders, would come around and lift the, by that time very heavy stinky wooden barrels up on their shoulders and swap it for a clean one that smelled of a very heavy type of disinfectant .. I got quite used to that smell and they never ever spilled any of it.......now that's clever!

My Oma and Opa ( granny and grandpa) always had coffee time at the same time every day without fail, it was just the done thing and every one did the same throughout the village ( ZwaagWesteinde). It was one of those days when I must of decided that life was just so great and exciting it was time I jumped around a bit or maybe a lot, so I ran upstairs ran downstairs ran out and in and out again, lept on the big soft arm chairs that were perfect to trampoline on and anyway my Mum was out getting something ...... I could smell the coffee pot and could hear the bubbling as it percolated nicely on the floor next to the stove ( not many plugholes around in those houses ) anyway just as I heard my Mum come in, I got so excited and happy that for what ever reason I jumped off the big chair and fell onto the boiling hot coffee pot. It spilled all over my new angora dress that my favourite Aunti ( Tante Froukje ) knitted for me just a few weeks before. As angora is so soft and sucks in water like a sponge, the boiling hot coffee began to scald my skin on my leg and arm , the dress was stuck. My Mum let out a shout ( I can't remember what ) but in came my Dad and he picked me up and carried me running to the kitchen and while my Mum started to pump the water out , I was held under it for it seamed like ages ( Brrrrr it was cold I remember that ) I was not pleased. They put bandages around my arm and leg but actually it was only for show as they had caught it in time and I had no scars but a great time with my bandaged arm...... lots of money was given to me for my troubles, which I milked as much as possible !