Minding my own business...

I've got a delicious cup of coffee that's made with Douwe Egberts coffee, which I think is the best you can get in the Netherlands. You can get the more special blends, but those are too expensive and not necessarily better tasting. As a treat once in a while they can be nice, providing you find the blend you like, and that can involve some detective work. That makes them a pure indulgence and not a choice for my slender wallet. Buying Douwe Egberts instead of the store brand is bad enough.

 

Being financially challenged means having to be frugal when going grocery shopping and there are a lot of things I don't buy because they are not necessary to my diet and would just add calories that I don't need. What I will not forego are fresh vegetables, and they don't have to be expensive, because you can buy whatever is on sale at the moment. I do have a few basic ones that I always use such as onions and garlic and celery, but after that, anything can be added and I'm having a lot of success with cauliflower right now that was one euro a head. And then there are always the mushrooms that are 99 cents for a small container and enough for the pan of food that I make.

 

I do have to tell you that right now I have a huge craving for a tall glass of ice cold milk. It has been a long time since I had one, so I suppose it is only natural that I crave one every now and then, feeling deprived as I do. I can not say that everyone is entitled to a glass of milk because it simply is not so. Dairy products do make Dutch people tall because we consume a lot of them. Dutch men have grown taller by 11 centimeters in the last century. There are no numbers for the women because they did not join the armed forces back then and that is where the statistics come from. I am 5 feet, 7 inches and am on the small side.  I take after my little grandmother on my father's side.

 

It seems that more governments are becoming supportive of the American Assad punishment attack, although I am still not convinced. There is no doubt that chemicals were involved, but the question is, who used them?  And haven't there been enough instances of inhumane suffering by the use of other weapons? Isn't one side as guilty as the other of committing war crimes? I think we should stay far away from using any form of force and only try to find a diplomatic solution. It is like hitting a wasps' nest with a stick to use force. There will be a lot of angry wasps.