First: they're originally from Holland: The Netherlands that is.
http://www.le-clochard.com/
Every pair of sheets you buy, a few euro's are donated to shelters for homeless youth, of which we too have too much. Nice to this happens in Germany too with the sales there.
Plus they sleep really nice (satisfied customer).

What Grismar says: it was so much fun to be able to skate again. We did too, in one of the most beautiful spots in the Netherlands, the Weerribben. Because -oh, irony- the canals in Amsterdam, where I live, were NOT frozen over because the citycouncil forgot to stop the flowing of the water. Stupid.
And will you guys please leave Hans Brinker out of it? He never existed

What Zeytoun and K!p say. Yes, I'm a Dutch Amsterdammer, and this is the best way around town with kids and groceries (quicker than by car, no parking fees, you don't poison yourself and others) and you don't have to worry about the gas prices.
Plus contrary to the picture: most kids in the bakfietsen don't wear helmets: it would give them the idea that cycling is dangerous more than fun.

How much do the Japanese pay for my placenta?

Typical it's (only two) males who get hysterical about home deliveries.

"So why don’t you go to the hospital first?!!!!" Christophe: because giving birth is not a matter of three seconds but of mere hours. The best way to give birth is to be in a comfortable environment to let the birth canal open up the first hours and when the real delivery is due, go to the hospital. This way the woman is relaxed and not extremely exhausted when she has to deliver. Doing the pre-work at home helps a lot: more distractions in between the contractions (taking a shower, a short walk), no unnecessary people attending and as it appears, the more relaxed: the better and faster the delivery goes. In the hospital, you have no place for yourself, it is always possible to be interrupted by anyone who can come into your room and into your personal sphere and as it happens, all that is able to cause a kind of fleeing reaction where the body feels threatened and the delivery is more difficult. I prefer to rely on my body first and then seek help if that is needed.
PLUS: If there is ANY medical indication, women over here also go to the hospital, because we also don't want unnecessary complications. Therefore in the end, only 30% of the women does have a homebirth at all.
I myself live in the city and even by bike the hospital is within 10 minutes distance (no, don't worry, we'll go by taxi!)

Indeed, this is not the regular birthing stool: the midwife will bring the regular one and this bucket is indeed used to catch the placenta afterwards. I will not let my newborn be ripped open by the plugs on the inside! We're not barbarians!

It's full of nutritients off course!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54256703@N00/316052481/

As a thank you for your blogging for my daily needs, here's some more for the statistics:
Female, 34, living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, blogging at a communal (och)blog(.com) where I found the love of my life and with whom I blog together irregularly at above site.