HODGEPODGE OCTOBER 17

 1. How did you meet your significant other? If you don't have a significant other, tell us how you met your best friend. 

In my case that's  a rather difficult question, as all my best friends have passed away. There is just one left, she has the same age as me, we went to school together in Germany and then in Brussels, she returned to Germany and married a lawyer, I remained in Brussels and married an Italian. But we always stayed in contact and saw each other on a regularly base. Our friendship started in 1953 and still continues, and we can see each other now thanks to video calls !  

 We were 11 then

2. It's Department Store Day (October 16)...do you still shop in department stores? If not do you miss that kind of shopping experience? Do you have a favorite department store? Any fun memories of department store shopping when you were a child? 

It depends my mood. If it rains it can happen that I stroll through a department store with a friend. If I need something then I go, buy and return home. I hate boutiques where the salesman is constantly on your bottom and wants to influence you. Then I become quite unpleasant. 

In my childhood my mother took me to boutiques and dressed me like a Barbie, it always had to be a branded item so that people could see what she was doing for her daughter ! I preferred the outfits of my friend who had inherited the old clothes from her siblings.

3. Something you're currently nuts about?

Yesss ! I have bronchitis and I hate lying around here and being to weak to do anything !

4. What's your favorite nut and is there a favorite recipe where this nut is used? 

I like them all and they are part of my breakfast together with oatmeal and a Kiwi.

5. On Wednesday we officially reach the '70 days until Christmas' mark. Have you purchased any gifts? If you don't celebrate Christmas then how about Hanukkah presents? 

When Toby was 2 years old

We gave up to make Christmas gifts. Everybody has everything so we would rather spent the money for a nice restaurant, a theater, a Musical or another show. My grandson 14 prefers to buy his Christmas gifts himself, and as I am not up to date of the newest things in the computer section, he gets the money on his account and I give him a self made Christmas card. I think you have to go with the time and not regret the Christmas celebrations of your childhood.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

I raked my brain to find an appropriate Birthday gift for my grandson. Yes, I could send money but I wanted to find something special ! And suddenly I had an idea ! He will be fourteen and his dream is to become a fighter pilot.

I was horrified at this idea, and then I said to myself, maybe it's only a teenage dream, we all once had, is he really going to like it ? I  googled and found a pilot school here in Brussels, that gives an hour of flight simulation with departures and landings and fly over lots of cities around the world. This would give his parents and I an idea if the practice will disgust him or encourage him.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - FARMS

 Farmhouses from different European countries, they look so similar !

more participants here, and Image-in-ing

AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND OCT 12

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS 

 

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WEEKEND 

Saturday it was cold nobody went outside, we played a nice family game and the afternoon went by very quickly. In the evening I started to cough and my nose ran and I was feeling bad. I took what you have to take for a flu and went to bed. I didn't sleep very well and on Sunday I was really feeling sick ! I remained in my room the whole day, and hope that tomorrow I will feel better !

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

On Monday the coffee arrived so late, that I just wanted to call the kitchen and ask whether they had forgotten me, in this moment the coffee came. When I went to the reception around midday, I found out that I had missed a big excitement, a resident packed his suitcase and somehow managed to escape the secure unit on the 4th floor. How he did that will probably remain a mystery forever. The entire staff and other people searched the house and the park and finally found him on the quay at the train station! The Station is only a 10-minute walk away, and he probably hasn't forgotten that.

The rest of the week we had each day another activity to do, starting with baking Halloween cookies, fortunately I had to go to the health insurance, and just arrived for the coffee where we could try the self baked cookies. They tasted real good. (because I hadn't participated) 

They made fun of myself, I pretended that I had baked the cookies alone ! 

We still have 4 contributions to make to the competition with the other residencies, and since what we are supposed to do is so stupid that I'm no longer taking part. We are not in kindergarten anymore. The last game was to hit the table with a soup spoon in a certain rhythm, of course ! Only a few very well-behaved and disciplined people took part, the others joked. Finally Kim and Elinor also stopped because they didn't think that it was appropriate either. Then we just listened to “our” music and dug up memories.

We have a very nice bar, which was closed the whole summer when all visitors needed it badly. Now that it is autumn and winter moves in, there was a big inauguration of the bar with a long speech of the coordinating doctor. Nobody could understand him, because he had a whispering voice and didn't articulate. Most of the residents took a nap or looked around or disappeared into the restroom. 

Twice our Gilberte (101 yrs) asked him to speak louder and better, but he did that for 2 minutes and then continued to speak for himself. Luckily afterwards, countless champagne bottles were opened and beautiful music from the 60s was played, people were dancing and there was a great atmosphere. Now the bar is open, but there is nothing to drink and no bartender!

And to end the week we went to a very nice restaurant. It had a a large stage with a red curtain, which is why the restaurant was called "Le rideau Rouge, the red curtain". Once a week there is a menu for the seniors,  with an orchestra that played very well. With the meal there was as much red and white wine as you wanted and my neighbor enjoyed it and got very red cheeks. She also danced a lot! It was also so nice to see the 100 year old lady dancing and the others finding their youth again !

 

The menu : Aperitif, 1. course : Carpaccio or Calamari, 2. meat or salmon with Belgian fries and salad, 3. Ice raspery or profiterole with chocolate sauce and coffee. For me they even made a real Espresso.

I can only say we were more then full ! This excursion brought us even more together and we all were in a very cheerful mood, it was as if they fear of dead had completely disappeared and that it was still time to have fun and enjoy life.

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.