WEEKLY WINNERS

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In the City parc of Waterloo a police dog show was organized to show the public what they are able to do. It really was amazing ! I had never seen that.



They all arrived in their cages



then were taken out by their masters



The one who should play the bad man was wrapped in an especially thick costume. Such a dog can easily break a bone



First they showed discipline



A "private" dog was allowed to show that he was also able to do that



The dog is trained to look for drugs



and finally found a toy in a box. He was very proud !



Then the attacks. On a simple word "stop it" the dog returned to his master



They learn by playing, it should not be stressing for them but a game



Here is the oldest police dog with the Leader of the dog police (a woman !). He is already 9 years old and will soon retire



He had a black face and looked quite dangerous, but he had saved many lives and is an excellent "worker" .

The dogs weren't impressed by gun shooting or other loud noises, they only listened to their master's voice. It was a very interesting show.

VICTIM OF A PICKPOCKET

On Monday we had a beautiful day again and I decided to visit a friend who lives in Knokke which is the most expensive and posh town at the Belgian coast and to me also the most ugliest one.



with such "beautiful" appartment buildings all along the beach, to the modest prices of 800.000 to 1 billion €! (1,168,669 to 1,460,879 $) !!! Guaranteed sunshine not included.

When I took the train in Brussels, it wasn't that packed like the last time I went to the sea and without problem I got a seat. Unfortunately nature called and I had to go to the toilet. I didn't know that the train stopped just at that time and when I got out, people were standing there like sardines in a box, you couldn't put a needle between them. They all had gotten on the train while I was resting in the restroom ! I sidled like a snake through the crowd to get to my place and was pushed around and people angrily told me that there were no place anymore, but I had one and intended to get back to it by all means.

Suddenly a lady said : "your purse is open" I looked and indeed the zip was open and where my wallet should be was an empty space ! I had been the victim of a pickpocket !

Now my Kipling purse is in fabric and has 2 big and two small compartments closed with a zip. How he managed to open one of them is a mistery to me, because it is quite difficult. Fortunately he only stole my wallet containing 45 €, my identity card and the driver licence. All my cards where in a different place ! After the first shock I decided to take it positively, although I woul have prefered to spent my money otherwise and had a wonderful day with my friend.

Next day I went to the police for a theft declaration and with this one I should go to the city hall and get provisory papers. The policeman was very friendly and he wrote down what I said. Behind me was a Norvegian woman who only spoke English but to my big surprise the young policeman spoke a perfect English too. She had been victim of a burglery, while she and her husband slept upstaires, some kind persons emptied the house downstairs, computers, video, TV and her purse with all papers and bank cards !

After 45 min finally a female agent came to type my declaration with two fingers on the keyboard of her computer, which took another half an hour. When finally she had written a whole romance which I had to sign, the city hall was closed till 2 pm !

So I went back in the afternoon with my theft declaration and photos and got



my declaration as provisory identity card. Now I will get a new one, not in carton anymore but the new one in plastic which look like a bank card ! We make progress ! The driver licence unfortunately remained the same pink paper, but I got an updated photo on it !

For this pleasure I had to pay of course, 10 € for the paper, and 11 € for the driver licence. I will send an invoice to my pickpocket to ask for a refund ! Does anybody know his address ?
Not only you are victim of a theft, on top you have to pay for it !

SHOW & TELL

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In the last "Show & Tell" somebody showed some things she had got from her grandma. That made me think what I have from my grandma ! Not very much. My Grandma was a very independant women, born in 1886 and far in advance for her time. She should have lived today. She lived alone in the appartment she had shared with my grandpa who died at 76, until she decided at the age of 84 to move into a retirement home.

She didn't ask her two daughters if they wanted something of her household, she put everything on the street to be taken away, as she had decided to start a completely new life with new furniture in her new room in the retirement home.

And these are the only things I have from my grandma

This coffee mill which stands now on our mantle piece, saved by a cousin

and this beautiful handpainted coffee service, which she had given to my mother

It dates from the early 1900

I also got this silver cake shovel. There were a few items which my aunt took to the States.

When she died my uncle asked me what I wanted back from my grandma and I took pictures and three little gravures, which I showed already.

My grandma at 25

If you want to read more about this special woman go here

THURSDAY THIRTEEN - Headlines

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13 funny Newspaper headlines (n°2)

1. Lawmen from Mexico Barbecue Guests

2. Lung Cancer in Women Mushrooms

3. Man is Fatally Slain

4. Milk Drinkers are Turning to Powder

5.Miners Refuse to Work after Death

6. Never Withhold Herpes from Loved One

7. Nicaragua Sets Goal to Wipe out Literacy

8. NJ Judge to Rule on Nude Beach

9. Organ Festival Ends in Smashing Climax

10. Autos killing 110 a Day; Let's Resolve to do Better

11. Blind Woman Gets New Kidney from Dad she Hasn't Seen in Years

12. Child's Death Ruins Couple's Holiday

13. Child's Stool Great for Use in Garden

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

MY WORLD - Buddha Feast in Huy (Belgium)

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Three years ago the buddhistic community of Belgium based on Tibetan Buddhism had moved into a little castle in Huy a beautiful little town at the entrance of the Ardennes.

Each year there is a big gathering of all Belgian or other Buddhists in this castle, surrounded by a beautiful parc. Everybody is welcome, nobody tries to convince you to become buddhist either. As I had never seen such an event and have only very poor knowledges about Buddha, I was happy when my friend Ilona asked me to come with her to this feast.

The entrance of the castle

The inside courtyard

A tibetan monk, who also was the head of this community

A view from the parc on the backside of the castle

Beautiful trees and flowers everywhere

Guest rooms for seminaries or workshops to very democratic prices

People were thirsty ! Wine, beer, tea, coffee, you could get what you wanted

A little temple, and in front people enjoying asiatic food.


The inside of the temple

The main buddha was in the middle of the parc

He was quite big and beautiful when you stood in front

but rather skinny when you looked behind. I shouldn't have been so curious !

I loved the fact that all people were so joyful and little children were running and playing under Buddha's eyes and had a lot of fun. I just imagined that in our dull churches !

An overlook

The big temple.

and another one inside. Everybody had to take off its shoes.

The main temple

a lot of hungry people ! They all lined up at the different food stands, Vietnamese, chinese, and of course tibetan food. It was very good, I choose vietnamese because there were so many people at the tibetan stand ! It also was very cheap.

I had been a little sceptical thinking that these are profit makers and would try to pull out of my wallet my last cents, but not at all ! Jewelry, cloths or little statues were even cheaper then in a shop.

It was a very cheerful atmosphere and everybody talked with everybody about everything except about buddha. I know that it is not a religion but more a philosophy and that you don't pray but meditate. That I knew already before going there, so I didn't learn much more and I didn't change my mind, I wouldn't start to meditate now, as I never pray either.

We had a great day ! Ilona wore her tibetan dress and I as usual my jeans.

FUN MONDAY - Our furbabies

Sayre wants to see our furbabies. Or scalebabies. Or finbabies. Whatever form our pet takes, she wants to see a picture of it/them and hear the story of how it/they came to be a part of our family.

Most of you know that I have 5 cats and am a so said Cat Lady ! I also have a cat collection of more than 450 cats in all sizes and materials.

My oldest cat is Lisa, she is now 18 years old. Mr. Gattino brought her home in a carton when she was 6 weeks old. She came from a friend and should "replace" Mitzi who had died the same day. This was quite terrible for me because it was too quick. I was very angry with Mr. G he wanted to help me over my grief, but it hadn't been the right way !

Lisa moved in, became a very stubborn cat and rules the house ! Meanwhile she is deaf and meauws or rather crows the whole morning, God only knows why ! The rest of the day she is quiet and sleeps.


Lisa

Arthur is 7 years old, we picked him up in an animal shelter when he just arrived in a carton ! Mr. G's childhood dream was to own a white cat ! Arthur is without knowing it, a very amusing and social cat ! All our neighbors know him very well and he knows very well their beds. He hides sometimes in wardrobes and causes heart attacks when you open the door and he happily jumps out.


Arthur

Rosie is my first "Internet cat" ! She is 2 years old. I wanted to have a "Tuxi" cat and found one thanks to Internet. She is a little housewife everything must be need and tidy so she tidies up her toy mice around the food bowls during the night, one in the water bowl and one in the dry food. The others in a circle around. She owns 6 !


Rosie

Pookie is now 9 and belonged to our son. She is an English cat and was born in London where he lived at that time. When he had to move to Amsterdam he asked me to keep his two cats for 3 months because he was living in a flat. 5 years later Pookie is still with us and forever.


Pookie

Kim also belonged to our son and is 8, she couldn't stand the life in a flat at all and didn't eat anymore. Kim is mostly outside and although she has a lot of beds to nap at her disposal, she prefers to sleep outside in her tent.


Kim

If you want to see and read more about my cats go to my blog My Cats and funny stories!