COMPILED NEWS

Due to the bad weather I am still locked into my house and when I went shopping, nothing special had happened either, no bank rubbery took place while I was there, and no little terrorist blow himself up while I was in the supermarket.

Therefore I checked the news and found some interesting once.

A website called PleaseRobMe claims to reveal the location of empty homes based on what people post online.

Very interesting ! I only have to increase my household insurance, make myself member in PleaseRobMe and hope that all interesting things are stolen so that I can buy new once with the money I get back from the insurance. Of course for double value.

A German snowboarder stranded in the Austrian Alps for six hours has been rescued after attracting attention by setting fire to his cash. He started with restaurant bills, before he was spotted burning the last of 120 euros in cash.

What do you learn from this experience ? Always take a lot of cash with you ! And don't forget to keep restaurant bills ! Go there very often ! You never know !






Barbie’s so geeky

DIZZY blonde doll Barbie has an unlikely new job - as an IT geek.
Wearing specs and a T-shirt with a binary code design, she uses a laptop, pink of course, and hands-free phone headset.

I am a little doubtful that little girls would like to play with such an "intelligent" looking doll or is she more destinated for business men, managers, bank directors, or politicians ?




A WOMAN in Rumania weighing more than 240 kg (529 lbs) has given birth to her first baby.
Victoria Lacatus, 25, had her healthy 2.9 kg (6.4) baby girl by caesarean section yesterday. Doctors had feared for her health during the pregnancy.But she told reporters at the hospital in Craiova, Romania: "I wanted this child with all my heart, whatever the sacrifice."

Now I only hope she doesn't take the baby with her in her bed ! Her husband probably looks already like a pancake.

SHOW & TELL - Dolls

More participants here

In the 80th I have worked for 5 years in a Marketing company called Marlex located in Waterloo, which was very practical for me. At that time they had made a big business probably the biggest one they ever made with "Miss Petticoat" a creation of my American bosses' uncle. You could see her everywhere on plates, cards, clothes, bags, stationary etc.

When I left there I got these 3 dolls as a souvenir. They are very cute. I had given them to my mother for her doll collection, but when she died I took them back. For the moment they are in a bag in a storeroom, because I don't have room to expose them, due to my cat collection ! Or I would need a second house.

THURSDAY THIRTEEN - Train accident near Brussels

more participants here


13 pictures of Buizingen (near Brussels)

the place where Belgium's terrible train accident happened on Monday 14. (See my post below)

My friend Ilona lives in Buizingen and had assisted the whole day to the coming and going of ambulances and helicopters. It was a terrible day. So far there are 18 deads and 162 people injured. Apparently one train driver ignored a red light. But nothing is sure yet.

The day it happened it snowed and it was a terrible weather too which wasn't ideal to help all the injured people.

The next day the sun was shining over the disaster.



The place of the accident is hidden by the walls





Buizingen is a cute little town. This is the city hall



Of course there still were lots of journalists parked there and waited for eventual news








They were from The Netherlands, UK, France, Germany and Belgian TV too.



Police was watching everywhere that you didn't get too close. Nobody should see anything while they worked on the crashed wagons to find other corpses maybe.



Here too we weren't allowed to go up



there was a policeman standing there



Thanks to my powerful zoom on my little Sony Cyber shot camera, I managed to take a picture of the two wagons.



Besides the rails is a nice path along a beautiful parc. The day of the accident it must have been horrible here with the hundreds of more or less injured people climbing out of the wagons.

And as the world is so small, the 28 boyfriend of my hairdresser had been in the second wagon the one which lay aside. He has his shoulder broken and has other little injuries but at least he is alive because in his wagon there were the most of dead passengers and he had seen them all. Of course he is in hospital and suffers a terrible shock.


Here is a amateur video of a young man who had filmed the scene while he got out of the wagon.
In the News they always mention "Hal" which is the place where a big station is only 3 km from Buizingen where the accident really happened.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Rosie (cat grass or coke ?)

MY WORLD - Snow in Waterloo

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My world is still in black and white, this winter seems to never end ! It's not a lot of snow but still enough to cover everything with this white boring blanket.




Our house sits in the snow and when I look out of the window I only see grey and white. If at least the sun was shining then it would look a little better.



Our garden where the only one who enjoys the snow is our cat Kim.



There is never a lot of traffic in our street, therefore the city thinks it is not worthwhile to put some salt and we have the honor to use our cars as sleighs.



One street farer they had put salt and now it looks dirty. Since weeks my only foot apparel are thick black snow boots.



The parc in Waterloo, untouched looks quiete nice even in grey weather. The little nude statue has now a white coat.



On a Monday morning the streets are always empty since the boutiques are closed and only supermarkets open their doors. But still there were not a lot of people shopping at Carrefour.

The highways and other streets are slippery so that I am forced to stay home or not going very far. I feel like prison break !

TERRIBLE TRAIN ACCIDENT NEAR BRUSSELS

I got a few emails asking me about the terrible train accident which happened this morning at 8.30 between Halle and Buizingen. My friend Ilona who lives 5 min from there woke up by a big bang. Two trains had crashed into each other frontally. There are at least 25 dead and more than 150 people injured, it's just terrible. It is a very important line to Brussels and there were many people on the train to go to work. Fortunately we have school holidays for the moment, otherwise there would have been a lot of children too. Just now the King is visiting the place. I will know more.
tonight.

When I think that I use this station so often !









Pictures from RTL be.

FUN MONDAY

little Mouse our host this and next week wants to know :

For February 15th, please tell about something nice someone has done for you, or an act of kindness you witnessed a loved one perform, without being asked. It can be lately, or years ago, but something that touched your heart, and that you remember for that reason. Feel free to tell several stories if you wish, but remember, this is not YOUR RAK, it’s one that was performed for you or in your presence.

So many nice things have been done to me during my life that it would fill a one mile long post which nobody would read !

What I admire most for the moment are these men and women in Brussels and other towns who go out every night during this very unusual cold period (til - 12 °C (32 F) and take care of the homeless and forgotten once who try to protect themselves from the cold around the station or other wind protected corners.

There would be enough room in shelters for them at least over night when it is the coldest, but they just refuse, they don't want to leave the street. Dog shelters have offered to house the dogs which are very often the only companions of these poor men and women, sometimes they let the dog sleep in shelters while they are sleeping outside.

There is also the red Cross of course who helps with medication, blankets and hot food but still there are the once who do it out from their heart. It's probably thanks to them that now the homeless are allowed to stay at least in the entrance of the station where it is a little warm. The city of course doesn't want to show them, it's rather a shame and not a very good image of a city in our rich world. Of course most of them are drinkers, but honnestly leading such a life would make anybody drink. Often very touching and tragic stories are behind these men and women who lost everything because they never had luck in their lives.

WEEKLY WINNERS

More participants here at Sarcastic Mom Weekly winners

I slowly get claustrophobia because the weather is so bad, that it is hard to put one foot out if it is not absolutely necessary. It's wet, cold, windy and the streets slippery. For photo hunting not an ideal weather.



Therefore when my cat Arthur started to eat chocolate cookies, I realized that I have to go out at least to the pet shop and buy some food. It was also an occasion to take some pictures inside the shop because outside it was snow raining. The perfect weather to catch a cold.

That's why I found my weekly winners in this shop




First I saw goldfishes, but too big for Arthur





Then I stopped to chat with these ladies, they collected food and money for these dogs who had been badly mistreated by unscrupulous owners who used them for dog races. All these dogs came from Spain and could be safed in the last minute.





I looked for a while at the fishes, apparently they are good for your nerves, that's why dentists often have acquariums in their waiting rooms.



This guy gave me a suspicious look



Before starting to buy my cat food I looked at these little critters



I am sure Arthur would have loved that I buy some of these cute mice to play with and then eat them. His argument would be that I would safe cat food.



I loved the long hanging ears of this little rapid



Arthur would have loved birds too, but catching birds is strictly forbidden also sometimes it happens that he doesn't respect the rules.



The parrot looked a little lonely and didn't talk. I tried to chat with him but he wasn't in the mood, so I bought what I had to buy, loaded my car and drove home where at least it was warm.


to all of you

to my friends who celebrate New Year today