MODEL FOR MACRO SHOT

Yesterday I saw a snail moving along the tiles or rather on one tile on our terrace. Now this year, like last year our garden suffers from snail invasion, not the naked once, but of course those with house and furniture included.

My brain always in alert for theme pictures, I thought this would be the perfect model for a Macro shot. I hurried into the house to catch my camera. I ran into Mr. G. who wanted to smoke his cigarette on the terrace.

"What happens ?" he asked,

"nothing" I said, "I am looking for my camera ! Do you know where it is ?"

"No, but you don't have to hurry " he said "it won't run away".

And as usual I couldn't find the dammit camera ! I finally found it in my purse, which was not in the kitchen as usual but in my room.



Mr. G. wasn't right ! this was a speedy snail ! It had moved and crossed the border to another tile ! And while I took this first picture before I switched to "macro" mode,



it had made this unbelievable distance when I took this second picture ! I think it was the fastest snail ever !



I just finished my shootings when it retired in it's house !

I put the snail killer product around the garden because these creatures eat up everything ! Last year I had stopped to count the empty shells at 150, after having declared war to the snails ! they are a real nuisance although good, but ugly macro models.

I arrived in Eastbourne (UK) yesterday evening and will write more tomorrow.

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

1. I started the week with house cleaning ! My cleaning lady is on holidays, so I have to replace her. I prefer to clean on Mondays at least it looks clean during the week, my friends prefer to do (or have it done) on Fridays to show a clean house to their guests. I think it's more logical to clean AFTER the visitors. The only room of course which has to be perfectly clean is the bathroom, because there people have time to look in the corners.

My son had sent some pictures of grandson Toby which I had to sort out. Here are some of them.



At 7 1/2 months. In this time of your life even the halfs count, now you prefer to forget the years.



with Arthur



with Daddy



and with the proud Grandpa ! He looks quiet "old" for his age, Toby of course, not the grandpa !

2. During the summer holidays of July and August in Belgium, everything goes slower, changes or is closed. So instead of having my acqua gym on Mondays it is now on Tuesdays and also with other people and not our usual group. Fortunately very nice once too. After that, hungry Dominique and I went to "La Pomme" (the Apple) where we had a nice lunch.

3. Before going to Eastbourne for my yearly one week holidays tonight, I had to go to the hairdresser because my head looked like a mop. Now the hairs are cut and are easier to keep in shape. I also cooked a huge pot of Chili con Carne for the temporary joyful widow which I deepfreezed in small huge portions so that the poor man doesn't starve during my absence. There are also Pizzas for him and cat Arthur.

4. The silicone around the sinks in our bathroom was badly damaged and had to be renewed, and as my friend Ilona is a woman with golden hands and can do everything which usually is a man's duty, she came and put new silicone around the sinks and now it looks clean and real perfect !

5. One of my oldest friends, I know her since 1961 (!) came from Charleroi to visit us for the day. We hadn't seen each other for more than a year. She and Mr. G. have the same birth date, same day, same year, she in New York, he in Italy with 6 h difference (time difference included) Isn't that a coincidence !



We went to the Asian restaurant together and spent the rest of the afternoon in the garden. By miracle the weather had cleared up and it was warm enough to sit outside.




Here is a little map for those who don't know where Eastbourne is.
I will take the Eurostar from Brussels to London, but get out in Ashford and from there I will take the train to Eastbourne.

Of course I continue my blogging from there as usual.

NATIONAL DAY IN BELGIUM

more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday




Today is the National Day in Belgium (Fête Nationale) . This year even more interesting because it is the second time we celebrate a national day still without government ! We are ready for the Guiness Book of Records no country ever in this world has been without govnerment for more than one year;

As usual there will be the politicians to convince us that we have to dislike each other I mean the Flemish and the Waloons because we are supposed to have language problems. The problems are only political because the Belgian people have no problems with that, except a few fanatics on both sides of course.

The fact that there is no government doesn't bother the majority of the commun people. As long as the Belgian has his comfort and no major problems he takes it with humor and rather no interest. As the TV News are always the same concerning politics, they switch to a French channel or the Flemishs to the Dutch's channels to keep them informed what is going on in other countries and the world in general.

Everything goes smooth and even better than with a government we think.

So we will celebrate our National day together with the King and Queen and the whole Royal family, the same clowns Politicians from one and a half years ago who are on standby will be on the tribune too to watch the parade and there will be the same speeches with a few different words so that it doesn't look like the speech from the year before.

We will celebrate with picnics in the parks if it doesn't rain and watch the fireworks.

A friend I haven't seen for a long time will visit us and we will go to a nice restaurant and maybe watch the festivities in Waterloo if it doesn't rain.




See how it was in 2009 in Brussels here and in 2010 here in Waterloo

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - Family

more participants here

DOLMABAHCE PALACE-Istanbul

I have visited many palaces in my life, but what I have seen here seemed to me the most beautiful one. Even the "Chateau de Versailles" the very famous Palace near Paris , looks like a garden shed to me, compared to this one !

The Dolmabahce Palace is not that old, it was built between 1844 and 1853, and is a three-storied building 284 m / 932 ft long. The 285 rooms, the harem, the 46 lounges (and 6 hammams) are heavily furnished and decorated in rococo style.

continue to read here

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS WEEKEND ?

Helps you to remember what you have done on the weekend of July 16. You never know if you need an alibi ! If you participate please put the little logo on the top of your post and leave your link.

There was one shower free day this weekend so I hurried up to mow the lawn before it got wet again. Dominique did the same in her garden and during a break we decided to give us a treat in form of going out in the evening to see the new film with Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks :


It was an absolutely great movie and we both enjoyed it so much. We had a lot of fun and laughed all the time. It's not a stupid comedy at all, in my opinion it's even very educative and there is so much truth in it too !



The weather was sitting in a roller coaster we had temperatures from 25° (77 F) dropping down to 13 °C (55 F) all in one day during a few hours. We didn't want to put the heating on so I made a nice fire in our chimney, which warmed our old bones nicely and on top it's so cosy. Besides the fact that it should be summer in July.



While I was watching TV in the evening I noticed that I had put on two different slippers. Probably according to the weather changes, one for very hot weather and one for cold summer days. Mr. G. wasn't even surprised he is used to worse.

The afternoon I spent with my friend Ilona who, had a tooth pulled out and needed some distraction after the extraction.

Sunday morning I quickly went to our market in Waterloo, just between two showers I had to buy a table cloth for my friend in England and also two Thai chicken and noodles plates for supper.

In the evening we had Midsomer murders' time and as Dominique is a Barnaby "fan" too, she came over and we watched the film together. This time our accountant Mr. G. told us that the average of 3 murders was kept. There was a lot of suspense, no blood streaming from the TV screen and no gun shooting either. Inspector Barnaby solves the crimes with his brain.


Even when he has to go into a house with an open door, he never dances and fiddles around with a gun at each corner of a room, as it is always the case in the American crime series.

We were all satisfied with the outcome of the film and went to bed.

Not for long, at around 3 am I woke up because of a big boom in the house, it was Mr. G. who once again has fallen out of his bed ! I found him sitting on the floor with the bedlinnen around his neck looking very surprised. He had dreamed that he had jumped with a bike over a hedge, to show a friend (he hadn't seen for at least 45 years) that his bike was better than the one of his friend ! I think I have to start learning dream interpretation ! Fortunately he didn't break anything, climbed into his bed once I had made it again and slept like a baby.

I grumbled silently wondering when he started with talking and gesticulating during his sleep, he had never done this before. I really wonder what makes it happen that one who seldom moved in his sleep, suddenly behaves like a windmill and talks like a politician while he is sleeping ? Before he only snored like a chainsaw.

OLD FRENCH PHOTOS - Lazy Sunday !

I am as lazy as Rosie today, but I gathered the last bit of energy to show you some very funny old French photos, I got yesterday in my mail.



The seven deadly sins



Some visitors cannot see the ring in the water which looks like a gloriol on the priest's head.



Prison ..... "open"







The majority is YOU



Hospital .... Silence