SATURDAY FUN - Maxine

I have the "white page" syndrome, that's why I let Maxine speak, we have the same opinions !

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

1. Not a very exciting week ! As usual after acqua gym, I did some window shopping, but didn't find anything interesting except a webcam for my computer, so that Toby my little grandson can also see me, when my son shows him to me ! Otherwise the poor boy stares at a black screen, wondering where the voice comes from !

2. I needed a little lamp to make more light on my keyboard and I found a real nice one which you can connect to your computer. Proudly I came home connected the lamp and found out that it wouldn't even lighten up a mousehole ! Completely useless. Fortunately I had bought it on sales, and it only costed 4 €, now I also understand the low price ! Of course I couldn't bring it back because things on sale are not exchanged.

3. The weather is still grey and wet and I can't make any pictures outside, it's so dark !



So when I have finished household and blogging work, all I see is the grey view out of the living window and the cats laying around all sleeping. Very encouraging to lift up your mood !

4.



I thought if I can't take pictures outside to feed my posts, I will make a stock of cat pictures inside. Of course when you want to make nice pictures, they are not cooperating at all, I think they feel that I only use them as substitute ! These are the results.

5. Our painting class has started again and it was nice to see all my classmates and we had to chat a lot about our year's end celebrations. I started a new painting, at least for that I had enough energy. After class I went to "my" Indian Shop and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere inside



and also found this little case to put my finally updated agenda !

Mud in your eyes today it's Friday 13 !!

HAPPY HIPPIE TIMES ?

more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday

I belong to the Hippie generation, but I never was a real one.

The hippies came out of the student's revolution in the 60th against the establishment. They wanted to change the family rules and go back to nature. I love nature but I loved my comfort too. I also was for mariage and an only love at time. Living in a community in the rural countryside, and sleeping all together with cows, goats and dirty men was not really my cup of tea, and I also wanted to know who was the father of my child. I loved the idea of peace and love (pronounced with a French accent "Piss and laugh") and no war. The French accent made me always laugh.



What I liked very much was the Hippy fashion. I didn't wear any flowers in my hairs, but I loved the long skirts and the "wrinkle" look. I had trousers with flower patterns and I remember a suede jacket with broderie outside and goat fur inside. I still have a blouse from the 70th which is in fashion again and which I digged out to wear it after all these years.

At that time a lot of Belgian boys and girls went to Australia or to the Spanish Islands, where they lived in Hippy communities. They are probably today all respectable fathers and mothers, with a house a garden grown up children and a cat and a dog. Gone the time of living in "nature"and community.

There are still some hippies left on the Spanish Islands. I saw some, now my age, the men with long thin hair grey of course and the women with grey pigtails. They look a little out of time.

In retrospect, the hippie generation had direct global influences on music, television and film. It also made its mark on politics, fashion, hairstyles, the arts, and religion, including an emerging interest in Eastern philosophies and meditation.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

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Toby and his friend Benjamin

OUR WORLD - Market

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My part of our world is rather rainy and grey, but still I managed to go to the market in the next little town, when the sun appeared for a few minutes.



I didn't see a lot of people when I arrived



Unsold Christmas trees were laying around and still some Christmas decoration was there



A flower stall, rather hidden



People tried to warm up themselves with hot Hamburgers, Hot dogs, and hot snails in a bowl



Or with beer or wine in this little café







Not many people




As Sundays all shops are closed, the streets were empty too.

When I returned to my car, it started to rain again ! What a start in the New Year.

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS WEEKEND ?

Helps you to remember what you have done on the weekend of January 7 2012.


+ us and Dominique on the other side of the street

The first weekend in this new year, started with an invitation of our young neighbors, who had moved in our street 3 years ago, replacing the first generation, who had sold their house to them, because the wife died and the widow moved together a little further in the same street with another widow. Now we, my neighbor in front of our house and another couple became the ancestors, the other two houses had been sold due to the owner's age and one divorce.



The young couple had prepared beautiful plates with Zakuskis, which were more than appetizers in buffet style, with Foie gras (special goose liver), prunes wrapped in roasted bacon , and lots of other delicacies and lobster bisque with shrimps and of course the Champagne was not missing either. It was such a funny get together and digging out old memories and telling the newcomers what all had happened in our street during the years. They couldn't believe that I had a cow looking into our french doors in the living room, and that the kids were playing in the fields. Now there are all new houses there.

The young couples's son is a little older than our grandson Toby, but a lot shyer and he also was not at all tempted by all these little nibbles, while Toby probably would have tried to serve himself as much as he could.

We were so full that when we came home at 8.30 pm, I just could eat an apple and Mr. G. had some cheese with grapes !

As rain was announced for Sunday afternoon, I quickly went to the market in the morning to make a little walk because I start to run out of fresh air with this bad weather.



I had bought a Tartiflette for our supper tonight, and just sat in my car again, when it started to rain.

The afternoon went by with blogging and in the evening Dominique came over for our little "Midsomer Murder" evening.

WE GOT A ONE EURO CHEQUE !

Mr. G. got his pension cheque covering 6 months i.e. from January til June 2012.



When he saw the amount his eyes almost popped out and he immediately thought of an error. Even though it's a very small amount he gets twice per year, because he hasn't worked a lot in Italy, the Italian government has to pay a pension for the years he worked there.

I had never seen a cheque of ONE € (1.27 $) ! It certainly couldn't be a joke because when it comes to pay governments in the whole world don't have any humor. But still I laughed that much that my belly hurt. And all of our friends did the same ! With this amount you can't even buy a bread !

Mr. G. called and was informed that this amount is normal, as the Italian Government had payed him from 2008 til 2011 a gross pension, because they had forgotten to deduct the taxes. Now some very efficient employee had found the mistake and deducted the amount of these 3 years in one shot ! No wonder that Italy's economy is rather bad if they don't deduct income taxes, and of course it's always the less fortunates who have to pay !