BEST PAINTINGS ON BUSES

On a Belgian Website I found the best bus paintings. They look so real !

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

1. It still was unusually warm during the week always over 20°C (68 F) some of my friends even had a barbecue during the weekend !

As it was time to trim the bushes and hedges in the garden, for the last time this year, the weather was perfect to do this.



Our young gardener took care of this and had a lot of work ! Everything had grown as if we were in a tropical jungle !

2. The flower bouquet my son brought me last Saturday is in full bloom and looks beautiful now, that all



blossoms are open.

Mr. G. still has quiet a strong cold and also got an eye infection, I too wasn't feeling to well and my nose started running. It's no wonder with these roller coaster temperatures. One day you need a fur coat and the next a bathing suit ! I had to drive him to the ophtamologist who prescribed him an antibiotic creme. Poor man now sees me double (or triple version) with one eye and a half, I suspect that with one version he has already enough.

3.. I didn't go to my Yoga classes I felt a little weak for that, and Dominique was also kind of lazy instead we sat in her garden and had a cup of coffee, before she started with mowing the lawn for the last time and I returned to my emails.

4. Fortunately I had bought enough deepfreezed plates which I just had to warm up in the microwave, because with the two of us being "out of work" it was the easiest way not to starve. We had tagliatelle with salmon, leek and zucchinis, Spaghettis with pesto and mussels, and Potatoes Savoyarde  which is a classical French dish - a gratin - ham cubes, and 3 sorts of cheese. So today I had to go shopping and fill in the deepfreeze again. The average price of these dishes is around 8 € for the two of us, for that price I couldn't cook all this myself !

5.



Our son sent us some pictures which he had taken last weekend when he visited us with Toby.



and in my painting class I finished my last painting. Our exposition is end November. We all have to present at least 3 paintings which we have done this year.

WATERLOO or WATER - LOO ?

more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday

Nothing is more annoying for tourists crossing Belgium by car when the city they are looking for suddenly doesn't exist anymore on the highway signs. For example you want to go to Lille in France and you are sure you are on the right way but suddenly the signs indicate "Rijsel" which is the Flemish word for Lille. Nivelles becomes Nijvel and the little neighbor town Braine l'Alleud becomes "Nederbrakel". My poor friend Nicole wanted to take the train home to Braine l'Alleud but couldn't find it and had to ask. On the platform was written "Nederbrakel" ! She had never heard of it !

My town Waterloo is safe for translations into Flemish or other languages ! Water means water and loo comes from l'eau (pronounced loo) which is water in French. The word "loo" is commonly used in the UK for toilet. "I go to the loo" means that you go to the bathroom, restroom or whatever it's called always for the same purpose.

The history of the word "loo" is simple. Like many chiefly British words, 'loo' came from the French. Back in the days before modern plumbing, French commoners would empty their chamberpots directly onto the streets. A common courtesy was to yell, "Gardez l'eau!" (pronounced "Gar-day low", means "Watch out for the water!") to make sure no one was splashed if they were dumping it from a balcony, rooftop, etc. The English caught on to this term, and eventually corrupted l'eau to loo.

Conclusion logically I would live in Waterwater, but as water means l'eau or pronouced loo, it will always remain Waterloo !



No confusion for those who want to visit Napoleon's battle field or  Wellington's bed and uniforms and climb on the lion. All highways (or motorways) are leading to WATERLOO !

For me it's rather strange that I only realized now that I am living in a town which would shortly be called WC !

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

more participants here

MY LITTLE WORLD IN OUR WORLD

Why always looking in other countries or cities when you have such nice places around in your neighborhood. So let me take you on a little walk !

It was unusually warm for nearly end October ! 24°C (75 F) and the sun was shining ! Mother nature goes mad !

Last week the trees were all still green which is also unusual, but in the last four days they started to get colors and stripteased ! 



What fun for the owners to collect all the dead leaves !



The car looks nicely decorated for fall !



but there is still a lot of green



or it had changed to a beautiful red





Our street half yellow half green





I went to my neighbor on the second floor and took this and



this picture of our garden. No leaves to collect yet !





Just opposite of my neighbor's house this one is empty since 3 years. From time to time we see the owner mowing the lawn. Some youngsters had broken into it and slept inside, ever since there is an alarm and the police watches !



our little wood doesn't look very autumn like yet



Only the little tree which is standing on our useless roundabout (nobody knows actually why it is built in the middle of the street) is now dressed in a colorful red.

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS WEEKEND ?

Helps you to remember what you have done on the weekend of October 20. If you participate please put the little logo on the top of your post and leave your link.

Our son had announced his visit with Toby for this weekend. As I had a bad cold since a few days I crossed my fingers that I would feel better and fortunately I did ! So we had a great time at least the first day !



After the trip from Amsterdam to Waterloo, Toby was hungry he is like his Dad a very good eater ! Nonno showed him pictures from Italy and explained what it was. Toby is the perfect little helper, he likes to clean and as soon as he has a paper napkin in his hands he cleans his table and afterwards brings everything which he considers as garbadge to the bin and says "baah".

While I admired their football (soccer) skills and took pictures, the three generations were running behind the ball. Mr. G. even forgot about his arthritis !



After a while they all had enough, and Toby decided to drive his tractor !



Nonnos legs were a perfect tunnel. He also showed Toby the cap he had gotten in Italy when he was in the age to become a soldier, and it fitted perfectly on Toby's head. Now I wonder has Mr. G. a little head or Toby a big one ? Arthur the cat didn't miss one moment and even participated in the football game !

After Toby's afternoon nap we went shopping, he needed some new clothing, jeans and pullovers as he is growing so fast. We found the right things and went then in my favorite bookshop which has a huge choice of all kind of books children books included. It's a second hand shop and the books are very cheap but in a good shape.



Before we had supper we watched a little bit TV. Although he doesn't see us very often he seems to feel home and is not shy at all.



Thanks to my Yoga gymnastic class, I was able to crawl on the floor without major problems, no bone was cracking and I didn't need a helping hand to lift me up on my feet again !
I can only recommend Yoga for Grandmas !!



Then we had a little frog in our bath tube, and once again I thought how time flies by, it seems to me as if it was yesterday when another little blond boy was sitting in this bathroom. Now he is not blond anymore and sits on the closed toilet where I sat years ago, playing with his son !



Before going to bed it's the best moment of the day a big bottle with an apparently wonderful tasting content, which Toby swallows in no time ! First he sat alone, then he decided that on Nonno's lap the bottle tasted even better.



Arthur was the only one out of our 4 cats who loved Toby ! He was always running behind him, or sitting besides him, watching him play inside or outside, it was just amazing.

Unfortunately I couldn't go out with them on a walk because my cold had come back a little and I was running at only 85 % instead of 100 and also the weather was very humid the second day so I prefered to stay home and not to bring my cold to our son's friend who also has a little boy of about the same age and they went in one of the various parks here around and had a lot of fun. Mr. G. and I were resting because he had catched my cold ! I am a very generous woman !

The two days went by so fast and it had been so nice. Now that Toby is nearly 2 (in mid November) he is not a baby anymore but a little boy and it's easier to communicate with him. He also understands French very well, his Dad speaks French with him, Mum speaks Dutch. Little Toby is amongst the first real Europeans with an Italian grandpa, a German grandma, a Dutch grandma and pa, a Dutch mummy, and an Italo/German Daddy who was born and raised in Belgium ! And what do we do when we are all together ? We speak English !

When the car disappeared around the corner, Arthur expressed how we were feeling after such an agitated weekend ....

and Mr. G. had to go to bed with nose drops, aspirines and lots of tissus for the running nose !

STILL ON DUTY ....

Just a short note .... I am still happily alive and busy !





True, kids are logical .....



in a few years !



That's when I forgot to wear my glasses