ENERGY SAVING DAY

When I opened the stores and looked outside, it was grey and dark. I decided to do like my cats, I declared this day as my "Energy Saving" day, after all I am retired ! zzz ...zzz ...zzz.

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

1. Another week went by so quickly !  On Monday my friend Chantal had invited me for a coffee and chat of course, it was quiet a long time I hadn't been at her home. I tried to say hello to her husband who since 3 years lays in bed and is like a vegetable, he starres in the air, or at the TV without seeing anything. His brain is so damaged after a terrible car accident that he is a "dead alive". Chantal has a helper to clean him and change him twice a day, but still she has to feed him breakfast, lunch and supper, as he can't find his mouth anymore. But he looks so healthy and normal, that it is hard to believe that he is only a body.



She is such a couragous and cheerful girl, and since her two sons moved out to their own flats, she lives alone with her two dogs and her cat Caline who loves to drink the rainwater from the table. and of course the shell of the man who once was her husband,

2. With this dull and grey weather to cheer me up I went to "my" big garden store to take some pictures



and to comfort myself I bought this cute little cat for our garden.



3. As soon as it had stopped raining I put the cat on the window board of the guest room window, where it can watch over people who come for a visit or try to convince us to become Jehova witnesses.

4. The garden store is close to where Ilona lives, so I  stopped at her house and with a hot cup of tea with honey we exchanged our mutual worries about all kind of things. After that we felt much better. That's always a good comfort visiting friends when the weather is so grey and dull and cold !

5. Our teacher took this picture of Chantal and me, while we were "working" hard in our painting class.



I have started a new painting, and hope it will be finished for our yearly exposition now end November.

After painting class,  I had lunch with Nicole in "our" Asian restaurant and stayed there for two hours, the owner knows us meanwhile, we are rather good clients. The atmosphere is so family friendly and all people chat together so that it is a pleasure to eat there and I can take a plate home for Mr. G. for supper as he doesn't like to have a warm lunch and going out !

IS THE YETI STILL ALIVE ?

more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday

When I first saw a picture of  "The Yeti" (or Abominable Snowman), I thought he looked like a tall ape.  Apparently the Yeti lives in the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. Stories of the Yeti first emerged as a facet of Western popular culture in the 19th century.

According to H. Siiger (whoever he is)  the Yeti was a part of the pre-Buddhist beliefs of several Himalayan people. He was told that the Lepcha people worshipped a "Glacier Being" as a God of the Hunt. Apparently the Yeti carries a large stone as a weapon and makes a whistling swoosh sound, I don't know how that sounds, maybe he is asthmatic.

There are many stories about the Yeti who saved people, or who scared them to death, but nobody especially the death have seen him from near.

But still even in our century the Yeti seems still to be alive ! He must be very old ! On 20 October 2008 a team of seven Japanese adventurers photographed footprints which could allegedly have been made by the Yeti. The team's leader, claims to have observed theYeti on a 2003 expedition and is determined to capture the creature on film. If he is not lost in the Himalaya, then he is still busy to run behind the Yeti and tries to film him.

Even a group of Chinese scientists and explorers in 2010 proposed to renew searches, I sincerly hope that the Yeti was in a good mood to welcome them. So far nothing was reported.

In 2011 during a conference in Russia, participating scientists and enthusiasts declared having "95% evidence" of the Yeti's existence. However, this claim was disputed later apparently by the 5 % who had some doubts. 

Now it's up to you to believe or not in the existence of the Yeti. Pessimists imagine the Yeti like this



Optimists like this





And I found a picture of my Grandma with the Yeti in our family album !

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

more participants here

OUR WORLD - Images in Texts Exposition

All important expositions in Waterloo, are done in the old stables of the castle which once stood in this park and which has been demolished in the 70th ! The stables were converted into an Exposition hall.

A friend of mine Marie de Salle exposed her drawings and books there. That's why together with a friend we visited the exposition and also to say hello to her.







The flower crown has fallen from the head of this statue which stands at the entrance, because of all the rain.

This exposition named "En image dans le texte" (Images in a text) showed drawings in children books ! You could see the drawings or paintings and also the books. It was a very interesting exposition and a very special one too !



The floor was covered with paper



These are photos of children, they look so real on my photos !



To read and show the books the kids could sit here and listen



On the paper which covered the floor there were already a lot of designs which the children had done, I liked the "don't walk on it" !



One had even drawn a naked woman with only one breast which looked like a smiley ! Very creative !



Marie's little daughter showed me her drawing, which represents her mum !




Marie with her drawings and books



here more in details



As she also is a violinist, she had created this book of a little boy who learns to play the violin





This classroom which illustrates another book, made me think of our painting class !



A summer picnic



and this little orchestra she had created together with kids in plasticine



I loved this cat painting, which another artist had painted.

It was a real special exposition and I had never been in one, where I could draw on the floor !

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS WEEKEND ?

Helps you to remember what you have done on the weekend of November 3. If you participate please put the little logo on the top of your post and leave your link.


What a "wonderful" weekend ! It's a miracle that I still have feet instead of flippers ! I got a text from the store where I had my camera repaired and it was finally ready after one month !



After my Saturday morning chat with Toby,



I drove through a rather wet Waterloo, and it was nearly dark at only 3.30 pm ! I took some pictures out of the car without any accident, taking photos is allowed but mobile calls not, when you are cought, you get a fine of 100 € !



In the store was a rather strange client ...



There were so many people waiting in a loooong line to pick up repaired things, so I took the opportunity to sit on these massage chairs and had a nice massage for half an hour. I had never tried it in this store and I have to say it was really very good. It's a pity that these chairs are so expensive.

Finally it was my turn to pick up my camera and now I hope it works again, I haven't tried it yet.
As the store is very close from Nicole's home, I payed her a little visit again, very appreciated by dog Charly, as he knows when I come, there are cookies !

On Sunday it wasn't better, still rain,  I wonder where all this water is coming from.
Mr. G. was again virtually in Dubai to watch his Formular 1and I thought I needed a new case for my repaired camera.



Sundays all stores and shops are closed,  except the Indian one. I went there on a little tour and bought my case. I didn't find anything else and went home again.



It looks very pretty and at least nobody will guess that there is a camera inside.

A little later Christiane a friend picked me up to go to an Exposition in Waterloo where 4 female artists showed illustrations for children books. The exposition was called "Image in texts" and one artist I kew from Art School.

Marie de Salle she is a quiet well known artist and also works for sick children in a hospital.



Her books and illustrations are adorable, we chatted together about old times when we were in Art school and it was a real nice exposition. I will write more about it later.

Christiane drove me home again, meanwhile Mr. G. had finished with his stay in Dubai so we had some coffee together and complained about the rain and cold  ! Fortunately inside it was cosy and warm.

My repaired camera seems to work well, because the last pictures I haven taken with it.

DONA NOBIS PACEM - BLOG FOR PEACE

Dona Nobis Pacem means "Grant us Peace" in Latin.

Wars in the name of Religion have always been a good excuse for men to distroy each other ! No matter to whatever religion they belong ! They asked God in French, German, English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian etc to let them win the war and fought against each other ! Poor God / Allah  ! He must be quiet confused !

Not all people know that Allah is the word for God in Arabic, the word means simply "the God." It is used mainly by Muslims, Arab Christians, and often, albeit not exclusively, by Arabic-speakers, Indonesian, Malaysian and Maltese Christians, Mizrahi Jews and Sikhs. (source : Wikipedia)

Religion wars started already with the Crusades, in 11th, 12th, and 13th-century religiously sanctioned military campaigns waged by much of Christian Europe against Muslim Persia and Middle East.

List of major religious wars

The figures below include the deaths of civilians from diseases, famine, etc., as well as deaths of soldiers in battle and possible massacres and genocide.

Crusades
Holy Land, Europe 1095-1291 Islam and Christian
3,000,000 victims

Thirty Years' War
Holy Roman Empire 1618-1648 Protestants and Catholics
11,500,000 victims

French Wars of Religion 
France 1562-1598 Protestants and Catholics
4,000,000 victims

Second Sudanese Civil War

Sudan 1983-2005 Islam and Christian
2,000,000 victims

Lebanese Civil War

Lebanon 1975-1990 Sunni, Shiite and Christian
250,000 victims

And still today wars continue in the name of God or Allah as an excuse !

So let's all meet together on Mimi Lenox Blog For Peace she has created in 2006 ! It is an online global peace initiative which hosts 60 countries and has been celebrated by thousands of people online, She understood the enormous significance and influence of blogs and websites on our society, our consciousness, and on this planet now deemed a global society.