NEW GRANDMAS

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

1.  The week started with snow again and I was quiet upset I thought this snowing would be over by now. But no, it snowed the whole day. Offended I spent the day inside sorting out pictures making new folders and had a guy on the phone who wanted to sell me a new leather sofa set ! I hadn't checked the number ! I told him that I am only the maid and that my employes were not there.

2. Fortunately we had aqua gym, but the street was so slippery, that it was quiet dangerous to drive no salt had been put there. After our tea together I went home.

3. To comfort myself I bought two polar cardigans one red and one dark blue. That always comes on purpose because they are nice and warm and ideal to wear when it is so cold.

4. Then the weatherman announced sunshine and nice weather without snow. As Nicole was in Ostende at the Belgian coast, Ilona and I took the train and went there to spent the day with her. We bought some Greek salad and little roasted potatoes and had lunch at Nicole's flat enjoying the beautiful view over the sea.



After lunch we made a long walk along the seafront. There was still some snow on the beach, and Charlie, the Golden Retriever enjoyed to run around and jump in the snow.



But when we returned and didn't go back to the apartment, he sat down and there was no way to get him move. Nicole pulled and we tried to convince him, but nothing to do, and then, Nicole remembered. He is used to go on the terrace of a little bar where a bowl filled with water is offered to the dogs. We told him that he could get his drink, and he got up, went straight away to the bowl and drank all the water, while we laughed and waited ! The white arrow shows where Nicole has her apartment. Then we went home and had tea and muffins, enjoyed the view and did our job as chatterboxes. At 6 pm we took the train back home, which was full, but at least we found two seats. The trip lasts 1 1/2 h and by 8 pm I was back home.

5. The next day the trains going to the seaside were delayed  by frozen railway switches and the trams along the seaside were not running in the morning because of ice ! We were really lucky. I didn't even do my shopping it was stormy, very windy and cold. I collected the rests of a bird which my cat Arthur had brought and eaten inside on the oriental rug (he is a posh cat) and although I told him that he is a killer and murderer, he wasn't bothered about that at all, leaked his whiskers and rolled up into a "little" snail.

MEMORIES

more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday

According to Mrs Wikipedia (I think Wikipedia must be a female because she knows everything) memory is the process by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. Which makes me think that I probably never encode and store where I had left my keys or glasses. Encoding allows information that is from the outside world to reach our senses in the forms of chemical and physical stimuli. As keys and glasses are neither a physical nor a chemical "stimuli" this explains why I never remember.  In this first stage we must change the information so that we may put the memory into the encoding process. Storage is the second memory stage or process. It looks like our brain is like a filing cabinet. This entails that we maintain information over periods of time. That's why some people have the memory of an elephant. Finally the third process is the retrieval of information that we have stored. We must locate it and return it to our consciousness. Some retrieval attempts may be effortless due to the type of information. And that's why I have troubles with keys and glasses, because of a lack of information. Now at least I know why !

Memories are a strange thing. We sometimes better remember things which happened years ago or even in our childhood, but don't remember what we have done the day before, unless it's your birthday, wedding day or whatever. Sometimes a memory comes back because of a smell, a music or a picture. The smell of mint for example brings back memories of my childhood when my grandma gave me mint tea when I had caught a cold. That's why I hate mint because it reminds me of being sick.

It's strange but with the age more and more memories come back which I thought I had long forgotten and not really important once. Digging deep into the past I can remember events which must have happened when I was only 2 or 3. Amazing. I remember a small dark room I shared with a boy (I don't remember who it was) and he screamed for milk ! This could only be the time when apparently my grandparents, parents and an aunt with family all lived under one roof in two small flats because they had all lost their homes when the bombs of WWII dropped on Frankfurt. It was my grandma's sister who lived on the country side housing all these family members ! I don't remember that it must have been rather crowded but I remember a painting of a dead bleeding deer its head hanging down in front of huge mountains and a hunter with his rifle. I still can see this picture when I close my eyes.


Me at two

Yesterday Mr.G. brought me a death notice with a picture. It was an ancient colleague and a long lost friend. She had died of pancreas cancer at only 54. He had met her husband. We used to work together for a one man company selling everything sellable to his country Iran which he had left together with the Shah and a big fortune. She was the accountant and I was his secretary. But as he trusted nobody he did everything himself and we were there as pure decoration and of course were bored ! Often when he went away her husband came with a bottle of wine and we had a lot of fun. We became friends and it lasted quiet a while but then with the time we lost contact and I almost had forgotten her. So yesterday lots of memories came back and I felt so sorry for her husband. He feels so lonely and Mr. G. told him that he can come whenever he wants. Once friends you stay friends even if life separates you for a while.

Now try to think what was the first memories you had in your life and how old were you ? Sometimes it's really surprising.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

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here

BRUSSELS' PARKS

If you look from a plane over Brussels, you will notice that it is a very "green" city, with lots of parks of all sizes. Brussels belongs to the top 10 of Europe's greenest  capitals.



Air views



The Bois de la Cambre is an urban public park in Brussels. It has an area of 1.23 square kilometres (0.765 square miles) and in summer the ideal place for a family picnic.



But there are also lots of little green squares amongst the buildings









All these parks are open to the public, for walks or picnics



The extensive Woluwe Park includes giant sequoias, cypresses, and a variety of birds such as swans, gulls, and herons.



Tervueren African Museum park

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS WEEKEND ?

Helps you to remember what you have done on the weekend of February 9. If you participate please put the little logo on the top of your post and leave your link.

This weekend was a special one, because we had the visit of our son with Toby. Toby recognized immediately where he was and greeted us with a kiss and then discovered the new truck we had bought for him, and that of course was very important !



Arthur our cat was happy to see his little friend again, which is rather unusual for a cat ! He watched him playing and even ran behind the little cars. The lazy cat became a dynamic youngster again.



The three of us watching Baby TV



and Mr. G. was happy to fill in his Grandpa duties and showed Toby how the truck works.

Toby needed new boots so we went shopping.



Even at two, he already has is own taste and wanted absolutely "Cars" boots



Apparently all kids over the world are crazy about this little design, of course I was ignorant, but now I know what is in fashion. In the same shop we also found a little trolley and I bought him a backpack (with "cars" of course) for when he goes on holidays in 10 days.  He was proudly wearing his new boots and with his new backpack and the trolley he walked with us through the Gallery where we had a coffee and a croissant together.



Toby has a good appetite and ate the huge croissant with pleasure !



Once finished he played "peek a boo" with us and then we went to the "Kids Factory" an inside playground.



where he had a lot of fun !

The next day the sun was shining and we decided to do a little walk over the market and the flea market



Toby was surprised to find a doll his size and checked it out. But then he discovered two boxes full of little cars and there he didn't want to leave, he was allowed to choose two cars, but it took him as long as it takes for some women to choose shoes !



Before going to bed, Nonno read a story to Toby.

Son and grandson left after lunch on Sunday, because snow was announced and in Amsterdam it had already snowed.



While Daddy packed and loaded the car, Arthur and Toby sat on the sofa before they had to say good bye to each other.

I ended the day with blogging and Mr. G. with his TV. Silence moved into the house again, and our 3 other cats came out of their hiding places and relieved settled down on the sofas !

VIP VISIT

We have a VIP visit, Grandson Toby keeps me away from blogging ! He likes his new truck very much !