FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

Saturday's photo hunting is here



more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

1. On Monday I drove my neighbor to the otologist because she had a bad ear infection. When we came back the temperature had dropped and there was glaze on the main street, despite the heavy traffic. Fortunately we returned home without any problems. It snowed the whole night and temperature dropped from 10°C (50 F) to - 12°C (9F) ! I can't remember when we last had such temperatures and never in March that's for sure.



2.
The result next morning was a big mess in Brussels, no buses, no subway, no trams and almost no trains !
The whole country not used to so much snow broke literaly  down ! Some people spent the whole night in their cars. Of course I couldn't go outside either impossible to get out of the garage and drive on the street.



When I opened the shutters I had this view !

3. Nicole's 83 year old neighbor had now Internet installed and was eager to get an email address and to learn a little more how it works.



Her terrace was covered in snow too and it was hard to believe that just a week before



I had sit there in short sleeves ! Charlie the dog preferred to stay inside because it was so cold. I made an email address for Simone and she was very happy and proud ! Now she said when people ask me I can give them my mail address ! Despite her old age, she learns very quickly !

4. While we were freezing, grandson Toby enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine on the Canary Islands in Spain.



My son had sent us some pictures and I think he had a lot of fun !

5.



While we were watching the News, they were suddenly interrupted because of the election of the new pope ! It lasted for hours and the world could collapse, they still continued showing the biggest Show of the world ! We were more and more upset when we saw this fashion show and the pomp and abundance of the Vatican. This has nothing to do with faith and the bible's content anymore. It's just a shame. With all this money for only the various habits and different hats, first black, then red for more then 200 cardinals it would safe a lot of countries where people are starving, without counting the pope's with jewels decorated and handmade golden embroideries fancy hat and the ring and other jewels he is wearing ! It is a real shame and this old fashioned religion doesn't belong anymore into the 21st century ! I doubt that the new pope will allow priests to get married and that women could become cardinals too ! and probably no change either for birth control or homosexuality. Maybe the pedophiles will be punished more severely ! We watched a movie and I only learned his name the next day ! And the circus will continue ...

From one day to the other again the temperature raised and now the streets are full of dirty snow and it's rather hard to park the car. I had to go to Brussels to pick up Mr. G.'s birthday gift which I can't mention here, in case for once he reads my blog ! I left Waterloo in sunshine and arrived in Brussels with a new snowstorm, but fortunately the snow didn't last !

Honestly ! I am really fed up with this long lasting winter !!

ABOUT QUABBALA, QAEDA, QUANDHAR AND QUEEN

I was raking my brain to find a word which started with a Q ! I found a lot, but nothing which inspired me or could you write something about  Qabbala, Qaeda, Qandahar, Qara or Qassam Brigades ? Even the spelling thing turned red !

In quack or quack-quack I could write about a duck, but I don't know a duck who was adventurous enough. I couldn't even write about a duck recipe in honor of the poor things which land in a plate because I only eat them without knowing how they are prepared. 

My general knowledge doesn't include a quadrangular prism, quadrantanopia or a quadraphonic system ! I have to work on this.

I have never danced a quadrille so no experience in this domain. Over quaff, quagga, quahaugs,  quaquaversal and quartziferous I finally arrived at the word Queen !

Now that's I subject I know rather well, it is the romantic part of me which loves royals and especially what they are doing ! But unfortunately I don't know what a Queen Charlotte Sound is but think I can live with that. I know very well the Queen of England, the Queen mother, and the Queen Victoria. I even know what a Queen of the May is, but that the Queen of the night is also a cactus and not only a figure in "The Magic Flute" I didn't know. My cactus knowledge is limited to the spikes. I hope I speak the Queen's English and know the queen sized beds which I find rather narrow for a battle field.  it is also not my style to queen somebody over !

After going through all Q words I finally came to the end which was a QUERTY keyboard ! This is a torture for me because I learned typewriting on a AZERTY keyboard, which is used in French speaking countries.

Herewith ends my inspiration for "Q". Somebody has a question ? I should have written about  questionaries,  but now it's too late.




Why didn't I google for Q ?



more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

ABC Wednesday is here


more participants here

STONEMANOR - A BRITISH STORE

Today I take you to a very special place, where for a couple of hours you can think you are in the UK !

Between Brussels Airport and Waterloo, right in the middle there is a huge manor called Stonemanor which has been transformed into a 3 floor department store. There is also a smaller branch of Stonemanor in Waterloo, as we have a lot of British citizen who live here. Stonemanor has probably the most important range of British food and drinks outside of the U.K.






The entrance is always nicely decorated and sometimes a guard in a colorful costume is standing here.



If you go there you would never believe to stand in front of a huge store, but rather see a romantic manor.
Here you will find all the well known brands which are shipped twice a week each week from the UK. They have about18 thousand products and even their own bakery. British people can find here their favorite food and even order things from Argos. There is also a large choice of books, and  some furniture.



Just opposite the Manor is a beautiful old farm, still in use and you can combine your shopping with a nice walk through the countryside.

WHAT DID I DO THIS WEEKEND

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



Toby has come back from his holidays in Spain and for the first time after almost 3 weeks we had a little chat together. Now he starts to be more attentive to what I am showing to him.

It was raining the whole day, fortunately I had a theatre play in the evening. Waterloo city has a theater in the city hall and organizes from time to time plays for the seniors.  It was such a hilarious play and the theater was packed !



We saw Madame sans Gêne who has a legendary history in France. It is based on the life of Cathérine Hübscher, born in Goldbach-Altenbach (Haut-Rhin) in 1753. She started off as a laundress who used to wash and iron Napoleon's clothes when he was a common corporal. She married François Joseph Lefebvre, an Army sergeant who became Marshal of France and was later elevated by Napoleon I to the rank of Duke of Dantzig. She was known by the nickname of Madame Sans-Gêne, (literally Mrs No Embarrassment) because of her behaviour, free speech and lack of proper manners at court. The play became very famous through the movie with Sophia Loren and Robert Hossein.

We still laughed when we came out, and returned home in the rain of course. 



On Sunday morning when I opened the shutters, I almost got a nervous breakdown !

It had snowed again ! I was so much into spring already, as we could sit outside, and of course my new toy the lawn mower robot remains unemployed ! I put it in an Ikea bag and wait for better days !

The afternoon I spent with Ilona, in front of her stove, had a cup of tea and a piece of cake and watched the flames in the stove. Outside it continued to snow and the daffodils, tulips and snowdrops which had started to bloom, probably tried to survive.

After having whined enough about the bad weather, men, friends and family,  we were both in a cheerful mood and I went home for supper, listened to the News which as usual were full of crimes, fights, tragedies, and the bad world in general and then we watched a movie on TV of course a crime story. Finally thanks to all these bad news the film industry never runs out of ideas !