FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

1. The whole week it rained, which was maybe good for the grass, plants and trees but certainly



not for me ! I rather preferred to stay inside it was also very cold for April, only 5 °C (39 F) !  Fortunately for me the Belgian TV channels also diffuse now another German channel, which makes a total of 3 and this one is so funny because it only treats family dramas, frauds, and other daily problems, showed in little movies with actors. It's amazing for me how the German language has changed especially when kids or teenagers talk, fortunately I see the pictures to get the sense of what happens.

2. My son needed a birth certificate so I went to the Waterloo city hall and asked for it. Of course they couldn't give it to me, because he was born in Brussels in one of the 19 municipalities called Etterbeek and I was told to go there. Fortunately he wasn't born in Beijing (the ancient Peking) !

3. So the next day in pouring rain I drove to Etterbeek ! I hadn't been there at least for 30 years, I recognized the street names and the beautiful old mansions were still standing, but a lot of oneway streets had been created and I had to follow blindly my Madame GPS ! I got the impression that I was turning around always in the same streets.



But finally I arrived. The old building had been changed completely and a new annexe which didn't fit at all had been built.



In the rain it looked like this now, and the entrance was also in the new building



The inside was very modern and I couldn't find out what this sculpture meant ! I found no words for it.

Fortunately there was nobody before me so I got it very quickly. I regretted that I couldn't take some pictures of the old streets but it rained too much.

4.



While watching the family dramas on TV, (a 15 year old was pregnant, got a baby boy and her mother had not noticed anything at all ) I looked out of the window and saw Rosie on the roof of the garden shed. At a second glance I realized that it wasn't Rosie but a magpie ! Maybe I need new glasses.

5.


My friend Ilona needed to buy a new vacuum cleaner and she had asked me to come with her. We met at her Mother's who also lives in Waterloo and is always happy to have some "young" company ! We had coffee and cake together and then off we went to a store. Now Ilona is a special woman, she wanted a vacuum cleaner which was silent and not making a loud noise. I think we were the first clients in the young vendors life who asked to switch on the vacuum cleaner so that Ilona could hear the noise. Others would check the watts and the accessories but certainly not the noise. I asked him if he hadn't one with music, but he had not. He was a real good guy, he pulled out 3 models, connected them and let us hear the vacuum cleaner "singing" one by one. He repeated this operation 3 times and then she found that the red one was more silent then the others. After 45 min of listening to the vacuum cleaner, she finally made her decision. The very patient vendor was happy and Ilona too. When we came out of the shop, I asked her why she didn't put earplugs in her ear or listen to an MP3 player while cleaning her house. She hadn't thought of that !

and I was laughing my head off !

USB GADGETS

more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday

According to Madame Wikipedia who knows everything, an USB is the abreviation for "Universal Serial Bus " an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and communications protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices.

The first widely used version of USB was released in September 1998.


and the once we generally know and use looks like this !

But did you know that USB sticks can be used for many other things which you can connect to your computer ?

For example this one ! How many time have you been sitting at your desk, working on various to-do’s and had a craving for some good home cooked barbecue? Well no longer will you have to make the difficult decision between work and burgers! With the USB grill you can grill up a feast without ever leaving the office ! Extremely practical  !

While you are typing this hamster wheel spins when you plug it into your USB port! Sometime you may feel like you’re running on a hamster wheel, going nowhere fast working at your desk.  Let this little guy keep you company as you are probably not allowed to bring a pet to work.

Protect your desk from screaming kids, nagging bosses or gossipy co-workers with this USB missile defense array! Included software allows you to man the cannons, aim and fire at targets of your wrath !

Tired of boring, common USB drives? Express your love for your favorite snack with your storage device and you certainly will get a smile from everyone who sees you plug it in.

Guaranteed to scare kids and repulse sensitive adults, this portable drive gives the illusion that the bear has its head jammed into the computer’s USB port.

Very practical indeed this USB stick ! Can be used as storage, reading glasses or just as a book sign !

And what about this bright idea of using dual-powered UV sanitizer for your toothbrush that offers USB power option. Traveler could always keep your toothbrush clean from germs and bacteria while you’re busy in front of your computer early in the morning.

Is it too hot ? The USB fridge is the only way to keep your drink cold while you're at you computer and it looks cool on any desktop. With this mini fridge at you side, you can keep your beverage chilled and stay at you computer longer !

A practical vacuum cleaner for your computer, desk and keyboard ! I only don't understand why it is a "Ladies Gadget" Men also have dirty working places !




and last but not least but not least my only USB gadget ! It's a saucer to keep the coffee warm in my mug ! I use it every day !

There are so many USB gadgets on the market it's just unbelievable ! Useless and useful !

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

ABC Wednesday is here

more participants here

BRUSSELS 'MIDI MARKET

On Sunday morning I thought I woke up in the wrong country ! The sky was ink blue !!



I took the opportunity and went to the biggest market in Brussels  with around 400 stalls !



Here the tube comes out from the underground and continues as tram on the surface



You can see the headquarters of Tintin and Snowy (original name Tintin and Milou) created by the Belgian artist Hergé.



People were gathered around a guy who explained the perfect cleaning with a special brush ! I would have rather chosen the guy to clean my floors instead of the brush, that's still "Do it yourself " !



Despite the rather cool temperature of only 11° (51 F) people were sitting outside on the terrace



There were also many tourists on the market



you can buy almost everything here



Even family friendly underwear, I wouldn't dare to show the other female underwear, Blogger would ban my blog !



New fashion for spring and summer



and also fabrics, towels and household appliances !



On my way back I saw people sitting in the little square around the "Porte de Hal" the remains of the Brussels'town wall.



and for the first time this year I saw some snowdrops !

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS WEEKEND ?

Helps you to remember what you have done on the weekend of April 6. If you participate please put the little logo on the top of your post and leave your link.

Saturday it was again grey, windy and very cold so I decided to just do nothing, or almost ! Just a lazy day. After some household scores not worthwhile to be mentioned, and a little TV watching with and after my lunch, I just felt creative and wanted to play a little with my photos on the computer.



The result was this. I think I will use them for a new header ! What do you think of me being a cat ??

On Sunday morning a miracle happened ! The sun was shining and the sky ink blue !



I took the bus to the Brussels' midi market and bought fresh strawberries just arriving from Morocco. 2 Euros (2.6 $)  for 1 kg (2.2 lbs) ! Unbelievable. The market was packed with people from all corners of the world, and we could even sit outside in the sunshine.



In the afternoon I took the opportunity to salt our gravel ! I used 18 kgs of salt ! Now no weed can grow there. When I was finished it looked as if it had snowed. I also took a picture as "souvenir" of the first blue sky since a very long time !

And while I was busy in front of the house, Oscar the lawn mower robot worked behind the house. One of my neighbors came over to admire it working and was so enthusiastic that now he wants to buy one too. Soon the whole street will have it because my friend Dominique will also buy one  ! I should ask for some commission from the supplier !

WHAT IS MARRIAGE ?