FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

1. I had invited the wife of Mr. G's friend who had been diagnosed Alzheimer. It had gone so quick ! The poor girl was completely devastated. She had to learn how to deal with an Alzheimer person. Now she got some help of the Alzheimer association, and there is also a group once a month for people who have to live with them. That already helped a bit, but then she had worries about her financial situation, but this at least I could solve. I told her to sell her house when the moment comes and he has to go to a home, rent a flat and she would be without any worries. She had never thought about that and was very relieved. We then spent a nice afternoon together.



She had brought her little dog with her, and as he never barked, my cats didn't even notice her, because she is as big as they are !

2. Nicole's car was in a garage for inspection,  so I picked her up and while she waited for the phone call that her car was ready, we had a nice little  chat. There were several Theater plays in view which we choose to go together.



Meanwhile her dog Charlie, who takes a lot of space, played with a gum Hamburger. My cats are used to him by now and one even stayed with us although on the top of the sofa.

3.



Our neighbor has his roof repaired and while I was blogging I watched the progress and by the end of the afternoon all old tiles were taken away and now it looks like this.

4. In view of my son and grandson's visit I did some shopping and while I tried to avoid a car which drove on the middle of the street, I touched a pole with my rear view mirror ! The cover flew off, I stopped the car and picked it up. Fortunately it still worked nothing else was damaged. At home Mr. G. put the thing together and fixed it with a black tape, just to be sure that it will stay. It even looks nice.

5.


As usual we had a lot of fun in our painting group and I finally finished my painting !

In the afternoon I went to Ilona's mother to wish her a happy New Year, she is now 90 and suffers from back ache. Now she wants to have a surgery at her spine, and we both tried to dissuade her, but she insists as she doesn't want to take pain killers and apparently the doctor had agreed as besides that she is in excellent health ! I still think an operation at that age at the spine is very dangerous.

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MAPS AND ME

Letter M

When I started driving a car I was 21 and probably the only girl around who drove a car in 1965. With the driving I had no problems,  but reading a map was another thing.


Where to find my way in this cobweb ?

If I had to drive other ways than the once I was used too and looked at the map, I was lost. I found the street, but I didn't know how to get there. Impossible to find my way on all these little lines on a map ! I didn't know where I was and what streets I had to take. The map remained on the side seat and I stopped several times to ask where to go.

When we went on holidays to Italy or elsewhere, Mr. G. gave me the map and asked me to show him where to go. I still didn't find where I was, I didn't know where North, South, East and West was with the result that it always came to discussions and explanations which I didn't understand and Mr. G. had to stop the car and look on the map himself.



The worst was when we travelled through the States with a rented car several times and I always had the map on my lap without knowing how to read it ! Again the same he had to stop to find the way. Later it got better because our son took the map reading over.

Getting older it became worse and finally I only took the ways I knew and didn't dare to go elsewhere alone without somebody who could read a map ! I had a car could go everywhere but I got always lost. I gave up.

Then a miracle happened somebody had invented the GPS ! That was the deliverance of all my problems ! As soon as I knew exactly what it was, I bought one and with it my freedom !

Now I drive everywhere to France, Germany or the Netherlands without any fear not to find the right way or exit on the highways ! I had a gentle voice with me who told me where to go. Sometimes we disagree and we fight but I always arrive at destination ! What a relief ! I felt like a blind person who got a dog to guide !

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

The choice

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WELLINGTON AND ALLIES HEADQUARTERS RENOVATION

During 18 June 1815 the walled farms of Hougoumont was attacked seven times by Napoleon’s infantry and was defended with tenacity and resilience by soldiers of the light companies of three British regiments of Foot Guards under the leadership of the Duke of Wellington, soldiers of the 1st Nassau Regiment and the 1st Hanoverian Brigade.

For the bicentenary of the battle in June 2015 this farm should be renovated and be a memorial in honnor of the Wellington and his alleys soldiers. Read more here ....

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MY WEEKEND OF FEBRUARY 7

On Saturday morning we had a wonderful blue sky and I took the opportunity to drive to the Hougoumont farm where Wellington fought against Napoleon during the Waterloo battle. I wanted to see the progress of the restoration works for the bicentenary of the battle.



I couldn't go inside it was closed.  But from what I could see, there hasn't been much progress and I really wonder if they will have finished in time. I will write a post about this later.



Fortunately I had boots on, because the street all around the farm looked like this, I was lucky that the ground was frozen, otherwise I would have gone stuck in mud !

In the afternoon the sun had disappeared and I stayed home. In the News I heart that the Thank you card from the former King and Queen in which the death of Paola still very much alive was mentioned instead of Fabiola who had died in December. In the excuse and corrected card now the poor Queen Fabiola became King Fabiola ! A second misprint. The deceased queen would have laughed her head off, she had a lot of humor. So did the whole country !

On Sunday afternoon I went to Nicole, she had asked me to take some pictures of her new entrance door, which was not placed the right way.



Charlie greeted me at then entrance and was happy to see me, and we spent the afternoon talking about some holiday plans.