EDEN HILLS PHOTO HUNT - WEEKEND REFLECTIONS

1. Starts with T
2. black and white
3. paper



Kim has a long and bushy tail



I looked out of the window and saw the nature in black and white ! Even the bird has no color and I didn't set my camera on black and white. Must be my autumn mood !



This paper is the start of a new pastel painting. Besides the invisible ears and nose I didn't go far !



Linking to Eden Hills Photo Hunt

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I took this picture through the window. Arthur sleeping (what else) on the radiator !



Linking to Weekend Reflections

SKYWATCH FRIDAY - FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE - FIVE ON FRIDAY

Waterloo Lion as usual

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Skywatch Friday

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1. When it is so grey and humid outside I need a GPS to find the way out of my bed. But unfortunately I can't do like my cats, laying around the whole day and being served meals at time !

As usual I lost again at our scrabble game, the strangest thing is, I am the only one who has learned French as an adult and my spelling is nearly perfect, while all my friends who went to school in Belgium, have all difficulties with the spelling ! So I became a sort of dictionary. That's probably why I always loose ?! No, I think it's why the others are better in calculation and I don't calculate points, I just look for nice words instead of 8 points I then have only 1 ! But as always it was fun. This time it was Nicole who received the scrabble group.

2. I decided to make a lazy day, I just filled in our freezer but didn't do any other shopping, I returned quickly home where it was nice and warm. As my Grandson will be 7 tomorrow I made a card for him, which took me nearly the whole afternoon. I sent it per email to my son and asked him to print it, put it in an envelope and then in his letter box, because our mail service is so lousy here that only offices (and still) use the mail. My son complained that I had forgotten to also send the envelope by mail !! Does anybody know how to do that ??



and while I did this I discovered a lot of other companies doing what everybody calls now "photoshop".

3.


This is our internet  connection since Monday. The company had promised to repair as soon as possible, but it seems to me that the responsible has once lived in Africa in the Congo which was a Belgian colony and hasn't forgotten how to repair in the bush. So we are still with our cable on the street. So far nobody has damaged it.

4.
Today they called and said that the fault was in our garden !


The leader of the mole colony ?

I don't know how this can happen, maybe a mole colony liked cables and damaged them.  Anyway Mr. G. was asked to dig a hole 1 m long and 1 m large and 80 cm deep. Now poor Mr. G. has arthritis 1and isn't 20 anymore and I am a weak woman, so we had the big problem who could dig the hole ! We couldn't ask cat Arthur his holes are too small. Finally Mr. G. had a great idea (when I am away he gets great ideas, when I am here, he waits until I have them) anyway he suddenly remembered that our new neighbor has a building contractors company and he asked him if he didn't have somebody who could dig the hole. And of course he had and Saturday hopefully (always depends on the weather) it will be done. And then we hope the internet company can fill the hole with cables or whatever the only thing which is important is that internet works !

5.



As usual we had a lot of pleasure while painting, especially when a classmate put her things together and it looked as if she had cleaned up a hospital ! It looked as if the glass was full of blood and the cotton too ! I wanted to start to paint Arthur, but finally a part from the ears I didn't get any further.

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

Fast Blog

ABC WEDNESDAY - S

Deeply sleeping



Oh ! I am surprised



I don't want to be scratched with your back scratcher !!



Strange there are twice the same Arthur on the screen !



If you think I am scared of a few dinosaurs .....




I smell salmon ! is that possible ??

ABC Wednesday

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY




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HODGEPODGE

1. What takes you out of your comfort zone?
When I have to take one of my cats to the vet ! There is first the battle to get her in the cage, then the concert during the whole trip, when I return to my comfort zone I really need to be comforted ! I am out !

2. Your least favorite spice?
A mexican mixture, we had Chili con carne for supper

3. What's a small change you'd like to make?
I don't now if it's small that depends on the person, but I would like to throw out our bathtub put in and a shower  ! I think it becomes dangerous with the years when we become more and more rusty.

4. Do you enjoy visiting historic homes? If so, of the homes you've visited which one was your favorite? What historic home near you is open to visitors? Have you been? Southern Living rounded up eleven of the best in the southern part of the US and they're as follows-

Monticello (Jefferson's home in Virginia), Nathaniel Russel House (Charleston SC), Swan House (Atlanta), Ernest Hemingway's home (Key West), The Biltmore (Vanderbilt home in Asheville NC), Mount Vernon (Washington's home in Virgina), San Francisco Plantation (Garyville, Louisiana), Windsor Ruins (Port Gibson Mississippi), Longue Vue House and Gardens (New Orleans), Whitehall (Palm Beach FL), and Pebble Hill Plantation (Thomasville GA)

Have you been to any on the list? Of the homes listed which would you most like to visit?

As I live on the old continent, we have so many historic homes dating even before America was discovered so it would be impossible to list all I have visited in and out. It's very difficult to say which one was the nicest. The last one I have seen was The Royal Palace in Brussels. I found it very beautiful. From your above listed homes I haven't seen any or I don't remember, I saw Elvis home, yes !!

5. What's something you think will be obsolete in ten years? Does that make you sad or glad?
I don't know how I will be in 10 years, and maybe with 84 my tastes have changed ? For the moment nothing makes me sad. Glad makes me new inventions which makes my life easier, like a GPS, a smartphone, or timers on machines, that way I can do my housework while I sleep. (Dishwasher for example)

6. Insert your own random thought here.
I start to think about Christmas gifts. The worst is my grandson ! He has his birthday now on Nov 17, then in Holland they celebrate more St. Niklaas on December 6, then Christmas, and then finally Christmas on the 24th ! That makes 3 gifts for one little 7 year old person !

From this side of the pond

VIDE DRESSING AT THE WATERLOO LION

For a city which is located on a historical place like Waterloo and it's battle field, it's difficult to attract tourists in winter times. As the field is flat like a pancake the wind whistles around and besides the new built restaurant "Bivouac de l'Empereur" (the old one had been demolished with the other buildings which stood there) there is the Panorama to see the bloody battle and a museum under the the ground.

In spring and summer they put a few soldiers there in the uniforms of 1815 let them march a bit and play music and everybody is happy. Sometimes there are also canon shots much to the anger of dog owners.



There is a huge terrace in front of the restaurant and it's a nice place to have a drink and watch tourists from all countries and if a few soldiers are running around it's even better.

As it's cold and rainy a "Vide Dressing" was organized in the Bivouac. A paradise for women ! All kind of clothes and jewelry, old and new was displayed in two enormous rooms. I didn't even know that the building was so big inside.



The Lion mound is just in front of the restaurant



We entered the side entrance



and looking up saw this nice wooden ceiling


as you can see the wind is blowing and the weeping willows are bending to one side.



And then we got inside and didn't know where to start to look ! There were so many things just unbelievable and brands like Lacoste, Nike, or Desigual  to very low prices ! I tried a Desigual coat, which was beautiful for 30 € (probably you have to add a zero in a boutique) unfortunately it was a bit too small. You even could buy wedding dresses which allowed you to marry several times in another dress they were so cheap.



Nicole and Myriam were in their element and worked themselves through the racks. Myriam bought several things which cost less than the drink she had afterwards, I didn't find nothing.



From the old Bivouac they had kept a few things from the open fire and it was nice and cosy in the restaurant, where we went when finished and K.O.



It was quite full, people had lunch there even at 3 or 4 pm or just a drink.



Another rainy cloud moved in when we left the restaurant

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MACRO MONDAY - WEEKEND NOVEMBER 12

I found this on a table somewhere but have no idea what it was it looked like a tiny leave or fruit ?

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On Saturday I was occupied the whole morning with my Smartphone ! A friend of Mr. G. had managed to repair it but it took him the whole day, as he had to reset it completely ! I can assure you nobody can get into your smartphone if it is secured with a code or a pattern. Most of the things were automatically in again with my Google account and I had only to do little things. My photos were not lost as I always put them immediately on my computer ! So finally it was a good lesson, but bad for my poor nerves. I had never thought how depended you become. Usually I never need to call, but without mobile suddenly I had to call husband and friends ! That's psychological.



Besides my  Smartphone drama we had another one, worse, our wifi connection was broken. After a long time with a lot of patience a technician showed up and declared that all tubes under the sidewalk and the street have to be renewed but in the meanwhile he "repaired" (à la Belge) and pulled a cable from the neighbor in front where the box is over the street and the sidewalk on our little wall behind the cats into our basement. It works, that's the most important thing I only hope that nobody has the bad idea to cut the cable, or pull it away. They probably have to open the sidewalk and the street the other neighbors will be delighted.



The only one happy in this house was Rosie she had caught a fat mouse and ate it on the terrace while I hoped she wouldn't bring it home ! That was her last uncooked barbecue probably !




It rains

CAMERA CRITTERS & SHADOW SHOTS

This bird (quite big) flew against our window door and fell like dead on the ground with the two legs in the air. I thought he just passed out and will get up later, I just will keep an eye on him.



and that was good so, because there was one very much interested, but only sniffed at the bird it was too big. The bird recovered and flew away.

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