A LITTLE PART OF OUR WORLD

For the year's end I just dived a bit in my memories of my different travels, it is only a small part, just the pictures I found at the first glance in my travel album.



The English South East coast. I spent 8 years in Eastbourne until my dear friend suddenly died. Without her it is not the same anymore.



Stonehenge in England, I was quite impressed



Loch Ness, Mistery, I haven't seen "Nessie" the monster, the sun was shining too mucch probably.



The Scottish Highlands, so special have never seen the same landscape elsewhere



I like the crooked gravestones in all the very ol graveyards I have seen in the UK . Was a bit creepy.





The French Riviera, where I often spend holidays with my friend Claudie whom I knew through blogging !!



The flower carpet in Brussels which is put up every two years.



Marrakech - Marocco



The deserts everywhere, Tunis, Morocco, Egypt, etc



Karouan - Tunis



The biggest stork colonie in Merinide Chellah - Marocco  where the storchs stay over winter. In my whole life I haven't seen so many storks !



Carthage - Tunis





Istambul Dolmabace palace

I could go on and on, but I stop here, the next time when I have nothing special to show for "Our World" I will continue. You can also find all these places in my travel blog Countries & Cities

AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND DECEMBER 28

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS

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 WEEKEND

The "historical" moment has arrived, it's the last weekend of 2019, next weekend you have to get used to write 2020, but you have until Wednesday for an intense training !

I think I am not the only one who is happy that all these festivities are finally over, and our stomachs will get back to normal food. When I read what people eat during Christmas I am full for the whole year !

On Saturday I just had to buy a gift for my cleaning lady who will become grandma and I found two very cute baby pyjamas ! The problem was the color and the pattern, as the young couple wants a surprise baby and not know if it would be a girl or a boy ! I would have been far too curious, but when I was pregnant it had always been a surprise you couldn't know. After that I went to Nicole for a coffee, it was quite noisy as new neighbors moved into her building just on the first floor.

Sunday the temperature had dropped and the grass was white not from snow but from frost. It was so nice and warm in my bed with Rosie as feet warmer, that I only got up reluctantly to clean up the mess which old Arthur had made during the night, the poor cat has the same signs as humans when they are very old.

The afternoon was rather cheerful, we played our Scrabble at Myriam's we were only four, because Mireille didn't want to leave her husband alone in the apartment which had been burgled and they were still under shock. Khadija had brought self made Morrocan cookies which tasted delicious and were not too sweet as they are sometimes in Northern Africa.



In the evening we watched Inspector Barnaby's nephew discovering a murder, the amount of the murdered people remains steady the average is always three. But I guess in the beginning they were four. But I assure you there are still some people left in the different villages.



I wish you a happy and healthy New Year and a new hairdresser for the two in the picture

A TERRIBLE END OF THE YEAR

I had called my friend Mireille the one who is half blind, to ask her if she could come for Scrabble on Sunday instead of Monday. She had a little voice, and I thought she had caught a cold, but not at all ! She had celebrated Christmas Eve at her daughter's and she would have been happy if ....

When they arrived home in their apartment located on the 4th floor of a building which had one apartment per floor,  and opened the door, they were surprised that the living door was closed, they always leave it open for the dog. And then they saw the surprise of the year ! Burglars had been visiting their apartment ! All drawers were open and the content dispersed on the floor, same with the cupboard doors, it was a real mess everywhere because they had emptied all wardrobes only the kitchen drawers were undamaged.

Mireille called her daughters who quickly arrived because she couldn't see what was stolen, while her husband alerted the police. According to the police and the insurance company, the burglars were not some youngsters but real professionals, because the doors were all secured with special locks and you need a special equipment to open them. Apparently they had opened the door of the utility room which was besides the elevator and from there had opened the door which led to the balcony, and then forced the window door and got into the living room.

They had taken only very valuable things, like jewelry, and three watches in gold stemming from her husband's grandfather and great grandfather.

Of course they were under shock it was not so the value of the jewelry but they had belonged to their parents and were irreplaceable.

It had already been a bad year for them, but that the year would end like this they never had imagined ! And normally the apartment was so secured, nobody had never thought it would be possible to get in there !


Linking to Linda G. Hills - SOCS-Year

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

I am a little confused with holidays in the middle of the week, so I take Monday for Sunday and Wednesday for Saturday etc. I am all the time looking at the calendar, fortunately I am not the only one !

Our son has the week off between Sunday before Christmas til Sunday after New Year, so he could stay a little longer, while my DIL returned on Sunday, she had to work on Monday.

On Monday 5 of our Scrabble group had a get together for Christmas at Khadijah's home. Although she is Muslim she had decorated her house with Christmas tree and ornaments and it looked very cosy. We all had brought a cheese plate and also a cake and the drinks, so she didn't have any work and we had a lot of fun.





Nobody could eat anything for supper !

The next day before leaving for Amsterdam my son and Toby came for lunch and we chatted until it was time to leave. Fortunately there was not too much traffic and they arrived rather quickly.



I forgot to take a picture before they left, but Toby handles his Dad's camera already like a professional ! The only hic is that I always get winter pictures in summer and the other way around. And when I ask for two photos I get 20 and when I ask for photos of a whole week I get one !

We spent Christmas Eve alone in 50 years, I mean the two of us and the two cats. But in life it is always a first time. Honestly I didn't care,  I was invited by Nicole who was alone too,  but too lazy to get up from my sofa to join my friend, when Mr. G. went to bed as usual at 9 pm.

I watched a show on German TV and was surprised how much Christmas had changed !  It had taken the good and funny Christmas uses over from the States  and even had translated songs like "last Christmas" into German which sounded a bit funny to me. I watched almost til the end, but went to bed before.

A part from the laundry which has to be done too from time to time, I spent most of the time in front of our TV or the computer, I was not really tired, but felt a bit KO and therefore very lazy ! Even moving a finger takes an enormous effort ! 



Rosie is like me, to do or not to do (something) that's the question .....

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

BEST FRIENDS

When you cry out of laughter, a rainbow is created in your head!


One Liner Wednesday

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Christmas decoration

CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS

I celebrated Christmas three times so far !  I hope this will be the end until it starts again for the New Year.

While we in our world have tables overloaded with food, there are so many who have not enought to live. Unfortunately alone I can't do anything against it.



First celebration was with my Painting class. Everybody had brought a speciality and a drink.



Then with the family, a bit early, but there was no other date. Didn't matter, it was nice.



and then last but not least, with my Scrabble friends. There too everybody had brought a plate and a drink. We had a very funny afternoon which lasted until 8 pm !

Not much time to write these days !

I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year !

more participants here

AAWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND NEWS DECEMBER 21

After Christmas meal !


Linking to AWWW MONDAYS

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WEEKEND

I have to make  a memorial for myself ! I only don't know where to put it, maybe in an extra private post in this Blog. The reason is that for the first time in my whole life I haven't spent Christmas Eve on December 24 as respectable people do (would my father say) !

Since I am married,  instead of the December 24 at 6 pm sharp, dressed up in our most festive clothes we had a glass of champagne together with my parents while we listened to Christmas music and unwrapped the gifts which lay under the tree. Then for years we had a Fondue Bourgignone.  I had always spent Christmas Eve with my parents alone, my grandma was never invited, I wanted to spent Christmas in our home as a freshly married couple. For my father it was a drama that we put up the tree a week or two before depending on our free time as we were both working, as he only did it on the 24th ! Apparently it was the use in his family.

Then came the time when we became parents. Each Christmas they came for at least a week, unfortunately it was no joy but fights, as they critisized everything. The way I kept my household, the way we raised our child, and they found a hundreds of reasons why Mr. G. was not the perfect man for me.

When my mother had passed away my father came here for the first and last time at Christmas, because I didn't exactly what his wife had to do. The years after we had to drive to Germany to spend Christmas with him, for me a torture. Fortunately at that time my son had a French girlfriend who came with us and  cheered me up and the next day the 25, we had to drive to France  to spend Christmas with her parents and 2 siblings. This was completely new to me and I loved it. Unfortunately the relationship broke and we were three again. Meanwhile my son had moved to London and I learned how to celebrate the English way ! The following years were the best Christmases I had, I think it was 2 or 3 times.

Then came the next change. He fell in love with a Dutch girl who didn't know a lot about celebrating Christmas, but did her best and we met her for the first time at Christmas Eve in Waterloo. When they had a little apartment we celebrated in Amsterdam. My son invited all his English friends who couldn't go home so that they were not alone on Christmas Eve, which I found really nice and it had been a very funny Christmas too.

When Toby was born it became again different. They were so busy with the baby that they forgot everything around them. On top we didn't open our gifts on Christmas Eve but on the 25th, which I found awful ! In pyjama and bathrobes half sleeping and not in the best mood so early mornings. I couldn't understand why my son who his whole life had celebrated the German way suddenly wanted to celebrate the English way. I love the English way, but not the fact to get up early morning and fight with gift paper !

I protested, I was ready to go on strike and not celebrate at all with them even Mr. G. agreed.

And this year it was a completely different Christmas from all the Christmases I had ever celebrated in my whole life.

I became philosophic, I asked myself why do I stick so much to traditions and principles  ? For what ? Why did I cry because Christmas was not like in my childhood and youth or later why did my son not teach his son our traditions ? And suddenly I thought I am silly or stupid or whatever. Why spoil the rest of my life with principles ??

So with joy I agreed to Christmas Eve on the 21st together with my son's best friend and family, and instead of having a traditional Christmas meal, dressed up sitting at the table, with the silver cutlery and the best dishes, we pushed the table to the window "threw" dishes and cutlery (the one from the kitchen) on the table my son picked up a delicious Libanese meal, which we didn't even put in bowls but left them as they were wrapped in plastic boxes ! Too much work they said and they took care of everything. I was sitting like a queen on our sofa, (Mr. G. was chased from the kitchen too) and when everything was ready we lined up and everybody took what he wanted. That was real fun ! After the meal we had Christmas Crackers also unknown, I had found them in my English shop, and then we chatted while in the background Christmas music played, cat Arthur meowed for  food and the two boys had a lot of fun with a game. I had bought a metal detector for Toby which he first had to assemble with mums help and then they were looking for metal (gold, money you can always dream) in the whole house.




The beginning .....



Family picture



Assembling of the metal detector with mum's help



Looking for metal, coins and gold ....



The table full of a variety of food, cold and hot



With full bellies a little rest




18 year old Arthur had also a full belly and earned a good rest !

What a nice Christmas !! No stress, no fights, only laughter and joy ! As it should be

I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New year !!

BEING A SINGLE WOMEN IN THE 19th CENTURY

In the past when a young girl from the upper class was 18 years old or even younger the family was looking for a suitable husband because she had to marry  ! She needed a husband who took care of her, when the parents had passed away because she was not allowed to work for money only for charity. She couldn't stay single either this was just impossible for her reputation. There were not many choices for women at that time, she could become a private teacher, or living as an old maid with a member of her family but lots of parents just put the girl in a convent her whole life, at least there she was dressed and fed. A rather very sad perspective if it was not her own choice. Single women had a hard life except when they were born very rich and were the only child. But for the majority it was a rather sad existence when they were average looking and not a beauty.

Fortunately today for a woman being single is no longer a lack of options – but a choice. A choice to refuse to let your life be defined by your relationship status but to live every day happily and decide for yourself what to do and how to live. 





Husband hunting ....






Linking to Linda G. Hills SOCS - ingle