EXPIRATION DATES SOMETIMES REALLY FUNNY

I couldn't find out who had invented the expiration dates on nearly everything, except husbands and wives. Sure is that in most countries it started in 1981. Before people ate things when they should be rotten, but still not are, yogurts which taste delicious but are supposed to be disgusting since 3 days or even only one. You should watch the expiration date on rice, beans and other dried vegetables, which is strange because people stocked it for years when it was necessary especially in winter times, and they are still alive, me included. The same was with potatoes, my father stocked potatoes in the basement without writing a date on them and they lasted a whole season ! The rotten once we could see and throw away.

The expiration date of pharmaceuticals specifies the date the manufacturer guarantees the full potency and safety of a drug. Most medications continue to be effective and safe for a time after the expiration date. The study showed that about 90% of them were safe and effective as long as 15 years past their expiration dates. The others are send to Africa, for them everything is good with or without expired dates.

I should be dead since a long time with all what I had swallowed during 75 years, without looking at dates and all the added chemicals to the food !

Of course the reason for most expiration dates is not for you, the consumer, it's for the
manufacturer. You see, they put those expiration dates on the cans, boxes, bottles and jars for one reason only: to make money!

There are really some strange dates for example an expiration date for your child's seat (and when you have used it only 5 times ??)

Rice, beans, peas, lentils are supposed to remain consumable for ages, suddenly they don't last more then a year ! And the sailors in the past who crossed the ocean before fridge and microwave what did they eat ? My great, great,  great (I really don't know who many greats I should put) grand uncle when he immigrated to New York had to take beans, peas and lentils along, because the crossing of the ocean lasted 6 month !

Anyway I use the good old method, I put my nose in the product and smell. If it smells good then I eat it, if not I throw it away.

Linking to SOCS - xp

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

This week started with a holiday, it was Easter Monday. I had more or less recovered from my guests and was happy that my friends came for a Scrabble. Distraction is very important for me to keep my strength. They admired my Easter decoration when we had finished our game, we had a fudge cake with blueberries and whipped cream.



My Lebanese neighbors made a barbecue and it smelled delicious. They asked about Mr. G.'s state and when he would come out of hospital. I told them that he is still too weak and must have an infection because they did a lot of other analyses and the reeducation has to wait. Suddenly the Lady disappeared and came back with a plate of Lebanese food and said, "you are alone, here is your supper ! You have to be strong, have a nice meal !' Isn't that cute ? I was really touched.

Then the Teenagers put on Lebanese or Arabic music and we were delighted, we felt on Holidays in Egypt ! The sun was shining and it was warm, an absolutely nice afternoon !

When somebody is ill, you also get a lot of administration work. In my case as it was not me who had brought Mr. G. with the ambulance to the hospital, there were some errors and I was blessed with tons of invoices. I went to the health insurance and said that I have not won in the lottery and I am not the wife of a millionaire like Mrs. Trump. The employee smiled, looked at my papers and told me that I will get all the money that I had payed back in the next days and that I will not get other invoices anymore, they will handle it directly with the hospital. Good news, my mood raised !

To celebrate that, I went to the hairdresser because I thought I needed a new head !

We have a travel agency in Waterloo who does daily excursions. This time they proposed the Keukenhof in the Netherlands. As we had never seen these amazing Tulip fields, Nicole had booked for us and we met at the bus at 7.30 am !

It was a wonderful day ! While it rained and it was rather cool at home in Waterloo, there was sunshine and warm weather at least over the Keukenhof !



This is only a little bit of the Tulip fields and the flower beds, statues and houses, I will write more about it on Tuesday for "My World". We stayed there for 5 h and I am sure we haven't seen it all, but we were hungry and thirsty and there was a restaurant, so we had lunch there.



Before returning home, we stopped for an hour and a half in Scheveningen at the beach. After half an hour suddenly a terrible wind came up and it started to pour ! We all ran inside the restaurant with our glasses and waited that the rain stopped ! Then we just had the time to catch our bus home.

Next morning I had to get up early because the cleaning lady was there already at 7.30 h ! I met with four friends for an Asiatic meal and then drove the 20 km to Mr. G. to bring him a paper to sign and of course clean laundry. He was still feeling weak and we tried to walk along the corridor, he with the walker and I besides. But he only did a few steps and then we had to return as he got dizzy. Before he had been without the walker to the bathroom and the nurse was angry with him apparently he is not a very easy patient. I tried to explain and told him to be patient and do what they want him to do to heal quicker, but I got the impression to talk to Arthur the cat who never does what we want !

I stayed until 4.30 am and it took me more than an hour to come back the traffic had started. I was very tired when I came home. Tomorrow I have to talk  to the Doctor again to know more about the results of all the analyses they have done !

Fortunately I have a lot of support from my friends and my little neighbor nurse who really mothers me ! Which for once I need !

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE A MANIPULATOR

After receiving guests

more participants here
and Image-in-ing

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HOW DU YOU RECOGNIZE A MANIPULATOR

Family visits can be very tiring especially if one of the members is a very talented manipulator. Suddenly you have the impression that you are not in your home but in his !

Even if you are very clear about what you want, need, or said, he will find a way to turn the truth around and work in his favor. And he will brush it off by saying things such as “But I never said that" and then you are left defending yourself

For some reason, the manipulator thinks if he talks louder it makes him sound smarter or better. They also think it makes them right. Emotional manipulators do this all the time.

They just keep talking. And can even accompany their tactics with aggressive body language. They talk louder and over everyone else to gain control of the room and then you have no choice but to listen to him.

They make no apologies for saying you are wrong or doing things wrong. And by wrong, what they usually mean, is that you are not doing it their way! You’ll always be wrong unless you do it the way they think it needs to be done.

Whatever you decide to do about a classic manipulator in your life, decide that you are going to look after your best interest. The manipulator is not going to change. They won’t learn, they won’t think about how it’s impacting you. So you can’t rely on them to fix this for you.



Linking to One liner Wednesday

HALLERBOS - THE BLUE FOREST

Mid April the ground of the Hallerbos (Bois de Hal) is covered with Blue Bells, which gives a fairy impression of the wood and looks absolutely beautiful.

I had been there two years ago see here ( The Blue Forest) at the same time, so I was a bit disappointed because the Blue Bells were late, or we were too early !







We got a plan with signs where we could see a little blooming field between the wood, while usually this is not necessary because the whole wood's ground is blooming.









It still looked beautiful, but this week it looks like this





got the photos from a friend who was there yesterday.

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AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND APRIL 20

Where is Isis ???



Linking to AWWW MONDAYS

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Weekend April 20

Our garden still looked like winter so I gathered the last energy which was left in me and "planted" flowers in the pots ! To my surprise it went rather quick and in an afternoon it was done with a lot of breaks !

As I hate garden work but love flowers and sit in a nice garden, I put the fake flowers from last year in the pots, some I had to replace because they had lost colors with the hot and sunny summer we had last year. Now it looks colorful !



On Easter Sunday I expected my son with family and I decorated the garden in the morning. I hang fake eggs in the shrubs and hedge, made a Easter bouquet and hid Toby's gift in a basket in the garden.





The Easter table



Toby searched for eggs and chocolate bunnies and a gift of course. I had bought a training football. He was very happy with that.

After lunch we went to visit Mr. G. in his reeducation center.



As he had his birthday last week, he got a beautiful Swatch watch, which besides measuring how many kilometers you walk, your blood pressure, heart beats and ALSO shows the time and date, as birthday gift from his dear son, and in order not to be short on T-shirts 3 more T-Shirts. Now he really has enough. Toby and Mum read a bit, I listened to the explanations for the watch. Then we had a birthday cake, fortunately I had brought paper plates with me and also glasses, only the cutlery I had forgotten.

Late afternoon we returned home and then they continued to Amsterdam and I fell half dead on the sofa. It had been a little bit too much for me.