HOW TO PACK A SUITCASE

Going on holidays involves packing of a suitcase, I mean at least one. In the past I prepared the suitcase several weeks before departure for the three of us. Then I thought that's stupid because each time one or two days before I unpacked everything, because I didn't remember what I had put in the suitcases.

Meanwhile I have learned to make my life easy. I prepared a list with all things I have to take with me and one day before my departure I pack my suitcase and cross out the item I had put in. This way the suitcase was quickly packed, but I still managed to forget a little thing, but as I never went camping in a completely isolated place, I could by the missing thing in the next shop.

I stated that from my friends everybody has his own way to pack ! One starts (really !) three months before departure, packs, unpacks, change clothes add things, take things out and is a nervous wreck when finally the day of departure comes.

Another washes everything and the night before departure throws what she thinks she would need in her suitcase and if she misses something, she says "I am not going in a desert".

Then I have one who irons everything possible and wears only clothes she doesn't take along. She even irons her socks and underwear. On her list is written where to put the underwear (left side) the pullovers (right side) above thinks which could wrinkle and of course her iron ! She also takes shoe creme with her (and wears sandals) and a whole pharmacy as if we would go in the jungle from Aspirine to anti itch, everything was there except a blood reserve.

I also once travelled with a friend who was so tired before leaving that she had packed 10 pairs of socks, forgotten her underwear and onlyhad one cardigan and a bath suit. And she wondered that her suitcase was so light and empty. She had to buy the things she needed once we had arrived.

Linking to Linda G. Hills SOCS - Pack

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

We had a nice Scrabble game, For once I was the third of four ! Outside it rained cats and dogs again and Myriam's swimming pool became a little higher with all that rain. Unfortunately the water is not clean because there are still leaves flying around.

As it had been the "St. Chandeleur" where nobody knows why it's tradition to eat very thin crepe with brown sugar or jam, Myriam had prepared 16 crepes we ate them all except four, but then Mireille's husband came to pick her up and ate with pleasure the remaining four. Nothing was left !



I had the visit of my ex neighbor's sister in law who explained to me why Lilli after having dated a normal looking man, suddenly had disappeared. I had been very sad that she didn't give any sign and I couldn't call her, and apparently she had no computer anymore. What had happened was so unbelievable that it took me a day to try to understand. We lived side by side for 15 years, had travelled together and celebrated Christmas and New Years together and were really good friends. That's why I couldn't understand that after her marriage she disappeared. I contacted her daughter but she said that her mother is completely under her husband's influence.

The poor too good and friendly 60 year old "girl" had fallen in the trap of a Narcissistic pervert manipulator. I had to look up what it was when her SIL had gone : A narcissistic pervert can be defined as a person who creates the dependency relationship with his victim. ... 4- plays a double game: the narcissistic pervert is charming, seductive, brilliant even altruistic in front of others ,tyrannical, dark and destructive in private.

We all had told her not to marry but he convinced her (she is very wealthy) and from that day on, he watched over her and she couldn't do a move alone. It is awful the psychological torture she went through until finally pretending to go to her aqua gym  she escaped only dressed with her bathing suit, a training and a coat and found refuge at one of her four brothers ! As her husband didn't hurt her physically, the police couldn't do anything either. Apparently he still tries to find out where she is to convince her to come back. It's a pity that he didn't find her when she was here ! I had already treated him as if he was a little stupid boy and that he had never forgiven and had told Lilli that I had a bad influence on her ! Of course I felt immediately that there was something wrong with this guy.

Meanwhile she is 65 and when she arrived we were so happy to see each other.  She was in a terrible state. She had lost a lot of weight and trembled. She has to hide from him and is helped by her 4 brothers (she is the only girl and the youngest) so that he doesn't manage to get her back. So she sleeps once here once there and has filed for divorce, but that she can only get when she has officially left her husband for a year. Then she gets the divorce automatically. If he would agree then she could be divorced in 3 months, but he will never let her go.  That's for sure. Fortunately she is in good hands, lawyers and also a specialized psychiatrist for this kind of men plus the family of course.  I don't know what is worse being a beaten woman or one who is psychologically mistreated. His first wife died at not even 60 ! I hope for her that everything will go as quick as possible and that she can get her things back together with police and lawyer ! She had to buy everything new as she only had what she wore when she escaped, a bath suit and a coat !

The next day I was trying to digest all what I had heard and finally a part from a load of laundry I made a TV cure, I had no energy to do anything else.

In my painting course I found my new painting ready, it was dry by now.



Unfortunately I couldn't do another one, because a bottle of glue had leaked into my suitcase which I use to transport all my material, and by the time I had tried to clean and safe what was not full of glue, I had no time to start anything else. The suitcase I thrown away and fortunately my colors were all saved !

As each week we try out another restaurant this time we went into one called "Soho"



I thought it has nothing to do with Soho, it was a combined Asiatic/European food "all you can eat" Restaurant.



The decoration was pretty the service nice and we sat at the round table and discussed all miseries and happiness in life !

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

I WILL BE BACK

Once again I was called to see the principal of my school, because I had committed I don't remember what crime. It didn't  bother me I was used to that, listened to an educative speech, promised to never do it again and returned to my class.

One day however it was different, I just had sat down with two question marks in my eyes and looking as innocent as an Boticelli angel, when the telephone rang, the principal picked it up answered something, put the phone in place and told me "Wait here, I will be back in a minute" A minute was impossible it took already one to get out of his chair and walk to the door, as he was rather Buddha sized and didn't look like a tennis trainer.

Of course after a minute he wasn't back, not even after 10. I got bored and looked around me, thinking of what I could do. There was nothing interesting on his desk, a few notes and a few names without any remarks.

So I did what I always did as a child when I had to wait somewhere, I draw cats. For that I needed a pencil and paper, went around the desk, found a paper, a pencil and even an eraser. I started drawing cats in all positions and was so busy that I forgot where I was.

But then my stomach claimed I was hungry !  I had no watch but there was a little alarm clock on the desk. I saw 12 h ! Now I understood why I was hungry and also fed up to sit in the Principal's office who had disappeared for a minute and one and a half hours later wasn't back.

I thought, if he thinks that I will sit here until he dares to come back, then he doesn't know me I am not a sheep. (That's why I was sitting in his office) probably. I took another paper, and wrote in big letters :

I will be back .....

It was not necessary to return, as he didn't call me anymore he probably had forgotten ! And I had forgotten my cat drawings on his desk !




Linking to One liner Wednesday - I'll be back

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

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Corona Virus ..... it's me

more participants here,
and Image-in-ing



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EGYPT - THE PYRAMIDES

In 2009 I went with my friend Chantal to Egypt and stayed for the first time in our hotel Sunrise Holiday Resort in Hurghada. Meanwhile I have been there 10 times !

As we hadn't seen Cairo and the pyramids yet we decided to make a car excursion to Cairo and visit the so famous pyramids.



It was November and still 27°C



The pyramides were huge and quite impressive







Of course we took a camel tour around the pyramides









Of course lots of tourists





And the Sphinx with the broken nose. I was a bit disappointed on the pictures she seems to be much bigger then in reality.



You can read about the whole excursion in my blog COUNTRIES & CITIES

more participants here

AWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND FEB 1

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS

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WEEKEND

The weather has decided to be even worse on weekends then during the week, it rained and it was windy in short disgusting.

In the morning both of us were looking for our Roulette game, Mr. G. turned the whole house upside down, inspected closets from basement on and all rooms but it was nowhere and we didn't remember when we had seen it last time. In fact I needed it for Sunday to play roulette with my Scrabble girls.

As we were all blocked in our houses, Nicole, Myriam and I decided to do a little walk through our Shopping center, at least there it was dry and there were a lot of people who had the same idea. Even if you don't need anything it's like a refuge against too wet, too hot, too stormy weather.



It's a nice shopping center not far from us and we did our little window shopping  and then had a coffee and a piece of mango cake there in the Lunch Garden. It was nice to see people walking by, we had only bought some nail vanish each. Finally it had been a nice afternoon and at least we got out of the house !





On Sunday it was exactly the same grey rainy day, but we had decided to play Roulette together at Nicole's. We were four and each of us brought snacks and something to drink and then we started.

As I still hadn't found my big roulette but only the jetons, we played with Myriam's travel roulette !



It was really a mini roulette but big enough to play. As we all had forgotten the rules I googled them on my smartphone and we started to play ! It was so funny ! I played very carefully and at the end had earned quite an amount. A pity that it wasn't real money.

We finished and started to celebtrate the Saint Chandeleur (Candlemas ?) which is very much celebrated in France and Belgium. It's a religious holiday  that nowadays basically just involves people eating a lot of crêpes. ... Before becoming a religious holiday, Chandeleur stemmed from several pagan traditions ...



Nicole had prepared a stack of very thin crepes which we ate with brown sugar or figs jam. I would have never believed that we four would eat this whole stack ! But we did ! Not one was left !

When we went home at 8.30 pm there was no room in our stomachs for supper ! It was a perfect afternoon with lot of laughter which let us forget the horror weather outside !