FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

The week went by as usual, rain and storm, now my umbrellas on the balcony remain on the floor because they fell down a second time. 

I was busy to look for an adequate retirement home and found 5 of which I sent the addresses to the social assistant. Now I have to call them to see if there is a room free and visit the room,  they look very nice from outside.

In the afternoon my neighbor came and also Myriam, I had a problem with my curtains, but fortunately that was quickly solved. It was a nice afternoon we talked about our travels we had done  and thinking of something else then retirement homes was good for me.

Our scrabble day too was nice, it rained again cats and dogs apparently we will have to get used to live in water. This time we were all there nobody was missing, although Nicole hadn't heard her entrance bell and Chantal who had to pick her up had to call her, the phone woke her up and they were a little late. As usual the cakes were delicious. 

Each time I sit down on my relax I fall asleep, and so it was on my shopping day too, I went later fortunately got everything quite quickly mostly cleaning stuff. My cleaning lady came on Thursday and told me that she will be absent for 3 weeks, sha wanted to go to Northern Island to visit her daughter and the meanwhile one year old grandson, but despite her vaccination certificate she was not allowed to enter Ireland and her daughter couldn't go to Poland to meet her there. So she will visit her son and her other grandson who enters University after the summer !

She was a little sad because she had seen the little one when he was born until he was 2 months old. So Rosie and I have to fly through the apartment not to spoil anything and she is not allowed to loose one hair ..

I had already strange birthdays in my life but this one was especially strange. Mr. G was in his clinic but he had a nurse calling me with her phone because with his phone he can only get telephone calls. That made me sad and happy at the same time. I was so tired that I felt like a sleepwaker, and finally decided to call our doctor. I often feel dizzy too. My doctor was on holidays until Monday. I was relieved because usually I have nothing and doctors always find something ! 

My birthday in the Dolce Vita    

My friends had invited me to the "Dolce Vita" restaurant,and I had a very good salad with ham from Parma, and different Italian cheeses. It was as usual very nice, but I wasn't in my usual mood. They also offered me a beautiful travel bag, for our Bus excursions

My son and grandson are coming over the weekend, I think I will start to sing "I will survive" ! 

I never thought that I would get so many birthday wishes from all over the world, people with whom I travelled with the Expat Travels, who still remembered me after 3 and 4 years ! I was really touched. I hadn't said anything because I just wanted to forget my birthday but all these congratulations made me happy means that even after a long time or only virtually friends haven't forgotten me  ! 

 

 

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

HODGEPODGE JULY 7

1. July 5th is National Hawaii Day...have you ever been to Hawaii? Any desire to visit or make a return trip? Pineapple, mango, or guava...what's your pleasure? 

No,  I have never been to Hawaii, and now it doesn't interest me anymore, there are more intresting places in the world to visit.. But I love pineapples and mango !

2. Last time you were 'thrown in at the deep end'? Explain. 

Not last time, but actually I have to find a retirement home for Mr. G. I have no idea how that works, I just call and will see. I was just thrown in the deep end !

3. Sun, sea, sand, salt...your favorite when it comes to summer? 

 Hurghada my winter residence  

Of course I love the sea especially the red sea in Egypt where I usually go each year in November because in July it's too hot. The sea is so blue and the sand soft (and hot) and the water is so salty that you don't have to swim if you are lazy. Just lay on the water, the salt helps to carry you !

4. Bury your head in the sand, the sands of time, draw a line in the sand, pound sand, shifting sands...pick one and tell us how the phrase currently relates to your life in some way. 

That's not in my character at all to bury my head in the sand ! If there is a problem I will try immediately to solve it, even if it is very difficult.  I think that burying your head in the sand and pretend nnothing happens is just cowardly.

5. On a scale of 1-10 (1 = make your own rules and 10=like a warden, how strict were your parents ? wIf you are a parent where on the scale do you land ?

I would say one and even that is too much. I educated myself I suppose. I was  a rather shy child. Later it changed, but I was more strict with me then my parents. As long as I was sitting at the breakfast table at 9 am it was OK even if I had come home at 4 am ! I didn't need to ask when I had to come home, I came home when I had enough. At 18 my father declared that I am now responsible for myself. And I was ! I didn't need to leave my parents and get married at 18 because they were too strict. I stayed until 24  and decided myself that now it's enough I move out. With my son it was a little different, there I had to tell him when he had to be at home.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I wonder if summer will ever arrive ! Since it officially started it rains, storms and is cold which keeps my mood and energy on a very low level. We have school holidays  in Belgium but not many people travelled abroad and rather stayed here in our mini country. I live every day the same and am rather fed up !

 

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

When I visited Liverpool years ago I needed some cash. As in Belgium we call a bank machine "Mr. Cash". I thought it must be the same in the UK and asked a man where was the next "Mr. Cash" He looked at me with big eyes and said "I am not a Mr. Cash", I was surprised that he didn't understand and described what I wanted ! He started to laugh and said :" Aww, you mean a "hole in the wall" ! Now it was me who was surprised and found that expression wonderful ! I told my friends we should rename our Mr. Cash as " trou dans le mur" !

more participants here, and Image-in-ing

BAD BREISIG ALONG THE RHINE

When my father retired he choose to go back to Germany to the region of Bonn which had been the capital of Germany until the wall fell. 

He choose the part between  Cologne and Coblence and they moved into the little town, rather a village called Bad Breisig, which was a thermal city. 

This part of the Rhine is very beautiful and also the cities and villages along the Rhine

My parents died in the 1990th and I had sold their house. It had been a long time that I haven't been back there, because I strictly know anybody there. They were all friends of my parents and had also passed away or had moved. I took a friend with me to show here the region where I have lived most of the time I spent in Germany and that was Bonn, which was only about 20 km from Bad Breisig.

Below you see the part of the Rhine 

I just give you an idea of what you can see if you take a cruise on the Rhine from Cologne to Coblence.

 

There are many castles sitting on the mountains along the Rhine

The whole area has only timbered houses, only new once are not timbered

This had been our Bed & Breakfast, it was an old mansion which had belonged to a Doctor.The new owners had transformed it into a B&B and we liked it very much

all along the Rhine the riverside looks like that

The catholic church in Bad Breisig

Sometimes the Rhine goes out of his bed and floods over the whole riverside until into the city. On this hous the dates are written, how high the water was, nearly up to the door But the people there are so used to flooding that in a few days everything looks clean again.

We stayed there for three days, unfortunately we weren't lucky with the weather it rained each day ! Or in the morning or in the evening and for a month of July it was rather cold. 

I start to feel like an old grandma who lives in her memories and looks in old photo albums to remember how nice it was when you could take your car, bus or train or whatever and go wherever you wanted to.

 

more participants here

AWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND JULY 3

 

Corona lockdown siesta !

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS

 

 

WEEKEND

Saturday I had to get up as usual for Maria to open the door. It was 7 far too early to do anything else then drink my coffee and watch the news to know who had won the Euro football game, because it was Belgium against Italy. As the whole country was dressed as red devils (the name of the Belgium club) and flags hanging out everywhere (on National day you have to take a magnifier to see one)  I thought I have at least to know who won otherwise people would think that I am not normal. Italy won and that was good News. Unfortunately Mr. G. didn't get it. 

Then the phone rang and I knew that Maria wouldn't come, now it was 8 am and she told me she was sick. OK for me I thought, I am sick too or rather very tired, I watched a documentary about Diana and then her Statue ! In my opinion the Queen had to put up the statue just after her tragic death, after all it's thanks to her that the royals became humans and suddenly discovered that there were  people in the country ! 

I had been in London just 3 days after the funeral and had seen the whole Kensington park covered with flowers and toys, people crying or being very angry at the Queen.  

While I had lunch a terrible thunderstorm started and I thought the glass in the windows would break. 

In the afternoon I had to pick up 4 chairs. I had put an advertising on a site only for selling or buying things, or offer services. 

 

The 4 chairs were so beautiful that I couldn't believe that the young lady didn't want anything for them ! They looked like new and I didn't use the covers, like the chair behind. On top she loaded them all in her car followed me home and carried them into the building where I helped her to put them in the elevator and thought fortunately there are many very kind and helpful people around. It raised my mood again. 

I quickly said hello to Myriam who had worked on her terrace filling in with concrete the joints from where armies of ants crawled out ! I don't even know how to prepare concrete !

Sunday was a terrible day ! When I had my coffee it was quite dark and the air was heavy. Suddenly a storm came up and managed to blow down my two umbrellas ! And they are quite  heavy ! I can't lift them up !

And with that it didn't rain but it was as if all people in heaven (if there are any) were throwing buckets of water on our part of Belgium ! 

I had to drive the 20 km to visit Mr. G. and hoped that the rain would stop a bit and fortunately it did ! But it was awful to drive the streets were so covered with water and the cars in front of me acted as showers and washed my car.  I arrived a little late but I arrived. 

Mr. G. was a little more interested in things and tried to watch his Formular 1. I picked up such romantic things like dirty laundry and invoices and returned home. Meanwhile the rain had stopped and the sun came out, I wonder for how long.

We have got the travel brochure for seniors, and were all delighted. It's always very well organized, very interesting or beautiful places.  These are one day excursions by bus, which is very interesting for me because for the moment I couldn't travel farer, but it's always fun in the bus and that's all I need to keep my glass half full and not half empty ! 

 

SUNDAY SELECTION

Trying out photo art

 

 

Linking to SUNDAY SELECTION