FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

There is no much to say for this week after the year's end celebrations, everybody recovered. 

When I had visited Rick on Saterday, I found a pile of laundry, sweater, pants and jogging trousers that I should have come with a truck. 

That was too much for me and I complained of course to the Manager and not a poor nurse. Rick has gotten worse lately and is constantly changing, mixing clean clothes with dirty clothes and of course there is no point in explaining anything to him.

The day before yesterday there was  little laundry, actually normal, apparently my "Charm complaint" worked. I don't mind washing the laundry, I throw it in the machine, press the button and then do other occupations like answering Christmas cards or watch a crime story, but a funny one. You don't always need to see blood or stomach contents or intestines like in "The Experts" 

The Christmas things are now all gone and waiting to be taken to the cellar, but I haven't found the energy yet, that will come one day, I don't give up hope. 

Now my living is prepared for spring, but with the rain and cold weather I will have to wait a while. Global warming has forgotten my part of the world. Global cooling has been in place here for 3 weeks! That's why there are no new pictures. 

I had received a text message that I should show up for my third vaccination, which is also called a booster. I would prefer to get a booster against my lack of energy, but this is apparently foreseen to protect me from the O Virus, I always forget the name. I have been told that most of the people have a bad side effecte to the vaccine, like headache, running noses, a stiff hurting arm, constipation or  the opposite. Now I am curious what I will get ! Probably something completely different, perhaps a big wart with 3 hairs on my nose. 

There were a lot of people and I had to wait 10 min, therefore I took the opportunity to take a picture of the nurses who cleaned what a sensible soul had vomited on the floor. 

I had never believed that there are so many heros amongst the males who faint when they see the needle

My shopping is done, the fridge and freezer are full, there is enough toilet paper, Rosie doesn't need any so I am ready for the booster vaccin side effects !

Rosie should also get a booster or more, this lazy girl !

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

HODGEPODGE JANUARY 5

1. Share one happy moment/memory from the holiday season. 

To be able to celebrate Christmas day with my husband in his retirement home, where a table was dressed for us and our son with family.  A  very good meal was served. There were three other families too, because the persons concerned were to weak to go and celebrate at home. 

2. Let's be reasonable with our expectations going into this new year, ? What is one thing you'd like to accomplish/improve/complete/do in 2022? 

I can't make any plans to accomplish, to improve or complete anything in 2022, it all depends on how Rick's disease (Parkinson) develops.

3. Every January 1st (since 1976) Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse or just general uselessness (go here to read more about how the words are chosen). Here are the words/phrases they'd like to see banished in 2022- wait, what?-no worries-at the end of the day-that being said-asking for a friend-circle back-deep dive-a new normal-you're on mute-supply chain Which of these words/phrases do you use regularly? Which of these words would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word/phrase not on the list you'd like to add? 

Difficult for me to answer because  English is not my mothertongue. But I know from personal experience that all languages change. When for years I didn't speak any German and then the German TV was aired in Belgium, a lot of words I had never heard of but were now in the new Dictionary. And old words had disappeared. We noticed that especially in our Scrabble club where we played in French, some words were cancelled from the dictionary and others added ! A lot of English words moved into the other languages. My husband stated the same in the Italian language. 

 

My son is German, but his mother tongue is French, his son is Dutch and speaks only French with his father My DIL is Dutch and speaks English as second language. My husband is Italian and speaks French, I speak everything and I am German.  Therefore when we are all together we speak ...... ENGLISH and French

Be happy that you speak English in all States although with different accents, there is a huge difference between Texas and Boston ! So it's normal that your English changes too. Anyway there is already a difference in American English, the Queen's English, Australian English, Canadian English, and maybe more.  Once is for sure English dominates the world but which English I don't know a mixture probably !  

4. Best thing you ate in the month of December?

Honestly I have no idea, the only thing I know is that I ate !

5. January 5th is National Bird Day. Are you a bird lover? What's your favorite bird to see in the wild? Choose a phrase from the list that follows and tell us how it relates to your life currently...eat like a bird, bird's eye view, early bird, bird-brained, free as a bird, a little bird told me, or kill two birds with one stone. 

Of course I like birds,  but I don't know their names except a sparrow or a parrot ! As I used to have 4 cats you can imagine that birds rather avoided our garden (yard) Now cat Rosie watches bird from the 4th floor and doesn't mind that she can't catch them anymore, I think she had killed a lot of these poor feather balls in her life  

Bird watching from the 4th floor !

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

I think that I have never lived like I do now since Rick lives in his senior residence and I live here alone. I don't feel like going out anymore (the weather is bad too) Shopping is already too much. I prefer to stay at home and occupy myself with my photos, and my blog I do a lot of researches and wait for this way of life to come to an end. In normal times I went out every day, was very busy, saw a lot of people and now Rick's illness and the Covid Circus have somehow paralyzed or frozen me and I'm waiting for me to thaw!

 

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

First time at the hairdresser !

 

 

 

more participants here, and Image-in-ing

NAPOLEON's LAST HEADQUARTERS IN WALLONIA (Belgium)

17 June 1815. It’s almost dark, it’s raining. Napoleon’s troops are exhausted. They feel the presence of enemy forces. The Emperor ordered them to stop and his aides de camp spotted an unoccupied residence. It was The Caillou Farm. It will be Napoleon’s Last Headquarters. The museum highlights the events of this famous night through testimonies and anecdotes from civilian and military life, all in an authentic setting. You can read more about this event which is celebrated each year HERE 

Of course the last two years the celebrations of the 17th June had been cancelled, due to our welknown Corona Virus ! 

Fortunately I still have some pictures of celebrations the years before ! 

The headquarter

The fake Napoleon was a tall handsome man not like the original !

The tents were placed behind the building on the property

and of course the beer "Waterloo the beer of bravery" was flowing in huge amounts !

The entrance to the museum and a lady in a cloth of that time

more participants here

AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND JANUARY 1

For the first time in 51 years I spent New Year's Eve without Rick. I couldn't even call him at midnight because I would have woken him up, he didn't really realize that we would start a new year !

Strangely all the years before we got together always the same people in a turn. This year our group had fallen apart, due to illness, a new partner or a misunderstanding. Anyway I was not in the mood to throw a big New Year's party. I decided to celebrate alone for the first time in my life. But as Adeline, next door was also alone, we decided to celebrate together and had a very nice evening !

I tried to make a selfie, but my arm was not long enough ! As besides cat Rosie there was nobody I just made a collage of the two of us. 

We started the evening by a French comedy concerning a freshly retired man and we laughed so much that our bellies hurt. I had all kinds of salty and sweet things to nibble for the whole evening and with that we had alcohol free Champagne. Then we watched TV not to miss midnight.

 Adeline played with Rosie, who was not very motivated and retired in her basket observing us !

At midnight we admired the fireworks on the 4th floor on my terrace, for the first time in the warmth of the living room and at eye level. The official fireworks were cancelled due to darling Corona Virus, but some people did private once and as it stopped at around 12.30 the police closed an eye.

On the first day of the New Year I visited Rick. He was not in good shape and was quite confused. He had to lie down again because he felt so weak and tired. I tidied up his closet a bit so that the nurses could find his clothes more easily, which are always messed up as he "tidied up".

I stayed an hour and then drove home. He was so tired that he fell asleep straight away. These are the drugs to keep him quiet. Over the weeks I got used to the up and downs, anyway I have no choice, I try to put a wall between my feelings and him,  just to keep myself in shape. To distract me I watched a comedy on TV and pottered around.

Sunday started with sun and it was the second day in the New Year. I stated that I had got a lot of virtual cards and exactly two in paper. The stamps have become more and more expensive and most of my friends have a computer anyway.  I had slept until 9 am which was a record and decided as it was Sunday to just do a lazy day. Meanwhile the sun had disappeared and it looked as if it would rain again. Miss Rosie who had recovered from the fireworks was playing around with her toys. She had an energy attack unlike me !

But that changed in the afternoon, suddenly I had enough of all the Christmas decorations, took the two boxes which I had put apart and throw the mini fake tree, the light garlands, angels and bulbs inside.  Now I am prepared for spring and look forward in far better mood. These year end festivities get more and more on my nerves, if I could I would spent them far away on a cruise !! But that's a dream. Then I fell exhausted on the sofa and watched how circus animals were healed and could live a life in an animal park liberty. I am really happy that no circus is allowed anymore to work with tigers, elephants and other exotic animals !

 

 

 Firework photos post below

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AWWWW MONDAY 

SUNDAY SELECTIONS

I welcome 2022 by watching private fireworks from my 3rd floor terrace ! Normally fire work was not allowed, but some people couldn't resist and I was very happy about that ! I had never seen a firework on the same level as from where I stood ! 

The sky is getting slowly dark

and this poor girl ran away at the first boom and hid under my bed !

Linking to SUNDAY SELECTION