BLOG4PEACE

Each year the Blog4Peace event, created and hosted by Mimi Lenox takes place in November. This is the 17th year for the event and I have participated for 14 years. MIMI WRITES asks us to blog for peace and write a text on the Globe models she has on her post. 

It's now years that I participate and blog for peace in the world, but for this year,  I am more pessimistic than optimistic because I have the impression that every year we have less peace. 

As long as there are pro-war politicians who don't have to go to the front themselves, there will probably always be wars somewhere in the world.

 

 

 

Linking to BLOG4PEACE

 

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FRIDAY's FAVORITE FIVE

On Monday I went to my former painting class to pick up the things which I had left  in the closet from my painting class for 3 years. 

In a corner sat a few people who had their noses close to a table, somehow everything had changed. I took my easel out of the closet and my last picture that I had left there to dry. It was dry !

Couldn't have known that the room was closed for 3 years. The person in charge suddenly stood behind me and watched what I was doing with eagle eyes, I could have taken a pencil with me. 

When I think that I had the key to the closet for 20 years, I had to laugh inside. She's one of those people who has little or no character and does everything behind people's backs. Many believe her, even those who I have known me for over 10 years. I am persona ingrata.

I turned back to look at the room and left  strangely without any regrets. I had fun for 20 years, now I don't like painting anymore, I prefer photography. 

Since the big room belonged to the nursing home and Nicole lived there now, of course I visited her. She was very happy to see me and showed me around, but then she was very disappointed that the painting class had started again and none of the "old" classmates she had known for years had not even visited her. To be honest, I found that very sad. I comforted her and told her to close this chapter as I did.

Halloween, to my surprise has been celebrated more and more this year but trick and treat seems to be less in fashion. What attracts the kids are the costumes.

Hard work !

The next day was All Saint's day, and in Belgium it's the tradition to storm to the cemeteries and clean and put flowers on the graves. The whole year long most of them forget the grave, but on this day they all remember and the streets are crowded and no parking space in front of the cemetery. It is also a bank holiday. As the weather was so nice whole Belgium visited their graves. I have never got used to this tradition, the younger generations are far more "cool", they don't go to the graves on this very day but do it before when they have time around the 1st of November.  

My old friend and ex neighbor of our house, came to visit me and it was really nice. We went to to Italian restaurant which Rick loved and she found it very good. She even could take a doggy bag along. When we came home she lay down for half an hour, she has Parkinson too, but it was diagnosed when we still lived side by side in  our old street and she had medication to slow down the progress of the disease. But now she is quickly tired and has sometimes troubles with her legs, just like Rick. I am so sorry for her, she is not yet 70 ! Fortunately she is still allowed to drive. 

I don't know what happens, but my old neighbors show up, I had a phone call from one which I almost never saw, and she wanted to come and say hello and remained with me on the phone for one hour, her husband is in intensive care since 3 month in an artificial coma. Poor girl. 

The lady whom I met during an excursion and lives in the same building as me, came over for a coffee so that we knew each other better. She is very funny and open, same age as me and loves expositions and have fun and loves to travel too. She stayed the whole afternoon and only left reluctantly because her grandchildren had called that they were in front of her door !

So my week was quite busy, and I also worked on my photos and created some collages and other things. As long as I am busy, the dark and painful thoughts disappear. 

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HODGEPODGE OCTOBER 3

 

1. What about your upbringing are you most grateful for?

 my grandma and me

That the first 6 years I was brought up by ma grandma, the mother of my mother. It was during the war and my parents stayed with an aunt in the country side and I with my grandparents in the same little town. 

My grandma told me very interesting things, far ahead of her time ! She told me to never depend on a man, to earn my own money, and never fear one. I remember that she said, from a street weeper to a President, they all look the same naked ! She herself married a nice friendly man, my grandpa was an angel ! He took me in the woods early morning to observe the deer !

2. What are two or three things that bring you comfort? 

 Watching the waves of the see, watching sunsets or sun raise, or green landscapes

3. Something beautiful you saw today? (or yesterday depending on when it is you're answering this question) 

The change of seasons out of my living window

4. Have you ever used a typewriter? Tell us a memory associated with that. 

Type writing I learned in the Commercial Business school I attended after high school. The model at this time was the first in the picture. Not to see the keys they were covered and we learned blind typing. That's why I am so slow on a smartphone, I don't know where the keys are. When I started working I had this monster nr 2. The keys were hard and I often had tendinitis. 

Then the electric typewriters were introduced, which was very good for me, as typing was not so hard anymore.The IBM typewriter had a ball with the letters on it. As I typed so quickly, the ball always jumped out and rolled towards other desks or wherever. Somebody always picked it up for me and they suggested to please type a little slower !

5. Something you are grateful for today. 

That an old friend and ancient neighbor comes to visit me. It's several month ago that we hadn't seen each other, the poor girl has Parkinson too, but in the first state. To see her was what I really need today. The day started with me being in a bad mood, the neighbor above me started to hammer at 7 am and woke me up and when I wanted to brush my teeth there was no water, and we called each other to know if it was in the whole building. Fortunately it didn't last long, because nobody had told us. For once I brushed my teeth with sparkling water !

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Autumn is starting to affect my mood, I'm afraid of getting depressed, I used to have that when I was young and later less until my mid-50s. I make an elephant out of a mosquito and each time I go to the kitchen Rick is looking at me out of his frame and I fall even more into my dark hole. Fortunately I learned from the past how to handle it at least a bit. This year was also the worst I ever lived.

 

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Here is the continuation of the museum "Terroir à Villeneuve d'Ascq" which had been a farm,  transformed into a museum showing the tools, furniture etc, used in the beginning of 1900.  Some of the tools I showed in last  Wordless Wednesday

The bed of the farmer's couple seemed a bit small to me ! Probably the people were little

Instead of taking a shower and go to the restroom, you have to wash yourself in the porcelain bassin and the "piss pot" was under the bed.

my grandma still had such a sewing machine

 The baby had it's craddle

and the dining room was in the kitchen

The pots were very heavy

and there was already running water !

Some people the life here as "good old times", I personally prefer a big bed, a shower, a toilet and a microwave or easy cookers !!

 

more participants here, and Image-in-ing here WO

AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND OCTOBER 28

 

Sunday it was half a year that he is gone forever. These were happy times ! 

 

 

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS

 

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I didn't feel well on Saturday, I saw everything black, it's been half a year since Rick died and I felt pretty depressed. But then Maria arrived and told me that she will be grandma to a little girl, and she was so happy, because she had already two boy grandchildren !

Luckily one of the new friends called me and asked if I wanted to go out with her and for lunch and eat mussels. I wasn't hungry, but it sure did me good to go out. And that's how it was, I even did the shopping before I went home. 

Sunday it was again so unusually warm, 22°, what a luck for the children who are on school holidays for two weeks ! Lots of people went to the sea which is only 150 km away. 

The neighbor who lives in the same apartment as me but on the second floor had invited Louquette and me for a coffee. That was funny to be in the same apartment which looked a bit smaller because she has so big furniture in it. To my surprise she had decorated her table with Halloween things and she said she liked it and had done it for herself and not for her children she has three but already 50 years old !

I learned a lot about the building, she lives here since it was built and knows all stories and the history of the building.  Her name is also Nicole and her husband lived with her here but only 6 years then he died. For 15 years he was in a a deep depression and nothing helped him. How awful.