FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

On Monday I didn't know what to do with myself and was in a bad mood. Except Rosie nobody noticed it. Finally I thought I go to my resident friend just at the other end of the corridor. She was happy to see me because she likes company. She told me how her "Pessah" (pâques) was. She is Jewish but not particularly religious but she has a large family and of course Easter had to be celebrated properly. So she told me how it was and wasn't happy that her son had the food delivered and his wife didn't cook it herself, that she had done this for 20 people and they were only 8. 20 people !! I almost fainted !

She cheered me up a bit and then the lunch came. In the afternoon there was a birthday celebration for everyone whose birthday is in April. This time there was only one piano player, who may have been good, but the piano wasn't, so even I could hear that something was wrong. 

It was so boring that the four of us sat at the back and preferred to chat. The other birthday parties were always much nicer ! 

After the "afternoon activities".

On the left I am with my 4 friends except the first one from the left. She is a cute little Italian and usually "normal" until 4 pm, and then she starts to ask if she has a room here and where she would have her supper and why she doesn't see her mother anymore and that she had 5 children. She doesn't know where her room is when she is in this state. We all love her because she is so touching.

I had to go out and drive around a bit and ended up in the big store "Action" which sells everything at very reasonable prices. I needed a nail but there were only packages with 150 nails! That was too much for me, I don't need to nail up a coffin yet.  But I bought some other things I needed like a paper roll, 2 table sets and other little things. Afterwards I visited Nicole, but she was not in her room, they celebrated also the birthdays of the month, one day later ! I just said "hi" to her because there was a guy singing, wearing a white suit and a white hat and sang old French chansons ! Nothing for me I would have preferred Elvis or Freddy Mercury or Elton John and not this old French "chansons" ! Makes me feel 100 ! 

One of the resident's husband died last week so she joined us to have a bit company and distraction. She is very sympathic. She lives in the annexed convent of the castle and I asked her if I could see her room just to see how the rooms were in this part. We four went with her in the renovated convent and she showed us her room which was not a room but an apartment ! It had a huge living room with a kitchen corner and a separate bedroom. The view was also gorgeous. 

As she had lived with her husband here, now she wants to have a room like mine, because for one person such an apartment is quite expensive !

One resident had built a cute little house for birds and squirrels. Apparently there is also a fox which comes for visits.

Poor Rosie was constipated and I gave her paraffin oil which the vet had recommended, and I picked up fresh grass and gave it to her !

She sniffed at it and then ate a quite a bit. As the Belgian cows have the same pattern (black and white) like her, I call her my little "bleu, blanc, belge" (blue, white Belgian) that's the "brand" name of the cow.

I wait for 3 pairs of training trousers, but they still haven't arrived, this time it is the mail which is on strike ! 

Have a nice week ! I am hoping for warmer  weather and sun !!

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HODGEPODGE APRIL 25

 1. When did you last have cancelled plans? Were you happy about that or disappointed ? 

All my plans have changed when Rick died. I became quite ill and my COPD (chronic lung disease) got so bad that some days I could only walk a few steps and then I was breathless. I also often fell down  all of a sudden and without warning and couldn't get up . I had great travel plans, but I had to give them all up. Maybe I'll feel better in a few months. It is already better.

2. On a scale of 1-10 how much of a planner are you? 

1= I go where the wind takes me  

10=I've got a power point on it, no matter what it is

 

That is a difficult question ! I am neither one nor the other. I first dream when I have seen a beautiful landscape or an interesting city, or that I would like to visit someone. Then I think about whether and when that would be possible and only then do I make plans. Therefore I don't go with the wind. But, it can happen that I go to a store to buy something specific and then come out with something completely different, even though that was a plan!

 

3. Do you have a menu plan for the week? If so tell us one or two things that are on it. If not, what's your plan for not having a plan lol? 

 

Now here in "my" castle I get a menu plan for the whole week.

 

 But when I was still living home, I never knew what I would prepare for the next day or even for supper,  let alone for a week !

4. The Hodgepodge lands on National Bucket List Day. Do you have a bucket list? Is it written down or just in your head? What is one thing on your bucket list? If you don't have a list, what is one thing you'd add to a list if you did? Yes I'm going to make you think about it. 

No, I have no bucket list or to do lists, the only list I may have is a shopping list. For the moment I would add nails, because I still have some pictures to hang on the wall !

5. Rain buckets, a drop in the bucket, couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, sweat buckets, cry buckets...which 'bucket' idiom applies to your life in some way currently? 

Without any hesitation I would say "Rain bucket" or rather it rains cats and dogs, that sounds more cute. Anyway that's my destiny since a few months and I don't sing in the rain ! Cry buckets are past or on some memory occasions.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

There are coincidences ! I keep thinking about it! Yesterday I was looking for a suitable header for my Facebook page. I wanted one from Rick's town where he grew up. I googled and found a nice one and placed a small portrait photo in one of the windows. As soon as I pressed "publish" there was a comment in Italian from my niece, Rick's sister's daughter, who wrote to me that my header was so nice because Rick lived and played in this street as a little boy! Isn't it strange that I chose this picture ?

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

 Selfies ! Down the memory lane ...

 

 

more participants here, and Image-in-ing

AWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND APRIL 20

 

Formule 1 fan

 

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS

WEEKEND

 Notre weekend was wet again, fortunately we learned something new ! It is never too late ! Guess what we learned ? BLACK JACK ! had been several times in a Casino in different countries and on our cruise and of course also in Las Vegas, but I only play roulette and nothing else. Beside one other resident all the others had never seen a Casino except in movies !

So our animator found himself in front of a group of 70 to nearly 100 years old ladies and 2 men !

Some understood the rules immediately, some it took some time and some never ! You can imagine what fun we had and I won !! I had never played  this game in my life, but I really liked it. I told my 3 other friends that we should go to the Waterloo Casino and play for real ! I wonder what the players would say when they would see the 4 vintage ladies playing and maybe winning  ! 

The day was saved and we hadn't even realized that outside it was a lousy weather !

For Sunday Poker was foreseen, but it turned out that it was too difficult for us,  so he changed to another game which is called "Naval battle game" (bataille navale).  Apparently it is very easy to play but I didn't understand a thing and it was not only me there were 5 others who were also lost ! We played and I even touched a boat, I don't know how it happened I was not in a mood to make and effort.

Here is poor Kim who explained for the Xème time how the game worked, I admired his patience ! There was one who told us all the time that it was not the right game until another lost her temper and told her to play her game in another place ! It is a new one.  

Fortunately Isabelle came with the little girl who lives in an institution for abused children. Isabelle takes her all two weeks. The girl is 8 years old, very cute and friendly, but she can't read or write yet. But she makes progresses !

Hopefully I can walk my half hour tomorrow !