4 May 2024

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

The week started with Sunshine and in the afternoon we had 23°, like in summer (nearly) Usually we get together at 3 pm, but I saw people walking in the Park far earlier !


The next day it was the same and we played an outside game ! 

Unfortunately the nice weather disappeared the next day and it was again cold and rainy ! 

It was also the day to say good bye to our resident who had come here to empty her house and move forever to the South of France. Her husband was here to recover from a surgery and she had joined him to leave Belgium and take her husband home. Instead the husband passed away and she was suddenly alone to prepare the funerals, empty the house make all the administrative papers etc etc ! And she is not the youngest one ! 84  We became friends and I helped her a bit with her tablet but the poor girl is now on her knees ! She had invited our Manager and a few of the personal and another resident and me ! We emptied 3 bottles of Champagne and had a nice time ! 

Here she is playing with us for the last time, the one with the crutches on the left 

Tomorrow we will have lunch together and on Sunday she is off to France !

My son will come tomorrow with Toby and introduce me to his dog !

 
Rosie will stay in my room ! Doggy is not allowed to enter, I don't want that she gets a heart attack !




more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.
 
 
 
 
 
 

2 May 2024

HODGEPODGE MAY 2

 1. Mayday! Mayday!...when was the last time (or a recent time) you literally or figuratively needed to call for help? Elaborate. 

It was two years ago when I fell in my apartment for the X time but this time couldn't get up alone ! Fortunately I could crawl to the Sofa where my mobile was and called my neighbor next door, she wasn't there, the others either, I was alone in the building. In such situations when I am in danger I have like a black out, I do what I have to do and called Isabel who lives a couple of km from my apartment. Fortunately she was there, and in 15 min she came, she had a key and with a friend they picked me up ! Meanwhile I had managed to sit on the floor with my back against the back of the sofa nothing hurt. Once on my feet, I had nothing, I could walk again and it was as if I had never fallen. This time I listened to Isabel and took a subscription to "Telesecours" (a help line for seniors who are in troubles) Of course ever since I never needed them ! When I fell there was always somebody near me. Fortunately since I am living in my "castle" it only happened one time, while I was talking to a resident I suddenly fell just a few cm far from the just freshly decorated Christmas tree ! From that time on everybody knew me !

2. May Day...when was the last time you danced? Do you have a lot of baskets? What's something you keep in a basket? What's your favorite purple flower? 

That's long ago, in Egypt when everybody danced (alone) and me too.

I have danced so much in my life, from 18 on I went out every weekend. I knew all dances of the 60th like the Rock n' Roll, Twist, Madison, Blues, cha-cha-cha, Hully Gully, Locomotion etc. My basket was always full ! I loved to dance. When I met Rick he fortunately loved to dance too, so the first 4 years of our marriage before the baby arrived, we went out dancing and had a lot of success, because we were a real dancing team. We only danced with each other at that time, later occasionally on parties of friends we sometimes danced with the others

My favorite flower in purple would be an orchid.

3. What's something you may do this month? 

Some one day excursions if they interesting, as I have again up and downs with my lung problem, I will see if it gets better or not.

4. Do you like eggplant? Quick topic changes lol? If you said yes in answer to the eggplant question how do you like yours prepared? Of the following purple foods, which one is your favorite...plums, purple carrots, purple asparagus, eggplant, acai berries, blackberries, purple cauliflower, elderberries, purple potatoes, or passion fruit?

I like eggplants fried as vegetable or filled with cheese and baked in the oven and I also like passion fruit !

5. The calendar turns on Hodgepodge Day...

"Then you have to remember to be thankful; but in May one simply can't help being thankful that they are alive, if for nothing else."-L.M. Montgomery

Tell us one thing you're thankful for today. 

Thankful ? I really don't know, maybe because for the first time we could sit outside in our park. Our animator wanted to walk around the park and explain the history of the castle ! The idea was great, but most of us were too lazy to walk and there were a few residents who knew the castle since they were children and far more then it was written on  Internet. So we had our coffee and said good bye to Amandine, who had always organized the activities. We all regret very much that she is gone, but have a kind replacement, a very friendly "boy" Kim.

 finally sunshine !

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I feel much better when the sun is shining and it is warm. And it's nice to be with my resident friends and have fun and laugh. Then at 5 pm I need to go back to my room to be alone. Then I think how good I feel to have landed in such a beautiful place. And that was pure coincidence. Because although I have lived in Waterloo more then 50 years, I only know now that there are the new and the old Waterloo and I only know the new part. That's why people I know haven't heart about this place !

 




      

1 May 2024

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 



Not so long ago we didn't have all these devices ! 


more participants here, and Image-in-ing

29 Apr 2024

AWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND APRIL 27


 



 

 

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS

 

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WEEKEND 

Saturday the temperature has raised and I thought I will take the opportunity and buy my fruits. Usually I avoid to shop on Saturdays, to leave the place to people who work the whole week and can do their shopping only Saturdays, as Sundays the shops are closed. It was quickly done and I thought I should buy a little microwave to warm up my coffee when it is cold instead of of always getting upset. Plus, if there's warm food in the evening, I can warm it up when I'm hungry and don't have to eat at 6 pm.

It's just the right size for warming up a plate or coffee, and it fitted exactly on my mini fridge !

Satisfied with my purchase, I drove to Isabel who wanted to show me her new sofa and the new parquet. It looks really nice now. Our house, where we lived together for 45 years, is directly opposite. It looks very nice like new. Strangely enough, I didn't feel any regret or sadness, I just felt a pang in my heart when I saw the mailbox, even though it was a different one, because Rick always got the mail there. I even forgot to take a picture for our son!

When I came home I met the daughter of a resident which I know now very well and she carried my microwave into my room, and installed on the fridge ! That was so nice of her ! Her mother and I get very well together. I was tired and went early to bed but read until midnight !

On Sunday storms were announced, the parks were closed, so I thought I will do a lazy day and let the wind blow, in my castle with these thick walls I really risk nothing. And what happened ? The sun came out alternating with clouds, no rain but a really strong wind. From my window I saw a few residents walking in the park, but not for long, a hat was blown away and the wind was so strong that they all came back. Some of us had coffee together, but then as a lot of visitors were there, and Irma and Lina were out with their children, I went back to my room, watched a bit TV. Too much wind makes me nervous ! I played a scrabble on my tablet an won !

Rosie too was lazy (it was day) and very tired and had gone to bed at 9 am, when I got up ! There is nothing to do, she is a night owl.