FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

The week started with a terrible heat, impossible to play a game together outside. So they gathered all in our air conditioned restaurant. I don't know what I had, but after 10 min I had to go outside, I thought I would suffocate. I went outside, and looked for a chair in the huge park under a tree, in the shade where it was a little windy. There the heat was bearable and the air smelled so nice. A little later a few others came to join me.

The next day it was a bit cooler so we were all outside, or nearly because a part of us had gone with the animators to the cinema.

I didn't go, I wasn't interested in the film and it was also too expensive, because they had to rent a bus because of the wheelchairs. The cinema was also a huge thing in the neighboring town, and not in our cozy cinema in Waterloo. 

The next day we waited in vain for our animators - they had disappeared. Finally I called and they told me that they were both sick, but we hadn't been notified. I thought that's what happens when you go to such a huge cinema. The next day there was a Covid alert. I still don't understand why  test someone with a cold for Covid. We have all been vaccinated 3 or 4 times. So everyone had to eat in their room, which didn't bother me at all since I always eat in my room. But it was a mess amongst the personnel, and I tried to help a bit, at least that way we had our coffee and cookies on the terrace ! I just went into the kitchen and asked. 

But then we all should stay in our rooms, that's ridiculous, with this huge park outside ? After lunch I sat in the park like I had done the day before and enjoyed the good air it smelled lovely. Little by little the others came too and we finally sat on the terrace with visitors and had a nice afternoon. 

I had to go for a check up to my lung doctor, and the result was good, my general condition had improved and so had my breathing. Now I have to take the medication again that I had been taking for a long time.

My son sent me pictures of his vacation on Lake Garda, this time in the south and not in the north where his Dad is from. I got a little homesick and thought of all the holidays I and Rick had spent at this lake with at that time little Dario ! Now it's him who still loves to go to "our" lake with his family. 

Son and family 

For the first time in my life I will stay at home, I think it is better for me, because with all the troubles you could have with strikes, climate, and being stuck in an airport or my train will be cancelled, I have not the nerves going through that ! I am better here to lick my wounds and become completely healthy !

There are so many places to just sit or even lay down, without seeing a human being, but only birds and cats !

Rosie agrees with me, she even left her basket and slept on a cushion besides me on the sofa ! 

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HODGEPODGE AUGUST 15

1.What was the best (or one of the best) summers of your life? Tell us why.

 I think the best summers of my life I had at the beginning of my marriage with an Italian and he showed me the way of life in Italy and the beautiful Lake of Garda and the region around.  I learned a completely other way of life as I was used to so far. 

my cat Pookie checking my suitcase !

2. When you have a trip coming up do you make a list and check it twice to ensure you don't forget anything? Or are you a 'throw whatever you can think of into the suitcase at the last minute' kind of packer? When returning from a trip do you unpack immediately or leave the suitcase right where it lands? 

Since several years I have a list of everything which I have to take along, in my computer, so when the time comes to pack, I just print out the list and then "throw" everything in my suitcase and cross out the items on the list. That's really very easy. 

3. What's your favorite food or beverage made with lemons? Is that a flavor you enjoy ?

This drink I had in Morocco and liked it, it was very refreshing,  mint tea with lemon juice

I don't like sweet drinks and unfortunately lemons are always associated with something sweet, so if I want a drink with lemon, I only take sparkling water with ice cubes. Lemon flavor is refreshing but it's not amongst my favorite flavors.

4. When was the last time you had to make lemonade out of lemons, figuratively speaking I mean

The last four years have been a rough time for me, but I am still trying to make lemonade

5. Did you like school growing up? Why or why not? 

No, I hated school ! I have to say that I started school just after WWII.  At that time the capital of Germany was Bonn, which had been bombed and stood in ruins to 80 %.  

We were 80 in one class and the school was in containers, as the school building had been bombed out too. The teachers in primary and high school, where rather old and were not very friendly with their pupils. They were still more or less like the generation before, the teachers who tried to silence the children with terror,  had now to apply the new rules, no beatings and no terror in the class. We actually had no relationship with our teachers, they were all stupid and we didn't like them. The gap between teacher and pupils was enormous.

When I came to Brussels at the age of 15, the German school was completely different and I really liked it there.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Since yesterday there is a big mess here in our beautiful castle. Some residents after a test are Covid positive. I thought, why did they still the testing ? The people look completely normal and don't have not even a cold. Now all visitors have to wear a mask and a few from our personnel are also Covid positive. That means that the meal distribution was late, the nurses went first to the fourth floor to take care of the severely sick people, Alzheimer, Parkinson, Dementia, etc. This section is closed. No visitors only a restricted staff. 

So I helped out and distributed coffee for our game group, the animators both are sick too ! If they hadn't tested, everybody would have a little cold or fever because everybody had been vaccinated 3 to 4 times ! I don't mind to help, and I am happy that the nurses and the kitchen staff appreciate my help.  

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

Once I had to go early to the Waterloo city center and saw this man with his horse in front of the Tourist Information center, to water the flowers. He had a water tank on the wagon and watered the flower boxes hanging from the street lights. That was so nice to see in our modern world full of cars, that I stopped to take these pictures. 

more participants here, and Image-in-ing

HOTTEST DAY

 

Yesterday, August 12th, was the hottest day ever recorded in Belgium! 34°C to 36°C

AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND AUGUST 10

 

 

Some people don't like seagulls, I love them, they are so funny and intelligent, they make me laugh and remind me excellent holidays !

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS 

 

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WEEKEND 

Saturday was a strange day, it was very hot in the sun and rather cool in the shade, the air was heavy and it was hard to breath at least for me. I tried to walk for half an hour as I should do, but after 10 min or so I had to sit down on one of the benches in the park and took a little sunbath. Then I returned to the others and we all gathered around the tables and played "guess the price" that was quite funny, because we were all wrong. 

Finally, it was me who had guessed not the right but almost right price. Some of us were completely wrong because it was ages they hadn't done any shopping, and even said the price in Belgian Francs, which I had long forgotten as the Euro was introduced in  2001.

We have a new resident, that happens all the time one go one come, but this one I really noticed because he seemed to me like a miracle ! It was a man with half long but very thick hair, to make jealous all women here around. He was 99 years old and will have 100 in February !

He was still living alone, and his step daughter looked after him, but now he decided to stay with us, he also fell in love with our park. I think he was a kind of playboy in the past, because he still has this twinkle in his eyes when he looks at some women ! He is always dressed very in fashion, this time he wore a pink shirt and shorts. He was quite good in guessing prices ! 

When I returned to my room I still was feeling dizzy and not "normal" I had my supper, and then went to bed and took a pill against the flue/Covid, (now both are almost the same).

I slept quite well, and was feeling better when I woke up. No breakfast arrived and for once I was hungry and really longing for a coffee. They had forgotten me ! That never happened. Of course I "screamed" for breakfast and was served immediately. I just had taken a zip of coffee, when a male nurse came to ask me to move my car, because the workers who put solar panels on our roof even worked on Sundays and had just arrived. 

I quickly threw a long dress over myself and “ran” out to park my car a little further. Then finally I could drink my coffee and eat the croissants. 

After lunch I went into the park I sat under an enormous tree and enjoyed the clean air and the little wind in this heat !

I played a bit Scrabble on my tablet and then I joined the others for our afternoon game.

This time we had to roll up the toilet paper, whoever rolled up the roll the fastest won. Of course there was a lot of laughter and applause for the winners, even our 99 year old won and I too ! 

The afternoon was quickly over and I returned to my room for supper. 

 

 

There I found a picture of Litchi, the animator's dog, who had also "worked"

  by letting everyone pet her and then getting a piece of the waffle from everyone. It looks like she is exhausted