FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

 I wonder if Belgium will become a large aquarium in which we swim around with fish heads and palms. Each day it rains !

Some of our group went to a shopping mall that I know by heart, but it was certainly an experience for them, even though they came back half-dead late in the afternoon, during which we had a cozy coffee chat.

The next day I got an email that a parcel had arrived and I had to pay 30 € ! I got very angry because I had payed everything and didn't understand why I should pay on top the delivery by post ! So I made a big mess which was interrupted by the mailman who brought me my new license plate and asked me to pay 30 € ! I had mixed up two deliveries. The mailman will take the old one with him as soon as the new ones are fixed. I think it is a bad day and I have to pay attention ! Now everything is OK and Rick has no license plate anymore. 

First thing in the morning our man for everything came to fix the license plates ! Now I have a new car ! As there was a classical concert for the monthly birthdays celebration in the afternoon, and that's not my taste at all, I took my freshly washed car , the weather was wonderful for once and I drove a bit around and went to a newly opened shop, but there were so many people that I didn't buy anything and hurried home. I was just in time for the coffee, the concert was finished, and some people woke up. 

I got a phone call from my health insurance to tell me that I will get a parking card for disabled people because of m breathing problems. Good news, because it's sometimes difficult to carry my shopping to the car when it is parked too far. Fortunately there are still very helpful people, especially young men, who propose to carry my bag to my car ! I will probably get it in a month. 

It has become very cold ! For the first time this morning the park was white ! It hadn't snowed, it was the frost. This is the view out of my window.

 

 In the afternoon we played a quiz about Belgium ! It was a catastrophe, I think everybody had slept at school. The only one who knew nearly all answers was 96 old André, who is as large as high and sits in a wheelchair because he is too heavy for his knees. He is a very funny guy and it is amazing what he knows in all sections ! When it came to the question how many beer brands are produced in Belgium. Half of the participants answered 6 to 10 and were very much surprised that more then 1.500 brands were brewed ! I knew it because I had recently written about the Belgian beer in my blog. 

Today I better stay home black Friday starts and there will be a lot of people  !

 

 

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HODGEPODGE NOV 28

 1. Talking turkey...are you cooking the turkey this year? Does ham belong on a Thanksgiving day menu? When it comes to gravy do you pour it over your whole plate, skip it altogether, or land somewhere in between? Cranberries-homemade or jelled right out of the can? Do you look forward more to the main course, the savory sides, or the desserts?

It's ages that we didn't have Turkey on Christmas, my father, and my husband didn't like turkey and my mother was afraid of cooking it. So our traditional Christmas meal was tongue in Madeira sauce and rice.

 Tongue in Sauce Madeira

 

Later, when the daughter-in-law was added, we choose as Christmas meal, a pierrade. 

That was very easy,  you could fry meat on the top and melt cheese underneath. There were also thick potatoes for the cheese and small ones for the meat (or bread) and of course vegetables and salad.The reason was, my DIL is a vegetarian and so we had both, cheese and meat.

 

 

The Pierrade is very practical ! Everybody cooks what he wants and that is funny too !

I know there are at least a couple of bloggers who participate here who live outside the US and won't be celebrating Thanksgiving. If that's you feel free to adapt this question to your December (or any) holiday meal. 

 

As my ancestors missed the Mayflower, we have no Thanksgiving of course, the turkeys are happy they can live a little more ... until Christmas. 

2. Holiday movies...tell us your favorite and what it is about the film that makes you love it. Is it the film itself or a memory it stirs? 

I don't like Holiday movies, they start so early and at the end of December you have an overdose. The only movie I love and watch each year is a French movie called "Father Christmas is a rat" and each year I laugh as much as the year before !

3. A favorite way to give back and help others? 

I gave everything I didn't need in my "castle", furniture, devices, clothes etc to charity. And here I am helping the disabled pushing wheelchairs or lead lost people into their rooms. In short I do what I am able to do. I also became the delegate between the residents and the management, as there are a lot who don't dare to complain about something. I don't care, when it's justified I complain !

4. Name a place or setting you encountered this month that made you feel grateful. 

None, it rains everyday, the sky is grey and it's humid and I have difficulties to breath due to my chronic lung problems (CPOD). Next month it will be better I hope.

5. Knowing what you know today, if you could redo yesterday what would you do differently? 

Only one thing comes into my mind ! Looking back I had a very happy marriage, a healthy boy a good job, But what I should have done is forbid my parents from interfering in our marriage and raising our son like they did. We always had fights. They always attacked me, but didn't dare to say anything to my husband or son. I was always the bad one! And that was mostly on Christmas !

But then we had nice Christmases, here is a picture from 2012 with little 2 year old Toby who today is 14 and 1.96 m tall !

 

Eating the Pierrade

6. Spill your own random thought here. 

Since Rick is gone for me Christmas is a very sad time. I don't want to celebrate, but think of my family, so I really don't know with whom, when and if I celebrate Christmas. My son too is in a difficult situation, his wife's parents are divorced, so there is Christmas with the MIL, Christmas with the FIL and Christmas with Mum ! Poor boy !

Rosie celebrates her Christmas as usual, since 17 years,  she doesn't like Turkey either and also not the tongue !

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Not so long ago a farmer invited everybody to a pumpkin festival ! There were very cute decorations and pumpkins in all sizes !

more participants here, and Image-in-ing

AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND 25

 

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS

 

*******

It was windy and cold outside so we were happy to play a very interesting game in the afternoon ! Elinor showed us pictures of old devices and asked us if we had known these things in our youth. That was really funny. 

I had seen such an iron in a museum, but some others had seen it when their grandmas ironed. The telephone everybody knew and the typewriter too, of course only the women. I was the only one who recognized the "forefather" of a computer, because of Rick who had showed me one as his first computer took a whole room. He was Analyst Programmer when it started in the 70th. And with these different things came back memories and funny stories and we had a real nice time very amusing. 

Sunday was a day "off" and just when I wanted to have a cup of coffee with the others in the restaurant which also is our "playground" the telephone rang and I spent two others talking to my son, a friend who was in London and had a lot to tell !