FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

On December 6, 1969 we got married. Today it would have been 55 years ! But he got very sick and sadly passed away in 2022. Happy wedding anniversary, wherever you are !
 

The whole week we had cold and humid weather or it rained ! Fortunately we had a lot of work decorating the castle for Christmas ! First comes Saint Nicolas on December 6, who is very important here, or rather was, because now people celebrate more Christmas. So he oldies told us stories about their childhood when Saint Nicolas brought little gifts. On Christmas there was only family gathering and a lot of eating. 

Christmas trees didn't exist, they moved slowly into Belgium in the 70th. I remember that it was real difficult to get a fir, today it has become a real industry. I had to replace the real fir with a fake one, because I had a baby, 3 cats and a dog ! 

First the entrance, somebody had put father Christmas into the tree as if he was drunken ! It took us nearly the whole afternoon. 

The next day it was the restaurant, and there I was surprised how many residents had never seen how one decorated a Christmas tree ! 

 

It seemed as if everybody counted on me for the decoration, because the Germans were the first ones in history who made a Christmas tree. I did my best and at the end it looked nice. We also had a crib Joseph was OK but Mary had lost her head ! I put her in a corner with some straw and it looked OK. It was real fun and at the end when we had our coffee, we had a lot to tell about our childhood. 

The next day we went together to the same restaurant we had done a month before. The menu was very good, better then the first time and there was an English singer, a girl with a very good voice and she sang all English Christmas songs, which most of us had never heard. So it was very interesting for them. One of us got up and danced and a gentleman from another table joined her. The third generation of teenagers !

When we came home, we were all wet, just from walking from the bus to the entrance ! 

I had a surprise visit, my son was in Waterloo for a funeral and took the opportunity to come and see me in the afternoon, which of course was a pleasant surprise. We chatted together and he could see my Christmas decoration. We made a plan for Christmas, which would be suitable for everybody, they will come the weekend before Christmas and we celebrate here, and then the weekend after it's the turn of the Dutch family. 

 

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HODGEPODGE DECEMBER 5

1. What's the best $5 gift to give someone? 

The best and most beautiful and special gifts for this price I find in my Indian shop, where I have the choice between little statues, scarfs, bags, bracelets, Indian spices and teas.

2. What's your favorite way to relax/unwind during the busy holiday season? 

My holiday season is not busy it all, I just have to buy a few little gifts, decorate my room and then relax watching a movie in winter and in summer I walk through our huge park. But what relaxes me the most is sitting on the beach and watching the waves of the sea. 

 3. How do you feel about gingerbread? Love it or no thanks? Are gingerbread houses a part of your holiday tradition? If you said yes, how does that look? Do you like ginger flavor in other kinds of dishes?

 

In Germany gingerbread is mostly eaten during Christmas season, there are cookies, little houses, dolls etc. I always bought gingerbread cookies as my mother did (but she made them herself !)

4. December 5th is National Blue Jeans Day...will you be celebrating? Do you have a favorite brand? A favorite pair? Do you have a hard time parting with a favorite pair of jeans? Blue jeans-joggers-leggings-yoga pants...which one do you wear most often? 

 

Since I am retired, I always wear jeans, except when I go out or on special occasions. I have no special brand, and I think I wore them all since I was 13, large, slim, elephant legs, I like to wear them, they are so comfortable. 

5. As we head into this holiday season what's your biggest priority or goal for the end of the year? 

Without any hesitation, I want to get my health back, which I lost when Rick died. I still haven't recovered. And I want to travel again, but as I am now, I don't dare.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Sometimes I think about Christmas. When I was a child it was a wonderful time to wait the whole afternoon of the 24th until a little bell rang, the door to the living room opened and I ran at the window to see the little Jesus who was supposed to bring me gifts. Unfortunately I never saw him ! In one part of Germany it was Baby Jesus who brought gifts, in other parts it was Father Christmas. Until I got married I celebrated with my parents, just the three of us, which was not very funny, but my father had decided that Christmas was only the family and for him the family was my mother and me. That my grandma, his sister, husband and my two cousins lived in the same house made no difference ! I wanted so much celebrate with Rick alone without my parents, but that was impossible. The best Christmas I had in London with my son and friends and us, it was so cheerful ! For the first time I could "Rock around the Christmas tree". And now, Christmas is a sad time I am alone without Rick and I don't care when and with whom I celebrate. 

This has been our last Christmas together, in 2019, he was already sick, and had got a bathrobe.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - The Cinquantenaire in Brussels

 

The Arcade du Cinquantenaire which is a monumental triple arch in the center of the Cinquantenaire park in Brussels. It is topped by a bronze quadriga sculptural group with a woman charioteer, representing Brabant raising the national flag. The sidewalls feature personifications of Belgian provinces: Brabant being represented by the quadriga, East Flanders, West Flanders, Antwerp, Liège, Hainaut, Limburg, Namur and Luxembourg. Twelve spandrels are decorated with allegories of Arts and Industry. 

This park was created in 1880 and built by King Leopold II to celebrate Belgian's fifty years of independence. Eight statues of women, symbolising the provinces surround it, the two Flanders being represented by a single statue. Inside the building you can visit, the Royal Army and Military History Museum and Autoworld as permanent exhibitions. 

more participants here, and Image-in-ing

AWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND NOVEMBER 30

 

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS 

 

 

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WEEKEND

My weekend started with a Rosie who imitated a lion in love and made a terrible noise, I wonder from where such a loud roar can come from such a small cat ! Rosie didn't want breakfast, she just had decided that I had to get up it was 8.30 sharp ! I think she has swallowed an alarm clock when she was a kitten. 

My coffee didn't arrive and finally I got up and looked through the door but no human was in the corridor. As the sun was shining, I prepared me a cup of coffee with powder coffee which woke me up. I had just finished my cup when a girl came and brought me my tray. I ate my Kiwi and that was enough, I was not hungry at all. Once on my feet Miss Rosie went to bed which means her basket and started her sleep until 7 pm ! 

Sunday morning I got a phone call from one of the nurses, she was looking for a 90 year old lady, who often won in all games with very difficult questions. She was really amazing, only she couldn't sit for 10 minutes, then she had to move. Often she had disappeared while we tried to find the answer on the Quiz, and then we were all looking for her. This time the nurse asked me if she was with me, as our rooms are very close, but I hadn't seen her the whole morning. We were again looking for her and found her at the entrance of the castle, where she cleaned the two flower pots ! Fortunately she had a warm cardigan, because it was quite cold. We were all relieved. That's the only problem she has, no orientation sense anymore. 

In the afternoon I went with my "friend" Jacqueline to my Indian shop, which I know since ages and she had never seen it, although it exists for more than 20 years. When I opened the door the first thing she saw was this beautiful fountain with all the plants and figurines around.

 

She couldn't believe it and was thrilled, she had never seen a store like this before and she bought a beautiful bag and Indian soaps and also tea !  I didn't buy anything yet, but found a few things for friends and my DIL for Christmas. So we will go again next week. When we returned home we were both surprised that we had spent two hours in this shop !!

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