17 Feb 2025

AWWW MONDAY




 

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15 Feb 2025

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

It's not my fault that I am boring, but the weather hasn't changed, we are all suffering from the rain, grey skies and strong wind! A really dreamy weather and it has been like that for 3 weeks! I can't go outside at all because it is too humid. Luckily we have fun every afternoon with our games. 

 
Our animators have a lot of work to always find new games, one for the brain and one for our
muscles. 
Fortunately there is Mr. Google ! Above you can see our Micado game with large sticks so that
no one can say I can't see them or I can't feel them !  What surprises me is that those who aren't
quite so clear-headed play much better than those of us who are still in our right minds. 
When I saw this Micado game for the first time I had to laugh ! It seemed to me as if it was for giants !

We had the visit of a class of kids who are on holidays. The School had asked if the 
kids could play for an hour in our park ! They had a lot of fun ! 
I still have not discovered everything in our castle, and when I went to the 3rd floor to visit a friend, I discovered the family church of the previous owners. The windows are very pretty !
 
We have a new Manager a very friendly lady. She doesn't stay in her office the whole day like the previous one who was fired, no she comes to the restaurant every day and chats with everybody and once when we had a fire alarm she went from room to room to see if the people were not afraid and if everything was OK. She also took note of all complaints, one complaint made us laugh, it was our little alcoholic friend who asked if we couldn't have an aperitif before lunch, and a bit more vine for lunch ! We have already 2 carafes per table, one red and one white. We all laughed and she too, most of us don't drink, because of medications or just because. 
 
I am still busy with creating my new blog, but it is a catastrophe ! They have changed so many things that I loose a lot of time. But I have made a header !
 
That's all what happened this week, except I have a big wound at my leg, I stepped on cat Rosie's tail !!! And she bit me ! Now I have a nice plaster that I have to wear for a week so that the wound heals. I told Rosie to put her tail in another direction and not just under my foot !
 
 
On Valentine's day Kim brought us a red rose and a card. I found that a real nice gesture. Most of us are widows, but we loved it. 

I hope that next week the sun will finally come out, not that we have to wait until Christmas !
 
 
 
more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.
 
 
 
 
 
 

12 Feb 2025

HODGEPODGE FEB 12



 

1. Did you watch the Super Bowl? Did your team win? What's your favorite game day snack for  whatever sport is happening ? 
 

Before I started blogging I had never heard of a "Super Bowl" and I would probably taken it for a kind of soup. Now of course they even show little extracts during the news, of course it was an extract with the Trump family. In fact we have the same hysteria here with football (soccer) which has even become dangerous and sometimes there are deaths.

2. What's your 'superpower'? 

I would modestly say "nothing" but I am sure that I am well known as a superpower chatterbox !

3. Will you do anything special on Valentine's Day? If so do share. Any thoughts on/about this particular holiday? Share a favorite verse or quote relating to love. 

Fortunately Rick and I we never celebrated Valentine's day, neither in Germany nor in Italy at the time when we were young. Of course today it has swapped over from the States and you see hearts everywhere. For me it would be a sad day, a widow and Valentine's day that doesn't fit. And I have no memories of a Valentine's day. That's good. As most of my companions are widows too, I don't understand why our castle is decorated with hearts and other Valentine's decoration. 

4. Are you a fan of the rom-com genre? If so what's one of your favorites? If you're not a movie go-er then what about a book you love that features a great love story? How about a favorite love song? 

Maybe I am not a fan of rom-com movies, but I like them from time to time. My favorite is "Notting Hill"

 

And my favorite love song is "Love of my life" from Freddy Mercury.

5. Let's get creative...write an acrostic using the word L-O-V-E.

lights of volcanos explode

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I am still trying to do a new blog, but I did a big mistake, there was an update for Firefox proposed and I clicked on yes ! Now everything is different and I am loosing time to find where the things are, I even lost this blog and nearly got a heart attack ! Fortunately suddenly it was there again.

And on top I stepped on Rosie's tail and to thank me she bit in my leg, blood was flooding like a waterfall and I needed 3 rolls of toilet paper to get it under control. I didn't want to call a nurse at 3am. I managed to stop the blood, put a plaster on the wound and returned to bed. This morning a nurse came and bandaged me properly.

Miss Dracula

10 Feb 2025

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

I drove withe friends to  Boulogne sur Mer (France) where we visited the Aquarium Nausicaa (all details here) The French Tourist Office describes it as the biggest of Europe. As everything in France, it is always the most beautiful, or the biggest or greatest. I wasn't surprised at all when I saw it. It was not big at all and I doubted that all creatures of the waterworld would fit in there !

ยต
This monster was busy to swallow a shrimp, which was sitting on its head and had walked slowly down directly into his mouth.



















Jelly fishes in all forms and sizes


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9 Feb 2025

AWWW MONDAY






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*******

 WEEKEND Feb 8



 

8 Feb 2025

FRIDAY's FAVORITE FIVE

The week started with the celebration of Candelmas, which takes place on February 2, 40 days after Christmas. But Candlemas is also “crepe day”. It is said that crepes, with their round and golden shape, recall the sun and evoke the return of spring after the dark and cold winter.

All households are baking pancakes this day or they buy, we (not me) did the dough on Monday morning so it was ready for coffee time ! I don't know how many were baked, and they were rather pancakes and not crepes which are thinner and far bigger. But the little once were good too and  if I am not wrong they ate 60 pancakes ! They were real good.

Here are Kim and Elinor baking the pancakes and then some of us followed, the others watched with interest and watering mouth !

On Tuesday there is always mass, and those who don't go played cards. Then we got all together for coffee and cake. 

Unfortunately when I came back into my room the daughter of my friend Nicole called me to tell me that her mum had finally passed away, the last weeks, she didn't eat anymore and on the 27th just fell asleep forever. I was like paralyzed. 25 years of friendship gone !

On Thursday you could see the coffin, which was unfortunately closed and not half open like Rick's, so we could see him.  There were only three of us, daughter, son and I and then people from the staff who were particularly close to her. 

Because of my lung problems I was unable to take part in the incineration celebration. It was too cold and too humid and quite far away from my home where her husband's ashes were and she wanted her ashes close to his place. 

The last few days until today I felt like a robot, I did everything automatically and thought, yes, now the last link to my former life is finally over. And then I got a message from Karin with a photo of Charlie, Nicole's great love, a golden retriever. She had painted him and  I wanted it as a souvenir. 

The picture had changed, it was no longer the happy Charlie, he was crying! That was a sign for both of us and we were a bit confused. When did Nicole paint the tears on the picture ? She could barely hold a spoon and it must have happened in the last few days because neither Karin nor I noticed anything during the last visit. It will remain a mystery, or a miracle. How did she take the picture from the wall and found her painting material ? She could rather move. I will hang the crying Charlie in my room.

Now I'm trying to create a new blog, but it's not that easy, so much has changed. Of course I'll put a link to the new blog...... when it's ready.

Nicole and I traveled a lot together, here we are in France, with our body guard.



more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.
 
 
 
 
 
 

6 Feb 2025

HODGEPODGE FEB 6

 1. What area of your life feels like you're stuck in a Groundhog's Day loop, doing the same thing over and over? Does it bother you or is that just how life is in this particular season?  

Thanks to Rick, my husband, I had a pretty eventful life in a positive sense. Now that I am a widow,  I have started the third part of my life, Now I have the impression that my days are like a pearl necklace, every day the same. But it doesn't  bother me only every now and then!

My days in pearls 

2. Something that makes your heart skip a beat ? 

When suddenly I see  an extraordinary landscape turning around a corner  and I hadn't thought of it at all. When I was a teenager, it happened when I suddenly saw a handsome boy ! Times change.

3. Do you wear your heart on your sleeve or are you more of a closed book? Elaborate. 

I think I wear my heart on my sleeve, I am certainly not a closed book ! Rather wide open !

4. According to Prevention Magazine, these are 25 of the best foods for heart health-

wild salmon, sardines, liver, walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, oatmeal, blueberries, coffee, red wine, green tea, soy milk, dark chocolate, raisins, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, whole grains, apples, oranges, grapefruit, avocado, avocado oil, olive oil 

Which five do you include in your diet most often? Are there any foods on the list you simply cannot abide? 

I don't do any diet, therefore I must have the best heart in the world because I like everything which is listed and not just 5 ! The only thing I have never eaten  is chia seeds and Google had to explain me what that was. And I learned a lot ! 

"Chia seeds are tiny black or white seeds derived from the Salvia hispanica plant, a member of the mint family native to Central America. These small seeds have been a part of human diets for over 5,000 years. Chia seeds were a staple food for the Aztecs and Mayans."  

To me it looks like lentils.

5. What was the last piece of furniture you bought? Is there a piece of furniture you need/want to purchase this year ? 

I don't even remember when I bought the last piece of furniture ! But I got a new table for free which I use as desk.

When it is warm and the sun is shining, I open wide the window and I have this beautiful view on our park. 

And no, I have no intention to buy a new furniture, I am happy as it is, in my cozy nest.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The last 3 days !  I tried to sort out at least 20 winter and summer scarfs that Nicole's daughter had brought me. They are very beautiful, made of all kind of materials. This and the photos of Nicole I chose for the slideshow at the funeral ceremony brought back so many memories that I suddenly found myself sitting in a deep black hole. I felt like I didn't want to do anything anymore, like my life was now over. But then I pulled myself together and ordered me not to keep looking at the past but to plan a future. And suddenly I decided to end this blog and make a new one with a new title and my real name. My life has changed so much, that this blog is not actual anymore.

And with that idea I have already taken a step into the future. But I will never be able to forget Rick. Only now do I realize what a loving husband and partner he was. We were a real team.


54 years together

 

 

 

5 Feb 2025

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

  

 
 


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2 Feb 2025

AWWW MONDAY

 

Kim, one of my cats at the groomer !





 

The thief !

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