FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

I think summer is definitively over now, I had to put on the heating. It is real cold in the mornings but  in the afternoons it becomes warm to very warm and we have to set the thermostat up and down !

Finally I finished another city of my big tour, Stockholm and the old Vasar war ship, which took me the whole morning.

I am so fed up with our living furniture in which I sit exactly since 43 years, except the sofas have changed once ! Now I want to have something more modern. Therefore I went to a furniture store to have a look and was horrified about the expensive prices !

My hair had grown and I started to look like a broom. To cheer me up I went and had my hair cut as usual, certainly 1 cm went off !



Arthur was not very keen to pose with me for a selfie. He doesn't care about my new haircut either.

We had our scrabble in the afternoon, and I lost again, Nicole this time won ! Little Isis, a very social cat sat besides the table and watched !



She loves company !

We will have our yearly painting exhibition end October and I was asked to compose a poster, which should appear on Facebook and a little everywhere in Waterloo in shops and restaurants etc.

After half an afternoon of composing and trying out I finally had my end result which had been chosen.



In our painting course we discussed what we have to buy and prepare for the exhibition and where to make the tom tom for the publicity ! Put posters everywhere ? Finally we decided on Facebook and email invitations. At least people get it directly. The past told us that posters are not so efficient.

In the afternoon I "mowed" the law, which means I was sitting and surfing on my computer



while Arthur and Rosie watched that thing with suspicious looks. The one who invented this robot earns a medal !!

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

1. I have a wireless thermometer in my room which shows the outside and inside temperature. As the temperatures in Belgium are like a rollercoaster, it allows me to know if I should dress like going to the Northpole or rather to Africa. I noticed that my outside temperature was missing. I thought the little box for measuring the outside temperature was misplaced by the wind and asked Mr. G. to put it right. But there was no box. He looked everywhere even in places where it was impossible that the wind would have pushed it. The little string with which I had fixed the box was still hanging in the bush. Conclusion, somebody had stolen the box, why, was a mystery to me because with only the box you just can't do nothing. That was the first time in 39 years that something had been stolen from our front yard !

I had to buy a new one. Which I did. Only I didn't pay attention and bought a thermometer with a wire ! Mr. G. unpacked it, put it together and then we were there with the new thermometer and a wire which of course didn't go through the window ! I returned to the shop and asked for an exchange. As the package was slightly damaged they didn't take it back. I asked for a wireless thermometer a simple one, but they only had thermometers with weather station ! Weather station, that's a joke. How can that thing forecast the weather when even the weathermen is unable to do so. When sunshine is announced it rains and the other way around. And to know if it is bad or good weather I have my window, that's cheaper. I told the salesman who laughed and went out without thermometer. Fortunately I had another idea, near the shop was another one who only sells second hand things and there I sold my new thermometer and only lost a few Euros. I returned home, and bought one on Internet which was far cheaper and was exactly as my old thermometer. Until it is delivered, I have to put my nose outside and feel if it's cold or warm, to dress appropriately.

2. I had installed Skype on Nicole's new tablet, but it didn't work. So after shopping I went there to fix it, but lost patience, it was so nice and sunny, that we preferred to sit on her terrace and profit from the last warm sunny days.

3.  I did the same in our garden and read my Kindle book, while Oscar, the lawn mower robot, mowed the lawn, and during the night while I slept peacefully, I baked a bread which was ready in the morning. Modern life is great !

4. Dominique as rather delayed birthday gift (my birthday was in July) offered me to go to a theater play, so I went next door and we choose a play and booked it. I also helped her with sorting out her pictures, even after 6 years that she has her computer, she still hasn't got it how to copy and paste ! After that we sat in her garden and chatted.

5. Although I had reduced our garden to a minimum of work, adapted for a vintage couple, ivy is growing so fast that you can almost watch it ! So with a big sigh I cut ivy wherever it was hanging over.



Cat Arthur did the supervisor. At least now it's done hopefully for the last time this winter !



One neighbor who moved into our street not so long ago and whom we don't know (yet) has an ecological swimming pool built in his handkerchief sized garden. Now there is hardly room to sit in there. When I first saw this thing I thought it was a bunker against atomic bombs ! Other neighbors arrived too and we discussed how to swim in this pool. It's just large enough for a walk in the water. Maybe when it's finished, he will invite us all for a walk through his ecological swimming pool !

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE - RANDOM 5 FRIDAY

1. On Monday I had the blues. It was the first day at home after my one week holidays in the sunshine of Tunisia. I just did nothing except my aqua gym class, and found that I had done enough for the day.



I didn't even unpack my suitcase much to the delight of Rosie who had one more day to sleep in it, while Arthur played with my beach slippers.

As we had a breakdown of our internet, I finally decided to sort out my holiday pictures and put them in order, at least I had the impression to be there again.

2. Looking in the mirror and saw a mop like head, I called my hairdresser for an appointment, before I got back to civilization outside our house. Then I could make my weekly shopping and say hello to my friend Nicole.

3. Brussels was blocked by the visit of Mr. Obama ! The streets were closed in many places and  trams, buses and even the subways were not allowed to run. Although the city was quite proud to receive such an important visitor for the first time, the companies, shops, stores etc were not so happy. Nobody could get through.


They block all the roads, and I am only arriving by helicopter ?!

In reality he arrived in the evening with his special airplane Air force one and its twin. The planes were escorted by 2 helicopters of the marines, 5 helicopters of the army, 3 airplanes carrying "the Beast" and two other armoured  cadillacs. 45 patrol cars escorted the convey. 900 employes worked on the organization, 300 security agents were posted all around and snipers were on the roofs. This less then 24 h visit has cost Brussels 500.000 € (689.000 $) and 10.millions € (1.4 millions $) for the USA (according to the British Newspaper "The Guardian) !

Quite an expensive excursion for only one man.



He was greeted by our King and the Prime Minister, and the next day went to the military cemetary in Waregem, called  "The Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial". It is the smallest World War I American cemetery in Europe and the only one in Belgium.

Although the American president is very much appreciated in Belgium, people found these security measures a little too much !

 4. My friend Ilona had her birthday so I went to give her my birthday present. I had bought her a USB stick so that she can do back ups. She just had bought a new computer and had lost all her photos and documents which were in the old one. Fortunately I had almost all photos of her paintings, as it's always me who takes the pictures, which she regretted the most but also from our trips together, which I had put on the stick. Ilona and I have the same age both born in 1943 she is only 4 months older.


Here we are in Edinburgh together

5. Nature has changed in the one week I was gone ! The trees are starting to become green again



I have put some red (fake) flowers at the entrance and the Magnolia tree of my neighbor is in full bloom.



For the first time this year Oscar the lawn mower robot had to work, while Mr. G. and I were busy on our computers ! What a difference ! Two weeks ago we had to mow the lawn with our "normal" lawn mower and for our handkerchief sized lawn we needed two days, the grass had grown so fast and it had rained all the time so that it was wet like a sponge and too high for Oscar.

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

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MY FIRST ROBOT !

more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday

I never was especially interested in Robots, until the day when I was walking through a Farmer's market and felt followed by something strange. I turned around and saw a little lawn mower following me and while it did that mowed the lawn ! I had never seen such a thing and of course wanted to know a little more about it. I went to the stall and a man explained me, that I could do my shopping, watching a movie or whatever I wanted to do in the house, while outside the robot mowed the lawn. Unfortunately the price was priceless nothing for my narrow wallet and the robot remained a dream. After all I had a living robot at home to mow the lawn in form of Mr. G.

Four years went by and meanwhile, Mr. G. couldn't mow the lawn anymore for health reasons so I did it myself. It was perfectly doable because I felt in great shape. But last year I still felt in great shape but not for lawn mowing anymore, it became too hard especially when the grass grew higher because I had no time. I didn't want to do like Lady Chatterley in the novel of D.H. Lawrence . She was a young married woman (which I am not) and when she saw the new gardener she started a love affair with him. 
Love affairs for me are too complicated and I want to continue my peaceful life. Therefore I decided to stay faithful as I had always been and not to commit a sin only because of our lawn !



Instead of taking a lover I bought a robot lawn mower ! Meanwhile the prices had dropped and they became affordable to people like me. The robot is easy doesn't involve feelings I can switch it on and off and put it aside in the garden shed, which would be impossible with a lover.

The one and only day last week when the sun came out and the grass was dry I put the robot in the middle of the grass and switched it on. It purred like a cat and started to run slowly in all directions. It was quiet cold outside so Mr. G. and I closed the French doors and watched our "gardener" working. I called him Oscar. And while Mr. G. watched a movie and I answered emails on my computer, Oscar worked. From time to time I checked but Oscar wasn't finished yet. When he had decided that the grass was perfect now, he stopped. I took it in, connected it to charge the battery, Mr. G. cleaned it with pleasure and then put it back in his Ikea bag ! Since then suddenly I hear a lot about these robots from people who own one too and because they are also used to mow golf courses ! Not Oscar of course, he is too small !



Oscar at work !