MACRO MONDAY -WEEKEND REVIEW MARCH 24

Flowers made out of fruits

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For a retired couple weekends are rather boring, at least when it's still winter. The flower shows are delayed because nothing blooms.

Finally looking in the mirror I found that I really needed a haircut ! Usually on Saturdays it's difficult to get a place even without appointments. Some hairdressers do.



I was lucky I had only to wait for half an hour and then it was my turn. So I came out with a new head and felt already better. As it was windy and humid I returned home and continued my TV marathon.

Sunday morning a miracle happened and the sun pointed its nose ! It had been at least more than a year I hadn't been to Brussels' midi market and Nicole and I decided to go for a walk there. Sometimes you can do quite some bargains.



As you can see people are still warmly dressed ! I bought some socks for Mr. G. and a nighty for me didn't find anything else. Nicole came back with enormous mushrooms and also socks. We had a drink on the terrace of the restaurant, where it was so warm that I had to take off my jacket.

Then we went home.  We had been really lucky because in the afternoon it was again TV time because it became cloudy and cold.

WEEKEND REVIEW MARCH 10 - MACRO MONDAY

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This weekend we had our monthly Facebook meeting "Vivre à Waterloo" and as usual it was very nice to see people life.



Meanwhile this group has more than 4000 members, who of course weren't all there, we were about 30 the others had probably the flu ! This time our "president" besides the "Carlsberg" sign had booked in the "Café de Paris".



It has been completely renovated and is now a restaurant too. You can eat the best steaks there, according to Nicole who is rather difficult when it comes to steaks.



Monique, Nicole and I had a beef Carpaccio, very thin slices of raw beef.  The beef is served with lemon, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. It was absolutely delicious and I had never seen such a big portion in my whole life not even in Italy where it comes from.

The next day we went for breakfast to "La Brioche" for me it was not worthwhile because I am not hungry early mornings. So I just had a coffee and a croissant, while the two others had, scrambled eggs, cheese, ham, sausages, croissants, jam different sorts of bread etc. If you eat it all you are full for the whole day !



It is the only place in Waterloo where you can have breakfast from 6 am on. Otherwise you have to wait until 10 when the shops open, except the supermarkets which open at 9 ! Poor tourists who don't know and arrive hungry early morning in Waterloo to see the battle field ! I knew this place from afternoon teas, but had never been there in the morning. Useless to say that it was full.



It started to snow again and the temperature dropped more than a half during the night. With that a nice strong wind, I am freezing ! Even the cats didn't want to go out ! I wonder if this  winter will ever end or if we enter a new ice age !

WEEKEND REVIEW MARCH 10 - MACRO MONDAY

Saturday was a real lazy day, where I didn't dare to go out because it was so wet and I am still a little anxious that my breathing problems come back. Since I have been at the Red Sea in Egypt, I have nothing anymore and don't whistle like an old locomotive when I come up the stairs.

But in the evening we had super show at the theatre in the Waterloo city hall. It was as usual for the seniors.

This time it was a show with the very famous (in French speaking countries) press cartoonist Pierre Kroll.



The theatre was full ! Nobody wanted to miss him.



His political cartoons are hilarious and so true. He has a very sharp humor and makes humor out of the most dramatic things. He is for no religion, for no extremists whatsoever and not a racist either. In the beginning of the show he told us that he was  born in the at that time "Belgian Congo" and of course surrounded by black people, far more then whites. When the family had to go back to Belgium at the Congo's independence he was a 3 year old toddler and traumatized by the fact that there were more white than black people and he had never seen so many and not even one black ! He therefore cried and cried and his parents had all difficulties of the world to comfort him.

It was a very funny show and our bellies hurt so much we laughed, as the whole audience did.

Of course we couldn't end the evening just like that it was early only 8 pm, therefore we decided to go into a nearby located restaurant in a tiny little street in Waterloo center.






The food there is excellent and we enjoyed the evening very much.

Of course it rained on Sunday morning when I had the intention to go to the midi market in Brussels, where I hadn't been since at least a year. So I stayed home and computered.



and while looking out of my window for inspiration, I saw quite a lot of bikers, because it had cleared up. Ever since the Waterloo Newspaper had declared that it is very dangerous to ride a bike in the city, our street has become a favorite target for bikers as there is nearly no traffic in this street and the streets around. I almost felt like little Amsterdam !

When I had finished with everything I had to do on the computer and in the house,



I watched funny crime stories on TV. Arthur slept on my lap and I took the opportunity to make a punk out of him. He didn't care !

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 cat eye

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MACRO MONDAY - WEEKEND REVIEW MARCH 3

Paillette from my camera case

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WEEKEND NEWS

I still am not quite myself probably due to the temperature difference, it can't be a jet lag because there is only one hour difference and one hour had never bothered me. But I never experienced coming home from 30°C to minus 6 °.

Nevertheless it had been a nice weekend because my son and grandson came to visit us, but they stayed over night at my son's best friend's house because the two little boys wanted to play together of course. It also had snowed and they have a big property with a hill, where they could ride down with a sleigh.

After that they came over for lunch.



They played with dinosaur and built barns for them. From the slide ride they were quite hungry and had a real  good appetite



Mr G. had bought Easter eggs and Benji had never eaten a colored egg, it was really funny when they broke and pealed it.



Then they posed for Mr. G. with his Ferrari helmet and an Alpine hunter hat from the first world war from his uncle who was an Italian mountain soldier. I think Mr. G. had more fun then they had but they were very cooperative.



Then they returned to more interesting games letting fight the dinosaurs.



He also tried to make the same face as me




and we laughed because here he looks almost like me. When they were gone I played a little bit with this new appliance my son had found,



I made myself to a Hollywood star



and to a serial killer !

On Sunday the visit was quite short, my son slept a bit he was tired probably with too much chatting with his friend, not only women are chatterboxes.  Toby and I watched TV amongst others "Mr. Bean"



At 3.30 pm they returned home to Amsterdam and we to our TV !

MACRO MONDAY - MY WEEKEND OF FEBRUARY 10

Pailettes on my photo case



a ring

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This weekend I was busy to sort out my summer clothes which I need for my "winter home" in Egypt. I just had to go away from this humidity here in Belgium and I had the choice : Or to make my doctor rich and take all kinds of pills or I fly away into the warmth and sunshine, good food and laying on the beach. Of course I opted for the second solution.



First I wanted to stay just for a week, but Mr. G. said that's not worthwhile I should take 2 and come back like "new". I had never been affected so much from this weather then this year. I am exhausted, without any energy and have to force myself to not sit in a corner and see the world in black.

Saturday we went to our friend Monique, she had bought new sofas and a new recliner and wanted to show it. Nicole came too and we had coffee and a self made cake.

Sunday I prepared my different cables for the camera, smartphone and my travel computer, USB sticks etc. At least now I only need one for the camera and the smartphone. It should be the same for every device !

My suitcase I do in the last minute otherwise I forget what I have put in.

I looked up the weather, it's 28°C there while here it's around 0 ! Since a week they announce snow, but so far besides 3 flakes I haven't seen anything. And .... in the News they told us that we enjoyed 12 hours of sunshine in 2 months !!

MACRO MONDAY - WEEKEND FEB 5

Tiny little cristal cats from my cat collection

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Since a couple of years we have a nearly new TV with a big screen standing in our guest room, and in our living room we had a smaller size. I found it a pity that that big thing was sitting in the guestroom for nobody and we had the little one upstairs. Mr. G. measured the TV cabinet and on a mm right the big one would fit in.



I asked our young friend JC if he could come and connect the big screen TV in the living room and the other in the guestroom. At 10 am he was standing in front of the door and made it. It was quite easy, in 15 min it had been done. Mr. G. had feared that we had to take the whole backside off, but hasn't been necessary because there were a big hole for the cables.

Now all is settled and we are happy with our big screen.

In the afternoon I went to Nicole to try out a new mattress which her daughter had brought. I should have taken pictures because we had so much fun to lay on the new mattress to see if it was not too big or would slip, because Nicole's bed is with a remote control so that she can change positions.

The next day she called me to tell that she had slept like an angel and that it was the best mattress of the world. I wonder how long that will last, because if one time she doesn't sleep well she will pretend the contrary.

Because of the still depressing weather we decided to have a cream tea in "our" newly discovered Tea room and Bunny (another friend came too) and we had a little chat and a delicious cream tea.



 The bark is gone but the hole that was digged by mistake had disappeared

I was quite tired with all the events from the previous days with the TV coming and then the opening of the street, and other works, now our garden at the side looks as if an elephant had worked in there.

We will see what happens now, when the manager from the provider comes on Tuesday.

MACRO MONDAY - WEEKEND JANUARY 27

Rosie's little nose

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I didn't do much this weekend ! My friend (and neighbor) since 1975 had passed away fortunately at home where she was in palliative care. Her daughter a nurse had taken a month off from work to take care of her mother. I was with them when they took the body away and honestly it was terrible. I tried to comfort the two daughters a bit, and then went home.

In the afternoon I absolutely had to go out because I needed some distraction. I called Monique and Nicole and we went again to our Tea Room. This time I took some pictures. We had the cream tea and as always when we are together the good mood and cheerfulness came back.



We talked to two ladies at the other table, she had a broken arm and her friend had to help her eating, while Nicole has a tendinitis in her left leg and had put her leg on another chair. We joked that it looked like a hospital !

We once had this store in the center of Waterloo, but ever since it moved to the main street leading to Brussels, I had never been in this new store. But I want to make a cream tea brake on Monday when we play scrabble and it is my turn.



In this store they only sell British things, like a little Tesco. I found my sour cream (!!!) I found scones for my girls and for Mr. G. his beloved gammon steak he hadn't eaten for ages ! So tonight is English food on the table. I also bought Cornish pastries which he loved very much. I know now where I have to go back when I need a speciality which I can't get in our supermarkets.





The rest of the weekend I spent as doormanwoman for Arthur, when he was out he realized that it was still cold so he wanted to come in. He tried 3 times more, but at the last time he tried,   I didn't let him out, so he settled down on my lap and slept while I was watching a movie, using his back as computer support.

MACRO MONDAY - WEEKEND JANUARY 21

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Plus the rain and wind it's true ! Fortunately I had some nice activities over the weekend.



We had our very first Facebook meeting of our group "Living in Waterloo" (vivre à Waterloo) and even our mayor was present (on the first picture above left, the handsome blond girl in the middle). It was great fun to see each other life and we talked about everything going on in Waterloo.

During the day there was not much to do as the usual things in the household.

The next day the city had organized a "Gospel" concert. We were all very keen to go and finally we were 5.



The concert was a catastrophe we were expecting a group of black singers as it should be, but it was a white group who moved like brooms and had not the special voice of a real gospel singer.

The leader of the choir started with explaining the origin of Gospel and I don't know from where he got this story, but most of it was absolutely wrong. 

Besides there were not all gospel songs or only one or two. Amongst Jazz songs,  they even sang "Amazing Grace" in a "Gospel concert", which  has nothing to do with Gospel. Most of the people didn't know what it was, as they hardly know their own country's anthem. Fortunately in a few songs was a black female singer, and she was absolutely great, she killed the whole choir with her powerful voice. Nicole fell asleep, didn't even wake up when I took the picture with a flash, only when the black singer started she woke up ! Of course we all laughed. We were happy when the concert was over !

To recover we went in our newly discovered Tea room (see post below) and I ordered cream tea. I was so curious how they would present it as you can't find clotted cream here. When my friends saw what I got, they wanted to try they had never eaten a scone so we all had cream tea.

Despite that the cream was not clotted the scone was freshly baked and still a bit warm, the blueberry jam was homemade and both delicious and to replace the clotted cream the cook had added a bit of lemon juice to the whipped cream and it really tasted very good. Now they all decided that we would always have our cream tea when we are going there.


me, Mireille (half blind) Nicole         Monique         Myriam

My friend Monique  had sent me these photos taken in the tea room and had added :

"I bet if we had been on stage " as the 5 Angels" There would have been more ambiance"

And she is absolutely right !