WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

PHOTO MEMES ARE here





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1.Describe your 30's in one sentence. If you're not yet 30 tell us one thing you hope to accomplish once you hit that particular decade.



That's easy : My son was born !

2. Is it harder for you to exercise or eat healthy?

I do both, so it's not hard at all. I do Yoga exercises each morning and once a week aqua gym, I hate greasy and sweet things, but like vegetables, and salads. 

3. June 7th is National VCR Day. Huh? Anyway this reminded me of something I saw on Facebook listing household items we no longer have and the VCR was on it. I couldn't put my hands on that list, but found another list here of 21 items we all had ten years ago, but which are now obsolete-
bookshelves (WHAT!!???), drip coffee makers, alarm clocks, file cabinets, desktop computers, printers, printed phone books, answering machines, fax machines, paper shredders, a Rolodex, CD racks, CD burners, china cabinets, home phones, entertainment consoles, DVD players, calculators, takeout menus, incandescent light bulbs, and cable TV

Your thoughts? How many on the list do you still have? Still use?

My thoughts ? That was a lot of things we had ! Of course now I have a coffee machine, but still an alarm clock (as decoration), a printer, a paper shredder, a home phone with incorporated answering machine, a calculator, and we have cable TV already since 1953. Belgium was one of the first country in the world to be "cabled". In addition we also have digital TV of course.


4. What's something you see disappearing in the next ten years?


Paper, cash payments, and office services

5. How did you celebrate your birthday this past year ? Is that typical?

I think I invited my best friends for a cake and drinks, it is not really typical, in fact there is no rule. On the weekends before or after my birthday I usually celebrate with my son and family. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

How to dress ? It's cold and warm and I don't like to change several times per day, and how to fill in the form for the Russian Visa and then check where I have to go with all documents and papers the ask for ! The embassy doesn't make Visas !

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

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1. What would you say is your biggest day to day challenge?

Get out of my bed when it is so grey and cold !

2. May 16th is National Biographers Day. What's a biography you really enjoyed reading? Is this a genre you read regularly?

I like biographies very much. I think the last one I read was the one of Diana Princess of Wales 




3. How important is keeping a clean house? Do you need to de-clutter your life?

I think it's normal to keep a house clean, but not sterilized. There is nothing to de-clutter in my life actually, I have done that long time ago.

4. You're the 8th dwarf. What's your name?

Moody



5. What's surprised you the most about your life or life in general?

That's a difficult question, because nothing surprised me in my life or life in general, it just all happened and I am still here !

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I try to put my shopping list together, and think if I need something else. I always forget something !

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

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1. What are your ingredients for a perfect Saturday?

I like to go out. Theatre, cinema, exhibitions, excursions, or meeting with friends

2. What skill do you wish more people took the time to learn?

using a Smartphone, a tablet or a computer for the vintage people. Life would be more easy for them.




3. What's something you ate as a child you can't stand now as an adult?

Salad with sweet dressing ! My grandma always put sugar in the salad and milk plus the vinegar of course, that was a German recipe !

4. Something parenting has taught you? If you're not a parent tell us one important lesson you learned from your own parents.

To get rid of useless principles my parents had taught me

5. Share a favorite quote or saying about mothers or motherhood.

“There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.” – Jill Churchill




6. Insert your own random thought here.

 When do I pull out weeds in our garden (yard) ? Each day I find another excuse !

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WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE - WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Cleaning the TV

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1. April showers bring May flowers or so the saying goes. Is there a flower you associate with a particular memory? Explain.

In Belgium it is the use to give a little bouquet of a lilly of the valley which is our mayflower  to family friends and neighbors. You can see stalls all along the main roads, or children selling little bouquets.





This year it had been too cold, they are just coming out, but I could offer some to my friends.

2. Last time you helped someone? Tell us how.

I gave some tips to a young woman who was looking for a job and was quite depressed that she didn't find any apparently it helped she got other ideas and was suddenly cheerful and full of hope. She speaks English which is rather seldom in France so she has even more chances.

3. It's National Salsa Month (the food, not the dance) so tell us, do you like salsa? Hot, medium, or mild? Homemade, store bought, or from your favorite restaurant only?

I don't know salsa it looks like chili con carne sauce when I googled and found a recepe. I would rather try out mild ! I don't like it too spicy.

4. When I was twelve years old...

I did a lot of roller skate with my friends and we started listening to Elvis Presley and I bought my first record. He was in Germany as soldier at that time I guess.   




5. It's the first of May so let's run with it-first things first, don't know the first thing about it, first dibs on something, first impression, first rate, first cousin, first string, first come first served, at first light-which phrase can best be applied to something in your life currently or even recently?

Difficult to answer that question at my vintage age ! It all had been probably, nothing is first !

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I just got back from the South of France where it was very warm, (see post below) and now I think that I am sitting here in a thick pullover with the heating on and think what I all have to do in the next days. 

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

small talk



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1. April is National Jazz Appreciation Month. Are you a fan? If so what's a favorite you'd recommend to someone new to jazz listening?

I like as music Jazz, but I can't think of any special title.

2. Mandolin, ukulele, harp, accordion or banjo...which would you be most interested in learning to play? Or do you already play one of the instruments listed?

Banjo is quite cheerful, harp romantic, but I do not want or cannot play any instrument.  I prefer listening.

3. Do you judge a book by it's cover? Elaborate. You may answer in either/both the literal or figurative sense of the word.

I don't really know it could be,  usually I read the resume and see if it is interesting or not.

4. According to a recent study the ten most nutritious foods are-almonds, cherimoya (supposed to taste like a cross between a pineapple/banana), ocean perch, flatfish (such as flounder and halibut), chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, swiss chard, pork fat (shocking! but I don't think they mean bacon), beet greens, and red snapper. Are any of these foods a regular part of your diet? Any you've never ever tasted? Which would you be most inclined to add to your diet?

For me it's simple. I don't care what I eat it just has to be good and tasty.  I never tasted cherimoya, chia seeds, and  red snapper I even don't know what it is. Probably I can't buy it here either.  I wouldn't eat any insects or roasted worms.

5. Besides a major holiday what is the most recent thing you've celebrated with your people? Tell us how.

The most recent was Easter, but we didn't do anything special. But there are upcoming birthdays to celebrate. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

No special thoughts, just what do I serve as supper tonight ? And what to do on Mr. G's birthday, he doesn't want to celebrate. I think I will invite two friends for an afternoon cake and coffee.

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

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HODGEPODGE


1. On this first official day of spring tell us something (besides the weather) you're looking forward to in this season of the year.

 
"Official spring" it's a joke at least this year just like "labour day" where nobody works ! I am looking forward to be able to go OUT without catching a cold or freeze to dead !

2. When it comes to spring cleaning would you rather wash windows or wash baseboards? Clean out closets or clean out the garage? Dust ceiling fans or dust bookcases? Wipe down the patio furniture outside or wipe down the light fixtures inside? Any of these tasks recently completed?

I clean or rather my cleaning lady cleans when it is necessary. I have no spring cleaning or it's spring cleaning the whole year in my house !  



3. Your favorite thing to make/eat that calls for cream cheese? Sour cream? Whipped cream?

Certainly not "make" but I love whipped cream on fruits !

4. I read here a list of commonly mispronounced words. What is a word that gives you trouble when it comes to pronunciation?



As English is not my mother tongue and I learned it as teenager at school and later in my work, there are so many different kinds of pronouncing a word I don't know what is wrong or right. The most important to me is that people understand what I say ! 

5. What's a song you love with the word 'rain' in the title or lyrics?

Maybe "singing in the rain" ? as rain is not really something I love ! 

6. Insert your own random thought here.



Shopping list and what to do today ??

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

Fruit festival in my hotel in Hurghada ! Strawberries



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1. Where do you go when you need some inspiration?

I don't really go around and look for inspiration, it comes to me from alone wherever I am or it doesn't come at all !

2. What's under your bed?
A book shelf with a drawer, I am sleeping  high up !

3. Thursday, February 22nd is National Chili Day, National Margarita Day, and National Cook a Sweet Potato Day. Of the three which would you most like to celebrate? Is that likely?

That's a lot of National Days to celebrate but as it is national I leave it to the nationals, because none of these plates except Chili con carne I eventually could celebrate _

4. What are you 'snowed under' with right now?



Not a good expression for me laying in the sun on the beach ! I am rather under the sun !


5. Tell us three to five things that make you feel balanced?



Light, sunshine, warmth, my hobbies, and no fights !



6. Insert your own random thought here.
Very difficult ! How should I dress tonight we are invited to the VIP cocktail party by manager !!

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

The masters of the universe..... grandson Toby and best friend




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1. It's that time of year again...time for Lake Superior University to present a list of words (or phrases) they'd like to see banished (for over-use, mis-use, or genera uselessness) in 2018. You can read more about the decision making process and word meaning here, but this year's top vote getters are-

unpack, dish (as in dish out the latest rumor), pre-owned, onboarding/offboarding, nothingburger, let that sink in, let me ask you this, impactful, Cofefe, drill down, fake news, hot water heater (hot water doesn't need to be heated), and gig economy

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word not on the list you'd like to add?

English is not my mothertongue so all these words sound right to me even the hot water. We have these absurdities in French too. Anyway languages change, you only realize it when you have been long time out of the country. When I once visited my girlfriend in Germany she bought me a dictionary to understand the youth ! Although German is my mothertongue, there are so many new words ! 

2. What's something you need to get rid of in the new year?

There is no need, everything can stay where it is, I couldn't say my husband could I ? ..... 

3. Where do you feel stuck?

For the moment everywhere, no energy I recover from the festivities and  a flu !

4. January is National Soup Month. When did you last have a bowl of soup? Was it made from scratch or from a can? Your favorite canned soup? Your favorite soup to make from scratch on a cold winter's day?

How lucky I am that it is no Soup Month here, I hate soups ! So I never do open a can or do it myself !!



The only one I like is lentil soup but I don't call that a soup, as it is not really liquid

5. Tell us one thing you're looking forward to in 2018.



To this travel in August

6. Insert your own random thought here.

My thought is that I am happy that all these festivities are over, and I can return to my normal life !

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - ABC WEDNESDAY R - WEDNESDAY

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY





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My personal USB stick is red ! all my pictures are on it



I am sorry on all photos I look round, but that's the position I take the whole day, except when I unfold to do my business !



How do you say shit in a polite word ? because it rains and I can't go outside, so I squat her computer !

ABC Wednesday

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1. In a rut, in a jam, in the groove, out of synch, off balance, out of touch...which saying best fits some area of your life currently (or recently)? Explain.
Difficult question because I didn't understand all words, living in a rut according to the dictionary is :

Definition of rut - a long deep track made by the repeated passage of the wheels of vehicles, An annual period of sexual activity in deer and some other mammals, during which the males fight each other for access to the females.‘a moose in rut’
Therefore this doesn't fit because besides our peaceful street without deep tracks, there is nothing and I haven't seen sexual activities of deers or even other mammals, as our cats and dogs are all spayed, and the males are too lazy to fight.

Jam is also strange because besides the one I put on a bread I didn't know that I can be squeezed or packed tightly into a specified space. Ah, yes, "traffic jam" that I know. No, our house is quite spacious we could avoid each other if we wanted.

The definition of living in a grove is completely absurd because a Grove is a short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa; (please pronounce the name correctly) it first appeared in the January 1922 ... She was ashamed that she had been raped, and no longer wished to live, but she wanted him to die with her. He agreed, or so she believed. to living in the same house.
So far I don't want to die, so we still live peacefully or not in the same house. In all other definition there is a dead body in the grove so we don't live in a grove either.

Synch doesn't exist but sync and means : If communication was lost between servers in a server group Our house is spacious but not enough to house a server group so that is also out of question.
I think the definitions of "balance" would fit the most because it says The marriage is a delicate balance between traditional and contemporary values..., ...the ecological balance of the forest. (whatever that means in our case 48 years).

2. What is it about somebody else's style of work (coworker/employee/shared volunteer project/household chore) that makes you crazy? Why?
Nothing makes me crazy because I avoid to look !

3. What's a tradition that always makes you feel at home?
To put on my slippers

4. A favorite song with a girl's name in the title or lyrics? Any reason why this is a particular favorite? I
There is a french song



"Aline" is a single by French singer Christophe. The song became one of the two big hits in France during the summer of 1965. It sold one million records. This was just the time when I went out dancing each weekend. Therefore here name reminds me a lot of very nice memories. 

5. Share a favorite quote, verse, or saying relating to gratitude or thanksgiving.

As my ancestors stayed in Europe we don't celebrate thanksgiving by killing turkeys this we do at Christmas. I am not good in quotes but I found one which suits me :

Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.

6. Insert your own random thought here.
Today I only have random thoughts and they are buzzing around !

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - ABC WEDNESDAY M - WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

The guarded Royal guards at Buckingham Palace


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Arthur surrounded by monsters !



Rosie doesn't like this mouse, but she loves to check the mail



Kim is mulling over ... to eat or not to eat ?

ABC Wednesday

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HODGEPODGE

1. Have you ever spent time on a farm? Tell us a little bit about it. Have you ever grown your own pumpkin? Been on a hayride? Driven a tractor? Milked a cow?

When I was a child I lived with my grandparents on the countryside. Of course I have spent a lot of time on farms because my friends were all farmer's children. I sat on a what's called a tractor today but was pulled by horses, hayrides didn't exist at that time, but I tried to milk a cow forgot to fix her tail and got the tail with full swing in my face. Ever since I prefer to buy milk !

2. What's something younger you would like about you now?
More hair, as I had before

3. What are three things you'd like to do more often? Three things you'd like to do less often?
As I can do what and when I want, I do things more often when I want. Things I don't like to do often I leave and wait until somebody else has done it for me.

4. What's on your nachos?
First I thought it was an Indian tribe and wondered about the question, then I googled and found out that it is something to eat. I only know Tachos and no Nachos so I have no idea what to put on them.

5. What's the most random thing in your purse or wallet? Does it need to stay there?
I have nothing "random" in my purse or wallet, it's already full enough.

6. Insert your own random thought here.
Looking out of the window I think I have to call the gardner to cut the hedge.

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