AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND MARCH 7

 

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS 

 

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WEEKEND 

We have such a nice sunny weather, that we are all longing to sit outside, but for that it's a bit cool. With my shingles I have to avoid the sun and sitting in the shade is too cold. Despite the fact that we have now 3 animators, there was none for the weekend. I don't know who does the planning, but he's not very talented. There's either too much staff or too little. 

Last night, when I was already in my nightgown and about to put my bottles outside the door, I saw two people, Francine and André, one wandering around the other rolling  in our long hallway in his wheelchair. They had both forgotten their room number and floor. Francine was practically already standing in front of her door, and I simply escorted her into her room. André, who was cheerfully rolling back and forth in his wheelchair, told me the room number, but he couldn't remember the floor.

That really surprised me, because André is the one who is practically a Mr. Wikipedia and wins all the quizzes. It's really unbelievable  how much he knows. But apparently, after 90, the brain gets a bit temperamental, the simple everyday things don't stick anymore, while he still knows how many planets there are or what the capital of Benin is.

I pushed him into the elevator and pressed for 2. He still remembered his room number. At least he arrived safely, because I, of course, reported it. The staff  has to escort people who eat in the restaurant back to their rooms. By now, even I know who it is. Sometimes it happens quite suddenly that perfectly normal people suddenly don't know where they live!

Sunday was the same weather and this time I really had to go out into the fresh air. So I put on a warm vest, a cap, and sunglasses, and was very happy because my shingles didn't hurt, the medication the doctor had prescribed seem to be really good.

Before I went to play Bingo, I took a painkiller and felt almost normal.

We had a lot of fun because we had a very funny new old lady with us who could only call out the numbers in Flemish (Dutch) and not in French. So we all dusted off our Flemish and called out the numbers bilingually. Of course, some people's pronunciation was terrible, so I translated them into German, and everyone who had studied German in school happily joined in. It was very amusing playing Bingo and also taking a language course. André was really keen to show me everything he had learned in German at school and quoted the conjugation of some verbs. He had also learned some swear words from German soldiers and was very proud of his knowledge. I was amused and thought, how wonderful it is that we are all sitting together peacefully now, while 80 years ago our parents were enemies. In our group we were all between 76 and 101 years old and I was surprised that they had nothing forgotten. 

And now the politicians are starting war again. Sometimes I think I am going back in time. 

Fortunately the first signs of spring are coming out (so early) these were the first flowers I saw this year ! 

 

 

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

The new week began with bright sunshine, and after lunch, before we started our games, I wanted to go for a walk. But a jacket was definitely needed. I made it halfway around the park, and then, as usual, I sat down on a bench and played Scrabble. Just before 3, I got up to go back when I saw a large blue package in the distance. As I got closer,  I saw that the package contained Solange, who had apparently fallen not so long ago. I "ran" as fast as I could to help her and alert the nurses, because I couldn't and wasn't allowed to help her myself, as you never know if she had internal injuries. Luckily, Solange is small and very agile and was actually fine. Despite her 97 years, she could stand and even walk. The shock came later, but it wasn't too bad.

 

Because of the spring weather, I realized that I only had two pairs of shoes, but none that were comfortable for walking around in the park, so I quickly went to my shoe store and bought a pair of light sport shoes. That went pretty quickly because I had looked on their website beforehand and found what I wanted.

On Wednesday morning looking in the mirror, I looked like Frankenstein's daughter ! My right eye was swollen and I had 2 big red spots on my forehead. At first I thought it was a rash, but then I thought of shingles because of the large red spots. I'd heard they can be very painful, so I thought I'd call my doctor. She was at a funeral, but sent a friend, a nice young female doctor. She looked at me and confirmed my suspicion; I did indeed have shingles!

She told me that there was nothing special to do, no creme, only a special medication for shingles. 5 pills per day ! I started immediately. In my bed it started to hurt a bit, so I took a painkiller and slept well. Rosie maybe felt that something was wrong with me, because she didn't wake me up during the night only at 7 am her breakfast hour.  

The next day my eyes and forehead still looked the same, but unfortunately it also started to hurt. I took a painkiller and could participate without any problem in our game about St. Patrick's day. That was not a good idea, as nobody of this generation knew St. Patrick. I was the only one, thanks to blogging. Today of course it's celebrated here too but not that much. She is a new animator, a girl who has no feeling for the oldies and asks things which most of them are unable to do. When your hands shake you can't do a puzzle, or if you can't hear you can't play a telephone game where you have to listen to a whispered question ! 

I hope my Frankenstein's daughter face will disappear in the next days ! 

 

 

 

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HODGEPODGE MARCH 5

 1.  As the saying goes, 'March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.' Did your March come in roaring or like some other animal? Every month carries with it certain feelings, which is why some people love and anticipate December and others dread it. How do you feel about the month of March? 

March is quite fickle; sometimes it snows, sometimes it rains, sometimes it's so warm that a T-shirt is enough, only to need a thick sweater the next day. So I don't really know what to say. In any case, it's not a special month for me. I don't like winter at all, and especially not the Christmas season anymore. Actually, I only really start waking up in April when spring might finally arrive.

2. Where in your life are you a lion? Where are you a lamb?

I become a lioness when I see a weak or bullied person mistreated, then I'll show my teeth and stick out my claws. The same applies to animals.

Probably I am only a lamb in my bed when I sleep.  

3. The Hodgepodge lands on National Pound Cake day. Do you like pound cake? If so do you have a favorite flavor? Let's play this or that-

 

• pound cake or layer cake?
• pound cake or cheesecake?
• pound cake or angel food cake?
• pound cake or brownie?
• pound cake or pie

 I love pound cake. I don't like complicated cakes with lots of fat and cream. I like brownies. I'm not a big cake fan in general, except for cakes with lots of fruit and whipped cream.

 

4. What makes you feel childlike wonder right now? 

 

I don't know, maybe my new table sets which I can't use because they are in fabric and not in plastic, but I use them on the sofa armrests, the cat heads cheer me up.  

5. What's one thing you need to add to your wardrobe to get ready for spring? If you're in the southern hemisphere, then answer for fall? 

As the weather is so moody and changes from cool to warm x times per day, I need 2 cardigans, so that I can wear a T-shirt when it is warm and put on the cardigan when it gets cold. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

It's so warm here now around 20°C, so I was thinking if I needed new feathers, as I have lost so much weight. With the result that I bought a pair of baskets and two light cardigans. I only hope that we won't get winter back ! with this crazy weather you never know.  

 

 The first little flowers end February