25 Apr 2026

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE


 
We started the week with an excursion to the Flower show "Floralia" which took place in the park of the castle Grand Bigard in Brussels.
 
 Home | Kasteel van Groot-Bijgaarden | Groot-Bijgaarden
 
We strolled through the park and admired the beautiful tulips and other flowers. I was particularly impressed by the forest with its tulip beds. I was so glad I could walk the 2 km without any problems and without getting out of breath. I only had to sit down at the very end because I was completely out of breath. At least now I know where my limits are and that I can still go a little further, even if not as far.The beautiful weather continued, and we were able to sit on the terrace and play a question-and-answer game. 
The next day, we had a visit from a Bouvier Bernois dog trained for therapeutic purposes.
 
 
The dog was adorable; he greeted everyone, let them pet him, and laid his huge head in people's laps. When we were bowling, he made sure no ball hit anyone's leg. The balls were plastic, but he still did his job instead of running behind the ball and bring it back,  of course, he got a treat. 
 
At the end of the week, we learned that we need to drink plenty of water because old people often don't feel thirsty, or only drink when they are. I knew this, and since becoming one of the "antiques," I've always made sure to drink enough water. We even played a game about it, which was quite fun. We had to throw small ping-pong balls into cups, and if we made a hit, we had to choose someone to drink water from their glass. If we missed, we had to drink ourselves. Luckily, I usually made a hit ! 
 
Next on the agenda is how not to fall!

 ðŸŽµ Can't Get Off The Floor - Funny Country Song About Getting Old, Funniest  Aging Disaster Song Ever
 
 
 
 

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.
 
 
 
 
 
 

22 Apr 2026

HODGEPODGE APRIL 23

 1. April 22nd is Earth Day...what's the most 'out of this world' place on earth you've ever visited? Tell us something about it. 

In 2001 I was spending Holidays in Sharm el Sheik (Egypt).We saw that there were excursions to Petra in Jordan. I had never heard of it, and it seemed to have just been made accessible to visitors. The way leading to the temple in Petra dated back to Roman times and was made of cobblestones; I remember it being quite difficult to walk on. There was nothing there to make it easier for visitors. We walked through very impressive rock tunnels, and then suddenly we saw...

What Is So Special About Petra in Jordan? | TheCollector

This temple carved in the red rocks. 

2000 years ago Petra was the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom. Nobody knows exactly when the history of Petra began. May be in 312BC. I don't know what it looks like  today, but back then you were not allowed to enter everything because excavations were still taking place. 

2. A favorite quote, verse, or song lyric with the word earth in it? 

The Earth will endure…

 Man believes he can conquer the Earth. He believes it will bring him great things, but if he doesn't soon realize that the Earth will declare war on him, he will soon perish. But the Earth will endure.

3. What's the most trivial thing about which you have a strong opinion? 

I have no strong opinion about trivial things, I just don't care 

4. What's your most commonly used kitchen utensil or tool? What's the last thing you made using that tool? 

a fork, just had lunch 

5. Marilyn (Memphis Bridges) gave me a great book of 3000 questions, and I'm going to try to use one in our Hodgepodge every week. Here is today's - 

What is your greatest extravagance? 

People would say my cat collection, because when my grandson counted them in all corners of the house he proudly told me that I have exactly 468 cats in all materials forms and shapes big or small ! I still have a shelf with cats, but less of course .

                                                                   Swarowski cats 
 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Saturday was a beautiful day; my son, grandson, and of course, dog ​​Leia, came for a visit. My grandson Toby has grown again and is now 2m 3 tall and 15 years old. Both son and grandson have become a souvenir of my Italian husband. They inherited nothing of the blonde Dutch DIL and me, the German grandma! I wonder if Toby will continue to grow ? My son stopped growing at 16 at 2 m. I felt like a dwarf, with my 1.70 m ! They were both the attraction of the day!


21 Apr 2026

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY



















Garden architect Louis Fuchs created the 14-hectare park alongside the castle at the start of the 20th century. 

Every year since 2003, the park is open to an international flower exhibition.

The floral shows in the grounds of Groot-Bijgaarden Castle, are dedicated to tulips, with over 300 varieties (early, medium and late varieties, as well as classic triumphs, botanicals, bleurs-de-lis, viridiflora,and multi-flora) and other varieties of spring bulb flowers. More than a million bulbs are planted. 

We visited the flower show on Monday, April 21 and it was the right time to see all flowers in full bloom and nothing had faded yet. It was a wonderful walk admiring the flowers, and the color creations. We enjoyed the exhibition very much.

 

 more participants here