HODGEPODGE MAY 21

 1. What do you make more complicated than it needs to be?

Nothing at all, I always try to take the easiest option, which usually works. I'm not for complications.

2. What impresses you? 

That's a difficult question, I have to think it over, I am not easily impressed. 

3. On a scale of 1-10 how picky of an eater are you?  (1=extremely and 10=not at all) If you had to eat a meal made entirely of one color what color would you choose? 

If I were a picky eater, I wouldn't try everything I don't know, except roasted worms or insects. Otherwise, I'm more of a curious eater, i think I earn a 10. As I love the color red I would try to find something red. 

 starter tomatoes and Mozarella

4. What does balance in life mean to you? Does your life currently feel 'balanced'? 

As I had to start a new life because of the death of my man, I am not yet feeling balanced ! 

5. If you could travel the world for a year what would be your first destination? 

The closest airport and then to Finland to see the Northern Lights, which I haven't seen yet.

 

 As I have already traveled a lot I think from there I will see.  

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

For the moment I have nothing else in my head then to improve old pictures from the 60 + and color them,  

and then I found photos from our first trip to the USA which was in 1971 and I guess these were the Rocky Mountains. 

I dared to try out the famous AI, without knowing anything and just typed "change the background to the Rocky Mountains". And this was the result :

 

So I am a little proud ! My son was surprised that his 83 old mother went into his footsteps. Of course he is professional and thousand times better.  

 

And here I only downloaded a photo and wrote what I wanted to change ! It's really amazing what you can do and il looks so real !

 

 

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Some time ago there was a man who presented his Falcon to the residents of Waterloo in the city center. It was amazing how this bird behaved with his owner, almost like a pet ! It was very interesting to see what The Falcon was able to do !  

Falcons are a fascinating group of raptors, each with its own unique set of behaviors and hunting techniques. From their exceptional speed to their sharp vision, these birds have evolved to thrive in various environments across the globe. While they share some common traits, each species has adapted in its own way to the world around them.

 

 

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AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND MAY 16

 The Birman cat Isis from my friend Nicole, she is cross eyed !

 

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS 

 

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WEEKEND 

Now we are mid May and it rather seems to be beginning winter, after having had the taste of summer in April ! 

Therefore I continued to amuse myself with the AI, so I could rest my OI (Own intelligence) I digged out old black and white pictures and  started. I only interrupted my work, when we started our activities. This time it was a real difficult. We should be able to identify which country is being referred to if, for example, someone says "boot" and it refers to Italy. Or the land of dragons, which I think was Thailand (I'm not entirely sure anymore!). It was amazing how many questions were answered! After coffee, I returned to my artificial intelligence.

And here are some results of pictures from black and white to color

 

Here I am with the dancers of Maurice Bejart and celebrating Carnival with friends in Bonn/Germany when I was 18.

Civil marriage and marriage in 1969 with my parents on the photo.

This I learned quite quickly. But then I tried out to make a picture only with AI, just by writing blue sea, blue sky and sunset and this was the result !

I think for a beginner it is not too bad. Sunday was the same, only we played ping pong, I didn't play, I have never played a lot and it was also not my day. So I had coffee with the others and then I returned to my room and continued with my old pictures. 

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

On Monday I had just woken up when there was a knock at the door and suddenly a tall Black man was standing at my bedside, telling me he wanted to wash and dress me. I thought I was in a bad dream and I probably answered rather harshly. 

I immediately I felt bad about it, because he must have been a new caregiver who hadn't been given any instructions and who dutifully wanted to wash and dress all residents on my floor. He could not possibly have known that nobody here needed it. Of course, I apologized and told him that he wasn't the only one who hadn't been given any instructions and was simply thrown in the "water", so to speak. The day started well. It was also pouring rain outside.

After breakfast I got an inspiration, I wanted to better learn the AI thing and continue to color and improve black and white very old pictures from my childhood.  

here I was dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, and my first day at school. I didn't remember the carnival costume, but very well the little red cardigan with the white hearts, when my mother was knitting it.

 

I didn't go out the whole week and couldn't do my walks because of this lousy weather ! It was so cold and humid. Fortunately I have my hobbies to occupy myself, when I see other residents who sit the whole day in front of their TV and complain. Besides our daily activities they do nothing. They miss their household ! Nothing special happened therefore I continued my old pictures.  

A rather seldom photo, my mother and my paternal grandmother whom I haven't seen very often. On the right is again a carnival picture this time my mother has dressed me as a Dutch girl. The little one is the sister of my friend, with whom I am still in contact, although  we meanwhile are grandmas and she even 4 times great great grandma !!

          

 

My first bicycle I must have been 10 or 11 and very proud.  I was very satisfied with my work, and even though I can no longer paint, this is a good alternative occupation.

 

The renovation of the 3rd floor has started and I feel as if I am sitting in the waiting room of a dentist, with these drilling noises!

The week ended that I had to go to my telephone provider because they had sent me strange invoices and there was something wrong. I had to wait almost 2 h until finally somebody settled my problem ! I don't understand everywhere staff is short, and there are so many people without work ! I had first tried it per phone, but there were 10 people before me !!

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HODGEPODGE MAY 14

1. What's one piece of advice you would you give a recent or soon-to-be graduate?

I only would give an advice if the person asks for. I personally didn't like advices ! 

 

 

Anyway with all advice and my own ideas I ended up with something completely different I had never thought of ! The destiny did it for me and did it right ! I don't regret anything. I had a happy life with adventures, a loving husband, lot of travels an interesting job etc

2. May 15th marks the birth date of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. At this point in time are you more in need of brains, courage, heart, or a trip back home? Explain.

 

I never read this book, but I think I need all three. My brain to tell me if I really need courage, and my heart to tell me if it's right or not. For me personally, I need all three. 

3.  "There's no place like home" is an oft repeated line from Baum's book. When was the last time you felt the truth of that statement? 

 

This sentence doesn't fit at all to me. I feel at home anywhere in a place where is a cozy atmosphere, where people treat each other with kindness, where there's laughter and a sense of well-being. In this case I feel at home everywhere. 

4. May is National BBQ Month...do you own a grill? Who does the grilling at your house? What's your favorite thing to throw on the grill? What's the last thing you grilled? 

Of course we had a grill, but who grilled  in my house ? Me !! I am one of the of the few women who had a husband who didn't like to barbecue (but does like to eat). When our son was old enough he took over the grilling, he loves it and does it whenever the weather allows it. But I can't remember what we last grilled, that must be ages ago. Now it's the turn of our son. 

5. What's a memory you replay in your head when you need a little joy? 

In my head ??? When I need a little joy, I try to find one in real life. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

With the time I live here, I and other female residents noticed that there are far more women who visit their mothers then men. Apparently it's better to have a daughter when you are old and frail then a son. A woman has more imagination how an old person feels, for men, the female residents remain their mother laying in bed or sitting in a wheelchair ! Mothers have to function until the bitter end.

Of course that's not true for all, but for the majority. But I also have to say that some  women are very egoistic and forget that their son or daughters have their own life, work and children and not always time for a visit. We have one who insists that her daughter and son come every day the whole afternoon, one day the son one day the daughter ! and the "children" who are also grandparents obey !! 

 

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 https://youtube.com/shorts/NAvonizclhU?si=fpriylWKrPfULIlN  (Here you can see how fast the Dervish spin without getting dizzy.)  

 

A whirling dervish is a member of the Mevlevi Sufi order in Islam, famous for practicing a meditative, ecstatic dance known as Sema to achieve divine connection. Originating in 13th-century Turkey, these practitioners (or "turners") spin in spiritual ecstasy to relinquish their ego and focus on God, often symbolizing the rotation of the planets and the universe.

My photos show how colorful they are dressed today and perform mostly for tourists. 

  

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AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND MAY 9

 Awww a spider ......

The Princess and the pea

Yawn

It's you ???

 Linking to AWWW MONDAYS 

 

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WEEKEND 

As usual the weather got on my nerves, it was too hot in the sunshine (which disappeared all five minutes) and far to cold to sit outside. We tried both but had to go inside as it was too cold outside, with these moody clouds. 

We played a very interesting game (again) we had to find out the meaning of jobs that no longer exist, and that we have long forgotten! These jobs were a little strange to us : lamplighters, human bowling pinsetters, knocker-uppers (who woke people up), switchboard operators, ice cutter, body snapper, etc  

As the jobs were different in French, please find out by yourselves what these jobs mean ! Body  snapper I learned in the Edinburgh cemetery. In earlier times, there were no bodies available for medical students to study. So, they would sneak into the cemetery at night and dig up the recently deceased! That's why many graves were protected with thick iron bars to prevent the theft of the deceased. 

I don't know if this existed also in Belgium. I don't think so, here the graves are just surrounded with stones and sometimes there is a marble cover on it. 

Sunday was Mother's day. I got a phone call from Isabel and later from my son. I was a bit disappointed that he hadn't sent flowers, but I should  have been used to it by now, that  at some point he stopped giving me little gifts. Probably when he became a father. I don't remember. I only hope that Toby doesn't copy him and my DIL will also be disappointed.

There weren't many of us today, most had gone to a restaurant with their children or had visitors. We "orphan" mothers played bingo with two grandfathers who kept arguing because each wanted to be right.

 

 Finally, we firmly told them to shut up and concentrate on the game. We women made fun of the two quarreling men, and so the afternoon passed quickly, and we had a good time.

 B I N G O !!!

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

This week nothing special happened, the weather was bad, it rained and we were locked inside. Fortunately we had our activities each day and that was nice especially when it rains outside.

My lovely neighbor arrived home on Sunday evening looking rather unsteady; she had been playing bridge with old friends and had drunk too much. It's a miracle she always makes it home without an accident. She does it on each Sunday and Monday she is sick. Rachel who cleans our rooms, always shows me the consumption of Geney's bottles ! This time it was 3 bottles of red wine and 2 bottles of Champagne ! No wonder that her daughters told her that she spends too much ! Probably she has to take a smaller room. 

Meanwhile, I've found a new hobby: working with AI! I tinkered around until I figured out how to do it, and then, of course, I was very proud of the result. Here are a few examples.

My paternal grandma and my mother. What is strange that the colors are mostly exact, 

here we are a young couple, not yet married

and five years later came little Dario

Here was my first school day. In Germany the kids get such a cone filled with sweets or little gifts this special day.

This is Piccola, my very first cat when I was 21. The background and grass I (or rather AI) added.

All black and white pictures were quite damaged as they were very old. But AI corrected everything and colored it ! As a beginner I was really satisfied with the result.

But then I discovered another thing. You can "paint" a picture only with words. So I typed blue sea, and a sunset. The result was this :

 and here I typed, green grass with daisies and a sleeping black cat ! this was the result ! Amazing !!

I still have a lot to learn (probably)  but with my first results I am already happy !  It's unbelievable that you can make a photo and probably also videos only with a description of what you want. Of course now I am very busy and while some find life boring for the moment it's rather exiting for me, and a wonderful replacement of my paintings as I can't paint anymore !

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.