HODGEPODGE JULY 9

1. What's something you enjoy now that your younger self would never have appreciated ? 

Nothings comes into my mind, the only thing where I changed my mind, are horses. When I was a child and even later I was very much afraid of horses !  It was terrible for me when I had to drive my son to his riding lessons! I used to buy a kilo of carrots and toss them to the left and right while running through the middle! Today, I love horses, I’m no longer afraid and would love to try riding one myself! At least I’ve ridden several camels! 

 

2. What was peaceful about today? 

The whole day was peaceful; my cold loves me  and  had returned, and I didn't feel well at all. No one I knew died, either, and the fact that we had no power from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. wasn't a big deal, I could read and play Scrabble on my tablet.

3. It's National Blueberry Day (July 8). Will you celebrate?  You can have one of the following right now-a slice of blueberry pie, a warm blueberry muffin, or a stack of blueberry pancakes...which do you choose?

This or that-blueberries or raspberries? blueberries or strawberries? 

I didn't know I was a blueberry! My birthday is on July 8th but I don't know yet if I will celebrate. That's probably why I love blueberries so much—in everything! Blueberry muffins with whipped cream are a dream!

4. Do you need a break? From what? 

I have a break the whole year long, what I need is action !  

5. What has surprised you most about getting older?

What I hadn't counted on was that my health would take a serious hit after Rick's death,that my brain would still be working fine, but my body does not longer do what I want. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I wonder when my Virus is looking for another body and leaves me in peace ! I am so fed up to be locked in ! 

 

 

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - ISTAMBUL

 

 

The Bosphorus Bridge is an iconic symbol connecting two continents and is one of Istanbul’s most breathtaking landmarks not just an architectural wonder, but a place full of meaning and beauty.

Crossing it gives a magical feeling of moving between Europe and Asia, with the Bosphorus glittering below and the city lights all around. Whether you see it by car, from a ferry, or illuminated at night, it never fails to impress. It was the first time in my life that I took a public Bus and went from Europe to Asia and back !

 

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AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND JULY 4

 Arthur the winner of the WORLD CUP !

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS 

 

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WEEKEND 

The Weekend was cloudy and compared to the other days, cool. My friend Ilona whom I know since 20 years, had invited me, after a 4 year long break of our friendship which we both can't explain. It was the time where Rick was so sick and maybe I wasn't the same as usual. Anyway we draw a line under these misunderstandings and spent a nice afternoon in her garden. Of course I forgot to take pictures, that happens more and more. 

We chatted the whole afternoon about our travels together. I left at 5 and arrived home one hour later instead 20 min ! The street had been closed and my GPS made me turn around in circles. Maybe I also mixed up left with right. I saw a lot of beautiful castles and landscapes and thought I do a nice sightseeing tour. Finally I came home and my supper stood on my table, I just had to eat it. And while I was listening to the commentary about the celebration of USA’s 250th anniversary in Brussels, which, unfortunately, weren't very positive. The reason was lunatic Trump; no one takes him seriously anymore, and people in Europe simply don't understand how someone like him could be elected president. 

In the meantime, I used AI to completely transform a photo of Ilona and me, exactly the way I wanted.I was pretty pleased with the result, too.

 

This is the original and to the left is the original and the right is modified after my instructions.

On Sunday it was the same, cool and cloudy. When I got up, I felt dizzy and not normal at all. I thought now my cold is back. 

 I was feeling a bit feverish, too, and wanted to take my temperature. That’s when I discovered my thermometer was broken. So, I went to the nurse's office to have it checked. Luckily, I didn’t have fever, now I take my medication again, perhaps I had stopped taking them too soon. Then I watched a movie, turned my son into a devil, and my neighbor came over for a chat; before I knew it, the afternoon was gone. Hopefully, I’ll be feeling better tomorrow !

 

You see, my son often makes funny faces in photos, so I can't really use them. But the horns actually look good on him!

 

I could play the Christmas reindeer with my red nose !

 

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

The heatwave last week and then the terrible thunderstorm with flooding has caused not only a lot of damages but also human victims, we had nothing, most of the residents slept peacefully as they didn't hear anything, the hearing aids were laying on the bedside table. Only a few thick branches of trees broke and lay on the grass.

On Monday the temperature has dropped to half and of course I had caught a cold. After a few days of thinking that my cold had moved to somebody else, it started yesterday night a new one.

I was sneezing as if I were getting paid for it and felt lousy when I got up. Armed with nasal drops and flu pills, I dragged myself from the bed to the sofa to occupy myself with my computer. It’s a good distraction.

I’ve already mentioned that I’m having fun with AI, restoring old, faded, or black-and-white photos. It’s fun when I see the result. 

To create the above picture I just wrote, mountains, grass a sheep, a white cat and a Tuxi cat. And this was the result !

Then I took a picture of my son dressed for a wedding and asked to transform him into Superman !
 

Me as a young mother with my baby. It looks now as if the photo was taken yesterday !

 

I love this photo which came out real good, it shows Rick as he really was ! Before he got Parkinson.  

 

Rosie bit me in my nose

my oldest friend, we knew each other since 1957 ! Meanwhile we are grandmas and she even grand grand grandma 4 times !

My friends in Bonn (Germany) besides my friend (third from the left ) with her little sister, I lost contact with the others.

My first wedding ! I don't even know the name of my "husband" anymore, this photo was quite damaged 

The original, Toby my grandson playing with his dog. I replaced the dog with our cat Arthur as he used to play with our cat when he was a little boy !

That was a really bad photo; I simply wrote down what needed changing and added the tissues right away. Now it's right—this is how I look like today!

Besides the food which changed every day, there was nothing special happening. I remained in my room I  didn't feel like taking part in the games. My friend and neighbor was also locked in her room, she had some leg troubles. Others reported me news. We got 3 nurses more and 2 air conditioned rooms were made in the 2nd and 3rd floor. And they are NEW and not such an old thing as in our restaurant. When the weather gets hot again next week, I go to the second floor, otherwise I will spent the summer with a running nose ! 

 

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HODGEPODGE

1. What do you love most about your country?

I really don't know. My parents simply took me along to Belgium when I was 14 because my father started working for the European Union. I didn't choose it myself. What do I like best? Most of it, probably. 

2. Your favorite patriotic song? 

I don't know patriotic songs ! I would need to compose a song that concerns Germany, Italy, and Holland and, of course, Belgium.

3. Red, white, or blue? Stars or stripes? Something you own besides a US flag with some combination of those colors or decorations as part of its design?

We never had a flag at home except the one of Ferrari, as Rick was a Ferrari fan.  

 

To create a patriotic flag I should make this one :  Italy, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands

4. What's one thing you want more of this summer: fun, rest, adventure, connection, quiet, or confidence? Elaborate.

I would love to do a lot of things this summer, travel, lie on the beach, visit friends, but unfortunately, I likely won't be able to; my illness won't allow it. So, I will probably go  to Amsterdam to visit my son and his family, and take day trips whenever the weather is nice. After all, the sea isn't far away. 

5. What was your ultimate, go-to summer activity when you were a kid? Do you still do any version of that today? If you answered yes, does participating in this activity as an adult make you feel like a kid?

When I was a child, there were no summer activities. Germany was still in ruins, and the Rhineland, where I lived, was under American occupation. Having food and something to wear were the adults' main concerns. No one thought about vacations back then. We kids played in the ruins and rubble. I certainly wouldn't do this activity now as an adult. As a child it was fun to play in ruins, we had no idea why it was like this.

Bonn

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I think we have a very special retirement "castle" ! If you want to work here, you really have to be a jack-of-all-trades. Yesterday, I saw our cook sitting at the computer at the reception, welcoming guests. A little later, our physiotherapist was chopping up thick branches, brought down by the storm, into small logs. Amandine, our director, helped serve lunch along with the others. The head nurse made my bed. I think it’s great; at least no one gets bored, and we residents pitch in too, as much as we can.

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

I learned to swim quite late—I was already thirteen. As a result, I remained a cautious swimmer who was also afraid of getting water splashed in my face. So, I always swam at a leisurely pace, like an old giraffe with its neck held high.

Nevertheless, I wanted to photograph the beautiful, small, colorful fish in the Red Sea. So, I sat under a bridge and took pictures. On the last picture I discovered feet, it must have been a snorkeler who was also  admiring the beautiful fish,  and who gave me the chance to photograph his feet amidst the fish. Unfortunately, I never saw the person those feet belonged to.

more participants here

AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND JUNE 28

 

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS 

 

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WEEKEND 

The heat wave continued over the weekend, and Saturday nobody went outside it was again over 30°C.

My virus seems to have disappeared and I feel good again. So I joined the others for a nice game, we got a lot of letters and had to find the corresponding words, which were written on a board but completely jumbled up! 

Fortunately, it was pleasantly cool inside our restaurant, but outside there was a sweltering heat. Even the "Castle cats" were nowhere to be seen, and the crows that usually get on our nerves had vanished, too. I was so tired from the heat that I was in bed by eight o'clock, though I ended up reading until eleven.

I woke up because something had fallen on my head. It was 2 am, I turned on the light and saw that a very strong wind had blown into my room and knocked my picture off the wall. Naturally, I closed the window. Luckily, I had kept the other window shut, as rain always blows in through that one. Then a spectacle began, the kind usually seen only during special celebrations: lightning flashes that looked like cobwebs, 18,000 at once making the sky look as if it were about to shatter. 

I could hear thunder in the distance and the roar of the storm. My room looked as if it was bathed in blue light. Finally, I had seen enough, I got back into bed, put in my earplugs, and slipped under the sheet, but not before closing the curtains ! as I didn't feel comfortable with all that lightning. Rosie was sleeping soundly and peacefully; the storm didn't bother her at all.

 

Pictures "stolen" from Belgian Newspapers  

The next day, I saw the havoc the storm had damaged ! Our new sun umbrellas, which had only been set up yesterday, had all fallen down,  only the old one, which was already broken, was still standing. Outside my window, the branches of the shrubs were gone, and I suddenly saw a dumpster filled with old furniture! It had come from the rooms currently being renovated. Chairs had tipped over, and a thick branch had fallen onto the small road. There was surely more damage, but it was getting too hot, so I didn't feel like walking to the far end of the park.

We remained in the restaurant, as it looked like another thunderstorm was coming up, but finally didn't and made a very interesting Quiz about general knowledge.  Of course everybody told how he or she had spent the night, but most of the residents hadn't heard anything ..... they had taken out their hearing aid. 

What a weekend, fortunately only one man died, a branch had fallen on his car. But there were a lot of damages and also flooding.

 

I wonder if our Waterloo Lion is scared, he has been renovated and looks a bit scary !