HODGEPODGE SEPTEMBER 24

 1. Fall arrives this week in the northern hemisphere. Does it look/feel like fall where you live?What's something you love to do this time of year that makes you feel its officially fall? 

2. What's a small daily task or chore that always seems to fall through the cracks when your schedule gets busy?

I really don't like filing papers or documents; I always put it off.

3. What's something you're falling for lately? 

Really nothing ! When autumn approaches I just fall for nothing, and certainly not for fall ! 

4.  Pumpkin is a popular flavor this time of year.  Are you a fan? What's your favorite pumpkin flavored food or beverage? 

I love pumpkins as decoration for fall or Halloween, but I can't remember  that I have ever eaten pumpkin. Neither soup nor any other dish. 

5.What's something you wish would never change? Explain. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

As October is approaching my mind drifts back to Rick. Seeing the world change colors makes me look back at the chapters we shared, tracing the lines of when we were us; I am now alone with my thoughts, wondering how time managed to move so fast and how a life can change so completely. We would have been married for 57 years now in October 2026.

 

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

 unusual pictures

 

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WISE SAYINGS FROM OLD LADIES

 

AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND SEPTEMBER 19

 

with a little bit of AI 

 

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS 

 

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WEEKEND 

Saturday afternoon I went to my "old" friend Ilona, we know each other more then 20 years and had traveled a lot together. Unfortunately there had been a misunderstanding between us just during the time I would have needed her most, when Rick lived his last days and we were also locked in with the Corona Virus. 

But after 4 years we managed to reconnect and it is almost the same as before. I say almost because she belongs to my "old" life when Rick was still there and when we went together to our painting class. But she has broken all contact to them because it had changed so much. And I had decided to cut my old life off. So now we restart and it was a very nice afternoon.  

 

the two of us in Scotland 

Later, when I got home, I felt a strange sensation; I had put the past behind me, yet memories were surfacing again. But I quickly tucked them away, keeping only the ones involving Rick. He will remain in my heart forever.

On Sunday it rained, but in the afternoon I could walk a bit in our park, yesterday I walked better. Oh well that's the disease. We made cross words together and were proud because we found all words very quickly. There were a few visitors who watched us and applauded. 

 

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

On Monday afternoon we had a lot of fun ! We made pancakes ! As we didn't have a big pan, we used two rectangular cake pans! 

The participants wore hairnets so no hair would fall into the dough. The others (myself included) watched and had a laugh! I did "do a bit of work," though, since I was photographing the whole thing. Then we all ate the square pancakes which tasted delicious !

 

raw and below cooked

 

 

 

x 

 

 

x 

Solange is 99 and was proud that she still could do it ! 

   

Jacqueline had broken her glasses and needed a new frame. So, I drove her to "Pearl Vision," which is located inside the "Carrefour" supermarket. Luckily, she quickly found a nice frame and ordered new lenses, too. 

Since there’s a restaurant inside as well, we took the opportunity to have  mussels and they tasted great! They were nice and big, and by the time we finished, I only had room for an espresso. We were full !

They say Friday the 13th brings bad luck, but for me, it was Thursday! It started when I was thrown out of my bed by a phone call at 9 a.m. because furniture was being lifted up to the third floor and my car was in the way.

So I crawled out of bed, threw on a coat, and ran like a snail, I couldn't go any faster because of my COPD to my car and moved it somewhere else. Five workers watched the whole thing; I must have looked like a scarecrow.

Breathless I returned to my room, fed the opera singing cat Rosie who was angry not to get her breakfast on time and then fell on my chair to have a cup of coffee and take my medication.  

Once I could breathe normally again, I looked for my phone, and naturally, I couldn't find it. I asked a caretaker to call me, and we both listened for the ring. Nothing, no ringing sound. Fortunately, she had a device for locating smartphones. She did find one my old phone from three years ago, which I hadn't seen in ages and had thought that it had disappeared during the move !

 not so easy to find ! Was I happy, my whole life is in there !

 On Friday I didn't like our activity so I decided to go to a big store which sold nearly everything and as nothing was really for me I bought a toy for Isabel's little dog, as he always eats the toy mice of Rosie. I found a nice one but couldn't find out what it was. Finally I found on a little label :

 It's supposed to be a SKUNK !!

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HODGEPODGE SEPTEMBER 16

 1. How do you define beauty? 

For me, beauty is something to look at, a beautiful landscape, a beautiful painting, a beautiful house, beautiful people, etc. 

2. Have you ever taken a trip by train? If so where did you go and what did you think of the experience? If not do you have any desire to do so? Where would you like to go? (You might find inspiration here-The Best Train Trips in The World)

 

I often traveled by train. The first time, I was eight or nine years old. My parents handed me over to the controller with a sign around my neck showing my name and address, and my grandfather picked me up 400 kilometers away in Frankfurt. It was very exciting, and I really enjoyed it. Countless train journeys followed, including one on an old steam train through Cornwall in the UK.

 

 

 3. Shell shocked, bombshell, bandshell, shellacking, in a nutshell, walking on eggshells...choose one and tell us why you chose it, or how it relates to your life in some way currently.

Actually, nothing really fits me, except perhaps "walking on eggshells", because I’m a very spontaneous person, and I find it hard to "walk on eggshells" ! (an occasion to try out my AI skills !)

4. Tacos, pistachios, oysters, clams, eggs...your favorite food on the list that comes in/with a shell? 

 

I would have loved to say oysters, but ever since I got an oyster poisoning, I can't even stand the sight of them! Therefore I choose Tacos.

5. Are birthdays a big deal in your house? Is your own birthday a big deal in some way? Elaborate. 

In the past yes, but now at 83 with a son of 53 and a grandson of nearly 16, we just wish a happy birthday and Toby gets an envelope !  Eventually we go out in a good restaurant.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I wait for the moment to go to the renovated animal park (not zoo anymore) in Antwerp !!

 

 

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

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FAIRY TALES WE READ TO OUR CHILDREN

Many parents complain about the brutality in children's movies or books. I don't know what was worse, we grew up with this ! 

 

Fortunately, we didn't all turn into criminals; we took the stories for what they were—just stories. It’s probably no different for today’s kids with their Japanese heroes or other heroes.

AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND SEPTEMBER 12

 

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS 

 

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WEEKEND 

On Saturday it was cloudy but enough to sit on our terrace. We did a Quiz which was rather difficult, we had to find out the price of an item or a restaurant before the Euro which was introduced on January 1, 2002. Of course we were all so amazed  how much prices had risen! Of course, salaries and inflation had gone up too. Some items—like TVs—were actually much cheaper then  before the Euro. The same applied to cars, radios, and, naturally, mobile phones and telephones in general. It was really very interesting. Many people thought it was due to the euro, but that isn't true, because the British—who kept their pound—experienced the same price increases. I always remember that when my son was living in London, we used to buy clothes and food there because it was cheaper, and we would bring him wine and other items that were much more expensive in London. That's finished long ago !

On Sunday it rained almost the whole day so we played Bingo in the afternoon.  Our activity team was off duty. It was again a stupid planning, at least one of them could have worked instead of giving all three the day off. So, Jeanine and I took over the bingo session. 

For the first time since I’ve been here, an argument broke out—simply because someone didn't grasp the game immediately; after all, the poor man is 91. A woman berated him and called him stupid. That made me angry, and I told her that when "she" is over 90, we will shout at "her" if she doesn't understand something right away. She calmed down after that. 

 

Then, a caregiver wheeled in a resident who didn't belong to our group at all; she suffered from dementia, took a bite out of the cake, and then put it back. Naturally, we tried to explain her that she shouldn't do it, but she just smiled and happily kept eating. Eventually, we called someone to take her away. 

By then, the mood was ruined, and the residents went back to their rooms. Oh well, it will all be forgotten by tomorrow. In any case, I’m not letting it upset me, and I’m staying out of these childish squabbles. 

SUNDAY SELECTIONS - AI SKIES

I took sky pictures and modified the skies with the help of AI. A rainbow, a thunderstorm and a dramatic sky. Before the skies were blue.

 

more participants here RIVER 

FRIDAYS FAVE FIVE

 On Saturday I really didn't feel well and I had to ask Isabel to do some shopping for me, as I didn't have any fruits anymore. But I was afraid to go outside and walk. Driving is no problem because I don't move and don't become breathless. I didn't participate in the activity, as it was light gymnastic, but I just didn't have the strength. So I sat outside, it was apparently the last warm day and scrabbled. Then we had our coffee together and shared the last gossips of the castle.

I had always thought that old people in their 90th have no more sex life but rather friendship. But one of us had the honor to suddenly find a naked man at her bedside who obviously wanted to rape her !  Unfortunately, he picked the wrong person; although she is in a wheelchair, she is still quite strong, whereas he is tall and thin, looking as though a strong gust of wind would knock him over. 

She started screaming for help, grabbed the crutch standing next to her bed, and struck him with it. Help arrived quickly, and he was led away. She filed a formal complaint, and the police came the next morning and took him away (fully dressed :)). We haven't seen him since; he is now in a specialized clinic. The man was a doctor and used to play chess with Toby (my grandson). Perhaps he just wanted to play doctor with Vivianne?  Apparently she was not the only one who he visited during night, but these poor women didn't dare to file a complaint. Sad ! Yes, it's never dull here ! 

Now the renovation of the castle have arrived here and from mornings 8 am until 4 pm there is hammering, drilling, and sawing going on, so that we all have a head like a pumpkin !

I continued my experiences with AI and it is amazing what it can do ! I found a picture I had taken in Turkey and wanted to create paintings from it, one in an Impressionist style and another in an Expressionist style. And that was the result! Amazing!

 

The original 

Impressionism 

 

 

Expressionism

The week ended cool, but we still could sit outside for our quiz. There was drilling and hammering going on inside, and everything was full of dust, so we decided to put on jackets and play on the terrace.

 

 

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.