FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

It's rather cool for end July, and we are locked in. We have two new ladies and I am not the youngest anymore ! Now I have one who is 4 years younger then I and the other one two years older. But it is still a long way to reach Gilberte who celebrated her 103 birthday ! 

 

 

She is amazing, if you chat with her, which she loves, I don't even realize that she could be my mother ! She goes with the time and is not against anything new, except a smartphone, she says that it is complicated, but she can call and receive calls, even video calls ! She is healthy, has nothing and is a very sympathic person.

My new Smartphone a Samsung A26 has so many security apps, that it is easier to open the safe of Mr. Trump, then to install my Bank app. I spent an hour and tried before I had asked several people here, it always stopped at the same place. Finally I went to my bank and thought they can do it easily, but no, there is something blocked and I have to call the technical Service. The technical service was not available and it was in Antwerp, so I decided to let my bank solve the problem. After all there was a bug in their program and therefore it was their job to find a solution.

 I have to say I had tried out a lot of keys without knowing what it was. So did my phone meow and I couldn't find why,where and how to change the sound. My companions laughed each time when my phone meows. They say that Rosie calls me !  

In the afternoon I went to my bank and the girl there told me that she had spent the whole morning to find out why my mobile didn't want to install my bank app. So when I arrived she was proud that she had found the problem and asked two of her colleagues to join and listen to her explanations. The problem was rather ridiculous, I had blocked some pubs and my bank was taken for a pub. Of course it got stuck. Now they know what they have to do, I was certainly not the last client who had this problem with a new mobile model.  

We celebrated the birthdays of all those who were born in July ! They had hired a female singer and we all hoped that she was better then the man who sang for the June birthdays.

She sang all songs from the 60th and we were all thinking of our youth. She had a lot of success and and we applauded and one even asked if she could sing the song "Michèle" because he had met his late wife during this song. For me it was funny because most of the songs were from Harry Belafonte, Petula Clark, Tom Jones, etc, but translated into French and of course sung in French, and the texts were not exactly the same or completely different. It sounded so strange to me hearing the songs in French.

My bank had called me to ask for an appointment and I went, I was a bit worried that the bank's app would be having problems to be installed, but it wasn't a problem. My phone meowed happily, and the employees laughed. I still don't know, I was too lazy to check why it was meowing. It was probably incoming messages or emails. Anyway, one of the bank employees had a honking sound! So we meowed and honked happily.

After the bank suddenly I felt the need to buy shoes ! I badly needed walking shoes for outside, because inside I wear a sort of baskets. Of course if you are looking for something special you find nothing and that was the case. 

When I came home I met the two girls who have rooms with a balcony and they asked me to join them. There was no activity this afternoon, so we stayed there and chatted. One was younger as I and was diagnosed Alzheimer and couldn't stay alone in her apartment anymore and the other was older had balance problems and had to walk with a walker. She was here to improve her balance and was only supposed to stay for a month. But she enjoyed it so much that she stayed ! She is already 90 but looks much younger, I thought she was in her 70 ! That's nice that we are now more and more who are still fit ! With the youngest one, she proposed to me to go for a week to Tunisia in October because there it will be still sunny and warm. I'll see ! 

 

 

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

This week wasn't very good for me ! On Monday I woke up with a cold, my throat hurt, my nose ran, and I felt really lousy.

On Wednesday I felt a bit better and put my computer at the wide open window and watched the residents playing Mini Golf for the first time. It had been nicely renovated and everybody seemed keen to play ! Wheelchair or not. And I watched them from my window.

 

I couldn't participate I felt too weak. I slept not very good and on purpose, there was a full moon shining I had never seen such a big one. Unfortunately the photos weren't good. 

Each morning when I look at the sky I see the same bird sitting on the electric wire and look around. 

 

 

 

That's funny because it is always at the same place and always alone. It is crow, there are lots in the park and they make a terrible noise in the morning !

On Thursday it was so nice outside that I decided to join the others, just to watch them Diskus throwing ! 

They all did their best and the disks  

The next day I picked up my new phone, but afterward I was so weak that I put it in a corner. I'll configure it tomorrow. I sat down with the others and watched them play Boccia. A 96 old lady won and was very proud. 

 

Then we had our coffee together and the manager (the lady in the back) also came and sat down with us, saying that she also needed a break. She is very nice and always has an open ear.

 

Being sick and not feeling well because of this cold, I realize how happy I am to have found this nice place where you almost feel on holidays, where the air is good, no cars, only the crows making noise and sometimes two cats who don't agree on something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HODGEPODGE JUNE 26

 1. What does adventure mean to you? 

To travel through countries I don't know. I have already seen a lot but not enough to my taste ! 

Petra (Jordan) 

2.  What are your thoughts on tipping? What businesses or service providers do you regularly tip? Do you resent being asked if you'd like to add a tip? What about when a suggested amount is presented?

In most of the European countries the tip is included in the VAT (TVA). So you pay what is written on the invoice. If you give a tip that's your own decision. I only give a tip when I am in countries where the tip is not included in the price. 

3. I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream...do we? Is ice cream a favorite treat at your house? What's your favorite flavor? Regular, soft serve, gelato, sherbet, or some sort of non-dairy version of ice cream...what's your pleasure? 

The last weeks I was looking an ice cream but the places I knew were closed or didn't exist anymore. Probably all victims of the Corona lock down. But meanwhile I found what I wanted. I love Straciatella, Dame Blanche, but also a simple ice cream or a sorbet.  

4. What's your 'back in my day, we____________________ ' story or saying? 

That's impossible to answer because I am still living and my days are not over yet. The expression "back in my day" exists in all languages I know and it's wrong in my opinion, because it should say "when I was young". Then indeed I did other things then today. 

Back in our days, my grandma and myself when we were 20

5. Somehow this is our last Hodgepodge in the month of June. Next week's Hodgepodge lands in July. Wow. Sum up your June using three adjectives.

cold, hot, rainy, cold hot rainy, cold hot rainy etc 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Since at least two months I didn't have serious troubles with my breathing problems and I thought maybe my illness is gone, but today I realized that it is still there so I was a bit depressed, fortunately we played ping pong in the park, not me, because too much physical efforts, but  I had fun and laughed a lot because no one could return a single ball. 

Mimi had been Belgium's table tennis queen and had won many prizes. Now she is angry with herself because the balls flew everywhere but over the net. Mimi is already in her late 80s and always makes us laugh.

 

 

Mimi once Belgian champion of table tennis ! 

 and two who had never played in their lives !

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

When the weather is nice and warm we are always outside on the terrace of "our" castle. We planted flowers and we learn games we didn't play in our childhood. Our minds and our agility are encouraged.

One of the castle cats think that we are too loud

 

We do Yoga exercises and have our coffee and cake on the grass and we feel like being on holidays 

Our staff too take their lunch break on the picnic tables in the park.

 

 

more participants here,