And now back home ready to unpack, more updates later this week!

Well, my kids aren’t nor some of my friends, so for them it’s the only time they have to pay a visit.

So I bought a nice espresso machine as soon as I was retired and I have the impression people are getting used to it

Anyway, it’s great to offer people a drink, especially when it is healthy and quite delicious. Especially Sunday at lunch with fresh goodies from the bakery: yummies!

Yet it’s still February so no fruit available but ideal time to prune the roses before they start growing again due to a way too mild winter.

Meanwhile we are helping out the wife from our late friend: since he always drove her around shopping and she doesn’t have a driving licence, her children, friends and neighbours are her new "taxi-drivers".

Luckily my wife is close to her, so she can just drop by and see if anything is needed. Nothing can really replace a loving husband it seems. Which makes you wonder: whoever is left behind is in for a really hard time

It’s better than nothing but of course it hardly can make up for her loss.

But it just makes life a bit more easy especially for her children who have been helping her tremendously the months before her hubby died in hospital.

If you had an active social live or you have a big extended family, funerals seems to become part of life once you retire.

I notice it the most when we go to our senior gatherings: husbands suddenly don’t join because they are sick and a few months later they are no more. Few months after that a lonely widow returns to the gatherings and it’s up to the rest of us to bring some warmth into a cold period of their lives

Not that we don’t want to, just that the weather is cold (the BBQ fire could help out…) and more sadly: it’s raining all the time.

So we did the next best thing: baking cookies and other goodies in the oven. Like that the house get’s warmer and it almost feels like having a BBQ when you grill some meat and add some potatoes in the oven:

Meanwhile mother-hen is doing fine, just that when she comes out of her nest to eat and drink and you know what, she gets attacked by the other chickens and the rooster still thinks he has to father her eggs… which she rigorously refuses!

If it keeps like that, I will have to go and fix a separate box for her. I gave mine to my son as his chickens started to hatch and mine kept on laying eggs…

Note to myself: never give away anything anymore in future…

Seriously: I took my wife to the doctor as she was having a flu and on top of that she couldn’t speak anymore.

Now I know lots of men would be very happy to have a wife like that…

Having said so, I drove her to the doctor who gave her an antibiotics jab on the spot. Although the only antibiotics we normally take are the ones we find in honey: this time her flu was getting really from bad to worse. A running nose is one thing, not being able to swallow and loosing your voice is another thing.

Anyway, gave her a warm cup of milk with some extra honey, and now she is happily sleeping away.

That gives me 5 minutes to write this post and then it will be me doing the cooking: Mashed potatoes, mashed anything to keep swallowing easy.

Best case scenario: the antibiotics works fast (that’s the whole idea for getting a double dose injected) and she can eat normally soonest. (And I can go gardening as I am eager to put some peas in the soil…).

Sad in many ways: first and foremost for his wife and children. He worked hard all his life and when finally the day of retirement comes, he was in the hospital in excruciating pain. Just imagine something wants to grow under your skull where there is no space whatsoever for expansion…

Secondly if it isn’t bad enough: he has been contributing for his retirement all his life, and he wont see any penny for it.

Thirdly: his dear wife only gets a certain % of what her hubby would have got… as if 1 person doesn’t have the same fixed expenses than 2 : I mean: she still needs to use electricity and heating…

And to make things even worse: his wife inherits his possessions. Of course what was his was hers, but according to the state it was his… And any inheritance: you need to pay taxes…

Sounds quite like a state ruled by vouchers…

Condolences to his family and friends…

Smart as he was: he had a piece of land that he would never use, so he just planted Christmas trees there.

Quite practical if you need to dig up a tree because mine was getting way too big to put back in the house.

Christmas tree : for free

Time to add some decorations…