Rest and relaxation for me today. Aneta took the car in for repairs promising to be back by three. She ended up having to leave the car and take the bus home where she then borrowed her father-in-law's car for me to drive myself to my massage appointment.
I crawled off my living room bed around noon and walked to the grocery store to buy a few much needed items before eating breakfast and drinking a leisurely cup of coffee. I settled in to catch up on blog posts and that is where Aneta found me when she returned home at 3:15.
I took myself off to the masseuse and had a 2 hour back, hip and leg massage. Boy did it help. This new girl is really good and I like her - she doesn't yap at me constantly!
Michael and Agnes stopped by this evening to return my cell phone they had borrowed over the weekend because Agnes's nephew was in the hospital and Michael needed to go to Warsaw to get the rest of his belongings. Apparently they both needed a phone so they could stay in touch.
All quiet on the home front and I plan on making it an early evening for bed tonight. Aneta is at her computer putting the recipes for Polish Vegetable Salad, Gyro's Chicken Salad and Glombki plus a recipe for vinegar free dill pickles that don't have to be canned (but you need to eat them within a few weeks) on the blog. Let us know if you try these - they are delicious but we need feedback on the measurements for things.
Goodnight all!
Linda
Monday, November 21, 2011
The Ogrodzieniec Castle
Yowza, yowza, yowza. The Ogrodzieniec Castle ruins are one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen. Outlined starkly against the sky the castle stands atop a huge Carst rock outcropping in the Silesian village of Podzamcze. First mentioned in documents in 1386, archiological explorations in the 20th century verify that the castle sits atop an earlier fortified structure dating from the 11th century. The castle was occupied by human beings until 1810. The castle withstood assaults from several invaders from the 1500's onward but in 1702 Swedish King Carl XII's army was successful in sacking and burning the castle. Evidence of that horrendous fire remains everywhere you look on the castle walls, the surrounding rock outcroppings and the castle towers. It must have been a beautiful thing to behold in its glory days during the Renaissance but that period of its history was apparently very short lived. The castle occupied an area of 32,000 meters, keeping in mind that there are 1.09 meters to a yard, this is over 32,000 yards of area.
Well the bad news is that the castle was closed to tourists as of the end of October and won't reopen until May but I nosed around in the courtyard, looked inside through metal grates and we walked the entire castle compound inside the fortified walls and then continued down a wooded path through a small forest to the fields spreading out in the valley below the castle. There were German bunkers in the ground at the edge of the woods facing the fields that the sign said were placed there to ward off the advancing Red Army of the Soviet during World War II. This castle has been the target of many a would be conquerer over the years.
I said to Aneta, "out of the many countries that have invaded Poland over the centuries, it seems to me as we travel around that the Swedish were pretty rough on your country."
"Who hasn't been?" was her tonally uninflected pragmatic response.
Anyway, this beautiful place was my Sunday Surprise this week. I had no idea were were going castle hoping again today. The neighbor girl, Kasia, went with us to keep little Ania company in the back seat as we drove but she fell asleep on the way back and wasn't much help on that leg of the journey. We were all pretty tired and very hungry when we got back to the car. We were looking for a restaurant when Aneta's cell phone rang and saved us. Alicja was calling to invite us to stop at her home on our way back and have a "light supper" with them. Sunday dinner at Aneta's parents has become a regular event not to be missed but we thought this week would be different because Alicja, who works for ING Bank, was on a team building retreat with her co-workers for the weekend.
Anyway, we made haste to get there but it still took an hour and 40 minutes and I was weak from hunger by then. Alicja never fails to please with her food and tonight was no exception. We were treated to traditional Silesian noodle soup, Gyro's salad, the recipe for which will be on the blog later tonight, fresh bread and homemade Tiramisu that was to die for good. this salad was delicious with chicken fried in Gyro's seasoning, layered with onion, red beans and a dressing of mayonnaise and yogurt with seasonings. It was really, really good. We had a little fun trying to translate recipes for the blog converting a "handful" of this and "by the eye" of that ingredient list. No one in this family - maybe in this country - uses a measuring cup or measuring spoons. If you try the recipe let us know how it turns out and if we need to make adjustments as the test kitchen doesn't have measuring utensils either!
I spent the very late evening SKYPEing with my handsome son, beautiful daughter-in-law and their adorable non-twin, twin daughters and my two handsome and smart Green Belt Grandsons. I am blessed to have such a lovely family waiting for me at home. My beautiful daughter is currently in India on her dream of a lifetime vacation to visit her dear friends. She posts on her FB page that it is straight out of National Geographic. Aren't we just the world travelers here.
Linda
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| Fot: Ogrodzieniec Castle, Kasia |
I said to Aneta, "out of the many countries that have invaded Poland over the centuries, it seems to me as we travel around that the Swedish were pretty rough on your country."
"Who hasn't been?" was her tonally uninflected pragmatic response.
 |
| Fot: Ogrodzieniec Castle, Aneta |
 |
| Fot: Ogrodzieniec Castle, Linda |
I spent the very late evening SKYPEing with my handsome son, beautiful daughter-in-law and their adorable non-twin, twin daughters and my two handsome and smart Green Belt Grandsons. I am blessed to have such a lovely family waiting for me at home. My beautiful daughter is currently in India on her dream of a lifetime vacation to visit her dear friends. She posts on her FB page that it is straight out of National Geographic. Aren't we just the world travelers here.
Linda
Concert in a Coal Mine
Workin' in a coal mine, goin' down, down, down..... Okay we weren't exactly working in a coal mine but this was a big day for me. I was in the bathroom putting on makeup when Aneta ripped open the door and announced "there are tickets!"
"Huh?"
"To the concert in the coal mine. We must jump right now and go for them. I called to see because the lady said maybe someone would cancel them. They have seven tickets!"
Quickly recovering I remembered that earlier in the week she had tried in vain to score tickets for a concert to see Dagadana, a Polish Jazz and Folk group playing at Guido's in the bottom of an old coal mine in Zabrze, a nearby city of 200 000 people.
"That's great!" I enthused, while wondering, if I'd in fact, lost my mind. Most concerts are so loud I can't enjoy the music and to think about tormenting myself, while sitting in a hole in the ground and freezing my backside off really had me worried.
Aneta and I made a hurried trip to Zabrze (Zzob-zza)and purchased three tickets, having first, at my suggestion, called friend Ania to see if she would like to join us since she missed out on the movie last night. We returned home and Aneta let me off and went to her in-laws to play with doughter Ania for the remainder of the afternoon.
At 5:30 pm we went to pick up friend Ania and head out to the concert. Now, I had been warned that "it will be cold down there - 14" (degrees centigrade). I looked it up on the Internet and found that it would be 56.6 degrees Farenheit. That still seemed a bit cool to spend two hours sitting at a concert so I dressed, as Aneta says, like an onion. I had on a crew neck cotton shirt, a v necked cotton sweater and a deeper v necked heavy cardigan, over which I wore my quilted car coat, an Angora fur hat and warmly lined leather gloves. I also packed a lap robe type blanket for the event. I looked sort of like the muffin man but I was warm.
We arrived at the venue at 6:30 pm and were issued hard hats for the trip down into the mine. There were two lifts taking people down the mine shaft 8 at a time to each of three cages per lft. Once we arrived at the bottom of our 1,050 ft descent (320 meters) and exited the cage we had a long walk down old tunnels into the mine where there was reported to be a "theater". Trust me, theater is loosely used in this instance. After walking along narrow gage coal car rails for a considerable distance we were funneled into a small holding area full of very large boiler equipment and a well stocked wet bar for those who needed a drink to get through the evening. It was very warm in this holding room and I was soon shedding layers of my onion. At 7 PM we were herded like cattle through a narrow tunnel that opened into the "theater", a long narrow room with a half balcony along one side that seated four people across from the back of the room to the front and two lower tiers of wooden benches on the main foor. Aneta found us good seats on a narrow bench in the front row of the seond tier so we would be able to see even if people in front of us stood. That never happened. Concert goers in Poland are a very mellow bunch who take their seats, stay put and are well behaved. What a novel concept.
Once everyone was seated three musicians arrived at the front of the room and took seats in front of, or next to, their instruments. There were two female vocalists and a male stand-up bass player, who also played electric bass. The lights came up on the staging area and the music began. It was mellow jazz and quite lovely. It moved into some more rousing Polish folk music as the evening progressed and ended with some audience participation using a variety of toy noisemakers and whistles that had been strategically placed throughout the venue. All in all it was a most pleasant concert with three very talented musicians. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and only got chilled during the last half hour, at which time I unfolded my lap robe and wrapped my legs to ward off the chill.
When the concert ended we exited as we had entered and stopped by the cloke room to collect our hard hats for the return trip to the top. Getting 300 people out of a coal mine 24 at a time takes a bit of time and patience. On the trip back to the top we were in the top cage of the three cages and water dripped on my hard hat constantly as we made our ascent. What a trip. Now, aren't I a brave old girl to enthusiastically embrace such an adventure?
We dropped Ania at her home and rushed home so Aneta could put her Ania to bed as she had been with her grandparents for the better part of two days by now and had let everyone know she was done with that.
Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.
Linda
"Huh?"
"To the concert in the coal mine. We must jump right now and go for them. I called to see because the lady said maybe someone would cancel them. They have seven tickets!"
Quickly recovering I remembered that earlier in the week she had tried in vain to score tickets for a concert to see Dagadana, a Polish Jazz and Folk group playing at Guido's in the bottom of an old coal mine in Zabrze, a nearby city of 200 000 people.
"That's great!" I enthused, while wondering, if I'd in fact, lost my mind. Most concerts are so loud I can't enjoy the music and to think about tormenting myself, while sitting in a hole in the ground and freezing my backside off really had me worried.
Aneta and I made a hurried trip to Zabrze (Zzob-zza)and purchased three tickets, having first, at my suggestion, called friend Ania to see if she would like to join us since she missed out on the movie last night. We returned home and Aneta let me off and went to her in-laws to play with doughter Ania for the remainder of the afternoon.
 |
| Fot: Ania, Linda, Aneta in the Guido Coal Mine |
We arrived at the venue at 6:30 pm and were issued hard hats for the trip down into the mine. There were two lifts taking people down the mine shaft 8 at a time to each of three cages per lft. Once we arrived at the bottom of our 1,050 ft descent (320 meters) and exited the cage we had a long walk down old tunnels into the mine where there was reported to be a "theater". Trust me, theater is loosely used in this instance. After walking along narrow gage coal car rails for a considerable distance we were funneled into a small holding area full of very large boiler equipment and a well stocked wet bar for those who needed a drink to get through the evening. It was very warm in this holding room and I was soon shedding layers of my onion. At 7 PM we were herded like cattle through a narrow tunnel that opened into the "theater", a long narrow room with a half balcony along one side that seated four people across from the back of the room to the front and two lower tiers of wooden benches on the main foor. Aneta found us good seats on a narrow bench in the front row of the seond tier so we would be able to see even if people in front of us stood. That never happened. Concert goers in Poland are a very mellow bunch who take their seats, stay put and are well behaved. What a novel concept.
Once everyone was seated three musicians arrived at the front of the room and took seats in front of, or next to, their instruments. There were two female vocalists and a male stand-up bass player, who also played electric bass. The lights came up on the staging area and the music began. It was mellow jazz and quite lovely. It moved into some more rousing Polish folk music as the evening progressed and ended with some audience participation using a variety of toy noisemakers and whistles that had been strategically placed throughout the venue. All in all it was a most pleasant concert with three very talented musicians. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and only got chilled during the last half hour, at which time I unfolded my lap robe and wrapped my legs to ward off the chill.
When the concert ended we exited as we had entered and stopped by the cloke room to collect our hard hats for the return trip to the top. Getting 300 people out of a coal mine 24 at a time takes a bit of time and patience. On the trip back to the top we were in the top cage of the three cages and water dripped on my hard hat constantly as we made our ascent. What a trip. Now, aren't I a brave old girl to enthusiastically embrace such an adventure?
We dropped Ania at her home and rushed home so Aneta could put her Ania to bed as she had been with her grandparents for the better part of two days by now and had let everyone know she was done with that.
Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.
Linda
Three Mile Hike and The Help
I thought it might be Three Mile Island when I was lost tramping through the woods trying to find my way back to the car we parked an hour ago by a nice small fishing lake before striking out to walk around the lake. The weather was nice again today and Aneta suggested we go take a nice walk around "this small lake. It is very nice." Hey, I'm game right? So we got in the car and drove a few kilometers to a road with a sign with a naked woman on it announcing a night club and an arrow pointing to where we were heading. Aneta pointed out the taxi's arriving and leaving and suggested in veiled terms that this was not just a night club with music and dancing, if you get my drift. Okay, then, we will just put our heads down and mind our own business.
We park and begin our walk along a nice leaf covered road leading into the woods near, but not exactly adjacent to, the lake. We never saw the lake again, in fact, until we were completely around to the far side where the road did run along the shore for some distance before again disappearing into the woods. We took a hard right turn at some point and headed up another road that seemed to be sort of bordering the lake on the far end, although we couldn't see the
lake. By this time Ania was pretty much through walking and demanding to e "up, up" so Aneta had to carry her. Eventually Aneta got a large walking stick from a fallen branch and began using it. Then Ania wanted down so she could find a stick, which she did and promptly insisted on me carrying it. It was curved and didn't look all that stable but to tell you the truth I think it saved me in the end. Eventually we struck off down a trail that appeared to have had some use back in what we assumed was the general direction of the lake and our car. The trail soon petered out and we were just trekking through woods going who knows where. We came to a swale with a bog in the bottom and had to cross it and climb a hill on the other side. Without my crooked walking stick I would have fallen or sunk into the bog a half a dozen times. Finally, after crawling through the underbrush and wipeing our heads on multiple
tree branches we emerged at a narrow dirt road that turned out to be the dirt road to the nightclub! We went past the nightclub and straight on down the road to our little car, waiting so patiently for us in the afternoon sun.
On the way home we dropped Ania off at her grandparents for the evening so we could take in a movie. Aneta's friend Ania was to join us for a showing of The Help, but at the last minute wasn't able to find childcare (remember those days?) so we went alone. We wandered around the mall for an hour before the show but didn't buy anything. I did find an optical shop that had some interesting frames I liked and they were having a sale with discounts equal to your age in years! Wow! For me that was a big discount so I stopped to have a look and found two pair of glasses frames I really liked. Then the hammer drops, of course, the discount is only good if you have an eye exam and get lenses in them from their in-house lab. Grrrr. Off to the movie.
The Help, Kathryn Stocket novel adapted for the screen, was just wonderful. Very long but actually quite true to the book. Sissy Spacek was delightful as was Alison Janney. I can't say I even recognized many of the other actresses that played in the film but they all did really fine jobs with their roles. I loved the book so I was apprehensive about the movie - they almost never measure up for me - but was pleasantly surprised.
We didn't get out of the movie until 11:30 pm so no after movie play time for us.
Linda
We park and begin our walk along a nice leaf covered road leading into the woods near, but not exactly adjacent to, the lake. We never saw the lake again, in fact, until we were completely around to the far side where the road did run along the shore for some distance before again disappearing into the woods. We took a hard right turn at some point and headed up another road that seemed to be sort of bordering the lake on the far end, although we couldn't see the
lake. By this time Ania was pretty much through walking and demanding to e "up, up" so Aneta had to carry her. Eventually Aneta got a large walking stick from a fallen branch and began using it. Then Ania wanted down so she could find a stick, which she did and promptly insisted on me carrying it. It was curved and didn't look all that stable but to tell you the truth I think it saved me in the end. Eventually we struck off down a trail that appeared to have had some use back in what we assumed was the general direction of the lake and our car. The trail soon petered out and we were just trekking through woods going who knows where. We came to a swale with a bog in the bottom and had to cross it and climb a hill on the other side. Without my crooked walking stick I would have fallen or sunk into the bog a half a dozen times. Finally, after crawling through the underbrush and wipeing our heads on multiple
tree branches we emerged at a narrow dirt road that turned out to be the dirt road to the nightclub! We went past the nightclub and straight on down the road to our little car, waiting so patiently for us in the afternoon sun.
On the way home we dropped Ania off at her grandparents for the evening so we could take in a movie. Aneta's friend Ania was to join us for a showing of The Help, but at the last minute wasn't able to find childcare (remember those days?) so we went alone. We wandered around the mall for an hour before the show but didn't buy anything. I did find an optical shop that had some interesting frames I liked and they were having a sale with discounts equal to your age in years! Wow! For me that was a big discount so I stopped to have a look and found two pair of glasses frames I really liked. Then the hammer drops, of course, the discount is only good if you have an eye exam and get lenses in them from their in-house lab. Grrrr. Off to the movie.
The Help, Kathryn Stocket novel adapted for the screen, was just wonderful. Very long but actually quite true to the book. Sissy Spacek was delightful as was Alison Janney. I can't say I even recognized many of the other actresses that played in the film but they all did really fine jobs with their roles. I loved the book so I was apprehensive about the movie - they almost never measure up for me - but was pleasantly surprised.
We didn't get out of the movie until 11:30 pm so no after movie play time for us.
Linda
My Senior Moment
I suppose it is every young girls dream to be mistaken for 21 before her time and every old girls dream to be mistaken for under the limit for a Senior Discount. Well I had mine today!
The day started in a routine manner. I had purchased a pair of boots for Ania for Christmas only to have her come back from her grandparents last night sporting new boots they had purchased for her. So I rushed back to the store - on foot of course - to return the boots I had purchased. Too bad, so sad, no refunds and we don't give a damn. Boy was I bummed. But in the course of pleading and arguing our case we discovered that the owner has a second store in the Market Square in Knurow. So we walked back home and prepared for our late afternoon date at the swimming pool with a quick side trip to Knurow's market square to plead with the owner to take the boots back. No dice. However, I was welcome to exchange the new, unworn, still in the original packaging, with the original receipt, boots for anything else in the store I might like. Let's just say I didn't leave empty handed and a couple of adorable little girls are going to get something to make them very happy when I return home - of course I ended up paying an up charge of an additional $19 to make my "exchange". Such is life.
Anyway, back to my Senior Moment. We went straight to the swimming pool where I had been told I was to do 20 laps today or I couldn't go in the jaccuzi. URRRR, she is such a slave driver.
Well, slave driver went to the desk to purchase a Senior Saver swim pass for me and the young woman behind the glass enclosure looked at me very suspiciously and then said something to Aneta. Aneta looked at me and said something back (all in Polish, of course) while I stood there with a blank look on my face. The woman behind the glass insisted I show identification to prove I was a senior citizen - she didn't think I looked old enough! Thank you God!!!
Naomi, about that skin care.....
So, electronic swim bracelet in hand I went through the turnstile and Aneta told me to find the numbers for the room that matched the number on my bracelet and go in and change while she finished registering Ania for swim class. I looked at a couple of doors and found the one where locker 95 would belong. I marched up to the door and pulled it open only to be confronted by a wall of nearly naked MEN! If any were actually naked I don't know because I slammed the door so hard it almost knocked the building down as I whirled around and shouted "Aneta! There are MEN in there!" In my most horrified tone of voice.
"Yes," she calmly replied, "they are changing, but there are rooms."
"They're changing all right," I shot back, "but they sure aren't in any rooms!"
I think it was then I noticed a man about my age sitting in the lobby covering his face with one hand and his mouth with the other while doubled over in his chair - obviously laughing and clearly understanding English.
Aneta said, "Just wait for me then. I will take you." She thinks I'm such a boob sometimes.
Well, it turns out that they have co-ed locker rooms in this place. She didn't think it was in the least unusual so she didn't think to forewarn me. Natural I suppose if you think the whole world operates the way Poland does.
Anyway, she found me a private changing room and I got into my suit and made my way to the non-co-ed showers for women and children and then into the pool where I put my head down and knocked out my 20 laps like a pro. I still had 7 minutes left over to go in the jaccuzi and put the jets on my tired, sore back muscles. I only had to share the jaccuzi with one young man this time and he left as soon as the two bikini bodies showed up and slithered, giggling, into the water next to him. I pulled some muscles along my left rear rib cage swimming but the exercise feels so good and I know my body will respond in a positive way one of these days. (hope, hope) Tonight's my night to make dinner and Aneta has ordered spaghetti so as soon as we hit the door to the apartment I head for the kitchen and start dinner. Who knows what torture she has in store for me tomorrow!
Naomi, the recipes are coming. We got them from Alycja last night and translated them. Aneta will put them on the blog tonight. No one in this country uses a measuring cup or spoon and they are on the metric system so it has been process to determine what a "handful" means or "by the eye". I hope it comes out okay. Let us know! The test kitchen doesn't have measuring deices either!
Linda
The day started in a routine manner. I had purchased a pair of boots for Ania for Christmas only to have her come back from her grandparents last night sporting new boots they had purchased for her. So I rushed back to the store - on foot of course - to return the boots I had purchased. Too bad, so sad, no refunds and we don't give a damn. Boy was I bummed. But in the course of pleading and arguing our case we discovered that the owner has a second store in the Market Square in Knurow. So we walked back home and prepared for our late afternoon date at the swimming pool with a quick side trip to Knurow's market square to plead with the owner to take the boots back. No dice. However, I was welcome to exchange the new, unworn, still in the original packaging, with the original receipt, boots for anything else in the store I might like. Let's just say I didn't leave empty handed and a couple of adorable little girls are going to get something to make them very happy when I return home - of course I ended up paying an up charge of an additional $19 to make my "exchange". Such is life.
Anyway, back to my Senior Moment. We went straight to the swimming pool where I had been told I was to do 20 laps today or I couldn't go in the jaccuzi. URRRR, she is such a slave driver.
Well, slave driver went to the desk to purchase a Senior Saver swim pass for me and the young woman behind the glass enclosure looked at me very suspiciously and then said something to Aneta. Aneta looked at me and said something back (all in Polish, of course) while I stood there with a blank look on my face. The woman behind the glass insisted I show identification to prove I was a senior citizen - she didn't think I looked old enough! Thank you God!!!
Naomi, about that skin care.....
So, electronic swim bracelet in hand I went through the turnstile and Aneta told me to find the numbers for the room that matched the number on my bracelet and go in and change while she finished registering Ania for swim class. I looked at a couple of doors and found the one where locker 95 would belong. I marched up to the door and pulled it open only to be confronted by a wall of nearly naked MEN! If any were actually naked I don't know because I slammed the door so hard it almost knocked the building down as I whirled around and shouted "Aneta! There are MEN in there!" In my most horrified tone of voice.
"Yes," she calmly replied, "they are changing, but there are rooms."
"They're changing all right," I shot back, "but they sure aren't in any rooms!"
I think it was then I noticed a man about my age sitting in the lobby covering his face with one hand and his mouth with the other while doubled over in his chair - obviously laughing and clearly understanding English.
Aneta said, "Just wait for me then. I will take you." She thinks I'm such a boob sometimes.
Well, it turns out that they have co-ed locker rooms in this place. She didn't think it was in the least unusual so she didn't think to forewarn me. Natural I suppose if you think the whole world operates the way Poland does.
Anyway, she found me a private changing room and I got into my suit and made my way to the non-co-ed showers for women and children and then into the pool where I put my head down and knocked out my 20 laps like a pro. I still had 7 minutes left over to go in the jaccuzi and put the jets on my tired, sore back muscles. I only had to share the jaccuzi with one young man this time and he left as soon as the two bikini bodies showed up and slithered, giggling, into the water next to him. I pulled some muscles along my left rear rib cage swimming but the exercise feels so good and I know my body will respond in a positive way one of these days. (hope, hope) Tonight's my night to make dinner and Aneta has ordered spaghetti so as soon as we hit the door to the apartment I head for the kitchen and start dinner. Who knows what torture she has in store for me tomorrow!
Naomi, the recipes are coming. We got them from Alycja last night and translated them. Aneta will put them on the blog tonight. No one in this country uses a measuring cup or spoon and they are on the metric system so it has been process to determine what a "handful" means or "by the eye". I hope it comes out okay. Let us know! The test kitchen doesn't have measuring deices either!
Linda
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Polish Pottery and a Date with Chris (Kojak)
Today was a lazy day for Aneta and Ania. So we didn't get started until after 2 PM. Today Aneta had promised to take me to the factory outlet stores for the Polish Pottery manufacturers. She dropped Ania at her grandparents and off we went. We visited three stores and saw dozens of different patterns of porcelain and stoneware in both modern and traditional designs. I found one store in particular that had things that appealed to me a great deal. The problem is how to get breakable things home in one piece without carrying them on the airplane; keeping in mind that pottery is heavy! I picked up a couple of items for Christmas gifts but went away empty handed for myself. I love the traditional patterns of Polish Pottery but just couldn't figure out how to get the stuff home.
Tonight is my coffee date with Kojak. He arrived to get me around 5 pm. We walked up to the village to the Italian pizza restaurant where I like to go for coffee when I am out walking. We ordered a pizza an a coffee and had a most lovely visit. Kojak is very special to me. He came and stayed at the B&B three years ago when Aneta and Witek and he were touring the US. We visited about many different things and he got yet another chance to practice his English. He asked the question everyone asks me, "Are you tired of Poland yet?" I don't know why, but everyone asks me that question. It's almost like they are tired of Poland and can't quite figure out what I find so appealing about being here for such an extended period of time.
The answer is, "No, I am not tired of Poland yet. I am not tired of the people, I'm not tired of the country and I am not tired of Aneta. They may be tired of me by now but I'm perfectly content. I like Poland, I like the people I've met here and I am having a terrific time."
"Okay," he says. "I just thought you were in a sad mood at Ania's birthday party."
"Moi? No way! I was in a great mood. I knew everyone at the party, I had a wonderful time."
"Okay," he says a bit warily, "but Aneta was in sad mood, right?"
"Yes," I concede, "Aneta was not in a very good mood that night but she is fine. I don't know what was wrong."
Kojak took my hand as we walked and held it all the way to the restaurant and again all the way back home. I felt very cared for by this nice young man who is about to be married to the lovely young Agnes. Being a grandmother has its advantages, you aren't a threat to anyone under 60 and the 30 somethings think you need special handling and care. Such a sweet deal!
Kojak is tutoring a student in math skills and had to be back to his flat by 7 pm. So, I was in early, as all grannies should be I suppose, and spent the remainder of the evening reading from 1Q84 to Aneta while she stood and ironed for two solid hours. When she finished ironing she lay down on the sofa and I continued reading. She fell asleep at 11:30 and missed 27 pages before I finally quit reading. She woke up at midnight and I sent her off to bed. I wasn't the least bit sleepy since I had coffee at 5:30 pm so I had a ong night to reflect on things before the sandman finally came for me around 3 this morning.
Linda
Tonight is my coffee date with Kojak. He arrived to get me around 5 pm. We walked up to the village to the Italian pizza restaurant where I like to go for coffee when I am out walking. We ordered a pizza an a coffee and had a most lovely visit. Kojak is very special to me. He came and stayed at the B&B three years ago when Aneta and Witek and he were touring the US. We visited about many different things and he got yet another chance to practice his English. He asked the question everyone asks me, "Are you tired of Poland yet?" I don't know why, but everyone asks me that question. It's almost like they are tired of Poland and can't quite figure out what I find so appealing about being here for such an extended period of time.
The answer is, "No, I am not tired of Poland yet. I am not tired of the people, I'm not tired of the country and I am not tired of Aneta. They may be tired of me by now but I'm perfectly content. I like Poland, I like the people I've met here and I am having a terrific time."
"Okay," he says. "I just thought you were in a sad mood at Ania's birthday party."
"Moi? No way! I was in a great mood. I knew everyone at the party, I had a wonderful time."
"Okay," he says a bit warily, "but Aneta was in sad mood, right?"
"Yes," I concede, "Aneta was not in a very good mood that night but she is fine. I don't know what was wrong."
Kojak took my hand as we walked and held it all the way to the restaurant and again all the way back home. I felt very cared for by this nice young man who is about to be married to the lovely young Agnes. Being a grandmother has its advantages, you aren't a threat to anyone under 60 and the 30 somethings think you need special handling and care. Such a sweet deal!
Kojak is tutoring a student in math skills and had to be back to his flat by 7 pm. So, I was in early, as all grannies should be I suppose, and spent the remainder of the evening reading from 1Q84 to Aneta while she stood and ironed for two solid hours. When she finished ironing she lay down on the sofa and I continued reading. She fell asleep at 11:30 and missed 27 pages before I finally quit reading. She woke up at midnight and I sent her off to bed. I wasn't the least bit sleepy since I had coffee at 5:30 pm so I had a ong night to reflect on things before the sandman finally came for me around 3 this morning.
Linda
Monday, Monday, Who Could Forget Monday?
I forgot Monday! That is because Aneta left early this morning and took Ania to her grandparents for the day so Aneta could go to work and run some personal errands and get the car fixed. They left me sleeping and I managed to connect with some good shuteye until mid-morning. Once up I fixed some breakfast, ate and answered some emails. Then I downloaded photos off my camera card and put them into the file on Aneta's computer - only we can't find them now. The good news is they are also on my iPad but I haven't figured out how to upload from the iPad to an email or the blog so --- bummer. I then settled in and did a little writing on a book I am working on but haven't had much opportunity to work on recently.
I had a massage scheduled for 4 PM and Aneta didn't show up so at 3:45 I called her. She was still at the mechanics shop waiting for her car to get finished. I said, "Well, you will need to call this girl for me then and let her know I won't be there for the appointment."
Aneta said, "It isn't until 5 PM."
"No," I say, "it is at 4 PM."
We argue back and forth and she finally agrees to make the call for me. I give her the number and forget about it. At 4:15 Aneta calls me and says, "I called this girl and told her we will be late. I am almost to the building. You can go outside now and we will just go."
She dropped me off and said to call her 10 minutes before I was through and she would come back and get me. The massage was spectacular. It included first a full body "peel" which was a glorified name for exfoliation, followed by a shower. Then a full body hot rock massage, which I have never had but, which was wonderfully relaxing. That procedure was then followed by a facial massage and a mask that indeed smelled like chocolate. After letting the mask set for 10 minutes I was instructed to take another shower, and to call Aneta to come get me before I showered so she would be here when I finished. I followed all my instructions and met Aneta in the witting room outside. When I got in the car she said, "Are you tired? Do you wish to go straight to bed?"
"No," I said, "I'm not all that tired. Just very relaxed."
"Good," she said, "that man who has been in Bali is coming for English lesson."
Well, okay then. I hurriedly ate some vegetable salad and drank a cup of green tea and a large glass of water and at 8 pm Christian arrived to speak English with me for an hour. Aneta had forewarned me that he likes economics and politics and had very definate ideas on American politics. Okay. I turned on the iPad, opened CNN and read through a couple of articles on the potential collapse of the Eu and the Euro, why proping up the Euro would be good for America, read the latest polls on the presidential campaign and hoped for the best.
Promptly at 8 Krystian rang the bell and Aneta ushered him in to our little abode. I put on my brightest smile and said, "I understand you are interested in economics?"
He launched into a dialogue with me that lasted until 10:30 pm and included his views on American politics - he thinks our only hope is to elect Ron Paul - the state of the European economies, the American economy and multiple other interesting topics. He is 23 years old and has a job renting scaffolding to the construction industry by day but is an Internet trader of gold and silver by night. He just returned from a lengthy trip to Asia and Indonesia with his younger brother, age 21. His destination was Bali, but he also went to Singapore, Java and some island off the coast of Bali. He is quite the photographer and brought a flash drive with his photos and treated Aneta and me to a full on narrated slide show. We had a lovely evening. His English is pretty good and he isn't afraid to speak in English so that was a big plus for me. When poor Kamil came the first time he was absolutely soaked in sweat by the time he left, he found it so stressful to speak English to a native speaker.
Now I get to be tired and take advantage of the relaxation I achieved with my massage. Should sleep well tonight.
Linda
I had a massage scheduled for 4 PM and Aneta didn't show up so at 3:45 I called her. She was still at the mechanics shop waiting for her car to get finished. I said, "Well, you will need to call this girl for me then and let her know I won't be there for the appointment."
Aneta said, "It isn't until 5 PM."
"No," I say, "it is at 4 PM."
We argue back and forth and she finally agrees to make the call for me. I give her the number and forget about it. At 4:15 Aneta calls me and says, "I called this girl and told her we will be late. I am almost to the building. You can go outside now and we will just go."
She dropped me off and said to call her 10 minutes before I was through and she would come back and get me. The massage was spectacular. It included first a full body "peel" which was a glorified name for exfoliation, followed by a shower. Then a full body hot rock massage, which I have never had but, which was wonderfully relaxing. That procedure was then followed by a facial massage and a mask that indeed smelled like chocolate. After letting the mask set for 10 minutes I was instructed to take another shower, and to call Aneta to come get me before I showered so she would be here when I finished. I followed all my instructions and met Aneta in the witting room outside. When I got in the car she said, "Are you tired? Do you wish to go straight to bed?"
"No," I said, "I'm not all that tired. Just very relaxed."
"Good," she said, "that man who has been in Bali is coming for English lesson."
Well, okay then. I hurriedly ate some vegetable salad and drank a cup of green tea and a large glass of water and at 8 pm Christian arrived to speak English with me for an hour. Aneta had forewarned me that he likes economics and politics and had very definate ideas on American politics. Okay. I turned on the iPad, opened CNN and read through a couple of articles on the potential collapse of the Eu and the Euro, why proping up the Euro would be good for America, read the latest polls on the presidential campaign and hoped for the best.
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| Fot: Linda and Krystian |
He launched into a dialogue with me that lasted until 10:30 pm and included his views on American politics - he thinks our only hope is to elect Ron Paul - the state of the European economies, the American economy and multiple other interesting topics. He is 23 years old and has a job renting scaffolding to the construction industry by day but is an Internet trader of gold and silver by night. He just returned from a lengthy trip to Asia and Indonesia with his younger brother, age 21. His destination was Bali, but he also went to Singapore, Java and some island off the coast of Bali. He is quite the photographer and brought a flash drive with his photos and treated Aneta and me to a full on narrated slide show. We had a lovely evening. His English is pretty good and he isn't afraid to speak in English so that was a big plus for me. When poor Kamil came the first time he was absolutely soaked in sweat by the time he left, he found it so stressful to speak English to a native speaker.
Now I get to be tired and take advantage of the relaxation I achieved with my massage. Should sleep well tonight.
Linda
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