Friday, November 30, 2018

Cold day.

Joan got up early thinking it was shopping day, got dressed and was ready to go by 9:30. When I told her we went yesterday she was disappointed so I told her I wouldn't want her to waste her makeup so I would take her to Drukarnia for breakfast.

She had her usual breakfast sandwich and I, scrambled eggs with ham. It was good to be out but a little cold for walking, 0c. In Plac Wolnos膰i they have set up all the booths for Christmas already along with a big ferris wheel.

We got back home just in time for me to Skype with my friend from Bydgoszcz. She told me Al Di Meola would be playing in their town soon also.

Joan wsta艂a wcze艣nie, my艣l膮c, 偶e to dzie艅 zakup贸w, ubiera艂a si臋 i by艂a gotowa do wyj艣cia o 9:30. Kiedy powiedzia艂em jej, 偶e wczoraj poszli艣my, by艂a rozczarowana, wi臋c powiedzia艂em jej, 偶e nie chc臋, 偶eby zmarnowa艂a makija偶, wi臋c zabra艂bym j膮 do Drukarni na 艣niadanie.

Mia艂a swoj膮 zwyk艂膮 kanapk臋 艣niadaniow膮, ja jajecznic臋 z szynk膮. Dobrze by艂o by膰 na zewn膮trz, ale troch臋 za zimno na chodzenie, 0c. Na Placu Wolno艣ci ustawili ju偶 wszystkie stoiska na Bo偶e Narodzenie wraz z wielkim diabelskim ko艂em.

Wr贸cili艣my do domu w sam膮 por臋 dla mnie na Skype'a z moim przyjacielem z Bydgoszczy. Powiedzia艂a mi, 偶e wkr贸tce zagra Al Di Meola w ich mie艣cie.

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Czechy.

Well it seems Trump's appointed Ambassador to Poland has caused a problem between the 2 countries.

Poland's negotiations over the second stage of the deal to buy US missile defense system Patriot may be hampered by the fresh diplomatic strife between the country's ruling camp and the US ambassador to Warsaw, Georgette Mosbacher, the daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna wrote.
In an emotional letter, Mosbacher took PM Mateusz Morawiecki and the ruling party Law and Justice (PiS) to task for taking a hard line against Discovery-owned broadcaster TVN, known for its critical attitude towards the government.

On the bright side, Stash visited us and we spent an hour talking and coffee. He told us something interesting about Czechy(The Czech Republic).40-50% of the population is atheist. When a death occurs there are 2 options. A private funeral can be held or the state will collect the body and keep it until 100 are collected.  At that time they are buried in one, single, large grave. The family does not attend the funeral. It is not called a "mass grave" because of the connotation the word brings to mind remembering the Russians and the Germans of World War II.

Food shopping was done today also, cost 155PLN($41).

 Wygl膮da na to, 偶e wyznaczony przez Trumpa ambasador w Polsce spowodowa艂 problem mi臋dzy dwoma krajami.

Negocjacje Polski na drugim etapie transakcji zakupu ameryka艅skiego systemu obrony przeciwrakietowej Patriot, mog膮 by膰 utrudnione przez 艣wie偶y dyplomatyczny sp贸r mi臋dzy obozem rz膮dz膮cym w kraju a ameryka艅skim ambasadorem w Warszawie, Georgette Mosbacher, pisze Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
W emocjonalnym li艣cie Mosbacher zbeszta艂a premiera Mateusza Morawieckiego i parti臋 Prawo i Sprawiedliwo艣膰 (PiS) do zaj臋cie twardego stanowiska wobec nadawcy telewizyjnemu Discovery TVN, znanemu z krytycznego podej艣cia do rz膮du.

Z lepszych wie艣ci, odwiedzi艂 nas Stash i sp臋dzili艣my godzin臋 na rozmowie przy kawie. Powiedzia艂 nam co艣 ciekawego o Czechach (Czechy) . 40-50% populacji to atei艣ci. W przypadku 艣mierci istniej膮 2 opcje. Mo偶e si臋 odby膰 prywatny pogrzeb, albo pa艅stwo zbierze cia艂o i przechowa je do czasu zebrania 100 os贸b. Wtedy wszyscy s膮 pochowani w jednym, wielkim grobie. Rodzina nie bierze udzia艂u w pogrzebie. Nie nazywa si臋 go "masowym grobem", poniewa偶 konotacja ta przywodzi na my艣l pami臋膰 o Rosjanach i Niemcach z II wojny 艣wiatowej.


Dzisiaj r贸wnie偶 zrobili艣my zakup 偶ywno艣ci, kt贸ry kosztowa艂 155PLN (41 USD).

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Not far off.

26 days to Christmas, then New Year's Day and 21 days later it's off to Spain. A lot of preparation to be done yet before we go, arranging standing orders with the bank to pay for electricity, water and heat each month while we are away. Our neighbor will no doubt check on our flat while we're gone and I'll have to notify the owner.  Of course, then there's obtaining enough meds. for the time in Spain also. This time, 95% of our traveling while in Spain while we are there will be by bus, we can't afford to rent a car for our stay this time.

Today started out sunny but by 13:00 it was gone and gray covered the sky. We met with Zbyszek and decided to make our future meetings in his flat instead of Sowa's. It's very close to us so there is no extra travel time. We talked about the mess the world is in with the world leadership of several countries being so bad. Mainly it was about the U.S. and Poland with the danger of Russia thrown in also.

Joan is making out the shopping list for tomorrow. Our friend, Stash, will visit us at 12:00 and after the visit we will go shopping.

6 dni do Bo偶ego Narodzenia, potem Nowy Rok i 21 dni p贸藕niej wyjazd do Hiszpanii. Przed wyjazdem mamy sporo przygotowa艅, jak zorganizowanie sta艂ych zlece艅 w banku, aby co miesi膮c p艂aci膰 za energi臋 elektryczn膮, wod臋 i ciep艂o, gdy nas nie b臋dzie. Nasz s膮siad bez w膮tpienia skontroluje nasze mieszkanie, kiedy nas nie b臋dzie i b臋d臋 musia艂 zawiadomi膰 w艂a艣ciciela. Oczywi艣cie, nale偶y r贸wnie偶 pozyska膰 wystarczaj膮c膮 ilo艣膰 lek贸w na czas pobytu w Hiszpanii. Tym razem 95% naszych podr贸偶y po Hiszpanii b臋dzie autobusem, nie mo偶emy pozwoli膰 sobie na wynaj臋cie samochodu w czasie naszego pobytu.

Dzie艅 zacz膮艂 si臋 s艂onecznie, ale o 13.00 s艂o艅ca ju偶 nie by艂o i szaro艣膰 zasnu艂a niebo. Spotkali艣my si臋 ze Zbyszkiem i postanowili艣my nast臋pne spotkania odby膰 w jego mieszkaniu zamiast u Sowy. Jest blisko nas, wi臋c nie ma dodatkowego czasu na przejazd. Rozmawiali艣my o ba艂aganie, w jakim znajduje si臋 艣wiat i o tym, 偶e 艣wiatowe przyw贸dztwo kilku kraj贸w jest tak z艂e. G艂贸wnie chodzi艂o o USA i Polsk臋 a tak偶e zagro偶enie rzucone przez Rosj臋.

Joan przygotowuje list臋 zakup贸w na jutro. Nasz przyjaciel, Stash odwiedzi nas o 12:00, a po wizycie p贸jdziemy na zakupy.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

A good surprise.

Like me, Joan is a lover of sweets. She is also a cat lover. I am not a cat or dog lover but I could tolerate them in our house when we had them although I have a very small allergy to cat hair. When I hear from a friend about this place I knew I just had to take Joan there someday. Well, today was that day.

It is a kawiarnia/cukernia that sits below the old Apollo film theater. What makes it so unique is that it has two rooms separated by a sliding glass door. On each side there are tables and chairs for drinking coffee and eating ciasto along with comfortable arm chairs and sofas. However, on one side of the sliding door there are about 15 cats that roam around the room or just lay sleeping in the chairs. All of them can be held or petted by the customers while they are there. We arrived at 14:10 only to find that was the "break" time for the cats and that part was closed to customers until 15:00.

We ordered 2 coffees with creme and a delicious piece of ginger cheesecake for each of us which we ate while sitting in comfortable armchairs. We talked for a while and then at 15:00 went into the room with the cats where I took some pictures while Joan petted a few cats. It was a good surprise for her and she really enjoyed the experience. I'm sure we will go back there again.

Podobnie jak ja, Joan jest mi艂o艣niczk膮 s艂odyczy. Jest tak偶e mi艂o艣niczk膮 kot贸w. Nie jestem mi艂o艣nikiem kot贸w i ps贸w, ale mog艂em je tolerowa膰 w naszym domu, gdy je mieli艣my, chocia偶 mam bardzo ma艂膮 alergi臋 na sier艣膰 kota. Kiedy dowiedzia艂em si臋 od znajomego o tym miejscu, wiedzia艂em, 偶e pewnego dnia musz臋 Joan tam zabra膰. C贸偶, dzi艣 by艂 ten dzie艅.

To kawiarnia / cukiernia, kt贸ra znajduje si臋 pod starym kinem Apollo. Co sprawia, 偶e jest tak wyj膮tkowa, to, 偶e ma dwie sale oddzielone przesuwanymi szklanymi drzwiami. Z ka偶dej strony s膮 sto艂y i krzes艂a, gdzie mo偶na wypi膰 kaw臋 i zje艣膰 ciasto wraz z wygodnymi fotelami i sofami. Jednak po jednej stronie przesuwanych drzwi znajduje si臋 oko艂o 15 kot贸w, kt贸re w臋druj膮 po sali lub po prostu 艣pi膮 w fotelach. Wszystkie mog膮 by膰 trzymane lub g艂askane przez klient贸w, kt贸rzy tam s膮. Przyjechali艣my o 14:10 tylko po to, by stwierdzi膰, 偶e by艂 to czas "przerwy" dla kot贸w i ta cz臋艣膰 by艂a zamkni臋ta dla klient贸w do godziny 15:00.

Zam贸wili艣my 2 kawy ze 艣mietank膮 i po pysznym kawa艂ku piernika dla ka偶dego z nas, kt贸re jedli艣my siedz膮c w wygodnych fotelach. Rozmawiali艣my przez chwil臋, a nast臋pnie o 15:00 poszli艣my do sali z kotami, gdzie zrobi艂em kilka zdj臋膰, a Joan pog艂aska艂a kilka kot贸w. To by艂a dla niej mi艂a niespodzianka i bardzo podoba艂o jej si臋 to do艣wiadczenie. Jestem pewien, 偶e wr贸cimy tam ponownie.

Monday, November 26, 2018

Fixed?

Still waiting for a reply from Outlook about the email problem but maybe I have fixed it on my own by making some changes to the email settings themselves.  If you would be so kind as to send a test email  message to...piekar66@hotmail.com and just put "Blog" in the subject, it will verify if I am right. I will still wait for Outlook to tell me what is wrong with the program. I have been getting emails again in my Inbox so I can ONLY assume if you make a comment on my blog I will receive it.

I was talking with a 15 year old girl today who said she had just come back from a weekend in London with her father and brother. She has been there 3 times. When I asked her how many places in Poland she had been to she said Gda艅sk, Warsaw, Zakopane and Lublin, that was all. She was not from a poor family so I thought she would have seen more of Poland. She had never been to places like Malbork or even Wroc艂aw, 2 1/2 hours drive from here. I told her there are many beautiful, interesting places in her own country that she should visit next time. I recommended Wroc艂aw, to see the Panorama painting and the rynek at least.

19:20: Received an email from Outlook...."Our escalation team checked some settings and made some changes here. I would like to tell you that necessary changes have been made to the account". So that must be why the problem is resolved.

Nadal czekam na odpowied藕 z programu Outlook na temat problemu z poczt膮 e-mail, ale by膰 mo偶e naprawi艂em go sam, wprowadzaj膮c pewne zmiany w ustawieniach poczty. Je艣li by艂by艣 tak mi艂y, aby wys艂a膰 testow膮 wiadomo艣膰 e-mail do ... piekar66@hotmail.com i po prostu umie艣膰 "Blog" w temacie, zweryfikuj臋, czy mam racj臋. Nadal b臋d臋 czeka膰, a偶 Outlook odpowie mi, co jest nie tak z programem. Otrzymuj臋 ponownie e-maile w mojej skrzynce odbiorczej, wi臋c mog臋 TYLKO za艂o偶y膰, 偶e je艣li napiszesz komentarz na moim blogu, otrzymam go.

Rozmawia艂em dzi艣 z 15-letni膮 dziewczynk膮, kt贸ra powiedzia艂a, 偶e w艂a艣nie wr贸ci艂a z weekendu w Londynie ze swoim ojcem i bratem. By艂a tam 3 razy. Kiedy zapyta艂em j膮, w ilu miejscach w Polsce by艂, odpowiedzia艂a, 偶e w Gda艅sku, Warszawie, Zakopanem i Lublinie, to wszystko. Nie pochodzi艂a z biednej rodziny, wi臋c pomy艣la艂em, 偶e mog艂aby zobaczy膰 wi臋cej Polski. Nigdy nie by艂a w takich miejscach jak Malbork, a nawet we Wroc艂awiu, o 2,5 godziny jazdy st膮d. Powiedzia艂em jej, 偶e jest wiele pi臋knych, interesuj膮cych miejsc w jej w艂asnym kraju, kt贸re powinna odwiedzi膰 nast臋pnym razem. Poleci艂em Wroc艂aw, 偶eby przynajmniej obejrze膰 Panoram臋 i Rynek.


19:20: Otrzyma艂em wiadomo艣膰 e-mail z Outlooka ... "Nasz zesp贸艂 Eskalacji sprawdzi艂 niekt贸re ustawienia i wprowadzi艂 tutaj kilka zmian. Chcia艂bym powiedzie膰, 偶e dokonano niezb臋dnych zmian na koncie". To musi by膰 przyczyna, dla kt贸rej problem zosta艂 rozwi膮zany.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Waiting...again.

No blog last night because once again appeared the problem of not receiving emails. It started a few dats ago and I just thought it was because of the holiday but then I noticed some were appearing in junk mail that should be in my inbox. After sending out a few messages to people to send me a "test" email I confirmed it wasn't working right. Then began the dreaded search on the internet for help from Outlook. Most of the evening was spent here following instructions from Live Chat that didn't work and finally I was referred to the "escalation team" of tech support...…………….but by email using alternative Gmail system. Hotmail wasn't working. I tried 4 different browsers but to no avail. The way it stands tonight at 12:28AM is they have my 4th email explain everything with screen shots and I have to wait for a reply. So if you wrote a comment these past few days and didn't see it posted, that is the reason.

Brak bloga zesz艂ej nocy, poniewa偶 po raz kolejny pojawi艂 si臋 problem nieotrzymywania e-maili. Zacz臋艂o si臋 kilka dni temu i pomy艣la艂em, 偶e to z powodu wakacji, ale potem zauwa偶y艂em, 偶e niekt贸re pojawia艂y si臋 w 艣mieciach, kt贸re powinny znajdowa膰 si臋 w mojej skrzynce odbiorczej. Po wys艂aniu kilku wiadomo艣ci do ludzi, aby wys艂a膰 mi wiadomo艣膰 "testow膮", potwierdzi艂em, 偶e nie dzia艂a prawid艂owo. Potem zacz臋艂y si臋 przera偶aj膮ce wyszukiwania w Internecie o pomoc z programu Outlook. Wi臋kszo艣膰 wieczoru sp臋dzili艣my tutaj, wykonuj膮c instrukcje z czatu na 偶ywo, kt贸re nie dzia艂a艂y i wreszcie zosta艂em skierowany do "zespo艂u ds. Eskalacji" wsparcia technicznego ... ................, Ale przez e-mail z wykorzystaniem alternatywnego systemu Gmail. Us艂uga Hotmail nie dzia艂a. Pr贸bowa艂em 4 r贸偶nych przegl膮darek, ale bez skutku. Spos贸b, w jaki dzi艣 stoi o 12.28 jest to, 偶e m贸j czwarty e-mail wyja艣nia wszystko z zrzut贸w ekranu i musz臋 czeka膰 na odpowied藕. Wi臋c je艣li napisa艂e艣 komentarz w ci膮gu ostatnich kilku dni i nie widzia艂em tego, to jest pow贸d.

Friday, November 23, 2018

Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving dinner was at 18:15 yesterday. Our friend, Radek, arrived at 17:45 and we talked for a few minutes, then I went into the kitchen to mash the potatoes. For dinner we had the marvelous duck breasts, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, corn, wine and water. For dessert, an apple pie that Joan made and caf茅 latte ice cream with tea. With conversation, the dinner lasted for 2 1/2 hours and then Radek had to go to his sisters house. It was an enjoyable evening. Joan made more than enough food so tomorrow we already have dinner ready except today I will have to buy some chicken. Radek loved the Muscovy duck, his first time eating it.

We finished off the evening watching another episode of "The Romanoff's". I thought it was going to be more historical in context but following the first episode it is more fictitious stories of individuals somehow linked to the original Romanoff's.

Obiad na 艢wi臋to Dzi臋kczynienia by艂 wczoraj o 18.15. Nasz przyjaciel Radek przyby艂 o 17:45 i rozmawiali艣my przez kilka minut, po czym poszed艂em do kuchni, 偶eby ut艂uc ziemniaki na puree. Na kolacj臋 mieli艣my cudowne piersi z kaczki, t艂uczone ziemniaki, sur贸wk臋 z bia艂ej kapusty, kukurydz臋, wino i wod臋. Na deser szarlotka, kt贸r膮 zrobi艂a Joan cafe latte lody z herbat膮. Kolacja trwa艂a 2 1/2 godziny 艂膮cznie z rozmow膮, a potem Radek musia艂 i艣膰 do domu swojej siostry. To by艂 udany wiecz贸r. Joan zrobi艂a wi臋cej ni偶 potrzeba jedzenia, wi臋c jutro mamy ju偶 gotow膮 kolacj臋, tylko musz臋 dokupi膰 troch臋 kurczaka. Radkowi smakowa艂a kaczka pi偶mowa, kt贸r膮 jad艂 po raz pierwszy.

Sko艅czyli艣my wiecz贸r ogl膮daj膮c kolejny odcinek "The Romanoff's". My艣la艂em, 偶e b臋dzie to bardziej historyczne w kontek艣cie, ale po pierwszym odcinku jest to bardziej fikcyjna opowie艣膰 o osobach w jaki艣 spos贸b powi膮zanych z oryginaln膮 rodzin膮 Romanowych..

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Oh Happy Day

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers and cousins.

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Al Di Meola

We arrived early, as usual, at the concert hall and found a parking space just across the street from the hall. Inside I checked our coats, hats, scarves and gloves and we walked up the stairs to the concert hall. We've been there before so the stairs were no surprise.

We had seats in the third row in the center of the hall, close to the stage. I took a few preliminary pictures to check the lighting. A few minutes later we were surprised to see two friends of our, Joanna and Juliusz,  come into our row. They had seats, 6 seats from us.

At 19:30 Al Di Meola came out with another guitar player from France whose name I don't remember and an accordion player from Italy, Fausto Beccalossi. That guy is an incredible accordionist. They were going to start playing but there was a buzz in the sound system that delayed the start for about 10 minutes.

Apologies were given to the audience and Al told the list of songs they would play for the evening, some old ones, some news ones from his newest CD, OPUS,  and a few Beatles songs, a group he very much admired for their songwriting.

As expected from one in the upper echelon of exceptional guitar players, Al didn't disappoint the audience with his skill or speed of playing.   Known for his works in jazz fusion and world music, it was evident in the songs he chose, even in the Beatles songs. I have to admit, at times I wasn't sure which Beatles tune he was playing, the melody was highly improvised.

Before he played one tune he told an interesting story of his family that I could somewhat relate to. His grandfather had immigrated from a small village north of Napoli, Italy along with another brother in the early 1900's. Those 2 brothers also had 14 other brothers and sisters who stayed in the village and didn't immigrate. Al had always heard stories of that village. A trip to that village was arranged some time ago and he was able to meet dozens of cousins he never knew he had. He wrote a song and dedicated it to that village. He played it for us last night.

I've heard different kinds of instruments play jazz but that was the first time I heard a jazz accordionist. It wasn't just the playing of notes but the emotion he put into it. You could see it in his face. I took more than a few pictures of his expressions as he played. I liked watching him.

When the last tune was played, there was an encore.  We went to the cloakroom, got our coats, saw our friends, said a few words about the concert and came back home. It was a good night.

Jak zwykle przyjechali艣my wcze艣niej do sali koncertowej i znale藕li艣my miejsce parkingowe po drugiej stronie ulicy. Wewn膮trz odda艂em nasze p艂aszcze, czapki, szaliki i r臋kawiczki do szatni i weszli艣my po schodach do sali koncertowej. Byli艣my tam wcze艣niej, wi臋c schody nie by艂y zaskoczeniem.

Mieli艣my miejsca w trzecim rz臋dzie po艣rodku sali, blisko sceny. Zrobi艂em kilka wst臋pnych zdj臋膰, 偶eby sprawdzi膰 o艣wietlenie. Kilka minut p贸藕niej zdziwili艣my si臋, kiedy w naszym rz臋dzie pojawi艂o si臋 dwoje naszych znajomych, Joanna i Juliusz. Mieli miejsca o 6 siedze艅 od nas.

O 19:30 Al Di Meola wyszed艂 z innym gitarzyst膮 z Francji, kt贸rego nazwiska nie pami臋tam, oraz z akordeonist膮 z W艂och, Fausto Beccalossim. Ten facet jest niesamowitym akordeonist膮. Zacz臋li gra膰, ale w nag艂o艣nieniu rozlega艂 si臋 szum, kt贸ry op贸藕ni艂 rozpocz臋cie o oko艂o 10 minut.

Publiczno艣ci zosta艂a przeproszona, a Al poda艂 list臋 utwor贸w, kt贸re zagraj膮 tego wieczoru, kilka starych, kilka nowych z jego najnowszej p艂yty OPUS i kilka piosenek Beatles贸w, grupy, kt贸r膮 bardzo podziwia za pisanie piosenek.

Zgodnie z oczekiwaniami co do jednego z czo艂owych i wyj膮tkowych gitarzyst贸w, Al nie rozczarowa艂 publiczno艣ci swoimi umiej臋tno艣ciami ani szybko艣ci膮 grania. Znany ze swoich utwor贸w w muzyce jazzowej i muzyce 艣wiatowej, by艂 widoczny w utworach, kt贸re wybra艂, nawet w piosenkach Beatles贸w. Musz臋 przyzna膰, 偶e czasami nie by艂em pewien, kt贸ry z utwor贸w Beatles贸w gra, poniewa偶 melodia by艂a bardzo improwizowana.

Zanim zagra艂 jeden z utwor贸w, opowiedzia艂 ciekaw膮 histori臋 swojej rodziny, z kt贸r膮 m贸g艂bym si臋 nieco uto偶samia膰. Jego dziadek wyemigrowa艂 z ma艂ej wioski na p贸艂noc od Neapolu we W艂oszech wraz z innym bratem na pocz膮tku 1900 roku. Tych dw贸ch braci mia艂o r贸wnie偶 14 innych braci i si贸str, kt贸rzy pozostali w wiosce i nie wyemigrowali. Al zawsze s艂ucha艂 historii o tej wiosce. Podr贸偶 do wioski zosta艂a zorganizowana jaki艣 czas temu i wtedy m贸g艂 pozna膰 dziesi膮tki kuzyn贸w, o kt贸rych nigdy nie wiedzia艂, 偶e ich ma. Napisa艂 piosenk臋 i po艣wi臋ci艂 j膮 tej wiosce. Zagra艂 to dla nas zesz艂ej nocy.

S艂ysza艂em r贸偶ne rodzaje instrument贸w graj膮cych jazz, ale po raz pierwszy us艂ysza艂em jazzowego akordeonist臋. Nie chodzi艂o tylko o granie z nut, ale o emocje, kt贸re w to wk艂ada艂. Widzia艂e艣 to na jego twarzy. Podczas, gdy gra艂 zrobi艂em wi臋cej ni偶 kilka zdj臋膰, aby uchwyci膰 jego ekspresj臋. Z przyjemno艣ci膮 go obserwowa艂em.

Kiedy ostatnia melodia by艂a grana, by艂 bis. Poszli艣my do szatni, wzi臋li艣my p艂aszcze, zobaczyli艣my naszych przyjaci贸艂, powiedzieli艣my kilka s艂贸w o koncercie i wr贸cili艣my do domu. To by艂a dobra noc.

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Getting ready.


A sunny but cold, 2c, day to go outside to get to the DiMeola concert tonight.

In the morning I met with Radek, as usual for a Tuesday, and then returned home to study with Joan. Dinner will be early tonight and we will get ready and leave the house at 19:00 for the concert at 19:30. It's in the center of town so it is only a short drive.

After the lubrication of this laptop I had troubled with horribly long delays connecting to the internet and finally had to restore it to a previous restore point, even that took three hours. Now it's functioning well again. It seems the lubrication may have been causing the connection slowdown. I don't know, for sure, what happened. It was just a little frustrating.

This blog has been helpful for several people to make their move to Poland through private emails with questions they had about how to do certain procedures. However. it has also been helpful for me also.

A long-time reader read the latest problems with Civil Registry here and, on my behalf, called the different offices in Ohio to see how to resolve the problem. Now she has the form needed to be filled out and will send it in to them. It is so much faster than me doing it from Poland using the mail system. That way it would take at least one month, if I am lucky. So this blog has helped, not only some readers, but me also.

I will tell you tomorrow how the concert was.

S艂oneczny, ale zimny dzie艅 z temperatur膮 2C, aby dzi艣 wieczorem wyj艣膰 na zewn膮trz i dosta膰 si臋 na koncert DiMeola.

Jak zwykle we wtorek rano spotka艂em si臋 z Radkiem, a potem wr贸ci艂em do domu, aby uczy膰 si臋 z Joan. Kolacja b臋dzie wczesnym wieczorem, aby przygotowa膰 si臋 i wyj艣膰 z domu o 19:00 na koncert o 19:30. Jest w centrum miasta, wi臋c jest tylko kilka minut jazdy.

Po naoliwieniu tego laptopa mia艂em k艂opoty z okropnie d艂ugimi op贸藕nieniami podczas 艂膮czenia si臋 z Internetem i ostatecznie musia艂em przywr贸ci膰 go do poprzedniego punktu przywracania, a nawet to trwa艂o trzy godziny. Teraz znowu dzia艂a dobrze. Wygl膮da na to, 偶e smarowanie mog艂o spowodowa膰 spowolnienie po艂膮czenia. Na bank nie wiem, co si臋 sta艂o. To by艂o troch臋 frustruj膮ce.

Ten blog by艂 pomocny dla kilku os贸b w przeprowadzce do Polski za po艣rednictwem prywatnych e-maili z pytaniami, jak post臋powa膰 z pewnymi procedurami. Jednak, mnie r贸wnie偶 pom贸g艂.

D艂ugoletni czytelnik zapozna艂 si臋 z najnowszymi problemami w Urz臋dzie Stanu Cywilnego i w moim imieniu zadzwoni艂 do r贸偶nych biur w Ohio, aby zobaczy膰, jak rozwi膮za膰 problem. Teraz ma formularz, kt贸ry nale偶y wype艂ni膰 i wy艣le go do nich. O wiele szybciej ni偶 ja to robi臋 z Polski przy u偶yciu systemu pocztowego. W ten spos贸b , je艣li b臋d臋 mia艂 szcz臋艣cie, zajmie to co najmniej miesi膮c. Wi臋c ten blog pom贸g艂 nie tylko niekt贸rym czytelnikom, ale tak偶e mnie.

Powiem ci jutro, jaki by艂 koncert.

Monday, November 19, 2018

No dice.

I picked up my laptop from Media Mart and the lubrication made no difference in the noise of which I think is caused by the fan. I guess a trip to Sansung is next. Too bad.

Rainy and gray and good for staying inside.

My艣l臋, 偶e jest spowodowane przez wentylatora. My艣l臋, 偶e wycieczka do Sansung jest nast臋pna. Szkoda.

Deszczowy i szary i dobry do pozostania w 艣rodku.


Sunday, November 18, 2018

Another surprise

Forgetting today was Sunday, I went to Media Mart to pick up my laptop but soon realized it was closed. Now ALL Sundays, commercial stores are closed and only little stores can remain open if they choose. So tomorrow I will go back.

A nice surprise today during Joan's conversation with her daughter, Karen. A year or two ago, Nicole, my granddaughter through marriage, said she was looking for an acoustic guitar that was easy to play. Having some experience in the field of playing the guitar, I told her the easiest would be a classical guitar with nylon strings. Easier for her to push the strings down. I told her I still had one guitar left from the "old days" and I would be happy to ship it to her. She accepted my offer. Imagine my surprise today when Karen told us Nicole would be in a performance on December 9th as a member of the Elgin Community College Ensemble Trio. They had a practice last week that someone video taped and put, thankfully, on YouTube. It is on the blog now. It is good to see my guitar being play again and even better that Nicole is playing it. She is very musical and her brother also. He, now, teaches piano as he continues through college.

Zapomnia艂em, 偶e dzi艣 jest niedziela, poszed艂em do Media Mart, aby odebra膰 laptopa, ale wkr贸tce zorientowa艂em si臋, 偶e jest zamkni臋te. Teraz WSZYSTKIE niedziele, sklepy handlowe s膮 zamkni臋te, a tylko ma艂e sklepy mog膮 pozosta膰 otwarte, je艣li sobie tego 偶ycz膮. Wi臋c jutro wr贸c臋.
Mi艂e zaskoczenie dzisiaj podczas rozmowy Joanny z jej c贸rk膮, Karen. Rok lub dwa lata temu Nicole, moja wnuczka poprzez ma艂偶e艅stwo, powiedzia艂a, 偶e ​​szuka akustycznej gitary, kt贸ra by艂a 艂atwa do zagrania. Maj膮c pewne do艣wiadczenie w dziedzinie gry na gitarze, powiedzia艂em jej, 偶e naj艂atwiej b臋dzie to gitara klasyczna z nylonowymi strunami. 艁atwiej jej odepchn膮膰 struny. Powiedzia艂em jej, 偶e wci膮偶 mam jedn膮 gitar臋 po "dawnych czasach" i by艂bym szcz臋艣liwy, wysy艂aj膮c j膮 do niej. Przyj臋艂a moj膮 ofert臋. Wyobra藕cie sobie moje zaskoczenie dzisiaj, kiedy Karen powiedzia艂a nam, 偶e Nicole b臋dzie wyst臋powa膰 9 grudnia jako cz艂onek Elgin Community College Ensemble Trio. W ubieg艂ym tygodniu odby艂a si臋 praktyka, 偶e ​​kto艣 nagra艂 i nagra艂 na YouTube. To jest teraz na blogu. Dobrze jest zn贸w zobaczy膰 moj膮 gitar臋, a jeszcze lepiej, 偶e gra Nicole. Jest bardzo muzykalna, a tak偶e jej brat. Obecnie uczy fortepianu, kontynuuj膮c nauk臋 w college'u.

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Back again.

Yesterday I just blanked out and forgot about you for one day. Sorry.

Today, and actually for the last month, the fan in my main laptop has been making noise so I took Zbyszek's advice and took it to Media Mart to have them replace it. They said they couldn't because Samsung hasn't been making parts in Poland for 3 years now. He said if the fan is running but making noise it may just need a cleaning and lubrication so I left it with them to do that. The cost is 59 PLN($15).

Media Mart used to be Saturn so it was easy to find on the first level of Pestka, a shopping center near us where Carrefour is. I could go back tonight and pickup the laptop but since I have the luxury of a second laptop I can wait until Monday.

I read on FB that cousin Amy is concluding her travels around Europe tonight in Madrid and leaves for Washington State tomorrow. I'm sure she will have lots of stories to tell her friends and relatives when she returns. I hope the trip has opened her eyes to the beauty found in Europe.

Wczoraj po prostu zapomnia艂em o tobie na jeden dzie艅. Przepraszam.

Dzisiaj, a w艂a艣ciwie przez ostatni miesi膮c, wentylator mojego g艂贸wnego laptopa ha艂asuje, wi臋c zasi臋gn膮艂em rady Zbyszka i zabra艂em go do Media Mart, aby je zast膮pi膰. Powiedzieli, 偶e nie mog膮, poniewa偶 Samsung nie produkuje cz臋艣ci w Polsce od 3 lat. Powiedzia艂, 偶e je艣li wentylator pracuje, ale ha艂asuje, mo偶e po prostu potrzebowa膰 czyszczenia i smarowania, wi臋c zostawi艂em to przy sobie. Koszt to 59 PLN (15 USD).

Media Mart by艂 kiedy艣 Saturnem, wi臋c 艂atwo by艂o go znale藕膰 na pierwszym poziomie Pestka, centrum handlowego w pobli偶u, w kt贸rym znajduje si臋 Carrefour. M贸g艂bym wr贸ci膰 dzi艣 wieczorem i odebra膰 laptopa, ale skoro mam luksus drugiego laptopa, mog臋 poczeka膰 do poniedzia艂ku.

Przeczyta艂em na FB, 偶e kuzynka Amy ko艅czy dzi艣 podr贸偶e po Europie w Madrycie i wyje偶d偶a jutro do Waszyngtonu. Jestem pewna, 偶e ​​b臋dzie mia艂a wiele historii, kt贸re powiem jej przyjacio艂om i krewnym, kiedy wr贸ci. Mam nadziej臋, 偶e wycieczka otworzy艂a jej oczy na pi臋kno Europy.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

SMILE!

Thursday, food shopping day, 143 PLN($38) at Carrefour, 40 PLN($11) at Piotr & Pawe艂, total-183PLN($48). Tell me food prices haven't increased in the last year! Week after week we buy, basically, the same food. Week after week, slowly, prices keep going up.

Ah, the consistency of the gray day in Poland. Don't you just love it. So many smiling faces, happy people to be observed. Ok, so it's a little sarcasm. However, so what if it's gray outside? It's that time of the year and it happens every year. No need to be bummed out about it. ONLY 40 days until Christmas. Look at the bright side. Next Tuesday we go to listen to and see Al DiMeola. WHOOPPEE!

Czwartek, dzie艅 zakupu artyku艂贸w spo偶ywczych, 143 PLN (38 USD) w Carrefour, 40 PLN (11 USD) u Piotra i Paw艂a, 艂膮cznie 183 PLN (48 USD). Powiedz mi, 偶e ceny 偶ywno艣ci nie wzros艂y w ci膮gu ostatniego roku! Tydzie艅 po tygodniu kupujemy, w zasadzie, to samo jedzenie. Tydzie艅 po tygodniu, powoli, ceny id膮 w g贸r臋.

Ach, konsekwencja szarego dnia w Polsce. Po prostu nie kochasz tego. Tyle u艣miechni臋tych twarzy, szcz臋艣liwych ludzi, kt贸rych mo偶na obserwowa膰. Ok, wi臋c to troch臋 sarkazm. Co jednak, je艣li na zewn膮trz jest szaro? To jest ta pora roku i dzieje si臋 tak ka偶dego roku. Nie musisz z tego powodu by膰 przybity. TYLKO 40 dni do Bo偶ego Narodzenia. Sp贸jrz pozytywnie. W najbli偶szy wtorek idziemy pos艂ucha膰 i zobaczy膰 Al DiMeola. WHOOPPEE!

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Bags.

8 years ago Joan and I bought 3 shopping bags made of jute and they are finally wearing out. Unfortunately the store where we bought them is out of business now. I contacted the manufacturer in Torun, Greenbag, and a representative in Pozna艅 gave me a list a several stores that handle their bags but we found the polipropylen ones, not made of jute. Those are not as durable. So I wrote another email to him asking if I can order them directly from the company and am waiting for his answer.

We met with Zbyszek today and talked about world politics, similarities about governments, a 50th wedding anniversary ceremony he attended, aging, our future plans and a few other things.

This computers fan is making noises now and I think it needs to be replaced. I was going to take it to Samsung to do it but Zbyszek said MediaMart in thesame plaza where we shop recently opened and he had some work done there. He was happy with what they did and the cost so he recommended I go there. I will. Samsung will charge more just because of the name.

An hour later, the rep. replied they no longer handle jute bags, only polipropylen and 100% cotton. I replied "how much for the cotton bags"?


8 lat temu Joan i ja kupili艣my 3 torby na zakupy wykonane z juty, kt贸re wreszcie si臋 zu偶y艂y. Niestety sklep, w kt贸rym je kupili艣my, jest ju偶 nieczynny. Skontaktowa艂em si臋 z producentem w Toruniu, Greenbag, a przedstawiciel w Poznaniu poda艂 mi list臋 kilku sklep贸w, kt贸re handluj膮 ich torbami, ale znale藕li艣my torby wykonane z polipropylenu, a nie z juty. Te nie s膮 tak trwa艂e. Napisa艂em wi臋c do niego kolejn膮 wiadomo艣膰 e-mail z zapytaniem, czy mog臋 zam贸wi膰 je bezpo艣rednio od firmy i czekam na jego odpowied藕.

Dzisiaj spotkali艣my si臋 ze Zbyszkiem i rozmawiali艣my o polityce 艣wiatowej, podobie艅stwach dotycz膮cych rz膮d贸w, o 50. rocznicy 艣lubu, w kt贸rej uczestniczy艂, starzeniu si臋, naszych przysz艂ych planach i kilku innych rzeczach.


Wiatrak w komputerze ha艂asuje i my艣l臋, 偶e trzeba go wymieni膰. Mia艂em zamiar zabra膰 go do Samsunga, ale Zbyszek powiedzia艂, 偶e Media Markt zosta艂y ostatnio otwarte w tej samej galerii, gdzie robimy zakupy i mia艂 tam wykonane pewne us艂ugi. By艂 zadowolony z tego, co zrobili i z koszt贸w, wi臋c poleci艂 mi tam pojecha膰. Tak zrobi臋. Samsung nalicza op艂at臋 tylko ze wzgl臋du na nazw臋.

Godzin臋 p贸藕niej przysz艂a odpowied藕, 偶e ju偶 nie handluj膮 workami z juty, tylko polipropylenowymi i 100% z bawe艂ny. Odpowiedzia艂em na to : "ile za torby bawe艂niane"?

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Can't believe it!-No, I can.

A dark, dreary, rainy day today perfect for the he way I feel after reading the news that "Orange Head" chose not to go to Arlington Cemetery yesterday to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in honor of all the fallen heroes in wars. HOW UTTERLY DESPICABLE OF HIM, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. He is NOT the President of the United States! He IS the President of the DIVIDED STATES.  Not only that, but he has, in two years, isolated it from almost all of the world, EXCEPT for Russia. I'm sorry, I said before I wouldn't mention politics anymore but this infuriates me. I served the country I was born in for four years in the military as many of my cousins did, some for 20+ years, and this is a slap in the face. How any veteran can support him in beyond my comprehension.

So it was a quiet day after I calmed down and I met with Radek to hear his takes of the latest Tango festival. I invited him to join us for our version of Thanksgiving dinner in 2 weeks so he could taste the fantastic duck breast that Joan prepares.

Back at home Joan made out the shopping list for the next week, we cleaned the house a little, studied a little and that was about all for the day.

Ciemny, ponury, deszczowy dzie艅, idealny dzisiaj do tego, co czuj臋 po przeczytaniu wiadomo艣ci, 偶e "Pomara艅czowa G艂owa" nie wybra艂a si臋 wczoraj na cmentarz Arlington, aby z艂o偶y膰 wieniec przy Grobie Nieznanego 呕o艂nierza na cze艣膰 wszystkich poleg艂ych bohater贸w w wojnach. JAKIE TO POD艁E Z JEGO STRONY, PREZYDENTA STAN脫W ZJEDNOCZONYCH. On NIE jest prezydentem Stan贸w Zjednoczonych! On JEST Prezydentem STAN脫W PODZIELONYCH. Nie tylko to, ale w ci膮gu dw贸ch lat odizolowa艂 JE z prawie ca艂ego 艣wiata, Z WYJ膭TKIEM Rosji. Przepraszam, wcze艣niej powiedzia艂em, 偶e nie b臋d臋 ju偶 wspomina艂 o polityce, ale to mnie irytuje. W kraju, w kt贸rym urodzi艂em si臋, przez 4 lata s艂u偶y艂em w wojsku tak, jak wielu moich kuzyn贸w, niekt贸rzy przez ponad 20 lat i to jest policzek. Jak kt贸rykolwiek z weteran贸w mo偶e go wspiera膰 jest ponad moje rozumienie.

Wi臋c, jak si臋 uspokoi艂em i spotka艂em z Radkiem, aby us艂ysze膰 o jego udziale w ostatnim festiwalu Tango, to by艂 spokojny dzie艅. Zaprosi艂em go, by do艂膮czy艂 do nas na nasz膮 wersj臋 艢wi臋ta Dzi臋kczynienia za dwa tygodnie, aby m贸g艂 posmakowa膰 fantastycznej piersi z kaczki, kt贸r膮 przygotowuje Joan.

Po powrocie do domu Joan zrobi艂a list臋 zakup贸w na nast臋pny tydzie艅, troch臋 sprz膮tali艣my dom, troch臋 si臋 uczyli艣my i to wszystko na dzisiaj.

Monday, November 12, 2018

The Marches.

Some 200,000 people took part in an Independence Day march in the Polish capital on Sunday, the minister for the interior said as Poland marked 100 years since returning to the map of Europe.

Among marchers were President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. A speech from Duda and the singing of the National Anthem inaugurated the march, which made its way from Warsaw's city centre to the National Stadium.

Duda said: "I want us to walk under our white-and-red banners together and in an air of joy … honor to those who fought for Poland … and to be glad that it is free, sovereign and independent".
The march was led by a military parade, including vehicles, an orchestra, and soldiers carrying 100 white-and-red flags.

President Duda on Sunday also inaugurated the reconstruction of the Saxon Palace, a 17th-century building which served as a royal residence in the 18th century before it was used for military and educational purposes. Most of the building was destroyed in 1944. All that remains are the arcades that have housed the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier since 1925.
Duda said the building would be rebuilt to serve as a "permanent monument to independence, a symbol of the continuity of the state, and of people's connection to their culture and heritage".



In Poznan, it was a a day of two celebrations.

This year's name-day St. Nicholas celebrates its solemn activities, beginning the period since Poland's independence.Every year on November 11 Poznanians celebrate twice - there are celebrations connected with the Independence Day, as well as celebrations of 艢wi臋ty Marcin Street. Traditionally, on November 11, St. Martin's parade went through the streets of Pozna艅. The participants set off from the Pozna艅 International Fair and crossed Bukowska Street through the Kaponiera Roundabout to the stage located on Adam Mickiewicz Square. In Pozna艅, November 11, two traditions always meet - the local one and connected with regaining independence. We want to emphasize that it is a common celebration of all. A holiday that is supposed to combine and not divide - said Anna Hryniewiecka, director of CK Zamek.Everyone is invited,  residents and tourists to celebrate together. Nameday of the street is one of the most important holidays celebrated in the city - certainly the most cheerful, the merriest and the sweetest, because Rogal 艢wi臋tomarci艅ski is its inseparable element - encouraged J臋drzej Solarski, deputy president of Pozna艅, to take part in the celebration. I think that this time there will be even more of us. This year is the special, because the hundredth anniversary of regaining independence by Poland, and in December also the hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of the Wielkopolska Uprising - he added.




Oko艂o 200 000 os贸b wzi臋艂o udzia艂 w marszu Dnia Niepodleg艂o艣ci w stolicy Polski w niedziel臋, powiedzia艂 minister spraw wewn臋trznych, gdy Polska odwiedzi艂a map臋 Europy na 100 lat.W艣r贸d uczestnik贸w marszu znale藕li si臋 prezes Andrzej Duda i premier Mateusz Morawiecki. Przem贸wienie Dudy i 艣piew Hymnu Narodowego zainaugurowa艂o marsz, kt贸ry trafi艂 z centrum Warszawy na Stadion Narodowy.Duda powiedzia艂: "Chc臋, aby艣my szli pod naszymi bia艂o-czerwonymi sztandarami razem w rado艣ci ... zaszczytem dla tych, kt贸rzy walczyli o Polsk臋 ... i cieszyli si臋, 偶e jest wolna, suwerenna i niezale偶na".Marsz by艂 prowadzony przez parad臋 wojskow膮, w tym pojazdy, orkiestr臋 i 偶o艂nierzy nios膮cych 100 bia艂o-czerwonych flag.Prezydent Duda w niedziel臋 zainaugurowa艂 tak偶e odbudow臋 Pa艂acu Saskiego, XVII-wiecznego budynku, kt贸ry s艂u偶y艂 jako rezydencja kr贸lewska w XVIII wieku, zanim zosta艂 wykorzystany do cel贸w wojskowych i edukacyjnych. Wi臋kszo艣膰 budynku zosta艂a zniszczona w 1944 roku. Pozosta艂y jedynie arkady, w kt贸rych od 1925 roku mie艣ci si臋 Gr贸b Nieznanego 呕o艂nierza.Duda powiedzia艂, 偶e budynek zostanie przebudowany, aby s艂u偶y膰 jako "sta艂y pomnik niepodleg艂o艣ci, symbol ci膮g艂o艣ci pa艅stwa i powi膮za艅 ludzi z ich kultur膮 i dziedzictwem".

 Tegoroczne imieniny 艢wi臋ty 艢wi臋ty Miko艂aj obchodzi swoje uroczyste dzia艂ania, rozpoczynaj膮c okres od otrzymania przez Polsk臋 niepodleg艂o艣ci.

Ka偶dego roku 11 listopada poznaniacy 艣wi臋tuj膮 podw贸jnie – odbywaj膮 si臋 uroczysto艣ci zwi膮zane 艢wi臋tem Niepodleg艂o艣ci, a tak偶e imieninami ulicy 艢wi臋ty Marcin. Tradycyjnie 11 listopada ulicami Poznania przeszed艂 korow贸d 艢wi臋tego Marcina. Uczestnicy wyruszyli z Mi臋dzynarodowych Targ贸w Pozna艅skich i przeszli ulic膮 Bukowsk膮 przez Rondo Kaponiera do sceny usytuowanej na Placu Adama Mickiewicza.  W Poznaniu, 11 listopada spotykaj膮 si臋 zawsze dwie tradycje - ta lokalna i zwi膮zana z odzyskaniem niepodleg艂o艣ci. Chcemy podkre艣li膰, 偶e jest to wsp贸lne 艣wi臋to wszystkich. 艢wi臋to, kt贸re ma 艂膮czy膰 a nie dzieli膰 - m贸wi艂a Anna Hryniewiecka, dyrektorka CK Zamek.

Zapraszamy wszystkich do wsp贸lnego 艣wi臋towania. Imieniny Ulicy to jedno z najwa偶niejszych 艣wi膮t obchodzonych w naszym mie艣cie - na pewno najbardziej pogodne, najweselsze i najs艂odsze, bo przecie偶 jego nieod艂膮cznym elementem jest Rogal 艢wi臋tomarci艅ski - zach臋ca艂 do udzia艂u w 艣wi臋towaniu J臋drzej Solarski, zast臋pca prezydenta Poznania.  My艣l臋, 偶e tym razem b臋dzie nas jeszcze wi臋cej. W tym roku przypada szczeg贸lna, bo setna rocznica odzyskania przez Polsk臋 niepodleg艂o艣ci, a w grudniu tak偶e setna rocznica wybuchu Powstania Wielkopolskiego - doda艂

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Restful day.

A day of rest at home without going anywhere. We watched the Armistice celebration in France and the Independence Day parade in Poland on TV, a new movie, Latin History for Morons, the start of season 4 of the Outlander, studied a little and ate rogala, of course.





Celebrate 100 years with Mel Gibson>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dzie艅 odpoczynku w domu bez nigdzie. Obejrzeli艣my uroczysto艣膰 rozejmu we Francji i parad臋 Dnia Niepodleg艂o艣ci w Polsce w telewizji, nowy film, histori臋 艂aci艅sk膮 dla Moron贸w, pocz膮tek sezonu 4 Outlandera, oczywi艣cie studiowali艣my ma艂膮 i zjadliw膮 rogal臋.

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Flags

Going into the center of town today from where we live I couldn't help but notice the absence of Polish flags hanging from, flats, houses or on cars. Tomorrow is Independence Day in Poland, celebrated with parades in many cities and towns. It is a national day in Poland celebrated on 11 November to commemorate the anniversary of the restoration of Poland's sovereignty as the Second Polish Republic in 1918 from the German, Prussian and Austrian Empires. Following the partitions in the late 18th century, Poland ceased to exist for 123 years until the end of World War I, when the destruction of the neighboring powers allowed the country to reemerge. It is a non-working in Poland. This year, November 12th is also a non-working holiday.

It just struck me as odd that, tomorrow being the day it will be, so few flags are visible. In 2012, during the World Cup Soccer Championship Tournament, if Poland was playing in a match you could see Polish flags everywhere in flats, houses and on cars 2-5 days before the match started. Yes, in the center of town there are many flags, but outside of it not so. It's not that people are not patriotic, because they are, maybe it's just not important to show the flag. I'm sure I will get comments telling me to go back to America because of this comment.

I have mixed emotions about human beings. They tire me, frighten me, horrify me, scare me to death, sicken me, bore me, anger me and disgust me. There are other who amaze me, enjoy life, are a pleasure to be with, do wonderful things, are helpful to others, are creative, genuinely care about the world and strive to make it a better place. When I see the news of yet another mass shooting in the United States all I can do is ask why? Yes, the U.S. must hold the record for such things but then comes a stabbing of people in Australia and again...why? Is the "Devil" loose in the world? Did God release him from Hell and say "Go forth and do what you do?" I can't believe that but something is seriously wrong in the world today that this continues to happen so often now. Humans are a violent race. Brother against brother. Cain killed Abel and it began.

On the bright side, The Unity Church where we got married will email me a copy of the document stating exactly where, when, by who, in what city, our ages and when we got married. That should satisfy the Civil Registry. Should! I can only hold my breath that it will.

I can't say the weather was on the bright side though. A gloomy, gray day but at least the temperature was 48F. Still, not bad for November.

Wchodz膮c dzisiaj do centrum miasta z miejsca, w kt贸rym mieszkamy, nie mog艂em nie zauwa偶y膰, 偶e wisi na suficie polskich flag, mieszka艅, dom贸w czy samochod贸w. Jutro jest Dzie艅 Niepodleg艂o艣ci w Polsce, celebrowany paradami w wielu miastach i miasteczkach. Jest to 艣wi臋to narodowe w Polsce obchodzone 11 listopada dla uczczenia rocznicy odzyskania suwerenno艣ci Polski jako II Rzeczypospolitej w 1918 r. Z imperi贸w niemieckich, pruskich i austriackich. Po rozbiorach pod koniec XVIII wieku Polska przesta艂a istnie膰 przez 123 lata, a偶 do ko艅ca I wojny 艣wiatowej, kiedy to zniszczenie s膮siednich mocarstw pozwoli艂o na powr贸t pa艅stwa. To nie dzia艂a w Polsce. W tym roku 12 listopada jest tak偶e 艣wi臋tem wolnym od pracy.

Po prostu uderzy艂o mnie to tak dziwnie, 偶e jutro b臋dzie dniem, tak niewiele flag jest widocznych. W 2012 roku, podczas Mistrzostw 艢wiata w Pi艂ce No偶nej, je偶eli Polska gra艂a w meczu, wsz臋dzie mo偶na by艂o zobaczy膰 polskie flagi w mieszkaniach, domach i samochodach na 2-5 dni przed meczem. Tak, w centrum miasta jest wiele flag, ale poza tym nie. Nie chodzi o to, 偶e ludzie nie s膮 patriotami, bo tak jest, mo偶e po prostu nie jest wa偶ne, 偶eby pokaza膰 flag臋. Jestem pewna, 偶e ​​dostan臋 komentarze m贸wi膮ce, 偶ebym wr贸ci艂 do Ameryki z powodu tego komentarza.

Mam mieszane emocje na temat ludzi. Zm臋czaj膮 mnie, przera偶aj膮, przera偶aj膮, strasz膮 na 艣mier膰, n臋kaj膮 mnie, nudz膮, mnie gniewaj膮 i obrzydzaj膮. S膮 inni, kt贸rzy mnie zadziwiaj膮, ciesz膮 si臋 偶yciem, czerpi膮 przyjemno艣膰 z przebywania z nimi, robi膮 wspania艂e rzeczy, s膮 pomocni dla innych, s膮 kreatywni, autentycznie dbaj膮 o 艣wiat i staraj膮 si臋 uczyni膰 z niego lepsze miejsce. Kiedy widz臋 wie艣ci o kolejnej masowej strzelaninie w Stanach Zjednoczonych, mog臋 tylko zapyta膰, dlaczego? Tak, Stany Zjednoczone musz膮 przechowywa膰 takie rzeczy, ale potem kto艣 uderza no偶em w Australi臋 i znowu ..dlaczego? Czy "Diabe艂" jest wolny na 艣wiecie? Czy B贸g uwolni艂 go z piek艂a i powiedzia艂: "Id藕 i r贸b to, co robisz?" Nie mog臋 w to uwierzy膰, ale dzisiaj na 艣wiecie dzieje si臋 co艣 powa偶nego, 偶e tak cz臋sto dzieje si臋 to teraz. Ludzie to gwa艂towna rasa. Brat przeciwko bratu. Kain zabi艂 Abla i to si臋 zacz臋艂o.

Z drugiej strony, Ko艣ci贸艂 Unity, w kt贸rym pobrali艣my si臋, wy艣le ​​do mnie kopi臋 dokumentu stwierdzaj膮cego dok艂adnie, gdzie, kiedy, przez kogo, w jakim mie艣cie, w naszym wieku i kiedy si臋 pobrali艣my. To powinno zadowoli膰 Rejestr Cywilny. Powinien! Mog臋 tylko wstrzyma膰 oddech, kt贸ry b臋dzie.

Nie mog臋 powiedzie膰, 偶e pogoda by艂a po dobrej stronie. Ponury, szary dzie艅, ale temperatura przynajmniej 48F. Mimo to nie藕le jak na listopad.

Thursday, November 08, 2018

Busy day.

It was. Joan was in the kitchen by 8:30 and we had scrambled eggs, chorizo sausage, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, bread and coffee for breakfast and then we went food shopping for the week. This time we spent 151PLN($40) including meats and bread from Piotr & Pawe艂.

While she was making breakfast, I purchased 2 tickets, online, to the cinema in the Plaza to see the movie, Bohemian Rhapsody. It's the new film about Freddie Mercury and the band, Queen. Being Thursday and most people in work or school, I chose the 15:00 showing. When it showed the seats available, only four were taken. It was like we almost had the whole cinema to ourselves except for the other four people.

I thought the movie itself was well done and told the story of the band and it's leader. Seeing it on a big screen with a good sound system was worth the $4.50 cost per ticket. The performance of Rami Malik as Freddie was excellent and you could tell he must have studied a lot of old films to get Freddie's movements down. I would recommend seeing it.

For November in Poland it was a nice day with a temperature of 56F and sunny. So far, the prediction of the worst winter ever hasn't shown it's face yet. Could the weather forecasters be wrong? :-)

Kiedy robi艂a 艣niadanie, kupi艂em online 2 bilety do kina w Plaza, aby zobaczy膰 film Bohemian Rhapsody. To nowy film o Freddie Mercury i zespole Queen. Dzi艣 czwartek i wi臋kszo艣膰 ludzi jest w pracy lub szkole, wi臋c wybra艂em seans o 15:00. Kiedy na ekranie pokaza艂y si臋 dost臋pne miejsca, zaj臋te by艂y tylko cztery. Wygl膮da艂o tak, jakby艣my mieli prawie ca艂e kino dla siebie, z wyj膮tkiem pozosta艂ych czterech os贸b.

My艣la艂em, 偶e film jest dobrze zrobiony i opowiada histori臋 zespo艂u i jego lidera. Ogl膮danie go na du偶ym ekranie z dobrym d藕wi臋kiem kosztowa艂o 4,50 USD za bilet. Wyst臋p Rami Malik jako Freddie by艂 znakomity i mo偶na by艂o by powiedzie膰, 偶e musia艂 ogl膮da膰 wiele starych nagra艅, aby opanowa膰 poruszanie si臋 Freddiego. Polecam zobaczenie filmu.

Jak na listopad w Polsce by艂 to przyjemny, s艂oneczny dzie艅 z temperatur膮 56F (13C). Jak dot膮d, przewidywania najgorszej zimy w historii jeszcze si臋 nie sprawdzi艂y. Czy prognozy pogody mog膮 by膰 b艂臋dne? :-)

Wednesday, November 07, 2018

It's over.

The election is over and both parties won. The Trumpicans won the Senate but the Democrats won the House of Representatives. It puts back into place a form of checks and balances to "Orange Heads" future proposals. The new House has already subpoenaed his tax returns. I stayed up until midnight watching the election news but didn't get the results until this morning. The problem for the Democrats is they have no leader, no candidate to challenge "Orange Head" for the 2020 Presidential election. They better find one soon.

On the bright side, the sun is out today and the sky is clear. It's Wednesday and I don't have to think about politics anymore.  I had a good nights sleep thanks to Melatonin and Joan is feeling well. Now we are looking forward to the Al DiMeola concert on the 20th in Pozna艅.   48 days to Christmas.

Wybory si臋 sko艅czy艂y i obie strony wygra艂y. Zwolennicy Trumpa wygrali w Senacie, ale Demokraci zdobyli Izb臋 Reprezentant贸w. To przywraca z powrotem form臋 kontroli i r贸wnowagi nad przysz艂ymi propozycjami "Pomara艅czowej G艂owy". Nowa Izba Reprezentant贸w ju偶 wezwa艂a go do z艂o偶enia zeznania podatkowego. Pozosta艂em do p贸艂nocy, ogl膮daj膮c wiadomo艣ci o wyborach, ale nie otrzyma艂em wynik贸w a偶 do dzi艣 rano. Problem demokrat贸w polega na tym, 偶e nie maj膮 lidera, nie ma kandydata, kt贸ry rzuci艂by wyzwanie "pomara艅czowej g艂owie" w wyborach prezydenckich w 2020 roku. Lepiej go wkr贸tce znale藕膰.

Z drugiej strony, s艂o艅ce dzisiaj wysz艂o i niebo jest czyste. Jest 艣roda i ju偶 nie musz臋 my艣le膰 o polityce. Mia艂em spokojny sen dzi臋ki Melatoninie i Joan czuje si臋 dobrze. Teraz czekamy na koncert Al DiMeola 20. tego miesi膮ca w Poznaniu. 48 dni do Bo偶ego Narodzenia.


Tuesday, November 06, 2018

Fate in the balance.

It is election day in America. A troubling 24 hours. To leave the fate of that nation in the hands of "Orange Head" will be a disaster. We have already voted. Now we wait to see how many others will vote like us.

Dzie艅 wybor贸w w Stanach. Niepokoj膮ce 24 godziny. Pozostawi膰 los narodu w r臋kach "pomara艅czowej g艂owy" b臋dzie katastrof膮. Ju偶 zag艂osowali艣my. Teraz czekamy, aby zobaczy膰 ile innych os贸b zag艂osuje tak jak my.

Monday, November 05, 2018

Cousin Oliwia

Hint: If you are picking someone up at 艁awica Airport in Pozna艅, arrange your time to arrive 15-20 minutes after the landing to give them time to get their luggage and meet you. Park in front of the arrival doors, NOT int the parking lot. We did, for 20 minutes, and it cost 15 PLN. OUTRAGEOUS!

Cousin Oliwia arrived this morning from Scotland and we picked her up to have lunch and visit with her before she went to visit with cousin Artur. Tomorrow she will go to Konin to stay with her parents for 5 days and also visit with friends. She was hungry so we took her to Drukarnia for lunch. She had Tomato with coconut soup and Joan and I had cream of pumpkin soup. Both were good. We talked for about an hour and a half and then drove her to Artur's flat.

Later in the afternoon, Joan and I went downstairs to see the "baby doctor" to have our prescriptions refilled.

Podpowied藕: Je艣li odbierasz kogo艣 na lotnisku 艁awica w Poznaniu, zaplanuj przybycie 15-20 minut po l膮dowaniu, aby da膰 czas na odebranie baga偶u i spotkanie z tob膮. Zaparkuj przed drzwiami wej艣ciowymi, NIE na parkingu. Zrobili艣my to na 20 minut i kosztowa艂o to 15 PLN. SKANDALICZNE!

Kuzynka Oliwia przylecia艂a dzi艣 rano ze Szkocji i odebrali艣my j膮, aby zje艣膰 z ni膮 na lunch i towarzysko z ni膮 porozmawia膰, zanim pojedzie odwiedzi膰 kuzyna Artura. Jutro jedzie do Konina, aby zosta膰 z rodzicami przez 5 dni, a tak偶e odwiedzi膰 przyjaci贸艂. By艂a g艂odna, wi臋c zabrali艣my j膮 do Drukarni na lunch. Ona jad艂a pomidory z zup膮 kokosow膮, a Joan i ja mieli艣my zup臋 krem z dyni. Obie by艂y dobre. Rozmawiali艣my przez oko艂o p贸艂torej godziny, a potem podwie藕li艣my j膮 do mieszkania Artura.


P贸藕niej po po艂udniu Joan i ja zeszli艣my na d贸艂, aby zobaczy膰 "lekarza dzieci臋cego", aby uzupe艂ni膰 recepty na leki ..

Saturday, November 03, 2018

Better

Joan is feeling better and I'm happy about that. I hate it when she is ill.

It was a busy day for me and tonight she is making paprakasz for dinner. Tomorrow is rest day so time for studies and maybe a movie or two. I'll read a little more in my Spanish short stories book and just take it easy with Joan resting.

Joan czuje si臋 lepiej i ciesz臋 si臋 z tego. Nienawidz臋 tego, kiedy jest chora.


To by艂 pracowity dzie艅 dla mnie i dzi艣 wieczorem robi paprakasz na kolacj臋. Jutro jest dzie艅 odpoczynku, wi臋c czas na studia i mo偶e film lub dwa. Przeczytam troch臋 wi臋cej w mojej hiszpa艅skiej ksi膮偶ce o opowiadaniach i po prostu odpoczn臋, odpoczywaj膮c Joan.

Friday, November 02, 2018

Video-story.

Today I visited the doctor with Joan and she gave Joan a tri-botic to bring Joan's temperature back down to normal and get rid of her cough. I hope it will take effect by tomorrow. Fortunately the doctor is on the main floor below our flat so we didn't have to go outside.

My young cousin, Bo偶enka, attends a high school for art and one of her projects was a story about  family. She chose to tell a story about her great grandmother, Genowefa, my great aunt. Because Bo偶enka likes animation, she used that form to develop her story. I put her video-story on the blog with her permission.

Dzisiaj odwiedzi艂am lekarza z Joan i da艂a Joan tri-botyk臋, by przywr贸ci膰 normaln膮 temperatur臋 Joan i pozby膰 si臋 kaszlu. Mam nadziej臋, 偶e zacznie obowi膮zywa膰 do jutra. Na szcz臋艣cie doktor jest na g艂贸wnym pi臋trze pod naszym mieszkaniem, wi臋c nie musieli艣my wychodzi膰 na zewn膮trz.


Moja m艂oda kuzynka, Bo偶enka, ucz臋szcza do liceum na sztuk臋, a jednym z jej projekt贸w by艂a opowie艣膰 o rodzinie. Postanowi艂a opowiedzie膰 histori臋 o swojej prababce, Genowefie, mojej wspania艂ej ciotce. Poniewa偶 Bo偶enka lubi animacj臋, wykorzysta艂a t臋 form臋, by rozwin膮膰 swoj膮 histori臋. Opublikuj臋 jej wideo-histori臋 na blogu za jej zgod膮.

Thursday, November 01, 2018

Day of the Dead

Being November 1st. it was time to go to Golina, to visit the cemetery of the ancestors and relatives. I bought red candles this year to place on graves and one for the wife of our friend, John. Joan was not well enough to travel so I made the trip alone. After I was done, I went to visit cousin Kasia and her son, Andrzej.

It was a short visit this time because I wanted to return home and take care of Joan.  Kasia and I talked about the fallacy of teaching so much grammar to students of a foreign language and not having more conversation involvement. We both agree it is a big mistake.

Because I left early, I didn't have a chance to take pictures in the Golina cemetery at dusk so I stopped at the cemetery close to home and took some.

Jest 1 listopada. Nadszed艂 czas, aby uda膰 si臋 do Goliny, odwiedzi膰 cmentarz przodk贸w i krewnych. W tym roku kupi艂em czerwone 艣wiece do umieszczenia na grobach i jedno dla 偶ony naszego przyjaciela, Johna. Joan nie by艂a na tyle dobra, aby podr贸偶owa膰, wi臋c odby艂em podr贸偶 w samotno艣ci. Po tym, jak sko艅czy艂em, poszed艂em odwiedzi膰 kuzynk臋 Kasi臋 i jej syna, Andrzeja.


To by艂a kr贸tka wizyta, poniewa偶 chcia艂em wr贸ci膰 do domu i zaj膮膰 si臋 Joan. Kasia i ja rozmawiali艣my o b艂臋dnym nauczaniu gramatyki dla student贸w obcego j臋zyka i braku wi臋kszego zaanga偶owania w rozmow臋. Obaj zgadzamy si臋, 偶e to du偶y b艂膮d.


Poniewa偶 wyjecha艂em wcze艣nie, nie mia艂em okazji zrobi膰 zdj臋膰 na cmentarzu w Golina o zmierzchu, wi臋c zatrzyma艂em si臋 na cmentarzu blisko domu i wzi膮艂em troch臋.