Sunday, June 30, 2019

Triathalon.

39C.......39C. No, there is no global warming. This kind of temperature happens all the time in Poland. NOT!

We spent the afternoon under the Linden tree of our friends in Paczkowo again. It was hot but the tree afforded us good shade from the sun and we had watermelon, ice cream, tira misu an cold water while we talked for about 2 1/2 hours.

Today was the day of the Super Triathalon in Pozna艅 and you have to give congratulations to all of those who participated in it on this super hot day. Congratulations to those who in such demanding conditions gave their best and were the best in their categories.

39C.......39C. C贸偶, nie ma globalnego ocieplenia. Taka temperatura wyst臋puje w Polsce ca艂y czas. NIE!

Zn贸w byli艣my w Paczkowie. To by艂 艣wietny nap贸j, mia艂 lody, lody, nieudan膮 wod臋 i mieli艣my butelk臋 wody, rozmawiali艣my przez oko艂o 2 1/2 godziny.

Dzisiaj by艂 dzie艅 Super Triathalon w Poznaniu i trzeba da膰 mu wspania艂y, gor膮cy dzie艅. Gratulacje dla tych, kt贸rzy byli w najbardziej wymagaj膮cych warunkach.

Saturday, June 29, 2019

Stop it.

Sitting in front of Plac Wolno艣膰i, drinking coffee and watching the people has become our favorite place on days when the weather is perfect. The chairs are comfortable and the coffee is cheap, two good combinations.

Today I couldn't stop thinking how everyone was enjoying the day, playing with the kids, walking around like nothing was happening. There was a small group of people protesting the treatment of animals and I coulnd't help but wonder why weren't they protesting the treatment of humans in climate change. The average person still doesn't get it. Oblivious to what will affect the lives of their own children but willing to protest against treatment of animals. 35C & 38C last week and 45C in France and still no massive protests to governments to change to course. When will the big and little countries understand what they are doing to the planet? Why is there no civil unrest about this problem? How long can you keep your head buried in the sand before you can't breathe?

Siedzenie przed Placem Wolno艣ci, picie kawy i obserwowanie ludzi sta艂o si臋 naszym ulubionym miejscem w dni, kiedy pogoda jest idealna. Krzes艂a s膮 wygodne, a kawa jest tania, dwie dobre kombinacje.

Dzisiaj nie mog艂em przesta膰 my艣le膰, jak wszyscy ciesz膮 si臋 dniem, bawi膰 si臋 z dzie膰mi, chodzi膰, jakby nic si臋 nie dzia艂o. By艂a niewielka grupa ludzi protestuj膮cych przeciwko traktowaniu zwierz膮t i nie mog臋 pom贸c, ale zastanawiam si臋, dlaczego nie protestowali przeciwko traktowaniu ludzi w zmianach klimatu. Przeci臋tny cz艂owiek nadal tego nie rozumie. Nie艣wiadomi tego, co wp艂ynie na 偶ycie ich w艂asnych dzieci, ale chce protestowa膰 przeciwko traktowaniu zwierz膮t. 35C i 38C w zesz艂ym tygodniu i 45C we Francji i nadal nie ma masowych protest贸w dla rz膮d贸w, aby zmieni膰 kurs. Kiedy du偶e i ma艂e kraje zrozumiej膮, co robi膮 na planecie? Dlaczego nie ma niepokoj贸w spo艂ecznych w zwi膮zku z tym problemem? Jak d艂ugo mo偶esz schowa膰 g艂ow臋 w piasku, zanim nie b臋dziesz m贸g艂 oddycha膰?

Friday, June 28, 2019

Primary debate

France recorded it's highest temperature, ever, 45.1C, but here is Pozna艅 it was a nice 27C. We only had our meeting with Zbyszek today at 15:00 so we left home at 14:40 in order to be on time.

He was waiting for us at Sowas. We ordered small coffees, ciasto and sat down with him to talk. First we talked about his week at the spa, how relaxing it was and how he had to limit his intake of food because there was so much available at every meal. He said he sent me a video of John Oliver's show. Last Week Tonight, dealing with Authoritarianism, that had Poland in it. I haven't watched it yet but will later.

We watched Part 1 of the Democratic Primary debates and it seemed liked Elizabeth Warren was the one with the best answers to the overall questions.  I also liked Governor Inslee because if he was elected, his primary goal would be to fight climate change. No other candidate said that but I think Warren has the better chance of defeating Frump from this group of 10. To me, that is the main objective.

Francja zanotowa艂a najwy偶sz膮 temperatur臋, kiedykolwiek 45,1C, ale tutaj jest Pozna艅, by艂 to mi艂y 27C. Spotkanie z Zbyszkiem odby艂o si臋 dzi艣 o godzinie 15:00, wi臋c opu艣cili艣my dom o 14:40, aby zd膮偶y膰 na czas.

Czeka艂 na nas w Sowas. Zam贸wili艣my ma艂e kawy, ciasto i usiedli艣my z nim, 偶eby porozmawia膰. Najpierw rozmawiali艣my o jego tygodniu w spa, o jego relaksacji io tym, jak musia艂 ograniczy膰 spo偶ycie jedzenia, poniewa偶 przy ka偶dym posi艂ku by艂o tak wiele dost臋pnych. Powiedzia艂, 偶e wys艂a艂 mi film z serialu Johna Olivera. Last Week Tonight, zajmuj膮cy si臋 autorytaryzmem, w kt贸rym by艂a Polska. Jeszcze go nie ogl膮da艂em, ale p贸藕niej.

Obejrzeli艣my cz臋艣膰 1 debat Demokratycznej Organizacji Podstawowej i wydawa艂o si臋, 偶e Elizabeth Warren by艂a najlepsz膮 odpowiedzi膮 na og贸lne pytania. Podoba艂 mi si臋 tak偶e gubernator Inslee, poniewa偶 gdyby zosta艂 wybrany, jego g艂贸wnym celem by艂oby zwalczanie zmian klimatycznych. 呕aden inny kandydat nie powiedzia艂 tego, ale my艣l臋, 偶e Warren ma wi臋ksz膮 szans臋 na pokonanie Frumpa z tej grupy 10 os贸b. Dla mnie jest to g艂贸wny cel.

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Love this weather.

Ah, now this is more like good weather, 26c, partly sunny and partly cloudy with a little breeze. A beautiful day for food shopping. :-). We did it in less than one hour, buying the ingredients for spaghetti salad, zucchini soup, avocado pasta. pizza, chicken chorizo, honey-mustard chicken, spaghetti and fruit salad. The total cost was 148 PLN.

Coming back home we were surprised to get a refund from our U.S. taxes this year. Maybe "Orange Head" is trying to buy our vote. Good luck with that! Also our electric bill came in and we were happy to see we owed no money due to the over-payments I made while we were in Spain. 2 good things in 1 day + great weather. Life is good. La vida es buena!

Yesterday was part 1 of the Democratic Primary candidates debates with 10 candidates appearing. We didn't see it but will watch it tonight on YouTube while part 2 takes place. The other 10 will appear and give their opinions. It's amazing, 20 candidates from 1 party. I think that is crazy and just serves to divide the party even more, assuring "Orange Head" of a victory in 2020. When the final winner is announced on July 13, 2020, it will only give him or her 4 months to campaign in full strength against Frump. He has very little opposition from his own party, only 1 candidate, who has no chance. His campaign for the Presidency has already started. When will those 20 candidates realize that?

Ach, teraz jest to raczej dobra pogoda, 26c, cz臋艣ciowo s艂onecznie i cz臋艣ciowo pochmurno z lekk膮 bryz膮. Pi臋kny dzie艅 na zakupy 偶ywno艣ci. :-) Zrobili艣my to w nieca艂膮 godzin臋, kupuj膮c sk艂adniki do sa艂atki ze spaghetti, zupy z cukinii, makaronu z awokado. pizza, kurczak chorizo, kurczak miodowo-musztardowy, spaghetti i sa艂atka owocowa. Ca艂kowity koszt wyni贸s艂 148 PLN.

Wracaj膮c do domu, byli艣my zaskoczeni otrzymaniem zwrotu pieni臋dzy z naszego USA podatki w tym roku. Mo偶e „Orange Head” pr贸buje kupi膰 nasz g艂os. Powodzenia z tym! Pojawi艂y si臋 r贸wnie偶 nasze rachunki za energi臋 elektryczn膮 i byli艣my szcz臋艣liwi, widz膮c, 偶e nie mamy 偶adnych pieni臋dzy z powodu nadp艂at dokonanych przez nas w Hiszpanii. 2 dobre rzeczy w ci膮gu 1 dnia + 艣wietna pogoda. 呕ycie jest dobre. 呕ycie jest dobre!

Wczoraj by艂a cz臋艣膰 1 debat kandydat贸w Partii Demokratycznej z 10 kandydatami. Nie widzieli艣my go, ale zobaczymy go dzi艣 na YouTube, podczas gdy druga cz臋艣膰 ma miejsce. Pozosta艂e 10 pojawi si臋 i wyda swoje opinie. To niesamowite, 20 kandydat贸w z 1 imprezy. My艣l臋, 偶e to szalone i po prostu jeszcze bardziej dzieli parti臋, zapewniaj膮c „Orange Head” zwyci臋stwa w 2020 roku. Kiedy ostateczny zwyci臋zca zostanie og艂oszony 13 lipca 2020 roku, da mu tylko 4 miesi膮ce na kampani臋 pe艂na si艂a przeciwko Frump. Ma bardzo ma艂y sprzeciw ze strony w艂asnej partii, tylko 1 kandydata, kt贸ry nie ma szans. Jego kampania na rzecz prezydencji ju偶 si臋 rozpocz臋艂a. Kiedy te 20 kandydat贸w to zrozumie?

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

50 Years ago and today---38C

I wondered today how long ago was the first warnings about climate change and I found the article above from 50 years ago.

June 26-the hottest day of the year, so far, 38C(100F). Visions of the future. Thank you World leaders and fellow humans for making this possible!

I finally have the documents officially received for Joan's renewal application. I arrived at 11:35 to turn in the documents only to find they were out to lunch until 12:15. I sat down in the air-conditioned room to stay out of the heat. The conditioner was working at full force and the strangest thing was the doors of the room to the outside where the temperature then was 91C were wide open, letting in the hot air. I couldn't believe it, the air-conditioner on and the doors to the outside wide open. Tell me what  is wrong with this picture. Does no one have a logical brain?

I went to the Department  that takes care of foreigners applying for various permits, visas, residency but also for Polish people who have problem. However, the lady taking care of clients spoke only Polish. I watched 10 people trying to read which button to push to get a ticket to wait in line for their particular situation.  The messages were only in Polish. This is a Dept. for Foreigners yet everything only in Polish. When will they realize most foreigners can't read, speak or understand Polish?

Dzisiaj si臋 zastanawia艂em, jak dawno temu pojawi艂y si臋 pierwsze ostrze偶enia dotycz膮ce zmian klimatycznych i znalaz艂em powy偶szy artyku艂 sprzed 40 lat.

26 czerwca - najgor臋tszy dzie艅 w roku, do tej pory 38C (100F). Wizje przysz艂o艣ci. Dzi臋kuj臋 艣wiatowym przyw贸dcom i innym ludziom za to, 偶e to mo偶liwe!

W ko艅cu mam dokumenty do wniosku Joan o przed艂u偶enie pobytu. Przyjecha艂em o 11:35, aby je odda膰 ale tylko po to, by dowiedzie si臋, 偶e urz臋dnicy s膮 na lunchu do 12:15. Usiad艂em w klimatyzowanym pokoju, aby uchroni膰 si臋 przed upa艂em. Klimatyzator pracowa艂 na pe艂nych obrotach, a najdziwniejsz膮 rzecz膮 by艂o to, 偶e drzwi na zewn膮trz, gdzie temperatura wynosi艂a wtedy 32 ° C, by艂y szeroko otwarte, wpuszczaj膮c gor膮ce powietrze. Nie mog艂em w to uwierzy膰, klimatyzacja w艂膮czona i drzwi na zewn膮trz szeroko otwarte. Powiedz mi, co jest nie tak z tym zdj臋ciem. Czy nikt logicznie nie my艣li?

Poszed艂em do Wydzia艂u, kt贸ry opiekuje si臋 cudzoziemcami ubiegaj膮cymi si臋 o r贸偶ne pozwolenia, wizy, rezydencje, tak偶e dla Polak贸w, kt贸rzy maj膮 jak膮艣 spraw臋. Jednak pani opiekuj膮ca si臋 klientami m贸wi艂a tylko po polsku. Obserwowa艂em 10 os贸b pr贸buj膮cych odczyta膰, kt贸ry przycisk naciska膰, aby uzyska膰 bilet i czeka膰 w kolejce do konkretnego okienka. Wiadomo艣ci by艂y tylko w j臋zyku polskim. To dzia艂 dla obcokrajowc贸w, ale wszystko tylko po polsku. Kiedy zdadz膮 sobie spraw臋, 偶e wi臋kszo艣膰 obcokrajowc贸w nie potrafi czyta膰, m贸wi膰 ani nie rozumie j臋zyka polskiego?

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

It's back.

The heat is back for 2 days, 33C today and 35 tomorrow. Thursday we get a break with 25C. Yippee! Even with the windows open on both sides of our flat it's a little warm inside. We use to have a big awning blocking the sun in our dining room but when they retrofitted with installation they couldn't reinstall it. Hence, the room gets too warm in the summer when the sun is out. Joan seems to be more affected by the than before. I have a cold pack I put around her neck to keep her cooled down a little.

It was too hot to go anywhere today although I did walk to Radeks for our usual Tuesday morning meeting. We had scrambled eggs, toast, cucumbers, radishes and tea while we talked about politics, the weather, people's attitudes and then on to Spanish. I miss our twice a week meetings but he's busy until August with Tango and the people from Argentina on the weekends. He's a very interesting man.

Early tomorrow morning, 9:00, I will take Joan's documents back to immigration and then go for a haircut and shave.  The barber, Marcus, does a good job. Not quite as good as Enrique from Spain, but still good enough to keep as my normal barber here in Pozna艅. Joan has thought about getting her haircut short but has not made final decision. I think it would be easier for her to care for but it's her decision. Her body, her decision.

Upa艂 powraca na 2 dni, dzi艣 33°C, a jutro 35°C. W czwartek mamy przerw臋 z 25C. Yippee! Nawet przy otwartych oknach po obu stronach naszego mieszkania jest ciep艂o w 艣rodku. U偶ywamy du偶ej markizy, kt贸ra blokuje s艂o艅ce w naszej jadalni, ale zmodernizowano instalacj臋, nie mogli jej ponownie zainstalowa膰. W zwi膮zku z tym pok贸j robi si臋 zbyt ciep艂y latem, gdy 艣wieci s艂o艅ce . Joan wydaje si臋 by膰 tym bardziej dotkni臋ta ni偶 poprzednio. Mam zimny ok艂ad, kt贸r膮 zak艂adam na jej szyj臋, 偶eby troch臋 si臋 sch艂odzi艂a.

By艂o zbyt gor膮co, aby dzisiaj gdziekolwiek i艣膰, chocia偶 poszed艂em do Radka na nasze zwyk艂e poranne spotkanie we wtorek. Mieli艣my jajecznic臋, tosty, og贸rki, rzodkiewki i herbat臋, podczas gdy rozmawiali艣my o polityce, pogodzie, postawach ludzi, a nast臋pnie po hiszpa艅sku. T臋skni臋 za spotkaniami dwa razy w tygodniu, ale Radek a偶 do sierpnia jest zaj臋ty Tango i lud藕mi z Argentyny w weekendy. To bardzo interesuj膮cy cz艂owiek.

Jutro rano, o 9:00, wezm臋 dokumenty Joanny do biura imigracyjnego, a potem p贸jd臋 艣ci膮膰 w艂osy i ogoli膰 si臋. Fryzjer, Marcus, wykonuje dobr膮 robot臋. Nie jest tak dobry jak Enrique z Hiszpanii, ale wci膮偶 wystarczaj膮co dobry, by utrzyma膰 si臋 jako m贸j sta艂y fryzjer tutaj w Poznaniu. Joan pomy艣la艂a o podci臋ciu w艂os贸w, ale nie podj臋艂a ostatecznej decyzji. My艣l臋, 偶e 艂atwiej jej b臋dzie dba膰 o w艂osy, ale to jej decyzja. Jej cia艂o, jej decyzja.

Monday, June 24, 2019

Hand guns.

I'm very glad that Poland has strict laws on owning hand guns. After this mornings experience, I might have been tempted to but one. Of course, it had to do with bureaucracy.

Today was the day to turn in Joan's renewal application for her EU residency permit. At 9:00 I went to Libelta street, got her official location residency document(Zameldowaniia), went to make copies of it and our rental contract and put them all in a large envelope to deliver to immigration. The lady I talked with last week told me there was a drop-off box there where I could turn them in withouut having an appointment.

I went there and guess what? I couldn't find the box. I went to the information counter and the kid behind the counter said she had to have an appointment. The next opening was the end of August. Joan's card expires August 8th. I told him that was too late and the woman said I could just drop them off.  He paid no attention to that, said it didn't matter and she had to have an appointment. I left, furious.

At home, I called the number I used when I spoke to the lady. I was #8 in line to be answered. 45 minutes later when I was #5, a woman answered, said she spoke no English and transferred me to recorded music. After 1/2 hour I hung up and called back. This time I was #8. I waited 50 minutes for my turn only hear the person only spoke Polish and Russian. She took my number and said someone would call me back. 2 hours later, no one had called.

I called again, waited 20 minutes, finally got an English speaker, told her what had happened and she put me on hold while she checked on the problem. 5 minutes later she was back and said they made a mistake at the information counter, told me exactly where the drop-off box was and to return tomorrow to deposit Joan's documents. Now I will just wait to see what happens tomorrow. Never a dull life in Poland.

Bardzo si臋 ciesz臋, 偶e Polska ma surowe przepisy dotycz膮ce posiadania broni r臋cznej. Po tych porannych prze偶yciach mog艂em ulec pokusie tylko jednego. Oczywi艣cie mia艂o to zwi膮zek z biurokracj膮.

Dzisiaj by艂 dzie艅, w kt贸rym nale偶y zwr贸ci膰 si臋 o przed艂u偶enie Joan o jej pozwolenie na pobyt w UE. O 9:00 pojecha艂em na ulic臋 Libelta, dosta艂em jej oficjalny dokument rezydencji (Zameldowaniia), uda艂em si臋 do jej kopii i naszej umowy najmu i umie艣ci艂em je w du偶ej kopercie, aby dostarczy膰 imigracj臋. Pani, z kt贸r膮 rozmawia艂am w zesz艂ym tygodniu, powiedzia艂a mi, 偶e jest tam skrzynka, w kt贸rej mog臋 je zamieni膰 na wizyt臋.

Poszed艂em tam i zgadnij co? Nie mog艂em znale藕膰 pude艂ka. Poszed艂em do lady informacyjnej, a dzieciak za lad膮 powiedzia艂, 偶e musi si臋 um贸wi膰. Nast臋pne otwarcie by艂o pod koniec sierpnia. Karta Joanny wygasa 8 sierpnia. Powiedzia艂em mu, 偶e jest ju偶 za p贸藕no, a kobieta powiedzia艂a, 偶e ​​mog臋 je porzuci膰. Nie zwraca艂 na to uwagi, powiedzia艂, 偶e to nie ma znaczenia i musia艂a um贸wi膰 si臋 na spotkanie. Wyszed艂em, w艣ciek艂y.

W domu zadzwoni艂em pod numer, kt贸rego u偶y艂em, kiedy rozmawia艂em z pani膮. By艂em # 8 w kolejce do odpowiedzi. 45 minut p贸藕niej, gdy mia艂em 5 lat, kobieta odpowiedzia艂a, 偶e ​​nie m贸wi po angielsku i przenios艂a mnie do nagranej muzyki. Po 1/2 godzinie od艂o偶y艂em s艂uchawk臋 i oddzwoni艂em. Tym razem by艂em # 8. Czeka艂em 50 minut na swoj膮 kolej tylko us艂ysza艂em, 偶e osoba m贸wi艂a tylko po polsku i rosyjsku. Wzi臋艂a m贸j numer i powiedzia艂a, 偶e ​​kto艣 do mnie oddzwoni. 2 godziny p贸藕niej nikt nie dzwoni艂.

Zadzwoni艂em ponownie, zaczeka艂em 20 minut, w ko艅cu dosta艂em angloj臋zycznego m贸wc臋, powiedzia艂em, co si臋 sta艂o, a ona zawiesi艂a mnie, kiedy sprawdza艂a problem. 5 minut p贸藕niej wr贸ci艂a i stwierdzi艂a, 偶e ​​pope艂ni艂a b艂膮d w okienku informacyjnym, powiedzia艂a mi dok艂adnie, gdzie jest skrzynka, i wr贸ci jutro, 偶eby zdeponowa膰 dokumenty Joan. Teraz b臋d臋 tylko czeka艂, aby zobaczy膰, co si臋 stanie jutro. Nigdy nie nudne 偶ycie w Polsce.

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Barbecue.

We drove to Paczkowo and found their house without much problem. A very nice house, 3 levels, with the top level occupied by Micha艂's mother. Behind the house is a huge Linden tree he planted when he was 6 years old and at that time it was the end of the property. Since then, the property has expanded beyond that and on both sides. The result is no one can build a house or commercial enterprise close to them. The tree, itself, provides a large amount of shade and it was under the tree that we had the barbecue.
In traditional Polish hospitality, there was far more food than we could eat. Ma艂gorzata prepared her own version of Ch艂odnik and used yogurt, beets and radishes in it. There was also new potatoes, German and Polish salads, cottage cheese, bread made by a neighbor, non-alcoholic beer for me(the driver), sea sale, black salt, grilled kielbasa, hamburgers, chicken, pork and vegetables. For dessert, 5 different kinds of ice cream with tea or coffee. 
We stayed for 3 hours and the had to return home for Joan to Skype with her daughter, only to find out she left a message earlier that she could not Skype today. If I had checked my messages and known that, we would have stayed longer in Paczkowo.

Pojechali艣my do Paczkowa i bez problemu znale藕li艣my ich dom. Bardzo 艂adny dom, 3 poziomy, z najwy偶szym poziomem zajmowanym przez matk臋 Micha艂a. Za domem znajduje si臋 ogromne drzewo lipowe, kt贸re zasadzi艂, gdy mia艂 6 lat i wtedy by艂 to koniec posiad艂o艣ci. Od tego czasu nieruchomo艣膰 rozszerzy艂a si臋 poza to i po obu stronach. W rezultacie nikt nie mo偶e zbudowa膰 domu lub przedsi臋biorstwa komercyjnego w pobli偶u. Drzewo samo w sobie zapewnia du偶膮 ilo艣膰 cienia i to pod drzewem mieli艣my grilla.

W tradycyjnej polskiej go艣cinno艣ci by艂o o wiele wi臋cej jedzenia ni偶 mogliby艣my zje艣膰. Ma艂gorzata przygotowa艂a w艂asn膮 wersj臋 Ch艂odnika i u偶y艂a w nim jogurtu, burak贸w i rzodkiewek. By艂y te偶 nowe ziemniaki, niemieckie i polskie sa艂atki, twar贸g, chleb zrobiony przez s膮siada, piwo bezalkoholowe dla mnie (kierowca), sprzeda偶 morska, czarna s贸l, grillowana kie艂basa, hamburgery, kurczak, wieprzowina i warzywa. Na deser 5 r贸偶nych rodzaj贸w lod贸w z herbat膮 lub kaw膮.


Zatrzymali艣my si臋 na 3 godziny i musieli艣my wr贸ci膰 do domu z Joan do Skype ze swoj膮 c贸rk膮, tylko po to, by dowiedzie膰 si臋, 偶e wcze艣niej zostawi艂a wiadomo艣膰, 偶e nie mo偶e dzi艣 rozmawia膰 przez Skype. Gdybym sprawdzi艂 moje wiadomo艣ci i wiedzia艂 o tym, zostaliby艣my d艂u偶ej w Paczkowie.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Pleasant weekend.

The heat wave continues next week with temperatures averaging 90F all week but this weekend is very pleasant, 77-79F. This afternoon we spent outdoors, people gazing, first at Petit Paris and then at Plac Wolno艣膰i. Only drinking coffee, we spent 30 PLN, a cheap way to spend the afternoon but entertaining enough for us. We stayed away from talking about the troubles in the world and concentrated on the good things that have happened in our life together, how much we still love each other after 44 years and our plans for the future. It was a more pleasant conversation.

At home, Joan prepared dinner of salad and hamburgers using the recipe from Radek's sister. It has improved the taste of the meat a lot. We did our usual 2 lessons of Spanish together and then Joan answered, in Spanish, sentences I gave her in English. She did well.

I talked with a young 18 year old who just passed his drivers licensetest on the first try. I asked if any of his friend did also. He said that 5 tried but failed 5 times before they finally passed it. I told him I've tried 12, pretest exams and failed all 12.

Fala upa艂贸w trwa w przysz艂ym tygodniu przy temperaturach 艣rednio 90 F przez ca艂y tydzie艅, ale ten weekend jest bardzo przyjemny, 77-79 F. Tego popo艂udnia sp臋dzili艣my na zewn膮trz, patrz膮c na ludzi, najpierw na Petit Paris, a potem na Plac Wolno艣膰i. Tylko pij膮c kaw臋, wydali艣my 30 PLN, tani spos贸b na sp臋dzenie popo艂udnia, ale wystarczaj膮co zabawny dla nas. Trzymali艣my si臋 z dala od m贸wienia o k艂opotach na 艣wiecie i skoncentrowali艣my si臋 na dobrych rzeczach, kt贸re wydarzy艂y si臋 w naszym 偶yciu razem, jak bardzo si臋 kochamy po 44 latach i naszych planach na przysz艂o艣膰. To by艂a przyjemniejsza rozmowa.

W domu Joan przygotowa艂a kolacj臋 z sa艂atk膮 i hamburgerami przy u偶yciu przepisu siostry Radka. To znacznie poprawi艂o smak mi臋sa. Wsp贸lnie wykonali艣my 2 lekcje hiszpa艅skiego, a nast臋pnie Joanna odpowiedzia艂a po hiszpa艅sku na zdania, kt贸re poda艂em jej po angielsku. Dobrze sobie radzi艂a.

Rozmawia艂em z m艂odym 18-latkiem, kt贸ry w艂a艣nie zda艂 egzamin na licencj臋 kierowcy po raz pierwszy. Zapyta艂em, czy kt贸ry艣 z jego przyjaci贸艂 te偶 to zrobi艂. Powiedzia艂, 偶e 5 pr贸bowa艂o, ale 5 razy si臋 nie powiod艂o, zanim w ko艅cu go min臋艂o. Powiedzia艂em mu, 偶e pr贸bowa艂em 12, sprawdza艂em egzaminy i nie zda艂em wszystkich 12.

Friday, June 21, 2019

Skype

I Skyped with cousin Chiara today for 1 1/2 hours. She was back at her parents house in S艂upca for the weekend, playing tennis with her 2 sisters and enjoying time at home. All 3 of them have grown into beautiful young women since I first met them in 2003. All 3 speak fluent Polish, English and German and the youngest, Vivien, is also fluent in the Swedish language. We talked about travels, life in general and the disaster that has been created by man to the planet to the climate. She couldn't believe how it has not been taken seriously by the older generations and it is her and younger generations who will suffer because of it. I could not disagree with her. It is also beyond my comprehension. Only today I read that yet another scientist said there will be no ice left in the Artic by the year 2022. In the last 35 years, 75-80%  has melted already and it is irreversible. I have to wonder when I read reports how cities or countries will reduce carbon emissions by the year 2030 or 2050. By then it will be too late and it is not only carbon emissions that is the problem. Anonymous, you will read this and say it is all a fraud but you must "take your head out of the sand" my friend.

In Poland, it either has to adapt it's Clean Air Program to the changes proposed by the European Commission or it will have to resign from the EU support for the program in the size of 6-8 billion EUROS.

It was a cloudy day with the possibility of rain buut still nice outside so I wanted to take Joan out anyway, at least to Empik for a coffee to break the monotony of staying indoors. Just as we got there a cloud opened up and a heavy down pour of rain started. I waited and waited but it didn't stop. So, the alternative was Sowa's although I didn't really want to sit inside but we had no choice.

Skypedam dzisiaj z kuzynk膮 Chiar膮 przez 1 1/2 godziny. W weekend wr贸ci艂a do domu rodzic贸w w S艂upcy, graj膮c w tenisa z 2 siostrami i bawi膮c si臋 w domu. Wszystkie trzy z nich sta艂y si臋 pi臋knymi m艂odymi kobietami, odk膮d po raz pierwszy spotka艂em je w 2003 roku. Wszystkie 3 m贸wi膮 biegle po polsku, angielsku i niemiecku, a najm艂odsi, Vivien, r贸wnie偶 biegle w艂adaj膮 j臋zykiem szwedzkim. Rozmawiali艣my o podr贸偶ach, 偶yciu w og贸le i katastrofie, kt贸ra zosta艂a stworzona przez cz艂owieka na planet臋 dla klimatu. Nie mog艂a uwierzy膰, 偶e starsze pokolenia nie potraktowa艂y tego powa偶nie i to z tego powodu ucierpi膮 jej i m艂odsze pokolenia. Nie mog艂em si臋 z ni膮 nie zgodzi膰. Jest to r贸wnie偶 poza moim zrozumieniem. Dopiero dzisiaj przeczyta艂em, 偶e jeszcze jeden naukowiec powiedzia艂, 偶e w Artic nie pozostanie l贸d do roku 2022. W ci膮gu ostatnich 35 lat 75-80% ju偶 si臋 stopi艂o i jest nieodwracalne. Musz臋 si臋 zastanawia膰, kiedy czytam raporty o tym, jak miasta lub kraje ogranicz膮 emisj臋 dwutlenku w臋gla do roku 2030 lub 2050. Do tego czasu b臋dzie ju偶 za p贸藕no, a problem nie dotyczy tylko emisji dwutlenku w臋gla. Anonimowo, przeczytasz to i powiesz, 偶e to oszustwo, ale musisz „wyrwa膰 g艂ow臋 z piasku”, m贸j przyjacielu.

W Polsce musi dostosowa膰 program „Czyste powietrze” do zmian zaproponowanych przez Komisj臋 Europejsk膮 lub b臋dzie musia艂 zrezygnowa膰 z unijnego wsparcia dla programu o wielko艣ci 6-8 mld euro.

By艂 pochmurny dzie艅 z mo偶liwo艣ci膮 burzowego deszczu na zewn膮trz, wi臋c i tak chcia艂em zabra膰 Joan, przynajmniej do Empiku na kaw臋, 偶eby prze艂ama膰 monotoni臋 przebywania w domu. Kiedy tam dotarli艣my, chmura si臋 otworzy艂a i zacz膮艂 pada膰 ci臋偶ki deszcz. Czeka艂am i czeka艂am, ale to si臋 nie sko艅czy艂o. Wi臋c alternatyw膮 by艂a Sowa, chocia偶 tak naprawd臋 nie chcia艂em siedzie膰 w 艣rodku, ale nie mieli艣my wyboru.

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Towing.

The main procession today, Corpus Cristi, takes place on Garbary street in Pozna艅. 5 days ago the police posted NO Parking signs along the street. This morning at 6:40 they began towing cars and by 9:00 had already towed 29 cars. The procession started at 11:00 and I don't know how many more cars were towed but the 29 were already more than all from last year. I guess people just don't pay attention to signs. Now they will have to pay the towing charges.


It was a warm day, 31C, cloudy with some sun and a brief shower in the afternoon. We didn't have our meeting with Zbyszek. He went up north to a spa for this week and won't be back until Sunday. This Sunday we've been invited to a barbecue in Paczkowo by some friends.  It's a little village east of here about 20 km. Micha艂 and Ma艂gorzata live there with their son. Micha艂 is a lawyer and Ma艂gorzata is a Project Manager for a furniture company. We've known them for about 3 years. She is the one who recommended the cat cafe.

Tonight we are having breakfast for dinner, blueberry pancakes. It's unusual, I know, but we just had a taste for them. This week Joan also has on the menu, gazpacho, the most famous cold soup of Spain.

G艂贸wna procesja dzisiaj, Bo偶e Cia艂o, odbywa si臋 na ulicy Garbary w Poznaniu. 5 dni temu policja napisa艂a NIE Znaki parkingowe wzd艂u偶 ulicy. Dzi艣 rano o 6:40 zacz臋li holowa膰 samochody i do godziny 9:00 odholowali ju偶 29 samochod贸w. Procesja rozpocz臋艂a si臋 o 11:00 i nie wiem, ile jeszcze holowano samochod贸w, ale 29 by艂o ju偶 wi臋cej ni偶 wszystkich z ubieg艂ego roku. My艣l臋, 偶e ludzie po prostu nie zwracaj膮 uwagi na znaki. Teraz b臋d膮 musieli zap艂aci膰 op艂aty za holowanie.

By艂 ciep艂y dzie艅, 31 ° C, pochmurno z jakim艣 s艂o艅cem i kr贸tkim prysznicem po po艂udniu. Nie spotkali艣my si臋 z Zbyszkiem. W tym tygodniu uda艂 si臋 na p贸艂noc do spa i nie wr贸ci do niedzieli. W t臋 niedziel臋 zostali艣my zaproszeni przez przyjaci贸艂 na grilla w Paczkowie. To ma艂a wioska na wsch贸d st膮d, oko艂o 20 km. Micha艂 i Ma艂gorzata mieszkaj膮 tam z synem. Micha艂 jest prawnikiem, a Ma艂gorzata jest Project Managerem w firmie meblowej. Znamy je od oko艂o 3 lat. To ona poleci艂a kotek.

Dzi艣 wieczorem jemy 艣niadanie na obiad, nale艣niki z jagodami. Wiem, 偶e to niezwyk艂e, ale po prostu mieli艣my dla nich smak. W tym tygodniu Joan ma tak偶e w menu gazpacho, najs艂ynniejsz膮 zimn膮 zup臋 w Hiszpanii.

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Slovakia.


Just catching up on the news from other European countries I came across this;

Slovakia's first female president was sworn in last Saturday. Zuzana 膶aputov谩, a lawyer and environmental activist, has vowed to fight impunity and restore justice in a country largely affected by large-scale political corruption.

She is the youngest person to serve as president of Slovakia. She is sometimes called the “Erin Brokovich of Slovakia” for her decade-long struggle to close a toxic landfill in her hometown, which she succeeded in doing, earning her the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize.

In her inauguration speech, 膶aputov谩 suggested that officials who failed to fight corruption should be removed from their posts. She pledged to make the justice system more equal for everyone, including the LGBTQ community and women.

It will be interesting to see what changes she makes to protect the environment.

I talked with cousin Andrzej last night and we discussed the problem of us trying to learn each others language. We don't have the opportunity to speak with people in the language we want to learn. He lives in Golina and speaks Polish all the time but encounters no English speakers. I live in Pozna艅 and while I am surrounded by Polish speakers, 95% of my time is spent with Joan who speaks no Polish. What we need is 24//7 conversation in the foreign language.

Food shopping was done early today, 10:30 in the morning. I thought the afternoon was goiing to be busy but it turned out not to be. Cost of food for the week. 153 PLN($40).

W艂a艣nie nadrabia艂em zaleg艂o艣ci w wiadomo艣ciach z innych kraj贸w europejskich, na kt贸re si臋 natkn膮艂em;

Pierwsza kobieta prezydenta S艂owacji zosta艂a zaprzysi臋偶ona w ostatni膮 sobot臋. Zuzana 膶aputov谩, prawniczka i dzia艂aczka na rzecz 艣rodowiska, obieca艂a walk臋 z bezkarno艣ci膮 i przywr贸cenie sprawiedliwo艣ci w kraju, w kt贸rym du偶y wp艂yw ma korupcja polityczna na du偶膮 skal臋.

Jest najm艂odsz膮 osob膮, kt贸ra s艂u偶y jako prezydent S艂owacji. Czasami nazywa si臋 j膮 „Erin Brokovich ze S艂owacji” przez dziesi臋cioletni膮 walk臋 o zamkni臋cie toksycznego wysypiska 艣mieci w swoim rodzinnym mie艣cie, kt贸remu uda艂o si臋 to zrobi膰, zdobywaj膮c nagrod臋 Goldman Environmental Award 2016.

W przem贸wieniu inauguracyjnym 膶aputov谩 zasugerowa艂a, aby urz臋dnicy, kt贸rzy nie walczyli z korupcj膮, zostali usuni臋ci ze swoich stanowisk. Zobowi膮za艂a si臋 uczyni膰 system sprawiedliwo艣ci bardziej r贸wnym dla wszystkich, w tym dla spo艂eczno艣ci LGBTQ i kobiet.

Interesuj膮ce b臋dzie zobaczy膰, jakie zmiany wprowadza w celu ochrony 艣rodowiska.

Rozmawia艂em wczoraj wieczorem z kuzynem Andrzejem i rozmawiali艣my o tym, 偶e pr贸bujemy nauczy膰 si臋 j臋zyka. Nie mamy okazji rozmawia膰 z lud藕mi w j臋zyku, kt贸rego chcemy si臋 nauczy膰. Mieszka w Golinie i ca艂y czas m贸wi po polsku, ale nie zna angielskiego. Mieszkam w Poznaniu i podczas gdy jestem otoczony przez polskich m贸wc贸w, 95% mojego czasu sp臋dzam z Joan, kt贸ra nie m贸wi po polsku. Potrzebujemy 24 // 7 rozm贸w w j臋zyku obcym.


Zakupy 偶ywno艣ci odbywa艂y si臋 wcze艣nie rano, 10:30 rano. My艣la艂em, 偶e to popo艂udnie b臋dzie zaj臋te, ale okaza艂o si臋, 偶e tak nie jest. Koszt 偶ywno艣ci na tydzie艅. 153 PLN (40 $).

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

What a day.

Conversation in the morning with Pedro to start off the day was nice.  I was up early listening to a podcast from Piotr in Polish and then one in Spanish from Juan. I like them both but Juan's have the advantage that his Spanish text translates quickly into English for things I do not understand. I cannot get Piotr's to do that. Piotr uses many words I still do not know so it takes time to look them up to translate.

An excellent surprise came at 10:30 when the bell rang for someone to come to our flat. It was the postman.  He comes every year about this time but we are never sure exactly when. He came up to our flat, I opened the door and he said he was here to deliver our tax return money, 1000 PLN. FANTASTIC. It pays for our food for at least the next 6 weeks.  It's a beautiful site to see him count out the money and put it into my hand.

After eating breakfast, we felt good and with another nice day outside, we went to Empik to sit outside for a while, drink a coffee and watch a few people trickle in and out of the plaza. When we were done we came back home we studied Joan's 2 Spanish lessons, she started preparing dinner for tonight and I'm sitting here writing this blog.

A bit of news from an American cousin, her son, Cooper Nelson, age 10, pursuing an acting career, just got his first role in an independent new movie, "Spawn of the Dragon Prince". It's amazing, he's only 10 years old.

Rozmowa rano z Pedro, aby rozpocz膮膰 dzie艅, by艂a mi艂a. Wsta艂em wcze艣nie s艂uchaj膮c podcastu od Piotra po polsku, a potem po hiszpa艅sku od Juana. Lubi臋 je oboje, ale Juan ma t臋 przewag臋, 偶e jego hiszpa艅ski tekst szybko t艂umaczy na angielski dla rzeczy, kt贸rych nie rozumiem. Nie mog臋 tego zmusi膰 Piotra. Piotr u偶ywa wielu s艂贸w Nadal nie wiem, wi臋c potrzeba czasu, aby je przet艂umaczy膰.

Doskona艂a niespodzianka przysz艂a o 10:30, gdy zadzwoni艂 dzwonek, aby kto艣 przyszed艂 do naszego mieszkania. To by艂 listonosz. Przychodzi co roku o tej porze, ale nigdy nie jeste艣my pewni, kiedy dok艂adnie. Podszed艂 do naszego mieszkania, otworzy艂em drzwi i powiedzia艂, 偶e jest tutaj, aby dostarczy膰 nasze pieni膮dze na zwrot podatku, 1000 PLN. FANTASTYCZNY. Za nasze jedzenie p艂aci si臋 przynajmniej przez nast臋pne 6 tygodni. Jest to pi臋kna strona, aby zobaczy膰, jak liczy pieni膮dze i wk艂ada je do mojej r臋ki.

Po zjedzeniu 艣niadania czuli艣my si臋 dobrze i po kolejnym mi艂ym dniu na dworze poszli艣my do Empiku na chwil臋 usi膮艣膰 na zewn膮trz, wypi膰 kaw臋 i obejrze膰 kilka os贸b wchodz膮cych i wychodz膮cych z placu. Kiedy sko艅czyli艣my, wr贸cili艣my do domu, studiowali艣my 2 lekcje hiszpa艅skiej Joan, zacz臋艂a przygotowywa膰 kolacj臋 na dzisiejszy wiecz贸r i siedz臋 tutaj pisz膮c ten blog.

Troch臋 wiadomo艣ci od ameryka艅skiego kuzyna, jej syna Coopera Nelsona, lat 10, kt贸ry kontynuowa艂 karier臋 aktorsk膮, w艂a艣nie zdoby艂 swoj膮 pierwsz膮 rol臋 w niezale偶nym nowym filmie „Spawn of the Dragon Prince”. To niesamowite, ma tylko 10 lat.

Monday, June 17, 2019

Plastic.

A good day for a short walk to Radeks for our meeting today. It's just through the children's park, over the railroad tracks and I am there, 7 minutes. His flat occupies the 2nd and 3rd floor of his mothers old house but renovated to suit his liking. He usually prepares some kind of breakfast to eat while we spend the first hour speaking English and then we switch to Spanish for the second hour. I record that hour, listen to it again during the week and take notes on my laptop to review. Later I try to use what I learned when I;m speaking Spanish with Pedro or Carmelo.

Joan already started making out the menu for next week. We have to shop on Wednesday this week because Thursday is Bo偶e Cia艂o and stores will be closed. We had the Chicken, Chorizo & Basmati Rice for dinner last night and it was really good.

I've been thinking about the problem in the world with plastics. How do you eliminate it? SO many products are bottled in plastic; water, soft drinks, cosmetics, oils, medicines, spices, condiments, etc. Are these corporations willing to take on the expense of changing to glass or some other form of packaging? Is the public will to pay for the change?  Something has to be done to combat the problem of polluting the oceans and rivers with plastics but who is willing to pay for it? This is my problem, your problem and everyone's problem.

Dobry dzie艅 na kr贸tki spacer do Radeksa na nasze dzisiejsze spotkanie. To tylko przez park dla dzieci, przez tory kolejowe i jestem tam, 7 minut. Jego mieszkanie zajmuje drugie i trzecie pi臋tro starego domu jego matki, ale zosta艂o odnowione, by odpowiada艂o jego upodobaniom. Zwykle przygotowuje jakie艣 艣niadanie do jedzenia, podczas gdy my sp臋dzamy pierwsz膮 godzin臋 rozmawiaj膮c po angielsku, a nast臋pnie przechodzimy na hiszpa艅ski na drug膮 godzin臋. Nagrywam t臋 godzin臋, s艂ucham jej ponownie w ci膮gu tygodnia i robi臋 notatki na moim laptopie, aby je przejrze膰. P贸藕niej staram si臋 wykorzysta膰 to, czego si臋 nauczy艂em, m贸wi膮c po hiszpa艅sku z Pedro lub Carmelo.

Joan zacz臋艂a ju偶 przygotowywa膰 menu na nast臋pny tydzie艅. Musimy robi膰 zakupy w 艣rod臋 w tym tygodniu, poniewa偶 czwartek to Bo偶e Cia艂o, a sklepy zostan膮 zamkni臋te. Mieli艣my Kurczaka, Chorizo ​​i Basmati Rice na kolacj臋 zesz艂ej nocy i by艂o naprawd臋 dobrze.

My艣la艂em o problemie na 艣wiecie z tworzywami sztucznymi. Jak go wyeliminowa膰? Tak wiele produkt贸w jest butelkowanych w plastiku; woda, napoje bezalkoholowe, kosmetyki, oleje, lekarstwa, przyprawy, przyprawy itp. Czy te korporacje s膮 sk艂onne ponie艣膰 koszty zwi膮zane ze zmian膮 szk艂a lub innej formy opakowania? Czy publiczna wola zap艂acenia za zmian臋? Trzeba co艣 zrobi膰, aby zwalczy膰 problem zanieczyszczenia ocean贸w i rzek tworzywami sztucznymi, ale kto jest got贸w za to zap艂aci膰? To jest m贸j problem, tw贸j problem i problem wszystkich.

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Gorgeous day.

A gorgeous day today, 25C (77F), sunny, a little wind and a perfect day to be outside. We spent almost 3 hours in Plac Wolno艣膰i watching people and talking.

The most enjoyable were the little kids running through the water spraying up from a flat water hose the city had put in the Plac. They just kept running back and forth through the spray and getting a little wet. Also, the little ones with the bicycles that have no pedals and they must use their legs to push the bike and keep their balance. It is amazing how fast they can go. Of course there were plenty of adults walking through the Plav going to the rynek or to Empik to buy a book or some music CD. However, the children were the most interesting to observe.

At home, I printed 60 short sentences in English for Joan to tell me them in Spanish. She only made 5 grammar mistakes and remembered all the words to say each sentence correctly. I reinforced that she has this knowledge in her brain and she only has to break the barrier of speaking to use them. Then we did some math exercises like counting backwards from 100 to 0 by 6, multiplying from 0 to 100 by 3, subtracting from 100 to 0 by 4 and adding from 0 to 100 by 8.

Thursday begins a 4 day weekend, Bo偶e Cia艂o(Corpus Christi). In Poland, traditional celebrations connected with the feast of Corpus Christi include a holy mass, followed by a procession to four altars specially built for this purpose. At each of the altars, a fragment of one of the four Gospels is read about the Eucharist. The faithful, often dressed in folk costumes, take part in the solemn procession. Children sprinkle the procession with flowers, holy images are carried and songs sung in honor of the Blessed Sacrament.

Wspania艂y dzie艅 dzisiaj, 25C (77F), s艂oneczny, ma艂y wiatr i idealny dzie艅 na zewn膮trz. Sp臋dzili艣my prawie 3 godziny na Placu Wolno艣cii obserwuj膮c ludzi i rozmawiaj膮c.

Najciekawsze by艂y ma艂e dzieci biegaj膮ce przez wod臋 rozpryskuj膮c膮 si臋 z p艂askiego w臋偶a wodnego, kt贸ry miasto umie艣ci艂o na Placu. Po prostu biegali tam iz powrotem przez spray i troch臋 si臋 zmoczyli. R贸wnie偶 dzieci z rowerami, kt贸re nie maj膮 peda艂贸w i musz膮 u偶ywa膰 n贸g, aby pcha膰 rower i zachowa膰 r贸wnowag臋. To niesamowite, jak szybko mog膮 i艣膰. Oczywi艣cie by艂o wielu doros艂ych przechodz膮cych przez Plav do rynku lub do Empiku, aby kupi膰 ksi膮偶k臋 lub p艂yt臋 CD z muzyk膮. Jednak najciekawsze by艂y dzieci.

W domu wydrukowa艂em 60 kr贸tkich zda艅 w j臋zyku angielskim, aby Joan opowiedzia艂a mi po hiszpa艅sku. Zrobi艂a tylko 5 b艂臋d贸w gramatycznych i zapami臋ta艂a wszystkie s艂owa, aby poprawnie powiedzie膰 ka偶de zdanie. Wzmocni艂em, 偶e ma t臋 wiedz臋 w swoim m贸zgu i musi tylko prze艂ama膰 barier臋 m贸wienia, aby z nich korzysta膰. Nast臋pnie wykonali艣my kilka 膰wicze艅 matematycznych, takich jak odliczanie od 100 do 0 przez 6, mno偶enie od 0 do 100 przez 3, odejmowanie od 100 do 0 przez 4 i dodawanie od 0 do 100 przez 8.


W Polsce tradycyjne uroczysto艣ci zwi膮zane ze 艣wi臋tem Bo偶ego Cia艂a obejmuj膮 msz臋 艣wi臋t膮, po kt贸rej nast臋puje procesja do specjalnie zbudowanych na ten cel czterech o艂tarzy. Przy ka偶dym z o艂tarzy odczytywany jest fragment jednej z czterech Ewangelii, opowiadaj膮cy o Eucharystii. W uroczystej procesji bior膮 udzia艂 wierni, cz臋sto ubrani w ludowe stroje. Dzieci posypuj膮 drog臋 procesji kwiatami, niesione s膮 艣wi臋te obrazy i 艣piewane pie艣ni ku czci Naj艣wi臋tszego Sakramentu.

Saturday, June 15, 2019

Hot again.

Back to the heat, 33c(92F), and it isn't even summer yet. Today is a day for ice cold tea,
cold water packs on the neck and head. That's what I did for Joan.

I learned about a new restaurant not far from us on Ko艣cielna street, Kuchnia Humbis. It is a restaurant with Lebanese cuisine. I was told the food is very good, plentiful and all prepared while you wait. Usually it takes 1/2 hour to be served. The prices are not high so we will try it in the future.

It's just too hot to write more.

Powr贸t do upa艂u, 33c (92F), a jeszcze nie jest jeszcze lato. Dzisiaj jest dzie艅 na mro偶on膮 herbat臋, zimne paczki na szyi i g艂owie. Tak zrobi艂em dla Joan.

Dowiedzia艂em si臋 o nowej restauracji niedaleko nas na ulicy Ko艣cielnej, Kuchnia Humbis. Jest to restauracja z kuchni膮 liba艅sk膮. Powiedziano mi, 偶e jedzenie jest bardzo dobre, obfite i wszystko przygotowane podczas oczekiwania. Zwykle obs艂uga trwa 1/2 godziny. Ceny nie s膮 wysokie, wi臋c spr贸bujemy w przysz艂o艣ci.

Po prostu jest za gor膮co pisa膰 wi臋cej.

Friday, June 14, 2019

Parks

I went back to the office and paid the 17 PLN for Joan's residency permit, asked when could I pick it up and was told to call next week to find out. The only problem is they didn't write down the phone number on the receipt. So now I have to go back just to get the number. Sometimes you have to wonder about the inefficiency of govt. offices, other times it is very good.

A nice day to be outside so I took Joan out to Petit Paris for coffee and enjoy sitting outside and talking. Yes, there were still things to be done in the flat but she needed a break from indoors and she likes Petit Paris outside because it has 2 beautiful large trees in front of the cafe. One is a willow tree and I am not sure what the other is. Tonight she will prepare Creamy Salmon Pasta with Dill for dinner, another recipe we discovered in Spain. The cafe must be doing well because now they have all new chairs and a few more waitresses. to help.  I'm happy for them but also for my cousins who won the building the cafe is in. In the beginning I thought it might be difficult for the cafe with a well established restaurant, Milano's, close to it but it does not seem to have an effect on their business. Milano's also has a cafe but with a different atmosphere and clientele. Being very close to So艂acki Park is also a good place for foot traffic. Their prices are a little high but for a cup of coffee it is a good place to go.

When you are done with your coffee you can either go to the right for a walk in one park or go to the left for a walk in another park. Of course, on the right is So艂acki Park, the most famous park in Pozna艅 and the one visited the most, especially on weekends. If you want more solitude, go to the left where there are less people.

Wr贸ci艂em do biura i zap艂aci艂em 17 z艂 za pozwolenie na pobyt Joan, zapyta艂em, kiedy mog臋 to odebra膰 i kazano mi zadzwoni膰 w przysz艂ym tygodniu, 偶eby si臋 dowiedzie膰. Jedynym problemem jest to, 偶e nie zapisali numeru telefonu na paragonie. Wi臋c teraz musz臋 wr贸ci膰 tylko po numer. Czasem trzeba si臋 zastanawia膰 nad nieefektywno艣ci膮 rz膮du. biura, innym razem bardzo dobrze.

Mi艂y dzie艅 na zewn膮trz, wi臋c zabra艂em Joan do Petit Paris na kaw臋 i ciesz臋 si臋, siedz膮c na zewn膮trz i rozmawiaj膮c. Tak, w mieszkaniu by艂y jeszcze rzeczy do zrobienia, ale potrzebowa艂a przerwy od domu i lubi Petit Paris na zewn膮trz, poniewa偶 ma przed sob膮 2 pi臋kne du偶e drzewa przed kawiarni膮. Jedno jest wierzb膮 i nie jestem pewien, co to jest drugie. Dzi艣 wieczorem przygotuje na obiad kremowy makaron z 艂ososia z koperkiem, kolejny przepis, kt贸ry odkryli艣my w Hiszpanii. Kawiarnia musi mie膰 si臋 dobrze, poniewa偶 teraz maj膮 wszystkie nowe krzes艂a i kilka innych kelnerek. pom贸c. Ciesz臋 si臋 z nich, ale tak偶e z moich kuzyn贸w, kt贸rzy wygrali budynek, w kt贸rym znajduje si臋 kawiarnia. Na pocz膮tku my艣la艂em, 偶e mo偶e to by膰 trudne dla kawiarni z dobrze ugruntowan膮 restauracj膮 Milano, ale nie wydaje si臋, aby wp艂yw na ich dzia艂alno艣膰. Milano ma r贸wnie偶 kawiarni臋, ale z inn膮 atmosfer膮 i klientel膮. Bycie bardzo blisko Parku So艂ackiego to tak偶e dobre miejsce dla ruchu pieszego. Ich ceny s膮 troch臋 wysokie, ale na fili偶ank臋 kawy jest to dobre miejsce.

Kiedy sko艅czysz z kaw膮, mo偶esz p贸j艣膰 w prawo na spacer w jednym parku lub p贸j艣膰 w lewo na spacer w innym parku. Oczywi艣cie po prawej stronie znajduje si臋 Park So艂acki, najs艂ynniejszy park w Poznaniu, a najbardziej odwiedzany, zw艂aszcza w weekendy. Je艣li chcesz wi臋cej samotno艣ci, id藕 w lewo, gdzie jest mniej ludzi.

Thursday, June 13, 2019

It's done.


At 10:00 Joan and I returned to the government office to fill out the form application for residency permit for her. I already had mine. We were given a number in line and after a few minutes our number was up on the screen, go to service at # 27 and we did. The lady looked at the form, checked our rental contract and said we filled out the wrong form. We had to go back and fill out a temporary residency permit because the rental contract was only good for 2 years, not permanent.

We filled out the new form, got a new number, waited a short time and went to a new lady. She looked and said the "Powiat" was Pozna艅ski, not Pozna艅 and we needed a new form filled out.

Again we filled another form, got a number, waited and went to still another woman. This one said Joan needed to show her passport, which was at home, and until she had it nothing could be done. She said I could bring it back without Joan and she would give me a paper authorizing me to give it to her. I told her Joan needed a printed resident document for Joan's EU card and she gave me a paper authorizing me to be able to pick it up after I had paid for it. Cost 17($5) PLN.

I brought back Joan's passport to another new lady and now she is registered. We only have to wait for the document to be printed, signed, stamped and picked up next week. We finally finished the transaction about 13:00 and then went food shopping.

Today we have a break from the heat, a pleasant 76F with cloudy skies. Shopping took less than 1 hour and we spent 156 PLN($42). The cost was high because of the salmon. The menu for the week is creamy salmon pasta, fruit salad, pizza, chicken & chorizo salad, cobb salad and avocado, tomato & blue cheese pasta.

O 10:00 wr贸cili艣my z Joan do urz臋du, aby wype艂ni膰 formularz wniosku o pozwolenie na pobyt dla Joan. Moje ju偶 mam. Otrzymali艣my numer w kolejce i po kilku minutach nasz numer pojawi艂 si臋 na ekranie pokazuj膮c, by przej艣膰 do okienka nr 27 i to zrobili艣my. Pani spojrza艂a na formularz, sprawdzi艂a nasz膮 umow臋 najmu i powiedzia艂a, 偶e wype艂nili艣my niew艂a艣ciwy formularz. Musieli艣my wr贸ci膰 i wype艂ni膰 druk pozwolenia na pobyt czasowy, poniewa偶 umowa najmu jest wa偶na tylko na 2 lata, a nie na sta艂e.

Wype艂nili艣my nowy formularz, otrzymali艣my nowy numer, czekali艣my kr贸tko i poszli艣my do innej urz臋dniczki. Spojrza艂a i powiedzia艂a, 偶e „Powiat” by艂 Pozna艅ski, a nie Pozna艅 i musimy wype艂ni膰 nowy formularz.

Zn贸w wype艂nili艣my inny formularz, dostali艣my numer, czekali艣my i poszli艣my do innej kobiety. Ta powiedzia艂a, 偶e Joan musi pokaza膰 sw贸j paszport, kt贸ry by艂 w domu, i dop贸ki nie b臋dzie go mia艂a nic nie mo偶na zrobi膰. Powiedzia艂a, 偶e mog臋 przywie藕膰 go bez Joanny i da艂a mi papier upowa偶niaj膮cy j膮 do jego oddania. Powiedzia艂em jej, 偶e Joan potrzebuje wydrukowanego dokumentu rezydencji dla karty Joanny z UE, a ona da艂a mi dokument upowa偶niaj膮cy mnie do odebrania tego po zap艂aceniu. Koszt 17 (5 USD) PLN.

Odda艂em paszport Joanny innej urz臋dniczce i teraz jest zarejestrowana. Musimy tylko czeka膰, a偶 dokument zostanie wydrukowany, podpisany, ostemplowany i odebrany w przysz艂ym tygodniu. W ko艅cu zako艅czyli艣my transakcj臋 oko艂o 13:00, a potem poszli艣my na zakupy spo偶ywcze.

Dzisiaj mamy przerw臋 od upa艂u, przyjemny 76F (24C)z zachmurzonym niebem. Zakupy zaj臋艂y mniej ni偶 1 godzin臋 i wydali艣my 156 PLN (42 USD). Koszt by艂 wysoki z powodu 艂ososia. Menu na tydzie艅 to kremowy makaron z 艂ososia, sa艂atka owocowa, pizza, sa艂atka z kurczakiem i chorizo, sa艂atka cobb oraz makaron z awokado, pomidor贸w i sera ple艣niowego.

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Artist.

Outside its 36c(96F), inside our flat 31c(88F), way too hot for us in either place and it's 17:00.

Our grand daughter, Nikki, is developing into quite an artist. She made a painting of the "Hulk" and it so impressed one gym owner that he commissioned her to paint it on a wall in his gym and paid her for it, 1,500 PLN. She is not only a graphic artist but also a musician playing classical and rock guitar and piano. She is only 20 years old. We have hope that she will come next winter to visit us in Spain with her mother.

I was able to reach the help line and get the answers I needed to complete the application for Joan. We can't submit it yet because the lady told me we have to have a proof of residency certificate(zameldowania) from one government office and that takes a few days but we still have some time before it is due.

Na zewn膮trz jego 36c (96F), wewn膮trz naszego mieszkania 31c (88F), jest zbyt gor膮co dla nas w ka偶dym miejscu i jest 17:00.

Nasza wspania艂a c贸rka Nikki staje si臋 artystk膮. Zrobi艂a obraz „Hulka” i tak imponuj膮cy by艂 jeden z w艂a艣cicieli si艂owni, 偶e zleci艂 jej malowanie go na 艣cianie w swojej si艂owni i zap艂aci艂 za ni膮 1500 PLN. Jest nie tylko grafikiem, ale tak偶e muzykiem graj膮cym na gitarze klasycznej i rockowej oraz fortepianie. Ma tylko 20 lat. Mamy nadziej臋, 偶e przysz艂ej zimy przyjedzie z matk膮 do Hiszpanii.

Uda艂o mi si臋 dotrze膰 do linii pomocy i uzyska膰 odpowiedzi, kt贸rych potrzebowa艂em, aby wype艂ni膰 wniosek dla Joan. Nie mo偶emy go jeszcze przes艂a膰, poniewa偶 pani powiedzia艂a mi, 偶e musimy mie膰 dow贸d z rezydencji (zameldowania) z jednego urz臋du rz膮dowego, a to zajmuje kilka dni, ale mamy jeszcze troch臋 czasu, zanim to nast膮pi.

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

New picture.

After a nice talk this morning with Pedro via WhatsApp, Joan and I went to have her picture taken for the new resident application. I don't know what it is but when the picture is taken she looks a little strange. Of course, you can't smile for these pictures so maybe that has something to with it. In this one, her eyes are so wide open, it just doesn't look like her normal self. The photographer said it looked like a "Most Wanted" picture. I should have had him take another one. The cost of 4 pictures is cheap enough, $8. When we were done we came home and started filling out the application. Surprisingly, they didn't ask for many documents. As usual, there were some questions I didn't know how to answer and I tried calling them for help. I kept getting the message they had too many calls and to try later. At 14:00 they closed so we did not complete the application today.

Another hot day 90F. Even with the breeze blowing through the flat, it was warm inside. The poor grandmother next door had her door open to get some air in the flat because their door opens to the hallway and they have no crossing breeze like we do. I opened all the windows in the hallway in hopes that would help her. She must be in her late 80's and the heat is hard on her.

I had to go back out again and it was, "gor膮co jak w piekle"(hot like in an oven).

Po dzisiejszej mi艂ej porannej rozmowie z Pedro przez WhatsApp, Joan i ja poszli艣my zrobi膰 jej zdj臋cie do nowej aplikacji rezydenta. Nie wiem, co to jest, ale kiedy zdj臋cie zosta艂o zrobione, wygl膮da艂a troch臋 dziwnie. Oczywi艣cie nie mo偶esz si臋 u艣miecha膰 na tych zdj臋ciach, wi臋c mo偶e to ma co艣 z tym wsp贸lnego. Na zrobionych, jej oczy s膮 tak szeroko otwarte, 偶e po prostu nie wygl膮da jak ona. Fotograf powiedzia艂, 偶e wygl膮da to jak zdj臋cie „Poszukiwana”. Powinienem by艂 kaza膰 mu zrobi膰 nast臋pne. Koszt 4 zdj臋膰 jest stosunkowo tani, 8 USD. Kiedy sko艅czyli艣my, wr贸cili艣my do domu i zacz臋li艣my wype艂nia膰 aplikacj臋. Zaskakuj膮ce jest to, 偶e nie prosz膮 o wiele dokument贸w. Jak zwykle pojawi艂o si臋 kilka pyta艅, na kt贸re nie wiedzia艂em, jak odpowiedzie膰 i pr贸bowa艂em do nich zadzwoni膰 po pomoc. Otrzymywa艂em wiadomo艣膰, 偶e maj膮 zbyt wiele po艂膮cze艅 i 偶eby pr贸bowa膰 p贸藕niej. O 14:00 biuro zamkni臋to, wi臋c dzisiaj wniosku nie wype艂nili艣my.

Kolejny gor膮cy dzie艅 90F (32C). Nawet, gdy wiatr wia艂 przez mieszkanie, w 艣rodku by艂o ciep艂o. Biedna babcia z mieszkania obok mia艂a otwarte drzwi, 偶eby dosta膰 troch臋 powietrza do 艣rodka, poniewa偶 ich drzwi otwieraj膮 si臋 na korytarz i nie maj膮 przewiewu tak, jak my. Otworzy艂em wszystkie okna na korytarzu w nadziei, 偶e to jej pomo偶e. Musi mie膰 ponad 80 lat i upa艂 jest dla niej trudny do zniesienia.

Musia艂em znowu wyj艣膰 i to by艂o „gor膮co jak w piekle”.

Monday, June 10, 2019

Cards

Joan's long-term EU residency car expires in August so it's time to get another application together to submit for a new card. I must say, for a long-term card, 5 years doesn't seem like a long term. My Polish card is for 10 years, expiring next year.

D艂ugoterminowy samoch贸d rezydentury Joan w UE wygasa w sierpniu, wi臋c nadszed艂 czas, aby razem z艂o偶y膰 kolejn膮 aplikacj臋, aby z艂o偶y膰 now膮 kart臋. Musz臋 powiedzie膰, 偶e dla karty d艂ugoterminowej, 5 lat nie wydaje si臋 d艂ugoterminow膮. Moja polska karta jest na 10 lat, wygasa w przysz艂ym roku.

Sunday, June 09, 2019

The Rynek

88F today by 12:00 but then it started to go down. By 14:00 it was 80F and good enough to go to Empik for coffee and observe the people. There was one child full of energy who kept running around the menu sign. Finally, after about 25 times, he tired enough to stop and I took some pictures of him and a few other people.

When we were done with the coffee we decided to take  a walk down Paderewski street to the old market(rynek) and see what was going on there. A kind of International market was being held for St. John's day and there were several vendors from others countries selling their products like jewelry, olives from Spain, some things from Ukraine and, of course, many Polish sellers as well.

We walked around the rynek but it was a problem doing it because walkway is all cobblestone and every stone is at a different level because of how long they have been here. Joan spends most of the time during the walk just looking down to make sure she doesn't trip so she doesn't get to see much. I spend my time watching her for the same reason. In the future we will use the wheel chair on our trips to the rynek. They are SUPPOSE to fix it all next year and make it level. We will see IF it happens then.

We returned home in time for Joan to have her weekly Skype with her daughter.

88F dzi艣 o 12:00, ale potem zacz臋艂o spada膰. Do 14:00 by艂o 80F i by艂o wystarczaj膮co dobre, aby p贸j艣膰 do Empiku na kaw臋 i obserwowa膰 ludzi. By艂o jedno dziecko pe艂ne energii, kt贸re biega艂o po znaku menu. W ko艅cu, po oko艂o 25 razy, zm臋czy艂 si臋 wystarczaj膮co, by przesta膰, a ja zrobi艂em mu zdj臋cia i kilka innych os贸b.

Kiedy sko艅czyli艣my z kaw膮, zdecydowali艣my si臋 na spacer ulic膮 Paderewskiego na stary rynek, a ona co tam si臋 dzia艂o. Na dzie艅 艣w. Jana odbywa艂 si臋 rodzaj mi臋dzynarodowego rynku, a kilku sprzedawc贸w z innych kraj贸w sprzedawa艂o swoje produkty, takie jak bi偶uteria, oliwki z Hiszpanii, niekt贸re rzeczy z Ukrainy i oczywi艣cie wielu polskich sprzedawc贸w.

Chodzili艣my po rynku, ale to by艂 problem, poniewa偶 chodnik jest brukiem, a ka偶dy kamie艅 jest na innym poziomie ze wzgl臋du na to, jak d艂ugo tu byli. Joan sp臋dza wi臋kszo艣膰 czasu podczas spaceru, spogl膮daj膮c w d贸艂, 偶eby si臋 upewni膰, 偶e si臋 nie potknie, wi臋c nie widzi zbyt wiele. Sp臋dzam czas obserwuj膮c j膮 z tego samego powodu. W przysz艂o艣ci b臋dziemy korzysta膰 z w贸zka inwalidzkiego podczas naszych wycieczek na rynek. S膮 WSPIERAJ膭CY, aby naprawi膰 to wszystko w przysz艂ym roku i sprawi膰, by by艂 na poziomie. Zobaczymy JE艢LI tak si臋 stanie.

Wr贸cili艣my do domu na czas, aby Joan mia艂a cotygodniowy Skype ze swoj膮 c贸rk膮.

Saturday, June 08, 2019

Blueberries

Joan had a little blueberry tart today at Sowa's. It's a little open-crust shaped form filled with blueberries. Whenever she chooses it , it reminds of a time living in the forest and going to pick wild blueberries in Upper Michigan where I was living. It was on a road called the "red road". It got it's name because the road was made up of red sand. It was a fun time because there were usually a small group of my neighbors from the road I lived on who did it together. The bushes holding the berries were not big nor were the berries so you had to collect a lot of them but it provided a social activity and time for conversation. NO cell phones but then that was 35-40 years ago before the cell came along. A few neighbors had radio phones but most had none. Fast forward to today and imagine a world without cell phones, people would be lost. I'm not knocking cells, like everyone else, I have one. I rely on it to keep in touch with Joan when I am not home or if she needs me to come home. But if we were 30 years younger I would return to the forest. Age has taken it's toll on the neighbors and families I knew in those days and out of the 9 or 10 who lived there in the 70;s, only 2 remain. A few are dead and the others have moved to places for more convenient lifestyles. I'm the only one who moved to Europe.

Do I regret it? NOT at all. The life we have here would have been impossible in the U.S. Not only that, but to see the way the current government is destroying the country is so sad.What is even sadder is that there are so many Americans who believe in it still, this government. Enough about that.

Like I said, I have no regret but I do have one wish; that Poland would do more to advertise/market Poland to the outside world. Living here. I, of course, do not know how many commercials to visit Poland are shown in other countries. Poland has so many beautiful places to visit like great cities mountains, seaside, lakes, castle, palaces, cultural events, etc. Certainly the amount of tourists has increased in the last 5 years but more could be done to attract them.  In Europe, in general, there is too much negative press  about Poland and not enough emphasis on the good things. That should change.

Joan mia艂a dzisiaj troch臋 tarta z jag贸d w Sowa. Jest to ma艂a forma w kszta艂cie otwartej skorupy wype艂niona jagodami. Za ka偶dym razem, gdy j膮 wybierze, przypomina czas, kiedy mieszka w lesie i wybiera dzikie jagody w Upper Michigan, gdzie mieszka艂em. By艂 na drodze zwanej „czerwon膮 drog膮”. Ma swoj膮 nazw臋, poniewa偶 droga sk艂ada si臋 z czerwonego piasku. To by艂 fajny czas, poniewa偶 zazwyczaj z ma艂ej grupy moich s膮siad贸w z drogi, na kt贸rej 偶y艂em, robi艂em to razem. Krzewy trzymaj膮ce jagody nie by艂y du偶e ani jagody, wi臋c trzeba by艂o zebra膰 ich du偶o, ale zapewnia艂o to aktywno艣膰 spo艂eczn膮 i czas na rozmow臋. BRAK telefon贸w kom贸rkowych, ale to by艂o 35-40 lat temu, zanim pojawi艂a si臋 kom贸rka. Kilku s膮siad贸w mia艂o telefony radiowe, ale wi臋kszo艣膰 nie mia艂a telefon贸w. Szybko do przodu i wyobra藕 sobie 艣wiat bez telefon贸w kom贸rkowych, ludzie zgubiliby si臋. Nie pukam cel, jak wszyscy, mam jeden. Licz臋 na to, 偶e pozostan臋 w kontakcie z Joan, gdy nie b臋d臋 w domu lub je艣li b臋dzie mnie potrzebowa膰, aby wr贸ci膰 do domu. Ale gdyby艣my byli o 30 lat m艂odsi, wr贸ci艂bym do lasu. Wiek sta艂 si臋 m臋cz膮cy dla s膮siad贸w i rodzin, kt贸rych zna艂am w tamtych czasach, a spo艣r贸d 9 lub 10 os贸b, kt贸re mieszka艂y tam w latach 70., pozosta艂y tylko 2. Kilku z nich nie 偶yje, a inni przenie艣li si臋 do miejsc, w kt贸rych b臋d膮 mieli wygodniejszy styl 偶ycia. Jestem jedyn膮 osob膮, kt贸ra przeprowadzi艂a si臋 do Europy.

Czy tego 偶a艂uj臋? Ani troch臋. 呕ycie, kt贸re tu mamy, by艂oby niemo偶liwe w Stanach Zjednoczonych. Nie tylko to, ale zobaczenie sposobu, w jaki obecny rz膮d niszczy kraj, jest tak smutne. Jeszcze bardziej smutne jest to, 偶e jest tak wielu Amerykan贸w, kt贸rzy wci膮偶 w to wierz膮. rz膮d. Do艣膰 o tym.

Tak jak powiedzia艂em, nie 偶a艂uj臋, ale mam jedno 偶yczenie; 偶e Polska zrobi wi臋cej, aby reklamowa膰 / sprzedawa膰 Polsk臋 艣wiatu zewn臋trznemu. Mieszka膰 tutaj. Oczywi艣cie nie wiem, ile reklam do odwiedzenia Polska jest pokazywanych w innych krajach. Polska ma tak wiele pi臋knych miejsc do odwiedzenia jak wielkie miasta, g贸ry, wybrze偶e, jeziora, zamek, pa艂ace, imprezy kulturalne itp. Z pewno艣ci膮 liczba turyst贸w wzros艂a w ci膮gu ostatnich 5 lat, ale mo偶na zrobi膰 wi臋cej, aby ich przyci膮gn膮膰. W Europie og贸lnie jest zbyt wiele negatywnej prasy na temat Polski i nie k艂adzie si臋 wystarczaj膮cego nacisku na dobre rzeczy. To powinno si臋 zmieni膰.

Friday, June 07, 2019

Another one.

Yesterdays shopping costs..160PLN($39). We need extra things like toilet paper and olive oil. It's amazing buying olive oil here. The cost is higher and the % of actual olive oil in the bottle is much lower than in Spain. I guess that is the advantage of having so many olive orchards in Spain.

It has cooled off. The temperature today was only 79F with a sunny/cloudy day. 

One of our favorite musicians died yesterday, Dr ,John, "The Night Tripper" at age 77. We spent the morning watching old videos of his performances. Sad to see him go. He had a unique style and always kept Louisiana close to his heart. Like Leon Russell and Tom Waits, you always knew it was him when he sang. Leon died in 2019, Tom is still here.

We did our usual Spanish lessons together and then I did my own advanced lessons while Joan did some reading. Tonight she is making the zucchini soup for dinner.

Wczorajsze zakupy kosztuj膮 160 USD (39 USD). Potrzebujemy dodatkowych rzeczy, takich jak papier toaletowy i oliwa z oliwek. To niesamowite kupowanie oliwy z oliwek tutaj. Koszt jest wy偶szy, a procent rzeczywistej oliwy z oliwek w butelce jest znacznie ni偶szy ni偶 w Hiszpanii. My艣l臋, 偶e to zaleta posiadania tak wielu sad贸w oliwnych w Hiszpanii.

Ostyg艂o. Dzisiejsza temperatura wynosi艂a tylko 79 ° F w s艂oneczny / pochmurny dzie艅.

Jeden z naszych ulubionych muzyk贸w zmar艂 wczoraj, Dr, John, „The Night Tripper” w wieku 77 lat. Rano ogl膮dali艣my stare filmy z jego wyst臋p贸w. Smutno go zobaczy膰. Mia艂 wyj膮tkowy styl i zawsze trzyma艂 Luizjank臋 blisko swojego serca. Podobnie jak Leon Russell i Tom Waits, zawsze wiedzia艂e艣, 偶e to on 艣piewa艂. Leon zmar艂 w 2019 roku, Tom wci膮偶 tu jest.

Wsp贸lnie ucz臋szczali艣my na lekcje hiszpa艅skiego, a potem robi艂em w艂asne lekcje, podczas gdy Joan czyta艂a. Dzi艣 wieczorem robi zup臋 z cukinii na obiad.


Thursday, June 06, 2019

Greta.

Since the beginning of mankind we have killed each other. A brother kills his brother, Cain and Able. So it has continued for thousands of years to this present day. Now we ALL have a common enemy that we created, the Climate.  However, something else we created is more important to those in control of this world and that is GREED. It is willing to let us destroy this planet we live on in order to have more money. Common people like you and I are have only the "vote" as a form of protest against this destruction but in the end, we lose anyway. Scientists have been warning us of the danger of this climate change for decades, that changes must be made, but little was done. For every scientist who warned about it, the opposition had two who totally denied it.  Many people chose the denial. Yet they have borne witness to the drastic changes in weather around the world. More tornadoes, hurricanes, heat waves, higher temperatures, droughts, shorter or no winter at all, crop failures, more diseases, etc. and still they deny climate change. The economy is good and THAT is all that matters. For parents, don't they think what kind of world they are leaving to their children and grandchildren. Is that  big, new, gas burning car more important than their own kids? I just can't understand that kind of thinking. If a Swedish, 16 year old schoolgirl, Greta Thunberg, understands this is the biggest war we face, why can't an adult realize it?

At age 15, she began protesting outside the Swedish parliament about the need for immediate action to combat climate change and has since become an outspoken climate activist.

She is known for having initiated the school strike for climate movement that formed November 2018 and surged globally after the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December the same year. Her personal activism began in August 2018, when her recurring  and solitary School strike for the Climate, protesting outside the parliament in Stockholm, began attracting media attention coverage, even though Sweden had already enacted "the most ambitious climate law in the world"-to be carbon neutral by 2045. On March 15, 2019, an estimated 1.4 million students in 112 countries around the world joined her call in striking and protesting. A similar event involving students from 125 countries took place on May 24, 2019.

Now, if one 16 year old can do all that, where are the adults hiding?

Od pocz膮tku ludzko艣ci zabijali艣my si臋 nawzajem. Brat zabija swojego brata, Kaina i Able'a. Tak wi臋c trwa do tysi臋cy lat do dnia dzisiejszego. Teraz wszyscy mamy wsp贸lnego wroga, kt贸ry stworzyli艣my, klimat. Jednak co艣 innego, co stworzyli艣my, jest wa偶niejsze dla os贸b kontroluj膮cych ten 艣wiat, a to jest ZIELONE. Jest got贸w pozwoli膰 nam zniszczy膰 t臋 planet臋, na kt贸rej 偶yjemy, aby mie膰 wi臋cej pieni臋dzy. Powszechni ludzie tacy jak ty i ja mamy tylko „g艂osowanie” jako form臋 protestu przeciwko tej destrukcji, ale w ko艅cu i tak przegrywamy. Naukowcy ostrzegaj膮 nas przed niebezpiecze艅stwem tej zmiany klimatu od dziesi臋cioleci, 偶e trzeba dokona膰 zmian, ale niewiele zrobiono. Dla ka偶dego naukowca, kt贸ry o tym ostrzega艂, opozycja mia艂a dw贸ch, kt贸rzy ca艂kowicie temu zaprzeczyli. Wiele os贸b wybra艂o zaprzeczenie. Jednak dali 艣wiadectwo drastycznych zmian pogody na ca艂ym 艣wiecie. Wi臋cej tornad, huragan贸w, fal upa艂贸w, wy偶szych temperatur, susz, kr贸tszych lub wcale zimowych, nieurodzaju, wi臋kszej liczby chor贸b itp. I nadal zaprzeczaj膮 zmianom klimatu. Gospodarka jest dobra, a to ma znaczenie. Czy rodzice nie my艣l膮, jaki 艣wiat opuszczaj膮 swoim dzieciom i wnukom. Czy ten du偶y, nowy, spalaj膮cy gaz samoch贸d jest wa偶niejszy ni偶 ich w艂asne dzieci? Po prostu nie rozumiem tego rodzaju my艣lenia. Je艣li szwedzka, 16-letnia uczennica, Greta Thunberg, rozumie, 偶e jest to najwi臋ksza wojna, z kt贸r膮 si臋 borykamy, dlaczego doros艂y nie mo偶e sobie tego u艣wiadomi膰?

W wieku 15 lat zacz臋艂a protestowa膰 przed szwedzkim parlamentem o potrzebie natychmiastowego dzia艂ania na rzecz przeciwdzia艂ania zmianom klimatu i od tego czasu sta艂a si臋 aktywnym dzia艂aczem na rzecz klimatu.

Jest znana z zainicjowania strajku szkolnego na rzecz ruchu klimatycznego, kt贸ry uformowa艂 si臋 w listopadzie 2018 r. I wzr贸s艂 globalnie po Konferencji Narod贸w Zjednoczonych w sprawie zmian klimatu w grudniu tego samego roku. Jej osobisty aktywizm rozpocz膮艂 si臋 w sierpniu 2018 r., Kiedy to jej powtarzaj膮cy si臋 i samotny strajk szkolny na rzecz klimatu, protestuj膮cy przed parlamentem w Sztokholmie, zacz膮艂 przyci膮ga膰 uwag臋 medi贸w, mimo 偶e Szwecja wprowadzi艂a ju偶 „najbardziej ambitne prawo klimatyczne na 艣wiecie”. by膰 neutralnym pod wzgl臋dem emisji dwutlenku w臋gla do 2045 r. W dniu 15 marca 2019 r. szacunkowo 1,4 miliona student贸w w 112 krajach na ca艂ym 艣wiecie do艂膮czy艂o do niej w strajku i protestach. Podobne wydarzenie z udzia艂em student贸w ze 125 kraj贸w mia艂o miejsce 24 maja 2019 roku.

Teraz, je艣li jeden 16-latek mo偶e zrobi膰 to wszystko, gdzie ukrywaj膮 si臋 doro艣li?

Wednesday, June 05, 2019

Hot.

A high in Northern India of 50c(123F). Those poor people. Here it is 85F and too hot for us. Good, however, for drying the clothes. They dried in two hours in the sunshine.

Joan prepared the menu for next week; Cheeseburger w/salad, cobb salad, chicken w/basmati rice, 2 days of cold zucchini soup, pizza and avocado/tomato and walnut pasta salad. After that she writes down what to buy for each dinner. It's a good system we have established.

Zbyszek came over at 15:00 for ciasto and cold water to drink while we talked about different topics. We always solve the worlds problems but no one listens to us :-)

Wysoka w p贸艂nocnych Indiach 50c (123F). Ci biedni ludzie. Tutaj jest 85F i za gor膮co dla nas. Dobre jednak do suszenia ubra艅. Suszono w ci膮gu dw贸ch godzin w promieniach s艂o艅ca.

Joan przygotowa艂a menu na nast臋pny tydzie艅; Cheeseburger w / sa艂atka, sa艂atka cobb, kurczak w / ry偶 basmati, 2 dni zimnej zupy z cukinii, pizza i sa艂atka z makaronu z awokado / pomidora i orzecha w艂oskiego. Potem zapisuje, co kupi膰 za ka偶d膮 kolacj臋. To dobry system, kt贸ry ustalili艣my.

Zbyszek przyszed艂 o 15:00 na ciasto i zimn膮 wod臋 do picia, podczas gdy rozmawiali艣my o r贸偶nych tematach. Zawsze rozwi膮zujemy problemy 艣wiata, ale nikt nas nie s艂ucha :-)



Tuesday, June 04, 2019

Unique event.

According to the Rzeczpospolita newspaper, nationwide elections for Miss Polish Lesbian will take place in July at the Punto club in Pozna艅. Reason? They did not have enough lesbian participants. 20 women have volunteered to participate so far. They are to be assessed not only for their beauty, but also for activities for the LGBT + environment and for knowledge.

There are not many lesbian events of this type in the world. Meanwhile, the elections of the most handsome gay man are regularly held. They are not only local, but also global. This year Mr Gay World was Filipino. The Punto club in Pozna艅 has the organization of the election of Mr Gay Poland and Mr Gay Europe. The organizers' dream is to extend the Polish Miss Lesbian election to Europe.
Tuesday means meeting with Radek day. He lives only a 5 minute walk from our flat so it's very convenient and I enjoy the 2 hours we spend together. It usually starts off eating some kind of breakfast he has prepared while we talk about politics, travels, family, current events, etc. After 1 hour we change to Spanish and work through 1 or 2 lessons. I record the hour and then later that night or the next day I listen to it again and type notes into my laptop to review again.

At Radek's house today he told me about someone who just returned from China. He goes there every year ot two for business. He visits many of the bigger cities. He said he was very shocked to see that they now all have large, tall trees everywhere, there is less smog and many of the gas or diesel cars have been replaced by electric cars. It seems at least China has taken the danger to the environment seriously and is doing what it can to prevent further damage.

China has given more than 60,000 soldiers a new order: planting trees to create new forests.

According to Asia Times, a regiment of the People's Libration Army and China's armed police force have been removed from their posts in northern border areas. The task is part of efforts to tackle high levels of air pollution.

The project is a big one. China plans to grow 6.66 million hectares of new forest. having already created 33.8 million hectares (338,000 square kilometres) of forest in the past five years, says Zhang Jianlong, Head of the State Forestry Administration, in a report from Reuters. The country wants to increase the area of land covered by woodlands from 21.7% in 2006 to 23% by 2020, according to China Daily. 

Wed艂ug dziennika „Rzeczpospolita” og贸lnopolskie wybory na Miss Polish Lesbian odb臋d膮 si臋 w lipcu w pozna艅skim klubie Punto. Pow贸d? Nie mieli wystarczaj膮cej liczby lesbijek. Do tej pory zg艂osi艂o si臋 20 kobiet. Maj膮 by膰 oceniani nie tylko za ich pi臋kno, ale tak偶e za dzia艂ania na rzecz 艣rodowiska LGBT + i wiedzy.

Na 艣wiecie nie ma wielu tego typu imprez lesbijskich. Tymczasem regularnie odbywaj膮 si臋 wybory najprzystojniejszego geja. S膮 nie tylko lokalne, ale tak偶e globalne. W tym roku pan Gay World by艂 Filipinem. Pozna艅ski klub Punto organizuje wybory pana Gay Polska i pana Gay Europe. Marzeniem organizator贸w jest rozszerzenie wybor贸w polskiej Miss Lesbijek do Europy.

Wtorek oznacza spotkanie z dniem Radka. Mieszka zaledwie 5 minut spacerem od naszego mieszkania, wi臋c jest bardzo wygodne i ciesz臋 si臋 z 2 godzin sp臋dzonych razem. Zwykle zaczyna si臋 od zjedzenia pewnego rodzaju 艣niadania, kt贸re przygotowa艂, gdy rozmawiamy o polityce, podr贸偶ach, rodzinie, bie偶膮cych wydarzeniach itp. Po 1 godzinie zmieniamy j臋zyk na hiszpa艅ski i pracujemy przez 1 lub 2 lekcje. Nagrywam godzin臋, a p贸藕niej tej nocy lub nast臋pnego dnia s艂ucham jej ponownie i wpisuj臋 notatki do mojego laptopa, aby ponownie przejrze膰.

W domu Radka powiedzia艂 mi dzisiaj o kim艣, kto w艂a艣nie wr贸ci艂 z Chin. Je藕dzi tam co roku po dwa w interesach. Odwiedza wiele wi臋kszych miast. Powiedzia艂, 偶e by艂 bardzo zszokowany, widz膮c, 偶e teraz wszyscy maj膮 du偶e, wysokie drzewa wsz臋dzie, jest mniej smogu, a wiele samochod贸w z gazem lub dieslem zast膮piono samochodami elektrycznymi. Wydaje si臋, 偶e przynajmniej Chiny powa偶nie potraktowa艂y zagro偶enie dla 艣rodowiska i robi膮, co mog膮, aby zapobiec dalszym szkodom.

Chiny da艂y ponad 60 000 偶o艂nierzom nowy porz膮dek: sadzenie drzew w celu tworzenia nowych las贸w.

Wed艂ug Asia Times, pu艂k Ludowej Armii Wyzwolenia i uzbrojone si艂y policyjne Chin zosta艂y usuni臋te ze stanowisk na p贸艂nocnych obszarach przygranicznych. Zadanie to jest cz臋艣ci膮 wysi艂k贸w na rzecz rozwi膮zania problemu wysokiego poziomu zanieczyszczenia powietrza.

Projekt jest du偶y. Chiny planuj膮 w tym roku wynie艣膰 6,66 miliona hektar贸w nowego lasu, poniewa偶 w ci膮gu ostatnich pi臋ciu lat stworzy艂y ju偶 33,8 miliona hektar贸w (338 000 kilometr贸w kwadratowych) las贸w, m贸wi raport Reutera Zhang Jianlong, szef Pa艅stwowej Administracji Le艣nej. Kraj chce zwi臋kszy膰 obszar grunt贸w obj臋tych lasami z 21,7% w 2016 r. Do 23% do 2020 r., Wed艂ug China Daily.

Monday, June 03, 2019

Psalm 190:8

An 84F, sunny day today with nothing much special to do We stayed home all day, avoided watching TV because it was full of the visit of Trump to Great Britain. Recently I read Psalm 190:8 ,,"May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership." They have not been few enough, in my opinion.

I thought about cleaning the windows but then had a problem with my software for downloading pictures from my camera to my laptop. After an hour trying different fixes, I just deleted the program and reinstalled it. That took care of the problem. The software was PlayMemoriesHome.

Dzisiejszy s艂oneczny dzie艅 o temperaturze 84 ° C nie ma nic szczeg贸lnego do roboty Pozostali艣my w domu ca艂y dzie艅, unikali艣my ogl膮dania telewizji, poniewa偶 by艂a ona pe艂na wizyty Trumpa w Wielkiej Brytanii. Ostatnio przeczyta艂em Psalm 190: 8, „Niech jego dni b臋d膮 ma艂o; niech inny zajmie jego miejsce przyw贸dztwa”. Moim zdaniem nie by艂y one wystarczaj膮ce.


My艣la艂em o czyszczeniu okien, ale mia艂em problem z oprogramowaniem do pobierania zdj臋膰 z aparatu do laptopa. Po godzinie pr贸bowania r贸偶nych poprawek po prostu usun膮艂em program i ponownie go zainstalowa艂em. To zaj臋艂o si臋 problemem. Oprogramowanie to PlayMemoriesHome.

Sunday, June 02, 2019

S.W. Marcin

Another beautiful day not to be wasted sitting inside so I took my Queen for a coffee in front of Empik, one of our favorite people watching places. I didn't know that on Plac Walnosci they were setting up a sound stage and people viewing was limited. It didn't really matter that much. The main thing is we were out of the flat and enjoying the great weather. In my opinion, they have good coffee at a reasonable price, 10 PLN for 2 cups. It was the same saleswoman behind the counter from last year and she remembered me. That was nice.

We sat and talked for 2 hours and then decided to walk to S,W Marcin street to what it looks like now. It is the main street through town and used to be full of traffic but not many pedestrians. It is completely different now. Cars are very limited and in place of much of the road are very wide walkways and places to sit on both sides. There is also a bicycle path. I did notice on the south side, several shops still do not have businesses in them. In general, the idea for the change was to bring more people shop in the center of town. I think they should have thought of that before they opened the newest shopping center, Posnania.

Kolejny pi臋kny dzie艅, kt贸rego nie mo偶na zmarnowa膰 siedz膮c w 艣rodku, wi臋c zabra艂em moj膮 kr贸low膮 na kaw臋 przed Empik, jednym z naszych ulubionych ludzi ogl膮daj膮cych miejsca. Nie wiedzia艂em, 偶e na Placu Walnosci urz膮dzaj膮 scen臋 d藕wi臋kow膮, a ogl膮danie ludzi jest ograniczone. To nie mia艂o wi臋kszego znaczenia. Najwa偶niejsze, 偶e wyszli艣my z mieszkania i cieszyli艣my si臋 wspania艂膮 pogod膮. Moim zdaniem maj膮 dobr膮 kaw臋 w rozs膮dnej cenie, 10 z艂 za 2 kubki. By艂a to ta sama sprzedawczyni za lad膮 z zesz艂ego roku i pami臋ta艂a mnie. To by艂o 艂adne.

Siedzieli艣my i rozmawiali艣my przez 2 godziny, a nast臋pnie zdecydowali艣my si臋 przej艣膰 do ulicy S, W Marcin, jak wygl膮da teraz. Jest to g艂贸wna ulica przez miasto, niegdy艣 pe艂na ruchu, ale nie wielu pieszych. Teraz jest zupe艂nie inaczej. Samochody s膮 bardzo ograniczone i zamiast du偶ej cz臋艣ci drogi s膮 bardzo szerokie chodniki i miejsca do siedzenia po obu stronach. Istnieje r贸wnie偶 艣cie偶ka rowerowa. Zauwa偶y艂em po stronie po艂udniowej, 偶e kilka sklep贸w nadal nie ma w nich firm. Og贸lnie rzecz bior膮c, pomys艂 na zmian臋 polega艂 na wprowadzeniu wi臋kszej liczby ludzi do sklepu w centrum miasta. My艣l臋, 偶e powinni byli o tym pomy艣le膰, zanim otworzyli najnowsze centrum handlowe Posnania.

Saturday, June 01, 2019

I learned something.......

Yes, I did, about my digital camera. Controlling light in pictures has always been a problem for me, whether it is too light or too dark. My camera, Sony A6000, is intelligent enough to do that but there are so many settings available I could not understand how to do it.

Yesterday on FB, I watched a video from a professional photographer who explained in simple terms how to do it.  I tried it last night in the flat and it worked but I wanted to test it in a better place like an old, dark, wooden church you find in villages.

By using the Aperture Priority and then from there to Exposure Compensation, I can add or subtract lighting to my pictures now. It worked very well on the pictures I used it on, mainly stained glass windows but also inside the church.

It was a nice day out side so we decided to take a ride in the countryside to search for a wooden church not too far away.

First we stopped at Petit Paris for coffee and I have to say their service has become very slow. It took 20 minutes just to get a cup of coffee.

We started out driving northwest to Z艂otniki first, then to Z艂otkowo and finally in Chludowo I found the church I was looking for. Fortunately it was open and I was able to go in and take pictures using my new techniques for lighting.  I should have taken a tri-pod for some of the shots but I didn't think of it.It would have reduced the blurriness of 2 of the pictures. Back at home I showed Joan the pictures on our TV screen and she was amazed of the difference in the lighting now.

Tak, zrobi艂em to w sprawie mojego aparatu cyfrowego. Kontrolowanie 艣wiat艂a na zdj臋ciach zawsze by艂o dla mnie problemem, niezale偶nie od tego, czy jest zbyt jasny, czy zbyt ciemny. M贸j aparat, Sony A6000, jest na tyle inteligentny, aby to zrobi膰, ale dost臋pnych jest tak wiele ustawie艅, 偶e nie mog艂em zrozumie膰, jak to zrobi膰.

Wczoraj na FB obejrza艂em film od profesjonalnego fotografa, kt贸ry w prosty spos贸b wyja艣ni艂, jak to zrobi膰. Pr贸bowa艂em tego ostatniego wieczoru w mieszkaniu i dzia艂a艂o, ale chcia艂em przetestowa膰 go w lepszym miejscu, jak stary, ciemny, drewniany ko艣ci贸艂, kt贸ry mo偶na znale藕膰 w wioskach.

Korzystaj膮c z priorytetu przys艂ony, a nast臋pnie z kompensacji ekspozycji, mog臋 teraz dodawa膰 lub odejmowa膰 o艣wietlenie do moich zdj臋膰. Dzia艂a艂o bardzo dobrze na zdj臋ciach, na kt贸rych go u偶ywa艂em, g艂贸wnie na witra偶ach, ale tak偶e wewn膮trz ko艣cio艂a.

To by艂 mi艂y dzie艅 na zewn膮trz, wi臋c postanowili艣my pojecha膰 na wie艣, aby znale藕膰 drewniany ko艣ci贸艂 nie za daleko.

Najpierw zatrzymali艣my si臋 w Petit Paris na kaw臋 i musz臋 powiedzie膰, 偶e ich obs艂uga sta艂a si臋 bardzo powolna. Wystarczy艂o 20 minut, 偶eby dosta膰 fili偶ank臋 kawy.

Zacz臋li艣my jecha膰 na p贸艂nocny zach贸d, najpierw do Z艂otnik, potem do Z艂otkowa i wreszcie do Chludowa znalaz艂em ko艣ci贸艂, kt贸rego szuka艂em. Na szcz臋艣cie by艂o otwarte i mog艂em wej艣膰 i robi膰 zdj臋cia przy u偶yciu nowych technik o艣wietleniowych. Powinienem by艂 wzi膮膰 tr贸jk臋 na kilka strza艂贸w, ale nie pomy艣la艂em o tym. Zmniejszy艂oby to rozmazanie 2 zdj臋膰. Po powrocie do domu pokaza艂em Joan zdj臋cia na ekranie telewizora, a teraz by艂a zdumiona r贸偶nic膮 w o艣wietleniu.