Ukraine

 Russia may be preparing a new offensive against northern Ukraine, including the Chernihiv region and the capital Kyiv, potentially with deeper involvement from Belarus, President Volodymyr Zelensky said May 20.

The warning reflects growing concerns in Kyiv that Moscow could seek to open a new front north of the capital while involving Belarus — Russia's close ally bordering Ukraine to the north — more directly in the war.

"Together with our military leadership, intelligence services, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we discussed in detail the latest developments along the Belarus-Bryansk region direction," Zelensky said in his evening address.

"It is precisely from there that the Russians are considering scenarios for additional attacks against Ukraine – targeting our northern regions, our Chernihiv-Kyiv direction."

Zelensky said Ukraine had already issued military orders to strengthen defenses in the region and was taking broader preventive measures.

"Of course, we are already working to strengthen our defenses in this area. Relevant instructions have been issued to the military command, but separately, we are also taking preventive steps regarding both Belarus and designated parts of Russia from which the threat originates," he said.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on May 20 that if Russia uses nuclear weapons against Ukraine, the reaction from NATO will be "devastating".

Russia and Belarus have begun joint nuclear weapons drills amid what Moscow described as the "threat of aggression," the Russian Defense Ministry said on May 19.

The drills, scheduled to run through May 21, involve Russia's Strategic Missile Forces, the Northern and Pacific fleets, long-range aviation command, and units from the Leningrad and Central military districts, the ministry said.

The exercises have added significance as they come amid growing warnings from Kyiv that Russia is trying to draw Belarus deeper into its war against Ukraine, while also expanding military infrastructure that could support future Russian operations against Ukraine or NATO's eastern flank.

Rutte was asked by journalists at a pre-ministerial press conference at the Foreign Ministers Meeting of NATO about the possibility of a Russian nuclear strike.

"Well, (Russia) knows if that happens, the reaction is devastating," Rutte said, adding that NATO was monitoring the exercises closely.

The exercises include preparations for the use of nuclear forces and launches of ballistic and cruise missiles at test ranges within Russia, according to the ministry.Source-Kyiv Independent

Niepruszewo Palace

Years ago, in 2007, I was so enamored of the Palaces in Poland that I actually bought a book listing all of them in the Wielkopolska region where we live. It is Dwory i Palace Wiejskie w Wielkopolsce(Manors and Country Palaces in Greater Poland). It was written by Senator Marcin Libicki and Piovillagetr Libicki. It is an alphabetical listing of over 965 structures in villages, towns, and cities. I used it to make a list of every one of them within a two-hour drive from Poznan. So far, we have visited 58 of them.

Now, not all of the 965 are in very good condition. In fact, maybe 15 to 20% are, but the ones that remain standing or abandoned still are incredible. There was one we saw in 2008 that stuck in my mind, and someday I wanted to go see it again. It was boarded up, windows broken, grass growing everywhere, and vines crawling over the walls. It is in the village of Niepruszewo near the town of Buk.

It came back into my mind on Monday, so I planned to go there during my three-hour break yesterday. It is only a 25 km drive from our flat, going east. The road is in good condition; it was a sunny day, so I had no reason not to go. It was a pleasant drive; the rapeseed fields were shining brightly because of the sun, so that was a bonus.

When I arrived, I couldn't remember exactly where it was, so I stopped in a relatively new park by the lake when I saw a woman sitting there with her child. I figured she must be a local resident and could probably tell me where the old Palace was. As I approached her, another man was also approaching her with some bags in his hand, so I thought they must know each other. The man looked at me, and I told him in my best Polish language I was looking for the old Palace. He smiled, and then he told me it was not an old Palace anymore. He said some multi-millionaire had bought it some years ago and now it was completely restored and a private residence. He said just go up to the stoplight, turn left, and then turn left again. Not far from there, you will see it on the left-hand side; you cannot miss it.

I followed his instructions, and when I saw the palace, I thought it was fantastic. The owner had completely renovated the old Palace, and installed all new fences. Using the old post posts, but now covered with new material and new paint, the grounds surrounding the palace were finely manicured and the trees had all grown up. It was a beautiful location because at the back of the palace where the patio was, there was a clear view of the lake. I tried to take some pictures, but my lens would not let me get very close to the Palace and there were trees in the way, so I didn't get many good pictures. I think the only way you can get a picture would be from the back of the palace if you were on a boat in the lake.

I was filled with joy that someone had rescued that beautiful structure and actually put it back to its condition from many, many years ago. I have no idea who the owner is, and it really doesn't matter. All that matters is that he rescued some history of the past and was wealthy enough to restore the palace to a beautiful place. Since I didn't have any reason to keep trying to get pictures, I started the trip back home.

It's just sad that so many of these historical palaces or manor houses are not being restored, and they just continue to decay.

A little joy.

Tonight we had the pleasure of a visit from a young man I helped improve his English when he was still in high school. His name is Max, and along with his brother and sister, I was lucky enough to be part of their growing up. Now, after spending ten year out of Poland and in the United States he has returned home. His English is excellent. In six months he will be 30 years old.  It's things like that, that brings joy into my life.

When Joan had professional physical therapists to help her recover from strokes and seizures, I made videos of what they were doing with her. I have been watching them for the last two days, writing down how different exercises were done. The reason is that she is getting weaker, and it's partly do to dementia, but also because she does no exercising. I can't let that go on.

So, yesterday, I started slowly with 4 easy exercises. They were easy enough that she did not resist. My plan is to build on them each day until the results are visible. They are mainly for balance, leg strength, and getting out of her chair. 

 

To do or not to do.

Today, I am contemplating taking back the duty of giving Joan her showers and washing her hair myself.

I did hire someone to come and do that. It was becoming a little difficult for me because of the confinement of getting Joan into the shower area. However, now that I have installed permanent handles for her to hold on to, I think I can do it by myself. Tomorrow will be the test of that when I give her a shower. The lady who has been coming has been doing a good job, so it has nothing to do with her capabilities.

I think basically it comes to a financial reason. If I can do that successfully, it will save us money each month, which naturally will go for either bills or food.

She was supposed to come today, but at the last minute she called to say that she couldn't do it today because of some emergency.

Actually, it turned out to be a good thing because I slept until 12:30 p.m. I know I have to start going to bed earlier than I have been, but at night, when Joan is in bed, it's the main free time I have to get other things accomplished, like my digital archive.

That is taking far more time than I ever expected to spend on it. I do want to get it finished within the next couple of weeks because, honestly, I'm getting tired of putting it all together.

One good thing about it is that I am recalling things from the past that I haven't thought about since they happened, and not necessarily all bad things. So, I guess you could say that's the bright side of doing this archive. The one thing I'm grateful for is that it refreshed my memory about how the physical therapist was working with Joan when he came 5 days a week.

Because I made videos of what he was doing with Joan, it will be easier for me to reproduce them. I have to get Joan back into some type of exercise routine. I see her getting weaker, maybe not week after week but certainly month after month, heading in the wrong direction. I can't let that happen.

Museum of Instruments

I took advantage of my 3-hour break today and did something I wanted to do for a long time.

Several years ago, in fact, probably more than several years ago, I visited the museum of musical instruments. The last time I was there, it was interesting, but all of the interior floors, of which there were four, looked very old. So, I wanted to see if anything had changed since that time. To my delight, the interior is completely renovated and in excellent condition. The range of instruments is quite wide. They are not only instruments from Poland.

It should almost be named the International Museum of Instruments, because I saw instruments from Korea, India, France, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, Bulgaria, and Romania. Each floor has a series of three or four rooms with various types of instruments. Many of the instruments I have never seen before. On one of the floors, there is a room dedicated to a Polish person who collected pianos and pianofortes of all different styles. It even had one of the first player pianos. You know, the kind where you just push the pedals with your feet, and there's a roll of some type of paper that activates the individual sounds without even playing the instrument with your hands.

I stayed for about an hour and a half, walking from one floor to the next. Each floor is connected by a long staircase.

It was a cloudy, gray day, and it looked like it could rain at any minute. When I was done looking at all the floors available, it's notable to mention that each floor has beautiful parquet flooring.

The general admission price is 15 PLN for general admission, or 10 PLN for senior citizens. Of course, I took advantage of that and paid $10. It should be noted that on Tuesdays, admission is free.

European Army? It's about time!

Spain has called on European Union countries to create a unified EU army amid growing concerns about Europe’s security and uncertainty over future US support for NATO. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said Europe can no longer depend entirely on Washington for protection.

“We can’t wake up every morning and wonder what the U.S. will do next,” Albares said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. He argued that Europe must strengthen its own military capabilities and build a common defense system to respond to threats from Russia and other countries.

Albares stressed that a European army should not replace NATO, but instead strengthen Europe’s ability to defend itself if American support weakens. “If NATO no longer provides the degree of defense it used to, then Europeans must do more themselves,” he said.

The comments come amid growing tensions between Europe and the administration of Donald Trump. Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO allies, questioned US commitments to the alliance, and suggested reducing the American military presence in Europe.

Spain has also become one of the strongest European critics of US policy in the Middle East. Madrid recently refused to allow American warplanes to use Spanish bases for operations linked to Iran, increasing tensions between Washington and the Spanish government.

Losing music.

It's Tuesday, and Paige arrived at 11:00, as usual. Another 3-hour break for Joan from me, and for me it's shopping day. Since I switched my time to 11:30 for shopping, I no longer have to wake up at 6:30 in the morning.

My shopping is a quick event, never longer than 1 hour. Everything is planned out the night before, the man who's made, the shopping list completed, printed, and in my pocket. Because of the time, the traffic is not bad, and I can get to the store within 15 minutes. Inside the store, I know it well enough to know exactly where everything is. So, at the most, I usually spend 45 minutes shopping. Today's cost of the food for next week was $52. I'm trying desperately not to go above $55.

When I returned home, Joan and Paige were watching another episode of Breaking Bad. It's an old series now, but with Jones dementia, it's like watching each episode for the first time.

After Paige left, on YouTube, I put one of the many videos of Just scenery with music and sat down to watch a little office. The music in the background was Christmas music, playing Christmas carols that Jonan and I have heard all of our lives. However, now, Joan cannot remember their names. It's just another portion of her memory that has disappeared.

Poland's Defense Minister publicly invited the United States to relocate troops currently stationed in Germany to Poland. Poland and Lithuania are actively lobbying Washington to make this shift.

If it happens, Poland would host the largest permanent US military presence in Europe — a significant strategic shift for NATO's eastern flank. Poland already hosts thousands of US troops on a rotational basis.

The push comes as Poland accelerates its own military buildup, spending a record $48 billion on defense in 2026 and training 400,000 soldiers this year alone.

Did you know Poland is positioning itself as the anchor of NATO's eastern defense? 

Dreams

With chapter 7 of my digital archive done, I'm moving on to chapter 8, which is all about Joan's

 stroke in Spain in 2020. It's a little difficult to rehash that story because it brings back a lot of miserable times for both of us. Nonetheless, it is a major part of our 19 years living in Poland. So, I feel it's necessary to put that chapter into the archive.

As I was writing it, or should I say, recalling it, because it is all documented previously when it was actually happening. Much of it is copy and paste, followed by a check to ensure everything is correct. That event occurred just as COVID-19 was starting.

One of my dreams during that time that I absolutely don't remember was very strange.

During a short sleep, I had a strange dream.

I was at home, getting ready to make dinner, but the kitchen had an island with a large tablecloth hanging over both sides. I turned on the burners and placed meat, potatoes, and vegetables directly on them, no pans. When I realized what I had done, I started taking them off.

Then I heard my cousin Harry talking to me. He has been dead for three years. I looked under the island and saw him crouching there. As he came out, his brother Don walked in and started cooking his own food on the stove. I asked him if he didn’t see mine, and he said no.

I said, “Fine, I’ll just take Joan and go out to eat.”

Harry said, “You can’t. Joan is in the hospital, and we can’t leave because of the virus.”

Even in my dreams, this virus is there.

Now, that was a strange dream.

Rzepak

At this time of the year, we like to go north of Poznan about 15-20 km to view the yellow fields of rzepak. It is really a magnificent site to see and smell the sweet aroma emitting from the flowers. Our favorite is to rive between two fields, turn off the car, and then sit and smell the air. It's like liquified honey flowing within the wind. Beautiful. That is what we did today. It was our only plan for the day.

It’s widely grown in countries like Poland and has a few key uses:

• 🌼 Oil production – its seeds are used to make rapeseed oil (often called canola oil when specially bred), commonly used for cooking
• 🐄 Animal feed – leftover seed material (meal) is used as livestock feed
• ⛽ Biofuel – it’s also used to produce biodiesel

In spring, fields of rzepak are easy to recognize because they turn a vivid yellow when the plant is in bloom.

If you’ve seen large yellow fields around Poland in April–May, that’s almost certainly rzepak.

Karolina & Ukraine

Karolina did her thing with Joan, shower and hair washing. Then she got her dressed and painted her nails a light purple.

I had only one thing to do outside so I stopped at Cafe Lokum, had a Latte and a hazel nut muffin. It was good, but not as goos as a cinnamon one. 

Joan was involved watching old Steven Colbert shows, so I worked on learning the Win 11 browser system. It's not difficult, just takes time to get orientated.

Meanwhile, Ukraine.

The Kremlin has reportedly begun preparing Russians for the possibility that the war in Ukraine could end without the sweeping victory once promised by Moscow.

Independent Russian outlet The Moscow Times, citing the Dossier Center, said officials inside the Russian presidential administration are developing a new set of propaganda narratives aimed at presenting a potential peace agreement with Ukraine as a “victory” despite heavy losses and the lack of major strategic gains after more than four years of war.

The effort reportedly follows growing concern inside the Kremlin over the state of Russia’s economy and the battlefield situation.

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree excluding Moscow’s Red Square from Ukraine’s target list during the Victory Day parade. The move is framed as a humanitarian step linked to ongoing negotiations, including a prisoner exchange and temporary ceasefire. The decision highlights Ukraine’s prioritization of diplomatic and humanitarian considerations amid the war.

Shopping Day

Okay, it's Tuesday, and you know what that means. It's food shopping day. I didn't get up at 6:30 this morning. Instead, I waited until Paige came here to sit with Joan, and then I went shopping at 11:00. And at 11:00, there were always more people shopping than at 6:30 a.m.. I prefer the list people; however, I also prefer sleeping past 6:30 in the morning when it's possible. 

These last two days, I've slept more consistently than I had for the last 3 months. By that, I mean I have slept 10 or 11 hours without waking up. That's very unusual for me. This morning I woke up after having slept only 5 hours. I don't know why. I had my clock alarm set for 9:30, but at 6:30 I'm just automatically woke up. Maybe my brain has been trained after all of these months to wake up automatically at 6:30. How my brain knows when it's 6:30 is beyond me.

So, getting back to the food shopping, the cost for today was 211 PLN. That is about normal in this year 2026 with high inflation, greedy companies wanting to make more money, and the general population can do nothing to bring the prices down. Basically, we're screwed.

Joan had a good time with Paige today. They get along very well, and although Joan hates waking up early, for her, anything before 9:00 is early. She's falling into the habit of going to bed between 8:30 and 9:30 in the evening, always commenting that she has to get enough rest before work tomorrow. It's useless for me to keep reminding her that she hasn't worked in 19 years. The only thing it does is cause friction between the two of us, and we both can do without that. I just don't know how to get her brain to let go of the idea that she still works. I suggested to her that we go see a psychologist, and maybe she can help Joan. But like exercising, she just doesn't want to do it. I cannot force her.

A day in life.

Another heavy sleeping day. I woke up at 9:30, put my head down for five minutes, and when I awoke it was 2:30 in the afternoon. I think my body is trying to tell me something. I need to stop staying up until 2-3 AM every night. It's the only time I can get accomplished on my laptop without being needed by Joan.

I put together a pasta, blue cheese, Parmesan cheese, heavy cream, walnuts, and sunflower seed dish for dinner tonight. It turned out editable.

It was another warm day, 80 F, but we stayed at home all day. 

Good weather

It was 79 F yesterday and 87 F today, and it's only May 3rd. Wonder how the summer will be? Me too,

Yesterday it was nice enough to sit in the park and take a few pictures. We sat for a while and watched the people walk by, ride by on bicycles, and a few being pushed in wheelchairs. It was just too nice to stay indoors.

When we did finally return home, it was time to make dinner. Last night, we had gazpacho soup with a really nice bread.

I went to bed, and for the first time in ages, I slept for ten hours without a break. Joan went to bed earlier, so she slept for 15 hours. She is getting more and more like Rip Van Winkle. I suppose it's mainly the dementia.

Today, we had 3 choices to choose from. Solacki Park, Citadella Park, or the Botanical Gardens.

We decided we would think about it over a cup of coffee at Cafe Lokum.

With the good weather, most of the outdoor cafes are open. Lokum has many tables outdoors, and their prices are lower than Sowas or Kandulkis. We love their cinnamon buns, and the coffee is acceptable. Two buns and two Lattes cost 48 PLN. The other two places charge around 60 PLN.

Ukraine & Hungary

 The European Union is set to disburse the first €45 billion ($52.9 billion) installment of its €90 billion ($106 billion) loan to Ukraine within the current quarter, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced during a speech at the European Parliament.

The 2026 funding is split between macrofinancial aid and military support, with one-third allocated to cover Ukraine’s budgetary needs and two-thirds dedicated to defense. The first military package, worth approximately €6 billion ($7.05 billion), will be used to procure drones “from Ukraine, for Ukraine.”

“Our message is clear: we will continue our support to the brave Ukrainian people and their armed forces,” von der Leyen stated, noting that the EU is “doubling down” on its support as Russia intensifies its aggression. 

 Incoming Hungarian leader Peter Magyar met EU chiefs Wednesday on his first visit to Brussels since his election win, looking to turn the page on the bad blood of nationalist Viktor Orbán’s tenure.

EU leaders feted his victory this month, which ended Kremlin-friendly Orbán’s 16 years in power, and before even taking office Magyar has sought to kickstart a new era of cooperation with Brussels that he hopes will unlock billions of euros for Budapest.

Magyar said in a video posted online that he was “very optimistic and hopeful” ahead of talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He hoped to agree a deal by late May on how to free up some €10 billion ($11.6 billion) in frozen COVID-19 recovery funds, he added.Advertisement

Funeral

Today was the day, cousin Krzysztof Wisniewski joined his mother and father in Milostowo Cemetery. He was cremated and put into the same grave. It is not an unusual custom here in Poland.

I woke up at 7:30 to shave and get dressed in my black suit, then woke Joan. Paige was coming to sit with her while I attended the funeral at 10 AM.

It has been years since I was in that cemetery, and I wasn't sure where exactly to go. I believe it is one of the two largest cemeteries in Poznan.

 Fortunately, I arrived just after several of my cousins were there in the parking lot.

I went to one of the flower shops at the entrance and bought a lovely bouquet to place on the grave. As I was purchasing them, I heard someone call my name, and I turned around. My cousin Ania was standing there to greet me. It was wonderful seeing her again. She was there with her father, mother, sister, niece, and nephew. Also, cousin Marcelina was there with her husband and two daughters. Cousin Grazyna was there from Golina, and cousin Anna from Konin was also there with her son.

We walked to the chapel for a short prayer session where cousin Malgorzata, her husband, and daughter.

When it was over, we followed the priest in a procession to the grave site. Cousin Maciej, his wife, Wioletta, and their daughter, Jagoda, were there.

The service only lasted about 15 minutes, all the bouquets were laid on the grave, and then people dispersed or stayed to talk with each other.

I was very happy that I was able to attend.

82

 I thought I would be dead at 35. Today, I am 82. I am happy I was wrong.

Not upset.

I slept in today until 11:00. Joan was awake already, and just waiting for me to wake up.

For breakfast, I made French toast with blueberry syrup. Something new I learned. How to make blueberry syrup. Next, I have to learn about maple syrup because I haven't found it in any store.

I worked on my project in the morning and in the afternoon we were surprised to see a meeting on YouTube with Rick Steves. He is an avid proponent of video travel guides and books. His whole speech was about the disaster facing the U.S. because of the Trumpican Party. It used to be the Republican Party.

Well, enough about politics. I had a reader who said she followed my blog for years just to keep up on our life in Poland. However, when I started writing about the disaster in the U.S., she said she was done reading my blog because of that. Sorry, folks. I may live in Poland now, but I am still an American and won't stay quiet while democracy is being destroyed.

Chapter 7 begins.

Because we had more than 23 travels in Europe between 2010-2026, it isn't possible to tell about all to tell about all of them. I only wrote about 23, the most interesting ones.

At last, Radek has returned from his trip to Nepal. He wasn't able to come to our flat today, so Paige came to sit with Joan while I went to his house.

The whole first hour, he told me about his trip to Nepal and Bhutan. He and Alina were part of 11 people who had booked a tour with a tour guide. However, they had also booked 4 days in Katmandu before the tour started, and 4 days in Katmandu after the tour was over. He said he was glad they did. While the tour and tour guide were very interesting, being a tour it was rather rushed, and there was always a schedule to uphold. They preferred to be able to explore a new country on their own and not feel like they were rushed all of the time.

I can understand that. Whenever Joan and I go anywhere, we do it on our own, we plan our trip, and we do it not so much on a schedule. If we feel we need more time to see something, it's always our option to take a longer time. I learned a long time ago, the clock is not always your friend.

For the second hour, we went back to our Spanish lesson, but since we are at the end of the book, we decided not to start on the advanced Spanish book. Instead, we're going to go back to the beginning of the first book and use it as a review until we finish it the second time. I think that's a good idea because I am sure there are many things I don't remember, and maybe a few that he doesn't.

 

Chapter 6

Finally, I completed chapter 6 of my digital archive project. I could have made it larger, but already, I have 47 pages and I think that's more than enough for one chapter. Even then, it doesn't cover every trip we've made in Poland. That's what the chapters are about, some of the trips we've made around Poland in the 19 years that we've lived here. The next chapter, chapter 7, will be called " Travels in Europe". I expect that chapter to be even bigger.

There's just so much to say about the traveling we've done since we've been here to many different countries, to many different cities, villages, towns, and other places of interest.

Joan has not been doing well lately. She gets very agitated when there are people, or a person, standing behind her. She almost gets to the point of being angry about it. It doesn't matter what I say or do, I just can't get her out of that phase. It's very frustrating. I hate this credit dementia. It's taking a toll on both of us.

Meanwhile, Ukraine.

Spain will provide Ukraine with 100 VAMTAC armored tactical vehicles and 155-millimeter artillery ammunition, with shipments beginning in May, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported.
During a visit to Kyiv on Wednesday, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles confirmed the donation to President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying the donation reflects Madrid’s continued commitment to supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Following the visit, she met with Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who thanked Spain for its decision to allocate €1 billion ($1.152 billion) in military aid in 2026 and discussed how the funds could be used efficiently in accordance with Ukraine’s priorities.Source-Kyiv Post

Tuesday shopping.

Food shopping day for the week. I set a new record for myself today: total shopping time was under 30 minutes. That was mainly because I only had to shop for 4 days. I had three menus from last week that I did not fulfill, so I was able to use them for this week, and I already had all of the ingredients. So, the total cost for the week was $38, which is the lowest it's been in the last 2 years.

Page came today to sit with John while I did the shopping, and it gave me a chance to sit in the park for about an hour and listen to an audiobook of Big Sur, written by Jack Kerouac. I read that book twice in recent years, and it was nice to listen to someone else read it. I don't know if one listens more intently and absorbs more by listening to an audiobook than they do by reading the book.

So, my next audiobook will be Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving. This book I have read at least three times since my love affair with the Alhambra began when I was 19 years old. At that time, it was not a popular tourist destination and went, and one could easily access it. The architecture of the Arabic inscriptions on the walls is really incredible. Just looking at it in pictures doesn't give it justice. You really have to see it. However, now that it is so popular, you have to make a reservation 3 months in advance. Times have changed!

On my project of making a digital archive of Our Last 19 years in Poland, I am about 3/4 of the way finished with chapter 6. Chapter 6 is entitled trips in Poland. When I finish that, my next chapter will be Travels in Europe.

AI

73 F today. The trees are exploding with green leaves, the forsythias are in their brightest yellow, the dandelions are blossoming everywhere and Spring is definitely here. At last! It was just too nice of a day to stay inside.

I put Joan into the car, took her to Cafe Lokum or a cinnamon bun and coffee, and then I went across town, going northeast toward Napachania. It's funny because I'm using this voice dictation method for writing this blog, and when I say the name of the village Napachania, the Voice picks it up and spells it like Napa Honda. I think the AI program doing this voice collection is not earned enough yet about foreign names or foreign city or villages. That's why you have to be careful with it and read everything it prints because sometimes there are mistakes.

Okay, I can see a new paragraph, and it did jump to start this paragraph.

AI. Now that's an interesting topic for discussion. Some people love it, some people hate it, some people know very little about it. For myself, I find it useful to some degree. For example, in giving myself the project of making a digital archive of Our Last 20 years in Poland, it can be helpful. Now there's evidence right here in the last sentence of its mistake. Look at the last sentence. There is no reason why our last wasn't cap, was capitalized the first time I said it, but now the second time it's in proper lowercase, our last.

What I've done in my project, first I gave it explicit guidelines on what to do with things like the font size, define style, when to start a paragraph. It usually follows my direction, however, at times it tries to rewrite what I wrote according to its own process. So, in that case, I have to go back and tell it again "follow the directions I gave you". Sometimes, it takes two or three tries to get it corrected. When it does correct it I tell it to lock that rule in place, so it doesn't happen again.

So, after we had our cinnamon bun and coffee the direction I was going to go was to the Village of napahanya. Okay, AI, you just made another mistake spelling The Village name.

Because I know now that there has been a new owner of the palace in that place, I was interested to see if any work had been done, any new work. I wasn't surprised when I saw there has been no change since the last time we looked at that Palace Maybe 8 or 9 months ago.

If you're reading this blog and see mistakes, they are all being made by AI, not by me.

Hello 11

I made the plunge today into Windows 11. Right now I am waiting for it to finish loading the system. Then I have to start adding the additional software programs that I use.  I'm not used to a 15.6 screen and keyboard so that will be another adjustment to make. I'm at 35% so far.

I received sad news from cousin Andrzej that another cousin here in Poland has died early this morning. His name was Krzysztof, and he was 74 years old. It's been a few years since I saw him last. He was from my Kazmierczak bloodline. 8 cousins have left since we first arrived. 

Project

I swear, this digital archive is taking a lot of time. I'm only half-way through chapter 5 with ten more chapters already structured. I hope it's worth the effort.

Missing Radek.

Unfortunately, although he is back from Nepal, our schedules just couldn't match up to have a meeting this week. It seems like months since we saw each other. Well, actually, it has been a little more than one month. We already talked about a meeting next week, so I hope it happens.

I know I’ve mentioned our friend Zbyszek. He helped us in many ways over the years we knew him. Unfortunately, he died four years ago.

In Poland, social circles are often defined by the level of emotional closeness and commitment involved. In English, the word “friend” is used very loosely, but in Polish culture there are clear distinctions between levels of relationships.

Znajomy (Acquaintance)
This is the broadest category. A znajomy is someone you know by name and interact with regularly, but without a deep emotional connection. This could be a colleague, a neighbor, or someone you see often. Conversations are usually polite and at the surface level. You would not normally share personal matters or invite them into your private family life.

Kolega / Koleżanka (Colleague or Peer)
This is the middle level. These are people connected through work, school, or shared activities. You may meet for coffee or a drink, and the relationship is friendly, but it is often tied to that shared environment. If the job or activity ends, the relationship may fade. Many people in Poland remain at this level for years.

Przyjaciel (Close Friend)
This is a much deeper and more meaningful relationship. A przyjaciel is someone you trust completely, almost like family. The word carries a strong sense of loyalty and long-term commitment. It is not used lightly. Most people have only one or two true przyjaciele in their lifetime. This is someone you can call in the middle of the night and know they will be there.

Zbyszek, Joanna, and Radek I consider to be przyjaciele.

Joanna was someone I helped practice English with. She was an ophthalmologist, and we met on Saturday mornings, usually for an hour or more, just to talk. She was the kind of doctor who truly cared about her patients. She loved her family and always greeted you with a smile.

When I needed cataract surgery, instead of waiting months, she called one of the best eye surgeons in Poznań and arranged for me to have the procedure the following week. When I had back problems, she and her husband, who was an orthopedic surgeon, came to our flat and helped solve the issue.

She and her husband were always invited to our New Year’s Eve parties, along with Zbyszek. It was Zbyszek who originally introduced me to her so I could help with her English. Later, when her son was old enough, I helped him as well. He has now completed his initial studies to become a doctor.

Like Zbyszek, she died suddenly three years ago. Of the three of them, only Radek remains.

---

Interesting

All of my wife's life, her mother told her that she had German ancestry. In the last few months, I have done some preliminary research into her family. What I found shocked Joan, Her grand parents and great-grandparents originally came from a small village northeast of Budapest, Hungary. So, her ancestry is really Hungarian.

Looking at this picture of her when she was 19 she looks Hungarian. 

 

Only Ukraine

 US Vice President JD Vance in an Apr. 8 public discussion at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) spoke on several subjects, among them the Russo-Ukrainian War, White House efforts to bring peace, and his view of Budapest’s role in that process. Almost all of what he said was misleading and factually inaccurate.

Specifically, Vance comments regarding Ukraine, Russia and Hungary in the context of the Russo-Ukrainian War were:

 Vance: “Uh we have made significant progress…over time, their positions have gotten closer and closer together.”

In fact, progress has been close to nil and movement between the sides has been negligible, and by Russia not at all.

How much land is at stake in the Russo-Ukrainian War

Vance: “We’re talking about bargaining over a few square kilometers of territory one way or the other.”

In fact, the land space involved is very substantial and by most definitions massive.

Value of what is at stake in the Russo-Ukrainian War

Vance: “ Is that worth the loss of hundreds of thousands of additional Russian and Ukrainian young men?”

In fact, with the qualification that it is impossible to assign a real monetary value on a human life, Vance’s messaging that little of value is at stake in the Russo-Ukrainian War is obviously and by many measures spectacularly wrong.

 The best-known Vance comment on Ukraine dates back to Feb. 19 2022, five days before Russia invaded Ukraine a second time and started a war that has now killed more than a million people, in which Vance told US Republican pundit Steve Bannon:

 “I gotta be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.”

Russian drone and artillery strikes killed at least three civilians and wounded several others across the Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk regions on Saturday morning, April 11, local officials reported.

In the Kherson region, a 73-year-old woman was killed in the village of Fedorivka when a “Molniya” type drone struck the settlement around 9:30 a.m. Earlier that morning, the body of a 50-year-old man was discovered in Kherson’s Korabelny district, a victim of overnight shelling.

The morning also saw targeted attacks on civilian transport in Kherson. A 24-year-old nurse was hospitalized with a concussion and blast injuries after a drone hit a public bus at 7:20 a.m. Shortly after, a 61-year-old man was wounded when another drone targeted his car.

 The escalation in strikes on Saturday morning followed a massive overnight drone offensive that killed two people in Odesa and wounded 17 in Sumy. In total, the Ukrainian Air Force reported 160 drones launched across the country overnight.

These attacks occurred in the final hours before a unilateral ceasefire, decreed by Russian President Vladimir Putin for the Orthodox Easter holiday, was set to begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The persistent bombardment of residential areas and public transport has fueled deep skepticism in Kyiv, where President Zelensky’s earlier proposals for a holiday truce were dismissed by the Kremlin.

And on the war front, Russia launched over a hundre drones overnight just hours after its Easter ceasefire announcement, while the Ukrainian military took out an S-300V System on the southern Zaporizhzhia front and expanded the recent oil strikes to the Casian Sea..

There is also positive news on the sanctions front, as Zelensky’s envoy said  Dutch parts are no longer being found in Russian Shahed drones, though he cautioned that fresh chips, including US ones, are still showing up in new drones.

Digital Archive, chair covers.

Yeah, I didn't get back before midnight yesterday. I stayed up way too late last night working on this archive project. It's going to be a digital archive, kind of like a book, but it's not a book. It would be hard for me to get 1500 pages into one book. Therefore, the other alternative is just to do a digital archive and save it to a pen drive or an external drive. If any of my relatives should happen to want a copy of it, all they would have to do is send me a pin Drive. I could put everything on it and return it to them, and then it would have a history of our family. Who knows if any future generation would have any interest in such a thing, but if they do, at least there will be one. I know myself, personally, would love to have had a copy like that telling about ancestors, who they were, where they lived, where they were born, or where they died, whether they were married, did they have kids, all of that information would be very valuable.

Right now, I'm at the beginning of chapter 4, which is entitled coming a foreigner in total there will be 15 chapters, and " chapter " is used loosely; there's no set amount of pages I have to put into it in a digital format.

Carolina came today but could only stay long enough to give John a shower and wash your hair. So, next week she will make up for the half hour she missed this week. That's fine, that's okay. But it was a little irritating because I had several things I needed to get done today, and now I'll have to take John with me tomorrow to complete all of them. I just hope we have good weather, like sunny, warm, and no clouds. 

I have a smaller project going on, also. Something that actually started 4 years ago when I decided it was time to change the covers on our two recliner chairs. I ordered them from the internet, and received them 4 years ago. It's taken me this long to start putting them on. It is no easy project to remove the old ones.

Progress

 Well, I've done it now. I've taken on another project that's going to consume too much of my evening free time. I started it about a week ago, after thinking about it for 2 weeks before that. I looked at the reasons why I should do it, and I looked at the reasons why I shouldn't. These shouldn't reasons would have won the battle, but my conscience dominated.

Okay, you know I've written about completing my idea of putting all of my blogs in chronological order. Considering I have 6,747 blogs, that was a big order to fulfill. It took me about three and a half weeks to complete it, but now it's done, and I'm satisfied with the end result. I did use an AI to put them in order, check spelling, grammar, and punctuation, as well as separate the blogs into proper paragraphs. At times it was frustrating, but I managed to work through it, and complete it.

I wasn't about to try to make an actual book out of it because if it were printed out the way it is, I would have $1,557 pages. Nobody in their right mind would read a book that long. Besides, I didn't write the blogs to turn into a book; it was just a way to write about most daily events of our lives in Poland.

So, my new project is to turn all those blocks into a digital archive of Our Life in Poland, covering many different topics during her life here. I utilized AI to give me a structure for the archive and make it easy to navigate. Again, part of the purpose is to have documentation of our family history going back to 1771. It may be that no relative is interested in it, but maybe in the future generation, there will be one, and they will have access to all of the work I've done.

With all the different topics that I've covered, or will cover in this archive, AI told me I would need 15 chapters. The first thing I did was to set up 15 different chapters with names. Then I wrote the introduction, and I started to work on chapter one. As of this blog, I have just completed chapter number three. Now, I have 12 more to go.

Grodziec Palace.

This is a palace where my great-grandfather, Jozef, worked as a blacksmith for what were called a Noble family. My grandmother was born in this village.

 

About 30 kilometers from Konin, in Grodziec, there stands an abandoned palace and park complex that has been deserted for many years. The buildings catch the eye from the road, emerging from an overgrown park where some trees are several centuries old. See what this place looks like today and discover its sad yet fascinating history.

In Grodziec there is an abandoned palace and park complex covering an area of 16.12 hectares. The first palace, whose partial ruins have survived to this day, was built in 1639 for Abraham Ciświcki. Today, the term “palace” usually refers to the structure with characteristic columns, which was built in the second half of the 18th century.

Subsequent owners of the palace included the Jaskólski family, followed by Aleksander Kożuchowski and Franciszek Stadnicki.

A six-column portico was added at the beginning of the 19th century for the next owners, the Bieliński family. Piotr Bieliński was the voivode (provincial governor) at that time. Around 1810, an annex was also built — a second building referred to as a manor house or a new palace.

Later, in 1875, the palace was purchased by the Kwilecki family, who modernized the residence. This building is the first and one of three historic structures located within the complex.

The estate remained in the hands of the Kwilecki family until World War II. Just over a month after the war began, Stanisław Kwilecki was murdered by the Germans, shot in the back of the head. Many others were killed that same day, including Czesław Freudenreich, owner of the faience factory in Koło, and Józef Pechęrski, the headmaster of the school in Grodziec.

After the war, the entire estate was taken over by the state treasury. A primary school was established there, and the farm was managed by State Agricultural Farms. Later, the site also housed the Society of Friends of Children, evidence of which still remains today — a plaque by the main entrance indicates that the institution once operated there.

Beyond the man-made buildings, the Grodziec palace and park complex has much more to offer. A canal runs through the park, and in some places it can be crossed either directly or by walking across a thick plank stretched over the water.

However, the most fascinating elements of the area are the enormous trees, including oaks whose trunk circumference can reach up to seven meters. Some of them bear small plaques indicating that they are legally protected as natural monuments.

Since 2020, the Grodziec estate has had a new owner: Ede Cassia Segnini Brandão Sapieha. Previously, the issue of ownership rights had been tied up in court for many years, but it has now reached a successful conclusion. Legal matters and future plans have been agreed upon with the rightful and former heir, Anna Kwilecka-Krzyżanowska.

Easter.

Another quiet day at home. Breakfast was hard-boiled eggs, ham, sausage, white sausage, bread, butter, and coffee. It didn't take long to prepare which was a good thing because I didn't really feel like making breakfast. I considered smoothies but felt it was a bit inappropriate for today.

In the afternoon, we started watching a new series on Netflix called Ripple. It's a series about 5 different lives and how they all fit together in the story. I recommend it for it's lack of violence.

ViaYouTube, we also visited the country of Macedonia in the evening.

Meanwhile, Ukraine.

The head of the President’s Office, Kyrylo Budanov, confirmed that international partners have requested Ukraine suspend its airstrikes on Russian oil refineries due to rising global energy prices triggered by the war in the Middle East, Bloomberg reported on Sunday, April 5.

Budanov revealed that Kyiv has been approached regarding the regular drone attacks, though he did not disclose which specific allies issued the plea. “I will answer this diplomatically: we are receiving some signals regarding this,” he said.

The request comes as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran enters a critical phase, causing a major disruption in global oil supplies. These geopolitical factors have significantly bolstered the Kremlin’s war budget through increased oil revenues, a development President Volodymyr Zelensky previously identified as a key challenge to Ukraine’s strategy of weakening Moscow’s economic capacity to sustain the invasion.

 Despite the diplomatic pressure, Budanov expressed optimism that the conflict in the Middle East would conclude relatively soon. His comments follow a series of successful Ukrainian drone strikes on Saturday night and Sunday morning,  which targeted the Lukoil refinery in Kstovo and the Primorsk oil terminal on theBaltic Sea.

Neglectful.

Yes, I have been neglectful in writing this blog for too long. I will tell you why. Finishing my project of putting all of my blogs, all 6,747 of them, into chronological order, checking spelling, grammar, punctuation, and making paragraphs, I have come to realize I have a lot of material. Collaborating with another person, I thought it might be time to consider writing a book about our last 20 years living as expats in Poland. It may not be something I would actually try to publish, but rather a more condensed version for my relatives to have so that they would know their ancestry.

Each night, after I put John to bed, I've been spending my time trying to figure out how to structure a book. I confess I've consulted ChatGPT about that. The information it gives me has been very helpful. I don't want AI to actually write the book for me, I am only interested in how the structure and the chapters should lay out. I've sent about a Year's worth of blogs to Gemini so that it would know what my blog has been about. In return, it has given me much advice on how to structure the book, chapter by chapter. It tells me that I have so much information available that it could actually be an 11-volume set of books. Of course, I'm not interested in writing 11 books. I would be perfectly happy with one book.

I've also been neglectful in my study of Spanish which I regret. I just get so involved in this book project, I've been missing my deadlines to write my blog by midnight each night. Therefore, you see these lapses of two and three days in between my blocks. I have to get into a routine of writing my blog in the afternoon rather than waiting until evening. If I can do that, it should eliminate these lapses. Anyway, that's what I'm going to try to do.