Other News

 The Divided States isn't the only country with problems with its government.

A mass rally in support of Czech President Petr Pavel took place in Prague, drawing tens of thousands of people to the city’s central square. According to estimates, attendance reached up to 90,000 participants.

The demonstration was sparked by an escalating conflict between the president and the government led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.

President Pavel has consistently called for active support of Ukraine and backing its integration into the European Union.

In contrast, Prime Minister Babiš, leader of the ANO party, argues for halting weapons and aircraft supplies to Kyiv and prioritizing domestic issues.

The dispute also extends to disagreements over ministerial appointments and the country’s broader security strategy.

Meanwhile:

Elon Musk called Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski a “drooling imbecile” on Wednesday after Sikorski shared a report from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) showing that Russian forces are increasingly using Starlink satellites to guide drone attacks on Ukraine.

According to ISW, Russian forces are equipping drones – including BM-35, Shahed, and Molniya models – with Starlink systems to extend their range and accuracy.

Starlink-equipped drones can strike most of Ukraine and reach parts of Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Lithuania when launched from Russian-controlled territory.

After reposting the report, Sikorski tweeted: “Hey, big man, @elonmusk, why don’t you stop the Russians from using Starlinks to target Ukrainian cities? Making money on war crimes may damage your brand.”Source-Kyiv  Post

A majority of Ukrainians oppose handing over the eastern Donbas territory to Russia in exchange for promises of peace, and the number of Ukrainians ready to fight the Kremlin “as long as is necessary” is increasing, a major public opinion published on Monday found.

Slightly more than half – 52 percent – of respondents “categorically reject” the idea of transferring title to Ukraine’s Donbas region to Russia in exchange for security guarantees, while 40 percent are willing to consider it, according to findings published by the Ukrainian political research group Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

The prevailing view across Ukrainian society that the country would not be made safer by meeting Russian demands to give the Kremlin Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk regions – approximately 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory and population – where the front is stable and has not changed for months, KIIS Executive Director Anton Hrushetsky said in a statement.

Sadness.

 We can't imagine what this poor little girl is going through. Her eyes look like they have no future to see.

I can't believe the world has let this go on for four years. Talk, talk, talk. Meet, meet, meet. But never any real action to stop this insane murdering of men, women, and especially.................children. It makes me ashamed to be a human being. God made a mistake puting humans on this planet.

Good News.

 At least, some good news today from the U.S. A Federal judge slammed the door on Trump's voter suppression scheme. "The president gets no say." Another day, another trump power grab smacked down by the Constitution. 

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly didn’t hedge or mince words. She reminded Trump of a basic civics lesson he’s spent years trying to erase: the President has no authority over election rules. None. Nada. Zero. Zilch.

We should all be sending her a thank-you note.

I read today that Putin considers Lithuania and Poland to be the biggest threats to Russia. They are bigger than the United States. With Trump in power, that seems to make sense. Guess it's time to finish packing our "GO" bag. The German border is a two hour drive.

Shutdown & Ukraine

Today is Shutdown day in the U.S. I've seen videos with massive crowds in major cities. I hope that smaller cities are participating as well.

It's been a tougher time the last three days at home. Joan has had some hallucinations of things that never happened, and it takes all of my energy to try to help her see that. This dementia is really incredible. The way it works on different parts of the brain.

Most of the snow is gone now, so it's just gray and cloudy daily. It's really quite boring.

Last night, I had a problem with one of my external drives. No matter what I tried, it didn't fix the problem. In desperation, I told my problem to Gemini(AI). After an hour of instructions, it seemed to work until I tried to copy a file into it, and then it froze. I will have to bother my IT friend next week.

Meanwhile, Ukraine.

Trump said Putin agreed to a 7-day stoppage in the war. However, Putin said it will be only 2 days.    

(Then he will return to killing civilians) 

Rough week.

 Last week was difficult. In Minneapolis, where a cousin lives, Trump's Gestapo(ICE) murdered two Americans. That was horrible enough.

For me, it wasn't as terrible as that, but it was a different kind of difficult week. My 3 caregivers for Joan all cancelled their visits, so I had no breaks during the week. I didn't realize how much I look forward to those 3-hour breaks. I know Joan is safe while they are with her, and that does relieve some daily pressure on me. I'm frankly surprised I went 5 years without them.

Being a caregiver is nothing I would wish on anyone.

Meanwhile, Ukraine.

Today's top story: Russia has yet to use Iranian missiles in its war on Ukraine

Iran gave hundreds of its missiles to Russia as a gift to help in its war on Ukraine. So far, they've been plagued by failure to launch.

Ukrainian intelligence told the Kyiv Independent on Jan. 26 that of the over 350 Fath-360 missiles that Iran has given Russia, none have come down on Ukraine.

Those dormant Fath missiles contrast with Russia's use of North Korea ballistic missiles, widely seen as shoddy but reportedly improved thanks to Russian assistance. Russia's seeming disinterest in Iran-supplied Faths could be seen a passive indictment of a missile program that Iran has invested in heavily. Source-Kyiv Independent

Russia will continue to be a threat to central and eastern Europe regardless of its political system, Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki said during a meeting with his Lithuanian and Ukrainian counterparts on Sunday.

The three leaders gathered in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, to mark the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1863 January Uprising against Russian rule. Source-Kyiv Post

History Leson.

2 DEAD IN MINNEAPOLIS 

"4 DEAD IN OHIO"

May 4, 1970 Kent State

Shopping, Walkout & Indiana University.

Food shopping today, and I spent $49 for the week ahead. I thought it might be less, but I was wrong. Prices are still on the rise.

Today was the Women's March Walkout in many locations in the U.S.  It will be interesting to see what the result will be.

Not a good sign from Joan. She is starting to forget who I am. I knew this was coming, and I have to deal with it. 

Well, Indiana completed the miracle today. They beat Miami to win the NCAA football championship. Last year, they were considered the worst team in the league. I'm very happy for them, and their quarterback who won the coveted Heisman Trophy for best player in the league.. 

Clouds & Ukraine Party

 Tonight, I was sitting on the balcony, looking at the few stars in the dark sky, when a long, thin, horizontal cloud stretched across the horizon. I kept watching it, and it faded in and faded out in different areas. I suppose it was because a little heavier cloud was passing over it and blotted it out. Clouds are always interesting to watch, especially in the daytime when there are many different forms of clouds. I like to watch when the bigger, heavier cloud passes over a smaller one and partly blocks it out. Of course, when I look at clouds, I always think of the song by Joni Mitchell of the same name, Clouds.

In the afternoon, we watched the second game of the NFL football playoff games in which our favorite team, the Chicago Bears, was a contestant. Unfortunately, the result was not what we hoped for, and they lost in overtime. We are hoping that tomorrow we will have better luck with the NCAA College football championship game when Indiana plays against Miami. Coming from Indiana, my hopes are high that they will finally win a championship. I think the last time they wanted was in 1945. That is a long time to wait for another championship.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, a party!

Music blasts from speakers and lights strobe in the dark as revellers, clad in puffer jackets and bobble hats, brave Kyiv’s freezing cold at an outdoor party despite blackouts triggered by Russian strikes.
Moscow has been pummelling Ukraine’s power grid with drones and missiles, plunging millions into darkness and cold as temperatures dip as low as -20C.

“People are tired of sitting without power, feeling sad... It’s a psychological burden on everyone’s mental health,” Olena Shvydka, who threw the street party with the support of her neighbours, told AFP.
“Now we’re letting off some steam, so to speak.”

Across the country, around 58,000 workers were racing to restore power, with additional crews deployed to the capital where, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the situation was “extremely tough”.

“In our community chat, we decided to do something to support the general spirit of our residential complex,” Yevgeniy, Shvydka’s neighbour, told AFP.
“Despite the very difficult situation, people want to hold on and celebrate. And they are waiting for victory no matter what,” said Yevgeniy, a retired military officer who did not give his full name.

“These kinds of gatherings provide some kind of civilised resistance to the force that is being directed at us -— rockets, explosions, flashes. It unites us,” Pankratova said.
The loudspeakers started blasting Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life”.
Hands in the air, the revellers belted out the rock anthem’s lyrics.

“It is impossible to defeat these people,” Yevgeniy said, looking around the party.“The situation is very difficult -- but the people are invincible.”

writing

On the seventh day.

A day of rest from it all.

Diamond, Ukrraine & Greenland.

 Saturday is a sleep day for us, and I took advantage of it, sleeping until 11:30 in the morning. It was easy to do because the night before, I had a conversation with our friend Mary in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and it lasted over an hour. Therefore, I went to bed rather late.

After a nice breakfast of Bulger rain with dried cranberries and bananas, we sat and watched a few football highlights. When we were done, I wrapped up Joan in warm clothing, and we went to Silver's for coffee and sweets.

I didn't really feel like cooking dinner tonight, so I asked John if she would mind having just ham and cheese sandwiches for dinner, and she agreed. There are some nights when I just don't feel like cooking. Probably, that's why I always keep two frozen pizzas on hand.

A friend of mine told me about a new movie, Song Sung Blue, starring Hugh Jackman. It is the story of how two musicians came together in Milwaukee and formed a band called Lightning and Thunder. It was a true story about these two when you decided to interpret the music of Neil Diamond. I was never a big fan of his during his lifetime or his career, but the movie gave me more interest in it when it was over. I could recommend it for you to see. Hugh Jackman sings all over the songs in it, and he does an excellent job. 

When the movie was over, I asked John if she was a fan, and I discovered she was. Since we had at least an hour and a half left before she would go to bed, I searched on YouTube, and found one of the live concerts by Neil Diamond from some years ago, and we watched it. Joan was happy about that.

Meanwhile, Ukraine & Greenland.

French President Emmanuel Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and other officials voiced support for Denmark, Greenland, and principles of international law in statements denouncing tariff threats on Jan. 17.

Their remarks came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Washington would impose 10% tariffs on NATO allies — France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands, and Finland — until the U.S. reaches a deal to buy Greenland.

Macron called the tariff threats "unacceptable" in a post on X, saying France's commitment to sovereignty and the United Nations Charter is the foundation of its ongoing support for Ukraine.

"France is committed to the sovereignty and independence of nations, in Europe and elsewhere. ... No intimidation or threat will influence us—neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world when we are confronted with such situations," he wrote.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Jan. 16 that Russia is preparing a new wave of large-scale attacks on Ukraine as the country grapples with a deepening energy crisis.

"Our intelligence reports that Russia is preparing new massive attacks," Zelensky said during his nightly address. He added that Ukraine is coordinating closely with its allies and urged continued military assistance, particularly air defense systems and missiles.

"We are speaking frankly to our partners — both about air defense missiles and the systems we need so much," Zelensky said. "Supplies are insufficient. We are trying to speed things up, and it's crucial that our partners hear us."

The warning comes as Ukraine faces a worsening energy crisis following repeated Russian missile and drone strikes on the country's power grid. Attacks on energy infrastructure have left millions of people across the country, including in the capital, without reliable heat and electricity amid freezing winter temperatures. Source Kyiv Independent.

Weather, soup & cousins.

Yesterday morning, it was snowing when I woke up to drive to care for. This morning when I woke, it was raining. It is almost like a spring shower, but it is certainly melting all the snow that fell yesterday. Crazy weather.

Joan has been cooped up for a few days now, so I thought I'd take her to Kandulskis' for a little drive and some coffee and cake. We stayed there for about an hour, and then we returned home.

At home, it was time to prepare a soup for dinner, so I mixed carrots, celery, mushrooms, tomatoes, basil, onion, spinach, and chicken broth to make a vegetable soup. I had some nice wheat with sesame seed bread and a salad to go with it. Joan liked it so it was a success.

In the evening, I had a conversation with cousin Andrzej and his mother, Kazia. Unfortunately, she is afflicted with the same dreaded disease as Joan, dementia. Our conversations last only 30 minutes, but at least I have contact with two cousins out of all that I have here.

Shopping day.

Yes, another 6:30 in the morning wake up. This drive was different because it was snowing and traffic was moving slowly. I was going to wait until Paige arrived and go then, but my body must be tuned into 6:30 on Tuesdays, and it woke me up. Food shopping was finished in 40 minutes, so I slowly drove back home to put the food away. Total cost was $51.

I made a mistake asking Joan to look through the recipes and make out next week's menu so I could make a shopping list. After 20 minutes, she was really frustrated, so I told her I could finish it. That made her angry at me that I thought she couldn't do it. She can't anymore, really. She won't remember it next week, so I will do it.

It makes me sad to see her losing more and more each month.

Meanwhile, Ukraine.

Russia has threatened to “resolve the issue militarily” until Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “comes to his senses” and agrees to what Moscow calls “realistic terms” for negotiations.

The warning was issued by Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, during a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Monday, Jan. 12.

The session was convened after Russia’s use of an Oreshnik missile against Ukraine’s Lviv region.

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, speaking at the meeting, Nebenzya claimed that Russia does not target civilians, instead accusing Ukraine of attacking civilian targets and Western countries of ignoring these alleged Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory.

Russia’s army in 2025 failed to make useful ground gains at the price of crushing and, at times, debilitating casualties, vindicating the Ukrainian strategy of inflicting maximum losses against Kremlin forces in a war of attrition, Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) General Oleksandr Syrsky said in a Tuesday statement.

Russia’s top military leadership over the past twelve months set itself the objective of ending its war against Ukraine with the total conquest of Ukraine’s southern and eastern Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, along with a planned takeover of the major seaport Odesa, and failed decisively to achieve any of those goals, Syrsky said in 12-month roundup published on his personal social media, and by AFU information outlets.

“The past year was a great test for us. The Russian aggressor sought to end the war against Ukraine – but planned to end it with defeat [of Ukraine], imposing his conditions on us from a position of force,” Syrsky said. “We did not allow the enemy to make critical breakthroughs, thwarted his plans, and repeatedly forced him to postpone the dates of planned operations.”According to most independent analysts, during 2025, Russian Federation forces, deploying 600,000-700,000 combat troops in Ukraine, using primarily infantry-heavy short-range assault tactics, captured between 5,000 and 5,500 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory. That land space represents slightly less than 1% of Ukraine’s total territory, or an area slightly bigger than County Donegal in Ireland, or the English county of Norfolk. Source-Kyiv Post

Football.

Joan hasn't been out of the house for four days. So, I wrapped her up warmly, and took her to Sowas for coffee and cake.

Upon returning home, we watch the latest highlight videos of the NFL and college football playoffs. We were thrilled to see Indiana University beat Oregon to qualify for the Championship game next week.

For me, it was an extraordinary event. You have to understand, growing up in Indiana, that university was only known for many years as a basketball school. Football was never mentioned. Now, in the last two years, with a new coaches and players, they were ranked #1 in all polls. They went from the bottom of the NCAA football teams to the top.

The second game we watched was the Wildcard game between our Chicago Bears and their arch rival, the Green Bay Packers.

In the first half of the game, they were behind 21-3. It didn't look very promising. 

However, in the second half of the game, they played much better than the Packers, and were able to move closer to the championship game. The final score was 31-27. So, both of our teams won.

Snow.

Today was 2° Fahrenheit, so not exactly a good day to be outside and walking around. Still, it was a beautiful day because there was light snow last night and this morning with the freezing temperatures, all the trees were frosted White and it looked beautiful. I wanted to take John out to show it to her, but it was too cold for her.

Yesterday, at 5:30 in the evening, she had a zoom call with her daughter Karen. I was really happy that they connected because it's been too long since they saw each other. I'm hoping that Karen will be able to call at least twice a month to stay in touch with her mother. I know that when she's talking with her she doesn't see it much difference in the way June response or the way she looks. Of course, it's much easier for me to see when there's been a small change, but it's not so easy for Karen.

Carolina came today at 1:00 to do the hygiene stuff with Joan. She stays for 2 hours, and I have a chance to go out and do something. I would have liked to have gone for a long walk through the park or through the forested area, but for me it was also too cold. It's a little strange for me because those years I lived in the upper peninsula of Michigan winter days like this, we're not Unusual. I could stay out in weather like this for hours and not be affected by it. Naturally, I had excellent cold weather clothing that I had either bought or made, and it always kept me very warm.

Lately I've been spending time going through my family history book to correct punctuation, spelling, and words that I miss typed. As far how many pages there are, right now it's 91 pages. That includes family history stories that have been told to me by other family members, and my own stories.

Meanwhile. Ukraine.

Zelensky reported Russian forces launched a total of 242 drones and dozens of missiles overnight, including 13 ballistic missiles, 1 Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile and 22 cruise missiles.

“The attack is when there is a significant cold snap. It is against the ordinary life of ordinary people,” he said, noting that strikes were aimed at both civilian neighborhoods and energy facilities.

In Kyiv, at least 20 residential buildings were damaged, and 1 apartment block was hit twice – the second time while emergency services were already responding to the first strike.

Zelensky urged Ukraine’s partners to respond decisively.
“We need a clear reaction of the world. First of all, the United States, which Russia really takes into account,” he stressed. “Russia should receive signals that it is its duty to focus on diplomacy, and feel the consequences whenever it focuses on killings and destroying infrastructure.

”He also warned that the attack underscored the urgency of strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses.

Smoothies & Poland

On my 3-hour break today, I went to Auchan to replenish my supply of frozen strawberries, blueberries, sesame seeds, and dates for smoothies. Total cost was $9.95.  

The sun was out for a little while before being drowned by gray skies. It was a normal Polish winter day.

Meanwhile, in Poland. 

The proportion of Poles opposed to accepting Ukrainian refugees has risen to 46%, the highest level ever recorded in regular polling by state research agency CBOS.

 In the years 2015 to 2018, around 55-60% of Poles were consistently in favour, with around 30-40% opposed. The surveys then resumed in March 2022, after Russia’s full-scale invasion. At that time, a record 94% supported accepting refugees, with only 3% opposed.

Since then, however, support has been gradually falling and opposition rising.

 The latest EU data show that there are around 965,000 Ukrainian refugees still in Poland.

Solacki Winter Park

 Well, yesterday was another holiday, this time it was Epiphany, so all the stores were closed.

To take advantage of my 3-hour break, I went to Solacki Park and took some pictures of it in the snow. There's something about snow; it just makes me feel like the world is more at peace, although I know it isn't. Less than an 8-hour drive from where we live, the war rages on in Ukraine. Men, women, and children are getting killed every day by that asshole in Russia.

Today, Radek came over and told us about his holidays. He's always entertaining because he takes trips with Alina, his girlfriend. This time they went up north, close to the small village where they spent the holidays. In that area the the original language called kashubian was subjugated by the Russians when they took over and was not permitted. Now, there's been a resurgence in young people to learn their original language. It's a different dialect of Polish, and if you don't know it and you know Polish, you can still have a hard time understanding what they're saying.

Radek's next trip is going to be to Nepal, a country he's never been to. Of course, before they go there in the summertime, they would make another trip to Spain for a week or two vacation. He's a lucky man. He finally found a woman that he's very fond of, or maybe even in love with.

January 6th

 

Water & the Kremlin

I stayed up way too late last night and didn't wake up until 12:30 today.

To my surprise, when it was time to flush the toilet, there was no water. Usually, when there is going to be a water turn-off, there is a notice in the elevator. I didn't see one yesterday, so I went to see if there was a new one. There wasn't. I called Renata, our landlady, informed her about the problem, and she said she would call me right back. Within a few minutes, she returned my call and told me there was a notice on the internet on the Aquanet website. It said there was a breakage in the water line and it would be fixed sometime this afternoon. By 4:30 P.M., we had water again.

After a breakfast smoothie, we watched highlights of the final week of NFL football games before the playoffs begin, Unfortunately our Chicago Bears team lost the last game in the last minute. However, they will still be in the playoffs because they won their conference Championship.

On YouTube, we watched an old Jimmy Stewart movie with way too many commercials.

When the movie was over, I assembled the ingredients for tonight's dinner: meatloaf, potatoes, and green beans.

Tomorrow is January 6th, and it will be a day filled with protests and comments about the insurrection that happened 5 years ago. All 1600 insurrectionists who took part in that event were pardoned by Donald J Trump.

Meanwhile:

The strike would most likely take place within the Russian Federation or in a Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia with a Christian Orthodox community. A “site of high symbolic significance” might be targeted instead of a church, the statement said.

The Kremlin is preparing to massacre civilians then use fake news messaging in state-run and co-opted international media to pin blame for the mass casualty event on Ukraine, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (SZRU) said on Friday in a rare public statement.

The Russian operation is likely to take the form of an “armed provocation” against an Orthodox Christian church (or another location where civilians gather peacefully) and may take place overnight on Jan. 6-7, according to the statement – the date of Christmas in the Julian calendar and a major religious holiday for the Christian faithful in Russia.

Aside from citing “credible sources,” the SZRU statement offered no proof to confirm these allegations, noting, however, that terrorism and false flag operations are common practice for Russian intelligence agencies, and calling on independent media to be critical of Kremlin-produced content. Source-Kyiv Post

Different era.

Finally, after the holidays, we have snow on the ground. It's not like the 30" that happened in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but it's enough to cover the ground and stay. A small consolation at the beginning of the year.

Different era, Germany. Same warning signs. Different name, America. Same result, unless something truly changes.

The dictator running the increasingly Divided States of America has attacked Venezuela. The excuse will be wrapped in talk of security or freedom, but the real reason is obvious: oil. It always is. What matters more than the lie itself is how easily it’s accepted, and how little resistance it seems to provoke at home.

How long are Americans going to stand by while the democracy their founders fought for is openly trampled? People protest, boycott, and flood Congress with calls and letters, but has it changed anything? No. The system grinds on, insulated from public outrage, while those meant to check power either can’t or won’t act.

History doesn’t repeat itself exactly, but it echoes. In the 1930s, many believed democratic institutions would hold, that the danger was exaggerated, that things would correct themselves. They were wrong. Democracies don’t collapse all at once, they rot slowly, through complacency and fear.

Trains & Exit.

OK, the new year of 2026 has begun. We can only hope it will be better than 2025.

Poland is upgrading its train system, and TikTok AI has been broadcasting false information about Poland leaving the EU.

State rail operator PKP Intercity has launched a tender for the purchase of trains that can reach speeds of up to 320 km/h (199 mph), making them the fastest ever to travel on Polish tracks.

PKP Intercity, which is responsible for long-distance rail transport in Poland, announced on Tuesday that it was seeking to buy 20 electric multiple-unit trains capable of such speeds, with the possibility to later purchase 35 more.

Currently, the fastest trains in Poland are Pendolinos, manufactured in Italy by French firm Alstom. Though they can in theory reach maximum speeds of 250 km/h, the fastest they are able to run on current Polish tracks is 200 km/h.

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The Polish government has asked the European Union to take action against TikTok in response to AI-generated videos calling for Poland to leave the European Union. It says that “there is no doubt this is Russian disinformation”.

Res Futura Data House, a Polish information security analysis group, has recently shared examples of videos from a TikTok account that contain AI-generated videos of young women wearing Polish national symbols and addressing messages to young Poles.

Some of the videos express support for so-called “Polexit” from the EU. Others criticise the pro-EU government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The channel’s profile description also included an anti-EU slogan associated with Polish radical-right-leader Grzegotz Braun, who supports Polexit.

A new opinion poll has shown a rise in the proportion of Poles opposed to Poland’s membership of the European Union, with almost a quarter now favouring “Polexit”.

The findings come from a survey by IBRiS, a leading research agency, on behalf of the Wirtualna Polska news website. It asked respondents if they believe “Poland should in the near future begin the procedure of leaving the European Union”.

A total of 24.7% said that they think it should. However, a significant majority, 65.7%, were opposed to the idea of Polexit. Source-NFP

2026

 We wish you all a healthy and better New Year!

Szopka Chapel & Ukraine.

Paige arrived today at 11:00, and I had already made up my mind to go back to Saint Francis Church with my camera and take better pictures of this Chopper. I thought there would be fewer people today because it's a workday, and then I remembered that many people took Monday and Tuesday off to give themselves a 7-day weekend due to New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
 

When I got to the church and went inside, there were not that many people there. It was a good opportunity to take the pictures without the interruptions of people watching in front of the camera. 0

Fortunately, I took my tripod with me and my long lens. I ended up taking 78 pictures. I posted them all on my blog today so you can see how beautiful this szopka is. It's really very creative, and one of the best in Greater Poland.
 

I spent about an hour and a half there taking the pictures, and when I was done, I had time to stop at Cafe Lokum and have a cinnamon muffin with a coffee latte. While I was there, I checked my phone and read the latest message from President Zelinsky about the situation of obtaining peace. I doubt the Russians, I mean Putin, will accept it because I believe he wants to continue the war.
 

When I returned home, I downloaded all the pictures to a pen drive and showed them to Joan and Paige. We have seen this szopka before, but Paige had never even heard about it. So, I wanted to introduce her to it.
 

I saw a video of where we used to live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and yesterday they received 30 inches of snow in a blizzard. That is a lot of snow, but not unusual for the U.P..
 

Meanwhile, in Ukraine:
 

With only scattered troops left inside the city and supply lines broken, Ukrainian officials say Moscow is quietly conceding what it long denied: Kupyansk is not under Russian control.
 

The commander of a Russian unit fighting together with Ukrainians in the hope of overthrowing the Putin regime was killed in combat in the south of Ukraine.
 

Ukraine said Thursday it used British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles to strike a major oil refinery inside Russia, marking another long-range blow to Moscow’s energy infrastructure.
 

Ukrainian UAVs struck the headquarters of Russia’s 14th GRU Brigade near Mariupol. The night strike killed 51 Russian troops and wounded 76 more, says Madyar, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF).
 

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said its air force hit the Novoshakhtinsk oil products plant in Russia’s Rostov region, reporting “numerous explosions” at the site. Source-Kyiv Post

Another visitor.

Our dear friend, Zbyszek, who died a few years ago, left behind a son, daughter, and three grandchildren. His daughter, Malgorzata, majored in the Bulgarian language and culture. 15 or so years ago, she moved there permanently. We have known here since before she moved. The last time we saw each other was at her father's funeral.

She came today to visit us because she was in Poland to spend Christmas with her brother and his family.

She arrived with ciasto and a Christmas plant for our house. We talked about how the year has been for each of us, what travels we have made this year, a little about the unrest in Bulgaria and the U.S. with each government, and future plans. It was a nice visit. 

My sister.

I have a sister, Tami, that for reasons which were beyond my control, I did not see her from the time she was 11 years old until she was married and had three adult children. A very long time. When I did finally find her again it was one of my happiest days. Now, because of where I live, I have not seen her for 12 years. She is not a fan of electronics and uses no social media platforms to communicate. I call her on her birthday every year. It is easy to remember. My son, Eric, was born on the same day, 10 years later.

I called at 12:00 AM,  1:00 AM, and 2:30 AM before she finally answered. She was in Philadelphia visiting her youngest son and his family.They had been out to a Christmas event, and she didn't have her phone with her. I told her it was no matter, at least now we were speaking. We talked for 1/2 hour and I would have liked longer but I needed to go to bed.  Of course, I wished her a happy birthday at the beginning, we talked a little about my son and I asked how everyone in her family was doing. Her son and daughter-in-law have a seven year old daughter who speaks two languages, English and Welch, and now is learning French. That is pretty impressive. 

 

Christmas Day 2025, Day 2 & 3 Kings.

Yesterday, we had pierogi, cabbage with lentils, and vegetable salad for dinner. For dessert, we had gingerbread cake. All was provided by our friend and landlady, Renata.

During the day, we mainly watched different Christmas movies and a good old movie, "The Bishop's Wife."

We had to pause it at 8 PM because we had a scheduled Zoom meeting with Joan's kids and grandkids. I was happy about that because it had been a long time between meetings, maybe two months. With Joan's failing memory, she needs to stay visually connected to her family. She has not been happy with this two-month disconnect. 

We talked for an hour with Joan's children, Karen and Joey, our grandchildren, Nicole and Joe, and Joey's partner, Mary. We were surprised that Nicole has been to Hawaii. We didn't know about that.

After our conversation was over, we finished watching The Bishop's Wife, and Joan went to bed at 11 PM. I finished my night listening to Christmas music and writing this blog.

I have a calendar on which I write anything scheduled for a particular day. The problem is, I don't always check the calendar, and it sometimes creates a problem. That's what happened today, although it didn't turn out to be a big problem.

Paige was scheduled to come today, at 11:00 a.m., and sit with Joan for 3 hours. So, this morning, at 11:30, my phone rang and woke me up. It was Paige apologizing for oversleeping and not being on time. I told her it wasn't a problem because, actually, she just woke me up. We rescheduled our meeting for 1:30, and she arrived on time.

Now today, in Poland, is the second day of Christmas. The majority of every kind of business is also closed today. So, I had 3 hours, and didn't really know what to do with it. It was 2:00 p.m., so I decided to go to the church on Koscielna Street. When I arrived there, a Mass had just begun, so I stayed until it was over.

From there, I decided to go to the Saint Francis church and look at the szopka. The most famous attraction in Poznań is the huge, moving Christmas nativity scene in the Church of St. Francis Seraphic on Bernardyński Square, considered one of the largest in Europe, with life-size figures and many moving elements. This nativity scene, built since the 1950s, delights visitors every year with its monumental scenery and is one of the main Christmas attractions in Greater Poland. 

Being a no-work day in Poland, the church was packed full of people coming to see this szopka. I took several pictures of it with my phone, but I don't think they really do it justice. I will go back on Tuesday with my camera and long lens so I can get better pictures of it. I do want to show them to you because it is such a beautiful sight.

Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar: 

Who were the three wise kings? 

The actual existence of the three wise men of the East could never be proven. The three men came from what is now called the Middle East. Their costume, described as Oriental, suggests they came from Persia. According to legend, the Magi were buried in a common tomb, which is said to have been found by St. Helena in 326. In July 1164, the bones arrived in the Cathedral of Cologne, where they rest and are venerated as relics in the sanctuary of the Magi.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all of my readers! 

Thank you!

NEWS!

The only important news.............................JESUS AS BORN TONIGHT. Millennials before any of us.

Surprised!

Three friends came to visit us and brought food and desserts.

Kuba was first. Years ago, I helped him, his brother, Max, and his sister, Andrea, improve their speaking in English. That seems like a lifetime ago. His mom, Renata, is the owner of the flat we live in now. She sent Kuba with food and desserts for our Christmas. It was great to see him again. He has become a fine adult.

Marcin, and his son, Maciej, visited about an hour later with wine, jelly and cookies that, Dorota, his wife had made. Maciej was also an old student of mine.

I have many cousins in Poznan, but only friends are the ones who visit. Strange. 

Everything is closed for the next three days for the holidays. I thought, since Paige was coming at 11:00 to sit with Joan, I would wait until then to do my weekly food shopping. BIG mistake! 

The supermarket was packed with people and the lines to checkout were very long. Evenat the electronic checkout. What usually takes me 45 minutes to do, ended up taking 2 hours. i won't make that mistake next year. I will never do that again!

Why God? Why?

One more day and it's the birth of Jesus. I would like to say I have the "Christmas spirit" but I don't really. Having two aunts who were Catholic nuns, grandparents and mother who were devout Catholics, I should be too. .Being raised Catholic, with the church right next to the house of my grandparents, I should be sure of what religion I belong in.

My mother made sure my brother and I were in church every Sunday, confessions were often enough, and nuns or priests were in the house frequently for dinner in my very early youth.

By age 14 or 15, I stopped going to church. Living in a white "ghetto" at that time, the church was now about a 10 block walk and my mother didn't attend very often. 

I joined the Navy at age 17, and can remember only once going to a psuedo-church below the deck of an aircraft carrier for Christmas. Even then, it was more that I wanted to see that part of the ship than for religious reasons. 

After 4 years in the Navy, I took advantage of the military benefits and attended the school of Music at DePaul University in Chicago. 

One of the elective classes I chose was Eastern Religion. We studied Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, Confusionism, and Hinduism. Buddhism was the one that fascinated me the most. I learned about Zen Buddhism when I read, On The Road, by Jack Kerouac.

Now, at my age, I still have many questions about organized religions. No answers. 

IF there is a God, why does he allow evil in this world he created? Why are children abused, beaten killed, neglected, or die at birth? Why are some humans allowed to be priests or nuns who abuse children?

When I look at this picture above, can anyone say "Merry Christmas" to this poor Ukrainian child? 

I lost my..................

Cell phone. I don't know how, but it was driving me crazy. I know I had it on Thursday because I went to the rynek and took the pictures of the decorations there. After that, I came back home, loaded the pictures from my camera or telephone into my computer, and set the pictures up for my blog. In the evening, I had the phone with me when I went to bed and when I woke up Friday morning.

Friday morning, as I was changing Joan, the alarm went off, I took the phone, put it on the windowsill, and turned off the alarm. That was the last time I remember doing anything with the phone. The only place we went during the day was to Sowa's, and then we returned home.

On Saturday in the afternoon, we went to Cafe Lokum for coffee, and I thought it was without my phone.

That evening, I had to verify a new password by receiving an SMS on my telephone. When I looked for my telephone, I couldn't find it anywhere. I must have searched the house three times, and my car twice. I used Joan's telephone to call my telephone, and I heard it ringing in her telephone, but there was no sound coming from mine. That worried me a lot.

This morning, I woke up early and went to Sowa's as soon as they were open, 9:00. I asked him if they had a phone in their lost and found box, but they searched, and there was nothing there. My last hope was Cafe Lokum, and if I didn't find it, I was going to buy another phone.

Cafe Lokum doesn't open until noon, so I waited until 1:00, and took John with me when I left. I was about 70% sure they would not have my phone. I walked into the cafe up to the service counter, and started to tell the man there that I was here yesterday, but before I could finish my sentence, he said he knew I was there for my phone. He turned around, and next to the cash register, my phone was waiting. I can't express how relieved I was to have my phone back.

For me, the only real importance of having it is to stay connected with the caregiver when I am not at home for 3 hours. If something should go wrong, and she needed me, my phone would be the lifeline between us. Of course, the secondary reason is, if I have some problem with John at home and needed to call an ambulance, I would need a phone to do that.

So that's how my last 2 days have been. Stressful most of the time, but in the end, very jubilant.