tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53406154625654039652024-03-19T02:50:04.678-05:00Adventures Here and ThereObservations about the wonderful, unexpected, and sometimes mundane things that should be noticed and celebrated whether found two steps out the door or thousands of miles away.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.comBlogger1184125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-28065189828768995742017-11-24T18:48:00.000-06:002017-11-24T18:48:25.755-06:00Rice Park Rice Park sits in the middle of downtown Saint Paul. I think it must be one of the most beautiful squares in any American city. On the north is Landmark Center, on the west is the Ordway Theater, on the south is the main building for the Saint Paul public library, and on the east is the Saint Paul Hotel. It is a four-season destination.<br />
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Today my older daughter and I went there to see the Christmas lights.<br />
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In the background one can see a glimpse of the main public library building, now named George Latimer, after a previous city mayor.<br />
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We were there at sunset time and saw the crescent moon above the library building.<br />
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And above is a view of the major Christmas tree for the city. There is another one in front of the Union Depot. Maybe one of these days I'll take my scooter down there for a picture too. Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-59486386047683338242017-02-08T14:19:00.000-06:002017-02-08T14:19:08.918-06:00Painful adventuresMy blog has been silent for sometime because I haven't had many wonderful adventures. I've been sidelined too much by painful arthritis. That slowed down my ability to get out in the world to do things. My next big adventure is hip replacement surgery on March 14. Will write more about that when I feel better. I find when searching the web I don't find much in the way of personal experiences with such surgery, only what organizations want to write. If they are reputable ones like the Mayo Clinic that is Ok, but I would enjoy hearing from a real person. Hope I can soon write after surgery.<br />
<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-3685330452424497042016-09-17T18:32:00.003-05:002016-09-17T19:08:38.642-05:00Visiting a Country Church in Eastern PolandIn May before doing the school teaching program in Poland I spent a day with a guide who took me to places east of Siedlce that require an auto for access. I have written about some of these adventures in previous posts, but am still catching up with life after a busy summer.<br />
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After lunch in Zaborek, we drove a short distance to a church located in the countryside. Here is the sign for it.<br />
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This sign explains it is now a Roman Catholic church but in the past it has also been an Orthodox church. The type of church practices depended upon what type of government was/is in control.<br />
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Here is how it looks from the roadway. It is easy to notice the red awnings in the front. The church actually has a porch on three sides. I have never before seen a church with a porch. At the end of the visit here my guide came back from a conversation with church attendants to tell me why it had a porch. Some of the people attending this church had to travel so far -- in the days when travel would have been by horses -- that they could not make the trip on Sunday morning. Thus, they started out on Saturday afternoon and stayed all night on the porch outside the church.<br />
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Walking in I noticed this script written in what I presume is Cyrillic.<br />
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Here is what the inside of the church looks like.<br />
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This was indeed an interesting stop out in the middle of the rural area east of Siedlce.<br />
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-164008446912242502016-09-17T13:25:00.002-05:002016-09-17T14:03:59.095-05:00A Saturday with Language Camp Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I went to Poland and participated in two language camps. I am still not walking well enough to go away on the weekends, having to walk up and down steps at train stations, for example. So Dorota, the Poland country manager, suggested I might like to go away with the campers for their Saturday field trip. All of the other volunteer teachers had left on Friday for weekend adventures so I had the pleasure of eating my meals and doing the Friday evening activities with the campers and the Polish camp staff.<br />
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On Saturday morning we had a very nice breakfast and then walked out to the road in front of Reymontowka to board the bus. I had the seat immediately behind the driver, so I had a good view of the road and enjoyed watching the GPS.<br />
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Our destination was the Arkadia Galleria (galleria being the word used in Central Europe for shopping mall) in Warsaw. This trip took about 90 minutes, about an hour to get to Warsaw with weekend traffic and then another 30 minutes to wind our way through the city toward the northern end. It had been 10 years since I had been to this galleria -- and hard to believe that I now have that much history in Poland !!!<br />
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We parked along the railroad track about 3 blocks away from the galleria and then a had a long walk through the galleria to get to the cinema area. I was really glad to find a place to sit down when this walk was done.<br />
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The campers of course went immediately to the concession line.<br />
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While I was waiting one of the counselors showed me a voucher for free coffee received when buying tickets, They graciously walked to the nearby coffee shop to get the coffee for me. Now the campers purchased exactly what you might expect.<br />
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The film we saw was the Big Friendly Giant.<br />
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The dialogue was all in Polish and I don't understand more than 20% of the Polish I hear. However, the film was produced so well that I could easily follow the story without having to understand all the Polish dialogue.<br />
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After the film we walked back to the bus and from the luggage area appeared crates holding sandwiches and bottles of water.<br />
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Our next destination was the Copernicus Science Museum. I had been to this museum before and asked them not to buy me a ticket to walk through it again. But when we arrived I was totally puzzled. The line was coming out the door and about two blocks long. I couldn't figure out why so many people had decided to go to the museum that on a sunny summer day. The museum was not showing any special collection -- the whole thing was a mystery.<br />
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People in the line had to wait until others left before they would be admitted. And it appeared to me everyone in line was local, not tourists. I spent the time in the cafeteria area with my nose stuck in a book. It was a good place to people watch.<br />
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After about 2 hours we walked back to the bus and then made our way to the outskirts of Warsaw. We stopped at a gas station and the luggage area opened up again.<br />
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This time pastries, candy bars, and fruit juice appeared. It was a good late afternoon snack break.<br />
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Back to Reymontowka we had a very nice kolacja, too.<br />
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I so enjoy these kind of experiences.<br />
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-60092819456137434332016-06-22T12:31:00.006-05:002016-06-22T12:34:09.879-05:00Walking in Xenia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I drove two days from Saint Paul to a hotel in Beavercreek, Ohio in order to do a walk in Xenia, Ohio. I only had X left in my Walking the USA from A-Z. By the rules of this I could have substituted any other walk for X, but really wanted to do the X. I really wanted to do this walk in April when the weather was cooler, but those days got away from me. Instead I found myself in Ohio in the midst of a heat wave in that part of the US.<br />
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Sunday morning was to be in the low 80s so I set out by 9 AM or so to do the last few miles to Xenia. I found the hotel where the walk box was held and was graciously helped. However, I was so very glad I did not stay there as the hotel smelled badly of cigarette smoke.<br />
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In reading before the walk I found out Xenia got its name at the suggestion of an early visitor/settler who said he felt the people there were very hospitable and Xenia is the Greek word for that.<br />
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Other reading I had done revealed that the Shawnee Indians called this area "the land of crazy winds." In fact, I learned that Xenia has been hit by tornadoes 29 times. The most devastating on occurred in 1974, the most recent in 1970. Thus I was surprised to find a historic district early in the walk.<br />
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I liked the above one very much.<br />
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And down the street I found these houses.<br />
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It was clear that the combination of the heat and arthritis was not a good one. I was grateful to find Xenia is a city of rocks. I could sit down frequently and relieve the discomfort in my back.<br />
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Along the main street of Xenia I came upon a couple of store fronts that now had new businesses.<br />
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I am sure readers can figure out what now is sold in this building.<br />
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And a bit further up the street I discovered a cat.<br />
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The cat was curious about a pedestrian but otherwise appeared to be very comfortable. Obviously the building was air conditioned.<br />
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I had to cut the walk short, but found that is legal as long as I am honest about the distance I walked. After returning to my car I drove the route to get the exact kilometers figured out.<br />
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Glad I did this. It was an interesting drive back and forth between Minnesota and Ohio.<br />
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-50508894552855265042016-06-01T09:10:00.000-05:002016-06-01T09:10:05.041-05:00A Visit to the Janow Podlasie Stud Farm My blog has been silent for a long time. When I got to the place where I would teaching English my computer stopped working. I tried to turn it on for two days without success. Then I had it taken to good computer shop and they thought perhaps the part that mediates between the electrical charge entering the computer and the battery was faulty. They decided not to try to fix it because they thought doing anything with it might void the warranty on my computer. I didn't try the computer again until I was ready to pack it up. It worked just fine then. I wonder if something became loose and taking the back off the computer and then putting it back on jiggled something back in place.<br />
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So now I'm back in Minnesota and thus far the computer has been working OK.<br />
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Now to get the horse stud farm. I had no idea what this might be like. I expected to walk through barns of horses, but instead we did most of our walking outdoors, which was fine, because the weather was lovely. I used my cane for this walk.<br />
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As soon as we parked I saw this group of horses grazing in a pasture in front of us. In a little bit a guide from the farm joined us and we walked to another pasture to see horses. First I learned a bit of history here. <br />
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I learned this horse farm will be 200 years old next year. It was started after the Napoleonic wars. These wars were so hard on horses that horse numbers were very low and declining. This part of Poland was under Russian government at this time and permission had to come from Russia.<br />
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In 1863 after the Uprising, Russia removed all the horses to Russia. Another tragedy for the horses here was World War 2. The Nazi army had moved all the horses to Dresden. There only 8 lived after the bombing of Dresden. Recently there have been some political problems here after the new government took control in Poland is late 2015. I decided if the horse farm could withstand these other tragedies the farm can handle political problems, too. <br />
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Horses here can be all Arabian, all English, or a cross between the two. <br />
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These horses are about one year old and are being considered for entry into championship contests. I was surprised to see a white horse. I thought the Arabian horses were black or brown. The guide said the color didn't manner. What would be judged is how they hold their head and neck, how they walk and run, and how they carry their tail. I am sorry this picture doesn't show it very well, but I learned that Arabian horses carry their tails different than any other horse breed. This is because they have some extra bones in their spine.<br />
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Next the guide wanted us to see the mares come back from a pasture with their colts. This day was the first time they had been out to a pasture for this spring season.<br />
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If you look carefully at this video you may notice how the horses carry their tail. Each colt stays very near its Mama.<br />
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In the photo above you can see how the colts stay very close to their Mama. You may able to see too how the Arabians carry their tail with a curve at the top.<br />
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Some were highly curious about the people along the fence.<br />
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Here we learned that when the colt is old enough to separated from the mare is branded with a number on one side. It is branded on the other side with the coat of arms for the stud farm. It is also given a name. By tradition the name begins with the first letter of its mother's name.<br />
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The photo below shows coat of arms for the Janow Podlasie Stud Farm. It is shown under the center window.<br />
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We also walked by stones that remember horses that have died. According to EU regulations a large animal such a horse cannot be buried, but rather must be cremated. Thus a brass plate is fastened to large rocks found on the property, left there by long ago glaciers.<br />
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Walking down the road towards the car we passed this memorial to a previous farm director.<br />
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This man arrived at the horse farm as a stable boy and spent his entire life there, rising to be the farm director for many years.<br />
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I am so very glad that I got to visit the horse farm. It truly is a Polish treasure.<br />
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-53232222287762329002016-05-07T04:01:00.002-05:002016-05-07T04:01:48.397-05:00Day Trip Event # 2 -- A visit to Janów Podlaski Village<div class="MsoHeader">
About an hour after we left the Flying Fortress Monument we arrived at the outskirts of Janów Podlaski. This is a village in the county (powiat) of Biała Podlaska in the voivodeship of Lublin. It is very near the Bug River, which in this area marks the boundary between Poland and Belarus. </div>
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Much of the time spent in the village of Janów related to religious history, so I will write about the odd thing first. </div>
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In this village there remains two gas pumps from the 1920s. </div>
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Notice it says CPN on the top. My guide told me that even though officially the CPN company no longer exists (I think it's Orlen now), people still say they go to the CPN. </div>
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The picture above shows the inside the pump. One literally had to hand pump gas into the two glass cylinders before being able then to use gravity into a hose to fill the gas tank of a car. </div>
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Now back to the religious history -- and on May 5 I saw the buildings but had to come back and do some internet research to understand the story and implications of what I saw. The first mention of this geographic area dates back to about 1326. <div class="MsoHeader">
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The first Roman Catholic diocese was established here in 1404. Over time the church has changed back and forth between Roman Catholic to Orthodox or Uniate/Greek Catholic. My understanding of Greek Catholic is that religious practices of the Orthodox Church were used but allegiance was to the Pope rather than the head of the Orthodox Church. The changes largely related to whatever country had political control of the geographic area. </div>
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At times it was known by the diocese name of Lutsk, even as recently as 1925. One Bishop of Lutsk decided there would be more physical safety on the west side of the Bug River and so built a palace there. I believe when it was built it was in Ukraine, but as most know borders have moved back and forth in this part of the world. </div>
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That palace deteriorated over time and now is the site of new hotel. </div>
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We went inside and were graciously given a tour that took us to the cellar area of the building where we could see the brick walls of the Bishop's Palace. And also we could see how elegant are the rooms. I took no photos of rooms, but did take a photo of the bar. </div>
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Notice how elegant this is. We had coffee there. </div>
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Outside there are newly constructed buildings that look like horse stables. Everything about <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Janów is "horsey" because of the famous horse stud farm there. More about the horse stud farm will be in the next blog post. These buildings hold additional hotel room for guests, not horses. </span> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY_4z_f3vGWxeI4zmQCZ9I9tOOSwMLY_rVxY8lORkesoi-5jFHWIoYgtP3imU_XjkqyqTzwqHrOt0NBXWywv2kr8mNwaTridlFbmyNTOXfpYApq40LMkn3NxQ_d5iF-SoladqK2niSH8Vs/s1600/new+hotel+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY_4z_f3vGWxeI4zmQCZ9I9tOOSwMLY_rVxY8lORkesoi-5jFHWIoYgtP3imU_XjkqyqTzwqHrOt0NBXWywv2kr8mNwaTridlFbmyNTOXfpYApq40LMkn3NxQ_d5iF-SoladqK2niSH8Vs/s400/new+hotel+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQyqYoMQHwqKhEWIeZNjq76NQYmXIB2khLUmyaapshyqNToLeA812KzQcDFksj90s0Xfc1DL9MKDtEg75V152rnxI9YU4qHvkxWfESvPwM8R19lIN-Us76qy5FjGbgg0RX2l4Oww07Bxq/s1600/new+hotel+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQyqYoMQHwqKhEWIeZNjq76NQYmXIB2khLUmyaapshyqNToLeA812KzQcDFksj90s0Xfc1DL9MKDtEg75V152rnxI9YU4qHvkxWfESvPwM8R19lIN-Us76qy5FjGbgg0RX2l4Oww07Bxq/s400/new+hotel+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Above is the sculpture on the wall above the reception desk for the hotel. </div>
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A third part of this complex is a building that houses the swimming pool and the spa facilities. I was told there are actually underground tunnels that run between the buildings so guests may dress in a robe and travel to the pool or spa without having to go outdoors. </div>
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Now back to buildings that still exist. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBlylaVrlFjjrlsypAFqdKTCDpuqMkXxroNKicPGne8clhYjILbfDMVwvYJlqfIU7E4Munoa7UIyf4hLrTUjhQsyXryG8xRfz1xxi6V_kuhBfPHu1b2BzqN-0Ia2q21awMC0OSCzUAXcld/s1600/church+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBlylaVrlFjjrlsypAFqdKTCDpuqMkXxroNKicPGne8clhYjILbfDMVwvYJlqfIU7E4Munoa7UIyf4hLrTUjhQsyXryG8xRfz1xxi6V_kuhBfPHu1b2BzqN-0Ia2q21awMC0OSCzUAXcld/s400/church+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This church was the Cathedral with the diocese of Lutsk was active. The priest who gave us a tour said the church now has collegiate status. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhchSYi5kY7URTneSXMSEmCSOJpxlpbzPLXrkYG5d1UU3zwaWGIM5BR1-wMTaGXdHEHKV7anoHASc1kmBvLggAnLF_WFRfuUOE5ew4m7N54nCfFMowcLlX-ZXL7Av6VJVEUXeGfU6HDPT1_/s1600/church+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhchSYi5kY7URTneSXMSEmCSOJpxlpbzPLXrkYG5d1UU3zwaWGIM5BR1-wMTaGXdHEHKV7anoHASc1kmBvLggAnLF_WFRfuUOE5ew4m7N54nCfFMowcLlX-ZXL7Av6VJVEUXeGfU6HDPT1_/s400/church+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Above is the main altar of the church, a church that is now 300 years old. I thought I could see how it had changed in its affiliations over time, for it had been a Polish Roman Catholic Church all that time the walls would have been decorated as well. </div>
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The priest giving us the tour called my attention to what looks like a balcony window on the left. Notice in the exterior picture of the church there is a building contiguous to the church. This was housing for the bishops and other priests associated with the cathedral. The Bishop could use this window to pray towards the altar or simply see what was happening inside the cathedral without having to leave his room. </div>
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In what was somewhat a small church, there are many side altars. The priest explained this was so several priests could say Mass at the same time, doing so in whispers. This photo too gives a good view of something unique about this church. It has a wooden floor. The Bishop who led construction of this building thought wooden floors would be warmer than stone floors. The oak we walked on had been there 300 years. </div>
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At one time there had been a seminary attached to the cathedral as well. </div>
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This building now houses a high school with an agricultural emphasis. </div>
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Also in the village is the Church of St. John. </div>
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Its architecture is unique -- square with two columns in front. We could only drive by this church as it is closed for renovation. </div>
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Thus, you can see I had a marvelous hour in this village, with yet more to come during this day. </div>
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Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-16454352417503600232016-05-06T10:40:00.003-05:002016-05-06T10:40:41.856-05:00Day Trip Event #1 -- the Flying Fortess MemorialOn Thursday, May 5 I took a guided day trip to places east of Siedlce, Poland. I have been to many places in Poland, but never east of Siedlce and to places one can't reach unless having car transportation. My adventures on this day went from from early morning to bedtime, so I'm breaking this into several posts. <br />
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My guide picked me at the hotel at the Warsaw airport at 7:30. After the trouble with flying I was somewhat amazed I was actually walking around. I had enjoyed a good breakfast at the hotel. I was carrying a bag with a new computer for the Poland Country Manager for Global Volunteers so our first stop was Reymontówka where I met her. My guide was seeing this place for the first time so I showed up around a bit, especially showing him all the wood carvings there. We enjoyed coffee with Dorota and the Reymontówka director. Then soon we were on our way towards Siedlce. Every time I've been in Poland I go into the central part of the city. I didn't even know there was a highway bypass to go around the town. We drove for perhaps 45 - 50 minutes when we pulled off the main highway near the village of Woroniec, Poland.</div>
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I saw this. </div>
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In the photo one can easily see the number 38202. On the right is text engraved which can't be read on the photo. It explains U.S Army flight 38202 coming back from a mission in the Ukraine was downed in this area. The pilot and two other airmen were taken prisoner by the Nazi forces, but the remaining crew somehow escaped and were embraced by the Polish Home Army. They served with this group for about 45 days until they could be taken somehow back to the American military. </div>
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On the reverse of monument is a statement from the Polish people. </div>
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The script on this side is done in both Polish and English. It recognizes the 42,802 airmen who died in the quest to bring freedom to occupied Europe during World War 2. </div>
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Someone obviously cares for this monument regularly because yesterday there were fresh flowers at the monument. </div>
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If one steps away a bit, then one can see a representation of a plane on the ground </div>
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And yes, it is May and the grasslands are covered with dandelions. </div>
Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-18661825734566493682016-05-06T07:29:00.001-05:002016-05-06T07:52:49.816-05:00What a Misadventure!!!I left the MSP airport about 10 PM on Monday, May 2. I was happy to see that I had an entire row to myself and thought I would be able to sleep. Well, that surely didn't happen again for a very long time.<br />
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We were finished with the evening meal service about the time we left the eastern border of Canada and I could see the tip of Greenland appearing on the flight map. Then suddenly the map showed the plane flying south instead of east. My first thought was did something terrible happen again at an airport in Europe. Well in a bit the pilot announced we were flying to JFK in New York to fix a problem with the temperature in the plane. We got there at 3:30 AM New York time. <br />
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It took another 1.5 hours to get to JFK. We were told we could get off if we wanted and that the fix would take 1 hour. Well, I tried, but there was such a pile up at the top of the ramps leading to the terminal that I went back to my seat. About 1 hour later we were told we all had to get off because we would be going to Amsterdam on a different plane. When we got into the terminal the digital signs said we were going to Amsterdam at 7:30 AM. Then in a bit the signs changed to 6:00. We boarded again and I found it was the same plane, only now my in-flight entertainment center had been changed to Italian and there was a neck sleeping pillow in the seat that didn't belong to me.<br />
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I dropped off to sleep for a bit and then next thing I knew everyone was getting off again. I had missed the announcement and had a hard time figuring out what was happening. Well the parade of people let to Delta customer service, where we all stood in line for a very long time waiting to have our flights totally rebooked. There were 4 Delta staff to help and it took forever to deal with each party for rebooking. While standing in line I used my phone to cancel my hotel reservation in Amsterdam for it was very clear I wasn't going to be there by 6 pm Amsterdam time, since Central Europe is 6 hours ahead of New York and I still wasn't on a plane. <br />
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When it was my turn I was told, not offered, the 6:30 PM flight to Amsterdam. I slightly protested saying that would mean no sleep for nearly 48 hours. The staff person gave me two meal vouchers and arranged for me. I explained I'd never been in that airport before and didn't know where anything was. She arranged for me to be taken via wheelchair to a restaurant for breakfast. When eating breakfast a 1-800 number popped up on my phone. It was Delta calling to say they would be sending me a check for $100 for the inconvenience. I didn't think that was enough to cover the stress and inconvenience, but what can one do?? <br />
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The nice young man who escorted me asked when to return and I told him about in one hour. About thirty minutes later he came back asking if I indeed I wanted the other 30 minutes and I said yes.<br />
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My breakfast with coffee and tax came to a bit more than $17.00. The restaurant staff had called the number on the voucher and found it would only honor $15.00, so I had to pay the difference.<br />
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When the young man came back he took me to customer service where I got my boarding pass for 6:30 and then told me he had a surprise. He went and knocked on a door that had no signage, and I found myself in an area called Delta Sky Zone. The staff there asked if I wanted to watch a movie. I said no I'd like to read a bit and then fall to asleep. They made me a bed, and I did sleep until I heard what sound like an alarm. I thought I had by mistake left an alarm to ring on my phone for Wednesday, but when I looked at it, it was blank for alarms. Staff cell phone ringing I guess. I remained in that room until some children were escorted in and then figured out this must be the special place for children flying alone who need to transfer. The children were well behaved, but talkative.<br />
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I used the Delta app on my phone to track my luggage. Yes, it showed it loaded onto the 6:30 PM flight. Love the app service!!! <br />
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I took my boarding pass to the staff and asked them to tell me where I was and where was the gate for the flight. I yet had no idea of what terminal we were in and knew I had to be in terminal 4 for an international flight. Well, it turned out we were in Terminal 4 and the gate for the flight was just a short walk. Got some Snicker Bites to eat and sat there to read until it was finally time to board. While waiting I saw a whole parade of Delta flight attendants and wondered what was happening. Turns out they were posing for a picture. That is not something one sees every day. <br />
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Again we had an evening meal on the plane and again I had a whole row to myself. I did manage to sleep a couple hours on the flight. We landed in Amsterdam about 7:00. I stopped before at a bench before the passport line to get a dose of Ibuprofen to cover the walking at Schiphol airport. The passport line was a bit long but moved fast.<br />
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Then it was a long walk to the luggage belt used by Delta. Right out of passport control are luggage belts 1-8, 15-24 are a long way from there and Delta always used 16. Got my bag -- it's purple paisley so I don't have to inspect a number of black bags to know if I have the right one, and then enter the arrival area. It was now around 8:30 and I had a flight to Warsaw at 2:30 PM.<br />
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Found Starbucks and got a cappuccino. Then went to find a comfortable place to sit for awhile. The departure screens were only displaying info for flights through 12:30 PM. I was quite certain I needed to be at Departure Hall 1 since I have taken this flight to Warsaw so many times before. Finally thought I would try obtaining my boarding pass at one of the kiosks, and that worked, it popped out my boarding pass. Then I went up one level to check my bag.<br />
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Had a long time yet for the flight. Wandered by a restaurant called Het Palais. Looked like an interested menu so I went in and had a Toasti. This is rather like a grilled sandwich with cheese and ham along with catsup for dipping. Had a coffee along with this.<br />
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Then took the trip through security and the long walk to Gate D60. This is in an area called Airport Park. The seating there is comfortable and I was so scared I'd fall asleep that I did set an alarm on my phone. Here I am at Airport Park thinking I didn't too bad for someone with 4 hours of sleep in two days.<br />
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Took a walk to Gate D60 and found we couldn't enter it, door locked. Went back to the comfortable seating again for awhile. Went back to the area again and found a whole group of people seated on an escalator edge. I asked if they were going to Warsaw and when heard yes, decided to join them.<br />
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The magic boarding area has finally arrived. People with special status where let through, and the gate attendant invited a family with a small baby to board. Then appeared about 6 quite disabled men in wheelchairs along with their caretakers. Everyone was stopped from boarding while these people boarded, the disabled me were seated and their wheelchairs taken off the plane and stored in the cargo area.<br />
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We departed Amsterdam about 30 minutes late. The day brightened with the approach to Warsaw. The clouds lifted and I could see beautiful Poland below. Got my luggage without difficulty and then headed to the bankomat. They weren't there. Walked back to a cafe where I often go and asked, Gdzie bankomat. The staff pointed to a new location. Got some money for the day trip I was taking the next day, and then walked across the street to the hotel. Took my luggage, the big bag weighing 21K, because of special things I was asked to bring to Poland by the Global Volunteers office, to a hotel luggage cart, and then checked in.<br />
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Went downstairs again for a bite to eat.<br />
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Got the tomato soup and asked what ice cream was available. When chocolate chip was offered, I said yes, but much to my delight after this trip, it turned out to be chocolate, chocolate chip. Went up to my room and crashed out until 1:30 or so. Looked at my e-mail on my phone and found a new offer from Delta -- I will get a refund for the whole flight from MSP to Amsterdam, but I surely do hope I get mile credits for flying the route 1.5 times!!<br />
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Left a wake up call for 6 AM since I had to be ready for a day trip I had organized while thinking on Tuesday night I would have good sleep in Amsterdam and another good sleep on Wednesday night in Warsaw. Missed out a night there, but I did make it to breakfast, and had a great day trip. But that's a whole another story.<br />
<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-49682253691129247612016-04-14T23:03:00.002-05:002016-04-14T23:03:22.745-05:00A Layette AdventureFirst I know there are people from many different countries that read my blog. Thank you, thank you. But because of this fact, I thought before writing more I should explain what the word, layette, means. It is the term given to clothing one assembles when a new baby is expected. A layette may also include other necessary items such as blankets as well.<br />
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In January 2015, while digging through some boxes of donated materials at the Mano a Mano warehouse I found nearly 75 items for babies. I brought these home and laundered them and then tried to figure out what I had. Most were garments a new baby would wear, although I did find a beautiful sweater for an infant girl and a couple of dresses. I decided to take these and turn them into a layette project.A layette packet is given to the new mothers in Bolivia served by the clinics built by Mano a Mano.<br />
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Research shows that both infant mortality and maternal mortality decreases when a baby is delivered by a skilled birth attendant. Note this doesn't mean a hospital birth, but a birth attended by someone who is knowledgeable and part of a system to get assistance in those instances when something goes very wrong. The layettes in Bolivia are used to celebrate each birth that is part of skilled birth attendance. They usually consist of blanket, an item of clothing for a baby, and a baby toy. <br />
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While visiting my friend in Nebraska in that same January I asked if she would help me with this project since she is a quilter with many sewing supplies and a couple of different types of sewing machines. I knew purchasing up to 75 blankets from a store would be quite expensive, and we decided we could buy flannel and make blankets somehow.<br />
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Then life intervened for both of us, and we never got back to this project until this March. I drove there with my car trunk full of the flannel I had purchased more than a year previously.<br />
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My friend set up her kitchen island as the first preparation area. We measured out the lengths of flannel using the board shown in the picture. <br />
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My job was then to fold each blanket in half and cut rounded corners. Then we off to the surge sewing machine. </div>
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Wow are these machines amazing! They cut off a bit of the edge, maybe 1/4 inch or more if one wants, and at the same time puts a hemmed edging all the edge. When the thread is cut, then a length of cut threads need to be pulled through a few stitches and then covered with a substance called Fray-Check. Doing this final check was my job. My friend assured me the Fray-Check doesn't wash out and now I know this is true. I happened to spill a drop of it on my slacks while working on the project -- and yes, it doesn't wash out. </div>
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Sometime last year I did have enough blankets purchased from a thrift store to put together about 10 layettes and these went in the shipment to Bolivia last September and are now presently being unpacked and distributed throughout the various clinics and hospitals that receive donations through Mano a Mano Bolivia. </div>
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The work we did in Nebraska in March came home with me and ended up all over the dining room table and nearby chairs. Then I started on the puzzle of putting together garments with harmonizing blankets and toys. </div>
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Here's an example of one. This is the one that unusual because it is the little girl's sweater rather than a sleeping garment. </div>
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Today I delivered the last layettes and also we had blankets left over. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzv2uwBAFghXqfAEuRT4ez6wybrGOowVKGb1Bg8jO-pXjqe83EyWj3EpEIqthCD8IqGXUVGIWB1AYnTvvE_xAQhjYU1DRmPBk6aI0kMpmHWMWqzVyIuXyomcpCa2kb5I4eBHiGhI2h6rsb/s1600/DSCN2009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzv2uwBAFghXqfAEuRT4ez6wybrGOowVKGb1Bg8jO-pXjqe83EyWj3EpEIqthCD8IqGXUVGIWB1AYnTvvE_xAQhjYU1DRmPBk6aI0kMpmHWMWqzVyIuXyomcpCa2kb5I4eBHiGhI2h6rsb/s400/DSCN2009.JPG" width="400" /></a> Altogether we put together 47 layettes and 19 blankets for new babies. They hopefully will be part of a shipment that leaves Minnesota for Bolivia in May or June. </div>
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I was told the doctors can always use blankets so perhaps next winter we will have another sewing party. </div>
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Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-44224841913629568982016-04-09T20:53:00.004-05:002016-04-10T13:04:33.452-05:00The Wisdom of a 14 year oldIn the previous blog post I wrote briefly about the Jesse James gang. A reference to the Jesse James gang always brings back a very special memory.<br />
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In 2005 I did the Global Volunteers program in Pelican Rapids, MN -- a program that no longer is available. I chose to do this program because I was aware that Pelican Rapids was a community that was highly accepting of immigrants and refugees. I was interested in what made this community different than others.<br />
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Well, that didn't take long. At the public library there was an exhibit about the newly arrived immigrants and refugees in the town. One resident wrote, "These people tell the same stories as did my grandparents about why they came to the United States and Minnesota." That was the piece of wisdom but not the one I referenced in the title.<br />
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On the last day of the program, there was an outdoor picnic. A Somali young man, one of the teens provided by the Chamber of Commerce, approached me and asked very politely if he could join me for lunch. He had spent the week with a boy who had been in the community only 3 days, telling the volunteer teacher who had this student, "I know what he needs."<br />
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He wanted to talk with me to ask questions about Minnesota. He started out by asking me to explain about Jesse James. He had heard something about this, but didn't understand. Then he asked me if he was right in thinking the Minnesota Wild Hockey team played in Saint Paul. He went to ask if he was correct in his thinking that professional hockey players did get not paid as much as professional football players or basketball players. I told him he was correct, but that the amount professional athletes were paid seemed ridiculous to me compared to what we paid professionals such as teachers or nurses.<br />
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He looked at me with his 14 year old life history as a refugee and said, "You know Ma'am, life is not fair." I have never forgotten this. Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-7083503990375797382016-04-06T12:04:00.001-05:002016-04-06T12:04:42.406-05:00Driving a WalkYes, you read the title correctly. Right now I'm having trouble with walking and pain in my back. I'm back to physical therapy and the physical therapist thinks the problem may be damage to the iliotibial band, an anatomical feature, that runs along the side of one's upper leg from the hip bone to the knee joint. This creates a confounding problem, for one thinks there is a problem with the hip joint when in fact the difficulty is coming from another part of one's body.<br />
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I decided I could help the Volksmarching movement by double checking some of the route maps. Returning from Lincoln, NE, I double-checked the walks in Luverne and Worthington, MN. Madelia, Minnesota was on my way home too, but the day was getting too short to stop there as well. This needed to be done soon, so when Sunday morning dawned with good weather my older daughter and I took off for a day trip.<br />
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We left around 10:00 and got to St. Peter, Minnesota around lunch time where we stopped for lunch. Then it was only about 25 miles to drive to Madelia.<br />
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Madelia is located in Watonwan County. Watonwan County was established in 1860 on the shore of the Watonwan River. It is believed the name was spelled wrong as it came from Dakota language to English. In Dakota Watanwan -- note an a after the T rather than an o. The Dakota word, Watanwon, means where fish bait abounds.<br />
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Madelia is actually just a bit older than the county. It was platted in 1857 and finally incorporated as a city in 1872. It is named after Madeline, the daughter of General Hartshorn, who was was one of the early settlers in Madelia.<br />
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I did find one mistake in the route map while yet in St. Peter. While waiting for lunch I tried to put the address for the start of the walk into Google Maps on my phone. Google Maps was confused. So I looked up the address for the specific motel where this walk begins and found it is located on Hayes Avenue NE, not NW. This little mistake was what was messing up Google Maps.<br />
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Once in Madelia we started driving the route and the first thing that took my eye was this house which had quite unusual decorations about the windows.<br />
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Not all homes in Madelia were quite this rustic.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzF92lrbnNPgaqrM_lyDQbIGBcWItO_03EwB2IEF4f3pGARWholII7XQ6W6fk3hA1ZHJNe6Gl2yniNjLJJl3PY9xm5q_zwi7JtyvFAXk4SrPp31nWeb1S7Y0qc6nUCZGGUxjlnFdWnQpxf/s1600/house+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzF92lrbnNPgaqrM_lyDQbIGBcWItO_03EwB2IEF4f3pGARWholII7XQ6W6fk3hA1ZHJNe6Gl2yniNjLJJl3PY9xm5q_zwi7JtyvFAXk4SrPp31nWeb1S7Y0qc6nUCZGGUxjlnFdWnQpxf/s400/house+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
There were many homes in Madelia like the one above. These were built in the early 20th century. Many other in the town were built as single story ramblers after World War II, when there was a big housing boom as all the soldiers came home from the war and started families.<br />
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Soon the walk route took us to a historic site -- the Truss Bridge. The informative sign by this old bridge says that before bridges were built Madelia was the site of three fords across the Watonwan River. A wooden bridge was in place at one site by 1875, but because it was wood, it didn't last very long in Minnesota weather. The Truss Bridge replaced it in 1908. The type of construction for the bridge shown below in the photo is also called span bridge. This old bridge is preserved because it is one of the very few now to survive in Minnesota.<br />
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Below is a close up of what I believe are the "spans."<br />
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Not only can one no longer drive over this bridge, one can not walk over it either. <br />
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The draft of the route map had a question about whether there were public restrooms available at the Historical Center. I stopped in the parking lot for the Historical Center and found it to be open on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday so we couldn't visit it. Straight ahead of me while parked was the old building shown below.<br />
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TWP is an abbreviation for township. For my Polish friends who read this -- you use the word, gmina. <br />
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Our drive then took us back up to Main Street in Madelia. One reason to check this route map was to determine if a serious fire in Madelia would affect the walk route. This fire occurred about three months ago.<br />
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I found the fire site was now contained behind a fence.<br />
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Madelia had adopted a slogan for the Main Street rebuild.<br />
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I even saw the Madelia Strong sign posted in other nearby neighboring towns.<br />
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Across the street from the fire site is another historical site, the Flanders Building<br />
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Originally Madelia was the county seat of Watonwan County. The Flanders Building was built to be the first courthouse. Court met on the second floor -- what would be called the 1st floor by European count. Various county offices occupied the ground floor, what is called the 1st floor in the United States.<br />
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I had noticed a mural painted on the side of a building so we backtracked there.<br />
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This mural is about the James-Younger gang. The men associated with this gang had fought on the Confederate side during the Civil War. They were based in Missouri and following the Civil War took to robbing banks.<br />
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One day they showed up in Northfield, Minnesota. There they met people in the town who fought back. Two members of the gang died in Northfield and the rest took off on their horses. However, they chose the first day of hunting season in Minnesota to rob this bank and then try to escape. Many men were out in the countryside with guns for the hunting season. A farm boy noticed suspicious people nearby and went to the sheriff in Madelia. This means the gang would have traveled about 75 miles. There was a shoot out between the men of Madelia and the gang.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mOFTr7cKF6a-jQHLk9lhsZ8MzfjvRPCf2VPdhIcI-MIOqQKLQkLAA4JZqlzs5UY-g7DtP_7YA56LFvb5EnFHNGWWUpFXlzMR-Ec_1_4cqiSHUuZIC2-gYsF9NThMTC4PM4xmG2tAQ9fY/s1600/mural+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mOFTr7cKF6a-jQHLk9lhsZ8MzfjvRPCf2VPdhIcI-MIOqQKLQkLAA4JZqlzs5UY-g7DtP_7YA56LFvb5EnFHNGWWUpFXlzMR-Ec_1_4cqiSHUuZIC2-gYsF9NThMTC4PM4xmG2tAQ9fY/s400/mural+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madelia men </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
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The Younger brothers were wounded, dead, or captured.<br />
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That was really the end of the James-Younger Gang. I always knew about Jesse James Day in Northfield, but never knew that most of the gang was captured in Madelia.<br />
<br />In our drive around town we noticed two churches with interesting architecture.<br />
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The steeple on this church caught my eye as did the interesting way to ring the bell.<br />
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Turning the corner we noticed another church lit in an interesting way by the early spring light.<br />
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This is a Presbyterian church.<br />
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Our last stop in Madelia was at the grocery store where we picked up cold bottles of water. From there we made our way back to St. Paul.<br />
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This story shows why I like the walks. One finds such interesting things when walking. Hope we can find a way to help my walking problem in the next couple of months. <br />
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-41324062077712521722016-04-05T22:17:00.000-05:002016-04-05T22:17:04.320-05:00Easter BrunchMy older daughter and I enjoy brunch at the Nicollet Island Cafe. The restaurant is located within the Nicollet Island Hotel, logically enough on Nicollet Island.<br />
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Our view from the table was of the bridge that crosses from the Island to an area known as Old Main.<br />
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I like this brunch because it is served at the table rather than making one walk through a buffet line.<br />
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The first course beverages and pastries. We both chose coffee; I didn't want anything alcoholic because I don't drink and drive. My daughter likes cream and sugar with her coffee, but never before has she had a chance to brown sugar cubes wit h coffee.<br />
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For the next courses we each had a choice between three different things.<br />
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My daughter chose the pancakes with blueberries which included edible flowers -- another first experience for her.<br />
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I had a slice of quiche with a bit of salad.<br />
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For the next course my daughter chose the asparagus salad while I had the pea soup. This soup always makes me feel like I'm in Europe. <br />
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In the next course I chose the meatballs.<br />
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My daughter chose the mushroom gnocchi.<br />
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The dessert was a slice of cake with rhubarb sauce. If there had been another choice I would have taken it for I really don't like rhubarb.<br />
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But anyway we had a lovely morning. Hope you all enjoy seeing some brunch choices from Minnesota. Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-81112452867131161412016-03-27T21:33:00.001-05:002016-03-27T21:33:43.060-05:00A Quilting Adventure March 19 is National Quilt Day in the United States, and I was in Lincoln, NE which has the International Quilt Center and visiting my friend who does a great deal of quilting -- so of course I had a quilting adventure.<br />
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Our day began first, though, with a pancake breakfast. My friends' grandson is in the Boy Scouts and that morning the Boy Scouts were having a pancake breakfast, so that was the first stop.<br />
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My friend had to "work" at the Quilt Center at 11:00 so we went there directly after the pancakes.<br />
Due to my sore arthritic condition she dropped me near the entrance and then went to find a place to park the car. I entered into a foyer gift shop covered by quilts or quilt information. <br />
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There I was given a white piece of paper for something, I didn't understand what the paper was for -- the world of quilting as it is now is very new to me.<br />
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The word, quilting, may bring to mind the above image. This is a painting I found in the exhibit area, the painting being the work of Edgar Melville Ward. This painting was completed in 1892 and is called as one might expect, The Quilting Party.<br />
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But as one reads through this blog entry there will be evidence that there is more to quilting today than great-grandmother's quilting.<br />
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We had time upon arriving to first walk by the conservation room. The International Quilt Center holds thousands of quilts and has about 100 on display at one time.<br />
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Stored quilts are taken the conservation room where the box is opened and the quilt is spread out onto a large table. A type of net material is placed over a section of the quilt and the dust is literally vacuumed away. When the quilt has been totally cleaned it is again folded to go back in the box. But if the quilt had been folded vertically during its storage period, it is now folder horizontally. This prevents deterioration from a common fold area.<br />
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We then went to a vendor area to redeem our pieces of paper. She had a yellow piece of paper. That is when I learned these were to be redeemed for a spool of thread. Because I had a white one I got a much bigger spool of thread. My friend asked me get blue as she could use that when she works on the Quilts of Valor. This quilt project has spread all over the United States with the goal of awarding a quilt of every man or woman who has served in the U.S. military. <br />
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My friend's volunteer activity was to welcome visitors to the small conference room in which Cuddle Quilts were on display.<br />
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Cuddle quilts are about a square meter in size. They are given to fire fighters, police officers, and social workers who may encounter children in dangerous or stressful situations -- the purpose of the quilt literally to be used to cuddle the child who may have just experienced disaster or high stress.<br />
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Meanwhile I was having a wonderful time visiting the various galleries with quilt displays.<br />
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The first one I visited featured African-American quilts. These quilts were first collected by Dr. Robert Cargo who was the director of the Folk Art Gallery in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In 2000, the Quilt Center acquired this 156 piece collection.<br />
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Recently I have been learning about the role of horses in the European military -- the army with the best horses had a great advantage. So when I saw the quilts with mules, my idea was that mules were highly important in this culture. Good mules were an essential tool on an Alabama farm in the early 20th century. And so they are represented in quilts. <br />
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The above quilt is the work of Betty Rogers, Greene County, Alabama.<br />
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On an opposite wall I found the quilt shown below. It is the work of Mary Maxtion, also from Greene County, Alabama.<br />
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I also liked the quilt shown below. It is also shows something important.<br />
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I thought these were coffee cups, but the quilt maker, Lureoa Outland, calls it Tea Cups. She also lived in Greene County, Alabama.<br />
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Next I visited the gallery that holds several pieces from the Bryon and Sarah Rhodes Dillow collection of quilts. In 2008 the Dillows donated about 250 quilts and 175 fabric fragments to the International Quilt Center.<br />
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Below is part of a quilt called Princess Feather. It was made in 1865 by Rebecca Wilson and Isabella Irene Wilson Rhodes. <br />
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On an opposite wall I found the quilt below.<br />
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While most quilts are made by assembling many pieces of fabric, this quilt is one solid piece, and has the name. Whole Cloth. Quilt stitches add texture to this. It is estimated to have been made between 1800 - 1830, but it is unknown whether it was made in the United States or in the United Kingdom.<br />
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In the rear gallery area I saw a sign that said Man Made. From the distance I thought it was making reference to the type of fabrics used in the quilts. I certainly was wrong. This gallery, instead, holds quilts made by men.<br />
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Here is an example.<br />
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The above quilt is the work of Ben Venom. In 2012 he made this quilt from heavy metal t-shirts, other fabrics, and thread.<br />
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Another one that caught my eye is titled Some Dumb Old Painting. It is obviously a take-off from the paintings of Roy Lichtenstein. The quilt is the work of Joe Cunningham and was made in 2012. <br />
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The caption made me laugh!<br />
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Because of my interest in Central Europe, I was quite interested in the quilt shown below. It is also the work of Joe Cunningham, done in 2014.<br />
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Cunningham explains he saw a newspaper picture of protestors sleeping in an occupied government building in Kiev. He calls this quilt quite obviously Sleeping Protestors in Kiev.<br />
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It is easier to see the jumble of coats and sleeping bags portrayed in the quilt with the peaceful faces of sleeping protestors in the piece of the quilt shown below.<br />
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I also found a quilt that intrigued me in an exhibit called Art Quilts.<br />
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The Quilt Center has a no-touch policy and I wanted to touch this one so badly to better understand how the quilter had made this. The name of the quilt is Leaf Fall, Variation B Fragments. It is the work of Barbara Schneider.<br />
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Before leaving we attended a seminar called Modern Quilting. This is a new movement in the quilt world, based on breaking all the rules of traditional quilting. Alas no photographs of modern quilts.<br />
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It truly was a great day at the International Quilt Center. <br />
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-13924736643776608632016-03-23T20:15:00.000-05:002016-03-23T20:15:38.158-05:00Adventures Along the HighwayLast Friday I drove from St. Paul to Lincoln, Nebraska. The weather was rather blah, so it was nice to find something once in awhile along the highway. I had slept later than I had planned before starting this trip. My first plan had been to have a breakfast of melon and muffin before leaving. However, I had left the muffin in the car after buying it the previous evening. I sliced up the melon and did munch on it while driving, but knew the muffin required a stop.<br />
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My first stop was a park only rest stop in northern Iowa. This means one can park there for a bit, but there are no facilities such as toilets at this rest stop. My view out the window while munching on the muffin looked so desolate.<br />
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After driving another 35 miles or so I arrived at a rest stop that did have "facilities." I like the rest stops in Iowa because each one of them is a history lesson. This particular stop was at a place where I've never stopped before in my travels. This one has what is called replicated fixtures from the Soldiers Memorial Hall in nearby Hampton, Iowa. This Memorial Hall particularly is to keep a remembrance of the soldiers from Franklin County Iowa who fought in the battle called Pleasant Hill in Louisiana near the end of the Civil War. <br />
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A visit to Wikipedia and other web sites reveals this Soldiers War Memorial Hall is one of three in the United States. The real building remains in Hampton and has been on the National Historic Register since 1991. (A funny historic memory -- one of the friends I came to visit lived in Hampton as a child and remembers being tripped in this building and breaking a tooth!)<br />
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At the rest stop one finds a tile mosaic on the entrance that depicts how the American eagle was depicted in the middle of the 19th century<br />
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On each side of the interior walls there are other mosaic tile displays.<br />
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The above is for the Union Army. The one below depicts the Confederate Army.<br />
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Bordering both of these mosaics are a great number of tiles each with some words etched into the tile.<br />
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For my international readers -- Jefferson Davis was the President of the Confederate States.<br />
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On the Union side of the hallway I found the above tile.<br />
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The exterior walls of the building also have tiles.<br />
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The GAR stands for the Grand Army of the Republic which was another way to designate the Union Army.<br />
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I will close this blog entry with the tile below.<br />
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-26113246405551856982016-03-13T11:29:00.002-05:002016-03-13T11:29:53.063-05:00What an Adventure?I had an appointment to see my orthopedic physician on Friday, and about 90 minutes before the appointment I received a phone call that the appointment had to be changed because the doctor was going home sick. Now that is a first!<br />
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So instead I decided to do some clothing shopping. Then when done with that I went to a nearby Best Buy to see perhaps about getting a new computer. The one I have been using was developing a lot of problems. For example, I had it plugged in from 8 PM in the evening until noon the next day and when I went to use it I had 2% battery power. It was nagging in my mind not to spend money because tomorrow I have to go my tax preparation office and pick up my taxes and learn if I pay or get a refund. I am thinking it is on pay side and after also paying my granddaughter's car insurance bill it has been a month with a lot of unusual expenses.<br />
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But when I saw the difference between what I was using and what now is possible I simply couldn't resist. I decided to take some of the trauma out of getting a new computer by having the Geek Squad set up my new computer and then transfer files from my old computer to the new computer.<br />
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So I came home on Friday night and went searching in boxes in the closet for the disk with my printer driver and evidence that I really did own Microsoft Office. Not easy to find things after having moved twice since December 2013. But I did find things without too much difficulty.<br />
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Woke up at 5 AM and spent some time deleting Word files that I really didn't need and also copied two Powerpoint files that I truly needed to a thumb drive. Then around 10 AM I picked up the old computer and the software materials and headed out to Best Buy. After arriving it took only about 5 minutes to get everything arranged. Then I went to a nearby restaurant and enjoyed breakfast.<br />
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Back to the center of the city where I picked up my older daughter and took her for a hair cut. I had intended to take her for pie and coffee afterward but I was simply too tired. Came home and took a long nap. When I woke up I had a message the computer was already except they didn't know how to access my MSN account. I thought that funny because they had just sent me an e-mail message, So took off for the Geek Squad again and found the problem was that Office software couldn't be loaded without the password for that even though I had the access number for the software written down. I tried to enter a password, it didn't work, and reached my phone where I store passwords. Then I discovered I had left my phone at home. Nothing to do but go home to get it.<br />
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And then would you believe, on the way home I got slowed down a bit by a load of hay spilled on the freeway. Also because this was Saturday evening there were plenty of blinking red and blue lights. The highway patrol was indeed busy.<br />
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Back to the Geek Squad and we quickly finished doing up everything. I came home with the new computer and got it attached to my wireless system. Now it is the sea of passwords that must be added back to all the sites I use.<br />
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Recently a friend wrote about upgrading his computer to Windows 10 and reported it took about two days to have everything working again. Well I think it would it have taken me way more than 2 days to do everything up and running. Two big things to yet accomplish -- adding the printer back to this computer and making Photoshop work. I had to get upgrade my version of Photoshop -- bought it from Amazon, downloaded it last night but can't install it without an Adobe password - which Adobe claims I have. And something that should be simple -- how to copy and paste in Windows 10.<br />
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-29468665700759861252016-02-27T18:19:00.000-06:002016-02-27T21:21:37.306-06:00Watching things in the SkyWhen I sit in my favorite chair I see out a window toward the northeast. Mostly I see the sky with a large freeway interchange taking up the bottom 25% of the view.<br />
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One thing I see quite frequently are helicopters heading to nearby Regions Hospital. Regions is a high level trauma hospital and it is also a burn center for the upper Midwest. It is contiguous with Gillette Children's Hospital, so also it could be children who are air-lifted for care. <br />
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Today I was able to grab my camera quickly enough to get a couple of pictures.<br />
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And below is a picture of staff beginning to move a patient from the helicopter.<br />
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Often when the helicopters leave they fly a semi-circle towards the building in which I live and it gets a bit noisy for about 30 seconds. One night there were 3 helicopters about 1 AM in the morning and it was indeed noisy. I still wonder what might have happened that three people had to be air-lifted.<br />
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Then I looked up and saw this wonderful set of jet trails.<br />
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Other things that happened today was enjoying a bit of brunch with others in the building.<br />
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Amazing how much good food got put together. Most were headed for a Block Party at the nearby CHS Stadium and then leaving at 5 PM for a walk up the hill to the Crashed Ice event. Too much walking yet for me.<br />
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I came back upstairs and had a nap since I had woke up at 4 AM and by 11 AM I was ready to catch up on sleep a bit.<br />
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Then I headed off for some errands. I went to a store to exchange a swim suit for a different size. Then I stopped by the library and picked out some new books. When I was checking them out I found my account shows no record of a library book I still have at home. Well, that will be interesting when I take the book back. <br />
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Waiting for the time change next Sunday so the late afternoon will have more daylight. Spring is coming!<br />
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-83266047191819550182016-02-21T19:05:00.000-06:002016-02-21T19:05:39.783-06:00Looking for SpringIn the previous post I wrote about having a hip injection. I mentioned insomnia as being a side effect of the cortisone substance and the second night it hit really hard. I woke up at 2:40 AM, and couldn't get back to sleep. The explanation for this that the cortisone causes the adrenal glands to move to the "fight or flight" mode and one's mind becomes overstimulated. At least this time I was expecting this and prepared with books to read and had also adjusted my schedule -- not promising I would do anything for anyone during the coming day. Finally went back to asleep around 6 AM.<br />
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Woke up later quite uncomfortable. By then the brief period of a local anesthetic in the hip relieving the pain had ended. And it was way too soon for the pain relief from the cortisone to be present. That doesn't kick in for 10-14 days. <br />
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I have also learned when I wake up with what feels like extra pain to grab for my phone. I go to a service provided by the US Arthritis Foundation. One puts in the local zip code and from that the weather for that area is analyzed to provided a pain index. Sorry the picture below is not very good-- lots of light reflections. <br />
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Tufts University did a study about 10 years ago to go along with the story many people tell about knowing the weather by the how their joints ache. The hypothesis for the pain is that falling temperatures and fall barometric pressure causes the joints to swell and swollen joints produce more pain. I don't know about the temperature change, but I'm certainly sensitive to the changes in the barometer. Low pressure -- Ouch!!! <br />
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So it wasn't my imagination -- Friday was a very high pain day -- and I've lived through a couple of Extreme level days too -- those days are best spent with either good books or good television!<br />
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Well, I was rather tired of feeling sorry for myself and so decided I would just take a lot of ibuprofen and go to Como Park, here is St. Paul, and enjoy the flowers in the Conservatory found there. Below is the view of the Conservatory as I walked from the parking lot toward the Conservatory. The picture shows it is still winter, but not too bad. <br />
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It's official name is the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory and it's 101 years old. About 10 years the building underwent a major renovation, particularly repairing glass areas so that it wasn't leaking. <br />
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By the time I arrived it was about 1:30 in the afternoon. I had eaten a bagel earlier in the morning, so I was hungry. I was also surprised how many cars were in the parking lot for a weekday afternoon, and how many people were in the restaurant having a late lunch.<br />
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My late lunch was a cheeseburger, accompanying by waffle French Fries. <br />
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After I was finished I walked through a service area and found a way to recycle some things that need to leave my home.<br />
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After my lunch I walked first to the Fern Room. I've been there many times, but this time the fern got my attention.<br />
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The nearby signs explains it is called a Bird's Nest Fern and it comes from the Hawaii Islands. The signs explains that decaying leaves and water is caught by the leaves on the fern and that is how it gets its nutrition.<br />
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With just this small walk my back was hurting and sitting down relieves the pain. While sitting on a nearby bench I noticed how the ceiling from the room reflections in the pond in the room.<br />
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After a bit of rest I walked to the next room which is the center of the Conservatory.<br />
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In the pond I noticed I noticed a plant that was new to me. Perhaps you readers can see the sign says it is European Water Clover. <br />
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In the middle is a fountain.<br />
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The sculpture was done is 1925 by Harriett Fishmuth.<br />
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Nearby I saw some beautiful orchids.<br />
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And I liked this one which looks like it has a pansy face.<br />
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I next went to the Sunken Garden. The flowers in this room change with the season.<br />
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Below is a close-ups of one of the flowers in this room. For my readers in other countries, it is called an Amaryllis in English. <br />
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I was glad for the benches in this room too to rest the achy back.<br />
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I also explored the North Garden. This garden holds plants that make food such as pineapple, pepper, and cacao. I didn't find that this garden had any good things for photo, no flowers, no produce, probably resting -- the area is warm but it is still subject to the limited light during the Minnesota winter.<br />
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As I walked out I found the sun shining. And to the left I saw a winter view of a what is called a butterfly garden.<br />
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At home I got a good view of the full moon arriving at about 5:30 PM in the afternoon.<br />
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And the view to the left shows the sun shining on the afternoon rush hour on the freeways. Doesn't look too busy for I took this picture around 6 PM and the major traffic rush is between 4:00 - 5:30 in this area in the afternoon. <br />
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Yes, it this was a better afternoon than laying around and complaining about arthritis pain. <br />
<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-25323572998399998032016-02-20T16:41:00.002-06:002016-02-21T16:59:15.253-06:00A Hip Injection AdventureDuring the past year I've started to deal with severe arthritis. On this past Wednesday I had the 2nd injection into my right hip. If one searches the internet there is many mentions of hip injection, but nothing that tells one what to expect, so I thought I would write about this a bit.<br />
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For readers in other countries, in the United States if one is over 65 years old, one is eligible for what is called Part A Medicare. This pays for hospital services. Part B Medicare pays for outpatient services. Cost of Part B is subtracted automatically from one's Social Security check. But neither of these insurance programs pay 100% of costs, and so one needs to buy what is called Supplemental Insurance. I get mine through a large Minnesota system called Health Partners and this is also directly billed towards my Social Security check as well. And I receive all my health/dental services through Health Partners too. <br />
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Health Partners has many, many clinics around the Twin Cities. The one I go to for orthopedic services is less than 2 miles from my apartment. However, for the past 2 years there has been major construction in the freeway I need to use to get there and so I had to do long detours. Most recently I can just get there is less than 5 minutes now. <br />
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In the lower part of the photo one may notice a sign that says Gillette Lifetime Services. Gillette Hospital started out as a children's hospital which specialized in care of children with polio. As polio was controlled in the United States, its mission changed. Gillette still cares for children with trauma -- for example, my 2 year old grandson fell down some steps and had brain surgery one night at midnight.<br />
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One of the specialties of Gillette is the care of children who for some reason need prostheses. And once a child begins with Gillette for this, they can continue for a long time, if not forever, to have a prosthesis adjusted or changed as the child grows into adulthood. A hospital is not needed for this and so most care is done in a clinic setting.<br />
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And yes, I'm aware the word, "Clinic" is used differently in Central Europe at least, than it is in the United States.<br />
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A hip injection requires the use of fluoroscope services to ascertain that the needles are entered into the right place. At this clinic, hip injections as well as other services such as shoulder injection, are done in the Same Day Surgery location. I didn't remember that from last time, but then I was in so much pain it is amazing I remembered anything!<br />
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I went to a nearby check-in desk to ask where was the Pain Intervention Clinic was. She inquired if I was there for "a shot." I said yes, so then I had to show my ID and insurance card and got checked in for my appointment. Then she said, "Do you need financial assistance?" I replied that I had just showed her all my insurance information, to which she replied she said it was a new question for everyone. This was a change from "Have you been out of the country in the past 21 days?" That all started with the Ebola outbreak in 2014-15. <br />
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And since the hip injection is done in Same Day Surgery one is treated as if it is surgery. One can't eat or drink for two hours before the appointment. Since I have more than 40 years experience as a nurse I couldn't help but ask why one couldn't eat or drink before a hip injection because there is no physiological explanation for this direction . There is no general anesthesia. Answer I got back is that "some people throw up."<br />
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When one arrives vital signs are checked. One is asked over and over about any allergies to medications. One is asked over and over what is the procedure and on which side. Finally the doctor who does the procedure arrived and asked me to sign a form stating I understood infection is a slight, but possible, outcome of the hip injection. He also placed a mark on my right forearm indicating that was the side for the procedure. Then I sat in a room for about 30 minutes waiting my turn. I was surely glad that I brought a book along to read.<br />
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Finally it was my turn. I walked to a procedure room, and hopped up on exam table. I had worn slacks with an elastic band so could just pull them down a bit to expose my right hip bone. The attending staff placed some drapes over my clothing leaving the hip area exposed. Then the skin was cleansed with Betadine or something similar -- I couldn't see. The doctor said "you will feel burning." I did as he injected some anesthesia into the area. Then he said, "you will feel some pressure." That was when the cortisone med was added. Then I was done.<br />
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I went back to the room where I left my coat and other possessions. I had to wait for my blood pressure to be taken again. Also I had to wait for the "discharge directions" to be printed and presented to me. I also had to sign a form indicating I had received such directions. These directions speak to what negative outcomes should be reported.<br />
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The whole procedure takes about 2 minutes, the paperwork etc takes 30 minutes or more!!!<br />
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The final thing to notice about a cortisone injection, including a hip injection, is that is takes 10-14 days to really kick in. I'm waiting for some the radiating pain from my hip joint across my back to disappear.<br />
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The staff is always surprised that I'm driving myself to and from. I keep telling them my regular orthopedic doctor said I didn't need a driver for this procedure.<br />
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Since my appointment was at 12:30 pm, that meant after 10:30 I couldn't eat or drink anything and now it was 1:45 and I was hungry. So my next stop after this was lunch!! This in itself should convince anyone thinking about a hip injection to understand that it is not at all a traumatic procedure.<br />
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After lunch I decided to try a store new to me and see if I could I buy some new luggage for my Poland trips. I knew the store was having a luggage sale. I've been looking at their website.<br />
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Got there and found some lovely new luggage at first a 70% sale and then another 20% on this day. It was a good day to go looking for luggage. First I was shown a black set. I said I wanted something different so I could actually find my luggage when it shows up on the baggage carousel. 95% of the bags are black! So not only did I not have a driver after the procedure, I also went shopping! <br />
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Now the final thing to know about a hip injection or any other type of cortisone type injection is that it may cause insomnia. And for me it does. The night of the procedure I slept just fine. In fact, after waking up at 7 or so I went back to bed and slept until about 11 AM I volunteered that afternoon. Then what would be the 2nd night I woke up at 2:40 AM and couldn't go back to sleep. But the good thing is that the insomnia effect wears off in about 48 hours. This is not a bad side effect if one plans for it, and certainly is worth it to get rid of pain -- and I plan ahead for this with a stack of books to read if I can't sleep.<br />
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I hope this is a helpful story for anyone who needs a hip injection and wonders what it is all about. <br />
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-79710924003774031582016-02-12T15:22:00.000-06:002016-02-12T21:44:34.390-06:00A Sad MisadventureNo pictures to go with this post. Today I had a sad misadventure. I took myself out to lunch today. In the next booth I overhead a man proclaiming we must elect a President who understands that the whole world hates America. All I could think about is the fact I have done 32 Global Volunteer programs with the idea of making friends and developing long-term relationships with people in other countries. I also was privileged to be awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and spent 7 months in Hungary. Senator Fulbright pioneered what became the Fulbright Program after World War II because he thought there would be less war if people in different countries knew each other. It is not been my experience that people in other countries hate Americans, but at times they are mystified or disturbed by American policies. <br />
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This "hate" rhetoric associated with the political season in the U.S. makes me very sad.<br />
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And my blog is being read by people in more than 100 countries. I trust that means there is something here at least interesting and I have never received any comments that indicate a hate for America.<br />
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Thanks you all for listening.<br />
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And comments would be most welcome. Please let me know your thoughts. <br />
<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-11982664455233152522016-02-11T13:29:00.001-06:002016-02-11T13:29:18.784-06:00A cell phone adventureWell, yesterday I sure did a silly thing. I grabbed my phone early in the morning to take a photo of the beautiful colors of the sunrise. After I looked at the pictures, I decided I didn't like them and so tried to delete them. At that point my phone just froze. I thought what would fix it was to take the battery out and then restart the phone. Well, I couldn't figure out how to get back off the phone -- a phone I've had only about 4 months or so.<br />
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So I went to T-Mobile. The technician showed the spot on the phone frame to use to take the back off the phone. He took the battery out and then replaced it and couldn't get the phone to start either. He walked over a counter and flipped up the top and inside was a computer as well as many USB cords. He ran my account and then ran diagnostics on the phone. What was wrong -- the battery was at 0%. Boy did I feel stupid.<br />
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So I went back to the car and plugged into the car charger I have for my phone. In just a four block drive it went from 0-1% so I knew the only thing wrong was the need to charge the phone.<br />
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My short drive was to a favorite restaurant. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday and it seems traditional that many give up meat for Lent and so fish becomes a prominent feature on menus.<br />
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I had the fish sliders -- sliders being a word applied to small burger shaped sandwich.<br />
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This bun is about one-half the size of average burger buns. The sandwich was really good, and I'm of the opinion that eating this rather than a hamburger is not really much of a sacrifice!<br />
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Recently I read that Pope Francis said instead of giving up things such as chocolate or computer games, we should give up indifference to the needs of others. That indeed sounds much more difficult and probably much more useful than eating fish sliders instead of beef burger sliders! Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-26527198537434505112016-02-11T13:13:00.000-06:002016-02-11T13:13:18.540-06:00Soup and SortFor those who read my blog and live in different countries, no soup and sort isn't a weird American English idiom. I am sharing about a volunteer event I've in which I participated last winter and now starting again this winter.<br />
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I do a number of different volunteer activities for <a href="http://www.manoamano.org/" target="_blank">Mano a Mano International. </a><br />
Mano a Mano works to improve the life of Bolivians, particularly those who live high in the Andes Mountains.<br />
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One activity, and the first activity of Mano a Mano when it began, is the collection of medical supplies that are being discarded or no longer of needed use. The supplies come locally or as far away as North Dakota and South Dakota.<br />
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Last winter two volunteers got the idea to start Soup and Sort. Volunteers interested in helping to sort the donated supplies come to the warehouse around 5 PM. One volunteer, who is an excellent cook, makes soup and brings it in a slow cooker. So that explains the <b>soup</b> part of this title. This week it was squash soup and very good. My small contribution to this event is to bring some cookies for a quick dessert. This week I decided to "bake" by shopping downstairs at the grocery store.<br />
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Now about the<b> sort</b> part of this title.Supplies come in all mixed up.<br />
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We literally dump a box of materials out on a table and begin to sort what's inside by several categories.<br />
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For example, diapers, underpants, and feminine hygiene pads all go into box 3. Once a box is filled, it is taped shut and the number marked on all four sides.<br />
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Filled boxes are loaded onto a pallet.<br />
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The next piece of processing is done one of the highly skilled volunteers counts the boxes and notes the categories of boxes in the group. Then a whole pallet of boxes is wrapped in plastic, weighed, and then marked with a number. This helps greatly when it comes time to load containers. One knows what is loaded into which container and what the weight is of the loaded supplies.<br />
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Mano a Mano also received wheelchairs, walkers, and crutches.<br />
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The same skilled volunteer makes sure to count how many objects are in each of these cardboard boxes, and again, the box is marked with a number and weight. When it comes time to load the containers for shipping, the pallets are loaded first to form a foundation. Then someone climbs up on the loaded pallets and begins to place the wheelchairs, crutches, and walkers into additional layers and in the spaces between the pallets.<br />
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Another of my volunteer activities for Mano a Mano is digitizing records. I've been through about 1200 paper records now and find people have given donations from $5.00 to thousands of dollars. Also the internet makes it possible to send donations from other countries. I've found records for donors, for example, from Germany, France, and Canada.<br />
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This above is my hint for any reader who is able to send a bit of donation. A $1.00 donation provides the shipping cost to send supplies valued at about $13.00. It is not often one gets that much return on an investment. See www.manoamano.org if you are interested to learn more and also there you will find a link for donations.<br />
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I've been to Bolivia. These supplies are going to places where people have nothing. These are populations that live on basically $1.00 per day. Mano a Mano has now built 155 clinics in places where never before that had there been a health clinic. And all of these clinics continue to function. The model used by Mano a Mano is that a village asks for help. This is not well meaning Americans coming into Bolivia telling the Bolivians what they need or should do. <br />
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In 2014 when I was in a Bolivian village I watched a father walking his little son to the clinic. The little one was obviously sick with some kind of respiratory infection. He just looked miserable. I asked what the father would have to do had the clinic not been there for his son. Answer: He would have to walk 20 kilometers out to the highway. Then wait for a trucker who might be willing to pick them up and then drive 3 hours into a larger city where there would be a clinic. And then of course they would have to make the return trip too. This all could might take two days, a hardship in itself. <br />
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That is what a difference a primary care health clinic makes in a village up in the Andes Mountains. <br />
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-17438517232390584742016-02-04T23:42:00.000-06:002016-02-05T19:20:12.935-06:00There's an App for that!People often think Minnesota is a terrible place to live because of snow in the winter time. Well, I'd rather live in a place that knows what to do with it than one of the places that is rather totally unprepared to deal with snow.<br />
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<a href="https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/12645047_10204845563251873_4604662017262907888_n.jpg?oh=e7218857e30d9b4b89091812190cea2e&oe=572B407B" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="spotlight" height="400" src="https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/12645047_10204845563251873_4604662017262907888_n.jpg?oh=e7218857e30d9b4b89091812190cea2e&oe=572B407B" style="height: 520px; width: 286px;" width="220" /></a>This has been an easy winter actually. However, a snow storm moved further north than expected this week and we had a very messy Tuesday. I took the photo below around 4 PM in the afternoon before the snow had even ended. My balcony overlooks Robert Street. This is one of many streets classified as a snow emergency route which is plowed 24/7 until the snow ends and the street is cleared. Streets such as this are continually plowed so there that vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks can move through the city.<br />
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Clearing streets in an old city is more difficult than in the suburbs. The houses in the suburbs all have garages and so it is easy to clear a street for plowing. In the city there are many apartment houses that were built before everyone had cars. In these areas there is no where to park except on the street. For four years I lived in an apartment complex that was 21st century, but there is only one parking spot in the garage per apartment. So if there were two people in an unit with cars, one person had to leave the car on the street -- again a problem for snow plowing.<br />
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So to get around this a snow emergency is declared. In St. Paul a snow emergency begins at 9 PM at night. From that time until about 6 AM the next morning the east side of north-south streets are plowed. Plowing continues too on the snow emergency routes. The next day the east-west streets are plowed as well as the west half of the north-south streets. To help residents and visitors know where it is OK to park, the streets that are half-plowed at night have signs, on the correct side of the street, that say "Night plow route." <br />
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A snow emergency is announced every way possible -- e-mail, radio and TV announcements, phone messages-- to make everyone aware of need to move their cars from areas that are due to be snow plowed. And now for first time, beginning this week, there's an app for that.<br />
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To get information one puts an address into the map part of the app. Then the streets pop up and one can see what streets are OK for parking, outlined in green, and what streets are yet to be plowed. The map below shows the center city about 12 hours after the snow has stopped. One can see they are all outlined in green so parking is legal -- and since it's the center of city -- also if one pays for the parking place.<br />
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And the photo below was taken about 24 hours after the one at the very beginning of this story.<br />
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Wow! It is 5 PM and the sun is still shining. Spring will soon be coming. The building in the 9:00 position is Regions Hospital. The multi-lane roads is the intersection of I-94E and I-35E.<br />
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Addendum: Turns out this was the 5th largest February snowfall in the Twin Cities area.<br />
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-7076250787858804192016-01-20T23:00:00.001-06:002016-01-22T18:02:23.377-06:00Doing Nothing but Cooking on a Cold WeekendLast week I wrote about volunteering on a cold day. Sunday, January 17, I can say it was a day with nearly nothing on a cold day. When I woke up that morning the temperature was -12 (-23C). This weather was highly expected and forecasted in the weather reports. On the day before I picked up my older daughter. When we returned to my building we braved walking across the parking lot to the grocery store and picked up some things to get us through the weekend.<br />
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I made a salad and took wild rice soup out of the freezer for our supper. We watched TV during the evening. I had a knee injection earlier this week, and spent a couple nights with insomnia as my reaction to the kenalog med. Last night was great-- no insomnia and no pain. Didn't get up until 9:30.<br />
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We had brought cinnamon rolls home yesterday after having a late breakfast at a restaurant. They were easy to warm up for a quick bite with coffee and orange juice. Then I put together a quiche.<br />
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<img alt="" class="spotlight" height="400" src="https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/12494737_10204765599692834_100219764866825309_n.jpg?oh=90e41eab3cfc13949bb3c790731c5218&oe=573C48E6" style="height: 520px; width: 286px;" width="220" /></div>
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We enjoyed that about noon along with some fresh fruit. When I put this same picture on Facebook, four people asked for the recipe. <br />
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During the afternoon I went exploring in the closet for some craft items I need for a project. When I moved into this apartment in 2014 I put boxes on closet shelves just too quickly get things put away, spent the next 9 weeks in Poland, came home to two cataract surgeries which was followed in March 2015 by bad arthritis pain. I really didn't remember where I put what hoping I had labeled boxes correctly. Found half of what I need. Just now getting back to doing things like craft projects. I will plan a trip to a craft store sometime when the weather warms.<br />
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We spent the afternoon watching movies on TV. Noticed out the bedroom window I could see birds flying -- an odd view from the 6thlevel of a building on such a cold day. I went out to my balcony windows where I could get a better view. Quite a surprise -- I found a whole group of eagles soaring about. I wonder if they have to fly to build up some body heat on such a cold day. <br />
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For supper we made a chicken recipe I got when volunteering in Romania. And it was cooked in one of my Polish dishes! <br />
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We did enjoy this and also had apple crisp for dessert later in the evening.<br />
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On Monday, January 18, which is a legal holiday in the United States, we just enjoyed leftovers. A relaxing weekend in a warm place with good food is the best way to spend a cold, cold weekend. And I hope the weather forecast is right -- this is the only one for this winter. Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340615462565403965.post-51004215395545244332016-01-11T18:54:00.000-06:002016-01-11T18:54:09.347-06:00Volunteering on a Cold Day What do I mean by a cold day? Sunday was almost the first cold day of the 2015-2016 winter in the Upper Midwest. That is what made it feel even colder.<br />
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This is what the Weather Channel showed early Sunday morning. -9 in Fahrenheit is about the same as -22 in the Celsius system.<br />
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Every morning I get a text message from the meteorology service of Minnesota Public Public Radio. Below is what it said yesterday.<br />
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But this was a day for a volunteer effort to help people who have a much more difficult life than I do, even on a very cold day.<br />
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At my church we hold a "re-gifting sale" early in January. People bring things they have that are new or very gently used. They are sold at a discount with proceeds going to <a href="http://www.manoamano.org/" target="_blank">Mano a Mano</a>. Mano a Mano seeks to help people in Bolivia who need health clinics, schools, water reservoirs, and help adapting their agricultural methods to the coming changes caused by climate change in Bolivia. <br />
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The term, re-gifting, may be unfamiliar to readers of this blog who arrive from other countries to this page. Today I happened onto a Facebook page that says this is a term that came from the Seinfeld TV series. It means giving away a gift one has received to another person because one doesn't want the gift. Of course, in a real gifting situation one has to make sure the person who gave you the gift doesn't know you gave it to someone else. In this case, we bring things to the sale.<br />
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On Saturday evening my older daughter helped me carry down things from my apartment to the garage and we loaded up the trunk. I had things given me by two friends to take along in addition to the things I wished to donate.<br />
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We got up early on Sunday morning and grabbed a cup of coffee and a muffin. Then we set out, planning to arrive just after the 9 AM church service had started. I wanted the crowd to disappear form the door, so I could pull up very close to a door to unload all this very quickly. We were successful and even had the great courtesy of another woman arriving about the same time to help us unload and take all this up one level in the church building using the elevator (yes, I know it's called a lift in many other versions of English).<br />
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Once we had everything delivered we took off for breakfast and then I took her home. When I returned during the 11 AM service, I could see many things I had brought had disappeared, purchased by those who had attended the 9 AM service. The co-coordinators of the re-gifting sale were counting the money and already the sale has produced a bit more than $300. I don't know what the final total turned out to be because the sale didn't end until after the 4:30 PM afternoon service.<br />
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To the right is part of the sale table -- everything from candle holders to a baby blanket. <br />
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And what a good idea -- taking things one doesn't want and use -- and turning them into money and giving them a home with someone who wants them. <br />
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And maybe here I should explain more. Example: I took two children's books, brand new that I had always intended to use for teaching English. But I've had these for nearly 5 years -- and these are books that can age -- one was Anne of Green Gables and the other a children's book about Ella Fitzgerald. Both of these books are ageless, and now apparently in the hands of children who will enjoy them.<br />
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If any reader is interested in learning more more, please do click on the Mano a Mano link above. Donations are welcomed at any time of the year. Presently I'm helping, as a volunteer, to take paper records about donors from paper to an electronic form. I was surprised and gratified to find that in addition to donations from people in the United States, donations have been received electronically from donors in Canada, France, Germany, and Costa Rica. <br />
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490846167170747996noreply@blogger.com0