It Wasn't Called a Bucket List

I remember when I first desired to see all the fascinating places in the world when I was a kid. We heard about them in school, of course, but it was when I discovered one of the rooms in the 4-room school (not including the bathrooms) that had floor to ceiling bookshelves full of books.  The books that took my eye were the National Geographic with it's golden rim outlining the cover picture. There were full page sized photographs in rich wonderful colors on page after page. Somewhere in time, this magazine has lost some of the richness by adding more text and much smaller photos. The old brick schoolhouse was still being used except only one room was used for five grades.  Each row was a different grade. All of the junior high and high school students were bussed to another town. There was no internet - just encyclopedias and books. 

It was not a bucket list but I had dreams of going to see the Pyramids in Egypt.

Dreams of climbing the tallest mountain in the lush green Andes in South America - perhaps Machu Picchu.

I wanted to go to Siam and see the exquisite graceful dancers with their unique golden costumes. I wanted to watch them dance and even learn how they moved their heads and fingers.

How do they move their hands and fingers - I am sure it takes intense practicing since they were children.


Not that it was last but I wanted to visit Poland because my father's side of the family was Polish.  It used to get my goat when my father and grandmother spoke Polish so that I couldn't tell what they were saying.  He knew Polish; I did not!

Czestochowia Dancers

How can I not be fascinated by my own Polish culture?

I want a vest like this one.

The beard is a little funky.

Black Madonna from Czestochowia

Owls

Today I ran across a real artist who uses recycled items and makes robots from them.  They are all too too cute. If they were't so darn expensive, I'd buy one.
Thus, I decided to give tribute to Will. 

In case you are as interested in this artist as I am, I am attaching his web address: 


http://www.etsy.com/shop/reclaim2fame?ref=seller_info


I have a new obsession: owls.  I am determined to make a pair of owl earrings. They need to have jeweled eyes, no plain silver or gold.  I am a bit fussy. I never knew that there were so many different varieties of owls.  I added some to Pinterest and found these wonderful photos:

 I wish that I knew where these birds are but I have a feeling that they are across the ocean somewhere.

Whoever painted this, congrats! 

Krasnybor Church

Sztabin's Church

At the time that my great grandparents were married, they traveled from Sztabin to the next closest town Krasnybor and were married there.

Krasnybor Church Cemetery Monument

Originally the Zdanowicz family lived in Cisow - a tiny farming village which is north of Sztabin. According to the map the next village to the north is Ewy, then Kamien, then Cisow.   Maciej (Matthew) Zdanowicz was born Kamien. Rozalia Zagorska was born in Janowek. Katarzyna Chilicki was born in Kamien.

Can you see why I want to visit Poland?  I want to see the places where my ancestors lived and perhaps, make contact with cousins who still live there.

Learning a Language

Cottage in Sztabin

For the last year and a half, I have been studying Polish so that when I go on my dream-of-a-life time trip to Poland, I will be able to understand some of the language and even speak a few words. I have completed disk one from Rosetta Stone and I should send for disk two because I still have no confidence about speaking or knowing what someone else says in Polish.  I know lots of words but is it enough?  I have my doubts.

Vigorously searching for my roots, I found the villages where my grandfather and great grandparents lived.  I have even been in touch with cousins from both areas in Poland.  Sztabin is not on the tourist route and is close to Belarus (it was part of Russia not too long ago). The Biebrza River flows through Sztabin and that area is called the lungs of Europe. 

Biebrza River

Discovery on Missouri Trip

On the longest journey ever while returning from Missouri (I can't even imagine how the pioneers walked it) we discovered a new breakfast item that makes our mouths water just thinking about them. One restaurant had something that looked like a hush puppy but it was really a deep fat fried ball of pancake dough with chocolate chips in the middle.

My all time favorite is blueberry pancakes with luscious fresh blueberries cooked throughout the pancake.  My daughter cooks up an entire batch and then freezes the remaining pancakes so that on mornings when she doesn't have time to cook, she uses the frozen pancakes.

We've made up our own recipe by using a plain frozen pancake and after heating it in the toaster oven, we added chocolate chips with the point downward.  It is almost as good as the blueberry pancake! The toaster oven adds a crunch to the outside of the pancake which is just delightful.

Utah Pioneers

July 24 is Utah's State holiday.  We celebrate the day that the pioneers came to the valley and Brigham Young their leader and prophet said, "this is the place."  Thousands of pioneers came across the plains. They came from the East coast of the United States and from Europe.


When I was a kid, I thought that they all road in a wagon but I was wrong, only the driver was on the wagon and the rest walked. I have 17 pioneers who came west which includes husbands, wives and children (they all had different stories).

Andrew Allen

Andrew Allen was born in New Hampshire in 1782. He married Eunice Miner in Vermont; they had 10 children. They migrated to New York State. Andrew and his family joined the Mormons and moved to Ohio. Because Andrew had been in the War of 1812, he was given a land grant where he settled in Iowa.  


He could never make up his mind whether he wanted to go to the Great Salt Lake Valley.  When several of his children came in wagons from Ohio, he refused to go with them and he stayed in Iowa.  He told his wife, "I wish to hell you would just leave and I never want to hear of Utah or the Mormons again." She packed her clothes, threw them in her son's wagon and walked to Utah.  


He remarried a much younger woman and had one more child. He died in Iowa and his previous wife died in Utah.

Old West Ghost Town

My daughter is fascinated with the program that two plumbers by day have become Ghost Hunters at night. They use special electronic equipment to pickup noises and special night lighting that makes them look a little on the ghost side themselves.  

They were visiting one of the oldest Ghost Towns in Nevada called "Virginia City" named after a fellow who had killed someone in Virginia and had fled to Nevada.  In 1859 the mother lode was found and it became an instance mining town.  After the gold and silver were removed, it became ghost town #1.

These Ghost Hunters were in the attic of the old Washoe Club.

They found a white pipe with steam or something coming out of the top of it so they both leaned over and took a whiff.  Suddenly, they both pulled back and about gagged - apparently, it was the pipe from the bathroom and they had just whiffed someone doing their business.  The one plumber was spitting and spitting trying to get the taste and smell out of his sinuses.

Well, if you want to see some old ghost town buildings and wander around there, you will have to pay.  It is now a very lucrative business of selling the past. It's all for the tourists just like Tombstone, Arizona.

Throwaway Society

I had a neuroma removed from my foot two days ago and such changes are a wonder to behold.   I had this same procedure done 30 years ago in the doctor's office.  He used laughing gas (as I remember, it was quite pleasant) and I went home just fine.

Rules of the day - it has to be done in the hospital now which means it is 100 times more expensive.  I got all the latest gadgets: paper gown lined in plastic with hookup holes.  One hole was for a blower that fills the gown with warm air so that you keep warm and don't freeze while lying for hours waiting for your turn. The blower had a temp gage so I controlled how warm I needed it.  No more cotton gowns that tie in funny places and no more warm blankets that are thin as sheets.  No more laundry for the hospital!

The gown also had other little holes so leads could be hooked up to monitor my heart - just in case, ya know!

Did I get a delux soft boot to go home in; not on your life.  It's blue with tons of velcro and not soft like the white boot above.

Taking a Couple of Days Away from Blogging

The Line UP

Do I Dare Cross the Stream?

Northwest Corner of Utah

After spending time in Goblin Valley looking at all the odd and unique shapes, we continue our jeep trail journey.  Before coming on this trip, we had to go to one of the offices of the State of Utah to get area maps which show camping sites, picturesque areas, trails, cow paths and all the things a regular map does not show. Our map, which I've misplaced, was in the southeast corner of Utah. A very thin solid line on the map is a fairly good road whereas the dotted lines are jeep trails or cow paths.  We headed southwest on a dotted line trail.  

Colorful Maps of Utah

It was slow going because it truly was a cow path made into a jeep trail.  There were huge boulders within the trail that would blow off oil pans or make serious damage underneath a car.  Thank goodness that jeeps set higher and have no trouble going over them plus we had a four wheel drive vehicle just in case we needed it. It was nice to have the type that I could put into 4-wheel without jumping out of the jeep and turning the hubs on the front wheels.  I just put it in the 4-wheel mode gear.

We had been traveling for about 30 minutes when we came to a stream.  There was no bridge.  I could see tracks on the other side showing that someone had driven through before.  Could I drive through without getting stuck? Was the water too deep?  All these thoughts came exploding out of my mouth.  My mother was with us and she didn't know.  I did not want to go back to Goblin Valley.

I got out and examined the water as closely as I could.  It did not seem deep. I got back in my red jeep and was trying to get my nerve up to just drive through going fairly fast so I wouldn't get stuck when to my utter amazement, a car came rambling up on the other side of the creek.  They never even paused and drove right through the stream.  Well, if they can do it, I can!  So I did.  Whew!

Indian Paint Brush - Native to Utah

It was supposed to rain yesterday evening.  The sky darkened from all those ominous looking clouds; the wind blew so hard that I ran outside to take down my giant umbrella which, of course, I had just put up that morning.  The trees were swaying in the wind and my red rose petals blew down the road. There were ten large rain drops that plopped down on the sidewalk and immediately dried up. The clouds roiled and the wind continued to blow leaves and an occasional plastic wrap next to my neighbors fence (my side of his fence). An hour went by and to my amazement, it did not rain!

My daughter is saying that today it will rain or will it be another, dry wind storm? 

German Proverb

"Promises are like the full moon, if they are not kept at once, they diminish day by day!"

I can think of many places to relax but not one of them is on a TV antennae.

Full Moon - the crazies are out

Everyone feels the pull of the moon whether they acknowledge it or not. For some it is that restless feeling and wondering "why can't I sleep"? For others, it could be that monthly migraine that comes the day before or the day after the full moon.

Then there are those clever fellows who take photos of the moon in the grass.  What else are they doing in the grass?

My favorite is a song by Elvis - Blue Moon of Kentucky keep on shining.

I was gazing at some of my crafty earrings and without taking a detailed count, it appears that blue, teal and aqua dominate. I just learned to make a Herringbone weave over Lapis Lazuli which really looks more like a dark purple than a blue. I added a grey fresh water pearl. By themselves, they really look like marbles.

Ultra-creative Cupcakes

Who just doesn't love to look at cupcakes when they are so cute?  I gathered a bunch from Pinterest.  

Someone is very clever with their Oreos.

Only one person got the witch from the Wizard of Oz.

Did I say that I love owls? More Oreos.


The very best cupcake is the one lying on her brother's lap.

I want to play the Wii!

1920 Toddler's Lace Dress

I really have no idea whose dress this was but I can picture my mother in it.  It could have been my Aunt Helen's but she was younger. Now there is absolutely no one left who could tell me. They are all gone.   

I just love it with it's tiny embroidered pink and rose-colored roses with the blue and pale green highlights.  It's too fragile to use but I could preserve it in a frame.  Do you suppose that is what happens to us as we age - we get fragile and can't do those things we used to love to do?

It even has an under dress of taffeta - I had to look that one up.  I think that we all mispronounce taffeta.

The "UP" House

I have news; the "UP" house didn't land in South America, it landed in Herriman.  From the Disney movie, this home was left sitting on a cliff near a falls.

They are building new homes all around the UP house.

They added a garage.

We had to go see it.

The mail box even says Carl & Ellie.

 Wall paintings

If you look beyond the clouds, a mural appears.

Has anyone ever hard of Herriman? I hadn't until a co-worker told me that they lived there.  Apparently, it was a pioneer town in 1847.  Who knew?  I didn't.  It is tucked away in the southwest corner of the Salt Lake Valley.


In 2000 there were only 1523 people who lived there. Boom town - in 2010 there is now a population of 21,785. 


The UP house is on the market for $399,000.  Anyone interested?