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Post by jeanne on May 29, 2017 19:43:18 GMT 1
Kids arrived at their First Holy Communion in extravagant vehicles: Wow, that is a bit "over the top"... Perhaps rightly so, for it is not in keeping with the Christian ideals of humility, simplicity, and good stewardship of one's possessions (in this case the parents' money!) that these children should be being taught...especially as they receive their First Communion!!
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Post by jeanne on May 29, 2017 15:43:04 GMT 1
I can't help but believe that the first and third photo read as "Quack-o-Matic" That would indeed be cool ...but I'm thinking it's more like "Duck-o-Mat."
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Post by jeanne on May 29, 2017 1:18:58 GMT 1
I realise that a few of the people of the Polish Diaspora have the chance to connect to Polish family in Poland and with Poland. I know people of the Polish Diaspora in the Netherlands who have never been in Poland. In America many people with Polish heritage lost connection to their Polish ancesters, because they didn't know where there Polish American ancesters came from, they don't speak Polish and therefor have a distance to Poland. My grandfather immigrated on his own when he was sixteen...I think I have mentioned how he was smuggled out of Poland in a barrel to avoid the Russians who were drafting young men into the military. He stayed in touch with his family in Poland until WWII, then communication ceased...who knows what happened to them...this is one thing I would like to find out, but I don't hold much hope of doing so. You are so fortunate, Pieter, to have these experiences as part of your life and personal education! Thank you for sharing them with us. This is the kind of history I love the best, to learn of how ordinary people lived and what life was like for them.
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Post by jeanne on May 29, 2017 1:08:24 GMT 1
These feeders are quite common in the U.S. We have them wherever it is legal to feed the animals, usually at petting zoos, farms which cater to tourists, other animal exhibits, etc. They actually are a good idea, because it helps prevent the animals from being fed all kinds of "foods" which may be harmful to them.
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Post by jeanne on May 28, 2017 12:07:54 GMT 1
Pieter,
You have "published" a wonderful "book" here with these posts! So much information! It is taking me quite awhile to read through it and examine all the photos...I can only do a bit at a time, but I want you to know that I am enjoying it all! Now you are giving me one of those "windows to Poland" that I so love. Thank you!
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Post by jeanne on May 25, 2017 15:45:51 GMT 1
Imagine my surprise when I saw this news story about Bonobo!!
Bonobo throws concrete block toward family at Florida zoo BLAIR SHIFF,Good Morning America 17 hours ago A bonobo threw a portion of a concrete block toward a family visiting the Jacksonville Zoo in Florida on Monday, according to zoo officials. No one was injured, the zoo told ABC News, and this is the first time something like this has happened. Diane Steen was visiting the zoo with her family and a friend when the incident unfolded. In a video taken by Steen's friend, you can hear one of them exclaim, "Oh, don't you throw that brick!" Steen's friend, who wants to remain anonymous, told ABC-affiliate WTLV she hid behind a rail and tried to protect her 2-year-old son from the bonobo. JJ Vitale, a public relations manager for the Jacksonville Zoo, told ABC News that the bonobo, named Jumanji, may have dug up the brick from somewhere in the exhibit or found it in the moat surrounding the enclosure. The exhibit is wide open and a glass partition does not separate zoo guests from the bonobo. It is unknown at this time why Jumanji threw the brick at the onlookers, but zoo officials said bonobos' inquisitive nature may be a contributing factor. Bonobos, which a part of the ape family, are known in the animal world as lovers and not fighters. "Bonobos are extremely affectionate; they settle their differences differently, which gets a lot of attention in the zoo world," Jacksonville Zoo executive director Tony Vecchio told WTLV. "They are close relatives of ours, they are highly intelligent. With that comes a strong personality." Zoo officials told WTLV bonobos are "sexual creatures," which makes them a little feisty at times. The Jacksonville Zoo will break ground in June on a new exhibit for the apes that will include a barrier between visitors and the animals.
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Post by jeanne on May 24, 2017 21:28:09 GMT 1
That was just my first association after reading your post.... Hmmm...
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Post by jeanne on May 24, 2017 21:19:15 GMT 1
I strongly recommend you to read it. As a student, I read his encyclopedoia of world culture and got B at the Polish oral final exam. I'll add it to my summer reading list!
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Post by jeanne on May 24, 2017 21:17:26 GMT 1
Too much computer interferes with my sleep! Oh, really? What are you implying by the subject of that photo??
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Post by jeanne on May 23, 2017 23:55:06 GMT 1
Dear Jeanne, That was the most scarry part, but all encounter with the East-German border guards with their uniforms and peak caps, trousers and long black boots looked very much like Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS men. When we went by car through the West-German/East-German border the strict passportcontrol, car control, waiting and staring of the East-German border guards was annoying and scary. Inside the DDR you could be victim of the Volskpolizei (Peoples police) if they set up traps along the Highway. Suddenly in a few dozen meters they had suddenly signs 100 km per hour, 60 km/p/h, 40 km p/h and then 20 km p/h. That was called a Currency trap. We had to stop and the East-German Volkspolizei came to our car and asked a lot of Westmarks from my father for the traffic violation he couldn't avoid because the speed limitation came suddenly, unannounced and to late. The East-German Mark was worthless and the West German D Mark (Deutschmark) and the Dutch Guldens were worth more. This video shows excactly what I experienced back then with my car when we went inside East-Germany from the West-German side. Only it was more crowded when we were there and there were more borderguards in our case. Our experience was worse than in the movie below, because my father with some Second World war anti-German sentiments was tense and to hot blooded at that moment. You could feel the tension and my fathers dislike of these East-German ideological border guards in their uniforms. (My father saw in them the Wehrmacht and SS soldiers and officers of the war, the same arrogance, damn kraut [Mof in Dutch] mentality. Damn Krauts [Moffen] I heard him say. We were nervous that my father would get an argument with the East-Germans. I'm sure those uniforms struck fear into the hearts of many people! I'm glad your father was able to refrain from speaking his mind to the East Germans! It's kind of funny, I would almost have preferred that the Border Patrol officers who boarded the bus were in uniform; then I would have definitely known that they were government officials. Instead, they were dressed in casual clothes with no indication of their positions. I'm sure they had ID's, but no one asked to see them. They were very polite and kind, there was no ugliness, but the whole experience was unsettling because it just was not something Americans have had to deal with before.(At least not in my area of the country...perhaps near the Mexican border, but not near the Canadian border.) p.s. One of my daughters attended college in the state of North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She and her friends would go into the woods looking for Chanterelles, with much success!
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Post by jeanne on May 23, 2017 23:34:19 GMT 1
Part of the fun is being surprised by what ideas your creative brain comes up with! My brain is concentrated on things I like most about Poland: history, traditions, everyday lifestyle, vegetation, architecture, funny things, unusual things, human and animal specimen, economy and a few others. I don`t write too much about UFO, it is not my genre. But all what I write about is done in a pretty superficial way without going into much detail because too much depth is boring to me, I am not able to focus on one thing for too long, that`s typical of my sign. So, in this thread I am asking you to ask me about particulars to things we discuss in the forum. Personally, I like the way you handle things...that may be the reason I have "hung on" so long here! I don't like long, involved posts...I don't have the patience to read through them, and I hate spending a lot of time staring at the computer screen to do so. Too much computer interferes with my sleep!
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Post by jeanne on May 23, 2017 23:29:29 GMT 1
I know nothing about it. Probably not because Romans used to drink wine only, they didn`t know spirit which was invented in the Middle Ages and which makes an indispensable part of the amber remedy. Not all of the medicinal uses involved spirits. Look back at the thread and my post about amber beads being used as a pain-killer! It was the ancient "acetaminophen" or "ibuprofen." Two of my grandsons are currently wearing amber beads during the day to combat teething pain.
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Post by jeanne on May 23, 2017 23:24:19 GMT 1
A poke is a sack or bag. It has a French origin as "poque" and, like several other French words, its diminutive is formed by adding "ette" or "et"—hence "pocket" began life with the meaning "small bag". Poke is still in use in several English-speaking places, including Scotland and some regions of the USA. For example among English hop growers, a poke is a large sack into which hops are poured to be taken from the picking machine to the oast for drying. The scheme entailed the sale of a suckling pig in a poke. The bag, sold unopened, would actually contain a cat or dog, which was substantially less valuable as a source of meat. The French idiom acheter (un) chat en poche (to buy a cat in a bag) refers to an actual sale of this nature, as do many European equivalents, while the English expression refers to the appearance of the trick.[5]
Great explanation of the word "poke!" I had no idea of that word's origins or what it really meant! And I love these expressions that have arisen from the word! Thanks for posting!
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Post by jeanne on May 22, 2017 23:41:32 GMT 1
Looks like my East-German/Polish border experience. Passport bite! Woher sind sie. Sie sind kein Amerikanerin? Raus, nach draußen. My experience was unsettling, so I really can only imagine how scary your family's experience was at the East German/Polish border!!
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Post by jeanne on May 22, 2017 23:39:48 GMT 1
This past week I was visiting family in Vermont. Coming home I boarded a bus in Burlington, Vermont for Boston. The bus had originated in Montreal, Canada before stopping in Burlington. After we boarded the bus, four plain-clothes Border Patrol officers boarded. Two proceeded to the rear of the bus, and two stood guard at the front, with the door closed. The two at the back worked their way down the aisle, asking each person if they were a U.S. citizen. If they weren't, they had to produce an passport, which a few had to do. It was upsetting because in the U.S. we aren't used to such things...I've never seen it before. Does it mean they were looking for illegal immigrants on a bus from Canada? Apparently...One of Trump's campaign promises was to "tighten the borders" to keep the illegals out...I suppose he deserves some credit for keeping his word...
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Post by jeanne on May 22, 2017 23:37:26 GMT 1
Oh la la, I didnt` realise that I would unleash such a hell of answers! You have to be very careful about asking me a question unless you really want to hear all that I have to say... I am a detail oriented person, and if any detail of the photo could be applied to any other thread, I found it!! Besides, I thought your post might be one of your "quizzes!"
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Post by jeanne on May 21, 2017 22:38:54 GMT 1
This past week I was visiting family in Vermont. Coming home I boarded a bus in Burlington, Vermont for Boston. The bus had originated in Montreal, Canada before stopping in Burlington. After we boarded the bus, four plain-clothes Border Patrol officers boarded. Two proceeded to the rear of the bus, and two stood guard at the front, with the door closed. The two at the back worked their way down the aisle, asking each person if they were a U.S. citizen. If they weren't, they had to produce an passport, which a few had to do.
It was upsetting because in the U.S. we aren't used to such things...I've never seen it before.
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Post by jeanne on May 21, 2017 22:19:43 GMT 1
It was a miracle we weren't caught and left alone after brief checks that day on the border of the Polish peoples republic and the German Democratic Republic (DDR). East-Germany wasn't a pleasent place to travel through and stay for sure. A police state of Stasi and the Volkspolizei. Cheers, Pieter Pieter, That must have been so scary! Your Dad must be really even tempered and self-possessed to act calmly under those circumstances! I'm glad they did not find the art, and I'm also glad your family was able to keep the art in your family!!
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Post by jeanne on May 21, 2017 22:16:03 GMT 1
I've actually seen one of these chickens here in the U.S. When I was a child, we would visit my aunt and uncle at a summer house they had on the coast south of Boston. One summer, some workers were paving the dirt road their house was located on. One of the workers had a sack with a chicken in it that he had put down on the grass with his lunch, etc. The chicken kept poking its head out of the sack. It was so strange looking to us, that we asked the worker what it was, and he told us, "A Polish chicken." It looked like the ones in your photos!
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Post by jeanne on May 21, 2017 22:05:04 GMT 1
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Post by jeanne on May 21, 2017 21:55:09 GMT 1
In Poland it is called koncert życzeń - the concert of wishes. What do you want to read or see in this site? Don`t be shy to submit requests - you ask, you got it! Part of the fun is being surprised by what ideas your creative brain comes up with!
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Post by jeanne on May 21, 2017 21:49:24 GMT 1
I am not sure you realise all the dilemmas which nurture me when I develop the forum. E.g., how many threads does this photo suit? Oh, but I do realize your dilemma! 1. Polish homes 2. Polish skies 3. Trees and shrubs in yards 4. Fences in Poland 5. Wayside shrines 6. Pious displays in Polish homes (yards/gardens count as part of a home!) 7. Polish gardens 8. Polish architecture [9. If I knew why the streamers are on the statue of the Blessed Virgin, I could add the celebration of that holiday which I'm sure you have covered in some thread! ] [10. And, if I knew which city this photo was taken in, I could list that city, i.e. Krakow, Poznan, Warsaw, or any of the other myriad of cities you have shown us!!] 11. Haha, I also just saw it in "Private Crosses and Shrines!" What did I leave out???
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Post by jeanne on May 12, 2017 16:33:38 GMT 1
That's 'way more pessimistic than the saying I posted! OK, I can offer a more optimistic Polish saying which comes from the world culture: hope dies last. Okay, that's a bit better, but it still implies that hope does die...which sadly, is true.
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Post by jeanne on May 10, 2017 23:40:52 GMT 1
In Poland we say more directly: hope is the mother of the stupid ones. That's 'way more pessimistic than the saying I posted!
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Post by jeanne on May 9, 2017 20:32:06 GMT 1
Hope springs eternal...
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Post by jeanne on May 6, 2017 21:49:40 GMT 1
Winter is the season when the good mandarins become available here. During the summer, good ones can't be found and we have to move on to other fruits. I prefer grapes, then in the fall, apples. Strange how it is all mixed up in the world. :)P:) In winter time we stop buying mandarines and move on to oranges. We have both in winter!
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Post by jeanne on May 6, 2017 21:47:15 GMT 1
When I see that baby fox, I cannot help but think of the photos posted with the dozens of animals laid out on the ground after the hunt... Yes, one day that fox can be hunted when it grows up. That`s life. And it is also life that a few photos above a female vet is feeding a little hare. Yesterday I saw a giant hare in my orchard among my fruit bushes. It wasn`t even scared seeing me, it happilly hopped away, in a quite relaxed manner only when I approached closely. If I had had a gun, it would have remained there for ever, son of the beach - one red currant bush had lost half of its twigs. That's kind of disturbing that the hares are so big! Our rabbits are cute fluffy little things. They can do a lot of damage to plants in an unfenced garden, but mostly with leafy low plants. They would not be able to do that kind of damage to bushes. In my area deer do that more severe damage!
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Post by jeanne on May 6, 2017 21:23:13 GMT 1
I can see that the sweeps really play it up with the costumes and the hats. These photos look like they could be from "Mary Poppins!" We still have chimney sweeps in the U.S. because so many people have wood stoves, but they certainly don't dress like this! They wear the usual jeans and sweatshirts people use for performing dirty work. I have to admit, though, I kind of like seeing the Polish sweeps in these outfits...they are kind of picturesque and quaint and give me warm and fuzzy feelings about memories of times past. I know... I'm a hopeless romantic! Me romantic too, that`s why I posted those pics to keep the sweeps in our memory because I am afraid that one day those "colourful" overalls will disappear from the Polish landscape like it already happened in America. Keep up the good fight! Keep the memories there and some color in life!
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Post by jeanne on May 6, 2017 21:19:53 GMT 1
Rather...I'd call it an exercise in frustration! No, after some frustration, we reached understanding and that`s what counts most. We may differ in opinion about two systems, but understanding each other is crucial. Silly, rigid me...why did I think terms and rules would be uniform throughout the use of the English language?
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Post by jeanne on May 4, 2017 22:18:56 GMT 1
Chłodnik litewski, Lithuanian chilled soup is another thing I don`t eat. Soups must be hot, that is obvious, so eating cold one is a misunderstanding to me. I agree, cold soup is useless!
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