Thanksgiving in Phoenix, Wednesday to Friday, Nov. 21 - 23, 2018

Jane and I usually go to Saint Vincent de Paul on Wednesday mornings.  This week, we convinced Cathy, Anne, Shawn and Patty to join us and then to go out for lunch.  Here are Patty and I opening bags of thawed gravy - it was still pretty cold after being frozen.  We emptied enough bags to fill two of those large white barrels.

We also opened up several boxes of rolls of frozen ground beef so it could thaw, and then peeled and diced two 50 pound bags of yellow onions.  After our shift, we went to La Piñata Restaurant for a nice lunch.

Since I had just returned from Poland on Sunday and was getting ready to head out Saturday for Puerto Rico, Patty and I decided to have a quiet Thanksgiving at home - turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing and Brussels sprouts.  And a nice bottle of La Crema chardonnay, with a beautiful centerpiece of flowers sent by Megan.

Friday morning, it was still dark when I went out for my morning walk - and the full moon was setting in the west.

I packed for Puerto Rico, then Patty and I met Anne and Shawn for a pleasant lunch at the Windsor - where we took part in the Black Friday sale of gift cards.  Normally, for $100 you get cards worth $120 - but on Black Friday, for $100 you get cards worth $140 - this was a deal too good to miss.  After lunch, Patty and I drove to Prescott and looked at two possible rentals for summer 2019, and then drove back to Phoenix.  And so my week home in Arizona comes to an end.

Return to USA, Canal Convergence in Scottsdale, AZ, Sun. - Tues., Nov. 18 - 20, 2018

I got up at 4:30 Sunday morning, Warsaw time (that would be 8:30 p.m. Saturday evening Phoenix time), walked the 100 yards from the Courtyard Warsaw Airport hotel to the terminal around 5:30, and checked in for my 7:20 flight with Lot, the Polish national airline.  Because my United status is treated as Star Gold, I got the Fast-track security screening and was the only passenger being screened - if I did not get Fast-Track, I would have been in line with several hundred people.  The Star Gold club was nice, and I had a pleasant breakfast and great wifi while there.

The flight to Amsterdam went well.  On thing I noticed at the Amsterdam airport was the smoking lounges.  There are these small rooms near many of the gates and people crowd in to smoke.

When it became time to board the United flight to Chicago, many of us regular United passengers were surprised  - this was the first time any of us had seen boarding by bus on International flights.  And it was a long and circuitous route to the jet which was parked out by the cargo terminal.  Otherwise, the flight to Chicago and the nest flight to Phoenix went well.  As planned, Patty met me at the airport and I drove us to Scottsdale for the last night of the Canal Convergence light show - Sunday was the finale of the show of the lights from Klip Collective (the same organization putting on the light show at the Desert Botanical Garden).  To make sure we could find the car, I took a photo of the underground parking garage map.

Besides the light show, there was some other art work on display, including city recycle bins that had been decorated by school kids as part of their lessons learning about the importance of recycling.

There were many striking light exhibits, including Flotus which was 12 large floating lights shaped like lotus blossoms and from which flames could be shot into the air to accompany the music  - we apparently heard the last song and saw the last flames before I got to take a photo.  Nonetheless, it was a pleasant hour strolling along the canal through the different exhibits and activities.

The Flotus lights came on and off in sync with the music, as did the flames

This light exhibit had a ring at the bottom so that kids could grab it and run in a circle making the whole light turn.

SRP had an exhibit about conserving water.

Monday was a day of running errands and doing laundry and adjusting to the change of eight hours in time zones.  Tuesday, while walking from the Washington and Priest light rail stop to the Desert Botanical Garden, I was surprised at how the creosote bushes were in bloom and had seed pods formed - this usually happens in the spring, but apparently because of the unusual amount of rain on Oct. 1 and 2 from Hurricane Rosa, plus record high temps afterwards, they bloomed in November.

And because of the blooms, when I was working my shift at the Saguaro station at the Desert Botanical Garden, a whole flock of desert quail came by to feed on the blossoms and seed pods on the creosote bushes.

While I slept well Sunday night, I did not Monday night - but I made up for it Tuesday night, sleeping soundly for more than eight hours.  That is most unusual for me.  And so I am back home in Phoenix for a few days and hopefully over the jetlag.

A day exploring museums in Warsaw, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018

While in Lipowy Most, I made plans to meet Helen (a lady from Ottawa, Canada, who was also an Angloville volunteer) for coffee at 9:30 Saturday morning.  Google Maps said it was a 45 minute walk, so I checked out of the Warsaw Golden Tulip Hotel and headed out a little after 8:30.  On my way, I passed by Hala Mirowska where there were lots of booths selling fresh vegetables and flowers, and where a quick look inside showed that this was one of permanent old-style markets inside, where many vendors had small shops.  I later found online that there were two buildings of shops plus the booths outside.

Helen and I planned to meet at the Green Caffe Nero near the Kolumna Sygmunta where we had coffee last week after the Angloville tour.  A few minutes after I had sat down, Kathryn (the Angloville coordinator) and three Anglos who had been with us in Lipowy Most (Ian, Pauline and Emily) came in for coffee - all four of them were going on the 10:00 tour with lunch before heading off to another week of Angloville on Sunday morning.  Helen arrived a few minutes later and we all chatted for about 20 minutes before those four set off for the Angloville tour.

Before Helen and I left, I noticed this poster for a movie and theater festival that was going on in Warsaw - I found it interesting that the film was formed in the shape of a Jewish Star of David.

A little after 10:00, Helen and I set out for tour of the nearby Royal Castle.  Since we were senior citizens, we got in for free.

It is overwhelming and amazing.  Amazing because of the multiple wars it has been through (including being destroyed during WWII) yet many of the valuable pieces of art and sculpture had been preserved.  Overwhelming because there were so many amazing rooms and pieces of art.

 

One of the Royal thrones

The Royal Bedroom

We spent two hours there and could easily have spent two days.  We then headed for the Warsaw Uprising Museum and planned to make a stop at the Hala Mirowska.  We met Stephanie on our way  - another Angloville volunter who had been with us at Lipowy Most - in a city of several million people, visiting spots that were several miles apart, what an amazing coincidence it was to run into people we knew.

While exploring the Hala Mirowska, I found some of the traditional Krówka candy and bought several bags - several of the Polish participants suggested this to me as a good example of something Polish to bring home.  After visiting both buildings of the Hala, we continued on and found a nice little cafe on a side street, the U Bar.  For 23 złotys, I had a half liter bottle of Kormoran beer and a plate of french dumplings with tomato sauce and cheese.  For 23 złotys, Helen had tea, pierogis and a dessert.  It was quiet, the food was great and the price was very reasonable - 23 złotys is about $5.75.

After lunch, we went to the Warsaw Uprising Museum - it tells the history of the city residents who fought back and rose up (often from the sewers) to resist the Germans and later the Russians in WWII.

Then it was back to my hotel to retrieve my luggage, and a taxi ride to the Courtyard by Marriott Warsaw Airport Hotel for Saturday night.  With my flight Sunday morning at 7:20, I can get up and walk across the street to the terminal.  And so my time in Poland has come to an end.

Angloville Part VI, Last day at Lipowy Most and return to Warsaw, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018

On my early morning walk, I found a road through the woods and out to the back side of the property adjacent to the hotel.  When I got up to the fence, I saw an additional man made pond (in addition to the doughnut shaped one in the Nov. 15, 2018 post).  It is used as a large fountain, pumping water out of the pond and letting it bubble back down into the pond.

 

As I walked around the pond, I came across a humane trap for beavers, just as was used at our former home in New Hampshire.  And there was plenty of evidence of trees and branches downed by a beaver.

There were also more homes across the field from the pond, but those homes are not visible from the main road.

I followed the road around and back out to the main road, and back to our four corners.  I then went out that side road for a kilometer where a nice VW Passat was parked.  I continued on the road, wondering who had parked out there and why they had done so.  After another kilometer, I found my answer - the driver was out in the woods looking for the last of wild edible mushrooms to be harvested.

After breakfast, I did my last mentor-mentee session with Agnes, providing her with feedback as we walked.  I showed her the pond and beaver activity.  We then walked by the homes we had visited yesterday and today, the horse came over to the fence - but no amount of coaxing would bring the goats closer.

We took some group photos.

We had our last sessions, got our certificates, had our last lunch together, and then said goodbye to those who had driven to Lipowy Most.

The two Agneses heading back to Warsaw

We then boarded the bus and made the three and half hour trek back to Warsaw.  We said our goodbyes and went our own ways - in my case, to the Warsaw Golden Tulip Hotel for a dinner of cream of tomato soup and some nice pierogis.  And so another session of Angloville has ended.

Angloville Part V, The Road Less Traveled, Lipowy Most area, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018

Lipowy Most is a small village, but as you go through the village on the main road, there are many side roads.  Thursday, I decided to explore more of the side roads.

Most of those side roads would lead to or pass by some very nice homes and yards.  I was careful to only look from a distance and not invade people's space.

Although we have not seen any deer this week, after the rain there was much more evidence of their presence in the softened, wet roads.

I turned from a regularly traveled dirt road onto a trail where vehicles had driven across the edge of a large field - it was not so much of a road as a dirt path.

The path went across the end of a fenced in lot where there were goats and a horse.

The adjoining property had three small dogs that came out to greet me before their owner came out to call them in.

After lunch, Basia and I went for a walk that took us past the homes with the horse, goats and dogs and further into the woods.  We found what looked like areas that have been fenced off to be eventually a home lot with space for a house, garage, lawn and garden - the fence was six feet tall, but outside the fence it was completely forested, with thick tall trees and the road/path was overgrown.  I guessed that this had been planned and done years ago, but it did not pan out.  On our way back to the hotel, we peered over the fence of the adjoining property and could see a man made pond in the shape of doughnut with a bridge out to the island in the middle and paddle boats on the water.

Later I checked out a side road that had these signs.  Dojazd pożarowy means fire access.

Nie dotyczy administracji Lasów Panstwowych means does not apply to the administration of state forests.

 And that was enough side roads for Thursday.