The Glorious Czech Republic

I don't know how long you'd have to live in the Czech Republic to get inured to the beauty around you. Two weeks certainly wasn't long enough. We were stunned regularly by a beautiful building or gorgeous landscape.

This photo is of Cesky Krumlov where we spent a few days with MF and the kids while her husband was busily buying her a house in the United States. Although very touristy with many junky shops, it was still very beautiful. And the castle and gardens were quite amazing. We did the baroque theater tour which ML, my daughter's six-year-old, surprisingly enjoyed a lot.

This is the entrance to the marionette museum in Cesky Krumlov. Not the greatest museum I've ever been to, but the kids liked it and the building itself was quite beautiful. And in this photo you can see the raincoats. It rained a lot while we were there and it was quite chilly.

Inside the museum there was the tiniest door. EG thought it was just great. It actually led to the employee breakroom. We did notice another regular door leading into it, but this one was irresistible. Very Alice in Wonderland.

I hope MF doesn't mind that I'm posting a picture of her kitchen. Even though the Czechs really appreciate their wonderful historical buildings, they really understand modern style. Why can't we do this here? I love the way the fridge (it's at the far right) matches the rest of the cabinetry. Those brown cabinets flip up to open, which seems much more sensible to me. Less head bonking. It was so clean and modern looking. No wonder Ikea is so popular here in the States. What a shame that some of the more expensive European stuff isn't available here. And I won't even begin to describe the gorgeous lighting fixtures that MF will have to leave behind since they won't work on US current. In Czech, you buy your own lighting fixtures when you rent. She told us she will really miss them and I can certainly see why.

More tomorrow.

Rusalka

We have had some amazing experiences already. The grandchildren are the most delightful little people imaginable. I got to present my magazine article and write a poem with M's first grade class. We also saw the school play which was a very elaborate production of Peter Pan. We had a day with the four year old. We took her downtown and filled her up with chocolate gelato and McDonald's. Funny how we turn into our parents. My daughter and I played a piano duet at church. Almost a total success except that our page turner didn't realize there was a last page. MF flipped the page quickly and we were on our way again. We've read a million books to the toddler who is the perfect age for board books. We had a most wonderful dinner with my daughter and husband. The kids were asleep when we left so the babysitter had easy duty and we had a lovely time.  I had sea bass, Michael had veal filet mignon. How posh!

Last night we went to the National Theater to see Dvorak's Rusalka. What an experience! I love Dvorak anyway, and here were three hours of his divine music with a fabulous orchestra. Lots of English horn, two harps who played almost continuously in acts one and three and a great set of singers and dancers. I think there might have even been enough tuba to satisfy Michael. The staging of the opera was passing strange but wildly impressive. They had opened up the stage. I've never seen one so deep. It was a city block deep from front to back. Characters who weren't in the scene made their entrances slowly from the back and there were other background activities going on. Fire and water and enormous shims coming and going. Quite impressive. And the building itself is a marvel. Most people who've read up on Prague know the story. The Czech people from richest to poorest donated to build this gorgeous building and within a year it was gutted by fire. So they just ponied up again and rebuilt. MF used to live a block away from the theater but now lives in the suburbs. So for once we weren't lost. We knew our way around.

We did have a bizarre experience getting home from the castle one day. MF was home with napping baby, NL our son-in-law was working in his home office and the kids were at school so we took off to go to the castle. But it's rather difficult to get there from Morgan's house so she drove us. The plan was to take a taxi home which we did. Unfortunately we chose the wrong taxi driver who didn't know where MF's street was, and he had no maps and no radio or GPS. So he just left us off at a big intersection which was somewhere near MF's house. This is where the total lack of language really kicks in. We couldn't find English speakers, we couldn't read the instructions on the payphone, etc. So we ended up in a Kodak store where they really didn't speak English but we paid 20 crowns (1 dollar) to use their cell phone to call Morgan and try to explain where we were. NL came and picked us up. Highly embarrassing. We were within walking distance but had no map and no clue where we were. With four college degrees between us and at least working knowledge of five foreign languages we were completely nonplussed. So amusing. We now have a map which MF printed out for us to show taxi drivers.

Today we're off to Cseky Krumlov (I almost certainly spelled that wrong) for several days. For MF it's like planning the Normandy invasion. For us, we just throw a few things in a bag. We'll have an awesome time.

We're off

I just put my Etsy shop on vacation, something I haven't done since it opened it last fall. I really hate to do it. I can't afford the loss of sales. But it wouldn't be fair to keep it open and make people wait as much as two weeks to get their item shipped.

I think I've remembered everything. Packing for Europe sounds easy when you're going to visit family, but it's still tough. You'd think I'd have this down to a science by now. I have a standard packing list that I print out for trips like this. And the only things we have to have are our passports and tickets. But having the right clothes to wear, the right glasses, the right shoes, and the right camera stuff is very important. And the weather isn't going to smile on us. Rain is predicted for the next week. So we'll need raincoats , umbrellas and waterproof shoes. If I lived in sunny Texas, this might bother me, but it's 44 degrees outside right now, so 60 degree temps will be refreshingly warm to me.

I found my own picture of sgraffito. What's amazing is that this isn't just old stuff. You see people working on the plaster all over town when the weather is nice. There must be a lot of people who still know how to do this.

I'll have lots of cool pictures to post when I return.

The Golden City of Prague

When my daughter, MF, was a very little girl, she was so proud of the fact that she could spell "Czechoslovakia." Now she's a big girl and there's no such country. But she lives in the Czech Republic now and is still a fabulous speller. We'll be going to visit her in a couple of days and it will be an emotional visit. As difficult as it has been having the grandchildren live so far away, it's been awesome to watch Michael's and my dream of working abroad come true for one of our children. And it's also pretty great to have free room and board in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Prague was the showplace and capital of the Hapsburg empire and was spared all bombing during WWII. Oddly, it has masterpieces of both Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture. One big surprise when we got there was all the sgraffito on the buildings. Here's one example.

I can't wait, that is, if I can get well enough to go. I've been on antibiotics for five days now and I'm hoping that they will take care of my cough. I'm ready for some happy times.

Motherhood

If a picture is worth a thousand words, here are five thousand that say it all about the joy of motherhood. Happy Mother's Day!

Article about my nephew, Gordon

This AP article about my nephew and other missing men from the Deepwater Horizon will appear in many newspapers. It doesn't tell all. My nephew, Gordon, was the kindest, happiest and friendliest man imaginable. There just haven't been many people in the world like him. He kindly took over a shift for a co-worker a few hours early and, by doing so, put himself in the spot where he was killed. The other man was able to get off the rig safely.

There is an Eternal plan and we can't possibly see it from our mortal perspective. It's impossible right now for me to fit this experience into any kind of destiny that makes sense. But that day will come and I'm pretty sure it won't be in this life. For now, I'm going to keep praying for my family members who are most affected by this tragedy. I'll be especially praying for those two little boys who will grow up without their amazing dad.

Quandary

I am in a quandary about what to post here. I've just gotten back from one of the most heart-wrenching experiences of a lifetime. And I really don't feel like giving details out of respect. If I say that it had to do with the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, you should be able to figure it out.

I would like to say a little about the experience though. I feel so sorry for the folks who have lost loved ones at the twin towers or other high profile disasters. Seeing and hearing about your grief over and over again through the media does not help. You might think that having thousands of people praying for you would be some comfort, but it doesn't make up for the constant reminders. I'm sure those prayers help in the long run, but the inability to grieve privately is such a big deal. It's like winning some horrible lottery. Out of millions of families on the earth, why does it have to be your family they keep talking about on the news? You can avoid the newspaper and you can turn off your TV and computer, but the story is still everywhere.  I walked into the dentist's office last week and saw the rig on fire on the TV in the waiting room. I burst into tears and ran back outside. In the many airports I had to go through to get to Louisiana,  I couldn't avoid seeing headlines and TV news.

My family is strong and loving. And we will all support each other. And we appreciate your thoughts and prayers.