PACKING....

Three days left to the "D" day! Thinking about packing - boys will have two bags with their cushions, bowls, food, blankets, towels etc, etc... As to my luggage - just imagine how bulky is the skiing gear! What about the photographing equipment?! Where will I put my hats to avoid squashing them??? PANIC! The escapade is carefully planned: part of the team drives in a car and takes all the luggage. I and Anna are taking the boys on a train... prefer that to sitting in a car for a long time. We are going to Krakow and than to Zakopane.

At the moment it's raining... unseasonably warm... will it snow for Christmas? Of course there is snow high up in the mountains but...

WHAT AM I DOING?!?

I always promissed myself never to go and look for the cold - and what am I doing? I am going for a skiing holiday in Tatra Mountains... I am already cold and miserable... I did plan to escape to Africa for a few weeks but instead succumbed to my neighbours' persuasive arguments and am going somewhere cold.-
Well, there was a little more to that actually. Aussie suffered a lot during his last stay in the hotel. I just couldn't face leaving him there again. I am able to take my boys with me. I am sure they will enjoy their holiday too! Just wait till you will see their snow boots!
I am looking forward to nice snowy mountains. Nothing I like more than early morning run through the endless whiteness, total silence...

WE ARE BACK!!!

Left some furry friends behind....

OFF TO THE SPA FOR A WEEK!!!

We are going to Naleczow for a week of pampering in mud baths, in hands of young men, in water jets etc, etc, etc!!!!
The boys are coming with me... but, I am afraid, not much pampering for them - just the long walks in the ancient park.-

All the gory details later.-

THE SEASON FOR A HEAD GEAR!

STILL WHITE...

WHITE AND RED.

PLANNING THE NEXT ESCAPADE.

Another cool and misty morning. A shy rising sun burnishes the tree tops. In a breeze the last golden leaves slowly glide onto the lawn. The boys just came back from their morning run in the garden. Breakfast.
November is the worst month of the year. Although, up till recently, it was exceptionally mild, quite springy in fact, now it's becoming unbearable. The short days. Lack of light. So difficult to get out after dark - and it gets dark by 4PM! Little wonder that I contemplated an escape from all that. A trip to some exotic country with an endless beach... or a skiing holiday? And the snow won! We are going to Zakopane near Krakow for two weeks over the Christmas holiday. The boys are coming with me. My neighbours invited me to join them for their annual holiday there. Deciding factor was that the boys weren't happy in the kennels last time and I couldn't bring myself to leave them now. One problem remains though - do they need a long pair of skis or two short pairs each? Probably the ski board would be the answer! So watch this space for some unusual pictures!

LOOKING FOR THE COLOUR OF THE WINTER BEACH...

THE ALL SAINTS' DAY IN POLAND.

Yesterday, much before the sunrise, I and Albert went to light the candles and lay the flowers on our parents' and Izabella's husband's graves. She didn't come this year due to her bad health. That's a different story altogether! Entirely through her own neglect and sheer lack of brain she is a total wreck!
The reason we went so early was to avoid the crowds. Even at 5.30AM we could hardly find a parking space within a reasonable distance from the cemetery. This tradition is so strong that the whole country is on the move! Just imagine what's happening on the roads. The 10 000 of Police is out in force as there is another strong Polish tradition of running on "double gas" - i.e. the car is tanked up and so is the driver! They came up with an idea of handing out little grave lanterns with a sign "For these who didn't come back" to light them on the road-side by the places marked as the sites of the car accidents... To make people think, drive carefully... will it work? But, as the saying goes, if it saves even one life...

In Poland the old tradition of adorning the graves with flowers and candles on the All Saints' Day goes back well into the tenth century. It grew out of the ancient pagan custom when the strong believe in after-life required that the dead had all the assistance and help from the left behind. At first the fires were lit on the graves so the smoke and the flames showed the souls the way to Heaven. This was gradually replaced with the candles. Despite all the solemnity of the occasion this Holiday is joyous and reflective, full of prayers for the Dearly Departed now in Heaven.-

FILOU RETUNING FROM THE WARS....

SEE MY FAVOURITE VEHICLE!!!

GOLDEN POLISH WINTER, AT LAST?????

THE ANGELS OF LVOV...

GONE TO LVOV! BACK ON MONDAY.-

THE AUTUMN COLOURS.

The autumn is great when the sun shines and the cool breeze brings the smell of burning fires from gardens being tidied for the coming winter. This is what I miss most - the chain of changing seasons when I am living somewhere in the tropics of Africa or Asia. It's much easier to adjust to the culture or cuisine then to the climate I think.

BOYS WITH THEIR TOYS...

I'VE BEEN FRAMED!!!!

THE BAD WEATHER READING....

For the past nearly three weeks the world became grey and cold, grey and wet, grey and miserable... All one can do is sit in front of the fire and read. It sounds nice and romantic - but how long for?! So I cleaned the house, made a dozen jars of green tomato and apple chutney and started embroidery... In the meantime my dogs are going spare! They want to go for their walkies albeit curtailed to a bare minimum... And when they go they come back all muddy and wet. Terrible! The Autumn is quite young - more jolities yet to come no doubt.-

THE FIRST FIRE OF THE SEASON.

NEW CRITTERS ON THE BLOCK...

Can you guess who visited my land?...