New Year's Eve

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Much to look forward to as this year ends and the New one begins Tomorrow.. Happy New Year ! Be safe. Make good decisions. Believe in yourself. Love with all your heart. Recognize what you have as really good, or even great. ..work to make changes if it is not. Cherish the people with you. Know you are loved by someone. Allow your heart to open. ...cause you never know. The first chapter of 2009 starts tomorrow.

Enjoy the celebrations... or the quiet with family and/or friends and a train set.

Have arrived....

This Tuesday morning at 6:00am, I landed at Ruzyne here in Prague. I am back. Good Flights. Good Weather. Long Flight, but only 8 hours as opposed to the 11 hours when I flew Home the Friday before Christmas. Last night's flight ( today's flight ) was totally a night flight; clear skies over the whole of Europe allowed me to see Paris sparkling below at 5am this morning. An hour later, I was in Prague, and before the sun came up here, I was in my flat, unpacking 2 very heavy suitcases.

Nice to be home, but too short. A nice Christmas with family and my kids. Now onto the New Year, to see what it might bring. I will hope for much. I will work toward more goals as well, both personal and professional.

So once again, back in Prague to experience all it has to offer.

The picture above taken only an hour before this post, as the evening sun was almost behind the hills to the west of Prague...

Leaving for Prague today...

This Monday Morning, A Jet Blue flight to New York; then a late afternoon "red eye" flight on ČSA to Prague, getting in 6am on Tuesday morning(which is really only midnight New York time). ;-)

..and this is THE plane I boarded for the journey, as well.

Merry Christmas.. part dve

Merry Christmas to one and all !

There has been only one Christmas - the rest are anniversaries. ~W.J. Cameron

May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace,
The gladness of Christmas give you hope,
The warmth of Christmas grant you love.

...and May you truly feel the spirit of this day, and more importantly, feel the Love on this Christmas Day, that is given freely to family and good good friends... ano.

December 24th - Vesele Vanoce v Praze

Ahoj, today is Christmas in Prague and other parts of the Czech Republic... although I am currently in the states at the moment, as your festivities begin at the sight of the first star this evening and you sit down to your evening meal of soup, potato salad, and Carp... and await the sound of the magic bell signaling that Baby Jesus has been and gone.. I wish you smiles and an evening filled with joy of the Christmas season. And as you go to church later this evening perhaps, a good time to remember what today truly means...the anniversary and remembrance of Christ's birth. I wish you a Merry Christmas......

Giving without Expectations...

Merry Christmas M and to everyone.

and... the best part of Giving, is without Expectations of any kind. It feels wonderful. I enjoyed this Christmas season here in Prague, just for that reason. It was lovely. The best part was doing unexpected holiday things for a friend and seeing a smile in return. I tried to give a bit of my own Holiday traditions and yes, perhaps in an American style.. Perhaps I did more than I should have... ne. Not at all. I enjoyed every minute; from the plumply full red and green knit Christmas Stocking; to the huge red and white swirled candy canes; to the boxes in Christmas red wrappings and ivy green ribbon & bows; to the burnt orange Persimmon and brilliant red Pomegranate; and then peanut butter filled chocolates; and really all I wanted in return was a smile. and yes that was lovely.

I take a flight from Prague in a few hours for the Holidays at home. These 7 months and 3 days, have been wonderful here. I have met and made many friends; one I hold more dear than others. .. just a good friend, a good person. I don't know what the new year will hold... ... but, I have enjoyed the time here, and particularly This Fall getting to know this friend and her son. That has truly been one of the greatest gifts of this season for me.

So now off to New York, then Rochester, then Fairport and Home for the Holidays. A 16 hour journey ahead of me, upon take off at 11 this morning. Then Back to Prague on the 30th at 6am. and then onto New Year's Eve; Silvestr( as it is called in Czech). Not sure what I will be doing on that evening, but 2009 will certainly arrive. +218 !

A Christmas Gift.

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. ~Author unknown, attributed to a 7-year-old named Bobby

Nothing's as mean as giving a little child something useful for Christmas. ~Kin Hubbard " like used boots " ;-)

yes, Love is the greatest Gift. To all my friends this Christmas, I hope you can experience it in one way or another.

Vaclavské náměstí Star

Find yourself a cup of tea; the teapot is behind you. Now tell me about hundreds of things. ~Saki

Tea! thou soft, thou sober, sage, and venerable liquid,... thou female tongue-running, smile-smoothing, heart-opening, wind-tippling cordial, to whose glorious insipidity I owe the happiest moment of my life, let me fall prostrate. ~Colley Cibber

Whether it be herbal or Svařák flavored, it is best when made and enjoyed in Palmovka.

Today marks 7 Months here

So today marks my 7th month of living in Prague. Seven Months! It still amazes me at times, and it has been so wonderful to be here in Prague for the Fall and this Holiday season. Just marvelous, wonderful, to get a sense of it all, the decorations, and the spirits, and the food and the wonder of it all.

The weather has been seasonal (feels really cold).. but only in the 30's... it is the damp cold that goes right through you.. like in London in the January. Yesterday was milder, which was a nice change...

and the Christmas markets here are fun, good food and hot wine and Christmas candies and of course trinkets, but it has a busy nice touch to it, especially some of the markets further from Centrum... and each has a tree, and each square has different lights/colors on the tree and different stars... so really neat...and strobe type bulbs sprinkled here and there throughout the tree... a different touch, but really nice. + 215

Leaving for New York this Friday am

Ultimate Gift

The manner of giving is worth more than the gift. ~Pierre Corneille, Le Menteur

....the same should hold true when giving of oneself in Friendship, as well.

...With honesty, understanding, willingness to comfort and offer support and a deep desire to be there if and when needed along with a readiness to bring a smile to a person's life, in any manner possible.

Holiday Self-Musings

If God had wanted me otherwise, he would have created me otherwise. Johann von Goethe.

Christmas is a season where hopes and wishes spring eternal and sometimes spring too high. It is a time of miracles. Some people believe in them , many do not. I have always believed, perhaps foolishly at times. But I think, as well, that this season would be the most likely to find one. ..and that is a nice thought.

But, the very Best part of Christmas continues to be Giving, not what we get... wishes, miracles or otherwise.

Christmas means.... giving from the heart

Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall. ~Larry Wilde, The Merry Book of Christmas

May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace,
The gladness of Christmas give you hope,
The warmth of Christmas grant you love.

Seems that Christmas this year is something that is occurring each day. It is the sights and sounds here in Prague, through the markets and malls, and through email words and wishes from the heart. It is the eye contact a child makes with his mother during a school play, it is wishing you could fix inequities in a friend's workplace, it is looking forward to returning home for the holidays and it is wishing to just talk with a friend for hours and hours. Certainly it is much more. It is the smell of cookies baking. It is hoping that wishes come true. It is powdered sugar covered Stolen. It is giving without expectation. and that is the best part.

Sometimes what we believe as coincidence is really just getting ourselves caught in an angel booby trap. ~Grey Livingston

Náměstí Miru Christmas Market

Maybe God put a few bad people in your life,so when the right one came along you'd be thankful. ~Andrea Kiefer

Officially Christmas Season, now that Mikuláš has come and gone...
Enjoyable evening last evening, celebrating and sharing this important Czech Tradition and Day with a Friend. ..just very nice, relaxing.

Two weeks from yesterday, I will be flying home for the Holidays. These next two weeks will go by very fast. and now everyone's attention is turned toward Christmas and the season of giving. ...and important to remember what it stands for and why we celebrate it.

Mikuláš - St. Nicholas Day

If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give. ~George MacDonald

It is done everyday.....


...and on this day, Little Children throughout the Czech Republic, who are raised on stories of Mikuláš, will be visited by this roaming gent called St. Nicholas or Miluláš, along with his two cohorts, an angel(Anděl)and the devil(čert). He will ask the children whether they have been bad or good, the most children of course, will say Good...and then will be asked to sing a song or recite a short poem, after which they are rewarded with sweets and other treats.

But if St. Nicholas suspects they have been naughty, well! Naughty children don't get sweets, they get a sack of black coal or hard potatoes. If they have been really naughty, they will be placed in the Devil's sack and sent to hell!

And this is what these little ones fear and I am told they are actually scared to death of Mr. Devil….. as he roams around Prague with Mikuláš and you can see it on their faces!! Have you been good this year?????

This evening will be fun. Old Town Square will fill with Families and children as a pageant is put on by the city. Singing, Food, and Fun visits by Miluláš. I will spend the evening enjoying Mikulas with a friend and seeing first hand, this day through the eyes of her child, as these three visit her home. A nice day and evening ahead, and it is so nice to be here in Prague for this day(yet again).

A Star in Jiřiho z Poděbrad

Patience is also a form of action. ~Auguste Rodin

Christmas Market in Jiřiho z Poděbrad soon after sunset on a cold crisp evening.

A door... dveře...

The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live. ~Flora Whittemore

Again, a shot from Saturday Night...

The past actually happened but history is only what someone wrote down.
~A. Whitney Brown

A late night walk through the alleyways of Prague... is like... feeling History deep in your soul. An amazing experience. I am re-astounded each time I have this opportunity...

Beautiful Old Town...... wandering.....

As one walks through Prague at night, one can stumble upon some quite amazing places and sights...and you can just imagine yourself being way back in olden times.. This shot is through a passage way that opens up into a small courtyard, with trees,quaint shops, an old well... Someone was selling hot punch and wine to the right tucked away in a corner. The little pub I found Saturday night was right around the corner.....