Grandma Oma's World

Today I am embarking on another adventure. I am heading to Moscow, Russia where I will meet my friend G. I will fly out of Buffalo NY and my friend G will fly from Seattle and we will meet at the Moscow airport. After spending a night in Moscow, the plan is to go to Pavlovski Passad, a small town outside Moscow, to meet his friend S and his family. We should spend a couple days with them and than we will spend a few days visiting Moscow. The next plan is a trip to Kiev, than I will head to Budapest and my friend G will return to Moscow. However, all the plans are still pretty open and everything might change depending on how we feel.

Today I had to pull out the first stock that, my than husband and I bought on November 22, 1968. The company, Allegheny Power merged with First Energy Corporation  and now I must mail them the old  certificates. A look at the certificates brought back a flood of memories. My first memory was how we were barely 5 months married and we already started investing. We spent $316.18 for 12 shares. In those days this was a lot of money. I remember how young and how timid we were while talking to the investment broker. Why did we buy those shares? I believe because my sponsor to the United States, Peg and Ran suggested that a utility company would be a good choice. And, they were right: throughout  the years the company paid good dividends, it grew and it split several times.  Also, these certificates brought back the memory of the first apartment in Baltimore, MD,  then the memory of meeting one of my best friends H, and the memory of  starting my first job as a...

While visiting my home in Futog, Serbia I came across some old slides.   My father made these in the early forties, when we were 2 ans 3 years old. These pictures were taken in the backyard of our home in Futog. It amazes me how the colors so well preserved. He even developed and printed his own pictures. Putting together slides was done professionally. Me in 1944 in Futog, Serbia My brother, Elemer, and I in 1944  My mother Maria, my Grandmother Hermina, my brother and I

After years of resisting, I finally went on a cruise.  Why did I resist? What could one do on a ship for days at the time? I imagined it is just eating, eating and more eating. In my mind there was nothing really appealing on a cruise because I felt it was too confining. I prefer to be more active on my travels. I like to hike and I like to camp. My idea of a good vacation was to spend  time packing a tent, sleeping bags, food in a cooler chest, then drive miles and miles, set up the tent and cook a dinner over a camp stove, clean dishes in cold water and go to sleep in a sleeping bag. What a wonderful vacation! Right? Me, Grandma Oma And than, I went on a CRUISE,  and I now, am hooked! What a great way to be spoiled! It is wonderful to be in a comfortable cabin, enjoy the views, take short hikes on the shore and then come back to a made bed with a piece of chocolate on my pillow. Why did I ever resisted a cruise? Here are some more pictures from this trip. Lea...

 I am so excited that this quilt on which the ladies of my quilting group, Scraps, worked for almost a year ended up in the the Bridal Suit of the Queen Anne Mansion in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Here is the story: This quilt was made entirely from bridal dresses. My quilting group got the dresses from an organization called Brides Against Breast Cancer.  The idea was to make a quilt then return it to the organization who than auctioned it of. The profits would then go for breast cancer research. Working on this quilt was fun and challenging. Most quilts are made of cotton; cotton is durable, easy to work with and easy to control. The bridal dress quilt was made of satin, lace and silk - all delicate materials hard to work with, slippery and stretchy. On the other hand it was fun for the group to work together and see the quilt become this beautiful piece of art. Once the quilt was finished in 2009 we entered it to the annual Quilters Anonymous quilt show in Monroe, Washin...

 Occasionally, I buy one lottery ticket, and than I don't check whether I won for days, weeks and sometimes even for months. I do this on purpose because then, I can spend all the time  fantasizing of what I would do with all the winnings - - the mega millions that suddenly will fall into my lap. First, I would get a good financial planer and a trustworthy lawyer to guide me and protect me from unscrupulous solicitors and relatives that I didn't even know I had. Then, my fantasy would start: 1.  I would gather my children and their families and take them on a fantasy trip on every continent of the world.  Whatever their wish would be we would do. 2. I would buy a vacation home large enough for the whole family. The location would be decided by my children so that they could go there whenever they want to. 3. I would completely remodel my home, or maybe buy a new home that would have everything in it that I always dreamed to have. 4. I am not going to for...

Someone told me  this a long time ago and I used it to guide many of my decisions: "If you think you can, or if you think you can't  you are right".