Swampy in New York, New York!

Swampy in New York, New York!

Swampy is in New York this week.

She was outside the Today Show with

her sign. I was watching tv this morning

and got to see her wave.

She took this photo request for me.

Here she took a photo for me in front of Tiffany's.

Thank you, Swampy.

Drummond Home

Amazing Grace (Scottish Bagpipes)

Drummond Scottish Heritage

 Play the music while you look at the photos below:

Welcome back!  Natasha welcomes your visit.

Pretty table setting.  My mother-in-law had a set of

Royal Doulton brought back from Germany after WWII 

by her brother.  They were the Old Country Roses pattern.

Addie Drummond's bedroom

A secretary desk

German brass bed

Modern conveniences

Cooking with gas

Natasha visits the Dummond Home

Natasha had a lovely visit at the Drummond Home.

She enjoyed riding in the car.

You may have to look closely to find Natasha.

Here she is posing on the steps.

The ladies at the Home were more than glad to visit with

us.  We were very much welcomed.

They were quite delighted with Natasha.  

Let's come inside.  This is the first room off of the entry.

Probably used as a parlor.  Notice the portraits of Fred

and Addie Drummond.  This is a beautifully restored

room.  The wallpapers were so colorful in the Victorian

era.  There is Natasha on the table.

Of course, this was Natasha's favorite room, the children's

playroom on the third floor.

We have more photos to post sometime later.  We enjoyed

our visit immensely.

The French

Notre Dame  (click to embiggen)  

Marilyn at Simmer Till Done got me thinking about

Paris since she has visited there recently.  Not a thing I 

like better to think about and dream about.  I have so

many books about France and French in general.  I have

only visited there once and would love to return soon.

Here are some bits of information that might prove 

useful to you when you travel to France.

"The French are different from you and me.  Theirs

is not a puritan country.  We speak with an air of detachment,

even distrust, of the pursuit of happiness.  The French just

go ahead with it--and they've organized a country and a 

great city to make sure they catch what they're chasing...

What I mean is that the French have developed the arts of

leisure to a higher degree than we have.  Eating, drinking,

gossiping, just enjoying--the French do it with unique style...

An American has more of a chance to become the person he

or she aspires to be.  A Frenchman is more locked in by where

he was born, what his father did, how he speaks the language.  

But, God, the French know how to live.  And thank God the 

rest of us can share life with them for a while..."  

~Richard Reeves-"An American in Paris"

According to Polly Platt in her book, "French of Foe?", there

are certain codes one must adhere to when visiting or living

in France.  

Code 1:  Don't smile.  "French people don't smile blandly

as they walk down the street.  They don't smile without a 

reason."  De-smile your public face.

Code 2:  Flirt.  It can come in handy when it comes to

receiving help.  You do it with your eyes.  

Code 3:  Use the ten magic words!  The first five are:

"Excusez-moi de vous deranger, monsieur (or madame)..."

"Excuse me for disturbing you, Sir, or Madam.."

"This is the charm that warms the hearts of impatient 

Parisians on the street.  The five magic words click with

Frenchmen like the responding smile with Americans."

The five magic words work wonders and if you add five

more:  "J'ai un probleme" ("I have a problem"), you 

qualify as a person to be respected and helped to the

very limit of the Frenchman's possibilities.  

Code 4:  Add "Monsieur" or "Madame" to "Hello."

You must always say hello and goodbye to all of the

strangers that you have an exchange with in the stores.

"Bonjour, monsieur (or madame) and au revoir, monsieur

(or madame).

Code 5:  Shake hands!  You shake hello and goodbye.

This is more for people living there and working.

Code 6:  Watch out at the door!  Just because you

got to a door first does not mean that you should go 

through it first.  It's called the bataille de la porte (the

battle of the doorway) and also takes place at the elevator.

Rank and sex are key here.  

Benjamin Franklin said:  "Everyman has two countries,

his own and France."  

Italy

This little girl is going to Italy.
For five weeks. She leaves on Thursday morning.

This is her senior picture.

This picture was taken 3 weeks ago at her sister's

college graduation.  

Just think what fun she is going to have! We have Skype set
up on our computers so we can talk with video camera.

Croatia

My oldest daughter lived in Croatia in 2004 as a nanny to missionaries for Wesleyan World Missions.  She took care of their two little boys, ages 2 & 4, while their parents took language 

classes.  She had to raise her own money to get there and she lived with a couple of girls in

an apartment.  She traveled across the city by public buses to get to her work.  It was a very

good experience for her.  While she was there she was taking two classes online for her degree.

This is my daughter and one of her roommates (the one

on the right) in their apartment.

This is a bombed-out phone booth in Bosnia

that they visited while on a trip.

This is Split, Croatia where she was living.  It is a beautiful

city.  Now it is a tourist destination.  The weather is mediterraean

and it is on the coast of the Adriatic Sea across from Italy.

The terrain is like San Diego with rocky beaches and plenty

of palm trees.



Split by night.




This is her missionary family.  Wonderful people.

Diocletian's Palace

At the end of the third century AD, the Roman Emperor Diocletian built his palace on the bay of Aspalathos. Here, after abdicating on the first of May in A.D. 305, he spent the last years of his life. The bay is located on the south side of a short peninsula running out from the Dalmatian coast into the Adriatic, four miles from the site of Salona, the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. The terrain on which the palace was built slopes gently seaward. It is typical karst terrain, consisting of low limestone ridges running east to west with marl in the clefts between them.
This palace is today the heart of the inner-city of Split where all the most important historical buildings can be found. The importance of Diocletian's Palace far transcends local significance because of its level of preservation and the buildings of succeeding historical periods, stretching from Roman times onwards, which form the very tissue of old Split. The Palace is one of the most famous and integral architectural and cultural constructs on the Croatian Adriatic coast and holds an outstanding place in the Mediterranean, European and world heritage.

Tagged

I have been "chosen"~ er~ tagged by Crown Princess to reveal 7 random things about myself.
1. I wanted be an archaeologist when I was little.
I loved King Tut and the pyramids.
2. I loved "Heidi" when I was little, I so wanted to live
in Switzerland.

3. We celebrated our 30th anniversary on a ship in Alaska.


4. I love Orangina. I got these glasses
at a cafe in Paris. We asked if we could
buy them but the waiter let us take them.

5. I love Paris!!!! We visited Paris in 2000.
This is my daughter, Melissa, and me.

6. I love Switzerland. I would live there if I could.

7. I am part German on my mother's side of the family.
"Kimmel" is the surname. This is a picture of my mother
and me in Heidelberg, Germany in 2000.