Jimmy Buffett and Margaritaville......

School night or not, it was "5 o'clock somewhere", and Thursday night it was down in Texas as Jim and Staci K. adopted the mindset of Jimmy Buffett.  Being tired in front of your students the next morning would be a very small price to pay for attending one of his concerts!  Now, let me find some limes.........

Fashion statements.........

Here in the United States, a woman can be hard-pressed to find hosiery.  Pantyhose? Forget it....like trying to find a needle in a haystack!  But, in the Eastern European countries, showing off your legs is all the rage.  They even have stores JUST for hosiery! The gal shown in the picture was waiting at a bus stop as our own bus stopped next to her, and then later, we saw this 'hosiery store' in downtown Budapest.  Not sure how much they cost, but one snag and they're probably history!

You want a drink, you say?

On one of our first nights in Poland, our dinner was in a local restaurant where we enjoyed delicious foods....and beverages.  Four of us, Derald and Theresa, as well as Cliff and me, were seated in a room other than where the larger group was, and when the waitress came to see if we wanted something to drink, it didn't take long for the two of us women to tell her a glass of white wine (smart choice) while the gentlemen opted for Scotch on the rocks.   Okay then....so why were they surprised when they got this????  Could they have even wet the bottom of the glass with that order?  Sip slowly, boys, sip slowly!!

Krakow Poland

As a group, we spent from Tuesday until Saturday in the city of Krakow Poland under the guiding of a wonderful young woman named Ewa (pronounced Eva, short 'e').  She is a very ambitious young woman, leading guided tours and also teaching business management at a local university.  Krakow is called the 'city of students' with 20% of the population attending college, where tuition is free for those desiring to attend.  Ewa is in her late 30s, has a 'flat' in the city of about 400 sq ft, which she thinks is quite large.  She did admit it was located in one of the old communist-built high-rises with paper thin walls, where you can hear your neighbors at all times...and that was the total intent of the communists at that time.  
My impression of Poland, and most especially Krakow....it is a city of 'dark' with only glimpses of 'color' or 'brightness' here and there.  Even though it's going to be 25 years since the communists left, you can feel the struggle of the people to pull themselves upwards.  It was said that many of the older population still feels that communism was the best way; after all, it was free housing, jobs for those wanting to work, and little to want....unless you think of freedom!  As we toured this wonderful city, I tried to capture the color or brightness whenever I could.....

Courtyard of our hotel, Metropolitan Boutique Hotel, ranked #1 in the city by Trip Advisor...and rightfully so.  It was really very nice!

Close-up of the courtyard plantings

The national costume of Poland

Carriage rides in the market square....

Fresh flowers for purchase in the market square...

Roses, anyone?

My very favorite snapshot....a very bright spot on the gray streets of the city!

Time to share a bit....

It's been a week of catching up on sleep, doing piles of laundry, and re-stocking the fridge, but we're pretty much caught up from our trip to Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.  We were a total group of just over 30 people, all with Alexandria connections, who left the US on many different dates...some people visited other countries before joining the tour, some (like us) flew over on our own, and the rest came as a group with Fr. Steve Binsfeld as their 'leader'.  
Cliff, Sr. Cordy and I flew out in the late afternoon of Mother's Day with hopes of arriving in Krakow Poland in the early afternoon of May 12.  Alas, mother nature had different ideas as there were huge storms in Chicago, which played havoc with all sorts of flights. We opted to switch to an earlier outgoing flight to Chicago, only to board, deplane, and then reboard, getting into Chicago about 15 minutes after our Munich Germany flight was to have left.  Running like crazy in the Chicago airport, we arrived at our designated gate to find that not only had that flight been delayed, but we had over an hour to wait!  Such sweet words to hear :)  The flight to Munich was wonderful...lots of inboard movies to select from, almost total quiet and darkness, and no turbulence whatsoever. Arriving in Munich, we did find our plane for Krakow had left hours beforehand, but we were able to get on a much later flight that evening, so to celebrate our good luck, we opted to sample the fine beer of Germany.  As you can see, we were very happy to do so!  It was the start of a remarkable 10 days in Eastern Europe......

Enjoying our beers...and the time to spare before our flight to Krakow

Mini plane...and larger people......

Sitting on the wings.....

Who knew?  If you're tired, or want some peace and quiet, rent one of these 'sleeping cabins' in the airport (see 2nd picture)

Hmmmm.....privacy desired?  What do they have in mind???

Another pair of lovebirds celebrating......

There's another wedding anniversary to celebrate today....it's Paul & Sue Korkowski who have been married 19 years.  They'll be happy to hear that there's no rain predicted today!  Happy anniversary, Paul & Sue........

A flag that can't fly......

All the colors are simply from planted seeds!

Between the fields where the flag is planted, there are 9+ miles of flower fields

that go all the way to the ocean. The flowers are grown by seed companies.

It's a beautiful place, close to Vandenberg AFB, CA.

Check out the dimensions of the flag. The Floral Flag is 740 feet long

and 390 feet wide and maintains the proper Flag dimensions, as
described in Executive Order #10834. This Flag is 6.65 acres and is

the first Floral Flag to be planted with 5 pointed Stars, comprised of White

Larkspur. Each Star is 24 feet in diameter, each Stripe is 30 feet wide.

This Flag is estimated to contain more than 400,000 Larkspur plants

with 4-5 flower stems each, for a total of more than 2 million flowers.

For our soldiers....

It's not just Memorial Day.....

Certainly there will be picnics and such today to kick off the summer season, but it's also time to celebrate Dave & Cindy Korkowski's 41st wedding anniversary.  Sending you both wishes for a great day of memories....happy anniversary!

Condolences sent out....

Even though the funeral is now past, and probably most of you reading the blog already know this, we want to extend sympathy to brother-in-law Al O'Donnell (Annette) on the loss of his mother Sarah O'Donnell who passed away on Friday, May 16, down in Mason City Iowa.  (With our being gone, we found it impossible to post this earlier).  The funeral was held this past Tuesday.  

Another birthday.....

Another birthday today....this time it's Brittany Korkowski (Mitch and Lezlie) who turns 12.  Hope you have a really fun birthday with all your wishes come true!

Can't beat a birthday....and a long weekend!

Today's 'birthday girl' has a nice holiday weekend to celebrate her birthday......Andrea (Magnuson) Zuidema (#36) can start the partying today and boogie right into the rest of the Memorial Day w/e.  The weather's going to be perfect with no rain predicted....I'd say she's got it made!  Happy birthday, Andrea, and have a wonderful birthday.

We're back........

Loads of laundry, stacks of mail, and the fridge needing food....yup, we have returned from a great trip!  Lots of pictures to share and stories to tell.....stay tuned :)

One of each......

It's an anniversary....and a birthday....to celebrate today!  First, Al and Ann O'Donnell are celebrating their 9th wedding anniversary......

....and Jean (Korkowski) Pfeifer is celebrating the 33rd 'anniversary' of her birth!

Enjoy your special days.....

How did these years go by so quickly?

One day they're a baby, the next they've become a young adult, and that's the case today with Triston Korkowski (Cory and Jennae Korkowski Stadsvold) who turns 18.  Bet it's time for graduation very soon...happy birthday, Triston, and the best in your future endeavors.

Doubling up today.....

We have two-for-the-price-of-one today with birthdays for Jacob Korkowski (Ron & Sue) who enters the double-digit era, turning 10.........

....while Lauren Nelson (Kevin & Julie Korkowski Nelson) turns 'sweet 16' today.

Happy birthday, Jake and Lauren!

Remembering their special day....

Back in Minnesota for the summer, Ron & Faye Magnuson will be celebrating their 46th wedding anniversary today.  I'm thinking golf, dinner...and flowers...should be on the day's agenda.  Happy anniversary, Ron & Faye!

She's come a long way, baby.....

And, that baby would be Maryn O'Donnell (Al & Ann) who turns 1 today!  Would be willing to bet she's making fast tracks around the house these days and getting into lots of mischief.  Happy birthday, Maryn!

Summer reading suggestions.....

If you love to read, here are some suggestions for summertime reading.  These are the top 20 books on Apple's i-books for the week ending 5/5/14.  Read any of them already?

Alexandria makes the top 10.....

For those of us with Alexandria connections, it was great to see this little blurb on Alexandria making the top 10 of 'best small towns in America'.  Sometimes we forget that we really do have a lot going on here.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-iX6h3MbEU&feature=share

Got an extra drawer or two???

No news rolling in these days so time to dig in the 'vault' and see what ingenious idea we can come up with.....and this one seems very smart indeed!   We gals sort of like those pretty pillows arranged on our beds....or even on the couch...but what do you do with them at night or when company comes?  Throw them on the floor?  Well, next time you see a little old drawer all by itself, snap it up and screw on some legs...you've got yourself a 'pillow holder'!  Now, to go look for a drawer.......

Anniversary

Today we congratulate Kellen & Felicia (Peterson) Morrissey on their 8th wedding anniversary.  Hope you have a wonderful day as you remember your special time.

Graduation, anyone?

Anyone having graduation this year?  Well, if not, save this idea for future use as it is one of the cutest ideas seen for a party treat.  How about a 'graduation cap' on your party trays?

Another special day...and young lady!

A full house today at the Oxentenko home where we are all celebrating Abby's 1st communion which took place at Holy Spirit Church...the same church where the infamous Zach answered the call two weeks ago! :)  And, here is our young lady of the day....

For all our moms.....

If you're a mother, this day is just for you.....Happy Mother's Day to all moms, young and old.  Being a mother can be a really tough job at times, but the rewards are great, and the title is wonderful.    Have a wonderful day all you moms!

All grown up.....

It's a busy time for today's birthday girl....Jennifer Korkowski (Ed)....turns 18, and graduation is just around the corner as well.  Have a wonderful birthday, Jenny!

A day on the links?

Probably the activity of choice for the 'birthday guy' today.....Ron Magnuson (#68)... would be out on the golf course.  But, it depends on where he'll be.....here or there!  One place would just require a golf shirt, but the other could require a parka....who knows any more what the weather will be.  At any rate, have a great birthday, Ron...and welcome home!

A fun weekend of being honored....

A couple of pictures from Annette on the weekend she experienced in the Twin Cities where she was honored as child care provider of the year for Dodge County and also took in some continuing ed.  Congratulations again, Annette...now it's back to reality!

Taste of St Cloud...and Cinco de Mayo

It was a fun-filled evening, as usual, during the annual Taste of St. Cloud, which also happened to be Cinco de Mayo as well.  The weather cooperated beautifully as old and new friends enjoyed the many delicious foods.  No one should have gone home hungry! Just a few pictures to show you some of those attending...and some of the hanky-panky that appeared to be going on right in front of us :)

Hmmm...that's Donna but that's NOT Norb
(Donna Korkowski & Gary Boesen)

...but then, that's Norb but that's NOT Donna!!
(Colleen Boesen and Norb Korkowski)

MaryLee and Donna Korkowski behaving themselves, sort of.....

Colleen Boesen, Janice Beste, and Patty Korkowski

Colleen Boesen, Molly ?, Sr Cordy & Norb Korkowski

Janice Beste w/Bob & Bernice Braun, (relatives to the Korkowski family) and former residents of Alexandria, now living in the St. Cloud area

Love the look that the hombre is giving the levity at the Korkowski table! :)