More Escalante--Maybe with Titles (we'll see)

Spring cactus flowers. If you dare, the meat of this cactus could keep you alive.....


















Sam at waterfall. Looks like Dan coming through behind him.
























Tommy, content in his favorite place on earth




















More rare cactus flowers. I think this might be yucca.

Tommy's Escalante Pictures Randomly Chosen By Mom

Cold

Okay, they said the temperature would drop by thirty degrees. It has been so hot! It got so dry that we had to turn on the sprinklers. So I bought tomatoes and garden plants. It's hard to pour water onto bare ground. And I started to plant. Even after dark last evening, it was warm. Now it is freezing! Agata said it was suddenly cold in Poland. Is it in Seattle? We will be covering plants for three nights at least.

Travis graduates tomorrow night. He has done a great job. He studies in depth and shares a lot with us. I think he is glad his studies of the holocaust are over.

Tommy took some great pictures of Escalante. I especially enjoyed the mysterious cat-like animal in a tree. I will try to put some of them on the blog. I used to know how to do that. His friend Marcus and Marcus' fiancee Chelsea were on the trip. So Tommy has a lot of pictures of Chelsea and Marcus for their wedding video. (Explain to Agata: (Is this only in Utah?) a video continuously shown at the reception with pictures of the bride and groom. Lots of pictures. Definitely an optional activity but something to look at while you wait in line.)

Travis has a busy day today. I probably need to give him the computer.

Love, Mom

Dennis and Travis in St George

Well our streak is intact. Every time I come to St. George it rains! This time it didn't rain as hard as it usually does. In fact, it just got cold and cloudy and sprinkled a little bit. We had planned on doing the "Subway" from the top. In this hike, you have to "rappel" down in several spots. OK, it isn't real rappelling, they said you needed 60 feet of webbing and that you use it to help you descend several boulders. Still, this means that, once you start, you can't turn back. The other obstacle is that you have to swim through cold water in several places. This isn't a problem if it is hot, like it had been all week. For example, on Sunday, it was over 95 degrees. When Travis and I got to St. George at 9:00 on Monday night, it was still way hot, probably at least 80 degrees. Then the big storm blew in and the temp dropped to a high of about 70. Way to cold to go swimming in cold water, so we canceled the rappelling and swimming part and hiked into the "Subway" from the bottom. When I get the pictures developed I will post them and you will see why it is called the Subway. Anyway, it was still fun but, like all Currit hikes, kind of turned into a "death march". It is only supposed to be about 4.5 miles each way (in and out, about 9 miles total), but it sure seemed much longer. We survived but are both very tired. We have to head back to SLC in the morning so Travis can finish his school work. I would love to be able to stay and explore a little more, but that isn't possible.

It's been a while

Hi everyone. I was just catching up on blog reading and realized I haven't posted in a long time. Okay, I've never really been good at posting. I do read it all the time though and like hearing from you so I figured I'd get on top of it here.

We had a great time in Utah last week and loved seeing everyone. Thanks for going out of your way to hang out with us. It was such a quick trip. Jak loved it and is still obsessed with airplanes. Yesterday in kind of a forlorn tone he said "maybe we will fly in an airplane again." He is still obsessed with airplanes and really anything that flies or that he can make fly--cars, play dough,food, paper, pictures of birds etc. Everything is a blue angel (sad note--did you hear a blue angel pilot crashed this week in a show?). We found a blue angels show on youtube and it is now a favorite video. Airplane obsession was definately the legacy of this last trip.

Jak finally had a breakthrough in his artistic development. We brought home a leaf the other day and did the project where you put paper over the leaf and rub a crayon on top so you can see the leaf. He LOVED it. The first thing he said the next morning (yesterday) was "I want to color leaf." So we went outside and gathered many more leaves and he sat at the table most of the day scribbling and glueing. It was great to see because he usually won't do art that long. Thanks also to Agata for the art box. He uses the crayons and pencils that it came with and we also added to it some glue and kid scissors and paper and stickers and we leave it where he can get at it anytime. Now he does art stuff a lot more and it is really growing on him.

Other artistic development is taking place on the musical front as well. We have started playing the "Watch me sing" CD which is a goody from my childhood (as well as the Currit's I hear) and he can't get enough. Between that and They Might be Giants he will sing and dance around the apartment for a long time. He also sings to himself now while he is doing other things. My favorite yesterday was to watch him glue while dancing and singing in his chair to the music that was playing. He has so much personality.

He is also very conversational. Yesterday when it got a little quiet and I was doing my own thing on the couch and he was, yes, still coloring, without stopping what he was doing he casually said, "so, mom what did you do today?" It was very cute. Add that to his other conversation starters: "Sooo, I have a question." and "Mom, did you have good dreams last night?". He is really a fun person to hang out with all day.

Wow, are you sick of the ramblings of a mother yet? I'll move on to other things now (although I could go on about Jak I'm sure). We planted our garden on Saturday. I'll leave the details to Danny since really he did most of the work. We are very excited for fresh food although we are a little skeptical that those little seeds really can make us food. We'll let you know if it really works or if it is a big scam.

I'm keeping quite busy. We're trying to get everything ready for the baby. Only one more month and we'll be a real family--2 parents, 2 kids! Wow. Kind of scary, but we're very excited. There really isn't that much to do, but we are trying to get the house more organized and I want to get ahead on my primary calling and managing etc. I am also busy tutoring. I still really love doing that. I'm trying an experiment this summer. I want to do a summer camp just before school starts to help my high school students get pumped to do math again. Sounds ambitious, eh? We'll see if anyone signs up. It would be three mornings in a row--about 10 hours. More details later. Send any ideas if you have any.

Life is good here in Seattle. Sunny weather on the horizon. We had a picnic Friday night at the lake that got us very excited for summer. We also can't wait to have Travis and Agata here in the fall. Yay!

Well, that's enough for now.
Have a great week everyone!
Jenni

stronge urge to fly

hello from Poland, its been a while since I blogged. here everything is going pretty normal, I work like a dog and I'm really tired. Guess I need a break in order to not to kill my innocent cute little students. Next week is a holiday week in Poland, as we have a holiday for the 1st and 3rd May , somebody smart and lazy gave three more holiday days between those national holidays to children and to teachers ( oh boy that sentence was a world record in permanent using of a word "holiday"). YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEE!!! so I was planning to go to Germany to visit one of my best friends, but apparently she wont have time, as she has to finish her Masters Thesis. But , as my strong urge to fly, to go somewhere increases I have another crazy idea to go to Lithuania for 4 days and to see Vilnius, which Ive always wanted to do. So I woke up at 8 o clock and Im trying to book a hostel etc. Well see if it works. I hope so, that would be so good for me and for my students too to have a relaxed, happy teacher.

A fond fairwell

Helloo!
Hey, hopefully people still read this dilly oh! Well, I'm done with finals and now am off to Escalante, and then over to St. George for a few days. It should be good times and i will hopefully have some good pictures to bring back. Wish me luck and pray for sunny skies!
Tommy

Weird Jello Recipes

Here's a note from today's paper: Weird Jello Recipes

1. Sauerkraut Jell-O
2. Apricot-Zucchini Jell-O Jam
3. Pineapple cucumber Lime Jell-O
4. Lemon Jell-O Whip with Prunes
5. Crab Jell-O Salad

And they didn't even mention "Prune Jigglers". It probably would have made the list.

Another food thought: the recipe in Jenni's family cookbook for Chicken Rice Soup is simple and good. I made it with brown rice and it worked great. For once the brown rice was completely cooked and fluffy.

I think the baby will be here in five weeks. That's soon! And he appears to be in the right position. That's huge news.

We enjoyed last weekend a lot with all of the beds in the house full of family. There hasn't been a day as beautiful weather-wise as last Sunday was. The first barbecue!

Hope Agata is doing well. Travis is very busy with end-of-the-whole-four-years business. Announcements should be arriving soon. Congratulations, Travis !!

Jenni and Jak's Visit

April 12, 2007

No mail from Alex yet. Maybe tonight. Last time this happened the under-ocean fiberoptic cable had snapped in a typhoon.

Jak is so fun to watch play. He is busy with the castle and pirate ship and all of the model cars. He fed a carrot to the bunny and had wheel barrow rides (powered by G-Pa). Jenni is a delight to talk to . She spent the day in Provo with her Mom and sister then ate lunch with Tommy. Travis is working at the U of U at the writing center. I'm sure a lot of papers are coming due this time of the year.

We're going to eat lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant tomorrow with Tyler. We hope to drive by the downtown "destruction" and see what it looks like. I suspect we won't really be able to drive by, at least on South Temple.

All the trees are in bloom. Jenni said we will have to have a blossom party. Hopefully we can do that on Sunday with a barbecue.

Travis has his cap and gown and graduation announcements ready. We're really proud of the extensive work and publishing he has done. He certainly has good writing skills. Congratulations on finishing two undergraduate degrees!

Time to go play with trains.

Mom

gosseberry and broken computers

I dont quite know what gooseberry is. But I dont thiink we have it in Poland. I would love to try.
My computer is broken so now Im usisng this old and s_l _oooooooooooooo_w one and it takes ages to send a message on it.
My whole famili is preparing Easter in a hurry and panic ( typical for Polish holiday, everyone runs like "a cat with a sick bladder " - Polish idiom and buys tones of food). Im baking cakes today.
Hope I will manage to send one more message before Easter but who knows with this computer. So, just in cases: Happy Easter, have a nice time with each other, enjoy this time and rest.

Gooseberry Jam

I made gooseberry jam today at the cannery, and what I want to know is, is there gooseberry jam in Poland? I bought some made in Switzerland.

Tuesday in April

I wonder if it's the second or the third of April? Travis presented his history paper today. He was poised and interested. He talked directly to the audience and told about his research. His power point didn't work until he last half of his presentation, but he was entertaining and informative without it. It was a very interesting morning. They didn't necessarily match similiar topics together. It was an intense, random sort of experience listening to all of the research that had been done. The best part, or course, was Travis' informative analysis after on the way home. He knew some of the presenters and was familiar with the research topics.

Agata's computer is broken. Hopefully she can get it fixed soon. Skyping is such a great connection. She sent me some amber earrings from Poland. I have always liked amber (even before "Jurassiac Park"). They are the perfect dangly length and I really like them. I've never owned any amber. Thanks!

Alex emails tonight. Soon we see Jak, Jenni, Danny and maybe we can watch the baby tumble in Jenni's tummy. Does anybody else but me wonder what his name will be?

Take care. We love you!

Mom

Rainy Cold Day in March

I heard from Agata through email and on the blog. I talked to Jak (Jakson James Currit) on the phone. He saw elephants at the zoo yesterday. We had a great conversation. Jenni doing well, but getting very big (or much bigger). Soon it will be time to hold this baby boy. Tyler has a cold and is working a lot. He got clobbered with a bad cold just as he took on a new job. Is that the way it always goes? But I think he's getting better. Travis' flight from Chicago tonight is delayed. It would work out perfectly if Megan and Ben's flight from Seattle was delayed, too. But in this stormy weather, we'll settle for just arriving safely.

Alex, as you probably know, is in Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand in the north. It's full of temples and historic sites. I guess he is near Chiang Mai. I wanted him to go there! He, once again, avoided Bangkok. I'm sure Bangkok will happen.

Tommy is so busy with regular tests and papers and finals coming up. Tommy, I think Casino Royale is coming out on dvd along with Rocky and Queen. We need to watch them with popcorn.

Soon we will be on our way to the airport.

We love you all.

Mama

ufff, I'm proud of myself, for the first time since three months I managed to sign in on the blog,plus without Travis' help! I'm sitting in front of computer trying to convience myself that I feel sleepy, but even if I have slept for only 5 hours today, I'm not. Maybe too many emotions hit me today. First, Travis left.
Second, I had to wait for a bus to go back home for 2 hours and then after an hour of driving the bus driver suddenly changed direction of our trip as he realized that it wasn't the right way. Annoying and weird.
The appartment seem to be so big and so empty, I had to turn on the TV in order to decrease those strange feelings of emptiness. I hope I will be able to come to Utah in the end of August as I'm dying to meet you all and to hike ( although I'm not too good at it, probably I should warn you _ I'm kind of clumsy).
Ok, off to bed, my eyes look like two strawberries. ( hm I just ment they were red, forgive me this not too nice fruit poetic metaphore).

Why Seattle is Good

Here are a few thoughts I've had regarding Travis and Agata's grad school decision.

First, I remembered the other day that UW was the last school to respond to me when I applied. In fact, we had visited all the other schools before we received the acceptance letter from them. Moral of the story: don't give up on getting accepted there too soon.

Second, I had several friends in the grad program with me who were not initially offered funding, but after coming out and personally talking to professors, were given funding. I know that all departments are different, but it seems like personal contact with those who make the decisions goes a long way.

Third, Jenni and I finally got a garden plot at the community center across the street from us! We have been on a waiting list since we started school up here, and finally got it. What does this have to do with Travis and Agata? Well, picture summer picnics on the coast with fresh produce from our little garden. Or even better imagine sharing the plot with us and growing whatever veggies and herbs your heart desires. If that's not enough reason to come here, then I don't know what is.

Anyway, we will support you in any decision you make, as long as it's Seattle.

Later,

Danny

Fidelly fi and howdy do

Here's another letter to mother that I decided could be turned into a fine blog post. Enjoy it! or face the consequences...

Good to hear from you! sorry ive been a bit lax in my communications of late, been stressed if not exactly busy. The package is something I ordered for one of Agata's students; electronics and etc are much cheaper in the US than in Poland so he asked if he could have it delivered to me in the US then Ill take it with me when I come back.

Im looking forward to coming back and seeing you all too, even though im sure it will be emotionally complicated for me at first and the adjustment might be rough. Unfortunately Ill be quite busy, attending random classes, filling out paperwork, and most of all writing my thesis and my holocaust essay. But as I will not be working or attending any classes regularly ill still have time to talk and play, im sure.

Today I bought my return tick to Poland; Ill be leaving May 7 and heading back to SLC Aug 7 (tickets are always cheaper if you are gone for exactly 90 days, dont ask me why) This week Ive had 3 job interviews for English teaching positions, hopefully some of them will work out and Ill be able to earn some money this summer. Yesterday we got Agata's bike out of storage just in time for a big rainstorm; I couldnt resist taking it for a spin anyways and was rewarded by being utterly soaked and having the seat break on me, leading to a long walk home. In general Agata and I are spending a lot of time together lately, hugging and trying not to be sad Im leaving. On Tuesday we head to Warsaw a day before I leave to get some last stuff from the archives; Ive been able to find so much good stuff here in Lodz that we have put off going there until the very last. Im satisfied with the amount of research ive been able to do; the final report wont be the exhaustively polished gem I always dreamed of but something I will be proud of none the less.

Thanks for the letter from Florida, Im flattered the offered me something, even though it is extremely unlikely we will go there. Still waiting for news from UW; they continue to be really nice to Agata while the Warsaw fulbright commision has turned from uncommunicative to downright rude. Were hoping to stop dealing with them soon and talk directly with the people in NY and Seattle and sort everything out. We are 95 percent decided on Seattle come heck or high water but are still waiting on news of my funding and CUNY for Agata before we pull the trigger.

We have a new dream project in mind: a two week journey through Italy in July. It will be quite cheap if we do it right. Agata's mother might accompany us for the first leg in Rome. Its fun to have something totally relaxing to look forward to, after the stress of thinking about schools and immigration all the time.

Love you much, hope to talk to you soon,

TC

Good Movie

My calendar says to see a good movie and call Travis. I tried. He isn't on line. So I'll write. Dad and I went with some friends to see a movie Saturday night. We saw "Amazing Grace." I loved it. It had a big impact on me. I admit I love to watch PBS documentaries. I don't know if critically it was an award winning movie, but I learned so much and really enjoyed it. It's about a man named William Wilburforce who was in the House of Commons in England and fought for years to get the slave trade abolished in England. Also the priest who wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace" was a big part of the story. It was a very unusual movie for the times we live in, where movies are so much about action, violence, sex, etc. This was a specific slab of history very carefully delivered. Good show. We found a Thai restaurant with tapioca drinks after the movie. I've heard about the big stuff coming up the straw. It was an interesting experience. The tapioca was very large and black. The fruit smoothie part was excellent.

Alex has been transferred to a new area. Maybe even to Bangkok. We'll find out on Tuesday. Dad's company sold off a minor part of their business (no big changes). Hope everyone else is well and happy. Your prayers on our behalf here are greatly appreciated. We take things a day at a time and enjoy each other's company very much.

Looks like it's my blog. Please write!

Love, Mom

Looks Like It's Me Again

How is everyone? We are looking forward to seeing Travis soon and Danny and Jenni and Jak and Jenni's tummy in April. (By the Way, Alex emails tomorrow night).

Spring has hit, but I guess winter strikes again tomorrow. We are all exhausted by fresh air. Daylight savings time has taken it's toll. Tommy and Tyler played a long basketball game yesterday, then we played Quiddler and Rummikub with the French doors open. Even after dark the birds were having a noisy party. I enjoyed winter a lot. But Tyler has quite a commute to work, so the extra daylight is a blessing.

Dennis' company is making a big announcement today. Lots of folks were sworn the secrecy. It might be minor, but whatever it is will effect stock, apparently. He was kind of nervous about today. Lots of meetings.

Dad and I went to the temple Saturday night. It was very nice, and a beautiful evening. ( I know I didn't need a comma there, but I like commas). He's reading a book we read for Bookclub: The Prizewinner of Defiance Ohio. The woman it's written about has become one of my heros. If happiness was based on the sum total of events, she never would have been happy. But she was. It's a funny, unusual story written by her daughter.

Have a great week and write! We love you, (Travis: I want to make Agata's favorite dessert. Bring me home some of the biscuits in the recipe if you get a chance. I want to see what they look like)(Jenni: If you go to Ikea, buy some more ligonberry sauce. Maybe just two jars. We love it on rice pudding or crepes. It looks like jam. If not, I can probably get it at Pirate O's. So don't worry. Be sure to bring your baby monitor when you come. Thanks!)



Mom

It Looks Like Spring

It's fun to hear all the news of acceptance into Universities, Colleges and Programs. Hearing about U of W Art and Design Department calling Agata made me realize how much I enjoy art. I think I will enjoy very much learning about art from her, talking about art and design, and maybe doing some projects together.

Congratulations to Tommy! That's good news.

Here's a quote I heard today on public radio. It made me smile. I'm a big fan of anything that makes me smile lately. Things have been going well here, but I think I need to smile more (and skpe-play with Jak.)

"To want to meet an author because you like his book is like wanting to meet a duck because you like pate'." (by Margaret Atwood, author)

That made me smile. I got so I dreaded book signings when I worked at the bookstore. It was disillusioning (but exciting) to meet the authors, bring them pop and sandwiches all day, and to find out what strange personalities they had and how grouchy they were. (maybe they hated book signing engagements).

Thanks for sharing your lives with us, and your good news.

Love, Mom

Update

Hello from happy valley!
So, wonderful news. I was notified recently that i have been accepted to the advertising major at BYU. Kind of cool, though they did have a record few amount of applicants this semester and about a 90% acceptance percentage as well (this semester)... But, i still would like to think that my outstanding application warranted my being accepted.
In other news, I got a phone call from Carl, a guy I worked with on my mission, who got off his mission a couple of months ago and called to tell me that he is engaged and is getting married this fall (August 4th, to be exact.) He is marrying a member from out there, who actually went to BYU and came with me to take him to the MTC. It was a great phone call and hopefully i can make it out there for the wedding...
Well, thats about all thats new with me, if i think of anything else i will wait for someone to ask via some form of correspondence, as i am not sure exactly what people know already...
Love, Tommy

Update from Home

March 6, 2007

I don't know if it really is the sixth of March. Anyway, it's Tuesday. Remember Alex writes tonight. Dennis reminded us Sunday that when we change to daylight savings time this Sunday (I'm not making that up), the computers don't change like they are programmed to do. He said it is creating big problems. I don't know how they fix that, but there's a way (probably one computer at a time. I can't remember the reason we are changing, except that congress decided to change. I remember when they did this in the 70's. Educators said there will be accidents involving school children, and there were. We finally went off of it because of the accidents.

We are doing well. It's not a smooth path, but we're all trying, including Tommy who has been a great support to us this winter. We had a great, peaceful, fun night last night. I wish you could have all been here. In someways I regret Spring. We watched a Jazz game, played Quiddler, made hot chocolate and laughed a lot. Tyler got the highest score yet in Quiddler. We have nesting perfected. Soon more light in the evening and more yard work. We appreciate each one of you and your prayers for us, your concern and support. Today was the best day ever.

Okay. Here's a recipe I tried Sunday (I've had the rose water for a long time waiting to do this. I bought it at Pirate O's.)

Almond Pudding (Indian)

4 cups milk or light cream (rich milk, no less than 2 %)

2 tablespoons long grain rice (not heaping)

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds or chopped pistachio nuts

2 teaspoons rose water (optional but wonderful. Not that hard to find. I had to ask, though.)

ground nutmeg

12 whole strawberries (didn't have them, didn't use them.)

In a heavy 3-quart saucepan, combine milk or light cream, rice and cardamon. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat. Cook, uncovered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour or till milk mixture is reduced to about two cups. (2 cups). Remove from heat.

Stir in sugar and chopped almonds or pistachio nuts, continue stirring until sugar has dissolved. Cool 30 minutes; stir pudding. Stir in rose water, if desired.

Spoon mixture into 4-6 sherbet or dessert dishes.(I just put it in one bowl until serving.) Chill in refrigerator. To serve, sprinkle with ground nutmeg and garnish each serving with two whole strawberries. Makes 4-6 servings.

(Note:) to keep a "skin" from forming on the top of the pudding while cooling, carefully place a piece of clear plastic wrap or waxed paper directly on the surface of the hot pudding. After the pudding has cooled, remove the paper and spoon pudding into dessert dishes.

It was very good. I've always like this dessert at the Indian restaurant. I think I added too much rice and over cooked it, but it was still good. It really does set with just two tablespoons of rice. Just simmer, don't boil the pudding rapidly during the hour cooking. My goal next time is to make it silkier and more tender.

Friday

(Here is an excerpt from a letter I just wrote to Mom, then realized it would make a fine Blog entry)

I finally heard from a university; Ive been accepted to NYU with a full fellowship!! They said I ranked highly among the 20 candidates admitted out of 300 applicants. It looks like a really good program and I would be happy to go there; of course, Im still eager to hear from Washington. But its good to finally have some news after so much waiting, although it would be even better to get some news about Agata...

A moderate spring has arrived. Temperatures climbed above freezing this week, which makes all the difference. I taught a lesson at Agata's dad's school on Wednesday on American english; I made a slideshow called "Do you speak american?" and went over the differences between American and British english and between different regions in America. I played clips of people from various parts of the country talking and made them practice a nice drawl and an all american 'A' as in 'Amos.' Today I have a conversation lesson with some guy who called. I spent a lot of time at the library this week; I got a lot of research done though im continually frustrated by my polish. The best part was the Polish hamburgers Ive been eating in the cafeteria in the library. They have this delicious pea and garbanzo style sauce and in general are quite gourmet for a 3 zloty cafeteria burger.

Love you much,

TQC

The New Bed is a Success!

Hello all!

Here's a picture we took tonight of Jak in his new bed reading himself to sleep. Pretty darn cute kid, eh?

Love you all,

Danny

Weekend

Well, our cultural evening on Friday turned out to be even more cultural than expected. I went to the chat with the visiting actor Friday afternoon while Agata was at work. I decided to fill the inevitably awkward silence that was the question and answer session, and apparently the actor, who was Welsh-Italian-American, was longing so much for English language conversation that he came up to me after the talk and started chatting. He asked if I had seen the play, I said no, so he offered me and Agata two tickets for that evening's performance. It was a one-man play/monologue/poem by Dylan Thomas, Under Milkwood or some such, just amazing and lovely performance.

Saturday I spent the morning battling once again with our breezy windows. I ended up taping a polar fleece blanket over the window in our bedroom. It seems to be a bit warmer, but then again temperatures have climbed up to a balmy -2 so it has yet to be tested. That evening we visited Agata's aunt for ribs and had a friend over afterwords.

Sunday Agata's Dad called, saying he must see her for something very important. They were supposed to leave to go somewhere to talk, but he came just after we had finished up frying up a big batch of tasty onion rings so he stayed for lunch. He kept asking if everything was ok, if we needed anything. We said yes, were fine, but he kept insisting, so finally we complained about the hyda-bed couch that is our only bed. He insisted on doing something about that, and immediately. It turned out, however, that beds are quite expensive, so we decided to just get a mattress. Mattresses being a little pricey themselves, we decided on an blow up air mattress. It works wonderfully, really much more comfortable than the bed and plus perhaps can be taken with us when we move. Plus, combined with our brisk breezes, everyday feels like camping. We decided to make the most of it by having an Oscar Sleepover Party last night, staying up all night watching the Oscars (they start at 2 am in this time zone) on our giant air mattress in our living room.

Today we woke up at 9 and had pancakes. Who ever would have thought unemployement could be so great?

Jak's new bed

Jak made the move last night from a crib to a toddler bed. This was a big step and we feel like we now have a little boy living with us and not a baby anymore. Weird.

So the transition went pretty well, I think. He rolled out of bed twice during the night. Don't worry, though, the bed is only about 6 inches off the ground, so he was fine. It did spook him a little the first time, though. We heard a thud from his bedroom followed by the pitter patter of little feet running to our room. Then this little voice "Mommy I fall out." It was very cute.

In the morning he just laid in bed and yelled "Mommy I want to get out!" until we went to let him out. He still thinks he needs permission to leave his bed, since when he was in his crib he couldn't get out by himself. I'm sure he'll figure out soon that he can climb out on his own easily enough, but until then he thinks he needs our permission.

Well, that's the big news from Seattle. My job's going well, just spending all day designing the City Creek center in Salt Lake. Here's a piece of interesting trivia: the project contains a total of 5 million square feet. A typical large skyscraper could maybe reach 1 million, so this is a large project. Oooh, also interesting is that they are planning on putting retractable skylights over the walkways that I'm designing. Is that fancy or what?

Love you all,

Danny

Gee willikers

It was -13 this morning. This is never fun, because our appartments heating system (a few radiators) cant compensate for the constant gusts of cold air blowing through our shoddily-attached windows once it gets below -5 or so. I spent an hour or so yesterday trying to affix various things to the cracks between our windows and the wall to stop the drafts, but to no avail.

On the bright side, however, I made some butter chicken the "Video Jug" way, and it was delicious. Tastes almost exactly like the Royal India version, except I couldnt afford chicken breast so we had it with mutilated wings.

Tonight were going to a special screening of some of these films Ive been studying; before I might go to a monologue by some british actor; all in all a very cultural weekend.

I just took my biscuits out of the oven, a dismal failure. Anyone know what I did wrong? They are small and hard and white and not big and flaky and slightly brown like I hoped. I guess in general they are not much like Pilsbury, which perhaps is just the way things go.

Anywho, best of luck to all,
TQC

Family, I'm Finally In

Feb. 19, 2007

It has taken a while to get back into this blog. Now they want to use my e-mail address. If I start to get junk in that account, I'll know why. They didn't know how to reach me before.

Just talked to Travis. Getting married is a complicated issue. I'm glad they are working on the problems. Hope all goes well. I missed seeing Agata on Skype this weekend.

We had a beautiful snowstorm. It was sunny for a while, now it's cloudy again. Maybe there is more snow to come. Tommy is studying and Tyler is playing guitar. They just ate breakfast. I'm thinking about lunch.

Here's a quote I heard on the radio yesterday. It's from a talk I heard by John A. Widstoe, a Mormon scholar, teacher, and leader. He was a Norwegian, Harvard educated chemist who founded the Agricultural College in Logan and taught a lot of farming science. I actually heard a recording of him giving this talk. He was pretty funny. He said "All true things are simple and can be taught simply. If you have a professor who confuses you, he needs to be educated again." I loved that coming from a chemistry professor. He was talking about how the gospel is simple, and all true knowledge can be taught in simplicity. It was refreshing. I think I agree.

I wish Jenni was here to simply teach me math again. And I would like to have an "educated" teacher explain chemistry.

I'm going to go organize my book of dream ideas for home decorating. I'm getting some ideas.

Love you!

Mom

Snow Day

Hello-
Well, Tyler and I played some sweet ball outside yesterday in just shorts and t-shirts and went to bed pretty late last night, with no clue that today we would wake up to half a foot of snow on the ground. Its not doing much for my hate of winter, as i was just getting really stoked over the spring like weather. However, it is very beautiful outside; i think that since the trees were kind of wet that they caught more snow so everything is completely covered. Life is going pretty good and hectic. I've had two tests each week for the past two weeks, with one more this week. They are the first out of three of what the professors call midterms. I don't get that at all, since there can only be one middle of the term. At least don't try to trick us and call them midterms when there are three of them...
I am contimplating running again, and was all set to do so today before it snowed. Kinda put a wet blanket on that idea. I bought a little mp3 player to jog with. Oh, i should tell about this, i think i got a good deal. It is a Creative MuVo 100, holds two gigs of music and functions like a flash drive as well. It is about as big as an iPod Nano, but a little thicker. It functions like a flash drive, part of it is removable and you plug it straight into the usb port and you can interact with it like a drive, manipulating folders and such. I got it off of Amazon for 60 dollars, compared to an iPod for 150. I am quite pleased with it. I wouldn't recommend it if your only computer is a mac though, as it doesn't play Apple formatted music files, but for a pc it works great... Anywho, life is good, i went to two concerts this week, Ben Kweller and The Shins. All good things, my friends, all good things.
Good luck in life and keep your stick on the ice
Tommy

Utah Currits checking in.

It is a beautiful day in Utah! It is 57 degrees, sunny and with clean air! Tommy, Tyler, JT and Zach are out playing basketball. Fortunately, I bought a new net yestderay. Unfortunately, they say the weather is going back to being winter later this week, but we will take even one day of spring! It has been such a cold winter, much colder than last year. And with not enough snow. At least if it was going to be cold, we could have gotten plenty of snow.

It is good to have Tyler back. Jo and I are enjoying having him home. Jo feeds him tons of food, we play games each night (usually quiddler, which I always lose) and watch old Rockford Files on DVD. Not high excitement, but it works for me.

Called my Dad yesterday and found out that Danny, Jenni and Jakson are all visiting them this weekend. I am very jealous because I miss Jakson. Oh, I miss Danny and Jenni, too, but you understand how grandparents are. I love you all and miss you so much. Please blog even if you don't have anything interesting to say.

Magic of Internet

I've discovered my new favorite site on the internet: VideoJug.com. My addiction to this site came about the other day, when I was attempting to make some garlic naan to go with the shrimp saag (thanks for the recipe d + j) for Valentines day, and the attempt went horribly ary. Grasping desperately for answers as to why I had this chewy, over sweet, inedible substance instead of delicious naan, I stumbled upon this recipe, simple and complete with an illustrative video narrated with a charming british accent! (http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-naan-bread) I have yet to try it out but hope to soon.

Its pretty fun, they have videos for all sorts of recipes, do it yourself projects, and other life situations- perfect for those like me who lack common sense and seem to have not been paying attention at how to really do all those little details in life, and need it explained slowly and clearly in full color detail. The british touch makes it go down smooth. You can probably find all this stuff on youtube or googlevideo, but I like the flavor of this one, and they have a bit more quality control than youtube.

The videos on fitting a door lock would have come in handy this afternoon, when we had a scary/comical incident. Agata had just finished with a lesson, and was escorting her pupil to the door when she made an unfortunate discovery: the lock wouldnt turn open. Now, first I have to explain something about our appartment. Some people are satisfied with one door. Not the owners of this place. They must have lots of axe-wielding enemies or something, because in addition to their double-bolted and chain-latched primary door, they installed a solid metal outer door, which is also double-bolted. It was the top lock on this door, consisting of two solid steel bars jammed into the concrete wall, which would not open for Agata. The prospect of being locked in our own house with this slightly-odd student for the rest of the week soon arose. Plus, Agata had to leave for work in the next 15 minutes, adding an air of tension to the scene. Luckily after fighting with screwdrivers we were able to take off the lock and free ourselves. Oddly enough, the lock now works just fine, without having done anything to it other than take it off and put it back on.

Carry on familia
tQc

Happy Valentine's Day Tomorrow!

Feb. 13, 2007

Dear Family,

Happy Valentine's Day to you. We're doing fine here. Dad is at the gym working out. We have discovered the stair step machine and our weakness on it. It's a challenge to do it. We both enjoy it. Tyler is downtown with a friend named Brian, playing guitar. He should be back tonight. Tommy just successfully took a test at BYU. There's a little bit of Spring in the air. I'm trying to finish my book club book, and still am enjoying winter.

Alex e-mails tonight. It will be good to hear how his new companion is and how his trip to Bangkok was.

Travis and Agata seem well and happy. I don't feel like they are so far away with "skype". I realize that it does bring my kids closer.

Only three months until a new little grandson comes. I can't wait to see him.

Have a great day tomorrow!

Love, Mom

a better one

this one is even better:http://ww6.tvp.pl/134,456031,1.view

useful links

So here we go , first link to video showing the Polish national haircut: http://ww6.tvp.pl/134,20070208457208.strona
and a second to this shop on line :www.wylegarnia.com
Enjoy

An amazing salmon recipe

Danny's Birthday was great. He'll have to tell you about it. Among other things I gave him a crocheted beanie which was quite a disaster. Part of the gift was that I learned how to crochet. I spent the last several weeks learning with a friend and making the hat. The only problem was that on the morning of his birthday I was frantically trying to finish it and realized it was too beig so I had to unravel several hours of work and so all I was able to give him was a 3" round piece of crochet work. No resemblance to a hat yet. I was very sad after I had done so much work and had so little to show for it except that and the practice hat I had made. Anyway, it is about done now. Yay! And it did turn out pretty cool. Anyway, I'll have to give a better update later.
Jolene--here are the recipes I made for Danny for his birthday. It was a divine meal-- gourmet. Tommy--use this one on a girl (it is quite easy) and she'll be whooped. It's salmon breaded with a peppery crust and laid in a bed of lemon/thyme/dijon mustard vinaigrette. Mmmmm. The only variation I did on the recipe was I used croutons for the breading and dried parsley (not fresh) in the vinaigrette. We also had a good green bean side dish.

Here's the fish link:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1817,146171-244205,00.html

Here's the green beans:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1750,159184-255198,00.html

Enjoy
Jenni

Happy Birthday and Howdy

Hello y'all! and especially Danny! its your birthday, ugh! remember that song Dad used to sing?

So sorry we havent been to communicative in a while, heres the scoop on the last week or so:

Last Tuesday (Jan 28) we went to the dentist and I had my tooth glued back on (did I already write about this?) He did a good job, was surprised Americans would do such shoddy dental work, and recounted a story of this elderly American from Florida who loves Poland and spends five months there and gets his dental work done with this guy. Apparently he is some sort of manufacturer of athletic equipement, last name of Wilson.

On Friday we went to a museum housed in an old factory. The old factories here arent what you would think; they were constructed in the dizzy boom days in Lodz in the 1890s, and each one looks like a palace, or a castle. The museum exhibition housed the senior theses of all the students from the fine arts school. Most were mediocre, but some of the graphic design pieces were quite well done, especially one which designed children's toys. That evening we went to the Museum of Cinema to watch a free projection of computer animated films. Two were by a very famous Polish animator who has been nominated for some academy awards or something, and were quite nice. The others were rather mediocre; in fact I think the opening videos to Starcraft made like 10 years ago were of much higher technical quality and all around cooler.

Saturday Agata's friend Karolina came over, and we had a good chat. They were amazed I had never seen some soap opera called North-South, about the civil war, with Patrick Suaze. American soap operas are incredibly popular in Poland. Agata's grandpa made us watch this one called The Bold and the Beautiful once. Apparently his wife would watch it before she died and he got hooked. In addition to discussing silly tv shows, with Karolina we had an enlightening cultural exchange on scholastic systems, racism, politics, and the place of women in Polish and American societies. Afterwords she went home as she was not feeling well and Agata and I went out with the aim of dancing but ended up just sitting in this overcrowded pub for a while. But it was good to get out.

Sunday Agata's mom invited us over for BBQ chicken wings, which were delicious. I ate far too much. This week is Agata's mom's vacation, so we see her more, and she has already knitted Agata a sweater.

Monday was Agata's nameday, hurray! It was filled with well-wishers, phone calls, visits, and gifts. Inexplicably, people kept giving me presents as well; Agata's mom gave me a new sweater she had found on sale, a very very chic bag (I had complained about feeling too American with my plastic backpack), and Agata went out shoe shopping with me and I got some nice brown ones. Agata had said that what she really wanted for her birthday were some performances, so I woke her up to a renactement of the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe using Cookie Monster and some Muminek Dolls. Her Grandpa came before noon, and at 4 her aunt came. A few hours later her mom and other aunt and father came, and everyone stayed until about 10. It was fun except the old people would just talk to each other about old people things and kind of ignore us.

Ive noticed this always happens when there are more old than young people at a family gathering. The generation gap in desired conversation topics and modes of discourse is huge. Young people like jokes, silly, short stories, and talking about popular culture, fashion, movies, etc. Old people like talking about common acquaintances, dead relatives, the olden days, really long and pointless stories, and their slowly disintegrating bodies.

Tuesday we got up early and went to the open air market with her mother. We wanted to see the Russians there to look for curtain fabric. No luck there, but we bought a lot of good food for cheap. We came home and made a big sauerkraut soup (not bigos, but a real soup) and ate it with mashed potatoes flavored with bacon bits. It was delicious, and I ate far too much. Afterwords we had a mini English lesson with her mom, and I realized the extent to which English has no rules regarding pronunciation. That evening we watched Spirited Away and Agat knit. She is making me a scarf. Agata had a sudden craving for something sweet, and we had nothign in the house. I said we could make cookies, but then realized we had nothing to put in them, until I saw a can of peanut butter in the cupboard. Shortening doesnt exist in poland so we used plain butter, which disgusted Agata a bit, and I realized that peanut butter cookies are nothing but baked sugar and fat. But we made them anyways and they were very good.

Yesterday I got up early, did some housecleaning, and attempted to do some writing while Agata went out with her mom on some errands. In the afternoon one of Agata's old teachers came over to her mom's house; we went down and visited for a while. The big ball for high school seniors in Poland had just passed. They asked me if we had balls like that in the US, so I started to tell about Prom. They were just delighted by my stories of the creative ways to ask and answer people to dances. Agata was mad I didnt do something like that when I proposed. Anyone have any good stories of marriage proposal/date asking shenanigans?

Last night two of Agata's friends from college came over to discuss boy problems. We borrowed Agata's mom's sandwhich maker and made "tosts". She made this weird ones with cheese and honey that sound discussing but are actually very good.

Well, there's way too much information to make up for our long silence. Enjoy and hope to hear from you soon,

TC and AM

Happy Birthday Danny!

Feb. 7, 2007

Today is Danny's birthday. Happy Birthday, Danny! Hope you have a special day.

We are doing well here. Tyler is good company and starting to feel better. We haven't heard from Travis or Agata for a few days. Hope all is well. Tommy is nursing a sore toe at BYU. He needs to see a foot doctor today. Apparently all the foot doctors are at some foot and ankle convention. Alex is in Bangkok picking up a new missionary. He has had an eye infection of some kind, but the mission mom said she would check on it for me. Dad is overwhelmingly busy with his job. He could spend all day studying and problem solving all by himself, but instead spends most of his time in meetings hearing about new projects and contracts, all which impact his department. (at least they are very busy!).

Tyler and I are going to SuperWalmart in a few minutes. Not a Currit expedition of choice. We need stuff there and we're going to brave it. It will be full of people who are enjoying themselves so much. I'm trying to keep my list as small as possible. The place is too big.

We've been out walking a lot, which is a nice change from the nesting we did during our bitter cold winter.

Danny, we love you and Jenni and Jak so much. Have fun today and we'll look forward to our next great adventure with your family.

Love, Mom

GROUND HOG'S DAY AGAIN, FOLKS!

Hi Family!

Today is Groundhog's Day and he didn't see his shadow. I think I saw Bill Murray on tv(I'm pretty sure it was him, but everyone was bundled up looking cold) holding up the little fellow (with leather gloves on to protect his hands.) Agata definitely needs to watch Groundhog's Day. Well, I guess he usually sees his shadow. He has only not seen his shadow fourteen times. So apparently (don't quote me) we will have an early Spring.

Whatever. We're used to winter. We need snow. We have perfected the art of playing at home and nesting. Who needs all that yard work anyway?

Happy Name Day, Agata! My customized calendar says Monday is St. Agata's Day. Congratulations, Travis, on acceptance to Florida State. Where abouts is that school? Good luck, Tommy, with your studies. Tyler, I will beat you at Quiddler next time. Jenni and Jak, enjoy the early Seattle Spring. You don't need snow. Admire a camelia and smell some honeysuckle for me.

And Happy Birthday to Danny on February 7th!

E-mail Alex before Tuesday. He doesn't have much time to check the blog. Maybe we need to copy it for him.

Love you all!

Happy Groundhog's Day!

So, I got some good news last night: Ive been accepted to Florida State University's Master program in History. They havent told me about funding yet, so its not really good news, and its down near the bottom of my list of top choices for grad school, but it was nice to finally hear something.

I went to the university and pinned up flyers everywhere advertising my English lessons. I was getting really bored and hope to find some more work. Weve got one call already, a Biology professor who wants some conversation practice. She sounded real nice, until at the end of the phone call (she was speaking to Agata in Polish) she said, "Well, I really don't know how to say this, but what is his nationality?" Agata was confused and answered, "Well, American American, I mean not Native American but.." The womand clarified: "Let me ask this directly: is he black?" Agata, flabbergasted, replied, "no...", and the woman was relieved, apparently. I guess her last tutor was black and she had a hard time understanding his accent.

(to clarify, this is not a typical Polish attitude, just some odd racist lady)


Life trickles by, same old same old. Love you all, be excellent to each other,

TQC

winter at last

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

winter at last

winter and hot tubs
so the winter has finaly come. We have snow, children laughing and making snowmen and everyone caught cold ( my Mom and my grandpa) , me and Travis we are still fighting. For theses two weeks I have less classes, cause children at school have their winter holiday, which is cool - I can rest a bit and not to listen to their screams:) But to be honest I miss them a bit.
Today I have one private lesson with a boy who became addicted to this comic book which Travis brought me: Calvin and Hobbes. We read it together with my student and he fell in love with it.
Travis read me a story, which Jo gave me about the king in the bath , I absolutely love it and I even thought that I could make a play with my students based on this story, but I still cant figure out how to make a fake bath tub and put it on a stage. I guess children really enjoy being on the stage and playing in school plays , at least I used to like it when I was a child. So I will give it a try and make my own adaptation, I"ll let you know how it worked.

Hi Family!

Okay, so I'm the only one that blogs. That's understandable. We have enjoyed seeing Tommy this last weekend. He has been very busy. Tyler is doing well. He is beating us at Quiddler and gin rummy. This will probably go down in my journal as one of the longest strangest winters ever. But not bad. A lot of good has happened. We are still in a deep freeze. The air quality is poor and a storm would be welcome. Hope you are all well and happy. Jenni said Seattle was having a taste of early Spring. I've always heard that Spring is beautiful there. We went last March when the camelias were in bloom. It was like have bulbs bloom on a bush or tree.

We love you. Take care of yourselves and let us know if we totally ignore you.

Love, Mom

Great horned owls

Jan. 22, 2007

Well, we saw an owl last night in the tree in the field. It was big and beautiful. I guess Tyler and Dennis saw it fly for a moment before Tommy and I got outside. (Agata and Travis are wondering about the use of the word "got'. I wonder if it's just a crutch. I could have written that sentence "before we went outside", "before we were outside", "before going outside". But we limp along with "got". ) Anyway, back to the owl. It was very big, with the tufted, required horns. I feel so blessed to see an owl. It think it's very rare. We wondered if it was watching the rabbit. We speculated that when it was completely dark, the owl would begin to hunt. And when it was dark, it left. Until then, the owl was very still. In third grade we put on a big pageant. We had dances for all of the seasons and woodland creatures narrated. My best friends all were ballerinas in the Springtime sequence. My whole life I had wanted to wear a pink net tutu and tights and pull my hair back tight like ballerinas. I had to wear an owl costume with a hood and owl mask and I had to go to every rehearsal. I wondered if I didn't get to be a ballerina because I had recently received (I avoided "gotten") my first pair of glasses. They were pink, but I hoped the glasses weren't the reason I had to wear the big owl costume. The dancers (my friends) had to arrive early the night of the play to get makeup on. I didn't. I was told to just come a little early. No make-up required. So anyway, the next summer a big ugly girl in the neighborhood was mad at me. She called me "teacher's pet" and said that I got the best of everything. She said that I was even the star of the school play. I said, no I wasn't. (still thinking about tutus and hairspray). She said I was. The star of the whole school play and I was on stage the whole time. She said the play was about me. I told her that wasn't true. Then I went home and told my mother what she had said. My mom said it was true!!! I guess at the back door to the auditorium they had passed out programs. My Mom showed me the program which she had carefully filed in the "Jolene" file. They were brown and in the shape of an owl. The play was called the "Owl's Tale". I had never even seen the program. I was dropped off at school early and my parents arrived later. No one ever told me!

So I've sort of had a familial relationship with owls ever since.

Keep praying for us and write Alex. He should email Tuesday night, if all goes well with Southeast Asia fiber-optic cable.

Love, Mom

Dennis again.

Congratulations, Agata and Travis! Have you made any definite plans? Did Agata like the ring? Any word on graduate schools?Nothing much has happened since last time I wrote, but I feel that I should contribute something. I have been sick the last few days, which is very unusual for me. Even missed a day of work. Jo was very patient with me and I am very thankful for that. Other than that, it has been cold around here. Jo and I are adjusting to being here alone. It has been 29 years since there have been just the 2 of us, but we have been managing OK. We had an ATK company party on Friday. They had a drawing and were giving away prizes, some of which were quite valuable. Like $200-$500. I won 3 golf balls. Other than that it was a good party and we left before people got really drunk. At staff meeting the next Monday, the HR person declared it a success because no one was killed on the way home and they got no sexual harassment complaints. It seemed obvious that the HR person would rather they did not have a party at all. I would love to hear the history of past parties and see what his concerns are. I know last year ATK got a bill for damages to the facility. We sure enjoy hearing from you, so keep blogging!

Smacznego

Hello team!

Well, its been a busy week for me and Agata. As she mentioned on Monday I taught at her school, which was positively fantastic, as I enjoyed every minute of it and made 160 zlotys to boot (roughly 60 dollars, not bad for 4 hours work!). On Tuesday both of our private students canceled, so we were unemployed all day. In the evening, we wanted to go out to a chic restaurant dressed all fancy to celebrate our anniversary of first starting to date. We had planned this for monday, but my sudden employment got in the way. We got all fancied up, despite problems with my new tie (which smelt strongly of cigarettes, as I noticed too late) and Agata's boots (at the cobblers for repair) and headed out to the restaurant, only to find that it had relocated to the other side of town. So we went to another restaurant nearby, which ended up being far far too chic for us. We felt extremely awkward the whole evening, even more so when a group of Frenchies sat down right next to us. (French people bring back memories for us of suffering at their hands in Lille.) I was doubly nervous because I had hoped to use this occasion to pop the question to Agata. Things were going so badly, I almost decided to wait for another evening, then spontaneously pulled her back into a nearby hidden booth, got down on my knees, and asked. Immediately thereafter, our waiter came back to see what we were doing, and if we wanted to move to that table. We said sure, as we were glad to move back into the corner and giggle off our shame at our continuing series of Faux Pas. We gulped down our food (which was delicious), I dropped my fork 4 times and Agata finally got a chance to say Yes, and left as soon as possible, went home, got in our pajamas, and curled up to some Desperate Housewives.

So long story short, were engaged! Huzzah!

Meanwhile yesterday I studied like crazy and went back to Agata's school for more substitute work. Hopefully Ill get hired on somewhere, as I love teaching English, and it pays nicely. I think teaching English to foreigners is the greatest kind of teaching, because you get all the fun of being an expert without really having to know anything. Weve scattered my CV around town, heres hoping something comes up.

Love you all, I enjoy your emails, and am sorry I havent had a chance to answer lately. Feel free to call us anytime (hint hint Danny and Jenni),

TQC

More Winter

Tommy was home yesterday, because it was a holiday. (Did Danny have Martin Luther King Day off?) It was good to have him hear, playing his retro favorite music and adding his body heat to the general cold of the house. (The food storage room is freezing). I'm reading another new book written like a fairytale, and I can't seem to get away from the fireplace.....Our cars are filthy. But even the windshield fluid freezes when you spray it, so we will wait for the inevitable thaw and drought to clean cars. We went to the Chinese Buffet last night for Family Home Evening, and Tommy wore flip flops and shorts. He has tough legs and feet.

He told us a funny joke on Jon Stewart's news show. Bush is increasing the troops in Iraq by 15% and Jon Stewart said that that is a "tip, and gratuity, not an increase!". There have been some funny satires about the war and Bush lately. It's good to laugh, 'cause what else can we do?

Alex writes tonight (Tuesday) at about 8:30-9:30. So if you get a chance, write him. There's no substitute for hearing from his brothers.

We miss you all and look forward to being together soon.

Love, Mom

Hello from the Non-Student

Howdy all!

Sorry it's been so long since I've visited this lovely blog, but I've been a little busy adjusting to my new life. Also, I have limited internet access at work, so I can't sit around blogging all day long like I did when I was a student.

On that note, I'd like to say that boy do I like not being a student anymore. I don't want to rub it in too badly for those who still have indefinite lengths of education ahead of them still, but man I'm enjoying it. My job is cool, and it's so nice to have evenings and weekends to play with Jak without the threat of homework and tests hanging over my head. Ahhhh.

It sounds like y'all are doing well. Travis and Agata, we'll call you one of these days. The problem is, by the time I get home from work you're in bed, and then I leave for work early in the morning. Maybe we can give you a call one night around 10:00 our time (early morning there, right?), or on a weekend. I'm anxiously awaiting the photos of the orange walls. Hard to visualize that.

Well, you all successfully over-stimulated and spoiled our boy. He's going through some serious detox right now. He's gradually getting back to his old self, but it's a painful process.

I love you all, and I'll post more later about the Salt Lake project that I'm working on now. It should be a pretty cool new development.

Later,

Danny

debut

Teching debut
I'm completely exhausted after painting. We had a nice party on Saturday- first the guy who rents us a flat came, then some of my friends, it was fun, they all speak English , so Travis didn't feel excluded.
Now I'm waiting for my next studebt to come and I'm looking forward to hearing from Travis who is teaching at my school today!!!!They called me to ask if I could come and teach this evening as one of the native speakers is sick, but I wasn't available. Then I thought: but Travis can go. So he is teaching right now, I was a bit worried cause he had to go there alone, as I had my lessons and he had to take a bus and a tram. But he did just fine, he didn't get lost.
ok, my student is here.
To be continued...

"Brother"

Jak had something to say on the phone today. It sounded a lot like brother. I am excited to think that we can have the opportunity to enjoy another little boy as much as we enjoy Jak. Jenni showed me a picture of Jak and his two Christensen cousins at Christmas, and I thought how happily and easily just one more little boy would fit into that picture. He should be six months younger than Mark (Jenni's brother's) boy. I think the picture needed one more boy.

Congratulations to Jak and his parents. Thanks for giving us the chance to do it again! (And thanks from those who thought the "Currit" name might disappear.)

Of course this means Miranda will probably have a girl.

From,

Happy Boppa Jo

Random Week

Hello Everyone! I love to read your messages, however brief. Tommy, we think about you a lot and the hard work you are doing. Good luck this semester! Travis and Agata, why orange? I just have a thing about orange in general. (that's merely based on how terrible I look in orange. I'm more or a purple, navy blue, olive green person.) Dad and I need to paint the family room, because a) it needs to be done b) we want to hang Tommy's photos and art. We also don't want the computer to be down for more than, say, 48 hours.... What's that about???you may ask. We wonder, too. But those are our parameters. I'm against slowwwww painting projects, having experienced some. Anyway. That's great that Travis got to hear some of her Grandfather's stories. I will send my measurements, so to speak. I'm actually about the same size as Travis. Mostly I want to learn to knit correctly, as my Finnish friend says I knit wrong. (wrongly?)

Anyhow. My basketball team won yesterday. Yes, I do coach. Jessie Hill came up to me and asked me after the game started if they were supposed to play position. Her Mom was sitting there(Shirley, also know as She-who-thinks-like-a-man). I told Jessie "I DON'T KNOW!" and I meant it. Then after the first quarter, I asked the team if they would like to play positions. They said, no, this method was working well for them. I told them, coachlike, that seeing as how they weren't playing "bunch-ball" I would let them continue. We had a great time. Everyone shot baskets like crazy. Even my new little "Beehive" , who played her first game, had fun. Mainly because you could make it up as you went along. We rock!

Danny and Jenni might at this very moment know if the new little baby is a boy or girl. But I do not call. No, I wait for them to call me, at least until about 2:00 when I will surely crack.

Dad and I went to our first NAMI Family to Family meeting last night. We meet in Alta View Hospital in a classroom. The class is big. It's very intense. In case you are confused, it's a whole education and support group for families struggling with mental illness. We need to be prepared to help Tyler in any way possible. I think I will probably learn more than I can remember or understand.

Dad told you that we are temple workers. We work in the baptistry with the youth. We are looking forward to it. We can get substitutes when the red-rock country calls, but otherwise, we will be gone 9-12 on Saturdays. (Maybe more like 8:00-1:00. I like to be realistic.)

It's cold here. Cold, cold, cold. First it snowed, melted, froze, then snowed, then the temperatures dropped. I dream of hot swim spas.

Hope you are all well. We want to hear how Danny's SLC project is going.

How could I forget this? This is why I am blogging!!! Papa Herb slipped in his driveway and banged himself up badly. I'm very impressed that his bones refuse to break, however he managed to "bend" his ribs. He's on pain pills, and limitations. I think he even had his ice cleats on. He has been snow-plowing for the whole neighborhood and loving it. I wonder who will plow now? I'm sure Grandma could only do their property. Anyway, remember him in your prayers. I'm sure he would appreciate a letter or note or call.

Take care.

Love, Mom

Happy Friday

Tired

Greetings from some tired painting monsters! Our walls turned out to be a hideous salmon pink instead of orange, but after two more cans of pigment and another coat of paint, we think they are finally the right color this time. Hopefully. At any rate, we are done, and exhausted, and not looking forward to cleaning up.

We went to Agata's Grandpa's today, he made us Polish tortillas, which were delicious. He also told us stories about how germans beat him black and blue during the Occupation, and how 'our' president betrayed Poland to Stalin. Beforehand we went tie shopping in the second hand shops of Lodz. Theyve got some great stuff, any requests for fur? Plenty of it to be had.

Well the battery is about to die and we cant find the plug, love all of you much much much, give us a call if we dont see you this weekend,

Travis

More on Dennis's book.

Double click on the back cover and you can zoom in enough to read the summary. Like I said, it is very interesting. How did he end up in Sandy? I am not sure I have the story right, but Jo can correct me. Anyway, he and Kathryn grew up together in WWII Holland, but ended up marrying other people. Kathryn and her husband joined the LDS church, immigrated to the US and settled in Utah. Many years later, Kathryns husband died and she visited Holland, ran into Dick, found out that his wife had also died and they got married. They currently shuttle between Holland and Utah, though I am not sure Kathryn has travelled much lately. Dick is not a member of the LDS church but attends services with his wife. That is how I know him. Dick is very personable, will talk your ear off with only a slight accent (occassionally, he asks Kathryn in Dutch how to say something) and seems to really like it here.

Dennis and his new book.

I just got a new book. It was written by my neighbor, Dick Verkijk. He was a journalist from Holland who reported from Eastern Europe for many years both before and after the fall of the Soviet Union and through an odd sequence of events, ended up in Sandy, Utah. He published his memoirs several years ago in Dutch and just released the English translation. I bought mine directly from him, and had him sign it. He said it was the first English copy that he had sold, so it may not be a best seller. It is very interesting. Travis, when you get home, you definitely need to talk to him. Basically, I am in no need of entertainment until I finish it! Other than that, it is just work for me. One big news item! Jo and I just got called to be temple workers at the Jordan River Temple. We will be working Saturdays in the Baptistry starting in February. We are looking forward to it.

'Ello

Hello one and all-
Well, it has started again. School has got me in a nasty headlock and is giving me a hardcore noogie. My classes seem to be ok, and for the first time iu have actually kept the same schedule that i started the semester. Work is a bear right now, we have had a rush of stuff to do and no one is working afternoons, so me and another co worker have been picking up afternoon shifts as well. At least it is coming the first week of school and not later on, when the homework is more intense.
Here is my class schedule:
British Literature
American Literature
Writing about Literature
Philosophy 205, Deductive Logic
and Pearl of Great Price
I have started my application for the advertising program; it is due the 26th. I hope it goes well, but if not i realized i really enjoy my English classes and wouldn't mind just majoring in that. So, its a win-win, i guess. Well, good luck in all endeavors, hopefully we will be reunited soon!
Tommy

hi from Poland

orange walls, pancakes, no snow
sorry I havent written you for so long but I was just so busy about decorating our appartment that I couldnt find enough time. Things are going great here , Travis helps me a lot with my lessons and with painting of course ( although he keeps leaving his socks on the floor:):).
Im so glad Jak liked Polish tortillas, my Mom loved pancakes, we made some for dinner today.
I hope we will have got Internet by Monday so that we could talk more often. I miss it.
We are going to my grandpa's house on Friday and he will make us some Polish tortillas, he is an absolute champion of tortillas, you should try some, when you come.
love you all
see you
a
p.s a special question for Jo: could you mesure yourself ( I mean chest and hips, I want to knit a sweater for you).
p.s. we will post some photos of orange walls to ensure you they look nice.

Spring is here

Dzien Dobry!

If the hadnt have set about an hour ago, at 3 o clock, I would thin it was April. Today I went out on an errand in a light jacket and short-sleeved shirt and wasnt the slightest bit cold. Am I in Poland or Malibu? Well, actually, the eternal gray reminds me that this is not in fact Malibu, but I still do like the warm weather.

Today we painted our walls orange, and it looks quite nice. It was a close call, as the paint we were originally going to use was not in fact orange but a light pastel hideaous peach that induced vomiting; luckily we were able to darken it with some pigment to get a nice color. Weve got some touch up left and clean up (ugh) and we should be ready for a housewarming party on Saturday. Fun fun.

I guess Danny and Jenny and Co are back in Seattle, hows that going? Hows work? Wed love to chat with any of you online; the problem is we do not as of yet have internet at our place, so we are on infrequently and at weird hours, mainly the morning for y'all.

I love the pictures, Jak was such a cutey that last night, no?

Tommy, still working hard? Classes started yet? Any girls :)?

So it turns out we have a land line phone that works; feel free to call it anytime. With Skype it should cost you 2 cents a minute, and Im sure you can find phone cards for that price, so yall have no excuses. I also have a cell phone. Here are all our numbers:

(0048 is the code for Poland; from the US I think you do 011 + 48 or some such thing, Im not sure; or you can just type it into Skype directly like I have it)
Home Phone: 0048426363036
My Cell Phone: 0048696599275
Agata's Cell: 0048608356066
Agata's Mom's House: 0048426365404

Monday I earned my first Polish zlotys, from a girl who wants 45 minutes a week conversation practice. She speaks well but slowly; I quite enjoyed it but feel I need to try to make it more productive, as shes paying me quite a bit. In half an hour I will be working with one of Agata's students; and we finally got some printer ink so hopefully soon I will distribute my CV around town and see what turns up. We have more than enough money to get by and even save without me working, but I think it would aid my sanity and acculturation to have something to do outside the house.

With my research, it appears that this fellow on whose work I have been relying heavily has just published a book on my research topic, so my task is now to read that and figure out where I need to go in light of this development. My main dilemma is finding an angle or a framework or a question for my research into contemporary Polish history that would make it interesting to both Americans and Poles, which is hard, because Americans don't know anything about it and thus just dont care and for Poles its too recent and everyone has lived through it and so its not apparent why they would need me to talk to them about it.

Love you all and love hearing from each of you,

TQC

January

January 9, 2007

Alex should write tonight. It will be good to hear from him. Jenni and carload should be pulling into their parking space about now in Seattle. Their trip home seems to have gone well. We loved having them here. I can't pick up the toys Jak played with yet. I like to see the soldiers and pirates right where he put them.

Travis wrote and said they have just about finished their painting project. Wow. I wish I could say that. Tommy is back in school. I hope he comes home to do some of that extensive reading he has this semester. Dennis is very busy at work. He lost one computer person and won't replace her for a while. We've been going to the gym a lot.

Basically our neighborhood seems to be in the post-Christmas, freezing- cold holding pattern, waiting for sunlight, tulips and birds. It's supposed to get really cold tonight.

We miss you all. Playing Balderdash was so much fun. We enjoyed the dinners, the parties, the tending, the friends. It was a great Christmas. Thank you for sharing it with us.

We might find out Friday if Jak will be getting a brother or a sister. Either way, it's good news. Danny is working on the Salt Lake project for his company. He has created a broad base of contacts here in Salt Lake and is recognizing many names of companies and people who will be working with MKA on the project. We hope to hear more!

Now that you're gone and Jenni has introduced me to the Itune website, I think I have a new hobby......

Have a good week!

Mom

Here's Some More

 

The End.......Actually it kept going........

 

Currit Family Christmas

 

Currit Family Christmas

 

Dennis again

I am back at work! Not as bad as it may seem since I actually enjoy my work most of the time. I really enjoyed spending time with everyone and miss Travis a lot, but am glad that he travelled safely.

As far as painting pointers, be assured that I am not all that good. Use a good brush and try to keep it fairly dry, that way it won't run and drip on things. Be careful doing the edges. Don't try to go too fast. Take your time and clean up all drips when they happen, don't leave them for later. I assume you will use a latex based paint, or do they use oil based? I would be interested to know what they do use over there. It may be way different from what we use, so it may need different techniques.

Agata, it was good to talk to you and see your mother on the web cam. We hope everything is going well and look forward to meeting you soon!

Przeziębienie

Well, Ive got a cold. I guess it was inevitable, really. I was long overdue, and given the climate change, stress, lack of sleep... It feels like I took a bit of the desert with me, and it requires continual watering. Im downing about 4 liters a day, which is quite inconvienient when you cant drink the tap water.

Still settling in, Marta came over last night, crying. Claudi, it turns out, is quite the jerk. They're no longer together. We comforted her with stuffed duck butt given by Agata's aunt and a Desperate Housewives marathon.

Earlier Agata's grandpa came over, a little worse for wear after his gastroscopy. I gave him the bolo tie, and he put it on right away, and looked quite sharp. Ill post photos later.

We also went and visited Agata's dad. He gave me an old cell phone of his to use while Im here, Ill let you all know the number soon, so you can call in emergencies. It costs me money, though, so Skype remains the best option, or if you wish to call for reals you can call Agata's mom's land line. We discussed politics and philosophy, of all things. His take on America is interesting, although it comes with a grain of salt, as most of what he knows has come from his translations of books by David Limbaugh and Pat Buchanan.

Right now Agata's teaching her class and Im getting some odds and ends done. This afternoon were hopefully going to a museum. The weekend we will be painting, any pointers? I tried to wash the walls in preparation, but apparently they were only whitewashed, thus the paint came off with the dirt and I just succeded in making big smears and I dont think it looks any cleaner.

Love you all mucho mucho mucho, have good times and let me know whats what,
TQC

Przeziębienie

Well, Ive got a cold. I guess it was inevitable, really. I was long overdue, and given the climate change, stress, lack of sleep... It feels like I took a bit of the desert with me, and it requires continual watering. Im downing about 4 liters a day, which is quite inconvienient when you cant drink the tap water.

Still settling in, Marta came over last night, crying. Claudi, it turns out, is quite the jerk. They're no longer together. We comforted her with stuffed duck butt given by Agata's aunt and a Desperate Housewives marathon.

Earlier Agata's grandpa came over, a little worse for wear after his gastroscopy. I gave him the bolo tie, and he put it on right away, and looked quite sharp. Ill post photos later.

We also went and visited Agata's dad. He gave me an old cell phone of his to use while Im here, Ill let you all know the number soon, so you can call in emergencies. It costs me money, though, so Skype remains the best option, or if you wish to call for reals you can call Agata's mom's land line. We discussed politics and philosophy, of all things. His take on America is interesting, although it comes with a grain of salt, as most of what he knows has come from his translations of books by David Limbaugh and Pat Buchanan.

Right now Agata's teaching her class and Im getting some odds and ends done. This afternoon were hopefully going to a museum. The weekend we will be painting, any pointers? I tried to wash the walls in preparation, but apparently they were only whitewashed, thus the paint came off with the dirt and I just succeded in making big smears and I dont think it looks any cleaner.

Love you all mucho mucho mucho, have good times and let me know whats what,
TQC

SF FIRETRUCK TOUR

This piece is provided courtesy of KRON-TV San Francisco. I think Jak needs to take this tour. So do I.

Quote from Gone With the Wind Commentary DVD

These are Margaret Mitchell quotes:

"If the novel does have a theme---the theme is survival. What makes some people able to go through catastrophes and others just as able, strong, and brave go under? I only know that the survivors used to call that quality "gumption." So I wrote about the people that had gumption and the people who didn't."

here's another quote:

"My mother took me out on the hottest September day I ever saw and drove me down the road to Jonesboro and showed me the ruins of the houses where fine and wealthy people had once lived and she talked about the world those people had lived in: such a secure world, and how it had exploded beneath them. She told me that my own world was going to explode under me someday, and, God help me, if I didn't have some weapon to meet the new world. So go to school and learn something that will stay with you. The strength of women's hands isn't worth anything, but what they got in their heads will carry them as far as they need to go."

I watched the documentary dvd last night while Dennis and Tommy watched two (2) football bowl games. It was very good. Danny and Jenni were wondering how someone could be a civil war buff. I think I get it. The issues are so American, so present, so complicated. They aren't about politics and economy only. They are always about people.

Anyway. it took her about twelve years to write the book and she never wrote another one.

As ever,
Mom

(that's how my Dad always signed letters. I don't know if I get it.)

Poland

Hello my lovely family!

Sorry about that whole not giving my itinerary thing! I wasnt exactly thinking clearly in the run up to my departure. After nearly 24 hours of traveling I safely arrived in Warsaw last Friday around noon. The voyage was uneventful, I do love the overseas flights and their nice treats and fun video displays. The worst part was in London when my flight to Warsaw got delayed due to stupidity. In Warsaw there was a joyful reunion, in which we both manage to almost puke from nervousness :) Agata's mom took my giant suitcase back to Lodz on bus and Agata and I went off on vacation with Marta, one of Agata's best friends since chidlhood, and Claudi, her boyfriend from Spain who is currently working for the EU in Sierra Leone. We drove through the polish country side. which was quite lovely and still green, due to the abnormally warm winter, for a couple of hours , stopping only to pee and eat sausage in a shopping mall (see picture). and getting a little lost due to bad directions from a mall cop. We finally arrived in Bardo, our destination, a small village in Polish Sudetenland near the Czech border. It was a very charming village with a nice church and a bridge, and our hotel was charming and eternally odd- the walls were covered with paintings of crying children and our beds had Alf sheets. We met Piotrek, Agata's best childhood friend who currently is working Northern Ireland, and Maciek and Luisa, two of Marta's friends, who turned out to be a ton of fun.


The next day we went to Table Mountain, the highest point in those parts. The view was beautiful and the mountains lovely (The rock formations were really amazing, they formed slot canyons akin to southern utah), but treacherous, as we had to climb tons of stairs all covered in ice. Afterwards we stopped in a small spa town and sampled some of its waters, which are certified to cure all things, including obesity.













On New Years Eve we went to Prague and
toured around. A very pretty town, but too many tourists, which made for an exhausting day. We came back and had a small party in our hotel.

All along we ate like kings, as everyone's mothers had loaded them up with cheesecake, kielbasa, kompot, salted herrings, cheese, bread, ham, tuna, and all other sorts of goodies.

On New Years Day we drove home, stopping in a village which calls itself the "Polish Carcassone" due to its medieval ruins and walls and churches. It was quite charming, but the best part was our 13 year old guide, who said he is in a history club and offered to show us around. He knew the history and importance of everything in the town, and even said hello in English and Italian. Later we stopped at Czestochowa, which houses the Black Madonna, which got slashed but some swedish dude and apparently is an incredibly sacred site for poles. Thousands of people were there for the New Years holiday, attending Mass or touring the nativity scene with live animals. I didnt get any pictures, unfortunately; Ill have to steal some from Maciek or Piotrek.

Now were back in Lodz, in our appartment, which is incredibly lovely except for a few quirks, like the bomb shelter-esque door, the unpainted living room, the black table, and some extremely ugly chairs. But the bathroom is amazingly lovely and Agata and her mom have done a phenomonal job redecorating the place. We have everything we need, including a completely stocked refrigerator. I am continually amazed by the hospitality of the people here and their willingness to help in everything. I feel like Im living in total luxury, we even have a microwave and a washing machine!!, and it only costs around 250 dollars a month, everything included.

Ive given Agata some of her presents but were spacing them out, becaus its more fun that way. She really liked her Cookie Monster as well as her book of films. Agata's mom knitted me an amazing hoody, it should be really warm, and Agata gave me a lovely sweater and a button-up shirt. Im going to be warm and sexy, yay!

I am incredibly happy and looking forward to an amazing three months. Its such a joy to be with Agata again and I am just amazed at how well everything is working out here. I do miss you all very much and hope to hear from you often,

TC