the haul

Did you ever wonder what it is we (OK, I) bring back from Poland? I always come back with more than I took... just little stuff, you know. There are a few things that we can't get here that are available there... and then there's always the stuff that comes in the mail. So far, we haven't used the PO here for much more than sending. Here's a look at what I picked up this time:


3 calendars (thanks Dad!), map of Warsaw, 4 pkgs Orbit spearmint gum, mail (!), pkg of green curry paste, Reese's cookies (direct from America- Yay!), Milka chocolate (Thanks E & T), Lindt chocolate, popcorn, pretzels, slivered almonds, Snickers Cruncher candy bar (can't get 'em here!), kleenex, nylons (thanks, Mom!), 2 bottles of Mrs Potter's hair conditioner, calcium tablets ANNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDDD 5 cans of Dew!!! Not to mention 'The Coat'


ok- I put all that stuff away. I noticed that I have a little 'secret stash' of things for when... what? when the going gets tough? Not just sure... but all the chocolate went into that stash, also the Dew and the pretzels. Already in the stash is a jar of green olives (yum... take that all you black olive lovers from Theo and Sarah's famous post!) and a container of really good orange juice! (not from concentrate and no preservatives added). In case you're wondering, the stash can go untouched for a long time (weeks, months)... and then disappear in short order. I have never really figured out what triggers a snack attack, but it seems they do happen... anyone else do this?


My dad has a secret stash, too... and when Justin, my sister's oldest, learned to crawl, he found it and headed there every chance he got. I found it when I was home, too- it was a wonderful source of Nutty Bars, Twinkies and the like! When JennaMae (baby #2 for my sis) could just barely talk, Dad and I were at the dining room table with Ju and JM and JM would not be happy with anything she was offered. She kept saying some mysterious something. Finally big brother says, "She wants a donut"... and sure enough, Dawdy (my dad) had gotten one out of his stash and forgotten to offer her one! She got one and was all smiles. Dad says his hero when he was little was some little old man he knew (relative??) who ate sugar on his ice cream. So was there really any hope for us from the start?


How'd I get on that? Hmm... bedtime again- I'm actually fighting the urge to snack... and thinking about the days ahead. Tomorrow we head to the east part of the field. Hope to see our college student contacts on our way back; there's also the boy that reminds me of my oldest bro- this fall we asked him: Do you still read your Bible in English? and he so famously answered: Well, I've been watching a lot of Amer movies lately... sighhhhhhhhhhhhhh (that's not what reminds me of my bro, by the way). Anyway, something about him that keeps us in touch from time to time, so I'll see if we can run him to ground. And, there's the girl here in town that I cannot for the life of me get in touch with... grrrr... sometimes cell phones get stolen and then numbers disappear and change and you just hope you run into them again or that they come looking for you... and there's Teresa way over yonder- I'd like to see her again. And V&L- but V's sick again. So much to do, so many places to be- and transportation, distance, living circumstances are such a limitation at times. So, we'll see what all we work in this round! Take care and maybe I'll post while we're on the road... and maybe not.