Happy Birthday American Homestead!

 

Today is the 3rd anniversary of the launch

of the American Homestead blog.  It was a

"milestone" birthday for me and I thought

a great time to start a new venture in life.

 

 

I had a little point and shoot digital camera

that I didn't know how to use.  A new laptop

that was even more foreign to me.  I didn't

even know how to get the photos from the

 camera to the laptop. 

 

 

My daughter set up a Blogger account for

me and sent me off to eastern Europe with

an index card with  step-by-step instructions

and somehow I figured it out even while on

a boat sailing along the Danube with a very

sketchy wifi signal.

 

 

So, today I am launching my new blog,

Homestead Travels.  It is a blog with

stories and photos from my travels and

my style of traveling.  I hope it will be a

place to exchange information about

places you have been or places you are

going to.  Please follow along on this

new journey:

 

http://homesteadtravels.blogspot.com/

 

Explore, Dream, Discover!

 

 

Tales From The World

 

The travelers arrived home late last

night from the Middle East and Europe

on the edge of Asia.  We stayed up late,

having cocktails and listening to the

stories of their adventures.  We have all

been in Istanbul within the past 6 months

and could share experiences about sites,

restaurants and even people.

 

 

And bright and early this morning I was

wheels up and headed home...

 

 

to something Wonderful...

 

 

 

Travel Tales: Sometimes I Really Embarrass Myself...

 

It was a beautiful morning in Istanbul.

 

 

Mr. Wonderful and I were waiting to tour

the Dolmabahce Palace.

 

 

We had to wait in a long line for the

next tour in English.

 

 

Mr. W. held our place in line while I went

off exploring, I enjoyed this beautiful spot

by the water...

 

 

I admired this gate but was saddened

that the shot had to be ruined by the

ugly modern buildings behind it...

 

 

I enjoyed watching the children...

 

I then headed back to the line and that's

when it happened.  For the past 30 years,

as Mr. W. & I are strolling or standing next

to each other, I often hold onto his arm. 

My brain could not register what was

happening because I could see Mr. W's

face in my peripheral vision saying Nooooooo.

And then I looked up and my arm was

entwined in another man's arm.  I gasped,

turned red and said, "I thought you were

my husband!" as scenes of me causing an

international incident are running through

my head...  The man was with 3 women, one of

whom was his wife and they were from Spain

so we could communicate easily and they

were such good sports.  As they left, the

wife came up and grabbed my arm, and

said, "Don't worry, I will share him with you."

 

And as all the palaces and gardens begin to

fade, it is always the interaction with others

that will stay with us forever. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travel Tales: The Viking Sky

The Romance of the Danube

I think it was fate that brought me to the

Viking Sky.  We always said we would

celebrate our 20th anniversary with a trip

to Italy, but I just wasn't feeling the love

for that at the time.  It seemed too touristy.

So we procrastinated and by then it was

time to celebrate a ~ milestone~ birthday

for me and we still had no idea where we

would go.  Then a friend showed me a

brochure for a Viking River cruise and we

talked about the Christmas Markets and

how we always wanted to go to them, that

day I went home and my brother had sent

me a link about a Viking River cruise and

then ads started popping up on my computer.

I thought this is a sign to check this out. I pitched

the idea to Mr. Wonderful and we were signed

up within a few days.

We had flown to Budapest a few days

before the cruise so we could tour the

city ourselves and hopefully adjust to the

time change by the time we got onboard.

Budapest is a beautiful city on the Danube

River.  The theme of this cruise was to tour

 the Christmas Markets along the Danube.

Budapest was our first taste of a European

Christmas Market.  This one is filled with

handcrafts ~ ceramics, woolens, woodcraft,

jewelry.  Sadly, I held back in buying since I

didn't know what was to come.  I've told Mr. W

I must go back to get the things I've missed.

When we checked in on the Viking Sky

we were given a light lunch in the lounge.

We happened to sit near 2 couples and

started chatting and we all just hit it off,

we spent the next week dining, touring

and having fun together.

On Viking River Cruises nearly all of

the shore excursions are included in the

cost of the trip.  If you should go make

sure you take advantage of them, they

are very well done, you are given

headphones so you can hear the knowledgable

guides without having to stand right beside them.

We had a late night departure from Budapest

with everyone on the top deck to see the

sweeping views of the city at night.  As we slept

we traveled to our next stop,  this is sooo much

easier than having to pack and drag your luggage

to the train, etc.  The next stop was Brataslava,

Slovakia.  This is where my Grandfather left from

to begin his journey to America as a young teenager,

so it was especially nice for me to see.

The next stop was Vienna, Austria.

What a beautiful city, we went on the

scheduled tour and then walked around

on our own.  Everywhere you turn is another

beautiful sight.  One of our favorite memories

is having lunch at an outdoor wurst stand. 

We couldn't understand the menu so we saw an

older couple with a wurst that looked good and

pointed at their food, then pointed at the menu

and they let us know what the item was.  They

then invited us to share their table with them.

Since we didn't speak the same language all that

was said was "ya, es goot" but we smiled and

 laughed and I will never forget them.

In Vienna, don't miss the Christmas

 Market at the Royal Palace, try to get there

as night is falling to see the beauty in sun and

then in darkness when the Christmas lights

really shine.

And don't forget to pick up a few items

for your Holiday decorating.

The next morning we took a snowy hike

through the charming village of Durnstein.

We enjoyed lunch as we cruised

through the scenic Wachau Valley.

That afternoon we toured the

spectacular Abbey at Melk.

The church there is very grand.

The next day was spent in Salzburg, we

toured a park where The Sound of Music

was filmed and saw Mozart's home.

This was the best market to buy

glass Christmas ornaments.

Our final stop was the beautiful town

of Passau, Germany.  The  week went

by so quickly because we were busy eating,

touring and having fun.  But yet, we really

bonded with our fellow travelers, there are

people I will know for the rest of my life that

I met on this trip.  A river cruise ship is much

smaller than an ocean liner so you really get

to know your fellow passengers.

You may ask ~ travel on a boat in winter?

It did snow everyday, but it just added to

the ambience.  We put on our boots and our

wool coats and if you find you are still cold,

go to the local market and buy a scarf, hat,

gloves or wool socks.  Right now, I have on

a pair of angora wool socks from Germany,

I love them. 

I wish I could be back on the Viking Sky

for another tour of the Christmas markets

but that will have to be another year.

I highly recommend it, and if you should

go, tell them I sent you.



Civil War Remembered ~ Block 24

Ladies Aid Quilt

aka You Don't Know What You Got Til It's Gone!

Hello from Cairo, Egypt!

I am traveling around the world

but still determined to make my

block each week.

We are quilting along with

Barbara Brackman's Civil

War Quilt 2011.

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/

I am working with the contents of

what I call "The Brackman Bag."

A small assortment of fabric and

sewing materials. 

No tutorial this week, there is

no better way to make this block

than the instructions given on

Barbara's blog, tough news for

those of us who are

"triangularly challenged."

I am no hand piecer ~ well,

I guess you can see that...

I spent a full day in Amsterdam

today, then flew to Cairo and

now I'm on the bed in a funky

hotel making my block by hand,

with no iron for pressing. 

But I'm thinking ladies in the

Civil War must have had limits

as well.

That dark chocolate with marzipan

bar is one of the greatest quilting

notions by the way...

If you'd like to view the photos

of the trip, "friend" me on facebook:

Ellen Smanko Murphy

or check out updates, photos and

videos on our group page

on facebook:

Hoosier Experiment: Last Hurrah.

Check back to see where in the

world I'll be next!





Travel Tales: Semana Santa en Espana

Holy Week in Spain

A few years ago we happened

to be in Spain for Holy Week.

We hadn't planned it that way,

it was just when our kid's 

Spring Break happened to fall.

We had stopped into this

church in Madrid and inside

were 2 huge structures that

looked something like parade

floats.  We thought maybe

they were something for the

Lenten season but as we were

leaving we saw a poster on

a bulletin board with photos

of these structures.  The poster

told of a procession and then

we all recalled the Holy Week

Processions through the streets

of many Spanish towns.  We

thought they couldn't possibly

carry these huge things though.

On Palm Sunday we decided

we would head over to try to see

 the Procession that was

scheduled for that evening.

While it was still light out

we arrived in this square

around the corner from the

church and waited for

darkness to come.

We could hear the procession

before we could see it.  There

were many marchers, including

men in black robes and pointy

black hoods.  A band marched by.

We think perhaps members of

the Royal Family since a group

had so much security around them.

  

 

Then the structure we saw

in the church came by.  It

was being carried on the

shoulders of men underneath

it.  As they became exhausted,

others would be sent in to

take over.

Then the structure with the

statue of the Virgin Mary

arrived.  It was filled with

candles and dripping hot wax.

It was absolutely beautiful.

We thought this would be

a touristy thing but no, we

were with locals, most only spoke

Spanish.  One young man

could speak some English and

he explained the local people

would go to the many

processions that would happen

throughout Holy Week.

It was a tense moment as the

structure with the Virgin Mary

was going up that small street

between the buildings.  It started

swaying and looked like it was

about the hit into the walls of the

building but they regained control

and the procession continued.

For all of us, this was a very

solemn and moving experience.

A great way to spend our last night

in Spain.

Travel Tales: The Urban 100 Acre Wood

Silly Old Bear

I must start this story

with a little background

information.  The stories

of Christopher Robin,

Winnie the Pooh & friends

are very important in

our family.

Every night for years we would

read stories from the Tales of

Winnie the Pooh.  Rob and I

could do great voices for all the

characters and if you catch us

at the right moment, we still do.

Both of our kids liked Pooh Bear

but especially Brennan.  He had

stuffed animals and puppets.

And banks, clocks and figurines.

Now we will go back to 2003, the

summer of the first Hoosier Experiment.

What is the Hoosier Experiement you may

ask ~ well that's a story for another

time.  But the day I'm talking about is

our first day when it was just me and

the kids and a summer in New York

ahead of us.  I knew exactly what I wanted

to do first.  I just had to find it.

I was looking for a public library branch

in the west 50's.  I was my local branch

when I lived in the neighborhood but

I couldn't remember exactly where it was.

As we were roaming the streets I finally

asked a man and he said he didn't know

but we were in front of a police precinct

and I could ask in there.  OK.  I went in

the lobby and a detective held the door

for me and asked if he could help me. 

I told him I was looking for the nearest library

and he said wait right here and I'll go

look it up.  Cool, this was working out

just great.  And within seconds about

8 detectives come running into the

lobby to get better reception on their

cell phones and they are all yelling into

their phones, "we got a jumpah!"

Oh crud, I pulled the kids next to me

and suddenly felt like I was in an

episode of Law & Order SVU.

They were alerting whatever squad

it is that rescues jumpers from buildings.

With that, our nice detective comes to

rescue us and sends us in the right

direction.

This was the first thing we had to

see.  The originals ~ Christopher

Robin's own ~ Pooh, Tigger, Kanga,

Eeyore and Piglet.  Brennan was

beside himself, he loved it.

If you would like to visit these treasures

they have now moved to the Children's

Center on 42nd Street.

Over that summer each of our kids had a

set amount of spending money, Kate used

hers for Hello Kitty and jewelry.  Brennan

used his for a stuffed Pooh Bear from the

New York City Public Library.  I wanted

to include that in this post but can't

because Brennan has it in his dorm room

at school.  I think he made the perfect choice.

I want to wish my Mum

a Happy 88th Birthday!

Those Taylor girls have

great genes.