Tag: home

Czech the Cyclist

Published on by Grace13 Comments

If there is one thing that strike me as the best Czech past time, it is cycling. Now that the weather is definitely getting better, cyclists abound the streets of my little town. The cycling paths are not that well developed but people still go out and ride their bikes.

A Czech friend once told me that it is almost mandatory for every Czech child to know how to ride a bike. And these bikes come in all stages depending on the child’s age.

They start out with little plastic ones.
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Then as they get older, they have those that resemble a real bicycle but without pedals.

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And of course, your bike grows with you.

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As much as I would like to join the trend, I cannot ride a bicycle for now. Plus, I do not own a good bicycle…just yet.   All I can do is reminisce my biking days.

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But the good thing is, we may be able to save some money on my bicycle since I am a small person. Those bikes for teenagers may just fit me just fine. We’ll see.

One of Us

Published on by Grace7 Comments

Due to this bug that have infiltrated my son’s system, we have mostly stayed indoors this past week.  Anyhow, it gave me time to figure out how to decorate the bare walls of our home.

I was browsing through some of the photos that can perhaps be made into a collage.  It is a collection of pictures of some of our most memorable trips in the West Coast.  Here’s some of them.

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During a ski trip at Big Bear Lake, California.

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Posing for posterity at Marina del Rey, California after biking from Will Rogers Beach to Redondo Beach.

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During a short hike at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona…..way back then.

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Posing at one of the rest areas (can’t remember the name) during a wine tasting trip to Solvang, California.

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Posing with our friend Gus during one of the weekend runs with the Finish Line Freaks, our running team.  Boy, do I look freaky!

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A classic pose after climbing the “delicate arch” in Utah.

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At the Monument Valley in Utah.

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Posing after coming back from a short hike down the Bryce Canyon in Utah.

As I was browsing through these pictures, my little boy was with me.  Everytime a picture is shown, he would point  to it and say:  “Tati” or “Mommy.”   But after this last photo, he exclaimed:  “Where’s Jakub?”    It was one of those very simple questions that touched my heart.  He is starting to identify himself as one of us.  He is starting to understand the idea of family.

Looking at those pictures made me miss the past.  But my little boy’s simple question made me appreciate what I have,  enough to get me excited of what’s to come.

Toilet Paper

Published on by Grace3 Comments

My local Tesco is doing it again.  My favorite toilet paper is on sale again!  I wonder if I’m going to make that BIG purchase this time.

Last winter, when they had these things on sale,  I bought a whole bunch of it.  Because it was too much, I had to store some in Jakub’s room because the toilet cabinet was full.  But like anything else that’s left in the open, it did not escape Jakub’s curiosity.  Thus, I ended up cleaning up a very messy room.

Toilet papers galore!

A friend of mine once told me that during the Socialist era in Czech, the type of toilet paper that you use in your home signifies your social standing.  Thus, if you use the more expensive kind, you are considered wealthy.

These days, I think the type and amount of toilet paper in one’ s home simply tells you what kind is on sale or as they call it over here — “in action”.    With free trade comes competition and the supermarkets in Czech are really resembling US supermarkets where companies are competing in terms of good deals.

In my case I hope the lady at the register didn’t think: “Damn, you must poop a lot!”