Life / Share your Christmas Spirit in Polish/English [6]

Here are some things that help to put me in the mood:
Putting up my tree and decorating it with ornaments I've collected over a quarter-century. Listening to Dean Martin's "Making spirits bright" CD and the soundtrack from the Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer animated TV show (I can sing 'em all). Ringing my turn-of-the-century sleighbells. Sending cards with holiday wishes to family and friends (now including some in Poland).

Watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "Scrooge" (1951 version of Dickens's "A Christmas Carol," starring Alistair Sim - in black and white, of course). Linus saying "for behooooold I bring you tidings of great joy" and "Peace on earth. Good will toward men," Scrooge singing "I don't know anything, I never did know anything, but now I know that I don't know, all on a Christmas morning" and Tiny Tim saying "God bless us every one" (even though I'm an atheist).

Dismissing all old hurts and injuries as I send cards and think about how special everyone I've ever known is to me. Re-uniting with old friends and spending time with family - old and new.

Snuggling under the blankets with my sweetie on a chilly winter morning.
Sitting quietly, looking at my beautifully-decorated tree.
Christmas cookies.

Love / Are Polish women too controlling? [106]

"Are Polish women too controlling?"
Compared to what other nationalities of women?
Of course they're controlling - they're ALL controlling. It's genetic. Males are (usually) physically stronger; females are more cunning and manipulative. Males are programmed to spread their seed far and wide; women to hang on to a man so that she and her offspring can be provided for. We're not that evolved, people. It wasn't that long ago that we were living in huts and caves, scrapping for every meal.

Life / Consider going back to Poland? [90]

This is an interesting thread. Thanks.
My cousin is now in her 60s - she moved from Poland to US 14 years ago. She barely speaks any english, watches polish movies and ready polish newspapers. I don't think she's particularly enamored of the place. I suspect she drinks at home and regrets being here, but is not planning on returning. I wonder why? She's obviously not happy here. Maybe things were worse back home?

I've only been there once, and only for a week, but part of me considers that part of Poland home.

Travel / The best place to be lost in Poland [5]

Blechnarka

Food / Mushroom Picking Parties (Poland tradition) [74]

ShortHairThug,
The dangerous look-alike to Macrolepiota procera is not an Amanita, it's Chlorophyllum molybdites. Although I concede that an amateur may mistake an Amanita for either one fo those. My point is that promoting the picking of anything that even remotely resembles a toxic mushroom to amateurs is irresponsible. They should be instructed to stick with only those species that are known to be both delicious and impossible to mistake for another species until their expertise is greatly enhanced with experience and education.

By the way - I agree with your identification of the deformed kozak. In the US there are new warnings about the edibility of these and other Leccinum species, and I hope that most mushroom-hunters heed these warnings, because that leaves more of them for me. They are among my favorite edibles. Amateurs - beware the kozaki!

Rakky

Food / Mushroom Picking Parties (Poland tradition) [74]


Polkamania, why in the world would you post a photo of an Amanita species and label it this way? Even if your identification is 100% correct (I presume you believe this to be Amanita caesarea), the chances that anyone other than an expert could do the same are minimal. You know that species in this genus are among the deadliest on the planet, and that others, some of which look remarkably like the one in this poto, are toxic and hallucinogenic.

Please be more responsible when discussing edible mushrooms with novices. Thanks.

Food / Mushroom Picking Parties (Poland tradition) [74]


That's correct - when in doubt, throw it out. Even experts make mistakes that kill them. But the most frequent victims of mushroom poisoning, after children and dogs (because they eat everything) are people who pick a mushroom and eat it because they are sure that it is the same mushroom that they picked "back home." In USA it is most often people of Asian descent who mistake Amanita bisporigera for the "paddy straw mushroom" that they pick in their native country. But it's not just Asians. We had a Latin American woman in Westchester County, NY who did that in the summer of 2008.

Life / Haunted Homes in Poland [173]


No. I heard this film being equated with that other low-budget home-made "horror" flick that was so incredibly boring that I had to leave the theater (the scariest thing put forth in an hour was a pile of rocks). A co-worker said that her husband had to sleep with the lights on for a few nights after seeing it, but I'm still not interested.

Food / Mushroom Picking Parties (Poland tradition) [74]


Actually, the Japanese call this one maitake. It can be cultivated, but it's not nearly as good as what you can pick in the wild. They grow almost exclusively at the bases of oak trees in September and October. A single tree can produce a good 20-30 pounds of it.


Where is this? What major towns is it near?


Do you have photos? I'd like to see what these are.

Food / Mushroom Picking Parties (Poland tradition) [74]

Does anyone find mushrooms like these in Poland? I picked 50 pounds of it this past weekend. They are very good for building your immunity, so I try to eat a little every day through the winter. The Japanese cultivate it as a medicinal mushroom they call maitake. It is Grifola frondosa, commonly called the "hen-of-the-woods." Delicious, too.

• 
  hen-of-the-woods
  

Life / Haunted Homes in Poland [173]


As do the faithful and the superstitious. At least this scientific theory is based on something substantial (i.e., the fact that the user's hands are always connected to the object that is "mysteriously" moving and the acknowledged power of the subconscious human mind).


Just like our ancestors opened their minds to the possibility that their misfortunes were being caused by angry gods. Look where that line of thinking has gotten us. Centuries of conflict and death caused by arguments over one group's interpretation of "god" vs. another's. Thanks a lot, people of faith. Keep it up and we're all doomed.

Life / Haunted Homes in Poland [173]


"people do things and don't admit to them" (or forget they did them)

Life / Haunted Homes in Poland [173]

Superstitions and gods have one thing in common - if you take them out of the equation when looking for an explantion of something that occurred and deal rationally with what remains, there is always another answer. Dogs bark; winds blow things around; people do things and don't admit to them; bodies shiver when chilled; a person who is mindful of things is more aware of them when they occur; people imagine things; lights play tricks with photographs. Nothing supernatural exists. Deal with it.

Travel / Walks up the Beskids mountains [44]


Had the same experience in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York last weekend. Bukt I did not let them stop me from photographing and picking mushrooms. However, they DID dampen our spirits for skinny-dipping in the mountain lakes.

Travel / Walks up the Beskids mountains [44]


That usually means there has been rain - has there? If so, how many mushrooms did you see? The season should be underway there, right? It should be here, too (southeastern NY State, US), and we've had PLENTY of rain to support it, but are just now starting to get some summer temperatures - it's been unusually cool.

Genealogy / Locating my polish family Mikolajec [12]


That makes sense. My grandfather's first name was Mikolaj, which is Nicholas, so Nicholson is probably a good guess.

USA, Canada / WHY SO FEW POLISH RESTAURANTS IN AMERICA? [44]


I think the unnecessarily derogatory word "slop" is entirely inaccurate. As for the healthiness of it - my grandfather, who emigrated from Jaslo County in 1892, lived to be 90 years old. My father is nearly 85, lives on a steady diet that regularly includes meals he was taught to prepare by his parents, and is in terrific shape.

USA, Canada / WHY SO FEW POLISH RESTAURANTS IN AMERICA? [44]

I have a Polish restaurant within a couple of miles from my home, and I rarely go there. When I do, I enjoy the pierogi and potato pancakes, but feel guilty for eating them and then a main course as well. I also have a couple of polish delicatessans within a few miles of me - I prefer to buy the ingredients there and make the meals at home.

I think Polish food lends itself nicely to more of a fast food venue because you can make and sell it pretty cheaply. I've ofen wondered if a "take home dinner" business at high-traffic commuter places would do well - a Polish platter can be VERY tempting to someone coming off of the train who just doesn't have the energy to prepare a meal when they get home, and it beats the heck out of a bucket of chicken or a bag of those disgusting things they call hamburgers that the chains sell.

Love / Little advice please - another guy called my Polish fiance beautiful. [47]


I prefer "wussies" or "dweebs" - for some reason I've been using "dweeb" a lot lately. I think I'm just trying to scale back on the cursing, so instead of saying "what an a@##&!e" I just say "what a dweeb."

Travel / Is Poland mostly plains? [57]


I finally got one from you and just responded to it.

Travel / Is Poland mostly plains? [57]


I didn't get it. Did you get mine? Did you geta PM from me? If so, respond to that with your e-mail address and I'll try it again.

I visited Poland this past July and loved it. I definitely hope to be there again, but it won't be for years, I'm afraid.

Travel / Is Poland mostly plains? [57]


Do you have a website that I could visit? I PM'd and e-mailed you yesterday, but haven't received a response, so I don't know if you got them or not.


Thanks - I appreciate it. I have some pretty extensive files, so let me know if you'd like me to share them with you. Anything to facilitate and expand the search!


Is it still in the family? Do you have family that still 'shrooms in that neck of the woods? If not, would you be willing to share its location and directions? I'm always looking for new places to hunt. How do "kania, kozaków" translate to english?


I hope the current financial situation doesn't change that too drastically for you.

Travel / Is Poland mostly plains? [57]


Thanks - I'll check it out. I need to become familiar with the Catskills - they're so close to me but I never get over there for some reason.


That's interesting. Good for you. How much snow do you get in an average winter?


Ah, now you're just taunting me. You swine. It's not bad enough that I live 1000 miles away and will only get over there another once or twice in my lifetime, now I have to live knowing that there are 'shrooms beckoning to me from there as well.


My father learned from his father, but my knowledge far surpasses his, so I eat many species that he's never even bothered to pick. I love it. In fact, one of the potential ways I could convince my wife to let me go back is to organize a mushroom foray there, bringing people with me from my local clubs.


Rats. Anyway, please keep an ear out for members of the Dziama family and ask anyone you know in Ukraine to do the same. I'm looking for descendants from my father's aunts' families, who were deported to there from Wola Cieklinska.


That's doubtful, but you never know. You're living the dream, as far as I'm concerned, and it's great for me to learn how possible it really is. You indicate "agrotourism" in your profile - what's that all about? What are you working on there?

USA, Canada / Black Friday (in American stores) [28]


The Walmart in question is on Long Island - not in NY City.
NYC is FAR from being the armpit of America, but not far from it. I think that honor goes to Elizabeth, NJ - you can smell it from miles away. There are plenty of places in the USA far worse than NYC and, quite frankly, few that are better.

Travel / Is Poland mostly plains? [57]


That's a little closer to where I grew up than to where I live, but it's a nice neck of the woods, right on the northern edge of the Catskills. I'd like to do some hiking and/or camping in that area - do you have any recommendations? Do you find your current locale somewhat similar in topography and climate?


Sounds quite good for mushoom hunting - do you enjoy this hobby? Did your parents or grandparents?
Do you have any contacts in the Boryslav vicinity in Ukraine? That's the last known whereabouts of my father's Aunts' families (both named Dziama) who were relocated in the 1940s.


What do they go for in Poland? How widely available are they?

Travel / Is Poland mostly plains? [57]


Nice dream. Glad to hear it came true and is living up to expectations. Good for you. There's a part of me that's quite envious, to be honest.

How far upstate? I live in Putnam County now, but was raised just north of Albany in Cohoes, NY.


I know - I felt it on my visit this summer. I'm not sure if I'll ever feel at home anywhere else.
Do you have any family there? Are you on your own? How did you make the transition? Will you ever return to the USA to live?

Life / Rudeness of polish people when they are drunk [43]


When you say "girl," what age do you mean?


Not all of 'em, in my experience.


I think the key phrase here is "people I like" - it implies a closed circuit of friends in the environment. Out in the bars all bets are off as to the types of people you'll encounter. As JustysiaS says...



Not all people of any nationality are like this - but some in all are likely to be. When you drink IN public, you drink WITH the public.

Feedback / Great site!!! [15]


Yes, it is. And you, JustysiaS, are one of the reasons why, in my humble opinion.
Dogiel, you'll meet a lot of great folks on this site (you already have, just looking over the few posts you've gotten on this thread). Ignore the losers and stick with the winners and you'll learn a lot, have fun and make friends.

Travel / Is Poland mostly plains? [57]


In what village?
Interesting story. Where are you from in the USA? How long have you lived in Poland? What motivated you to move there?

Travel / Is Poland mostly plains? [57]


Are you not a native, then? Do you have either Polish or Rusyn ancestry?