Friday, January 21, 2011

I Want to Go, Too!

Who can tell me which country this flag represents?

I have been watching Oprah's show filmed while she and 300 audience members travel to and through Australia. I'm so envious!! Looks fabulous. Well, as she says, a trip to Australia should be on everyone's Bucket List, and it's certainly on mine. I have a friend there from way back. She was an exchange student here during high school. I have seen her once since high school. Next time I would love to visit her in her home territory. And, of course now in this modern age I know several other Australians through computer contacts and global quilt groups. Maybe some day......

Oh, well. I am happy, enjoy my many blessings, and will die happy even if I never get to Australia.

So for now I'll tell you about the book I just finished reading: Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat. It is the story of a girl who grows up in Haiti, raised by an aunt, and at age 12 is summoned to New York to live with her mother, whom she barely remembers. This story line is exactly what happened to the author, although this is a work of fiction. Family history, traditions, and family legacies are the main themes of the book. It kept me turning pages and wanting to read at every free moment.

Time for a gratitude list. What I'm grateful for:
1. a warm house on a very cold day (this morning it was -23 F in our back yard)
2. good books! I'm on to another good one, this time on my Kindle
3. worked a 3-hour shift today and then spontaneously decided to stop at Science Museum; ate lunch there and saw a movie in the Omnitheater: "Old Man and the Sea."
4. looking forward to a weekend mostly at home, warm and snug, doing whatever I want
5. making fun plans to visit friends and attend a worthwhile conference during 2011
6. fun to day dream about possible visits to Australia, Panama, and other places on my Bucket List!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Panama?????

Carol E. said...

Gram, is this your guess about the flag? If so, you are right! Or are you expressing surprise that Panama is on my Bucket List?

quiltmom anna said...

Do you know Sharon from Red Geranium Cottage? She and her husband Dennis went on a cruise through the Panama Canal just before Christmas? It looked beautiful..
I read Breath Eyes Memory a number of years ago. It is a good book- hope that you are enjoying it.
Have a great weekend.
Regards,
Anna

Anonymous said...

Hey Carol E: It was just my entusiastic guess - no judgement in all of those ?????'s. I think Panama would be a wonderful destination! Hope you get to go.

Carol from Panama said...

That's the flag of the Republic of Panama - I know that for sure because I LIVE here - in fact just a few blocks from the Panama Canal!! My family has been here since 1954.