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Bead Buying in the Czech Republic

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 I have traveled to many places and rarely return to the same city because I have so many others I want to visit and enjoy. Prague is an example of a lovely city I liked, but wouldn't have returned if it hadn't been for discovering the area where glass beads are created in centuries-old factories.     In 2017, I was heading for my first trip to Czech Republic when I realized many of my favorite beads come from there. I googled to find bead stores and found Bananas4Beading instead. The company, owned by an Englishman, Keith Dudman, and Simi, his Czech wife, book 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5-day tours of factories in Jablonec. www.bananas4beading.com  I emailed and booked a one-day tour for my husband and me in the middle of our week in Prague. What I learned from Keith appalled me—that these centuries-old family-run factories are in jeopardy because they can’t compete with the cheaper Chinese-made beads. Many have already closed. I made it my mission to return and b...
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Our Favorite Cat

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  Forty-seven years ago, when was at a family party hosted by my sister's boyfriend Randy, a kitten wandered in and jumped on my lap. I was married at the time and my husband walked over and said, "No." I hadn't said a word. An hour later, he came back and said, "Ok, we can try it for week."  I hadn't said anything about bringing this kitten home, but apparently my face did. That black cat lasted much longer than my marriage. His name was Dominic Cosmo Davis, but we just called him Cosmo or Cos. My husband had teased me about wanting to use that name for our future son, so I figured I'd give it to the cat so I wouldn't have to name a baby Dominic.  Over the last 47 years, I had multiple cats, and when one died, my house still included at least one other, so I was never without a kitty...until last night.  When Matthew and I met, we each had a cat--Koshka was his and Carrie (named for my grandmother since I knew I'd never have a human ...
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Leaving

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 I feel like I'm not young enough for Amsterdam. Or as my husband put it, I don't drink, I don't smoke weed, I don't like museums (just don't like to spend hours and hours them), and I don't or can't walk for miles on uneven streets.  We hit King's Day yesterday just by chance. We didn't know about it ahead of time. It's a huge country party for the king's birthday -- everyone wears orange, drinks, dances, and parties heavily all day and evening. The tram schedule is modified and crowded, most stores and many restaurants are closed, people put out clothes and goods to buy like a giant flea market, and the canals are full of boats filled with people. It was also very cold, windy, and rainy which made it less desirable than it already was for a woman who doesn't drink or smoke. And yes, men piss in the streets. At least these guys were using the intended urinals, which happened to be placed at the tram station right in the middle of t...
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Keukenhof -- No Words, Just Beauty

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