IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:
CROATIA AND BIRTHDAY BLOG ENTRY TO BE DELAYED

The ParkersinPrague regret to announce that due to complications out of their control, the anticipated blog entries regarding their Croatian vacation and Ella's second birthday will be delayed. Since their digital camera was recently damaged beyond repair, they have been using a film camera (there are still several hundred in existence) to document recent events. Maylia recently picked up the negatives and CD for the first 2 or 3 rolls of film. Last night, as the Parkers sat down to peruse the photos and begin the inspirational process of blog writing they were met with quite a shock. Imagine their surprise when the first photo of the slideshow was not Ella splashing merrily in the Adriatic Sea, but an unknown naked woman climbing a tree...in black and white for artistic effect. As the photo shop is closed until Monday, future photo-containing blog entries must also be delayed until early next week.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.

ParkersinPrague

PS A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has sent their birthday wishes to Ella via email, skype, phone, mail, and blog!!!! She definitely enjoyed being the birthday girl and we were all three overwhelmed by the generousity of family and friends.

PPS An additional huge thank you to the Thompsons, Flynns, Kerwins, and Klein-Rosenthals for making sure that Maylia will not be uninformed or naked (climbing trees or otherwise) during her pregnancy and that the new baby will also be properly clothed. No small feat to mail off those big, heavy boxes!

Happy 2nd Ella!

Getting some film developed soon. Pictures to come.

Our last day in Split...and I discover I can blog via blackberry. Oh well, probably best I spend less time on the berry anyway.
Ella and May are napping. We're exhausted from the heat. Every day has been around 36c/98f. Seven days in a row of beach. Ella is in her glory.
Today we're resting inside, doing tours. Going home late tomorrow. I pity Maylia home alone with Ella without the "big bathtub" in sight.

-jeff

Test...test.

Signing off...Heading to the Beach
See you after the 24th.
love, us

One Year Notch ... Time for a Health Check

Set the WayBack machine, Sherman...it's been 1 year since we came to Prague.

July 17th marks one-year from when May & Ella landed in Prague from Amsterdam (from Halifax, from Boston, from Manchester...). I had started working on July 3rd.

One cool aspect about this blog thing ...it documents how we were feeling back then & so we can compare to how we're feeling now.

Were we- Are we, in July of...?

Happy?
2006: Dizzily happy.
2007: Still happy, but back down from the clouds

Culture shocked?
2006: Oh yes.
2007: Adjusted and (fairly) settled

Homesick for...?
2006: Family & friends back home
2007: Family & friends back home

Local circle of friends...?
2006: 0 (a zero makes a circle, doesn't it?)
2007: The 3 of us enjoy a good circle of friends we work, walk and play with

Eating...?
2006: Take-out & ready-made meals (looked ready-made on the package)
2007: Maylia plans, buys and prepares all meals...no worries.

Czech speaking ability?
2006: "hi." (sort of)
2007: [Maylia] Telling the post office to hold our mail until after our vacation.
2007: [Jeff] "hi. One beer, please."

Czech understanding ability?
2006: ..........silence. total f-ing silence.......
2007: [to Maylia] "How old is your daughter?" & "Paper or plastic?"
2007: [to Jeff] "Here's your beer. That'll be 20 crowns, please."

Entertaining ourselves by...?
2006: Trading pictures with Jeff K's "Prague scavenger hunt"
2007: Having Vendy babysit, enjoying a peaceful meal out

Who gets our paycheck...?
2006: Landlord & IKEA
2007: Bank & OB/GYN

High on the Priority List...?
2006: An iron, basic cookware and toilet paper
2007: Preparing for our vacation, our new flat and upcoming baby

We're Land-Locked, Anyway You Slice It

Interesting article found the other day:
"US States Renamed For Countries With Similar GDPs"

You can read it for yourself, or I'll describe it here. The article shows a map of the US of A, with each state labeled as a different country with the closest-matching economy. Wow.

And, so, ...I wondered if a state and its economy got compared to the Czech Republic.
Yes ...Nebraska? I would joke that's where the similarity ends, but the same could be said for all 50 states. (Yes, there are only 50 states - you know who you are.)

If you want to compare numbers, from state to state, click here for their source.

If the above map not having state names bothers you, try this puzzle to test your US of A geography. I found it tough, but fun. First (and only) try gave me this 'score'. I'm thinking Dave, Jeff & Dennis will have this beat easily.

There's no comfort in being without waterfront property in Prague, Czech Republic or Prague, "Nebraska." For the meantime, next week we'll have Split, Croatia.

Off to bed. Cheers, -Jeff