Hospital

Hello there gentle reader. Its been a while.

I was away for Christmas seeing my mum and the rest of my family. Lena came for her first British Xmas and I am sorry to say she didnt have a great time.

I was sick the first two days and the doctor told me that i had gall stones. Which means that on tuesday i had the gall bladder removed. I am back in latvia however so i am in the care of the latvian medical system.

Well i am still in hospital as i write this blog post.  I will write some more about my experience when i get home.

Happy new year.

Facts about Santa....just for the kids

Hello again gentle readers, this one is for the young or the young at heart.

 

• Santa Claus is also known as St. Nickolas, Father Christmas, Grandfather Frost and Kris Kringle.  

• Santa Claus was born in 270 AD.  That means he is over 1,000 years old.  It’s the magic of Christmas that keeps him alive and well.

• According to the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” written by Clement Moore in 1823 Santa is described as a jolly old elf with cheeks like roses, his nose like a cherry and a little round belly that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly.

• Santa has a white beard, a red suit with white cuffs, a white collar and a black belt.  He also wears a red hat with white trim and wears black boots.

• According to legend Santa Claus lives at the north pole with Mrs Claus and his elves.

   

• It is believed that Santa’s elves work all year long in Santa’s workshop making toys for children all over the world.

• Santa Claus is believed to bring gifts to all the good boys and girls while they are sleeping on Christmas Eve (December 24th).

• Throughout the year Santa Claus keeps 2 lists of girls and boys, a good list and a naughty list.

• Children on the naughty list are believed to receive coal for Christmas.

   

• So how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night? Santa actually has almost two days to deliver the presents.  How? While in one part of the world it is day, in another part of the world it is night. For example when it is 12:30PM (daytime)  in New York it is 1:30AM (nighttime) in China.  Santa will travel through 3 different time zones on Christmas Eve.  This gives him more time to deliver presents.

• Santa will visit over 90 million homes on Christmas Eve. So to deliver all the presents how fast does his sleigh have to go?

•  Santa’s sleigh travels at the speed of light.  That is about 186,282.4 miles per second or 671 million miles per hour!

• Santa has 8 reindeer Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.

• Rudolph is considered Santa’s 9th reindeer.

• Rudolph was added to Santa’s reindeer team on one Christmas Eve during a bad snowstorm.  Santa’s 8 reindeer could not see to fly through the storm.  Rudolph with his glowing red nose lit the way for Santa’s sleigh.

• Did you know that before Rudolph lead the way for Santa’s sleigh he was made fun of by the other reindeer for being different?  Rudolph was the only reindeer with the glowing nose.

• So do all reindeer fly? No, in fact only Santa’s reindeer fly.  Santa uses his Christmas Magic to make his reindeer fly.

• Many children leave out milk and cookies or other treats for Santa on Christmas Eve because he gets hungry on his long journey of delivering presents but, did you know his reindeer get hungry too?

• Did you know that if you write a letter to Santa and address it to the Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole and bring it to the post office Santa’s Christmas Magic will pick it up and get it to him.

• So what does Santa do when Christmas is over?  First he takes a short vacation with Mrs. Claus at the North Pole then he gets right back to work.  Preparing his good boys and girls list and his naughty girls and boys list.  He also starts getting toys ready for next Christmas.  So remember to always be good because you never know when Santa’s watching.

  

   

Adoption in Latvia 7

 

Hey Gentle Readers, I know its been a while. I lead a very busy hectic life and after our meeting at the adoption court on the 1st December, our lives are going to be a lot more hectic.

Our friend and television celebrity Zinta, the founder of the Pink Train foundation, accompanied Lena and I to the adoption agency where we were going to have our day in court. Zinta was acting as a translator.

So we sat, and waited, and some ladies went into a room, and we waited some more. Some ladies left to be replaced by other ladies and then they came back.....with a NUN!!!!

I don't know about you gentle reader, but NUNS scare the bejesus out of me. Its the stern faces and wimples that do it.

 

Anyway, scary nuns aside Gentle reader, the meeting was scary enough. We were asked questions and sweated profusely (well I did) Lena was a vision of perspiration free tranquillity.

They committee of three ladies finished their questions, the judge asked us to wait outside while they though about our answers. Seconds seemed like minutes and minutes seemed like hours but eventually our case worker appeared and led us back inside.

The lady in charge explained the decision and hey Guess what gentle reader....................................

WE CAN ADOPT!

WOO HOO!

We are now officially on the waiting list and we are already getting information about possible adoptive children. 

I was amazed how quickly it took to get from start to  finish in the adoption process. Our initial approach to the agency was on the 30th July  and a little over 4 months later we had the go ahead.

I want to thank all of you who have supported our adoption journey. This includes our families, friends and work colleagues. 

The journey isn't quite finished. We will have news soon and we will share it with you when its confirmed.

Why I shouldnt be allowed to like Sex in the City

Hey there Gentle readers, in the last two days I watched (and enjoyed) both Sex and the City movies.

Here for your entertainment is my list of reasons why thats bad.

1. I have about as much interest in fashion as a dung beetle.

2. The sex lives of a load of 40 plus women just dont hold my attention.

3. The male characters are particularly superfluous

4. Its just a way of fashion houses to sell their products.

5. I an a straight 47 year old male.

The thing is despite all this I actually enjoyed the movies, yes even the second one, because I watched them with Lena and she likes them.

So gentlemen, before you moan about your better half's movie choice, just remember that watching these films makes her happy and after all isnt that what we all want.

Mind you it doesn’t mean I want to watch Love Actually every weekend.

#sexinthecity #chickflick #lovemywife

Today in History 18th November

Hey Gentle  reader its time to wade out into the current of the river of time but be careful the rocks underfoot can be slippery.

 

1918: Latvia declares its independence from Russia.

 

1961: John F. Kennedy sends 18,000 "Military Advisors" to South Vietnam.

1968: Actor, Owen Wilson is born in  Dallas, Texas.

 1978: In Jonestown, Guyana, Jim Jones led his Peoples Temple to a mass murder-suicide that claimed 918 lives in all, 909 of them in Jonestown itself, including over 270 children. Congressman Leo Ryan  is murdered by members of the Peoples Temple hours earlier.

 

2015: Jonah Lomu, New Zealand Rugby star dies

 

#latvia #latviaindependence #owenwilson #jonahlomu #jimjones #JFK #vietnamwar

laimīgs Neatkarības diena Latvija

Hello there Gentle Reader tomorrow is Latvia's 97th birthday so here are some important things to know.

The Independence of Latvia was proclaimed on 18 November 1918 at the Latvian National Theatre. This day in Latvia is a public holiday — public institutions and the majority of private enterprises are closed, various events take place throughout the day.

 

18 November is the Independence Day of Latvia — even though there were no borders set, a group of dedicated nationalists proclaimed an independent Latvian state on this date in 1918. Several months after this courageous step had been made, military interventions still went on — the Russian Empire did not want to lose this important territory. Nevertheless, this day is still the most important national holiday for every Latvian.

On 18 November, various events take place across the country throughout the day. In Riga the celebration begins on the first half of the day with a parade and laying of flowers at the Freedom Monument with participation of the President of Latvia and other important government officials.

 

A parade of the National Armed Forces takes place in the afternoon at the 11th November Embankment. In the evening there are torchlight processions, and the celebration in Riga ends with magnificent fireworks over the River Daugava.

 

#latvia #happybirthdaylatvia #independence

Today in History: 11th November

Hello gentle readers, its time to pull back the curtain of time and take a peek at the neighbours of history.

 1880: Australian criminal and folk hero Ned Kelly  is hanged in  Melbourne.

 1918: Germany signs an armistice  agreement with the allies in a railroad car in the Compeigne Forest, France. The fighting officially ends at 11:00 a.m., (the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month) and this is commemorated annually with a two minute silence.

  1919 – Lāčplēša day: Latvian forces defeat the Freikorps at Riga in the Latvian war of independence.

 

1974: Actor Leonardo diCaprio is born in Hollywood.

 

2004 – Yasser Arafat, Palestinian engineer and politician dies.

#nedkelly #armisticeday #Lāčplēša #leonardodicaprio #yasserarafat