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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 28, 2019 16:59:42 GMT
Still beautiful and striking after all these years. Thanks! You’re not bad yourself...
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Post by whatagain on Mar 28, 2019 17:06:23 GMT
Glass has been produced by saint GOBAIN about 300 years after they delivered the mirrors in la galerie des glaces on Versailles. From what I understood glass was produced in Auvelais Belgium. An extra clear glass difficult to produce : all glass is naturally a little bit greenish due to iron oxyde présent. Removing fe2o3 is difficult so extra clear glass is not easy but was mandatory for the pyramid.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 28, 2019 17:11:08 GMT
Ay, Mick! That is very cool, Whatagain, & an interesting thing to know.
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Post by whatagain on Apr 4, 2019 15:11:20 GMT
NATO is seventy years old. Say what we want it correspoinds to 70 years of peace in western Europe.
It also today my oldest daughter's birthday. But she isn't 70.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 4, 2019 15:35:00 GMT
Well, happy birthday to your daughter. Funny that no irritable country ever wants to pull out of NATO just because they are not in charge. (We'll forget about France from 1966 to 2009. At least France got a nice university building out of it after kicking out NATO headquarters.)
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Post by casimira on Apr 13, 2019 14:36:39 GMT
Today is my husband's 70th birthday!!!! A friend of ours is having a crawfish boil in his honor this afternoon. Our friend is Vietnamese and he boils his crawfish in a mix of herbs and spices that are a departure from the Cajun blend commonly used. I'm not sure of all of the ingredients (yet), but, I know he incorporates lemongrass among them. Given the fact that it was only a scant few years ago that he was so gravely ill I am especially grateful for the group of friends of ours who were so supportive and caring during that dreadful time. Among those good people are many of the AnyPorters who were around at that time who provided so much support to me. Most especially BJD who likely given her sage wisdom may well have been singularly responsible in providing what may well have been key as to what his illness was. (in the early stage of his illness when all the doctors and residents were scratching their heads BJD offered what she suspected his illness may have been and was "spot on"). So, my gratitude to y'all for all your kindness and caring/support and wisdom in seeing me/us through and my husband alive and well and making it to his 70th birthday.
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Post by mich64 on Apr 13, 2019 15:39:42 GMT
Happy Happy Birthday to T.! Sounds like you will enjoy a wonderful day with close friends and delicious food, a fabulous way to celebrate. Happy 70th Birthday! Awesome that BJD was able to recognize indicators and provide information to you to help T. and his doctors! An amazing testimony to the power of sharing, listening, caring and support. So happy to read that T. is well.
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Post by breeze on Apr 13, 2019 15:52:00 GMT
Happy 70th birthday to T, casimira. What you two went through during his health crisis gives another reason to savor this day. It sounds like a wonderful celebration. Enjoy the day! I'll raise a glass to you both (tangerine juice).
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 13, 2019 16:08:37 GMT
A very happy birthday indeed!
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 13, 2019 16:35:32 GMT
Happy birthday to T.
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Post by bjd on Apr 13, 2019 16:50:08 GMT
Happy birthday to your husband, Casi, and I'm glad that he has recovered. Don't give me too much credit for the diagnosis, it was just a lucky coincidence that a friend's husband had the same thing and she had described the symptoms.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 13, 2019 20:12:39 GMT
A very happy milestone birthday to easily one of the best men I will ever know. Love & hugs. ❤️
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Post by Kimby on Apr 13, 2019 21:40:20 GMT
At our age, casi, we begin to recognize the wisdom of not taking additional years for granted! Cheers to you and T for surviving another one!
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Post by casimira on Apr 14, 2019 13:43:51 GMT
Thank you good people for the well wishes. We had a very lovely day with good friends and fabulous food.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 14, 2019 15:15:17 GMT
I'm so happy to read that your husband is alive and well. I knew he was alive, but had no idea whether that was "still alive" or "alive and well". And what a lovely celebration. I'm raising a Duralex Picardie glass of espresso! This evening it will be of a Chilean white.
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Post by casimira on Apr 14, 2019 15:58:28 GMT
Grazie Lagattta!!!
I was remiss in adding to my post that I shared it with T and he was very flattered and grateful.
(As an aside, when he read Bixa's post he asked that I convey to Bixa that she is "way up there" on the list of friends he loves and admires greatly).
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 23, 2019 9:24:23 GMT
So, Grand Duke Jean, former ruler of Luxembourg, died today at age 96. Not very important in the grand scheme of the world, but he was the only head of state to have participated in the D-Day landings as a soldier.
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 25, 2019 7:14:20 GMT
Anzac Day (cue questa).
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Post by questa on Apr 25, 2019 15:30:26 GMT
That is right, Mick. It just gets bigger every year. Thousands of Aussies travel to Turkey to attend the Dawn ceremony at Gallipoli each year. This year there were threats to the security but it went ahead. Another Dawn ceremony was held in a town in France to mark the terrible battles on the Western Front. Every city and town in Australia has its March with the flags showing the different battles and groups. Even in Outback towns there may be only 1-2 old soldiers but they still march and the town turns out to cheer.
Since the Gulf, Afghan and current wars the marchers are younger. At least the Vietnam vets march now.They didn't for a while as the war was so unpopular it was thought it may provoke unrest.
Another year, another war...we are still bombing kids in the Middle East.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 25, 2019 15:33:46 GMT
It was big in France last year.
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 25, 2019 17:27:53 GMT
That is right, Mick. It just gets bigger every year. Thousands of Aussies travel to Turkey to attend the Dawn ceremony at Gallipoli each year. This year there were threats to the security but it went ahead. Another Dawn ceremony was held in a town in France to mark the terrible battles on the Western Front. Every city and town in Australia has its March with the flags showing the different battles and groups. Even in Outback towns there may be only 1-2 old soldiers but they still march and the town turns out to cheer. Since the Gulf, Afghan and current wars the marchers are younger. At least the Vietnam vets march now.They didn't for a while as the war was so unpopular it was thought it may provoke unrest. Another year, another war...we are still bombing kids in the Middle East. And the band played Waltzing Matilda..
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Post by kerouac2 on May 6, 2019 10:42:24 GMT
So, today is the first day of Ramadan. Muslims in Europe are quite lucky that it is not hot and sunny weather for the moment. The days are easier to bear.
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Post by Kimby on May 6, 2019 13:17:21 GMT
It will be easier for everyone if Ramadan weather cooperates. Dealing with cranky fasters is an issue for everyone.
Do hours of operation for tourist attractions in Europe change in response to Ramadan, or is it just in Muslim countries?
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Post by kerouac2 on May 6, 2019 14:41:38 GMT
No, nothing changes in Europe. Fasters are just supposed to grin and bear it. I thought I noticed a cranky bus driver this morning, but I don't think it could have been because of Ramadan already -- he hadn't even missed lunch yet.
One thing that I find fascinating in my neighbourhood, where we have masses of recent migrants, is that a lot of them seem to revel in being in a country where Ramadan is not "imposed." Of course, many of these migrants are in their late teens or early twenties, an age of rebellion against tradition. Drinking beer in the middle of the day gives them a feeling of extreme freedom. Once they are settled, many of them revert to more traditional activities, because they know more people and there is more peer pressure.
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Post by onlyMark on May 6, 2019 14:48:27 GMT
In the Muslim countries I'm familiar with it was only during the major celebrations that tourist sites closed or altered their hours. Government offices and a lot of shops were different. Apart from the inclination to sometimes be short tempered by those fasting, especially smokers, I enjoyed being in those countries at that time of year. The 'community' aspect where, for example, tents are set up to feed the less wealthy, being out and about as the sun set and being dragged in to somewhere to be offered food, the celebrations and myriad hanging lanterns, the surreal aspect of food being served before sunrise and the special foods, all made it interesting.
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Post by bjd on May 6, 2019 16:57:12 GMT
We went on holiday to Morocco one year during Ramadan. Since it was November, night fell around 6-6:30 and by 5:30 the streets were empty as people rushed home to eat before going out and enjoying themselves afterwards.
It was rather strange for us as tourists, since the kind of little local restaurants we would normally eat in were closed during the day, so we had to go to places catering to tourists where I felt sorry for the cooks who handled food but could not eat or drink. It was strange too wandering around the streets and seeing men sitting at café tables but not allowed to eat, drink or smoke.
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Post by Kimby on May 6, 2019 20:55:46 GMT
We normally picnic at lunchtime when traveling, and felt guilty for eating in view of people who were possibly fasting. So we’d drive the rental car of the beaten track to take our guilty repast. But the part that bothered me greatly was that the hours of tourist offices and museums were modified during the Ramadan to accommodate an afternoon siesta, contrary to the hours printed in guidebooks. We’d arrive in a town eager to pick up maps and walking tour brochures, only to find the tourist info office closed up. Sometimes we could get a map from a hotel even though we were t staying there. But a lot of what we’d hoped to see in towns we passed through while enroute to our nights lodging, was unavailable to us.
That said, we did have the experience of being invited to join in breaking the fast (and had to remind ourselves that although we all ate with our hands from communal platters, we shouldn’t touch anything with our left hands).
On balance the inconveniences outweighed the novelty of the Ramadan, IMO.
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Post by fumobici on May 7, 2019 3:47:05 GMT
We went on holiday to Morocco one year during Ramadan. Since it was November, night fell around 6-6:30 and by 5:30 the streets were empty as people rushed home to eat before going out and enjoying themselves afterwards. It was rather strange for us as tourists, since the kind of little local restaurants we would normally eat in were closed during the day, so we had to go to places catering to tourists where I felt sorry for the cooks who handled food but could not eat or drink. It was strange too wandering around the streets and seeing men sitting at café tables but not allowed to eat, drink or smoke. I think I'd feel self-conscious eating, drinking, or smoking in front of people who were fasting.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 7, 2019 4:48:32 GMT
Since I spent nearly my entire professional life working for one of the most Islamic companies in the world, it is interesting to note that the Muslims (about 50% of the employees at the French office) were accorded no special privileges during Ramadan except for the possibilty of leaving 30 minutes early if they had skipped lunch, and they did not get any Muslim holidays either -- they had to take vacation time if they didn't want to work on those days. Any other policy would have been attacked immediately as discrimination.
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Post by bjd on May 7, 2019 6:05:41 GMT
I think I'd feel self-conscious eating, drinking, or smoking in front of people who were fasting.
As I said, we went to tourist places where it was possible to eat with other people. We didn't even know it was Ramadan when we booked the trip.
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