All The Countries

All of the Countries

There are about 195 of them.  I have been to 70 of them.  I was just planning my next trip and I decided to go some place that I don't know.  And was I surprised to read so many countries that I never knew. So I went to my globe and discovered that it may be time to replace my 1980 globe.  And maybe I need to take a geography class.

Afghanistan- I will probably never go here.
Albania- probably not.

Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Antarctica- been there
Antigua and Barbuda- yea, i will get there eventually.
Argentina- be there
Armenia- probably not.
Aruba- been there
Australia- been there- 2015
Austria- been there- 2012

Azerbaijan- I probably won't go here.
Bahamas- been there- 1994
Bahrain- never heard of this place
Bangladesh- December 2019
Barbados- i'll get there eventually
Belarus- never heard of it
Belgium- been there- 1979
Belize
Benin- never heard of it
Bermuda-  been there
Bhutan- been there- 2017
Bolivia- probably not
Bosnia and Herzegovina- probably not
Botswana- been there- 2000
Brazil- been there- 1994
British Virgin Islands- been there

Bulgaria- probably not
Brunei- never heard of it
Burkina Faso- never heard of it
Burma- it's on my bucket list
Burundi- never heard of it
Cambodia- been there- 2005
Cameroon
Canada- been there several times
Cabo Verde- yea, I want to go here.
Central African Republic
Chad- probably not
Channel Islands- been there
Chile
China- been there- 1994, 2012, 2015
Colombia- probably not
Comoros- never heard of it
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Republic of the
Costa Rica- been there
Cote d'Ivoire - never heard of it.
Croatia
Cuba- it's on my bucket list
Curacao
Cyprus
Czech Republic- been there- 2007
Czechia
Denmark- been there- 2013
Djibouti- never heard of it
Dominica
Dominican Republic- I'll get there one of these winters.
East Timor - yea, I want to go here.
Ecuador- been there
Egypt- been there- 2010
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea- never heard of it
Estonia
Ethiopia- probably not
Fiji- been there- 2015
Finland- not a priority
France- been there- 1979
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia- probably not
Germany- been there- 1979, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2017
Ghana- I would like to see the orangutans there
Greece- been there

Greenland- 2023
Grenada- yea, I want to go there.
Guatemala- been there- 2011
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau- never heard of it.
Guyana
Haiti- been there- 2013, 2014, 2019
Holy See- Not to be confused with the Vatican City, this is a different country.
Honduras- been there- 2011
Hong Kong- been there when it was under British rule and then again wehn it was under Chinese rule.
Hungary- probably not.  I've been to Europe enough.
Iceland- been there
India- been there several times- 1994, 2004, 2015
Indonesia- been there
Iran- I'd like to go here but I am not sure it is safe for me.
Iraq- we have to get out of war with them before I would do there.
Ireland- been there
Israel- Feb 2019
Italy- been there
Jamaica- been there
Japan- been there
Jordan-  Feb 2019
Kazakhstan- maybe
Kenya- been there
Kiribati- never heard of it
Kosovo- probably not
Kuwait- probably not
Kyrgyzstan
Laos- it's on my bucket list
Latvia- been there- 2013
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg- probably not
Macau
Macedonia- yea, I want to go there.
Madagascar- yea, I want to go here
Malawi
Malaysia- been there-1994
Maldives- been there- 2004
Mali
Malta- yea, I'd like to go there.
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico- been there
Micronesia- yea, I'd like to go there.
Moldova
Monaco- yea, I want to go to the Cannes Film Festival
Mongolia- been there- 2006
Montenegro
Morocco- been there- 2008
Mozambique- I've wanted to go here ever since I heard Bob Dylan's song in 1975
Namibia- been there
Nauru- never hear of it
Nepal-been there 1999, 2017
Netherlands- been there- 1979
New Zealand- been there- 2015
Nicaragua- been there- 2011
Niger
Nigeria
North Korea- no
Norway- been there- 2013
Oman- probably not
Pakistan- I'd like to go there but I am not sure it is safe fro Americans.
Palau- never heard of it
Palestinian Territories- been there.
Panama- been there
Papua New Guinea- it's on my bucket list- went 2/ 2019
Paraguay- maybe
Peru- been there
Philippines- I was supposed to go there but my trip got diverted
Poland- been there.- 2007
Portugal- been there- 1998
Qatar- spent time in the airport
Romania- It's not on my list.  I've seen enough of Europe.
Russia- been there
Rwanda- it's on my bucket list
Saint Kitts and Nevis- I'll get here one day.
Saint Lucia- I'll get here one day.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines- I'll get here one day.
Samoa 
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe- never hear of it.
Saudi Arabia- maybe I will go there one day
Scotland- been there- 1982
Senegal- it's on my bucket list
Serbia
Seychelles- yea, it's on my list
Sierra Leone- I want to go here.
Singapore- been there- 1994
Sint Maarten
Slovakia- probably not
Slovenia
Solomon Islands- it's on my bucket list
Somalia-This place has intrigued me ever since I read "Coming of Age in Somalia" in 1975.
59-South Africa- seen there
60-South Korea- been there- 2008
South Sudan- probably not
61-Spain- been there
62-Sri Lanka- been there- 2004
Sudan- no
Suriname- probably not
Swaziland- maybe
63-Sweden- been there- 2013
Switzerland- I've been to Europe so often that I probably won't go here.
Syria- I will probably never go here.  This country will never be rebuilt in my lifetime.
Taiwan- maybe I will go here the next time I go to China
Tajikistan
64-Tanzania- been there- 2016
65-Thailand- been there- 1992
66- Tibet- I'm counting this area as a country, regardless of  China's views-1999
Timor-Leste
Togo- yea, I want to go here.
Tonga- yea, I want to go here.
Trinidad and Tobago- I want to go here
Tunisia- probably
Turkey- spent too much time in this airport but I really want to visit here.
Turkmenistan- if this country is on the itinerary for a Silk Road trip, then I am there.
67-Turks and Cacaos- been there
Tuvalu- .yea, I want to go here
Uganda- I want to go there to see the Sliver back Gorillas
Ukraine- probably not
United Arab Emirates- maybe
United Kingdom- been there

United States- 49 states visited to date
Uruguay- maybe
Uzbekistan
Wales- been there- 2018
Vatican City- been there
Vanuatu- never heard of this place
Venezuela- been there- 1994
Vietnam- been there- 2005
Yemen- probably will never go there
Zambia- I'll probably go there one day
Zimbabwe -been there - 2000

Some Days, Life Is Too Much Effort

Some Days, Life Is Too Much Effort

North East, MD

Winter 2015

I like to complain.  Some days, everything seems like too much effort. I was having one of those days when I was in my car, stopped at a traffic light.  As I looked around, I noticed this man on his motorcycle.  Here he was in the middle of the winter, taking advantage of a mild day.  Then I noticed his wheelchair on the side.  The man has to use a damn wheel chair and he is still trying to seize the day.  Obviously, this was not a day that seemed like too much effort for him.

Favorite Photos VIII

My Legacy

My Legacy
Or So I Hope

I hear it all the time: what will your legacy be?  Hell, I don't know.  I spent most of my time trying to get through the moment.  I didn't think about what I was leaving behind whenI am gone.  I don't know.  Maybe nothing. But maybe I left my family and friends with a few things:

1- I leave lots of books and an interest in reading.  I gave lots of books to my family and friends.  I hope they found joy, imagination and creativity in what I gave them to read.
2- I took all of my nieces and nephews (16) on a big ass trip, mostly to Europe.  I hope I sparked an interest in them to explore the world.
3- I hope my students understood that they mattered to me and I was always interested their wellbeing.
4- I traveled and posted all of my travel adventures on social media.  I hope people were inspired to go somewhere new, somewhere that pushed them a little bit.
5- I gardened a lot.  I photographed my garden.  Maybe someone is planting a tree or a bush or flowers and thinking of me.
6- When I turned 50, my sister wrote me a letter and thanked me for introducing her children to nature.  I was touched by that comment.
7- I took my nieces and nephews to lots of movies.  Movies are great escapees, great reality checks and great entertainment. I hope they go to the movies until their last breathe.
8- I made great efforts to attend as many family celebrations as possible. It is important to me to stay connected to family.  They are with you in the beginning and if you are lucky, they are with you in the end.  I hope I am lucky.
9- I have and had great friends.  I made an effort to stay connected with them.  I hope they see me as someone they can count on, as needed.  And on other occasions, as someone who could laugh with them.
10- I hope I showed people that you can live a full life as a single person.  Being married and having children must be nice.  But that is not the only way to live a full life.

To read more stories, check out:   bkmemoirs.blogspot.com

 or  bkmemoirs.wordpress.com

My Favorite 2017 Movies

My Favorite 2017 Movies

I love going to the movies.  This year, I joined the Bryn Mawr Film Institute and made an effort to see more movies than usual.  I saw some great movies this year:

• Lion- OMG, this was an upsetting movie to watch.
• Victoria and Abdul- I cant help it.  I love any movie that stars Judy Dench.  This movie was no exception.  She can really play an old, ugly woman.
• Maddie- I never heard of this artist until the film was released.  She has an incredible story.
• Loving Vincent-  I want to watch this masterpiece again but in my home so I can stop and start the film as I choose to examine the artistry of this film.
• The Big Sick- it was funny overall, event though there are a few slow spots in the movie.
• Beauty and the Beast- this movie was grand.
• Marshall- I continue to be shocked at the injustices of the world.
• The Last Viceroy- the changing of the guard as England returned power to India was one big fuck up.
• Hidden Figures- I saw this movie the night before the international Women's March and it was a perfect movie to set my mood.
• Fences- Denzel Washington's character was so believable that I wanted to punch him.

Weathering The Storm

Weathering The Storm

Hurricane Sandy

October 29, 2012

Philadelphia, PA

My friends from Germany were in town for the two weeks prior with their students.  They had plans to go to NYC on Monday.  But the hurricane started wrecking havoc as early as Sunday afternoon. We were going nowhere until further notice.  So we, the adults, hunkered down at Sue's house and we stayed there the whole week.  

As Kirsten said, "By Wednesday, we weren't even changing out of our pajamas.

Below is my Facebook post for the day:

Bridget E Kelly is with Kirsten Kollars and 3 others at Sue Descano's House.

October 29, 2012 at 11:11am · Springfield Township · 

We are all stuck here until further notice. The Germans could not go to NYC today so we decided to seek shelter with someone who would really take care of us. We may never leave.

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Sue Descano's House

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Bridget E Kelly is with Kirsten Kollars and 3 others at Sue Descano's House.

October 30, 2012 at 10:07pm · Springfield Township · 

Day five together and we are all still talking to one another. The trip to NYC for the Germans is definitely off.

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Sue Descano's House

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Apple Truck

Apple Truck

Interstate 76 West

Somewhere near Pittsburgh, PA

September 2015

This truck was in front of me and I noticed a few things fall out of it.  I couldn't tell what it was at first but as I got closer, I saw that the driver was hauling thousands of apples.  I got the hell out of his way.  I had visions of me being pelted by flying apples.  I think he could have used a tarp or something.