You can never...

...have too many socks for the trip... I realized at V's house last week that I'd packed socks twice; it was so cold though, that I wore them all over the course of 5 days.
...have too many Rice Krispie treats. Made some last night- had 'em for breakfast. That's Trude looking happy to be holding both mine AND hers...
and here's me with what's left in the pan! Haha! They were yummy!

Quick update: left last Weds- night train to Chernivtsi (the L'viv-Chernivtsi trains have never won prizes); Thur through Fri am with V & L out in the mountains- lovely, great to see them...and icy cold. Fri most of the day on buses. Saw D in KP- he was sick but cooked supper for us anyway. On to Letichiv for the night- T had been there and built a fire, so it was warm...ahhh! Water already off, though, so just went to bed! Left there Mon am and got back here about 4pm... got a burning urge to do laundry right away- I love washers!

We're leaving in ummmm, 20 min. 20 min?! Yikes... 'bye!

and thanks, everyone, for eating all that pumpkin and pecan pie for me...and turkey and dressing, too, I hope. T'day was never so fun! or vicarious! :-)

Shazam

Since you're probably sitting around wondering what we're eating these days, I'll just tell you (I mean, it's been awhile since one of THOSE posts).

Part 1: Trude made this for supper the other night. (Note: Ukr'ns love porridge type hot cereals and Cream of Wheat is one of many that we often get. The link is not for a breakfast food, though.) It was good and there was some of it leftover.

Yest, I boiled chicken (with the bones) with bay leaves, oregano, basil and thyme (liberally added), chicken bouillon, several garlic cloves and several med onions, quartered. Simmered it for about 5 hours. Quartered potatoes and chopped carrots and added them about 30 min before serving.

Now, the deal with chicken soup (in my opinion): it's good for sick people. But very hard to get it flavored in a lip-smacking YUMMY way. This rendition was OK but nothing to blog about (I'm laughing...hahaha).

We decided that the above 2 dishes might be pretty good heated up together. Also, we downloaded a bunch of Patricia Cornwell books which we read when we're on the road. Her main character does a bunch of cooking and makes chicken soup with wine.

Part 2: Started by pouring about 1/4 cup of rather aged red grape juice in a kettle, adding enough soup for 2 and then judiciously spooning in some of the semolina and heating it well.

Result: pretty good- the soup definitely had some zip this time! Interesting flavor. I'm doing the rest of the soup without the semolina but with just the rather aged red grape juice... that should be a winner.

Since you'll all soon have lots of leftover poultry...

speaking of: What ARE you all doing for Thanksgiving? There are no Americans within spitting distance (or even all night trains, for a change) who are interested in T'day with us so we're just going to be running around visiting people...which will be GREAT after nearly 2 weeks here in the bache... So, please, I implore you, eat some pumpkin pie for us and don't feel guilty! Those will be OUR calories and won't show at all...I'm pretty sure...

Shouldn't have taken a shower this morning

Because the guys who are working here in the apt sure didn't- if I had my own bad smell going on, it might be easier to take. It's pretty fierce- that would be why I'm burning a candle and have all the windows open wide. And dreaming of this:

OK- I'll admit it- I've had more time than usual on my hands this week and last- what with getting sick, Trude getting sick, T having to cross the border, then K & me crossing and T's still not quite up to par. Next week we should be back on the go and I likely won't be writing about smelly handymen...

Which is what they are. See, a LONG time ago (3 months anyway) we had a phone line put in- supposed to be digital so we could hook up to the phone company's broadband. Of course, they got that wrong. So, T- being half Ukr'n herself by now and having an ingenious mind, talked to the downstairs neighbor- How about you up your internet package, we'll split the costs with you and splice into your connection? He was delighted- he gets a faster connection out of the deal and we have internet. Great. It worked wonderfully well. The 1st floor lady had the same idea 2 weeks ago- can we plug into your switch (and the kid on some other floor)? We'll split the costs 4 ways. (Once again Mr Downstairs will go and order a faster connection- but we'll all pay less per month than we do now!) So, today Mr No-Shower and his son, same last name, are here hooking up the other moochers... I mean cooperators. That's what we are. And we're all happy (except my happiness would increase slightly if they'd showered... or put on clean clothes this am or something). That's standard protocol here- share and share alike... just ask Duane about kids and tests and that policy. Really, American teachers present lessons that are supposed to foster teamwork...but these folks have it figured out: just make it impossible to pass a test or afford it or acquire it or whatever WITHOUT teamwork. Works like a charm. (I kid you not- in Izmail, there are 20 apts in the entrance where ours was- of those 20 something like 17 of them were all hooked up to the same cable TV connection- stairwell was a mass of spliced cables running everywhere.)

One more thing! Who's seen Ellery's latest post?! Ok, that would be her Dad's latest! Big smiles and hugs to all 4 but esp to Holly!

woot woot

Ok, after a few false starts, we managed to get that last post done entirely via email! Yay! Nevermind that I finished the sending and getting all the settings right today, from the desk and not the train...

Ukraino! Ukraino!

Karen F and I spent last night with her 2nd cousins- had a nice time. After breakfast this am, they arranged for an acquaintance to take us to the nearest border crossing. An hour or so later, there we were. He parked the car and we walked up to the guards, showed our papers, got our stamps and approximately 10 min later, were back in the car, heading for the train station. No one had any questions, no one barely even cared that we were there... In fact, the female guard smiled and chatted and the male guard almost cracked a smile, too... Well well well...

When we got back in the car, it struck me just how attached I am to this place. The thought of possibly being denied the 'privilege' of standing for hours on cold corners waiting for buses, sitting in drafty train stations waiting for trains, slopping through the muck and mud, constantly having to guard your place in any line and, of course, living without Mountain Dew, for the most part- well, it was an unpleasant prospect. K's cousin's wife asked how I liked Ukr- and I said, "Really, it feels like my own." And I guess that's true! I'm glad we're back!

So, K & I are on the train- she's headed to the capital city; I'll get out about 1/2 hour from our bache and head 'home'.

What I want to try now is to post this from my iPAQ via my mobile phone. Let's see how good Google really is!

Take care you all! xo

blowing up, part 2

(For part 1, click here)
Karen F is here and she said, "You have another gas leak- in the kitchen and in the bathroom".
"Impossible in the bathroom," I say; "there is no gas connection in there." But Trude said there was. Sure enough, the mangy open-ended pipe dangling down from the ceiling used to supply the water heater that used to stand in the corner... and upon sniffing the end of that pipe, well, you could say it had that sulfur smell of a natural gas leak. Also, in the kitchen by the sink there was a faint smell.
Having learned our lesson very well the last time, phoned the emergency service and they came right over.
Turns out Pan Landlord was supposed to cap (cap, of all things) the end of the no-longer-in-use gas line; AND the duct that vents the current water heater (which is in the corner above the kitchen sink) is legally supposed to be completely closed off and concealed. Their words today were, "We have the right to shut off your gas right now because that is in violation."
Trude called Pan Landlord and let the gas men talk to him. He's coming over to fix it...supposedly.

Really, with all that man (Pan Landlord) has done for us, it is surprising that we are still among the living... everything he was responsible for has been re-done because of major catastrophes... we'll leave them for later posts, maybe; they are better left in the cobwebby corners of your conscience, really- except to take a lesson to never never ever do it THAT way...

So, tomorrow we go try our luck at the border...

10 more things

As some of you noticed, Yes, the side bar changed... I took out some of it (no, Helen, you're not losing it). Why? Well, you know how you have something in your mind and it seems really clear and to the point and all that? And then people respond in a completely different way than what you expected... and you think, "Huh! That must have come across a bit differently than what I intended." Well, that pretty much describes it! See basically, I just want to stay in touch... so that's what it says now! I just like to blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda... being concise has never been my strong point.

See I have this little nearly-5 year old nephew (a real drop dead beautiful child *clears throat*) whose thing was to say: Wait! I have 10 more things to tell you...

I think he really is genetically related to me (and I'm not referring to his looks hahaha).

So, you all have a good one! We are off Weds am to see how seriously a mysterious 90 day stay resolution is being enforced...if you next hear from me from Pol or Hungary or some such place, you'll know that they are feeling rather 'enforce-y'

ta-ta!

my ears hurt...from laughing

Our friend A rents out the 2 rooms above their house. A pretty normal and nice girl, Lesya and her husband rent the one; the other is let out to 2 college boys this year. Now we’ve known for awhile that all is not peaches and cream with the 2 boys.

Lesya has been complaining all fall that the smell from the boys’ room is really bad and that she gets sick to her stomach just having to go to the basin to brush her teeth (which must be in a common area). This a.m., after our time together, we got the blow-by-blow of the ‘landlady-renter’ encounter a few weeks ago. I wish I’d had a tape recorder and I wish you could all understand Ukie…because there’s no way I’ll get it down…but here goes:
A (hands on hips in tough lady stance-which she really isn’t, by the way): OK, you boys. Listen up! Apparently neither of your mothers ever taught you anything. This is your first time away from home living among people and you obviously DON’T KNOW how to do it decently. Now, I’ve been telling you EVERY SINGLE DAY for the past 2 months that there is always hot water downstairs in the bathroom and that it’s for you to use while you live here. Now, 1 of you HAS NOT HAD A BATH since you came. And it really stinks in here. I’ve never smelled anything like it. The smell from your armpits wafts out and knocks you out and the neighbor girl and her friend wrote a poem – A POEM – about your smelly feet. DID YOU KNOW THAT?! Now look here, I’ve left you alone, this is your room, I don’t bug you…but you say you have a girlfriend…how does she even stand being next to you…if it were me, why I’d be a full KILOMETER away…AT LEAST! Now I want you to RIGHT NOW get out clean clothes- right now so I can see each article- socks, yes; underwear, yes; pants, yes; shirt, yes- and I want you to go down there RIGHT NOW and bathe- not just ‘wash’…and you’re to do that once a week from NOW ON! Now, I know that you’re someone’s child and they love you and you’re a person and I don’t want to hurt your feelings or your mother’s, but this has gone on long enough. If your mother isn’t here to tell you then I will…

And, he did…right then…everything she said…and since then, every Thursday evening when she’s on her way home, she calls him and says, “Now we’ll be home in minutes- you still have the house to yourself for - get down there and bathe”… (and he does)…and furthermore, he ‘washes’ every day… (eyes wide and horrified): Do you even KNOW how badly men’s feet stink?! And 2 months with NO BATH!

I suppose once a week is downright frequent after that…

Trude and I laughed till we cried, nearly fell on the floor and my ears HURT

comfort food

you need this soup, too, I'm pretty sure.

pot of water, boil with chicken bouillon cube, bay leaves, heaps of pepper

coarsely dice ham and saute with onions and plenty of coarsely chopped garlic; add basil and oregano

add ham mixture to soup water, reduce heat and simmer for 30 min

peel and quarter med-sized potatoes; add to soup and cook till potatoes nearly soft

grate a carrot and saute in pan used for ham; add a bit of water to get the yummy stuff in the skillet and add to soup when potatoes nearly done; simmer another 15 min or so (all these times are just rough guesses)

add salt to taste (bouillon and ham are both quite salty, so won't need much. We use rock salt for cooking...don't know if it's better or not, but we like it!)

take a potato masher (NOT the beaters!) and mash around in the soup to smash taters a bit

Serve and enjoy! It's great for sore throats... I know...ha!

No pic of the soup but here's looking out the kitchen window:

bug

Crabby, achy, hot then cold and a headache and sore throat to boot... I think I'm sick... probably got it from Brett...from reading his mom's blog. Yup.

The pic? Well, the dog has no ears (they cut them off when he was a pup to make him a better guard dog- probably that makes him crabby); his name is 'Zhuk' which means 'bug' which is what I seem to have...plus I'm crabby. It all fits...

Surviving is healthy

Коли дают – то бери
Коли бют – то втікай

Learned the above tonight. It means- "If they're giving - accept; If they're beating [as in hitting, fighting] - flee"

Well, that sounds like good advice! Guess it's a common expression here.

This little doggie, pictured beside his favorite buffet (the local dumpster) is a master of survival and no doubt lives by the above truism.

And THEN… I had a mother-in-law

No joke…ok, a tiny one, but we weren’t laughing.

We came to see T only to find out en route that T’s dad died and she’d gone home for the fun’l. Should we continue on or not? T said, Yes, the kids will be glad to see you.

Here we are. In the place with the wood-fired water heater, pictured down there somewhere. Got here and the place was warm, so someone had been here and fired up the wood stove in the kitchen. Great.

Phone rings Sat am. I answer and hear: Baba Halya is coming over right now to light a fire for you and make sure you’re ok. She said this about 3 times while I numbly tried to think of something to say. I hang up looking lost and tell Trude. She looks horror-struck.

You need to know something here: how to put it? As Trude said, The last time she came and built a fire in the water heater for us, she wouldn’t leave until we’d nearly HAD our baths. She is quite capable of running her own life and everyone else’s within a 10 mile radius- this is because- well it’s just how it is- and it’s quite typical for older females here. And, just try to picture her with only one eye, because that’s also true.

We decide the best course of action is to have a fire going when she gets here. I zoom in there, clumsily shoving first wadded up newspaper and then sticks of wood into the bottom of the water heater. Where’re the matches? Oh, here. Strike… paper lights, but I soon realize that ALL the rest of the paper has gotten shoved to the back by my frantic adding of wood… yikes. Trude hollers from the front room: That fire had better be roaring by the time she gets here or she’ll know we need her help. Double yikes. And the ringing of the doorbell. I slam the door of the water heater shut and flee the bathroom, firmly closing that door, too. And stand there guarding the door looking totally guilty- I know it, I can feel it, but it’s too late (and my fire is dying- I know this too).

In she marches…and she’s instantly in control. I’ve brought you some kindling and some apples and some chicken. You need to thaw the chicken and make a soup and eat it. The apples are good for you too- eat them. I’ll build the fire because I don’t want you girls sitting over here in the cold and freezing and you need to bathe…
Here I manage to clumsily insert that we have built a fire and we did have baths last night.
Oh- well, you need to have it warm and to bathe in warm water- it’s no joy for me anymore I buried my son 5 years ago but you need to. (Please don’t ask me why that’s relevant- I just know that she was looking at me with 1 peering eye while she said it.)
Yes, thank you- we really can build fires (Per Bergh even taught me how to build a fire using no kindling- you stack it just so- the secret is to get a decent draft going- are you reading this, Far?) Of course this one is no success at all.
She tells us 5 more times that she doesn’t want us sitting in the cold- it’s not healthy. We try to assure her that we don’t, we have warm clothes, we know how to build fires…and we’re very grateful for her care. (And we are, it’s just hard to get a word in edgewise, as they say). Really, she’s not so bad, it’s just that she sort of elicits this ‘crouch’ response- as in get ready for fight or flight. And, the chicken and the apples were downright sweet and very much appreciated. She is T’s mother-in-law…and now she’s ours, too. Or should I say, she's in charge of us…






Now, this isn't 'our' Baba- but she could easily be... This one was snapped working a stand at a bazaar...by, I believe, Kenny Hettich... and right now, I need to go ask his permission to post this... wait right here...