Nothing runs like...

what?

;) Well this am on way to our friend's, I saw a big green Deere...combine... No pic, but it was For Real...

I've seen a few John Deeres over here, but not many. Once at a gas station, I looked out the bus window and saw a huge JD tractor at the next pump. That was memorable. Another time, saw a whole train full of them heading down the tracks. And that's about it.

N

It's been a real pleasure watching this dear girl mature from a sweet shy child to a lovely young lady. We came into town tonight so we'd be able to catch an early bus tomorrow to our friends; N and 1 of her younger sisters and another 'preps kid' came with us... N went with me to buy tickets and we had a nice chat...nothing special, just nice.
Did I mention that she's a superb dessert maker, too? ;)

Rug cleaning and other stuff

Someone was using the scaffolding (that's really what that is...the base anyway) for cleaning rugs. I just liked the look of it.

We've had a really busy week. I'm bed lady here, which, next to laundry, is my favorite job on the planet. So, while everyone else scurries around cooking, picking red currants, making juice, hammering, sawing, washing heaps and heaps of dishes and generally carting heavy objects from Point A to Point B, I get to sort towels, sheets, pillows, blankets (NOT counting them...yet), make beds, AND set up a 'new' visitors' cabin... (can we say 'rustic'...handy, though) and a hundred other things. It's just sort of right down my alley... (or is it 'up my alley'? I never could keep that straight.)

Oh- and something else Little M and I did today (she's a little preps kid and boy is she worth her weight in gold...I'll see if I can get a pic)...anyway, she was helping me make beds this am... She's been grabbing a pillowcase off the stack at each bed and the pillow is her deal. So, at V's bed, she grabs one and I say, Oh wait...take this case, 'K? Well, she is little Miss Practical and I could tell she saw no earthly reason why on earth V had to have that certain red and blue case...but she did it. So then a few beds later, we come to the one where a certain IA lady's son will be sleeping for a few nights when he gets in... (do you know who this is?!?) and his sheets match V's case...so I make this crazy mentality-of-a-10-year-old confession... See, I say- V and (IA lady's son) are good friends...won't it be fun if they have matching pillows? Since they don't get to see each other very often...I finish rather lamely... But I can see that in Miss Practical's 13 year old mind, THAT is completely insane... Siggggghhhhh... I do wonder if they'll notice... I had fun, anyway.

Ah well. We're having good days. Mon, things will start to move at the speed of light; by Tues, I'll be wishing I had some sort of nerve medicine, proly...by Wed, for sure. But, Oh, it is so worth it!

Take care!!

Mynnya

This is Lesya with the cow, Mynnya. She likes little green apples (Mynnya does), which L is good to give to her. The big exciting thing is Mynnya is due to calve any time. Mr and Mrs Cow Owner (L's parents) are away right now, so L is in charge of the cow- but I'm keeping an eye on her, too...becaue, well because I like doing it...in fact I love it. You can tell Dad and Marv (and Uncle Duane...haha-kidding) that I punched the calf. M wouldn't let me close enough to do that till today. I'm just sort of hoping that Baby arrives sometime in the next week... There is nothing to compare to the soft sweetness of a newborn calf...

mousetrap

Someone recently blogged about playing mousetrap with her kids (Neisha maybe?). Yup, we loved that game, too. And coming back from hanging up laundry this afternoon I sort of popped the basket on my head (easier to carry it that way) and, well, I think you can follow that to it's logical pictoral conclusion.

Another cellar

This is the cellar we're currently associated with... I like it a whole lot better than last week's cellar...not that THAT matters...

This cellar is dirt-walled and under the summer kitchen. Running down there during the day is nearly as good as taking a break in your average preps walk-in cooler...which I, of course (OF COURSE) never ever did back in the States...just because it was blistering hot, 200% humidity and not a breath of air moving outside... I wouldn't ever have even considered for a single moment thinking up a reason to visit the cooler just becaue you could walk in and shut the door and sort of hang out with the Mississippi Mud cake that Ryan's mom had made for him (and for us, who are we kidding?)...or Ryan's Peanut Butter pie...oh no, not ME...

Whoops, drooling here. Anyway, this cellar is a pretty great place.

blog fodder

Sharon and I came into town last night- did more shopping and heaps of laundry. Also had a soak in the tub with sea salts... ahhhhhhhhhh.... Today, we're off to Odessa and then on north by train. We finish preps up there while the others are at the first week of special days. Next week, they'll all pile in where we are- will be nice to all be together.

So, one quick post and then I need to run. Here it is... it's a nightmare... and a good one.

What with all the painting going on, we ran out, so Sat am, I made a quick trip into town to get 1 more bucket. Fine. Got it. And got some pillows and blankets and odds and ends (including a toilet seat!) that we needed. Managed to make the 10 am bus, which was jammed to the gills and hot. I was one of the last on, so got to stand. No biggie- I was just glad to be there…until, somehow—don’t ask, I don’t know—that bucket of paint (approx the equivalent of a gallon) gulp got knocked right over…and wouldn’t you know it, the lid popped off. We all just stood there for about 30 seconds watching in shock as this beautiful pearly white lake spread under the seats and into the aisle…and then everyone began yelling at the driver to STOP. We were just pulling out of bus station, so he parked and then quickly came to see what was going on…I guess he could tell it was a big deal. Well, we won’t go into all the details- suffice it to say that, although he’s a pretty decent, low-key sort of man, he yelled and yelled and yelled at me…until I finally started to cry. I was afraid I would- I’m a bit like that- but was trying hard not to. My first thought was that I should get it back into the bucket, quick, so that I could use it. finally, the driver tracked down the bus station cleaning lady who came, took stock of the situation and came back with rags and set to work; someone else ran for a huge stack of newpapers- that’s supposed to be really good for paint they say. I ran to the bazaar for turpentine (of course, folks, this was oil-based paint—nothing so easy as water-based, Oh No). everyone calmed down and the bus left…but I had to go back to the bazaar to buy more turpentine and rags (not to mention paint); got myself somewhat cleaned up and caught the next bus out. Yest, Bill came out on the bus with that driver- and the driver’s calmed down and was laughing at it by this time, thankfully. It was a nightmare…totally.

Suppertime!

I forget what these things are called in English, but in Ukr'n and Rus'n they're called 'shashlykiy' and they are fabulous and plus all that, it's what we had for supper tonight! Cut up large bite-sized pieces of meat (chicken and pork for us tonight), make a marinade of mayonnaise, splash of vinegar (or lemon juice or wine), pepper, salt and some other mysterious herbs from the lady at the market :) V also uses honey, which is delish. Marinade the meat several hours. Skewer, alternating pieces of meat with onions and squash (also peppers and small tomatoes are good). Get your fire going good and hot, then let it die down to good hot coals. Then call in the shashlyk expert (Vassya, in our case) and let him grill them to perfection...then overeat. Oh yeah, give him a rack of veggies drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled in salt and let him grill them, too. We usually do this about once during preps (at least if V is around) and sometimes before con for the visitors. It just screams SUMMER in Ukr'n...

The big bad

Cellar. This is the scariest thing you can hear around here: Oh, you need the paint supplies/empty juice jars/drinking water/whatever? Well, it's down in the cellar. Approach that mysterious trap door with caution, gently lift the door upwards to expose the daunting depths below... Trying not to let your knees knock together too much, very very carefully lower yourself onto the top rung- this is the hardest part for me. I have this awful feeling of impending doom every time...a certainty that I'm going to misjudge something somehow and swing out into nothingness and abruptly meet the cement floor below a short time later. The other awful thing about it all is: You can't tell me there's no mice (or worse) down there. Thankfully, it's clean and not too cluttered- and well-lit...so you can basically see everything BOOM right off. Anyway, I'm always happy to have something ANYTHING else to do if things sound like they're leading up to a trip to the cellar. Like I really need to go scrub out the john with a toothbrush...was just on my way...in fact, I've already started and there's a long line of anxious folks waiting and there's bleach in it right now and I really have to go finish that so those poor souls won't die...yup...right now...so sorry.

Or should that have been?

Dear Amanda: this one's for you. Referring to the first link in previous post. I'll let you tell me since I can't remember.

oh just stuff

Dear Alaina: This one's for you! ;)

Came into town last night for the study and to clean, do laundry and major shopping. I'm taking a break- had a completely badly awesomely delish calzone from a local pizza place for lunch. Now I need to get back to work again.

Can I find 1 more pic to post? Let's see... well sure enough! The prep crew:

Bill... bringing home the ladder. Bikes are pretty versatile here- load 'em up and push 'em...sure saves the back and arms.

V... 'mowing' the yard... not for the weak, that's for sure. Later he pitch-forked it together and hauled it off somewhere.

Ira, Mrs Homemaker. She works- no toils- day and night; I'm not sure what's kept her alive so far but she manages! She's a treasure.

Sharon, ready to pick cherries and make juice...which she did like a mad woman for 4 days straight... the cooking setup is behind her.
Who's this? Just the street sweeper... I'm just glad that not all brooms are this short, that's all I have to say.
And then there are these... when S&I were down in this field, motor scooters became immensely popular; we were wishing we had one to use as a field 'car'... saw a display downtown the other day... and still wish I had one. Hmmmmm.....

Oh yeah- and how cool is this? Not to mention how expensive...

And one more- Karen's back! I have even talked to her very own self on the phone! Yay! Welcome Back, KJE!! (You're welcome as the flowers in May!)

So this is Chorby on the left. He was one of 3 pups born this spring to Poofy... a good-natured underfed dog at the grounds. He is, hands-down in my (and Sharon's) opinion the cutest of the 3. His life just changed drastically.




The first week we were here, Sharon repeatedly bribed him with tasty tidbits and scraps till he was pretty sure he was pretty special. Then, Tues am, she nabbed him and popped him into her bag. Here they are at the bus stop.






Here he's wondering what on earth happened...and what's coming next. He was a good kid- just sat there and didn't fuss...I could tell he was still alive because I could feel his breath on my hand. a pretty blurry shot but I had a hard time getting more than 2 inches from him since the bus was so crowded.




I brought him and the laundry back to the boys' bache. Fed him, found him a soft rag and got the laundry going. He crashed...slept for about 40 min. What he didn't know was what Sharon was doing (besides buying meat to feed a crowd)... Sharon was off talking to the pet store people... what do I do for a puppy with a major flea infestation?



Well, the poor kid found out just what happens when someone comes home with flea shampoo... he couldn't get warm afterward. So I snuggled my (dirty) preps skirt around him... the last I saw him, he'd completely burrowed underneath it. S took him over to her teacher's parents later in the morning...where he had an attack of the "Help Mom I'm Scared's"- but then sort of came around. The old folks love him. Lucky for him, his life expectancy just jumped from months to years...

The only thing special about these pix is that this is a dirt street in town (and this was taken when the dust was still nearly ankle deep in most places)- and the diligent (likely) woman of the home just beyond the edge of the picture has carefully swept it...and you can see the broom marks in these pix.

It's a matter of pride to keep the yard (and sometimes sidewalk and street) swept clean. Done with a short twig or straw broom.

Random shots

Typical village house for this village. What's typical varies quite a bit from region to region. Interesting enough, the house we're in is nothing like this one.

Dirt street here in the village.

The other 'street' pic actually shows what is more a 'bunny trail'- but it's the main foot path from the bus stop back to the houses where we're at. A good place to get burs and other junk in your socks.

The 'Mutleys' here at the house. They're cute, yup...but they don't get enough to eat, are full of fleas and intestinal worms...it just sort of makes me sad enough that I don't even want to get attached to them. We took the one on the left in to town this am (in Sharon's bag on another stuffed-to-the-gills bus...haha, that was cute. I have a pic, will maybe post later)- flea-bathed him and then took him to a nice granny and gramps whose doggie sort of got pancaked not so long ago... They have strict orders to de-worm him...and they're so cool, they already have that and a general checkup at the vet (this is unusual for here, may I just say) lined up for the little punk. :)

My Little Shadow

This is my Little Shadow. Her name is Marina. She got blogged earlier...just page down to somewhere in Jan. She lives not too far from here- about 10 min stroll. Her mom brings us goat milk (she got wind of the fact that somebody'd been sick and so she brings us a big jar every 2 days or so...and you know what? I've had episodes of 'bad tummy' in the past- like about 8 years ago- and goat milk helps...it's good...I like it). Anyway, Marina comes over and follows us around- she wants work (but I suspect if you were to ask her mom, she'd say something different about the 'Marina-wants-to-work' situation).

Marina

Likes to work. So yesterday, she sorted hangers...from the pix, you can tell she enjoyed that job. I remember doing that at preps when I was a kid...it was never this much fun. But half the hangers were rusty back then...and with 500-800 people vs about 50, well, the hanger population was a bit larger, too.

Today... Ha. Today, she scrubbed dirty clothespins with an old toothbrush...and grinned the whole time. Then she cut off onion tops and her little Ksushya friend washed them. Then she started in on the garlic. Then her mom came and hauled her home. (Stuck Ksushya's pic in again, too, just for good measure.)

Marina is a sweet little thing. A year ago at sp mtg time, I was at their house and she took me aside confidentially and said: This is for you, I want you to have it. And she gave me this terminally-girly pink tiny notebook with a plastic mouse dangling from the spiral. It was 1 of her Christmas presents from her grandma. I tried to refuse it. No go. Talked to her mom about it and she said, No, you take it. That's what she wants to do. Well, I tucked it away for safe keeping...but finally a few weeks ago , I made myself pull it out to use. It has a special place in my purse.

cuties

After all our other responsibilities were cared for today, we made a couple "house calls"- first to Ala's grandma who's basically house bound. I was reminded again that this is an inconvenient place to be old. Good to see her, even if it is a bit hard to get her onto any subject besides her health.

We met the 2 girls in the pix on the street outside A's house and walked home with them. The biggest is the Auntie. Her big Sis is the mommy of little Zhenya; in about 6 weeks, Zhenya should be a big sis, all being well. I found her rather irresistable. She was eating new carrots out of the garden and being cute as can be.

Now we're back home. Tomorrow I hope to investigate the strawberry and pea patches!

Oh- hellooooo

Time for bed...we had a huge big day- full of yet more scrubbing, vacuuming, bleach, latex gloves, brooms, bugs, spiders, potatoes (new potatoes- absolutely delicious- I cleaned some and ate some... Oh yummmmmm). Oh yes, there were some molasses cookies tucked in here and there, too. Really good soft yummy molasses cookies... (my eyes are rolling around and I'm drooling at the memory...only you can't see me).

The prettiest rose in the garden has a new bloom- should have gotten a pic yest- it's so hot that they develop very quickly. Anyway, that's what the pic is...and in answer to someone's (Stacy's?? Don't remember for sure) question- Mrs Homemaker says the orange flowers (both in this post and a previous one) are Calendula.

Also, a Very Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!!! Thought I'd do a similar post for this day as I did for Mother's Day...but you know what? I'm toooooo tired. Totally. Sorry. Maybe I'll do it later...like in Oh, about 5 weeks... ;)

And- one more aside: I'm enjoying reading your blogs- but I can't comment while using my mobile device...and when we are at a bigger computer time is simply too limited to do it- SO- you'll just have to do without my *incredibly witty* (quit snorting) comments for now.

Tata...and all that.

Preps

Just some shots from past few days. Currently working on cleaning. Kinda like the corner with the ladder; sort of quaint or something. Big wooden box behind the ladder is where Mrs Homeowner keeps her flour.

bus

This is easily the hottest part of the country, so you'd think people would be well-practiced at keeping cool, right? Except that they're terrified of drafts- you know, evil air lurking around inside closed spaces just waiting to pounce on you and do bad things. These pix are from our bus ride into town yesterday am...dead hot it was...and only 1 window (mine, in fact) cracked open... I had to guard it to keep people from slamming it shut. They looked hot enough to faint, too. (And you thought the draft had something to do with the military... Oh haha)

Oh yeah- the bus was jammed full- so full that several people at the last stop in this village couldn't get on... Sharon and I got the last 2 seats. Lucky for us.

Where it's at

I mean where WE'RE at...

Sharon W and I got here yest afternoon. Dogs and puppies running to meet us...maybe I'll post pix of them; I can't honestly say that I'm a big fan of these particular animals, so you many never see a single pic.

What's really neat about this place is the lady here...for lots of reasons, most of which shall remain un-blogged about. But she's great. And she's also a horticulturist (spelling anyone?)- and she loves to garden...and does a good job, too. Mostly, she's too busy with work (she's a groundskeeper/gardener at a school of some sort) to get a lot much done at home, but this year she's had a bit more time. These pix are from her gardens.