what you don't see

when you ain't got a gun.
well- not really... but it was memorable, to say the least!

Don't you just love this lady's hair?! I'm pretty sure she's some kind of dolled-up gypsy queen... I've never seen hair like it before. It looked like she'd put a cutting board at the base of her head and then wrapped her hair and a lace scarf around it... the pix don't do it justice but it was hard to get anything decent while 'undercover'... She was at the bazaar buying flowers...

and in case you were going to ask: That brick building is a brand new Orthodox church... in the bazaar... in the most logical place to put a church...

yup

right by the flower vendors. In fact, the flower vendors used to be in a pole barn right there where the church now is.

Makes perfectly good sense to me.

yup

last among peers

everyone else in Kyiv has had it nearly a week now... and in some cities, they've had it longer than that... Welllllll

We have heat now, too! On a day that is actually warmer outside than many lately, they've turned on the heat! Yay!

I have no idea at all who decides when to turn on the heat in the various parts of town or buildings. Hospitals and such get it first, that's a fact. Other than that? I reckon they draw straws...

dampish

This is what it looks like outside today... a little bit on the drip, drop, chilly side...

and there's no heat yet... so we've done this
Light the oven and open the door...
Oh- and I'm having a cup of hot Earl Grey Tea...
:)

Наша Україна/Our Ukraine

Ukraine is a land of many colors- both literally and figuratively. Coming back to Kyiv Saturday, we drove along some beautiful roads lined with trees all decked out in Autumn's best. It was beautiful.
When I was learning Ukrainian, every teacher wanted me to read, read, read. Yes, that's a great way to learn a language. But... I couldn't. Why? The literature...
See, Ukraine is a land of many colors figuratively...but many of those colors are dark or at least framed in dark colors. The history of Ukraine is one of domination by other cultures and people, one of famine and starvation, one of war and loss, one of bitter disappointments... and these are the things people write about. I just couldn't take it- reading about all the tragedy. If you've ever read 'My Antonia' by Willa Cather- that's what it's like.
Or Steinbeck's 'The Grapes of Wrath'.

I know this has been going around the internet- Kottke.org finally picked it up- here's his link to Kseniya Simonova's amazing sand animation of the German invasion of Ukraine. At the end, she writes: You are always close. 1945.

And this depicts only one brief and tragic even in the recent history of Ukraine. There are many many more...
The amazing thing is, the people are resilient and mostly hopeful. There's an election coming up in Jan... V was telling me the other evening: We'll choose well this time. He was all smiles and looked eager to vote.
Ukrainians are amazing people. I'm humbled by their spirit.

bus stop

got up at... I don't even remember. What I remember is waking our hosts at 5.38 am so they could let us out the door. Walked to the bus station. A nice 20 min early morning jaunt. Ah yes. Get on the bus and turf out the people in our seats. You could always sit somewhere else and let them stay...but about 75% of the time the people who have tickets for your seat show up and make you move... and then there's a mass shifting of passengers as seat 18 claims their seat and that person goes up to 15 and claims theirs and then that one boots out the #13 person and so on and so on until the person in seat 3 crawls back to seat 25. I just get it over with ASAP (unless I'm holding the ticket for 31... then I'll stay in #10 and hope like anything that person doesn't show up and claim their seat... I got over liking the back of the bus in Oh Grade 5 or so). BUT- this is beside the point.

so we hit the road. We doze. We wake up. We read a little. We fall asleep. We lurch into a bus stop (after what seems like 5 hours... or no time at all, depending on how much sleeping actually happened).





First- locate the WC... this is rather vital.













Next, off to find some kind of coffee. Another machine, another coffee... not bad, either. Claimed to be 'whole bean'... hmmm... vanilla flavored. Good stuff. But it's a 20 min stop so there's still heaps of time. And there are still hours of trip ahead of sitting and dangling your feet and wishing you could move... so now's the time to do it. Here we go. Bus station. Fun stuff. You want junk food? You want something to drink? (I can see the Pepsi from here).














This lady had no idea she was the star of my little photo op but she sure did a nice job of posing anyway.

If you need tobacco, you'll have to move on, this stand's closed... but the friendly little grandmas selling sunflower seeds will gladly scoop up a bag full for you. (I think it was cold right there...)


about face and head back towards the bus (small town- ours was the coolest bus in the lot)


How about a fun little kid clowning in front of the bus? Eventually though, you have to get back on the bus and point your mind to more hours of travel.

There were a few other stops more or less like this one. We got back to Kyiv- pulled into a bus station I didn't even know existed... stumbled off and looked around... and found the steps down to the metro...

In Kyiv, if the metro's nearby, you're un-lost Pronto. Thankfully. Home about 3 pm...

But the people we saw were super and the day was a good one.

Булочка з маком!/Poppyseed bun!

There's a story behind the title... wherein 2 of my co-workers travelling together on yet another bus stopped in yet another bus station and 1 went on yet another snack run... then there was a cell phone conversation- What do you want? Oh, whatever... get a булочка з маком (poppyseed bun)... Later the hunter/procurer (that's a word, right?) returns and triumphantly holds aloft the poppyseed bun and says булочка з маком... whereupon the whole bus breaks up in laughter- they've understood nothing except the булочка з маком bit. But as everyone knows, a булочка з маком is so yummy that even the foreiners had oughta like 'em... and for sure, they know how to say it!

My own take on them- they're either drop dead gorgeous good or awful. They're most often found in some little kiosk on the sidewalk where a million people flock by... they're always proclaimed to be fresh and Just What You Need and Crave Right Now... but... they're often dry and seriously lacking in the good stuff- the poppyseed filling. I seldom get one because it's such a collossal disappointment to get your hopes and salivary juices all worked up and then... pfffffft Nothing more than old bread. So, when we saw this one the other day at the bus stop I just walked on by. But the stop was seriously lacking in any kind of food... unless you wanted chips, candy bars or soda. So, back to take another look. Jill says- It looks pretty good...if you like poppyseed. I took a chance... and Wow- was it worth it! Soft! Fresh! Plenty of filling! It was Super!

birthdays are best in chocolate

It's been great having the fall with this gal... and she decided to have her 2009 birthday here... with us... wild...
so we did what any red-blooded North Americans living in Kyiv do on a birthday- we went to TGIF and had some food! And then we had some dessert...
<--- Hers
<-Mine!

fish tank

This is the end table at 'my' clinic... it doubles as an aquarium. Love it!

food... again

Today's lunch... really hit the spot! Simple omelet- filling: sauteed onions, ham cubes, chopped fresh basil and cilantro, grated cheese (proly Dutch cheese, but I just grabbed what was in the fridge) and then... and then... *happy smirky grin* I drizzled just a bit of olive oil and lemon dressing over the top of the other stuff and folded it over. Oh My... (cough- some of these flavors aren't exactly used to meeting in the same dish...but they got along just fine!) ;)

Sharon A and I went out for lunch awhile ago... dessert was this: crepe with a scoop of ice cream, folded over and deep fried then drizzled with strawberry sauce... and the garnish at the back? Wow- was that nice- slice of green apple, slice of kiwi, slice of banana, bit of strawberry sauce with sprig of sweet fresh mint. Finishing with the mint was really really nice!
the 'before' shot of my new favorite roast- did I do this already? Yes- here pork chop done in a bit of butter with olive oil (not much of each), sprinkled with French herbs, salt and pepper; just before it's finished, put coarsely chopped fresh basil on. Carrots done in the pan with the chops. When everything's cooked, remove the food then add a spoonful (for a single serving) of water to the pan- just enough to get the juices and herbs that are on the bottom of the pan. Scrape around and stir then pour over the meat and veggies.

and this! When your friends go to Italy, have them bring back fresh Parmesan... I did... it's Nummeeeeeeeeee

pit stop

on the way to Kyiv. The trip is 5 1/2 - 6 hours by mini-bus. And there's one stop. After nearly 3 hours scrunched in your seat, you're more than glad to stretch your legs... you can also grab a cup of tea or coffee or find some chips or chocolate. The last time I wondered into the cafe to get something to drink and found our driver hunched down in a booth wolfing down some food. It's also the only bona fide bathroom stop. Oh the driver will stop for you... anywhere... and we'll all patiently wait for you to return from the bushes/tall grass...


so this is a welcome stop

The parking lot is nothing more than a wide spot in the road- they just sort of widened the shoulder. There are usually anywhere from 3 to 10 or more buses (marshrutkas) pulled off here at one time. We were just off the road this time... my hair was blowing in the breeze of the passing trucks... but it was a welcome break.

recent events with people...recently

do you get the 'recent' idea? ;)




These 2 are new (and welcome) additions here! L (on the left) teaching English. J (right) hanging out with me for a few months.




This lady and her husband are back... rumor has it they kissed and hugged on their grandkids all summer (or part of it) and when the g'kids got sick of all that, they came back to us... or something... (you know how rumors are...) ;)

so we had a ton of company recently (and please forgive the pic quality... I seem to be into taking trembly pix these days... it adds to the aura, don't you think?) So- L took in 2 arrivals at something like 3 am the other day... we were heartbroken that they went to her place and not ours at that time of the day... yawn...



Later, we all met up there and did a bunch of yakking. I just want you to notice L's completely cool slippers over there on the left... they're pink... well- a bit hard to see- they're lamb's wool (pink lamb's wool, in fact... how about that?!) with harlequin cut out top. I love them!

and speaking of cool slippers... and cool in general- J's slippers- love that color! And the top- the next time it ends up in the laundry, well... it might get lost on its way back to her cupboard... that's all I'm saying...

so then there was the bday to celebrate. How considerate of her to do that while she was up by us... we're always looking for a reason to have cake around here!



there were people everywhere- at my desk, on my floor... I just rambled around for a bit ;) (it's awesome to have friends!)

in the kitchen...






people in the living room... A there at the back? She's wearing my shoes... used to be mine, I mean... sniff... well you can't see them all that well either, so I'll just show ya....


Here ya go. The rotten thing is, something in my foot changed and they hurt my feet like fury now... but she had great fun waltzing around the apt in my 'big girl shoes'... so they went home with her... it just seemed the right thing to do. But I really did like them.... (I'm looking into visitation rights...)



oh yes- S up there- she's getting to know Mackie... as in Mac-ie... as in Steve Jobs as opposed to Bill Gates... you get the picture... takes some time, learning to know Mackie... Mr Husband (of the lady with the squash) came home eventually and gave a guided tour (another really bad pic...



<--but shows Mackie a bit better).





eventually, everyone left... here's Little T with her brand new completely orange scarf...








So, on to another day



O's smiling because it's her bday; V's smiling cause he's married to O... They're both smiling cause I'm taking a pic of them.

and this? This is M holding up A's shoes... proof, Ange, that he has your shoes and should be taking them back this weekend...so if you never see them again, don't blame us!

and then there was a murder

If I were you, I'd be tensing up right about now... run, Mr Potato, RUNNN....

changing seasons

my favorite view, out the kitchen window...

a few weeks ago in heavy fog... but still fairly green out there

a few days ago... quiet and calm as can be out there... with a little bit of color

this one today- windy and the canal surface is ruffled.... and- although it's hard to see it here, there's a lot more color... looks like it's going to be a dull-color year, though. The last 2 days have been gorgeously sunny and exceptionally warm... summer's last hurrah... and we're loving it!

cats and dead flies

always land on their feet
on neatorama

almost a malaprop

Last night, while eating my PB and jelly for supper, I scrolled through my feed reader... and came across the word 'egregious'.
Which reminded me of a recent conversation where I tried to use that word and a dear friend, keeping a straight face, said Oh do you mean...........? (with a very odd pronunciation of that word- that I couldn't get, by the way.)
Let me just say that I'd always sort of liked that word- it had a cool sound (I thought) and seemed so specific and Right-to-the-point. If you use it, you don't need the other 15 words- One word covers it.
Conversation moved on. Forgot my 'egregious' friend (the word, not the person).
Then last night...
I just couldn't accept that this really interesting and fun word would sound like that... so I did the logical thing- f/b-ed it- as in My status: How do you pronounce 'egregious'? And within minutes another dear person (who mercifully had never heard me try to pronounce it) had replied: egre·gious Pronunciation: \i-ˈgrē-jəs\
Doesn't look good. I go to a dictionary site and click on the button to hear it... Yikes...
Let me just say- I liked my way a whole lot better. It was just- I don't know- it fit better... it sort of started with a nice 'egg' sound and tripped on from there. Admittedly, I had a few extra syllables in there... but still...

The other blow? It has a much stronger negative connotation than I'd been fondly picturing.

I tell you, this word has let me down. I'm trying to pick up the pieces of my life and go on...

My therapy: