me again Margaret

One does have thoughts that shoot through one's head. Sometimes they leave a blazing trail; sometimes a little dust; sometimes there is hardly any ripple at all after they've passed. These days have been good for me, though, because there have been lots of thoughts and lots of things to make me smile, to make my heart glad, to me stop and think- I need to be careful. I've been aware again that I tend to take people at face value (and to expect others to take me that way)...well, at least I do that when I'm functioning at normal levels; get me a little tired and stressed and... well... I'm as good as the next person at reading all kinds of stuff into any situation. But really, I usually make major missteps in interpreting what I see/hear then so... I do better with the 'take it as it seems' thing. But... not everyone is like that. And people we're with might be trying to read us and wondering What on earth does that little 'Uh-huh' mean? So- I've been trying to think a little more about what other signals might (seem to) be coming from me. 

Mind you... I still think you should take me at face value. 

But anyway.

Where is this going, anyway? (shrugs)

Meanwhile, it's been awhile since I did any funnies... and I've saved a few! ;)

The summer was sort of like this. Only instead of grass stains, I noticed that the shower floor got gritty every time I took a shower and the first water going down the drain was brown... it was a hot dry summer here, too (well- in Ukr) and there was a lot of dust in the air... and it washed off in the shower. Fascinating. It did feel good to get that tired again on a daily basis! ;)

What is it with kids and fly swatters? We had to hide them sometimes this summer...when there was food around. Our diligent 'slappers' didn't always use the best judgment on when to swat and when not to swat.

I hear you Satch. A very good way to describe onions. The raw ones, at any rate.  

I have known a few people like this. The first was an old man I met with Sundays back in my university days. His memory was amazing. I miss him. ps- did you know Lucy was THAT old?! ;)

Well- wouldn't you blog a comic that had your very own name in it?! I mean... ;)

ps- I tried to talk to a Polish cat today... with no success. Apparently I don't know the way to talk to a Polish cat. When I first was in Ukr, I saw a cat one day and said, 'Here kittykittykittykitty...' and was totally ignored. Funny that Ukrn cats don't know English. Neither do Polish cats. They don't know Ukrn either. Ukrn cats respond to 'kitskitskitskitskits' (sort of like kttskttsktts) The cat today did NOT know that line. huh. 

Jesse the Jack Russel Terrier- someone shared a Jesse video with me recently. He's an amazing dog. I'm not sure if I'd want toast that had been put into the toaster and taken out by a dog, though. On the other hand, I think the point is service dogs and what they can do... in which case, I might be very glad to get toast like that if I had a dog like that...
Monarch butterflies are cool!- Yes they are! Especially since the Monarchs that migrate south are not the same ones that go north in the spring.

It's raining and cool. Feels like fall. Feels like September and not August. In fact, most of the past 3 weeks have felt like Sept. I really really REALLY love not sweating All The Time. yay! I'ma open my windows wide and get under the covers!! ;)

And- Tomorrow is my dad's birthday! :)

yesh...

shtill here! ;)

Quick bedtime post. Days have been gorgeous. I've been in Poland most of August. Always love being in Poland- feels like my 2nd home this side of the Atlantic. Always nice to get back to Ukr, though! ;) That time is approaching.
Meanwhile, we have a few more things to do here.
Including....
Tomorrow we hope to meet up with a special friend when she has a layover in Warsaw on her way to Ukr! Can't believe it's that time now! Happy last minute shoving, stuffing and (packing? You call THAT packing?!?!) Charlene! And Welcome!! We are so glad to have you! Her flight should be boarding in about 3 1/2 hours... same one I took in June. We'll be at the airport bursting with smiles tomorrow! And I do hope you get some sleep! ;)

and one more thing

Remember this post? It has a footnote now. Somewhere, I think I mentioned the fact that the dad of Baby refused to come into the hosp for his baby son's dismissal ceremony. Which seemed very odd at the time. It was such a big deal, the whole video taping of it all, the champagne, the dressing up and hair do-ing of the little girl. And when the whole ceremony moved outside to Papa's car (a shiny black Mercedes-type with dark windows) and someone stuck their head inside the car to congratulate Papa, he sharply turned away and would look at no one. And I wondered Who are you? Are you the mafia? Or some other crime boss? Or who?
And it was odd. Very.

This summer that day came up in conversation and Sharon says: Oh yes Papa. Well, this little 'family' is not his real family. This nice girl we went to see at the hosp that day... she's his mistress.
And still is. He comes down to spend time with her and the baby.
But he has a 'real' family up north.
And yes- He is wealthy. Very.
So yes- He is some sort of Something Bad.

In retrospect, I'm sure the whole hospital and video crew knew that day what was going on. But we 2 ignorant foreigners were completely in the dark.


It all made me very sad.

a plethora of posts...

...at least for now! ;)
Got on a late train yesterday- like 10.58 PM, to be exact. Heading for Poland. I always enjoy Poland. I just do. 

So... the train. That's the hitch about Poland. The train. Remember this post? Yes. This is a train full of smugglers. Which I somehow managed to totally blot from my mind in the 15+ months since I was last on it. It came back forcefully when I got on the train. The lady who had the bunk above mine was busy snooping out hiding spots for her contraband the instant she got on. Somebody stashed theire stuff in the toilet (as in bathroom) because 1 of the 2 in our car was out of commission until after 5 am when we finally left the Polish border. So maybe that's where M'lady headed off to? 

Anyway, back to the ranch. M'lady and her male travelling companion were in and out and up and down for the first 2 hours getting their stuff squirreled away. At 12.30, the conductor woke us for Ukr'n passport control. They came. They took our passports. The train moved into the wheel changing shed. (Yes, indeed, folks, they change the wheels- the track gauge in Western Europe is different than in the East.) We catnapped. About 2 or so our passports came back. We whistled on down the track... catnapping. Polish guards at 3. And at 3.30. And at 4. And... and... and... 

Unlike the time in the link above, no one took our compartment apart and I continued to catnap. Around 5 Polish time, we left the border and sailed on our merry way. Everyone in my 'house' got out at a city near the border and I got busy with some happy sleeping (I'm sure- at least I don't remember that it wasn't happy sleeping going on). 

And then. A knock. About 6 or so. I groggily come to as the conductor waltzes in. 

Excuse me, he says. I need to take care of some things here. 

And up he climbs. To the storage area accessible from the upper bunks. Wedges himself in there and begins to work away. 

Not hard to figure out what's going on. He's hauling out the stuff border patrol missed. Lots of cigarettes. Cartons of them. Bags of cartons. And when he finally left Jr Conductor Woman came in to finish bagging up the goods. And to apologize. So I just told her (very nicely and politely) 'After not sleeping most of the night, it's not very nice at all to be woken up just when you do have the chance to sleep for this.' 

So she brought me some espresso and didn't charge for it. And apologized some more. 

But I'm sure it will be the same next trip. I don't think those conductors could hang onto their jobs if they didn't agree to be part of the 'team'. 

And now, without further ado, for interrupting the only good sleep I was having all night, here's Mr Conductor Man wedged into his space... 

took this after he left just so you could get some idea of the space

they're not too fussy putting it back together as you can see

ahhh summer!

I've been digging through pix, organizing and sorting. This summer's, too. And do they (already) bring back memories! Ready? 

If it's a hot day and if you can get away with it, take a rest!

The little guy in his Packers T-shirt! I have no idea how it ended up over here... although, as someone pointed out, that's a race car on the shirt. So, uh, maybe it was a Chinese mistake that got shuffled sideways to Ukraine instead of heading for some big WI WalMart... or something.

Ah yes... Ukr in the rain! Waiting for the bus at the bus stop. We haven't seen much rain, though, this summer. This was the only time I was out in it, if I remember correctly. 

And if your transportation is a bike... you get wet. 

The kids played 'Sorry' :)

She was a tiny baby when last I saw her! Big girl!! 

He was a bit younger... & a whole lot less active. Now? His legs are in constant motion. And what a grin! 

Twins! And, like a lot of twins, very different from each other. Little Miss On The Left scored the Ukrainian flag dress... and did she love it!

crawling through chairs is good exercise...

and fun. :)

a well-stocked pantry... down in the root cellar. 

did we eat that egg plant? Hmmm.... don't remember. I hope so! 

The milk and the potatoes? Yes, we did!

There was a lot of sorting 'and such' going on in my room. I was glad to be alone for the first week so's I could spread out good and proper like! 

This guy found his way inside. And... I captured and released him (outside). This is a Big Thing as I do not like like the fluttery feeling of insect wings and legs and antennae and beaks and such... are you sure they don't have beaks??? I think they might... 

The bus driver had a sense of humor, apparently. That's a battery operated light. The sign says- Warning! Video surveillance! Haha.  

hmmm

Stuff and things

• When I graduated from high school, Mark Zuckerberg- creator of Facebook- was 5 years old.
• The man at the airport waiting for the same flight as me talking incessantly. He flies 100's of times a year. He never checks a bag. Never. When he travels with his current (his word- I get the feeling it changes often) girlfriend and she checks a bag, he leaves her upon arrival and gets a cab and goes without her. She has to get her own cab. He won't wait for her to mess with baggage claim, Oh No He Won't! (No wonder he can't get beyond 'girlfriend'.)
• There are no mosquitoes flying around outside (ie coming in through open unscreened windows) at the apt where I'll likely spend most of my time this year. None. But there are big flies. But they only buzz around for a few hours and disappear *poof* magically in the early evening. But they are annoying.
• The hotter it gets outside, the fewer windows most bus passengers here will let you open. The evil draft will get you and kill you dead. *BOOM* (faster than *BOOM*... and deader, too)
• I've sweat a lot of sweat since coming back to this side of the planet. A lot. I've also lost weight. They may or may not be related. 

Cleaning out the carburetor

Crookshanks is my buddy... my laptop buddy.
This am when I went to interact with Crookshanks... ummm.... Crookshanks had undergone a massive personality change in the night. Like he'd been kissed by a death eater. And I'm not kidding.
The desktop wallpaper was electric blue with a swoosh in it. Gone was my heart-melting picture of nephies and niecies.
Well, I did a lot of photo work yesterday so I probably moved that folder, I thought. I'll go change it.
Gulp. The options for the wallpaper in 'Control Panel' were woefully few. Ummm.
And then I noticed... no pix at all in my folder. N.O.N.E.
Went back to the desktop.
Whoa. About half the folders on the desktop are missing. MISSING.
I think this is when my heart rate changed.
The task bar at the bottom? Ha. Not even close to how I left it.
Email- missing.
Word processing- missing.
Skype- missing.
More checking.
All my files- ALL of them- GONE.
But most of the programs are there.
Now I'm hyperventilating.
I do have copies of everything. But that is a pain. Oh Boy Is It Ever.

Back to Control Panel.
Check out system restore and updates.
Sure enough- major update yesterday.
Click 'System Restore'.
Are you sure you want to do this? Once system restore has been started you can't stop.
Yes, I'm SURE. It can't be worse than what I have now.

Restore.
I go back to the kitchen to continue defrosting the fridge because I can't stand the suspense.
And then back to the living room.
There's Crookshanks, wanting to know my password.
I shakily type it in .

There are my nephies and niecies... on my wallpaper! With their parents! And other assorted relatives!
There are my folders. My programs.

Oh JOY- there it all is, just like I left it yesterday. I'm smiling and happy. My heart rate is slowing down to normal.
So is this how it feels when you get home from the grocery and realize 'Oh My Goo'ness! There's a kid missing!!' and hop back into the car, racing for town... only to find said kid jogging down the road to meet you???  kidding- I have a feeling it's not QUITE like that! ;) But boys-oh-boys was I relieved.