story time

Saw a pic of an old WI friend today playing the piano- name of Charles V.
Once upon a time we were on spec mtg rounds up in Northern WI- there was a piano there- we love that! Play, they said. I tried- but we all know who the pianist is in this crowd (of 2)- he sits down. Sing, they said... hmmm... I tried. I love to play the piano and to sing, but I'm not really sure how good I am- you don't have to have any talent whatsoever to enjoy something- esp singing, believe me, I know (my thoughts go to A's little 10 year old son, Sashko- stand back... way back!) Well, anyway, I sang...and in the middle of some song it dawned on me that C & I were the exact same height... when he sat and I stood! I proly stopped singing about then but who remembers trivia like that?
Another CV story. Wisc Dells work project- C&C are in the new house now (and Annette and I had moved our junk in by then, too) but there's heaps left to do- not just for them, but for me, too- since I by then know that my WI days are fast coming to an end. Sometimes at the end of the day, the boys would come into the house and do stuff like play the piano. I distinctly remember being nearly hyperventilating because of all the sorting, sifting, packing I had to do and because of wondering whatever in the world had prompted me to say, Sure, I'll go to Ukr... in the fall... this year... very soon. What I really wanted to do was curl up in a corner behind the furniture in the living room, hold a blanket, suck my thumb and listen to CV play the piano- Gwen A's piano playing evokes the same response, by the way; so does Denise B's. [major aside: If you really know me, that pic isn't so hard to imagine. Deb- the greatest college roommate and possibly best friend a person could ever have had in time of real need- told me once: I used to think you were the most laid back person I'd ever met; after living with you I realize that's the furthest thing from the truth. And it is. I don't really stay calm inside but I can put on a good show... sometimes.]
So, in closing I'd like to say: I'm glad he's still playing the piano! The world's a better place for it...

edit: it's sort of a 'Saul and David' thing... I'll keep all javelins out of my hands, though. I know who my friends are and, even if I can't calm myself down [lol] I won't try killing them for it! ;)

very important question

While we, once again, wait to hear from A about what else is happening today.
I have this amazon.com gift certificate that's sort of rotting and wasting away. AND I've been fending off various 'you-really-can't-live-without-an-external-hard-drive-you-know' people for so long that, really, they've just worn me right down...or something. SO- I sauntered on over to amazon (for the very first time in my life, as far as I know) and got to looking at external hard drives... well groan. What do I look for? how fast? how much space? what color? (because right now that is the only thing I can wrap my mind around when it comes to external hard drives.) Here is page 1 of a gazillion. HELLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
Really.

In other news- today is Ft Wayne sp mtg- and my whole family is there (except my poor hard-working, bring home the bacon bro-in-law who's stuck back in NE- and I'll bet he had a good night's sleep last night)! And yest I talked to every single one of them! All of 'em! Only the babies were reluctant to answer! And, there was a webcam involved, so I saw them! Wow! (this is a paragraph of exclamation points, all of them absolutely needed!!)!! !! Oh, and Aunt Lissa did all the girls' hair- ever see twin 2 year olds and a 3 year old with French twists?! Well, it's heart-stoppingly cute! Wow, it was quite a fix...I'm surprised I didn't dream about them
!!

pepsi chicken

Waiting for A to come over, so here I am (you missed me, right?)
As promised yesterday, lunch today was Mrs Wolfe's pepsi chicken- which is the easiest barbecue chicken I've ever met.
Mix 2 cups of Pepsi and 1 cup of ketchup. Put chicken (raw- that didn't even enter my mind until the first person I talked to about this dish said, You start with cooked chicken, right? ummm NO!) in kettle, pour sauce over, cook on stovetop, med high for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Keep a close eye on it at the end to keep it from burning.

The story? (This is what I'm best at... I have 10 more things to tell you- really, Justin, I'm so glad you ever said that- it proves beyond a doubt, despite your drop-dead gorgeous good looks that we are, indeed, close relatives.) So the story. See cooking is scary... it used to be anyway. Back when I first got to WI I was a bit overwhelmed at the size of the noon crowds at preps...and totally blown away by the thought that I might have to... yipes... you mean ME? In the KITCHEN??? Aaarggghhhhhhh Where's my inhaler? Oh right, I don't have one... a brown paper bag then...) So, this one Sun, we have lunch with the sweetest little couple- and would you believe, her name has slipped my mind, but I think it was Bernita. Anyway, I do know her last name. And she served this great chicken. And I knew that I was facing chicken in the Menomonie kitchen the very next day... oh mercy me. How'd you do this, I ask? Her eyes absolutely sparkled- I mean there were lights in them- and she giggled. And gave me the above recipe. Wow... I think I might be able to handle that... and I did... and the rest was no problem. The hardest part about the whole thing is cleaning and cutting up the chicken...

peeking

saw a few of these this afternoon... kind of fun. But hmmm, do you really care and do you really need to know? It does sort of thrill some sort of staring-at-you-for-hours thing in me to read yours, though- so here's mine. The peek- where you fill in the part that's not in bold... (since you couldn't figure that one out by yourselves.)

1. Maybe I should give the drunks a break. Then again, maybe not.
2. I love life.
3. People would say that I'm (actually, this is a mystery to me- and it’s maybe just as well).
4. I don't understand the internet; but I’m very happy that it is.
5. When I wake up in the morning I like to have 20 min or so to think and ponder before I have to hit the floor. And I hate to be woken up with a sudden infusion of light- like snapping on the lights in a dark room. Please please have the courtesy to wake me up gently. (Thank You.)
6. I lost a lot of things in my suitcases. You think it’s simple when you don’t have a house? HA!
7. Life is full of fascinating people and things.
8. My past is past. Thank goodness. I hope it stays there.
9. I get annoyed when people jump lines.
10. Parties are ok. Actually, I really enjoy bopping around in a large group of people…I just don’t necessarily think of it as a party.
11. I wish I was naturally skinny…and had curly hair. OK?
12. Dogs are great; I love them- especially if they’re outside and don’t sleep in flower beds.
13. Cats are pretty cool, too.
14. Tomorrow I’m making Mrs Wolfe’s ‘Pepsi Chicken’ barbecue! Yay!
15. I have low tolerance for drunks. Also for me, it just probably comes as a big surprise to most.
16. I'm totally terrified of drowning and heights…and birds in confined spaces.
17. I wonder if I can just leave this blank. I wonder if you really need to know…
18. Never in my life have I seen the US Capitol.
19. High school was an anxious time in my life.
20. When I'm nervous I eat.
21. One time at a family gathering too many of my cousins (and I) were on my Grandpa J’s swing (suspended from the ceiling) and it crashed to the cement floor; I always felt like it was my fault…
22. Take my advice: keep peace in your family- you need them. (I’m the queen of good advice, after all…groan.)
23. Making my bed is not the first (or 2nd) thing I do in the morning- but it does get done every single morning.
24. I'm almost always fussing about something. I’m trying to change that. Sighhhh…
25. I'm addicted to coffee.
26. I want someone to hug my nieces and nephews for me! xo

Now I'm going to bed. Good Night!

life as usual

so what more is there to say, eh? Nothing too new or exciting here. We were out in the mountains for a few days earlier this week; very nice to see our friend V and her family again. Her elderly mother was there- she's quite a case. All cute looking but don't let that fool you- she's plenty feisty underneath.

Did you know that skinny people can snore with the best of them? Yep, this is true. Tues night on the train going to V's, there was a pretty young bean-pole thin kid in our compartment with us. I shoved my earplugs in and turned my back to the world...and then heard this deep rumble. Unplugged myself- wow, that dude had more snore/pound than anyone I've ever heard. We were both (Ala and me, that is) very impressed!

Which brings up another Anita-on-the-train story... sighhhhhh... there are several, I'm afraid. Jan, specials. Sharon, Christine and me in one compartment; Bill and Martin down the hall. There is also a slightly-larger-than-you-I've-had-a-drink-tonight-thanks man in with us. He's on the top bunk. I'm across the aisle from him. He has another beer and "'Night 'night world." And he had a lot of snore in him...and it was all getting out. Whoa. So after about 30 min, I *cough*. SNOOOORE I clap my hands. SNOOOORE more coughing and 'noises' on my part- you know- polite ROLL-OVER-YOU-PERSON-YOU noises. No response. None, whatsoever. And, I'm pretty sure that I'll be bothering the neighbors, not to mention Christine and Sharon in a min. I dig around in my purse and find a pen and *poke poke* Hugngh?? SNOOOORE more pokes. nothing (meanwhile, I can see someone I know roaming the hallway- haha, he can't sleep, either- really, that's not nice of me, I know it, but this same rather snowy-white-haired-person-who-shall-[MH]-remain[MH]-unnamed had told Mr slightly-larger-than-you-I've-had-a-drink-tonight-thanks "Listen man, if those women give you any trouble come to me and I'll straighten them out"- hiss and spit from the female contingency- believe me, this Mr slightly-larger-than-you-I've-had-a-drink-tonight-thanks did not need ANY back up or help or anything. After what seemed like hours, I got so disgusted I reached over and yanked the pillow out from under his head...and was sorely tempted to press it down firmly onto his face since he never did wake up enough to quit snoring. When telling the story to some of our friends, they laughed and said, "Why didn't you write something about his snoring on his arm, in Eng and Ukr?" Well, the reason I didn't is because I guess I just didn't think of it. I'm beginning to see that is proly the only thing that stopped me. Really. I don't like drunks and I don't want you snoring in my space. I can see I'm not getting easier to live with in my old age. I'm not soft and fuzzy or cuddly or anything. Unless you're under 7 years of age and very very closely related to me- like Forrest, Owen, Justin, JennaMae, Madi or Miki. To them, I am all love and hugs. Everyone else- look out. Well, mostly you're safe. Since you don't drink.

And, Yes, Duane, I really did it. And Yes, I really did dump out their stuff the last time.

Ask Me, Ask Me!!

Was out just now, walking down the sidewalk. A trucker (as in 18 wheeler) pulls up at the red light, rolls down his window and hollers to me. What? I holler back. J;aweiejf ;sajjdf;dlfaj? Umm, I shrug my shoulders, I don't know. Then my brain filters out the truck noise and the other traffic noise and this is what's left: What town is this? Oh; and I holler back with the RIGHT ANSWER! He nods his thanks and pulls away from the light. I just LOVE it when I actually know the answer! Especially over here, where I still often don't understand the system or the dialect or some part of the question to have a hope of knowing the answer. Ahhh... :) Let's have a Dew to celebrate...oh wait, there is none. Maybe tea?? Good enough!

On the train again with Louis

Why I like Louis L'Amour: "The desert was a school, a school where each day, each hour, a final examination was offered, where failure meant death and the buzzards landed to correct the papers." Louis L'Amour, Shalako
Cool sentence, cool metaphor. How about those buzzards? Correcting papers. Huh?! Correcting papers?! Interesting. I do love the way Mr L could verbally paint a scene.

Why I don't like Louis L'Amour: He was very content to leave stories open-ended. Just finished "The Cherokee Trail" and, OK, the good guys won, the bad guys are gone- but there's still a widow with a young dau and 'adopted' son there and 2 unmarried men in the pitcture. Now, obviously she will marry someone sometime and live happily ever after. Would it have killed Mr L to just once [once, I say] tie up the rest of the loose ends? I don't need gush and mush- just neatly tied strings, tucked away, nothing hanging out there to trip you up... That's all. Just tell us her future last initial, Ok?

lunch

My version of what Joanne Smith calls a wet burrito. Speaking of JS- the best homemade Mex/Southwest fare I've ever had was either hers or Gay Q's... they're in a dead heat.

Pour about 1/4 inch oil in skillet (while it heated I made them): start with soft shell; generous amount of cheese down the middle, drizzled with plain yogurt, a dab of yesterday's leftover steak, pepper and carmelized onions (from the steak fajitas we had), rice and corn, salsa. Wrap that puppy up and pop her into the skillet, seam side down; after about a min or 2 (depending on how hot the oil is) turn, pressing down firmly with spatula. Heap cheese on top- it melts a bit; smother with salsa.

Now, the deal with this is we can't get salsa here, nor can we always get all the ingredients for it (namely chili peppers). So, this is my homemade stuff- not bad. Since I have a major disagreement with raw onions, I started by chopping an onion and then, in a small kettle, covering the onions with white vinegar (one more for white vinegar- you've gotta love it!) and dumping in a bunch of black pepper; bring this to a boil, drain the vinegar off and rinse. Now, pour tomato juice in a kettle and simmer with the onion, a heap of pressed garlic (my theory is if a little is good, a whole lot is really good and more is even better) and a liberal dose of chili powder- let it simmer for, oh about 40 min. Chop tomatoes and (since there was no cilantro around) parsley- lots, see garlic theory. Shut off the heat and let it cool about 15 min add the tomatoes and parsley. It's not bad, really... in fact, we rather enjoyed it!

Good Morning

First there was the boy named Sue; now this...

From this morning's yahoo news homepage- too much snow in Quebec; how's WI doing?

This gives me the heebie-jeebies just looking at it- my knees turned to jelly right here in my chair at my desk; I mean, How is this NOT premeditated self-destruction? If you could tie it behind a fast boat, Ryan would get 2- one for Dad and one for Rory's 1st bday... tell me it's not true...

AAAnnddddddddd I'm working on this:

see the little needle and the little stitchies?

I have this outfit that I like... a lot

And I managed to mess it up with: Bleach, Shoe Polish and a hole; Karen E (who should be coming back any day- really, we miss you, we want you to come back- could you please HURRY UP already???) where was I? Right- K left me some fabric with which to make new appliques to cover them up:

and:

Hence the little needle with the stitchies:oh, And the Work Station... I mean, you need to see this, right?

In other news- since this is what it's all really about and that other stuff is just the diversion- more plans made, more cancelled, more made- tomorrow we go back to T's (the 'it's-a-village-no-it's-not' place) and then hopefully HOPEFULLY we see Teresa on Mon. Did I mention that I had an actual LIVE phone conversation with her? Yippee... and she wants to see us- double Yippee! So, Mon looks like we can do it!

mouth is shut

let's see... blush... so, short and sweet... water- yes; in all the pipes- yes; in all the faucets- yes; about 2 seconds after [jon arbuckle] just happened to check to see if there might just might be filters at the ends of the faucets where... well, anyway... 2 filters off, basic cleaning done and soaking in a vinegar solution (let's hear it once more for WHITE VINEGAR) and 3rd to come off in the am soon as [jon arbuckle] figures out how to pull the washer out from the wall and finds it...
the only unblushing thing about this is that [jon arbuckle] figured it out before [jon arbuckle] called the plumber or landlord

odds and ends

Another big discovery (my life is just FULL of them): You know how there are some shirts that you love and wear and wear and wear- but they acquire, how shall we say this?- they acquire a fragrance that is not really what you'd squirt on yourself if it came in a bottle. I've tried different things with moderate success. So, here's what really really works- dissolve a bit of powdered laundry detergent in warm water (you don't want heaps of water- just enough to get everything good and wet- like some visible at the sides after the shirt- or whatever- is in the water, but NOT heaps)- put that offensive thing in the water fragrant part up; dump about a cup of straight white vinegar directly on the fragrance, poke it down so it's just submerged in water and then walk away and forget the whole thing for about an hour. Come back and launder...

No explanation for this- there's a lady outside cleaning up the yard around our apt building- maybe I should offer her one of these?

The salad I'm going to try some day... when I get ahold of all the dressing ingredients... and find fresh cilantro...

And a question: Why does Blogger arbitrarily stick in chunks of white space sometimes... where I don't WANT white space... it's like the enter key got hit about 10 times in a row... but it didn't, I promise...

another bad pic... of neat people

Anyone know these guys? :) It was great to see them again!

taken with a cell phone by an inexpert (cough) photographer

bah humbug

So the water... yes the water...
Water is ultra important... you need it for Oh So Many Things
Let me just tell you a little (or not) story. There once was a water disaster in this apt... and it has greatly affected the behavior of every subsequent occupant of said apt. In short, a shoddy workman installed a cheap valve on the main water line; the 2 residents (I was not one of them) left for a long weekend (or something). Yup, the valve burst (I suppose this happens because of frequent changes in pressure in the pipes- and sometimes the pressure's quite high) but no one could get into the apt for quite some time to do anything about it- picture this: the downstairs neighbors are getting totally flooded, no one's home here and now they frantically try to reach the landlord. I can only (thankfully) imagine it all, but the look on T's face and her tone of voice and her twitching and convulsing and impulsively looking over her shoulder as she tells me has a great effect on me: whenever we leave, we shut off the water at the main valve... no exceptions.

ok- Ala and I are getting ready to leave about 3 weeks ago... I do the water thing... only it doesn't shut off. I mean it doesn't shut off- handle is in the off position and water gushing out of the tap (don't ask why I even checked, have no idea)... step back, size it up, try it again (I mean, we'll just leave out the fact that I have to vault up to that valve to begin with- it's only about 10 feet off the ground)... water gushing... also getting closer to bus/train time (I don't remember) all the time... do it all again... water gushing- I did feel something 'give' in the valve at one point. Well, I really have no choice, so I hastily back out of the bathroom (this is where the valve is), eyeing up that valve the whole time and mentally promising it all kinds of misery if we have another disaster... we're gone for 10 days and I'm all the time trying NOT to think of water pipes and valves and floods and neighbors...

come back- race into the bathroom- no flood, no broken valve... and no water in the tap. Weird- how did it do that? I turn the valve- water in the tap. Now this is odd...

for 2 weeks, we have very little water pressure in the kitchen or the bathtub... too little to effectively run the hot water heater... not to mention no water at all for the first 24 hours after we get back the next 2 times... hmmm... seriously annoyed because, What is this city doing, anyway? Let's have some decent service if you please. But, weirdest of all there is water in the bathroom sink (full blast, in fact, fire hydrant pressure) and to one other thing

get back today, same ol' same ol'- talk to the neighbors (this is how we got the sweet rolls pictured down there somewhere)- water's fine everywhere. wheels begin to turn in my head (finally)- go back to the bathroom and take a good look at that valve and pipe... OK- so there's one main umm main and it gets shut off at one valve and then the pipe cont's down to a T joint- pipe to the right goes to the sink and this:
pipe to the left goes to the bathtub and kitchen. OK- so do you suppose something has busted loose in that nasty valve/pipe and gone downstream to the joint and just happened to go to the left instead of the right? how lucky are we that we can still flush??? (really just wanted an excuse to post this pic... so had to come up with a story... BUT it's a TRUE story- or at least we'll know for sure after the plumber's been here)

now pass the kleenex

I'm feeling in need of olives because I'm feeling like E.T. It's just like that sometimes. But, I check my email on the bus coming home and find one from my Trude-friend... and there's an email add for the 'dropped-off-the-face-of-the-earth' studentka... immediately fire off an email to her. Waiting for an answer (am I patient enough?)

come back to the apt, water situation is still the same- 2 taps have it, 2 don't- can't honestly say that it makes me anything but ummmm, ok, like this:

But, I have a phone date for 5 pm with Teresa's aunt's telephone... and Teresa answers the phone...well will wonders NEVER cease. We have another cell ph # for her...and can hopefully see her next week

Talk to A about seeing her tonight. Remember Mt 13? A long time ago? Still trying to finish it. She comes over with cheesecake (XOXOXO) and then tells us this, in the middle of our time together. "I'm just so happy I'm one of those fish that got caught by the fishers of men." I don't (and don't plan to) often share things like that here- too public- but, OK, my attitude finished doing a 180... right there. And I tried my best not to bust out like a leaky faucet.

the cake (with some rolls from the neighbor):

the truly sweet thing about it is that Ala avoids dairy products, in the main... she forced herself to eat a tiny piece... you know, to say she had... I managed to force myself to ONLY eat 1/3 of what you see here... I will hurry up and eat the rest before she comes to her senses... with maple syrup... I mean eat it that way... you know, drizzle on the top... oh my... and I've already brushed my teeth... forget the olives...

The accompaniment to the cheesecake- my favorite Earl Grey tea (Ahmad Tea Co) in my favorite cup- that's my 'my-little-sis-gave-me-this-Holly-Hobbie-cup' cup... it ranks right up there with the scarves from Mom. I wonder if you could call me
ummmmm... sentimental

And in closing: The willow trees outside our windows have little tiny wee baby leaves on them!

pass the green olives, please

This is how I'm feeling today... either that or like ET... Don't have time to look for a pic, tho.

This'll curl your toenails.

And this is too crazy.

Happy Birthday!

To Aleigh! Didn't think I'd know or remember and all that, didja?! :) well, really I wouldn't have but f/b sent me a bday reminder! So, hope you have a great day! Xo

Okaaaaaayyyyy

So the I've tried to post the last one twice-and it's a no-show...so I reckon it'll be on here twice when it does show...so just ignore that and I'll fix it when we get back to the other apt... Adios

or maybe I'll leave them both up since they both got a comment and I mean, what do I do with the comment???? Come onnnnnn

Stopping by

This finds us on the road again (going places where we've often been)...so I'm once more back to sending from my mobile device. The pic is of my work station in this cozy little apartment (cozy only because I have mastered the art- Thanks, Trude!- of building a good hot fire in the stove and keeping it nice and toasty without smoking up the whole house). Speaking of- remember the Mother-in-law post? One of the first on here...well, she's STILL 'ours'; one of her self-imposed duties is to zip over here when she hears we're coming and build a fire...but the funny thing is- you'd think that, with years of experience, she could build a smokeless fire...but she can't. Which really chokes you up...we finally convinced her legitimate dau-in-law (our friend) that it's not necessary to 'trouble' her like that, the days are getting quite warm and there's just no need... And so, this time, the house has been smoke-free. With allergy meds, I'm managing just fine- can breathe and all...that is cause for celebration! Really, we need to get Josh R over here to build the fire! I will never forget him and the fireplace in their W Rapids house...those were some major fires!

Anyway, we are aunties!!! Yay! Our contact back west had a little girl this morning- no name yet.

ANNNNNND- when we got to the girls' Thurs eve, the first bit of news was- Sveta's going to America for the summer! Oh really, I say- where? To Wisconsin. Well, do tell! Where in WI? To Wisc Dells... Of all things. So that is the big news of the day there. It's a summer work program for students, so I have a feeling she won't be having much free time, but I did say I would see about having some of my friends look her up.

Today is International Women's Day- a holiday as important here as Mother's Day is at home. So, basically a quiet day for us as people are busy with their families. We did see our friend and her kids... Yay.

Take care and have a good weekend! Sp Mtgs in IN! Thinking of you all!

Stopping by

This finds us on the road again (going places where we've often been)...so I'm once more back to sending from my mobile device. The pic is of my work station in this cozy little apartment (cozy only because I have mastered the art- Thanks, Trude!- of building a good hot fire in the stove and keeping it nice and toasty without smoking up the whole house). Speaking of- remember the Mother-in-law post? One of the first on here...well, she's STILL 'ours'; one of her self-imposed duties is to zip over here when she hears we're coming and build a fire...but the funny thing is- you'd think that, with years of experience, she could build a smokeless fire...but she can't. Which really chokes you up...we finally convinced her legitimate dau-in-law (our friend) that it's not necessary to 'trouble' her like that, the days are getting quite warm and there's just no need... And so, this time, the house has been smoke-free. With allergy meds, I'm managing just fine- can breathe and all...that is cause for celebration! Really, we need to get Josh R over here to build the fire! I will never forget him and the fireplace in their W Rapids house...those were some major fires!

Anyway, we are aunties!!! Yay! Our contact back west had a little girl this morning- no name yet.

ANNNNNND- when we got to the girls' Thurs eve, the first bit of news was- Sveta's going to America for the summer! Oh really, I say- where? To Wisconsin. Well, do tell! Where in WI? To Wisc Dells... Of all things. So that is the big news of the day there. It's a summer work program for students, so I have a feeling she won't be having much free time, but I did say I would see about having some of my friends look her up.

Today is International Women's Day- a holiday as important here as Mother's Day is at home. So, basically a quiet day for us as people are busy with their families. We did see our friend and her kids... Yay.

Take care and have a good weekend! Sp Mtgs in IN! Thinking of you all!

a bad time was had by all

OK, here it is. What happened. All of it (as I remember it- and I've been seriously trying to forget it for 48 plus hours and not succeeding). I'm pretty sure my Mom tried to bring me up better; don't blame her, it's not her fault.
I'll start like this- the more I ride 'em the more I 'very-much-strongly-dislike-have-no-affinity-at-all-for' trains... esp the night ones.

Looks so innocent from here, eh? hahaha









And yes, we have it much better than some places. Ticket prices are such that we can get a sleeper compartment with 4 beds (2 above, 2 below) that are reasonably comfortable.

There you go. Upper and lower. The other 2 are across from these (it's very elementary, My Dear.)

Really, how to launch into this? We got on the train- 7.30 pm (there-abouts). Nice and early. Should be a decent night's sleep. (OK- here's where I contradict myself- I don't get 'decent-night's-sleeps' on trains- there's cigarette smoke, rocking, jolting, swaying, clanging, banging, lights flashing, hot-as-an-oven heat, people coming and going and talking and sometimes getting into your compartment at 2 am because, after all, that's when the train reaches their town so what are they supposed to do? and more... and somehow, I just get tense when we get on the train.) So we're on. In the compartment next to ours are several young males (I refuse to say 'young men' when referring to them) and they are drinking and already talking funny. I'm instantly tenser. But, I'm also prepared for moments like this. I know how and where to lock our door (and do-these guys don't look like your average ordinary drinking male Eastern Eur'n- they look more like Polish bad-attitude gang guys- and I don't like it.) Fine. Also, I have a cd player with book cd's (currently Russian) and also ultra-relaxing very soft 'you-heard-it-at-your-dentist's-first' instrumental music- because I know I might need it. I get ready for bed and plug myself in... as the party next door winds up. This goes on for hours and I keep thinking, I'll hit a stretch of Denise B (hi Denise- did you know your piano relaxes me?) soon that'll block it all out. At midnight I switch to earplugs. Sometime around 1 am, I give up and stick my head out the door and find them all congregated not in their compartment but in the hallway, spilling over in front of our door.

(this is how narrow the hallways are- this one has some much nicer people congregating in it)

I say, "Please, can you be quieter? Some of us are trying to sleep." I have not done this before because they don't seem like the kind of drunks you want to open a dialog with... but I know I'm going to do something crazy soon if I don't. So I do. One of them coke-bottle-glasses looks at me and says, "Please excuse us, I'm sorry" and there is instant silence and withdrawing into the compartment. (Turns out that guy was from another compartment and he went to bed then.) About 10 min later, they're back in the hallway and singing...loudly... I take a deep breath, open the door and see a knot of males...drunk...holding more liquor than you'd care to see... another deep breath and plunge through them to the other side and down to the conductor's compartment. "Please come do something about these guys" I say; "we have a full schedule tomorrow in Kyiv and so far haven't been able to sleep at all because of them and I asked them nicely (it really was nicely) to stop..." she follows me back down the hall. Keep in mind that she looks to be about 18 and is about 1/3 my size. She talks to them and I head back to our door. I become aware that one of the drunks is loudly complaining that I bumped him and stepped on the top of his foot when I headed down the hall (I'm sure he's right- how could anyone get through there without bodily injury?)- and he keeps on complaining about me and my getting the conductor... and at this point, IT happens. IT has never happened before. I don't even remember how or anything- suddenly I had 2 glasses of some sort of booze in my hand and dropped them on the floor and then the next minute I had a completely full bottle of vodka and bottle of beer in my hands and I was on my way to the toilet. Dumped the beer, pitched the bottle; vodka trickling out so simply drop the whole thing into the toilet and open the hole at the bottom and it hits the tracks beneath us... then I go back to bed. And this is where I think "What did you just do? Do people like you DO that?! Yikes." Huge adrenaline rush and I'm shaking...and as happens, post-adrenaline, I also fall asleep... for a bit. Fast forward to 2 am. Knocking on the door. The conductor... with a (faint) police officer... (yes indeed)- "Ma'am we need you to come down to my compartment and fill out a formal complaint"- thankfully she said that fast enough that I didn't have time to pass out before she got it all out. Away we go. First I apologize to the conductor for 'losing it'; she says, "No, no need. I'd been there 3 times already and tried to stop them and had no success; so I called the police; we're kicking them off the train..." gulp. And Whew. I'm not sure what all I thought could have possibly logically taken place, but of course, this is the thing that makes sense. There are cops always on the trains (I'm pretty sure) for just such occasions...and they have the right to 'deboard' unruly passengers. Since I talked to the conductor, they figured I was the likely one to fill out a formal complaint. Which I did. The cop dictated it to me since I've never in my live-long life done anything of the sort- and especially not over here (perish the thought). And then I signed it. And then he escorted me back to our compartment. Because them boys was NOT happy. And they were in the corridor. Gulp. And then he escorted Ala down there to co-sign. I never asked her if she was happy about that or not... not much point, really. Who would be? Well, the rest of the night was quiet all right... and short. Cops left about 2.30; train arrived at 6.30... yawn. Last night, coming back, was blissful in comparison. Somehow, I don't think this is going to help the big picture 'try-to-relax-and-sleep-on-the-train' thing... but I'm glad enough to have had a very positive experience with the law enforcement over here...just sorry it had to happen. And how sorry...

Here are some of us, at another time, happy and cozy in our compartment. That's me on the top bunk...

note: This is far and away the worst thing I've ever encountered on a train- let me make that clear. It can be noisy but never have I seen anything like this before. I've never felt unsafe on a train.

a little Tues am humor

I have a friend who sends me funny things... really funny things sometimes. Checked my email this am after getting back and found this...and it's too good not to share. So, here you go... LAUGH.

First Kiss

It's your first kiss and several questions might come to mind:

Is it the right time?
Is anyone watching?
Does your partner even want to? Is your breath fresh?
Then you say to yourself ---------
'Oh well!'and so you just go for it!!!

Happy Birthday!

to my very first punching bag! My very own brother (OK -I do have 2- but this is Paul the oldest of the 2- and the Uncle of the kiddos in the other pix.) When we were little, I'm pretty sure I got us into more trouble- but Mom caught on pretty fast- and so did Paul. Pic was taken by our brother Ken on his phone- so not the best. ***Hint: dear Uncle Paul- I'd post a different one if I had it. Not that he reads this...

Happy Spring!!

In Ukraine, spring officially began March 1st. So, in honor of days getting longer, more sunshine (yes, we've had some beautiful sunny weather lately!) and pussy willows busting out all over (not to meantion the willow trees turning yellow), here's the only pic on my iPAQ remotely springy- van Gogh's Irises. HAPPY SPRING everybody! Yay!!

Ala and I came up to Kyiv Sat eve (there is a story about that trip- I'll get it posted here); nice to have a couple days here. The trip up was so... ummm... memorable that I'm still recovering. Just in time to take another night train. There's no way, though, that this trip could be as bad as the last one...surely... Take care! And happy sunshine!

Happy Birthday!

Madi and Miki just turned 2!!! I can't believe it! That must mean it's special mtg time in IN- since I missed the births by about 24 hours due to rounds beginning. My brother Ken, loaned me his work truck (which at the time had something funky going on with the starter or the 'keep-it-running-after-you-start-it' mechanism)- what a trip. Big old Ford full of tools in the back and you had to get it good and warmed up before it would stay running. Biggest thing I've ever driven- fun, too! At the end of the trip, there was my very own little sis with 2 of the tiniest babies I've seen! Of course they weren't that small- considering they were preemies and twins- but they looked teeny-tiny to me! Anyway- here they are! Happy Birthday, Sweetie Pies!

Happy Birthday!

Owen just turned 3! He was 4 1/2 months old when I saw him first- a beautiful happy blond baby. In this picture- one of my favorites- he's 1 1/2, at conv and I guess it was hot and he was thirsty. Smart boy that he is, he knew where to go! They tell me he's a natural clown. Big hugs to the Birthday Boy!

edit: Just got a pic of the same kid same position (nearly) at 3 years of age... same fridge. Conclusion, the above pic is at home...