Summer!!

It's nearly over. I had great big visions of posting pix sooner, writing a bit- and didn't. I got distracted. Going through pix tonight and trying to find some interesting ones...they're all interesting to me! Let me know what YOU think! ;)

First off- this one's for Wand-errrrr this apron's always a hit. This year, we each picked an animal and named it after each other On a good day, the view out the upstairs windowbut there were a lot of other moments... (this one came with a rainbow- see it? You know what that means... and we had a lot of rain and a lot of storms)more rainbowrun chickie chick chicks... there's surely another storm comingyeah, thought so...pretty eh? you should see what the ground looked like...uh-huh...we had 3 hail storms this day; the last one produced big onesthey looked like cloves of garlic... these went into the freezer to show Dad laterthere were plenty (you've never seen hail, proly... right? right?)afterwards, clearing up a bit... but another one on the waymade for interesting skiesok- there was more than storms happening... we did a lot of this... and it was quite nice, thanksand some of this! Yes, that's the paddle from the middle of an ice cream-maker... and in fact, Phyllis is cleaning this one off... what's a person to do when they hand it to you, plunk? There's only one right answer...and P got it right! then there was the weekend. We were on the bus when this lovely equine specimen pulled up and patiently waited while his people had a chit-chat with someone. This is typical harness for horses in Northern Ukr; further south, there's no collar involved- just the leather.after the horse and the bus ride, we waited for someone near a coffee/ice cream/dessert stand... another situation where you have to make sure to do the right thing...yes, I think we're figuring it out!indeed we are! (that kid on the right? freshman univ student in Kyiv this fall... this just isn't right... she was about 2 inches tall when I came to Ukr... well OK- maybe 6 inches... or 10... but not very tall...at all... where does the time go?!)ah yes... then there's Murka. She's a good kitty... really...but twice we had a little incident wherein Murka-the-Good snuck inside at night. Both times she got royally chewed out by Someone... Me, in fact. So she did this.Both times. She brought me a mouse and made sure I saw it. And when I petted her, let her know I saw it, she took it off and... well, we can only assume what she did...

but I imagine it cu-RUNCH-ed and then we came to the wire... a phone call... someone's coming to sleep in this bed... soon...but that wasn't the worst of it... oh no. This bed's person was en route, too. Yikes. Boogie. I did. (and everyone had a bed by nightfall...)and then there was this sunset as I headed back across the road for the umpteenth time lugging something or other. :):)ah yes- this one has me wrapped around her wee little finger... how about those bows, eh? We nearly have the same name... not quite but almost... only she looks good in a hat and bows... heh... and then there was this... the apron... the pic is for his wife, actually... both wives should be impressed, really...and if you like potatoes (we DO, we DO) then you must peel potatoesI loved this view and the windows and door framing itMoving South

We have a combine in the wheat fieldyes, we dowhat I was trying to get but missed was the man with the pitchfork walking behind the combine periodically removing the chaff from the combine's belly. Never seen that before... (he was just glad it was a small field, he was)and then back north...

this was my across-the-aisle-neighbor on the bus I can't imagine having led a life as hard as hers must have been and still have to haul around on public transportation... she sat down and conked out... and stayed that way for a good long time.

and then there was the train ride with this little monkey-shine. She and her mom were there when we got there. Kids usually don't make for a good train trip but this one was good as gold.she was a doll... and everyone knew it!

there are more...a lot more...but this is enough for tonight. g'night!

I have a pulse... but just barely

Back in Kyiv- it's wonderful. I'm alone... and for now, I'm loving it. It's only for a day or 2. People (I'm not exactly sure yet who comes when) will be around starting tomorrow...I think.

Right now, I'm slogging through my inbox. It has stuff there I don't even remember. Got out of hand when I reformatted the laptop and then a month later, got a new email program. Somebody was going on and on about how many emails were in their inbox- like 100 or more (!!!) Ha. There are way over a thousand in mine. Afraid they'd think I was a complete slacker, I just made Big Eyes and said Yeah...I knoooooowwwwwwwwwwww

So I found this (in my ummm inbox) and it's my post of the day! Enjoy!

There were Five country churches in a small TEXAS town: The Presbyterian Church, the Baptist Church, the Methodist Church , the Catholic Church and the Jewish Synagogue.

Each church and Synagogue was overrun with pesky squirrels. One day, the Presbyterian Church called a meeting to decide what to do about the squirrels. After much prayer and consideration they determined that the squirrels were predestined to be there and they shouldn't interfere with God's divine will...

In The BAPTIST CHURCH the squirrels had taken up habitation in the baptistery. The deacons met and decided to put a cover on the baptistery and drown the squirrels in it. The squirrels escaped somehow and there were twice as many there the!

Next week The Methodist Church got together and decided that they were not in a position to harm any of God's creation. So, they humanely trapped the squirrels and set them free a few miles outside of town. Three days later, the squirrels were back.

But -- The Catholic Church came up with the best and most effective solution. They baptized the squirrels and registered them as members of the church. Now they only see them on Christmas and Easter.
Not much was heard about the Jewish Synagogue, but they took one squirrel and had a short service with him called circumcision and they haven't seen a squirrel on the property since.

ANDDDDDDDD

For all who appreciate the outdoors . . . the rarely photographed South Florida Squirrel.

back

I am

and I'm tired... but the days were fantastic
even better than that and just what I needed. My heart is full and content.

I have a bazillion pix, most of which won't make it to this site; some will. I learned more about Napoleon than you care to know but I'm sure you will hear some of it anyway.

so for now- Goodnight! xo

hello from the top

The silence from me has been long and deafening... but all that means is that the days have been equally long and excellent. Had part of last week in Belgium; turns out we were just down the road from the site of the Battle of Waterloo. As in Where Napolean Was Defeated. For Good. If you ever get to Belgium, make sure to go see this site...the 12 euros you pay to get in is nothing compared to what you see/learn/get. It was Fantastic. Here are a few pix.

the lion mound, erected sometime after the June 18, 1815 battle; it sits on the site where the Prince of Orange was wounded. The Duke of Wellington was in charge of the Allied forces opposing Napolean and is credited with the victory. He had awesome help, though, including the Prince of Orange and General Bluechar (this one gets my respect- 73 years old and in the saddle and fighting... and then fighting some more. He was amazing.)

So you can climb the steps to the top... this sign was at the bottom...

part of the view from the top. Most of the battlefield is now farmland, although they have a re-enactment of the battle each year. I was surprised that the battlefield was actually not all that large. It was a fierce battle- thousands were killed. The French infantry attacked Allied soldiers in square formations for hours- charge after charge- until they could no longer ride over the body-choked ground. Gave me the shudders.

Most of our crew. Guess Chansun took the pic as he's missing!

I'm in France now (somewhere about an hours south of Paris). It's gorgeous, the food's wonderful (that's the cooks' fault!) and everyone but me is hard at work! Good bye!! ;0

xo

all good so far

taken in NW Ukr one evening... summers there are gorgeous... Safe and sound in Belgium. Aside from a ticket mixup that ended up being not all that serious after all, our exit from Ukraine and all was uneventful. I thought I'd be catching up- emails, pix, skyping, etc...but an unexpected encounter with some antibiotics has left me mostly hanging out in bed. No worries- proly needed the rest anyway.

Yest we went to see the Battle of Waterloo battlesite. It was amazing. Crash course on Napoleon and Wellington and an old but battle-ready and truly amazing Bluecher. Turns out we're staying just minutes from the actual site of the battle. Pix later.

Happy 4th of July!

We are having super wonderful days here...better than fantastic...and it's always that way...and my 3 American roommates and I gang the Star Spangled Banner loudly and shamelessly (and somewhat horribly) just now. But I do miss being ''at home" on July 4th. And because of our summer schedule here, that's likely the way it'll be from now till forever.

So!

Happy 4th of July! And shoot off some amasing fireworks, wave a sparkler, hold your hand over your heart and salute the flag for me!

things are looking up

Uncle Barry’s here! I talked to him… that’ll put a smile on your face!

 

Just checking in…still alive… cheers!

Sunday evening

We are on a train headed north...where we hope to goodness it is less than 125 degrees...well, so it might not have been quite that hot today, but it was hot- close to (if not over) 100. Hot enough for me.
I left town early to see the little old ladies in the village. Later, Sharon put 3 early teen-type girls on a bus headed north. I got on it in the village and checked on 'my girls' right away- mostly because the middle one is prone to getting carsick...and sure enough, she was curled in her seat looking miserable with tears in her eyes. Do you want water? No. Fizzy stuff? No. Do you need to trade places with someone and sit in front? No. Well, there's a not a lot you can do for someone like that, so I parked in the seat behind her and her friend and read some stuff on my iPAQ. Suddenly there's a tear-streaked face pressed between the seats and she looks desperate. I yell at the driver who immediately pulls over and out we get...and she made it to the side of the road, thank goodness. Someone from the back of the bus passed up their bottle of fizzy mineral water- which is better for sick tummies. We found wet wipes and used them. Then we asked if someone would please trade places with her...and they mercifully did. If she can sit right in the windshield (so to speak) she's sort of ok. We pulled over again an hour or 2 later and my head snapped up. Middle Kid is once again off the bus and I shot out of there, too. Only to find her standing beside a little boy and his dad while that kid got sick- only he didn't quite make it off the bus. I can't say I was sorry it wasn't her... She got better the further and longer we were away from the bus.

The only reason this is somewhat relevant: I brought no food with me. None. Zip. Not one bite. And this is not a good thing...but I forgot- the sad simple truth. And there was no time to get any today. I'm 'in charge' of these 3 girlies...who all have real moms. Moms who send them off with liters of pop and cherry compote and kilos of tomatoes and cucumbers...and packages of cheese and sausage sandwiches...which were made hours ago and spent an uncomfortably-long period of time in the heat earlier today. (Know where this is going?) *cough* I ate a sandwich- either that or starve, right? (This is a 13 1/2 hour train trip.)
I'm thinking of pepto-bismal and mint gum.
I'll be sure to let you know how it ummmm goesssssssssssssss

Happy Father's Day!

There are 3 people I try not to forget on Father's Day- my dad, my little brother, my brother-in-law. It's in June, though (did you know that?!) which is a bad time for remembering things like cards and special emails and the like. Nary a picture with me on this thing of those 3, so- Happy Father's Day to these 3 Especially Special dads... And to the rest of you, too!

Summer showers and cute dogs

Spent a few hours this am in a village with some dear elderly ladies. Here's what my hostess has- a summer shower. It's just outside the chicken yard just beyond the house and just before you get to the outhouse (which is in the chicken yard). I might be weird but I love these showers. There's a 'boctchka' (tank of some sort) up top that collects water that heats in the sun. Get inside, pull the curtain across the doorway; turn on the tap and you have a gravity-powered shower! All while a breeze blows through the cracks in the boards. By the time you get out, if there's much breeze at all, you're half dry. It's the way to have a shower in a typical village home.

The dog? He lives there, too. He's a sweetie. Better behaved in summer (when he's not trying to get in out of the cold) than winter. He used to have friends relations that shared his yard...he seems to be the only one left. And I don't even know his name.

Otherwise known as city streets

Many years ago, the far south of Ukraine was part of what was called 'Besarabia'...and Izmail was the capital of this place. The streets pictured are pretty close to the center of town. Not bad on a day like yesterday- mostly dusty. Try it when it's been raining for a few hundred days...well...yeah...
Things are looking up here, though. They kicked out the mayor and have a new one- some hot-shot woman. She got the traffic lights going first thing. Not kidding when I say that in this city, there were traffic lights in useful and helpful places...but not a one of them worked. Now they do. There's also road construction this summer- another first (in my memory at least of this city). It'll be interesting to see what else changes.

Grilling!

Bill came into the house the other day and said- Don't forget we have a grill and we can use it.

So we ('we'...as in Bill) promptly grilled these red trout steaks (did you know there was such a thing? I looked at it and thought it was salmon...it was delish).

A few days later we had perfectly done perfectly tender and perfectly medium rare steaks... This is special indeed, since this is not a 'steak-eating' people. Having grown up on a dairy farm where we always had our own (very good) beef, I do miss red meat. This stuff was done to perfection. Just sorry there's no pic...