:)

There's a torture chamber small gym across the street from us. We go when we can. This pic has nothing to do with that. But it is kind of cute... and, as K pointed out- Granny totally missed that ping-pong ball... but maybe she's good advertising anyway???? She sure is cute at any rate!

from the weekend

Nazar found these! With Grandma or Grandpa's help. He was sooooo proud of them!

Showing off. But who cares?! She's too cute. And completely FULL of vim and zip and vigor. 

K playing with the kids. I sat in the swing and watched! ;)

Trying to hatch the watermelon ball... (it didn't work)

So cute I should be a girl! 

Find of the weekend! An old (and genuine- as in- Nina's grandparents used it) wooden hollowed out log used for grinding/pounding cereal grains into submission. Now the hunt is on for the pole they used to pound the grains. (Note- it's now used as a catch-all inside the door!)

baby piggies! 13 of them! And they move fast and constantly. And they looked for all the world like rats.

Oh- and we have a crockpot! Yay!!!! :)

October

In Ukraine...there will be pumpkins and squash. Always. Lots of them. These from this weekend. The board in the foreground? That's where they chop them up for animal feed. The nicest ripe ones will be eaten by the family as porridge...often mixed with rice.

Soon to be November, I'm sure. And just where did the days go? Not long ago it was New Year's. Now it's nearly the end of the year. Old Year's. Or something.

It's that time of year when there's no heat but you wish there was. You do laundry and hang it on the lines and it's still damp 2 days later. You use your camel hair blanket (just in case you don't remember this subject which some people thought was seriously funny... harumph- you're just jealous...I'm sure!) plus wear all the pj's you have and are glad to stay under the covers as long as possible. You can use the balcony as a 2nd refrigerator. It's warmer outside than in and you're never quite sure how to dress because being inside won't give you any idea at all about what it feels like outside.

And...part of the fall routine here in this town, apparently, is shutting off the water to the whole city. Yup. You got it. The Whole City. No One Has Water Right Now. No ONE. (That means we don't, either.) That means the smallest-room-in-the-house ummmm (smellsLikeAnOuthouse). heh. That means I took a 'bath' with 2 cups of water tonight. (You want to know more? Oh.. ok. 'nuff said about that!) That means my hair needs a wash and will continue to need a wash. That means we're just Really Glad we actually did a load of laundry yesterday while we still had water. That means we ate at a pizza place for lunch today and closed our minds to the haunting monsters-under-the-bed question- Just how are they washing dishes back there with no water?

Ah yes. Never dull here, oh no it isn't! 

How is it nearly a month (AGAIN) since the last post? What is up with me?
Well... this blog never did have any obligations attached to it (in my mind) so I guess nothing! Nothing is up with me. I do have a pile of stuff in my head and on my hard drive that I eventually plan/want to write about. But.
So what is up? Life for one.
And, amid the busyness of our day to day life, life has also been this:

We took a long walk in a park and saw a lot of bridal parties... including this one (well- ok, this is just the bride and groom and photog) on the way home. 

Someone in this building has twins. The double stroller is always parked under the stairwell in the entrance of the building. In fact, looks like 2 strollers there. I've been seeing this all summer.

And ok- it's not summer anymore. This granny was out in her garden working the other day. This is definitely a huge part of life right now as people clear out the last of their gardens. This one was in a large field near our apartment building. Several dozen families (I'm guessing) have plots in it and on a good sunny day the place is crawling with people.

Anyone know what this plant is? There's a large field of it nearby...

ahhh- it's sideways... ooops
Well anyhow- anyone know what it is???? I thought a weed; K says Can't be- it looks too planted. 

Sorry California. You want poppies? We got 'em. And they're purty, too. And they're still (again?) blooming. :) They are happening!

And this. Canola. Rape Seed. Can you double-crop this stuff? Because it sure seems late in the year for it to be blooming. And will it actually produce a harvest? What say the farmers?

And these Very Cheery Beauties!

And, of course, Life has been food. I love food. ;)
Someone fixed fixed this (German eggs in mustard sauce) for our lunch a month ago in Germany. There is no good pic online that actually resembles what we had (and what I tried to recreate last week). But here's a verbal depiction:
-White sauce (about a TBS of flour's worth) with about a TBS regular yellow mustard
-Served over hard-boiled halved eggs and boiled potatoes.
I'm not a huge fan of German food but this qualifies as comfort food, in my opinion. It is creamy yellow (what's not comforting about that?) and mild and delicious. You can play around with the amount of mustard. The veggie broth in the sauce adds a nice flavor. I did NOT use boullion cubes- they're full of MSG you know!
and another day's lunch- savory millet- this needs some work yet. I didn't make it into patties but served it in place of rice with meat. Flavor was good but definitely need to start with less liquid and add if you need more. Wished it were drier. But going to try it again and see how it goes. 

ps

Dear Fellow Bloggers,

You know I love you and want to show it when I comment on your 'please prove you're not a robot' captcha blogs. No kidding. Sometime over the past several months, those captcha's have gotten a lot harder and sometimes it takes 3, 4, 5 or more tries before I get the letters and numbers right. Not that you shouldn't have those things. I understand. Really. I do. Mostly. 
I am not a robot. I am not a robot. I am not a robot. I am not a robot. I am not a robot. I am not a robot. I am not a robot. I am not a robot. I am not a robot. I am not a robot. I am not a robot. I am not a robot. 
If I repeat it often enough, I might believe it even if I can't reproduce that captcha to prove it. Truly. I am not a robot. 

Sincerely,
Not-A-Robot Me...

just another Monday

I was glad for every bit of caffeine I had today. Every drop.

 Really, it's been a good day... for the most part. Life happens and we go with it. I'm learning that lesson... I hope.
My time in Poland is rapidly drawing to a close and while I always love being here, I'm always happy to head back across that wild eastern border to where it's a tad less civilized a tad more muddy and tad less organized a tad more... well, Ukrainian. :)
I was asked many times while in the US recently- Are you homesick for Ukraine? Do you miss Ukraine? The answer was somewhat surprising for me and a bit disturbing at first. No, I did not. I was too busy soaking up the rarity of being in the US to mourn what I was temporarily removed from. I was comforted by the certainty that if I couldn't return to Ukraine... I would feel differently. Fitting back into life in the US isn't always easy when you've been away for 5 years. But. There is nothing like the the feel of US soil under your feet, the taste of US air in your mouth. The sight of the dear dear faces of loved ones who are in the US. There is nothing to compare to that. There is nothing that compares to the Red White and Blue snapping in the breeze over your head. Nothing. So- I've come to terms with my mixed feelings. I know that my love for my place here is no less nor is my love for the people I'm with here any less for loving the US and all she holds for me. I loved every minute there. I hope I profited from it in ways that matter most. Having said all that- I'm happy to be here again. Leaving is never easy. But being is dear, is precious. Home truly is where the heart is. And my heart is in me, thanks. :)
 Onward. You need some comic diversion. Right? ;)

from Neatorama

I hear you. Sometimes what you need is a flamethrower. I'm back in the land of matches, too!

oh boy. Do I know this feeling. About so many things electronic. About this sweet laptop. About that smarter-than-me-phone I use. Really, if they just called 'aps' 'programs'...I think I could cope a tad bit better. I. Just. Don't. Get. So. Many. Things. 

On the other hand- it fills my world with mystery and magic! Because it's just like magic!

this one just made me smile...that's why

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. 

When I came downstairs this morning, I found my sister's oldest crashed in Mom's easy chair. He'd gotten up early and then crawled into the chair and slept another 3 hours at least! ;)

Currently, there is fierce competition over who gets the couch each night! 

Time is passing oh so quickly

All the schools around here are out. So why are the buses still running? Do they now run buses for summer school? Do that many kids have to do summer school? {shiver shudder} Where's the fun in that?

An update wouldn't hurt, I'm sure. 

IN is wonderful even if we're still in the middle of a dusty dry drought here. Wow. Across the lake from Detroit it rained all of the end of last week (and cooled off nicely) so I was hoping that was happening here, too. We're not that far away, after all. And just north of Detroit it's nice and green again. But down here, no such luck. It did cool off... but dry as can be. Dear little plants in the ground- I'm really sorry. I will try to get out and give you a drink today! Love, Me

And yes, time is F-L-Y-I-N-G. Oh My Goo'ness. 

I have massive amounts of re-packing to do... that's just how I do it- pack and sort and repack and sort and repack again and again. Apparently I'm not such a good original sorter. Or something. I dare say I will have too much stuff still, in the end. But trust me Folks- It's less than it was!!!

Just before heading off to Canada, my good friend's husband (who is also a good friend- Thanks A!) helped me figure out what to get for computer work/internet connection/etc for the next 5 years (or however long). I like Dell. I have a very clear memory of the first time I ever touched a Dell and thinking- I want one of those one day! Ok- it's not a fancy-pants anything... but I just like it. I think I like it for the same reason my dad always liked Pontiacs- they're just sort of average but good all-around everything. And the hardware is durable. Very. So, yest afternoon I started the daunting task of moving over onto this machine- which is smaller and much redder than its predecessor. Only it was Easy-As-Pie. I switched over to Chrome for my internet browser a few years ago because it's so much faster. So, once I signed into Chrome on this machine, everything was there. :) And moving the stuff from my hard drive was a breeze with the external hard drive. Yippee.

Sorry to bore you with all that... but it did make my day! 

Now... off to look at my still-sleeping-and-darling nieces and nephie!!! And long distance cuddle my nephies and New Niece down in the city. Did I tell you I have another niece?!? A grand beautiful darling sweet wonderful niece?!?

 And to pack! Again! xo 

dreams are...

And last night, I dreamed about my new niece. And that was the best mind party ever!!! <3 <3 <3

We're not really red necks.... are we???

Could not resist this! There’s a Little One due soon… nicknamed ‘Pea Pod’… we’ve been talking to and about Pea Pod for months now.

Well Little One, Darling Pea Pod… this here chair is going to be the funnest thing you’ll find. And you should be about ready for it come Aug or so… 

You've got to see my roadkill!

We were sitting around the breakfast table when the doorbell rang. A very excited familiar and dear person waltzed in. I've got something for the potluck today, Anita, She says. You've never seen roadkill like this, She says. And she hauls in a box. With a fish. The river's been a bit high, She says. After lots of laughter and questioning and hurried backing away from the box we are left with no choice but to believe her crazy tale: Driving down the road on the way back from an early morning garage sale run. Blink. What???? A fish on the road. In perfect condition. Did it fall off of someone's truck??? Too early in the season (so I'm told) for this kind of fishing. It was right beside the river at a spot where it's very close to the road. There's been a LOT of rain here the past 2 days. The river is high.
And that is all we really know.

Except that, No, we will NOT be eating it! ;)
Thanks, Linda, for the laugh!

The past weeks have been full and special to the brim. Filled with lots and lots of special people. Yest I said good-bye to most of my WI sisters... and had to fight back tears. It's getting to be 'that time' now. Each time spent with someone is the last for a long time. And I'm very aware that it is the last time ever with some... and sometimes I wonder who will be the unexpected 'last time'. That's a bit morbid but that is life and I'm well aware that every year brings unexpected and permanent partings. And so, I've been soaking up these days, these last days of WI. There are lots of pix, some I'll post, most I won't. All I'll savor.

And now... it's time to join the rest of the household out in the main living space and prepare for the gathering here today. Yes, a potluck. No, no fish! ;)
xo

Pizza Part 2

Several have asked about the follow-up of the pizza day- this is long overdue.

Dad, Mom and I were on deck at 7.20 am Saturday (the following day) to help sell pizzas. There were 30 teams working Amish neighborhoods. I drove; my cousin and 1 of her young cousins took the pizzas and the collection bucket to the doors. We started out with 95 pizzas; by 10.10, we were out of pizzas.
Note- you can show up at 7.something AM at an Amish house and sell them stuff... and they'll be smiling and dressed and buying... and in the middle of their day's work. Well- if you're Amish or your cause is tied to them, that is! ;)
Amish areas have an 'Amish Directory'- sort of like a plat book- very detailed maps showing individual property- only they include only the Amish of that area and are organized by church district. Each team had copy of a page or 2 from the Directory with a highlighted route to follow. Our route was about 4 - 5 miles long. We drove into the yard of each Amish home, the 2 girls with me went to the door, explained what the pizzas were for and usually sold at least 1 pizza. Everything was by donation. Money (or checks) were collected in a plastic ice cream bucket with a hole cut into the lid. Several people gave $$ but wouldn't take a pizza.
Since they have no health insurance (or any insurance), they expect to help each other. It's part of being a member of the church, as nearly as I could tell. We only stopped in at one 'English' (non-Amish) place because of close ties between them and my aunt and uncle and their family. The area our team was in is so heavily populated with Amish that there is some sort of fund-raising drive there nearly every weekend.
Our group got back in pretty good time. Mom and Dad were way out on the western edge of things so were among the last to get back. While I waited for them, I hung around drinking coffee and chatting with my uncle's family while they sorted and counted the proceeds (and then sent them to the bank). They needed to average just over $5/pizza to break even and had nearly doubled that by the time we left. My uncle was pleased. (I have no idea what kind of a dent that made in the total cost of the operation.) 

A Cup of Coffee, please!

We heard something interesting Weds that's been rolling around in my head since then. Sometimes we feel like we need a boost, something to get us through the rest of the day, an experience; something to make the 'yawns' go away for a bit. So we have a cup of coffee or take some vitamins or eat an energy bar... or a whole lot of other literal and figurative things... when really, what we need is to go to bed and get some sleep/get some rest. I think I need to mind this...

But... there's something very nice about a cup of coffee! And... poor Zero... he's just so... so... in need of very clear instructions. I feel like him a lot of the time! ;)