Honey!

We stopped on the way back into town the other day to talk to a bee-keeper. A whole slew of wagons on the edge of a field with a small shack nearby (like a ‘sugar shack’ only with a centrifuge and other honey paraphernalia) and a roadside display. The guy was quite friendly and happy to sell a small jar of honey still in the honey comb. On our way back out to the road, he informed us the display is nothing more than water because people steal those jars… I’ll have to remember that if I ever get the urge to pick it up on the cheap… ;)

Poofy

Once there was a small black and white dog, beloved of all… extra beloved, in fact. She originally belonged to the youngest child, a darling smiling blonde girl-child—since grown up and moved ‘way up north where she’s going to university. The dog, Poofy, has had umpteen litters of pups (don’t ask me what’s happened to them) and seems to be pg again. She’s also developed a cough… like a goose. She sounds like a honking goose. Since consultation with a vet pal in Australia, she’s been on 20mg of prednisolone a day- nothing fancy but no dog on this property has ever gotten daily steroids before! The cough is some better- she only honks about half as often…and now sometimes sounds like a child’s squeak-toy being stepped on! So- Poofy gets a spoonful of butter or lard or some such goody J every day with her magic meds hidden inside. And Poofy has led the kind of life that leads her to quickly swallow- without ever questioning what she’s swallowing- in one gulp AFAP (as fast as possible), wagging her tail and quickly looking up for more. She’s not young anymore- has grey hair possibly the start of a cataract. She gets excited and starts to hack and squeak and carry on… so part of the daily routine is to sit with her and comfort her. Help her calm down and breathe you know.

It’s a tough life, I’ll tell you.

pic catch up

downpour from the inside... 

then there was hail

there's a cat here. Here he is a year ago! :)

someone made bread!

a flock of pelicans flew overhead

the guys removed an old cane roof

Cat's bro

best friends, brothers and Oh So Sweet. Loved by all... at least by the women-type

шашлик or shish kebab. Really- a smashingly-yummy success. Marinaded in: Mayo, wine, lemon juice, onions, salt and pepper. (lots of salt)

super yummy cheesecake!

oooo- babies! Sons and daughter of the 2 dogs in this post. Momma is a bit inexperienced and flighty and it will be a miracle if the babies all survive.

Still- Pretty sweet, eh? ;)

More bread :)

bread and crepes!

the smell of baked beans!

Ah yes- it's a good place to be! :)

DOOM history and a tribute to moms everywhere.

About 15 years (!) ago we visited some friends. Mom was laughing. Told her latest 'my-hubby's-so-cute-and-such-a-goof' story: They were at a restaurant. Seems someone dared Hubby to eat a bunch of something (or they had a X-eating contest or else he was just sick- I'm not remembering that so clearly). Hubby did his part. Later on, Hubby's feeling funny. Sort of wiggly in his chair. Sort of anxious. Sort of 'something's-wrong-here'. Because he doesn't know what's going on, he excuses himself to the men's room and just barely makes it to the nearest sink and tosses his proverbial cookies. What amused Wife was that Hubby was never sick and so didn't even recognize the feeling of impending doom. He very nearly 'doomed' on the table. Would have in another few seconds.
Fast forward 4 years. I've just arrived to Kyiv for the Very First Time. Ever. It was my first international flight, first time to need a passport. We'd had curried carrots on the plane from Amsterdam and they were cold and had just sort of 'SAT' in my stomach. I was exhausted. Nervous. (ME?! Oh come on...) At Julie's. I'm feeling wiggly in my chair, anxious, sort of 'something's-wrong-here'. I go out to J in the living room- J, I say, something's urrrrpppppp.... And the joke was on me- I had no idea what impending DOOM felt like and I totally missed the opportunity to get my doom into a proper receptacle.
Fast forward 11 years (to last night). T is NOT feeling good. Not good at all. She's wanting a little DOOM in her life- she feels it'd make her feel better but her gut is having none of THAT truck. She's in her room tossing and turning and groaning and such. I keep flying in there to make sure she's ok. I was so worried there was no way I could think of sleep. (Never mind the whines and whimpers and groans and moans- who can sleep through that?) At 2 am, though, I knew I'd have to give in and just Let'er Suffer. I go in one last time- same story- toss turn groan. Talk to her. You ok? She sits bolt upright. My dream. Thanks for waking me up. It was so weird. Everybody thought bin Laden was dead but he wasn't- he was still attached to me somehow and they were going to have to cut him off to kill him. It was really important but they didn't know. (If this doesn't remind you of the end of Harry Potter #7, you proly haven't read it.) Well, I've been feeling mom-ish all night so I demand to feel her forehead- no one in their right mind can dream that, right? Sure enough. Burning up. Get out the thermometer. 101. (Why we didn't do anything about the fever, I can't remember just now.) Anyway- she wants to just go back to sleep and try sleeping off the unimpending doom. Fine- good-night. I'm just back in my room when I hear the unmistakable sounds of some real DOOM finding a plastic bucket. Whoa. I fly back in there- T for some reason can't answer my questions- too much DOOM flying around. And I do mean...
ok- I'll grant you, that's enough detail. Here's the tribute to moms bit: I ran for a bucket of water with cleaning solution and a rag. I had every intention of continuing to play mom and do it right... except I wasn't having any of that 'hold the sickie's forehead during the whole bit' part... urp. Well, turns out I couldn't do the clean up, either. I ended up hovering over the sink looking for a little DOOM of my own while Poor Little T cleaned up all of her own DOOM. Not having any kids of my own, I never knew just what it is to have to be involved in that part of kids.
Tonight we had a little chuck conversation that involved a lot of laughs. T said- I've always ALWAYS had to clean up my own DOOM. Well I've never seen any like that- I didn't know.... I manage.
Then I proceed to tell her:
-the memories I have of my mom's hand supporting my forehead as I hovered over the stool as a little kid.
-the time Gina and I were riding rides at the county fair and I got a pistachio ice cream cone and kept riding and then deposited the ice cream (without ever breaking stride, mind you) between rides L and M.
-the time I took erythromycin and found out it didn't agree with me.
-the pancreatitis onset a year and a half ago.
-the 'chickens-cleaned-it-up-after-me' episode last fall. (I forgot the Julie episode.)
And that is the history of me and DOOM. I just don't DOOM.
T looks at me all funny and says- I guess I can't give a [DOOM] history.
that was the last laugh. 

just another one of the tulips. I was showing the pix on my phone to a little 3 1/2 year old tonight (look down a few pix) and she said: Tulips!!! (Can you hear the excitement in her voice? Was sweet.)

May 9th (Victory Day) is just around the corner. This is the equivalent of Memorial Day back in the States. There was a large group of men diligently coating the heavy artillery in the park with a fresh coat of spray paint- covering up the graffiti... 

and they were weed-wacking everything in sight. There was one mower there but it was sitting forlornly in the path all by itself...

oh- have you seen 'my' tulips??? ;)

wearing her mom's 'шуба' (fur jacket)- this is the first time I'd heard something like this called a 'шуба'- I thought those were only the heavy winter fur coats. Anyway- Little Squirt thought she was the cat's meow in this! It only drug the floor all the way around and looked like a royal mantle or something... she's also the one that knows (and loves) tulips!!! ;)

Spring! :)

this was my favorite tree in my favorite park about 1 1/2 weeks ago. Lots of sun and warm temps since then... and rain rain rain 3 of the last 4 days.

'my' park a week ago.

the tulips just starting to bloom on Fri, April 29 

trees beginning to show color and forsythia in a gorgeous state of affairs, Fri, 29th.

village north of us on Sat. Oh do I love this!

view from our kitchen on Mon, 2nd.

ditto the above

and ditto. (You can see the war memorial in 'my' park in the center top of the pic)

yest, 3rd, downtown. This is a chestnut tree in bloom with what looks like its summer leaves nearly... 

yest, 3rd, downtown; Lilacs!! 

Easter and the 1st of May holiday made for a nice long weekend. The city is all dressed up in spring and clean and the streets are nearly empty. It was a great time to go pay the phone bill! (Surprised the office was open...) This city- with its crews of people working to keep it cleaner than I've been used to here plus all the crews of people planting and maintaining flower beds is one of the most up and coming I've lived in here. Downtown is well-maintained and orderly. Clean (mostly). An easy city to love. 

yest, 3rd. It's cooled way off so the tulips should have a long run (barring major wind).

Someone was selling blue pansies a few days ago. Downtown's literally covered in them! Love them!

ahhh- and the tulips in the park today! Gorgeous!!

today; parks crew out planting annuals.

and they turned out to be marigolds! 

this gives you an idea of the private plots of garden down the side of the hill and in the valley beside the park. 

forsythia still going strong today although green leaves starting to poke through. I love forsythia for their early spring punch of color. 

And- just a note. My dad was back in the hosp over the weekend. He likely had another heart attack although not sure when. Heart cath on Mon (same 2 arteries in bad shape again) and 2 stents put in. Mom brought him home late yesterday. I was glad to chat with them tonight via skype with a web cam. He's still tired but a few more days should show a great improvement. 

more signage, dogs (what?! on here?!), candles, a cake, a blooming mini tree, a song, Kiki-ism

Have been seeing these all over the city: Joy will be, Success will come, To live is happiness. Not sure who's doing it or what it's all about but maybe someone along the line will eventually be able to fill me in?

see the puppy by mama dog? 

see the hole under the door step it's going down? ;) Now tell me- did Mama have Babies down there or did she move them in later? I mean... (ok, ok, I know. Still pretty clever hiding spot for your babies. I smiled. :)

Easter's a big deal here. Very big. Thurs before Easter, people go to the Orthodox Church and light a candle and then take it home with them. I've never before seen them on public transportation! We were on the bus and a whole possee of babas got on with their candles... a full bus and lit candles. I took a deep breath and pressed myself over out of their way. I'm sure nothing so terrible would have happened but it did sort of take my breath away. 

Irotchka had a birthday! This kid was only about 7 when I first saw her. Or maybe 8. Well- 11 years later... she's not 7 or 8 anymore! All grown up and studying to be a nurse. At the top of her class. In one of the best nursing programs in the country. A program, in fact, that's accredited in the US. There is a class of foreigners at her university that includes Americans...because it costs a fraction what it does in the US. (Trivia for the day. There, you've done your share.)

We got a total kick out of this. Stopped me in my tracks. Had never seen such a small tree in bloom. And then it hit me- someone had just 'planted' a totally blooming twig. Pretty! ;)

A link to a song whose melody I love. It's been going around and around in my head the past 2 days. It's by a Belorussian. Links to the instrumental version and with the lyrics. Song title translates to 'The Town of Nowhere'. I'm not exactly sure to what the lyrics are referring but they are haunting and (I'm wondering) if they refer to a person near the end of their life.

Talked to my sis last night. In the middle of the dialog, she interrupts with this from the youngest of the twins. Kiki just found an ant and I just heard her say, 'you're getting squished! prepare to die!!' This from the kid who also knows where God lives- in your heart... which is just behind...
Well- you can figure out what your heart is just behind! She's a hoot.
Now- that's enough for now! Goodnight!! xo

Шашлики on the balcony- overall, a good day!

This weekend, we made short notice plans with some dear friends to come see us this morning. There's that Oh So Grand park across the road from us. If you get yourself officially beyond park boundaries and into the chunks of land people use for gardens, you can legally have a cookout! And- there's a baby grill set in one of the cupboards in the hallway just beside the door here... yum and drool. Yes. Well. We woke up to rain. The kind that looked to last all day (and it did, in fact... but- we've had almost none the past 2 months, so no one's complaining). 

Let's grill on the balcony, I said.

T's face lit up- Yeah! I always wanted to do that last year but Ange always said it'd be a bad idea and better not. 

Aw come on, I said. People at home do it all the time. 

I could tell by T's face that she was psyched by the idea. I went off to the store to buy groceries; T got the potatoes baking and then went off to light the grill.

I came home to laughs and a definite smell of barbecue starter fluid. Our guests had arrived. Are the fire trucks following you? Are scared neighbors beating their frantic way up the stairs? Uh nooooo... 

Weak grins. 

The place is definitely smelling 'grilly'. And every window in the house couldn't be open wider. Apparently, there'd been a slight 'get the fire started' mishap that ended with the entire fire being doused with quite a lot of water. Which explained why the house was full of smoke. 

 

 Anyhooo- onward. New fire fired up. Let the coals heat up while we...

 load the skewers with the marinaded meat...

 and clean, cut and load veggies. (Summer squash, mushrooms, onions)

 In the end, we brought the meat in to the oven to finish and keep warm.

 and pulled out the portable grill/sandwich maker (a freebie from somewhere!!) to finish the veggies...

 and the meat.

 Lunch. It Was Delicious! (**marinade details below)

And our guests. Well- they came to finish some repair stuff here- we can do a lot but changing the innards of a European john/toilet is not (yet) part of my repertoire... 

So- the apt now has a distinct petroleum product smell that vaguely reminds me of my Grandma B's house who has oil lamps and kerosene stoves. I wouldn't say it's such a pleasant smell but it was Grandma's house smell and therefore I don't mind it. It brings back a flood of images and memories. It smells warm. (Their house usually was.)
I guess Ange was right- the balcony here is just not the place to grill.... even without the initial fire starting incident, it proly wouldn't have been a hot idea.

** very simple and very tasty marinade for going-to-grill-it meat
put meat chunks into a plastic baggie and coat with
-mayonnaise
-add salt, lemon slices, crushed garlic.

Friend this summer marinaded the meat for 3 days- super yummy. We did only overnight and it was just fine. Of course, marinade time depends a bit on the quality of meat you have (the tougher the meat, the longer the marinade time). We had pretty scrappy stuff and did ok with an overnight marinade, though.