Ahem

Yeah. It's true.

Where was I?

Oh my. It's been so too long. I loved blogging. I still do it in my head. But.... uff. Someone pointed out several months ago that it was high time for an update. And I really meant to do an update then. But I didn't.
So I'm going to find some pix and see where it goes. It's been a great summer. It really has. As always, by the time our preps and convs finish here, it feels like summer's pretty much over. July 25th. Phyllis' birthday. One month and 6 days of summer left, according to the Ukr'n calendar. I fly to the Czech Republic next week for a week. (What shall I take Phyllis for her bday? ☺😊☺😊)

Shashlyk! 

Start of Kisl preps. Tanya S, Sharon W, Ira S, Ruzan M

Dan W, Bill H, Tanya S 

Charlene M, Ira, Ruzan, Olesya T, Sharon

Bilo. Lovely walk

Bilo dining area 

Serving line at Bilo

Polish and Ukr'n kids bonding....over a tablet. Sigh

This sweetie had a blast on this scooter! 

Uncle D was the basketball goal! 

Post conv cookout. Laura E, Sharon A, Alan B

Hanging out on the grass in Kisl. (Story: at supper, Nastya says to Ruzan- We're friends but not (strong friends- like super close, I suppose) because you wouldn't hang out on the grass with us. So after supper, they did. 😆)

Anya H (Lutsk) and Nastya  (Ira S' step-granddaughter) were instant BFF's. Here they are playing 'Nova Poshta' (i.e. UPS)

Nastya's heart broke when Anya AND her mom AND everyone else left after conv. 

Anya, however, was off to the sea with her folks. No heartbreak there! She is one of the sweetest, happiest kids I know. 

Rain predicted for later in the day, so dining tent came down ASAP.

And on to the last place. Noviy Buh. And this monkey. He has his mouth as full as physically possible! Zakhar D

Ivan Ivanovych and Kolya visiting

Serious dog and her anemic pup. Named the pup Teo

Teo meets a terrified kitty. 

There are more pix but I can't get to them, for some reason. So maybe I'll add descriptions later. Xoxo

So- published and then got access to the rest of the pix. Charlene's cousin Kelly married to Ben- a cousin of Bill's. This makes C and B kin. 😆

My tent at NB. Not a bad place to sleep, really. All it's missing is a recliner. 😅

Baba Halya's kitchen table and stools. Love the colors! 

Kelly's pic. Love it! 

Olena's pic of her with Sonya and Zakhar D (Zhenya and Tanya's youngest).

Some Beautiful Soul brought me these! I ate a few but most are tucked away for later. 

Valer Kozak. In his Kozak T. 😊

Breezeway between house and mtg shed at Kisl. Coolest spot on the place. I would have slept there if not for all the frogs and spiders....and possibly a few other reasons. 

We found desiccated frogs everywhere at Kisl. This one was perched here until nearly the last minute. 

For a few people.............

To the FitBit Peeps out there: Have you tried this? (It just seemed worth a go!)

I have a little pedometer- nothing so slick as the genuine fitbit dealy-bobber. But it counts steps. I don't wear it much. Not since I got 16,000 steps in 3 hours on a typical bus ride. 

I've seen a lot of shivery posts on facebook- the weather's turning cooler and a goosebump or 2 might appear from time to time. No complaints here, though. It's such a treat to not be sweating all the time. I'm in love with being able to move around outside without feeling like I've melted into a yucky puddle of grime and slime. And sleeping at night and needing a blanket! How fantastic! I tucked my duvet into it's cover today and am luxuriating in the bliss of needing a blanket and the duvet. Of wanting to snuggle into covers and pillows. 

Even the buses are mostly no longer hot. 

I like summer for the freedom of movement- my backpack is lighter because there's no need for a sweater or extra socks or long-sleeve anything; no coat to slow you down and take up space. Footwear is a cinch- sandals! In that respect, summer is a treat. 

But this weather- you can breathe again, you can exult in the feel of cool air on your skin. Walking everywhere is a treat again and not just something to endure. Ahhh fall, I do love you!!!

Things that really aren't possible

I can only conclude that they have bad ice cream at that house.

 

I have ice cream memories from as far back as I can remember. There were a lot of things that we didn't have in our house when we were growing up. Some of those things I wanted pretty badly (oddly, though, I cannot think of a single one of them now. hmmm); some I don't remember fretting about much. For instance, we never had a TV and, while I loved spending the occasional night at my friends' houses- Sondra or Lorna, usually- and totally gluing my eyes to the TV while there, I really don't remember missing it much at home. (Maybe my mom can fill in forgotten details!)
I think I would have gladly had more soda pop, although I don't remember exactly suffering without that, either. I do remember that ice cold pop (Pepsi or Root Beer) and chips went with haying.
And I also vividly remember my very first ever Mountain Dew. I was at the county fair and stopped at a food stand for a snack...and had a Mountain Dew to go with it. And it was love at first swallow. And nothing's changed. Man-O-Live, I love that stuff. (And it's just good for everything about me that it's not for sale here in Ukraine, sigh.)
Same goes for my first Snickers. I was, if you can believe it, in the 8th grade. Supposed to meet my mom at the library after school or some such thing. What I remember clearly is going into the grocery store across the street from the library and buying a Snickers bar. And also loving that from first bite. Snickers is sold here in Ukraine. Snickers are too much and too sweet now. (I have no idea why Mt Dew isn't....I'm sure there's way more sugar there.)
And we always had ice cream in the freezer. Always. Burger's Vanilla Ice Cream. (And sadly, it doesn't even exist anymore.) It was delicious. My dad's favorite. About the only kind he'd eat, as I recall. His idea of an after dinner treat was a big bowl of ice cream with chocolate sauce on top. My brother Paul has continued the tradition nicely. And I must say, I don't often say No to ice cream myself. Vanilla is the best. And when it's hot out? You simply can't have too much! Ukrainians love ice cream but most often buy it in single serving cones or bars or some such thing. The place is full of little ice cream freezers with a friendly woman (usually) and a cash box.
I had 2 ice creams yesterday and one today.
It's been very hot here the past few days.* Thankfully.
So let's hear it for ice cream!! And remember, Kids- You really CAN'T have too much! ;)

*It really has been hot- unseasonably hot. Over 90 degrees on Fri and close to that yesterday. 80-something felt cool today. 

calendars and birds and collectors

When I was in the US the last time, I picked up (on sale) an Audubon bird calendar for 2012 and brought it back with me. And loved it. And kept it thinking- Sometime, you know, you might want some of these pix.

In June, I came across it and decided to cut the pictures apart and use them 'here and there'.
I accidentally cut off some of the names and was curious to know just what kind of bird was on one or two of the pix.

So, being a fan of google, I googled '2012 Audubon Songbird calendar'. And clicked on the Amazon link. And nearly passed out. You can sell your used '2012 Audubon Songbird calendar' on Amazon starting for (starting at) $89.88. And I'm guessing mine would have fallen into the higher price range as it was in excellent condition, no writing, not bent, pristine condition....
Mind you, I likely wouldn't have sold it myself but.
Seriously- Who pays $255 for a calendar????

So- if you have any of those babies laying around, get them listed and sell them! (And start shopping around for next year's; by the time your kids graduate from high school, you might be able to contribute to their college fund with 1 calendar!)

Hot chocolate with a twist

Several years ago, I had some hot chocolate in the Arcadia Mall at the Wedel Chocolate shop. It was- amazing. Thick and creamy, more like the drinking chocolate we had in Spain with our churros. With a twist. Served with hot pepper syrup. 

Some time last year, I had this brain storm. What if I melted this chocolate bar and mixed it with milk. 

So I did and it was good- really good. One bar makes enough for at least 2 people. To get it right, the chocolate:milk ratio is about 1:2, approximately. To taste, I reckon, is a better way to say it. It's rich, for sure. 

So then I messed around with adding ground, hot pepper. Which was good enough but not quite 'the thing', you know? 

So last week, I did some googling. Several people are coming this way in the next year or so. And I was thinking: Why not find some online and have someone bring it over?
Turns out the syrup doesn't actually stay nice very long. Everything I saw said Make it fresh and use within 2 - 4 weeks.

And all those syrups are for making mixed drinks. Here's a very simple recipe I found. 

Peppers, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water

melting the chocolate, mixed with milk

Finished syrup

And in my cup! Oh my. Very yummy.
I'm now on the lookout for hotter peppers. Ukrainians aren't big on hot peppers; the ones I found aren't actually hot but warm...and that heat was diluted quite a bit in the syrup making process. 

Oh boy

Where to start? I didn't intend to let it go this long. So does a person catch up? Or just start in *boom* right here and now? Perhaps a bit of both? ;) Done mostly in pix, I think...and in several posts.

Patriotism is huge right now. Everywhere. I kind of like it. :)

 In May, K's niece and husband visited and we spent a day in L'viv with them.

The "Coffee from L'viv" coffee company roasting coffee beans in the front of their store. Pretty good coffee, actually.

We visited Lychakiv Cemetery- rich in Polish and Ukrainian history. Wikipedia link and a site dedicated to the cemetery- English available.

Lychakiv Cemetery is a beautiful place. The main 'roads' are well maintained, as are the graves along these paths but most of the cemetery is very wild. 

Pretty typical graves.

The only part of the cemetery with many fresh graves- people who have died in Kyiv in the winter of 2013/2014 and in the current conflict in the east. This whole section of the cemetery is dedicated to people who have died fighting for Ukrainian independence.

Graves of people who were killed fighting Russians during WW II and those who were liquidated by the Soviets during Soviet occupation. This part of the cemetery is new and bodies were relocated here from their original burial site.

This part of the cemetery is large and gave me goosebumps.

This must be a brother and sister, both who lived to be old but both who participated in the Soviet resistance movement. 'УПА' is one of the controversial partisan armies that fought the Nazis and Soviets in WW II; in the  end, many of these opted to join forces with the Nazis, hoping to avoid Russian occupation. Because of this, they have been implicated in Nazi war crimes and atrocities against Poles, especially...which is why many in Western Europe are not too keen on them. Ukrainians see them as having fought for Ukrainian independence. As you see on this marker, the lady is still alive but because of her role, she will have a spot here. The man was 'repressed' (by the Soviets); the woman has been 'rehabilitated'- meaning the gov't has acknowledged she was a victim of Soviet repression and is not guilty of whatever crime she'd been prosecuted for. Many of the people in this part of the cemetery were sent to Siberia.

Ukrainian and Polish soldiers who died during the Polish-Ukrainian War in 1918-1919.   (From Wikipedia: The Polish–Ukrainian War of 1918 and 1919 was a conflict between the forces of the Second Polish Republic and West Ukrainian People's Republic for the control over Eastern Galicia after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary.) L'viv was a Polish city until after WW II, when many Poles and Germans were resettled elsewhere. 

 Memorial to and markers for 3 Americans who died fighting for Poland

Some kind of archaeological excavation in the old town of L'viv. 

And it turns out I have a 'son'! heh. The things you never knew till you knew. Story: I reminded some people of a certain lady in Canada. And then along came Jason and he reminded these same people of this lady's son. So.... he calls me 'Mom' and I call him 'Sonny Boy'. And he's the kind of kid to pick if you could pick your kids! ;)