Saturday night

In five days we'll be in Istanbul and in six days and a few hours we'll be in Calgary.

This morning at 9:00 we went into ZV with a list of errands to run. First off pull USD from Tanya's account and trade it on the street for more cash than when she uses the bank machine. Banks are criminals with legal protection, it seems, to cheat people at every turn. Tanya's bank software was down for repairs. Next stop another bank to pay our utilities. It was closed. Next stop, stationary store to buy some left handed pens* for her niece in Siberia. It didn't open until 10:00 am.

Round and round and round. Went to another store for pens. Went to the Post office to mail them to Siberia. 50 hrivna($5.50) for the pens and 100 ($11.00) hrivna to mail them. Like Canada. Went to another bank top pay utilities. it was open. Went to a drugstore, and then another to get what we needed. Took meds to Roman who had a fever. Picked up two new tops for Tanya from seamstress. 100 hrivna plus material. How do people live?

Picked up Andrei and went home. Three hours for one hours worth of errands. Andrei, Tanya and Masha took the car to Krivii Rih this afternoon. When Andrei brought it back, at 9:00 pm we drove him home and stopped at Roman's. I got to Skype my kids on HIGHSPEED internet. I had forgotten what it was like to have hard wired real honest to God High Speed. Talked to three of four. Fourth was at work. Two were napping. At NOON.

It has been a slow day for news, hasn't it?

*There is a special shaped ballpoint pen here that works for right and left handed but left handed people find it easier to use. Never heard of such a thing and neither did most places we looked but there is such a thing. Who knew?