Last Night at Home for a Month

We are packed, more or less. All but the jam which has been reduced from 24 litres to a more manageable (we hope) 12 litres. Three large suitcases of clothes and such and we squeeze in four 3-litre plastic bottles of jam in the morning, close the lids and hope we are not over weight. I am taking an extra bag just in case we have to repack at the airport. Also if Turkish Airlines want to charge us for more than one suitcase each, we are screwed. We never checked and I am not going to raise the issue tonight.

There was some money left over from Tanya's birthday present so today we found a lovely black jacket (shirt/blouse??, something anyhow) that looks good on her and she looks good in it.

Lena's Mom will stay here full time while we are away, which will be nice for Roman and Lena as three people in a two room (aka one bedroom) flat can get kind of crowded, I suspect. Roman and Lena will come every day or so to water the flowers, check the garden and feed the critters.

Walking the dogs just got easier. Open the gate and let them run. All night if they want. Volk has been a bad one for not coming home after our walks anyhow, so we just let 'em both rip. Tonight we let them out about 4:00 and they both came home about 10:00. Good dogs.

It is kind of scary going home to Canada after two years. Culture shock. Everything and everyone has changed. My kids are not the same as when I left two years ago. They all live in different places (different houses for two of them, cities and provinces for two of them). They have grown older, taken on more responsibility, lived more. They are still my kids and I hope we have not grown too far apart. I sent them a picture "so they would know who I was, at the airport". (Actually because Tanya took the picture and I look good in it so had to brag).

We leave for Dnipro at 11:00. Hope the hotel in Istanbul has highspeed wireless. And that it isn't under water when we get there.

Two days left

Friday we fly out to Istanbul. Our contact there emailed Tanya's friend that the airport is high and dry, regardless of the state of the rest of the city. Heavy rains and major floods. All we get are hot dry winds. I guess faced with a choice of being swept away and drowning as 23 people have been so far, I'll stay with the wind.

Finished my report today and resigned from the project. I hope I get paid, is all. The report will never reach the popularity of "The Little Mermaid" but it is certainly in the same genre. It felt like I was actively discouraged from sourcing and verifying data. There is enough PFS (Pulled from Sky) assumptions in prefeasibility studies at best of times but to encourage it?

A couple of days ago, Tanya and I set out to buy her birthday present - a brooch to complete her dress for May-B's wedding. She found two she liked for about the same price. $120. A gold bar with diamond chips and a filigree gold leaf with diamond chips. I liked the filigree leaf so she bought that. The jeweler has to write the purity of the gold on the receipt. When we got home, Tanya looked at the tag that came with the brooch and the purity of gold marked on the tag was less than that marked on the receipt.

Warpath. We went back to the jewelry shop and she got her money back. The woman who worked there had warned the jeweler that Tanya would be back when she saw the discrepancy in the two purity levels. We went to another shop and she found the exact same gold bar brooch that she liked for 40% less. Happiness.

Fruit of the Vine

The vines that shade our front entry way are loaded with grapes this year and the vine by the front gate too. We have already about finished the sweet black grapes from the one vine. The grapes on the other vines are almost ripe enough to eat. I suppose if I knew how I could make wine from them but eating is good. Whoever dreamed this dryland prairie boy would live someplace where grapes grow outside the front door?

Wisdom of all Ages

Our neighbour 's biggest problem is alcohol. Today he came to Tanya and said he wanted to quit drinking, could she give him some work. She could and she did and she gave his pay to Lucia who will go to the store with him when we are away and pay for food purchases so he cannot buy vodka. He was quite in agreement with that. Tanya also made up a small bag of food for him from our pantry.

Tanya has been bothered by a sore throat and cough these last couple of weeks. This morning she tried gargling with warm water, salt and honey. If you swallow it, surprise surprise, it has the same effect as warm water, salt and mustard. Tanya said (my best translation) "A fool can be taught to bow but he will bang his head".

Andrei, his Tanya and Masha went to Krivii Rih yesterday. They were having lunch in a restaurant and Masha was fooling around, not eating (as usual). Her father said "You cannot go to the park if you don't eat as you will have a tummy ache. You promised to be good. Why can't you be good?" Masha, serious as a judge, replied "I don't know why. I want to be good but I cannot". Anrei's friend must have laughed, as Masha turned on him, VERY serious, and said "It's NOT funny".

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?

Getting My Ducks in a Row

First Day of School

Today was the First Day of School in Zhovti Vody and Masha's very first day of school. She woke up at 5:00 and again at 6:00 determined that it was time to get ready and go. She and her folks needed to be there by 8:30 and she was NOT going to be late. We got there by 8:45 for a 9:00 am start.

Masha's School - 4 blocks from home

The whole town was out in full force for traditional opening day ceremonies held at every school in town. Everyone is dressed in their Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes. The girls in black and white "uniforms" and the boys in suits and ties. These are everyday apparel in the schools here. All the kids bring flowers for the teachers and dignitaries. Tanya made two huge bouquets from her garden (almost wrote our garden) for Masha and she also had a store-bought rose.

Masha in her uniform with her new backpack

Maxim's friend Ivan goes to this school but Maxim goes to another

The ceremonies were held outside on the grass (Oh, yes, THESE schools have grass playgounds, not gravel and crusher dust) and the day was warm sunny and calm. The kids gather by class, in a half circle around the outside. Then the new Grade 1's march out to the middle for the speeches and such. Speeches not long, awards handed out to last year's top students, recitations by some little folk and then...

Open this one for a panoramic view of the children.

Off they march

Masha brings up the rear of her group

Masha and another classmate in lineup

The kids from the class that will graduate this year (Grade 10?) each went to a new Grade 1, gave them a school button and took their hand to walk with them into the school. It was a wonderful way to end the ceremonies and make the little kids feel welcome.