court +1

swingin' again!

bubbles taste good! (wrong kind kiddo!)

Rainbow arch with friendship monument underneath (between Ukraine and Russia)

On the beach near the pedestrian bridge (on Trukaniv island)
First things first. HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY MISHA!!!! We hope you have a wonderful birthday and soooo wish we could be there with you. We hope you like your birthday cake and have fun at your party! XOXOXOXOXOX
It feels wrong to be away from home today, but alas, here we are. One day down, 11 to go (until we can pick Ivanna up). We only have 9 more days of riding on the train. While we still think it is an efficient way to get around – it has kind of lost its glamour. With the warmer weather the train is usually quite hot – although bearable if some windows are open (and I’ve eaten and am well hydrated). Quite often some babushka will ask to have the windows closed (and they are usually wearing several layers including a sweater, while I’m roasting in a t-shirt!). Thankfully, many of the windows are stuck open. :)
Today we are feeling tired - probably a combination of the emotional roller coaster over the last several days and the heat. Darren is currently napping in the other room. I tried for a while but have enjoyed several solid nights of sleep and don’t want to mess up my sleep tonight, so I came out here to write. Our morning with Ivanna was great, although she was at the doctor again when we arrived. This time the nurse pointed to her own ears and indicated we should wait (so now she’s getting her ears checked?). She was back before long though and when she came in she headed right for us and I got another wonderful snuggle for several minutes. The nurse she came back with seemed to indicate (we think) that she’s ok. I will be VERY glad to take her to Kelly and actually know for sure that everything is ok and be able to communicate. We’re glad that they seem to be on top of things though, and Ivanna does appear to be a lot better than a week ago (still some snot, but not as copious and she’s not really coughing anymore). Today she was VERY active and not behaving sick or tugging at her ears or anything (mind you they were well hidden under her toque!) so hopefully she’s on the mend. It would be GREAT to be able to communicate better with the nurses here. Alas, our limited Russian (maybe 10 words) and sign language will have to do. We had a great time playing outside, spending some time with what we think is her group and caregivers (the nurse, Lesya, who came with us to her medical check was there) and sometimes leading her away for some time with just us (we figure she gets most of her time with her group and very little with us). We had some fun with bubbles for a while, and Ivanna apparently doesn’t think the solution tastes too bad – we had quite a chuckle with her. She seems to get now that you need to blow to get the bubbles to come out (although today it is windy enough, all you have to do is hold the wand up).
The train on the way home was late and long (Darren’s comment as we got off was – ‘that felt like an overseas flight’). It has been a few days since we’ve had a shawarma fix so we headed there for lunch (our usual guy wasn’t there but his helper was – good but not quite the masterpieces they usually are), then back here. After Darren’s nap I think well go exploring a bit more and then plan to ‘make’ supper (aka get a chicken already cooked, make some sauce and pick up bread), then head out for dessert and the required internet fix.
We have not yet heard from Lesya re: our flights (whether we need to change them) so we’ll probably give her a call. We expect we’ll need to change them, so prayers for seats to be available on Friday June 1st would be appreciated (or Saturday June 2nd if necessary!) Thank you!
Paka!
D: Well, we are back. We had a nice walk down to friendship park and over to the island. It was warm and sunny – perfect for recharging Shona’s solar cells. As we were taking our shoes off to walk on the beach, Lesya called to suggest that we change our flights to Friday, June 1 – assuming that Thursday is not a holiday in Canada, and the embassy will be open. I assured her that May 31 is not a holiday in Canada. She told me to call anyway, just to be sure. After a very brief barefoot walk on the sand (much more romantic in thought than reality), we decided to put our shoes on to prevent losing a toe to the sharp glass, rocks, and shells. We also decided that the island deserves a whole afternoon. So, we headed for home, to make supper and call Shona’s parents about changing our flights. Once across the bridge, and part way up the hill, I decided that we should try a different way home. Despite Shona’s better judgment and voiced fears and concerns, she caved in and accompanied me. Well, after an extra 50% walking distance, we finally made it back to familiar territory – not much worse for the wear (mostly). I really thought that the Dnipro ran more parallel to Kreschatyk at that point. I think the lesson for me here is to limit the adventurous orienteering in big cities to days when we have a map with us. (oops) On the plus side, we did see some new territory we would not otherwise have seen.