Long Day

Long day, but good day! We have been away from home two weeks, today. We could say it has been 3 weeks if we count the week we were at home but not really feeling like we were at home, because we were furiously preparing outside of any normal routine. True, all is going smoothly and people are working at top speed, but there is still a slight edge starting about now. Hard to explain, but I think it may just be a part of being away from home for so long and missing the pets and friends and all. I am sure it will pass. We are not complaining. Everyone has been so wonderful to us. We are hoping for a court date mid-next week. Perhaps, once we have that information - the date, the certainty that will result enabling us to plan the forthcoming weeks will take the edge off. We think that will do the trick.

The Sea of Azov is really nice! It is a port and a beach! There are nice places to rest and relax on the beach, as well as ships dropping off containers of things. It is clean and the sand is good. It is not like Galveston was when we visited as a child. It is not full of kelp or plants either. It is also not sticky, but clean smelling. Very nice, indeed! We wish the day was not so foggy, but the temperature was perfect!

Beach, port, and relaxation spots

 

 Sanatorium on the Sea

 More Sea shades.

House on the berm.

We also dropped off several items at the Children's Home today --some heavy coats, and gifts for Nikita and Ana, and a few other items like arts and crafts things (sock puppet making kit), etc. We did not see anyone except Karina and Inna this afternoon. Inna comes to feed Jacobi, the parrot, and we gave her a big hug. Here are some photos of the Children's Home.

 The front door and walking up to it.

The parrot room, where we go daily.

The art/reading room where we spend most of our time with Little Chix each day.

The stuffed pig is the biggest hit!

The wall in the parrot room.

Little Chix danced for almost 2 hours today with us! Yes, papa cut the rug as well! That is probably why we are a bit on edge - she is really active - and mama is worn out from dancing! We like dance a lot and are thrilled that she loves it! Stacy - we will need you big time when we get home!! We need a couple of new songs, as well - there are 2 Hannah songs that we play over and over and over and over and over....  and over! She loves them, though! They are her favorites! (Thank goodness papa bought them! There is no WiFi at the Home, so bring the music you want with you.)  Little Chix even asked for a Hannah wig! We hope to be able to take Little Chix to the Kiev ballet once everything is final at the end of April. Sleeping Beauty is playing as well as Swan Lake - that would make her day!

Tomorrow is April 1st. It is a prankster day here as well as in America. We are planning on walking to the market tomorrow. That will be interesting. The weather should be 50-degrees or so. Nice! We also went grocery shopping today and will cook stew with cabbage, carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, and dumplings again this weekend. We bought soft-milk (kefir) because that is what the children at the Home drink before going to bed each night. It really tastes good! Here is some information about Kefir: http://rwood.com/Articles/Kefir.htm We also bought biscuits (like Maria cookies), cucumbers, dried figs and dried apricots, water, cheese, and bread. And, we went to a big shoe store today that sells nothing but shoes - two floors worth of shoes! There are some beautiful, really beautiful HIGH, really high heeled shoes for women! Wow! Never have we seen so many high heeled beautiful, sparkly shoes in one place before! The photos from Kiev (the work shoes) posted earlier do not even come close to what we saw in the store today! These must be the evening-wear shoes! Glittery and stunning! No wonder Little Chix wants mama to get some heels! Yikes!