Time To Catch Up!

Excuses, Excuses...

Yes, a month has passed since I last blogged.  I wouldn't believe it myself if Facebook friends hadn't commented on the time lag, and then I saw the date of my last post when I logged on tonight.  I could blame it on the fact that it never stopped raining the whole month of September and I was in a funk.  I could blame it on the fact that the lousy weather caused a nasty cold virus to spread throughout the school and I had a cold and sore throat for a week that I just couldn't shake.  I ended up taking a sick day and slept the sickness away!  It actually worked; the next day I felt much better.  I could blame my lack of communication on the fact that I've been busy at school with senior college applications, hosting university representatives, and administering the ACT and SAT at our school on the weekends.  While all this is true, I guess I just haven't been motivated to write because we really haven't done anything that constitutes being "on the edge".  We have fallen into a daily work/home routine for the past few weeks  However, we are getting ready to embark on a new adventure so I thought I should share some thoughts and pictures from Ukraine that  haven't been mentioned yet.

Perigova-The Ukrainian National Museum of Folk Architecture and Everyday Life

We visited this outdoor museum on a rainy day in September with a group of about 12 other teachers from school-mostly newbees.  It was the Ukrainian version of Williamsburg in Virginia or Upper Canada Village in Ontario.  We had a great day in spite of the weather and will probably go back again in the springtime.

 BIG Ukrainian Easter Eggs!

 The Easter Bunny didn't hide these very well!

 There were model Ukrainian homes from different eras

 One of the many styles of fences

 There were vendors set up everywhere

 The food vendors were awesome.  We ate some delicious, authentic Ukrainian food for lunch.

 This "babushka" was making miniature cross stitch pillows filled with herbs.  I had to buy one!  She was sitting in the back of an old Ukrainian School House;  not so different from the one room school houses in the U.S.

 

 

It was a good thing I had a scarf with me.  It was required head covering to enter the old, wooden, but beautifully ornate, churches.

 This artist had many paintings for sale.  I couldn't decide between these two.  His favorite was the colorful thistles, but I ended up choosing the other one because it was a better depiction of Old Ukraine.  Of course now I wish I had sprung for both of them!

 Several musical groups performed throughout the day.

 A modern day Kozak showing off his whipping skills

 Active bee hives!  We bought a big tub of honey, a Ukrainian honey cake, and some honey vodka.

 We didn't take a horse and buggy ride, but they were busy hauling visitors all day long.

 Even though the day started off rainy, it was still a beautiful setting for wedding photographs.

 A view from the top of the hill looking down at a field full of vendors.

 This picture is for my mom. 

This woman is singing of her love for Ukraine.