Friday

As I typed the title to this post, The Moody Blues came to mind and I started mentally singing, Friday Afternoon. Guess that gives away my age...

We made a 'deal' with our landlord almost 6 months ago - he raised the rent again and I asked if we did some repair work from the flood (I would link to the correct 'flood' post but I am having major internet and computer problems tonight and don't want to take a chance leaving this page...), could we wait until August to begin paying the higher amount? Yes - he agreed to that.

So, I hired Natasha to come in and tear out the wall paper and get the walls ready to paint or wallpaper (again - I would link to that post, too, but...). She did. We found a big hole under the wallpaper in one place, and in tearing off the decoration strip at the top of the wallpaper, it left a whole row of nail holes all around the room.

Finally today Mel went and bought some alabaster and I went to work filling holes, big and small. I had fun. It was a very messy job - good thing I have a box of rubber gloves here! The thing with alabaster is - you can only make really small batches of it at one time because it sets up very quickly. I was shocked at how fast it goes from watery goop to solid plaster! And it gets kind of warm in the process. I think I ended up throwing away about half of what I made - even though I tried to keep the batches really small - like a cup or two at a time.

There was a huge hole in the corner above the outer door and to the right, created when we had an electric line put in several years ago. We had just hidden it behind a piece of wood. It was about 12 inches by 6 or 8 inches. It took awhile to get it filled in - and that was over the wood. Now there is a bumpy place there instead of a hole. :)

I was busy slopping this stuff on the walls and Mel came into the hall, watched for a minute or two and then said, "You enjoy doing that, don't you?" I looked up and smiled and said, "yes!" I don't know why - but it was fun.

When I finished, I had to clean up a lot of spilled alabaster chunks off the newspaper and cloth I'd put on the floor, then sweep as well. Because it dried so fast, there were a lot of hardened bumps I had to smooth off with the side of a trowell before it set completely.

Got that all finished and a couple hours later we went to meet Jamie and Julia and kids for dinner. A year or so ago a new Oskar Megamart opened in the Tavrichisky district of the city. This is an amazing place - the supermarket (Oskar) part is just like a regular supermarket in the States. The supermarket is on the second floor with escalators that take you up - flat ones, not steps, so shopping carts can go on them. The first floor has a bunch of shops, including a big toy store, a pet store, a very large appliance/computer store, a kids play area and a big cafeteria. The most amazing thing, however, is the bowling alley!! If I remember correctly, there are 5 or 6 lanes. Wow! We could hear people bowling the whole time we were there in the first floor area. I've never seen another bowling alley here - there may be a lot of others, but I've never seen even one other!

The food at the cafeteria is cheap - and as Mel says, you get what you pay for. But it was pretty good all in all - and it really helps keep it affordable for a larger family. We were surprised to meet Sergei and Olya there, with 3 Americans that they are translating for. A family from Nebraska. We chatted for awhile with them and then they left and we took their table. After eating, Jamie and Mel took the kids to the play area while Julia and I sat and talked.

A typically Ukrainian thing happened while Julia and I were sitting there talking. We were sitting in a "booth" - a large one that all 8 of us fit into, with padded seats, the kind that is U shaped. A woman came over and told Julia and me that she wanted to sit on the other side, across from us, after she got her food. I thought that was what she was saying, but it was very noisy, so I deferred to Julia. She/we said ok. Several minutes later a young man came and tried to sit down. Julia told him we were saving it for a woman and he responded yes, and he was with her. So, he sat down across the table from us and within a minute or so the woman joined him with her food. From the age difference I think she might have been his mother. Very stylish and nice looking, but definitely older than him by several years. They sat and ate and talked for awhile while Julia and I chatted. It was loud - music and other conversations, so we didn't bother each other. I just can't imagine that happening in the States, especially since there were a lot of empty tables (not booths). It happens in other European countries, too.

After the couple left, Mel and Jamie and kids came back. We all trooped over to the escalator and went up to the supermarket. Mel and I bought a few things, found Jamie and Julia and kiddos again to say goodbye, and headed for the bus stop.

We stood at the bus stop for a long time. We needed a number 4 or a number 30 marshrutka. Two of each went by - and didn't stop. I guess they thought that it was time to go home! At 9pm Mel finally called a taxi. A lot of people were waiting and didn't get on the other marshrutkas that stopped, so I'm sure some of them wanted a 4 or a 30 also. So weird. Sigh. So typical. :):)

But we got home safe and sound. It was a good day.