So, today was a little touch of reality.
It is cold. Very cold. Not Alaska cold. Not Siberia cold. But it is cold. Down in the teens cold outside, in the low 60's cold inside. Sitting around the house wearing three layers plus an afghan cold. It feels warmer outside than inside cold. I wonder if my fish are going to survive this cold. Cheyenne thinks we are abusing her cold. Shiver me timbers cold - except, I don't think that one quite fits.
Russia and Ukraine continue to argue about gas. At least we still have gas, which is more than Bulgaria can say. We heard that the heating plants shut down completely in Sophia, Bulgaria. Here they have just turned our heat down so low that in public buildings pipes are actually freezing.
Which happened at the place we are currently meeting for church. I, of course, had two cups of coffee this morning, plus drank some water. Church doesn't start until 1:00 now so I thought I was safe. Made sure to do potty stops before we left the flat. Got to church, first thing I see: a sign on the doorjamb that leads to the basement saying the туолет не робетет - or in English - Toilet not working, or Toilet out of order or something along that line.
I knew, right at that very instant, without a shadow of a doubt that I would need a toilet before we got home again.
Sure enough, about half way through the service, sitting there in a heavy sweater over a turtleneck, wearing my heaviest coat and boots and jeans, it hit. Cold. Cold induced bladder overwork. Brrrr - I really need to go right this exact instant help me please!.
Sergei announced before the service started that the toilet was not working and if anyone needed one there was one located next door at the school. So, I understood all of that. I thought I understood which school it was, too. You see, there is a school on each side of the place we are meeting. So, as we stood after the closing prayer and before the singing could start again, I hurried forward and asked Valentina to go with me and help me find the toilet. She is my translator during Sunday School and I wanted to get back before the group of kids arrived for Sunday School. And if I needed to talk to someone about said toilet when we got to the school, I wanted someone who could hurry the process. :) :)
We went outside (she made me snap my coat closed although it felt warmer to me outside than inside). We walked over toward the school on the left, but we couldn't see any way through the fence. So we walked back over toward the school on the right. There was a group of guys out playing soccer in the snow there and she asked them where the front door was and they pointed in "that" direction. We walked around the building. We walked up to the front door. It was locked. She pounded on the door - but no one came to open it.
I was starting to do a little jig by then, but figured we would just have to have a very short Sunday School - or maybe I could find a secluded spot out behind the school somewhere or something......
We went back in to our meeting place. When the service totally ended I asked Sergei where the toilet was at and Valentina explained what we had done and he said, no, it was the wrong school, go to the one on the left.
About that time Jamie left with Timmy and we kind of followed them out the door. And then they went a bit farther than we did and lo and behold there was actually a hole in the fence over there that was the gate and voila! we were in the school yard and walking over across the empty playground toward the school.
But wait! Valentina explained to me that we were not going to the school, we were going to that little building over there at the side. That little building, I asked and she said, no - that one was a garage, no - that one over there inbetween the garage and the school. Oh! Gotcha! THAT one. The one without a door!
And so I was reminded of where I live. I don't live in modern America. I don't live in the wilds of Alaska. I live in Kherson. Where a school has an outdoor toilet without a door. In the middle of a city of 400,000+ people. Yep. For sure.
BUT it was not a little outhouse without a door. No. It was a big outhouse without a door. A 7 or 8 holer outhouse. Without inside partitions. Without toilets. Without water. Just holes in a cement floor on the ground. No heat - unless it's summer time. No electricity, no lights - except for whatever light came in from the doorframe without a door and I think there was actually a very dirty window as well, but I might be wrong about that.
I was very focused, you see, and really didn't waste a lot of time looking around. And to be frank, I've been in much worse toilets here. This one was not too bad. It was not very dirty at all. Just a little unusual in that it could hold so many people at one time, with no partitions between the holes in the floor and no door on the outside door. Community, you know, - living in total community....
The one great thing about these kinds of toilets - at least the toilet seats aren't freezing when you sit down.
ha ha ha (Hysterical laughter) Sit down. ha ha ha No way, Jose! I couldn't help but think of the toilet room - ok, the restroom - at our home church in the States. I remember the last time we were there - winter and it's like someone had turned off all the heat in the restroom for some reason. The toilet seats were, uh, lets just say no one wanted to spend very much time in there. :) ha ha ha
Oh my. I am mentally wiping the laugh tears from my internal eyes. It is halarious to me. But maybe you have to be here?
The only thing - and I mean that - the ONLY thing that bothered me was that Valentina was so embarrassed by it all, feeling like Ukraine was so backward and horrible and how this must have been so awful for me. No! NO! Not even a little bit. I laugh now, but I never thought it was horrid or awful. I'm just glad there was some place I could go! I've seen a lot of outhouses in my life - in campgrounds, in Alaska, in Ukraine, all across the Western half of the US out in the woods. I just wish it had not been so painful for her to be with me.
I also wish The McGowan family had still been here. I think they could have used a little more cultural learning. (Don't you, John and Martita??? You've been 'south of the border' so I have a feeling it would not have been all that shocking to you, just unusual, as it was for me.)
ha ha ha ha ha ha
Oh my. :)
Showing posts with label cold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cold. Show all posts
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
This Made My Evening :)
I checked the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo giraffe webcam this evening, not so see the giraffes, but to see how much snow is left from the storm they had over the weekend. Imagine my surprise when this is what I saw: 
When I glanced down at the corner I saw this little guy:
Since the squirrelcam in North Pole, AK, is no longer working - it's a live television view now that I can't click on to save images :( - this little guy just made me happy and smiley. I have to have squirrel fix now and then.
****** UPDATE
Upon a little more searching, I found that they still have still photos updated every 2 minutes from a different camera. This is what I saw tonight, which is morning there. Check out that temperature!!!! The weatherunderground report is the same.
The Squirrel Cam, January 6, 2008 -50 degrees F
Mel tells me that when he was a kid and they lived out on the homestead they used to pray that it would be -56 F in Fairbanks because then school was closed for the day. If it was -55 F, school was open. This was great for them because they lived on a hill out of town, above the ice fog, up where the air is a lot warmer. Sometimes it would be 30 or 40 degrees warmer! Then they would be free to play outside all day if they liked, rather than go to school.
My sister in Fairbanks told me a couple days ago that at her house, also outside of town and on a hill, it is much warmer than in town. While it was -30 F last week, she was a warm and toasty -8 F. :) :) It really does make a huge difference. Trust me!
When I glanced down at the corner I saw this little guy:
Since the squirrelcam in North Pole, AK, is no longer working - it's a live television view now that I can't click on to save images :( - this little guy just made me happy and smiley. I have to have squirrel fix now and then.
****** UPDATE
Upon a little more searching, I found that they still have still photos updated every 2 minutes from a different camera. This is what I saw tonight, which is morning there. Check out that temperature!!!! The weatherunderground report is the same.
The Squirrel Cam, January 6, 2008 -50 degrees FMel tells me that when he was a kid and they lived out on the homestead they used to pray that it would be -56 F in Fairbanks because then school was closed for the day. If it was -55 F, school was open. This was great for them because they lived on a hill out of town, above the ice fog, up where the air is a lot warmer. Sometimes it would be 30 or 40 degrees warmer! Then they would be free to play outside all day if they liked, rather than go to school.
My sister in Fairbanks told me a couple days ago that at her house, also outside of town and on a hill, it is much warmer than in town. While it was -30 F last week, she was a warm and toasty -8 F. :) :) It really does make a huge difference. Trust me!
Our Mean Big Sister, Andromeda
So this morning I'm reading the news while I wait for the water to come back on at which time I will head to the kitchen to mix-up another batch of Christmas cookies to take to church tomorrow for our Eastern Christmas celebration. (How's that for a sentence that needs to be divided into at least two, if not more, sentences?)
Yes, tomorrow is Christmas! I'll take down all the decorations after we get home tomorrow afternoon. The tree has been up for a month and I will miss it's beautiful lights. But that is a post for tomorrow.
As I was reading about the Russia vs. Ukraine 'gas war' I shivered a bit and decided I really need to go put my sweatshirt back on because it truly is chilly in here this morning. The turtleneck alone is fine when I am wandering around from one room to the other, making the bed, folding clean clothes and picking up stuff scattered around the room. But sitting here drinking another cup of coffee and reading - well, 64+ degrees is just a bit too cool for comfort. My back and shoulders are cold. Be right back....
Ok, I'm back. I fed the fish while I was at it. Little Fishy in the fish pond was begging oh-so-cutely when I walked past and I realized I had not fed the poor little guy yet this morning. His water is so cold, being unheated, that he spends most of his days and nights floating around on the water side or belly up, looking for all the world like he's dead. I just leave him be now since he is always so startled and looks really scared when I come up and tap the side of the pond near where he floats to see if he is still alive. I haven't seen the algae eater in several days so I'm not sure if he's still alive or if the cold did him in. I'm hoping he's just staying cozy next to the filter motor. The other two fish, in their little tanks on the table, are fine, more active at night when it's warmer in here after a day of people sometimes turning on the electric heater for a few minutes until the electric meter starts smoking again. I'm glad these 3 fish seem to be cold-weather hardy.
All of that to get to the point of why I decided to write and opened up this page to start with! The morning news!
I was thrilled to learn this morning that the Milky Way (the galaxy in which we all live) has recently gained weight. Now we are better prepared for the big collision with our formerly bigger sister galaxy, Andromeda, yes, for the collision that is definitely coming! We may even come out the winners in the coming collision!
"Previously we thought Andromeda was dominant, and that we were the little sister of Andromeda," Reid said. "But now it's more like we're fraternal twins."
That's not necessarily good news. A bigger Milky Way means that it could be crashing violently into the neighboring Andromeda galaxy sooner than predicted (notice that there is no period at the end of that thought. I took it out because I'm going to insert some thoughts here.)
When I read those two paragraphs I laughed. First of all, my dear husband is a fraternal twin. When he and his brother were growing up they were NEVER the same size. Ralph was always several inches and many pounds heavier than Mel. They were, at times, like the twins in the movie Twins (Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito as twin brothers). Until people got to know them they just couldn't believe two boys so different in looks, size and personality could really be twins. But they were - they still are, actually. :) ) So some scientist and news reporters comparing two galaxies to 'fraternal twins' instead of 'sisters' made me laugh. Who said twins, fraternal or maternal, have to be alike? Ha!
When I read those two paragraphs, after laughing I just shook my head and thought to myself, "Why in the world does everything have to be scary, reported in such a way that it is meant to make people frightened?" Good grief! Two galaxies colliding in space is really not something anyone can do anything about after all. We can't set up a government commission to study how best to keep Andromeda at bay, or change the route of the Milky Way. We can't throw billions and gazillions of dollars at the problem in hopes that scientists will make some discovery that could possibly change the course of two galaxies traveling through space. I mean after all we are going pretty fast here. "...Reid was able to determine the speed at which the spiral-shaped Milky Way is spinning around its center.
That speed — about 568,000 miles per hour — is faster than the 492,000 mph that scientists had been using for decades. That's about a 15 percent jump in spiral speed." (Gosh! - that's faster than our taxi driver yesterday!!) And that is just the speed we are going around in circles around a big black hole after all, to say nothing of the speed at which we are hurtling through space toward our formerly bigger-than-us sister.
I enjoy reading articles like this one. First of all there is interesting information sandwiched in-between sentences written for the purpose of frightening the populace. And second, they make me laugh and brighten up my day. After all, why should I be concerned that Ukraine and Russia are fighting over the price of natural gas, gas with which I cook our food, gas which heats our flat, gas which in many ways actually keeps us alive here in Ukraine - why should I be concerned about that when, gasp! Andromeda and the Milky Way are going to collide and we'll all die in the collision when both galaxies are torn apart and a new galaxy is created "billions of years from now."?? (Notice that this ended with a period because is the end of the previously quoted sentence.)
Well, the water is back on - time to go make Christmas cookies. I think I'll make them ALL stars and frost them in a bunch of pastel colors because stars do come in a variety of colors in space, and then I'll sprinkle them with multi-colored sprinkles and think of all the planets and moons which surround all the stars in space. And then I'll put them in a container and call that container "Space - The Final Frontier."
But I promise - I will NOT shake it, drop it or otherwise cause my stars to collide with each other in there!
quotes from FoxNews article: Milky Way Galaxy Suddenly Much Bigger, Heavier (Even the headline makes me laugh! "Suddenly" ha ha ha - Put it on a diet!!!)
(This is NOT the Milky Way, but the people at Hubble Space Telescope say it looks like the Milky Way...)
Spiral Galaxy NGC 3949: A Galaxy Similar to the Milky Way
This IS Andromeda - looks pretty safe to me...
Andromeda Galaxy M31
Yes, tomorrow is Christmas! I'll take down all the decorations after we get home tomorrow afternoon. The tree has been up for a month and I will miss it's beautiful lights. But that is a post for tomorrow.
As I was reading about the Russia vs. Ukraine 'gas war' I shivered a bit and decided I really need to go put my sweatshirt back on because it truly is chilly in here this morning. The turtleneck alone is fine when I am wandering around from one room to the other, making the bed, folding clean clothes and picking up stuff scattered around the room. But sitting here drinking another cup of coffee and reading - well, 64+ degrees is just a bit too cool for comfort. My back and shoulders are cold. Be right back....
Ok, I'm back. I fed the fish while I was at it. Little Fishy in the fish pond was begging oh-so-cutely when I walked past and I realized I had not fed the poor little guy yet this morning. His water is so cold, being unheated, that he spends most of his days and nights floating around on the water side or belly up, looking for all the world like he's dead. I just leave him be now since he is always so startled and looks really scared when I come up and tap the side of the pond near where he floats to see if he is still alive. I haven't seen the algae eater in several days so I'm not sure if he's still alive or if the cold did him in. I'm hoping he's just staying cozy next to the filter motor. The other two fish, in their little tanks on the table, are fine, more active at night when it's warmer in here after a day of people sometimes turning on the electric heater for a few minutes until the electric meter starts smoking again. I'm glad these 3 fish seem to be cold-weather hardy.
All of that to get to the point of why I decided to write and opened up this page to start with! The morning news!
I was thrilled to learn this morning that the Milky Way (the galaxy in which we all live) has recently gained weight. Now we are better prepared for the big collision with our formerly bigger sister galaxy, Andromeda, yes, for the collision that is definitely coming! We may even come out the winners in the coming collision!
"Previously we thought Andromeda was dominant, and that we were the little sister of Andromeda," Reid said. "But now it's more like we're fraternal twins."
That's not necessarily good news. A bigger Milky Way means that it could be crashing violently into the neighboring Andromeda galaxy sooner than predicted (notice that there is no period at the end of that thought. I took it out because I'm going to insert some thoughts here.)
When I read those two paragraphs I laughed. First of all, my dear husband is a fraternal twin. When he and his brother were growing up they were NEVER the same size. Ralph was always several inches and many pounds heavier than Mel. They were, at times, like the twins in the movie Twins (Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito as twin brothers). Until people got to know them they just couldn't believe two boys so different in looks, size and personality could really be twins. But they were - they still are, actually. :) ) So some scientist and news reporters comparing two galaxies to 'fraternal twins' instead of 'sisters' made me laugh. Who said twins, fraternal or maternal, have to be alike? Ha!
When I read those two paragraphs, after laughing I just shook my head and thought to myself, "Why in the world does everything have to be scary, reported in such a way that it is meant to make people frightened?" Good grief! Two galaxies colliding in space is really not something anyone can do anything about after all. We can't set up a government commission to study how best to keep Andromeda at bay, or change the route of the Milky Way. We can't throw billions and gazillions of dollars at the problem in hopes that scientists will make some discovery that could possibly change the course of two galaxies traveling through space. I mean after all we are going pretty fast here. "...Reid was able to determine the speed at which the spiral-shaped Milky Way is spinning around its center.
That speed — about 568,000 miles per hour — is faster than the 492,000 mph that scientists had been using for decades. That's about a 15 percent jump in spiral speed." (Gosh! - that's faster than our taxi driver yesterday!!) And that is just the speed we are going around in circles around a big black hole after all, to say nothing of the speed at which we are hurtling through space toward our formerly bigger-than-us sister.
I enjoy reading articles like this one. First of all there is interesting information sandwiched in-between sentences written for the purpose of frightening the populace. And second, they make me laugh and brighten up my day. After all, why should I be concerned that Ukraine and Russia are fighting over the price of natural gas, gas with which I cook our food, gas which heats our flat, gas which in many ways actually keeps us alive here in Ukraine - why should I be concerned about that when, gasp! Andromeda and the Milky Way are going to collide and we'll all die in the collision when both galaxies are torn apart and a new galaxy is created "billions of years from now."?? (Notice that this ended with a period because is the end of the previously quoted sentence.)
Well, the water is back on - time to go make Christmas cookies. I think I'll make them ALL stars and frost them in a bunch of pastel colors because stars do come in a variety of colors in space, and then I'll sprinkle them with multi-colored sprinkles and think of all the planets and moons which surround all the stars in space. And then I'll put them in a container and call that container "Space - The Final Frontier."
But I promise - I will NOT shake it, drop it or otherwise cause my stars to collide with each other in there!
quotes from FoxNews article: Milky Way Galaxy Suddenly Much Bigger, Heavier (Even the headline makes me laugh! "Suddenly" ha ha ha - Put it on a diet!!!)
(This is NOT the Milky Way, but the people at Hubble Space Telescope say it looks like the Milky Way...)
Spiral Galaxy NGC 3949: A Galaxy Similar to the Milky WayThis IS Andromeda - looks pretty safe to me...
Andromeda Galaxy M31
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Bits n Pieces
I spent a big chunk of today reading John and Martitia McGowan's blog, (please ask me if you want their blog address, too) about their adoption of a little boy, Maxim, from Kherson. We spent several hours with them over the the month or so they were here, as did other members of our team. It was very interesting to read about Kherson through new-to-Ukraine/Kherson eyes. So many things I take for granted now - I was reminded how new and unusual and sometimes strange or disgusting or weird it seemed to me when I first got here. I think it's good to be reminded.
I scrolled all the way down to their first post here in Ukraine and read up through them. I wish blogger would let people choose to read oldest posts first if they want to. Maybe they do? And I just don't know about it?
~*~*~*~
Melinda invited Mel and me and Alys over for dinner and a movie tonight. She made some pretty good spaghetti and garlic bread, fresh veggies and fruit salad. We brought the movie, A Simple Twist of Fate. We've had it for years and enjoy watching it every time we see it again. It always makes me cry, even if it is a 'feel good' movie.
~*~*~*~
Mel asked me this afternoon if I wanted to go down to the city center and see the New Year/Christmas lights. I said "sure!" Then he asked me if I wanted to walk down and I said "sure!". Then he asked me when and I said, "uh, I don't know, when it gets dark?" And he reminded me that I am nervous about walking in the almost-dark because I'm afraid of falling. So since I was busy reading the above mentioned blog, I said, "4:00".
And we did - we left at about 3:55 and got to the post office and it was already closed so I didn't get to see if the package my parents sent us had arrived yet. Will have to wait till Monday. But then we walked on down to the city center and went to Supermarket Alf to buy a couple things (when I say in my head "Supermarket Alf" it is always set to the advertisement music we hear on the radio - wish I could share it with you, too. ha ha!)
The we walked over to Ploshad Svaboda (Freedom Square) where in front of the "White House" (Kherson Oblast government buildings) they have a wonderful display this year. Melinda tells me it was there last year, too, but we weren't here last year to see it. It was a first for us here in Kherson.
Wow! I was impressed. Half of Kherson was there. Well, it seemed like half of Kherson was there, but I know in reality it was just a couple hundred people. One was another American woman that I almost went up to and introduced myself, but my introverted nature kicked in and I just did the Ukrainian thing - I stared at her really hard. She didn't seem to notice, however. :) :) :) Here is a photo of Mel standing under lights of his favorite color - blue, blue, blue.
~*~*~*~
So far we still have plenty of gas. So far the flat temperature is staying about the same - between 60 and 62 in the morning when we get up, all the way up to 65 or even a heat wave 68 during the day. I took this photo about 3 o'clock this afternoon.
Cheyenne is freezing - is all over me day and night. She has even taken to sleeping under the covers again, down by my feet.
I am happy to report that I am much more comfortable now then I was just a few weeks ago. Makes me wonder if my body was fighting a virus or something that I was so awfully cold. Now I am handling it much better - sweatshirts and shoes on in the house, yes, but my nose takes a lot longer to go from cold to frozen. I'm even sitting here late tonight (or should I say early tomorrow morning since it is almost 1:30 am) in just a turtleneck without the sweatshirt. Cheyenne is, however, velcroed to my shoulder and neck so that is keeping me much warmer than I would be otherwise. Here I am in this photo almost with a polar bear hugging my neck (maybe that's why I look like I'm being poked from behind?) - I prefer Cheyenne, claws and all -. She purrs much nicer than a bear would.
~*~*~*~
Ok, by the time I get to bed, it is going to be 2 a.m. now. I'll try to post more tomorrow, late afternoon after church. For now (yawn), I'm starting to get a headache even tho I don't feel very tired. Hopefully, I'll go to sleep quickly anyway (yawn).
I scrolled all the way down to their first post here in Ukraine and read up through them. I wish blogger would let people choose to read oldest posts first if they want to. Maybe they do? And I just don't know about it?
Melinda invited Mel and me and Alys over for dinner and a movie tonight. She made some pretty good spaghetti and garlic bread, fresh veggies and fruit salad. We brought the movie, A Simple Twist of Fate. We've had it for years and enjoy watching it every time we see it again. It always makes me cry, even if it is a 'feel good' movie.
Mel asked me this afternoon if I wanted to go down to the city center and see the New Year/Christmas lights. I said "sure!" Then he asked me if I wanted to walk down and I said "sure!". Then he asked me when and I said, "uh, I don't know, when it gets dark?" And he reminded me that I am nervous about walking in the almost-dark because I'm afraid of falling. So since I was busy reading the above mentioned blog, I said, "4:00".
And we did - we left at about 3:55 and got to the post office and it was already closed so I didn't get to see if the package my parents sent us had arrived yet. Will have to wait till Monday. But then we walked on down to the city center and went to Supermarket Alf to buy a couple things (when I say in my head "Supermarket Alf" it is always set to the advertisement music we hear on the radio - wish I could share it with you, too. ha ha!)
The we walked over to Ploshad Svaboda (Freedom Square) where in front of the "White House" (Kherson Oblast government buildings) they have a wonderful display this year. Melinda tells me it was there last year, too, but we weren't here last year to see it. It was a first for us here in Kherson.
Wow! I was impressed. Half of Kherson was there. Well, it seemed like half of Kherson was there, but I know in reality it was just a couple hundred people. One was another American woman that I almost went up to and introduced myself, but my introverted nature kicked in and I just did the Ukrainian thing - I stared at her really hard. She didn't seem to notice, however. :) :) :) Here is a photo of Mel standing under lights of his favorite color - blue, blue, blue.
So far we still have plenty of gas. So far the flat temperature is staying about the same - between 60 and 62 in the morning when we get up, all the way up to 65 or even a heat wave 68 during the day. I took this photo about 3 o'clock this afternoon.
Cheyenne is freezing - is all over me day and night. She has even taken to sleeping under the covers again, down by my feet.
I am happy to report that I am much more comfortable now then I was just a few weeks ago. Makes me wonder if my body was fighting a virus or something that I was so awfully cold. Now I am handling it much better - sweatshirts and shoes on in the house, yes, but my nose takes a lot longer to go from cold to frozen. I'm even sitting here late tonight (or should I say early tomorrow morning since it is almost 1:30 am) in just a turtleneck without the sweatshirt. Cheyenne is, however, velcroed to my shoulder and neck so that is keeping me much warmer than I would be otherwise. Here I am in this photo almost with a polar bear hugging my neck (maybe that's why I look like I'm being poked from behind?) - I prefer Cheyenne, claws and all -. She purrs much nicer than a bear would.
Ok, by the time I get to bed, it is going to be 2 a.m. now. I'll try to post more tomorrow, late afternoon after church. For now (yawn), I'm starting to get a headache even tho I don't feel very tired. Hopefully, I'll go to sleep quickly anyway (yawn).
Friday, December 19, 2008
Cookie Time, Computer and Heat Catch-up
I baked cookies today. Chocolate chip cookies, molasses cookies and cut-out Christmas cookies. I'll frost the cut-out ones tomorrow before the English class. I cut them out in 4 shapes this time: bells, candy canes, stars and Christmas trees.
I love this time of year. :)
I washed a load of laundry while making the first batch of cookies. Actually, my washer is so slow that I made and baked both the choco chip and molasses cookies while it washed. The clothes are hanging out on the balcony tonight, not quite frozen since it is 33.6 degrees out there at 10:40pm. We had some wind earlier so they may actually be almost dry, but I'll check tomorrow. That is what is nice about having a "cage" on our balcony - I often leave clothes out overnight to dry.
Ira came over today and she and Mel took my computer to the computer repair place. On the way down the stairs, Ira stopped at the "keeper of the stairwell" lady's door and rang her buzzer. Tatiana was home, so Ira asked her why the heat is so low in our building and why don't they turn it up?
With the little electric heater sitting right below our indoor-outdoor thermometer and running for the past three hours, the temp is 66 degrees there. Over here away from the heater aways it is much cooler. My nose is frozen again and I'm bundled in sweats, real shoes (No slippers for me in the house, no matter the Ukrainian custom!) and a turtleneck sweater under the sweatshirt. Tatiana told Ira there is some kind of a problem they are trying to get fixed and she is not happy that it is so cold, either. I just can't imagine that all the old ladies who live in our stairwell are happy with the 60 degree temp without an electric heater. I know for a fact that most of the people here can't afford to run an electric heater because it makes the electric bill go up. So - there is hope! Tatiana said she has no control over it so I am hoping and praying that enough people will complain that something will be done. This is totally ridiculous. If it gets down into the 20's and teens outside, it is going to be in the 50's in here before too long.
'Nuff said. Except ... some things to keep in mind about all this is: supply and demand, where the gas comes from (Russia) and the political stuff going on between the two countries, and the fact that the griven is in a free-fall right now (the current exchange rate is between $=7.50 UAH and $=9.50 UAH. Yes, it is swinging that wildly and the higher it goes, the worse for Ukraine. 9.50 !!! I never thought we would see that rate - scary, very scary.)
So, Mel and Ira took the computer to the computer repair place they took our other computer to about 18 or 20 months ago. One of the guys remembered them immediately and said: "I told you if you didn't get that coffee cleaned up out of your computer, it would die!" Mel laughed and said, "It died last year, this is a new one."
Coffee in the computer? What? Well, way back three years ago while we were home and living in the Springs for awhile, I had the computer setting on a coffee table in the living room because that is where I could get free wireless, the only place in that townhouse where I could pick it up. I had been babysitting Stirling and Kara came to pick him up after she got off work. She came in with a nice big cafe' peppermint mocha in her hand, tripped over a stuffed animal on the floor and the coffee went flying - all over the carpet, the computer, the couch. We cleaned it up as best we could, but the computer gave me fits from then on. When we came back to Ukraine, Mel took it in to have the fan fixed and the guy told us to stop drinking coffee around our computer and that we'd lose it if we didn't get it cleaned up. I didn't stop drinking coffee around my computer, but I have never spilled coffee on my computer ever, and we didn't get it cleaned for a variety of reasons and then it died. ;)
Mel tells me he assured the guy that no one has spilled coffee on this laptop - then he asked me, "You haven't spilled coffee on it, have you??"
I have a feeling that there is a combination of problems - first it gets really hot and the fan doesn't seem to work right. Second we have had an incredible amount of dust and altho I keep it closed when I'm not working on it, this dust is like baby powder, off the Sahara according to Earth Observatory photos from space (amazing - this dust could have palm pollen and camel pee in it!!!) and third, we had those amazingly horrid power surges a few weeks ago that actually burned out all the lightbulbs in our looster, er...what is that thing called in English??? Hmmmm...the lamp thingy that hangs from the ceiling, the er... (bother Mel while he's reading and ask "What is that thing in English?" and point) ah yes, chandelier!!! The power surges actually caught the chandelier in the office flat on fire and burned it's connection to the wire where they are connected. Mel told me there is actually a ring of smoke right around the base - I'll have to look tomorrow when I'm down there again, I forgot last week.
Anyway, all that to say, we think the transformer pack on the power cord is shot as well. And who knows what is fried inside the poor computer. Again - if there is coffee in there, I am not responsible, just as I was not responsible last time!!!
So, I am using this poor old thing, praying that it won't quit on me before I finish this post.
I have no idea why, but I don't feel so complainy tonight. I just have a frozen nose - I'll have to check and make sure it's not turning right red. :):)
PS Olya, thanks for you comment on my last post. Actually, our flat has always been so warm - this is very unusual. We have lived here 10 years now and we have a great relationship with our landlord and here in Ukraine that is rare, something to be treasured and nurtured. We plan to move only if they want their flat back. We have great neighbors, they watch out for us and take care of us (like the young woman with the little boy who knocked on the door to let us know the water truck was here last night and the babushka in the first floor apt. who made sure we knew the potato truck was here a couple months ago, and so forth). I understand your thinking and if other circumstances were different we would be tempted. BUT - Melinda was without heat for several days, every person in our church has been without any heat at all this fall at one time or another, some in Tavrichisky have been without heat and water for several days. Kherson is having a hard time with heating pipes, water pipes, power and so forth. I was just in a crappy mood last night and posted how I felt. :) :)
But I am feeling much better now. The water is back on and soon I will go to bed where Mel keeps me very warm (he does complain and ask me why I am so cold when I put my cold hands on his warm back, however) and I keep the cat very warm while she sleeps on my feet and grumbles at me whenever I move or turn over. heh heh
I love this time of year. :)
I washed a load of laundry while making the first batch of cookies. Actually, my washer is so slow that I made and baked both the choco chip and molasses cookies while it washed. The clothes are hanging out on the balcony tonight, not quite frozen since it is 33.6 degrees out there at 10:40pm. We had some wind earlier so they may actually be almost dry, but I'll check tomorrow. That is what is nice about having a "cage" on our balcony - I often leave clothes out overnight to dry.
Ira came over today and she and Mel took my computer to the computer repair place. On the way down the stairs, Ira stopped at the "keeper of the stairwell" lady's door and rang her buzzer. Tatiana was home, so Ira asked her why the heat is so low in our building and why don't they turn it up?
With the little electric heater sitting right below our indoor-outdoor thermometer and running for the past three hours, the temp is 66 degrees there. Over here away from the heater aways it is much cooler. My nose is frozen again and I'm bundled in sweats, real shoes (No slippers for me in the house, no matter the Ukrainian custom!) and a turtleneck sweater under the sweatshirt. Tatiana told Ira there is some kind of a problem they are trying to get fixed and she is not happy that it is so cold, either. I just can't imagine that all the old ladies who live in our stairwell are happy with the 60 degree temp without an electric heater. I know for a fact that most of the people here can't afford to run an electric heater because it makes the electric bill go up. So - there is hope! Tatiana said she has no control over it so I am hoping and praying that enough people will complain that something will be done. This is totally ridiculous. If it gets down into the 20's and teens outside, it is going to be in the 50's in here before too long.
'Nuff said. Except ... some things to keep in mind about all this is: supply and demand, where the gas comes from (Russia) and the political stuff going on between the two countries, and the fact that the griven is in a free-fall right now (the current exchange rate is between $=7.50 UAH and $=9.50 UAH. Yes, it is swinging that wildly and the higher it goes, the worse for Ukraine. 9.50 !!! I never thought we would see that rate - scary, very scary.)
So, Mel and Ira took the computer to the computer repair place they took our other computer to about 18 or 20 months ago. One of the guys remembered them immediately and said: "I told you if you didn't get that coffee cleaned up out of your computer, it would die!" Mel laughed and said, "It died last year, this is a new one."
Coffee in the computer? What? Well, way back three years ago while we were home and living in the Springs for awhile, I had the computer setting on a coffee table in the living room because that is where I could get free wireless, the only place in that townhouse where I could pick it up. I had been babysitting Stirling and Kara came to pick him up after she got off work. She came in with a nice big cafe' peppermint mocha in her hand, tripped over a stuffed animal on the floor and the coffee went flying - all over the carpet, the computer, the couch. We cleaned it up as best we could, but the computer gave me fits from then on. When we came back to Ukraine, Mel took it in to have the fan fixed and the guy told us to stop drinking coffee around our computer and that we'd lose it if we didn't get it cleaned up. I didn't stop drinking coffee around my computer, but I have never spilled coffee on my computer ever, and we didn't get it cleaned for a variety of reasons and then it died. ;)
Mel tells me he assured the guy that no one has spilled coffee on this laptop - then he asked me, "You haven't spilled coffee on it, have you??"
I have a feeling that there is a combination of problems - first it gets really hot and the fan doesn't seem to work right. Second we have had an incredible amount of dust and altho I keep it closed when I'm not working on it, this dust is like baby powder, off the Sahara according to Earth Observatory photos from space (amazing - this dust could have palm pollen and camel pee in it!!!) and third, we had those amazingly horrid power surges a few weeks ago that actually burned out all the lightbulbs in our looster, er...what is that thing called in English??? Hmmmm...the lamp thingy that hangs from the ceiling, the er... (bother Mel while he's reading and ask "What is that thing in English?" and point) ah yes, chandelier!!! The power surges actually caught the chandelier in the office flat on fire and burned it's connection to the wire where they are connected. Mel told me there is actually a ring of smoke right around the base - I'll have to look tomorrow when I'm down there again, I forgot last week.
Anyway, all that to say, we think the transformer pack on the power cord is shot as well. And who knows what is fried inside the poor computer. Again - if there is coffee in there, I am not responsible, just as I was not responsible last time!!!
So, I am using this poor old thing, praying that it won't quit on me before I finish this post.
I have no idea why, but I don't feel so complainy tonight. I just have a frozen nose - I'll have to check and make sure it's not turning right red. :):)
PS Olya, thanks for you comment on my last post. Actually, our flat has always been so warm - this is very unusual. We have lived here 10 years now and we have a great relationship with our landlord and here in Ukraine that is rare, something to be treasured and nurtured. We plan to move only if they want their flat back. We have great neighbors, they watch out for us and take care of us (like the young woman with the little boy who knocked on the door to let us know the water truck was here last night and the babushka in the first floor apt. who made sure we knew the potato truck was here a couple months ago, and so forth). I understand your thinking and if other circumstances were different we would be tempted. BUT - Melinda was without heat for several days, every person in our church has been without any heat at all this fall at one time or another, some in Tavrichisky have been without heat and water for several days. Kherson is having a hard time with heating pipes, water pipes, power and so forth. I was just in a crappy mood last night and posted how I felt. :) :)
But I am feeling much better now. The water is back on and soon I will go to bed where Mel keeps me very warm (he does complain and ask me why I am so cold when I put my cold hands on his warm back, however) and I keep the cat very warm while she sleeps on my feet and grumbles at me whenever I move or turn over. heh heh
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Complaining
I'm complaining tonight. It has been a crappy couple of days. First, the water went off on Tuesday. I mentioned that before, I know. And then it is cold in our flat. I mentioned that before, I know. And then my computer died this morning. I have not mentioned that before.
Crappy.
Sigh.
So, I'm using Mel's computer, which is quite old and has a bad habit of just turning off in the middle of whatever he/I is/am doing.
The good news is that the water truck came today and Mel filled up two 6 liter bottles of water. Big sign on the truck: Boil water for 10 minutes!!!! We will use if for flushing only.
Better news is that the water came back on tonight around 8 pm. Hopefully they have fixed whatever the problem is.
You don't realize how much you use water until you have none. We were out of pots and pans tonight - tomorrow would have been a sandwiches only day, or a day to eat out on the town. Thankfully, we can now wash the dishes...which Mel is doing for me as I write this (I love that guy!), after we had quick showers first. There are priorities, after all!!
The not good news is that Ira told me today on the phone why it is so cold in our flat. Down to 60 degrees this morning in the office room.
Why? you ask. Because our building went 'private' and we no longer have ZhEK, which means there is a boiler in the basement somewhere that heats the water for the radiators and no one wants to pay the gas bill to heat the water hot enough to make it actually warm in our apartment/stairwell/building. Grrrrr.
Our landlord raised the rent $50 per month just to pay the extra cost for gas, starting in October. We have no benefit from it at all - in fact, just the opposite! Our flat used to be so warm I would wear shorts inside during the winter. Too warm. Now I sit here with a frozen nose, hands and feet. I am not used to being cold and I don't like it in the least little bit.
Grrrrr.
The other good news is that Ira will come tomorrow morning and help us take my computer to a repair place. The bad news is we have no idea if it is fixable, no clue what is wrong with it. I would say I'm crossing my fingers - but hey, I don't believe in luck and the arthritis in my fingers would make that extremely painful right now.
Instead, I am praying.
So, here I sit, complaining and praying.
Wow.
What an Old Testament Israelite I am.
I am supposed to be learning something from this. I am supposed to be sharing in the sufferings of the people around me. But, I am uncomfortable, I am inconvenienced (good grief - I have semi-access to a computer, I'm writing right now, aren't I?), I am complaining.
Shame on me.
However - I am REALLY REALLY glad I could take a shower finally..... and so is Mel.
hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
I just really, really want my computer back. I'll stop complaining about the lack of heat. I'll try to anyway.
Crappy.
Sigh.
So, I'm using Mel's computer, which is quite old and has a bad habit of just turning off in the middle of whatever he/I is/am doing.
The good news is that the water truck came today and Mel filled up two 6 liter bottles of water. Big sign on the truck: Boil water for 10 minutes!!!! We will use if for flushing only.
Better news is that the water came back on tonight around 8 pm. Hopefully they have fixed whatever the problem is.
You don't realize how much you use water until you have none. We were out of pots and pans tonight - tomorrow would have been a sandwiches only day, or a day to eat out on the town. Thankfully, we can now wash the dishes...which Mel is doing for me as I write this (I love that guy!), after we had quick showers first. There are priorities, after all!!
The not good news is that Ira told me today on the phone why it is so cold in our flat. Down to 60 degrees this morning in the office room.
Why? you ask. Because our building went 'private' and we no longer have ZhEK, which means there is a boiler in the basement somewhere that heats the water for the radiators and no one wants to pay the gas bill to heat the water hot enough to make it actually warm in our apartment/stairwell/building. Grrrrr.
Our landlord raised the rent $50 per month just to pay the extra cost for gas, starting in October. We have no benefit from it at all - in fact, just the opposite! Our flat used to be so warm I would wear shorts inside during the winter. Too warm. Now I sit here with a frozen nose, hands and feet. I am not used to being cold and I don't like it in the least little bit.
Grrrrr.
The other good news is that Ira will come tomorrow morning and help us take my computer to a repair place. The bad news is we have no idea if it is fixable, no clue what is wrong with it. I would say I'm crossing my fingers - but hey, I don't believe in luck and the arthritis in my fingers would make that extremely painful right now.
Instead, I am praying.
So, here I sit, complaining and praying.
Wow.
What an Old Testament Israelite I am.
I am supposed to be learning something from this. I am supposed to be sharing in the sufferings of the people around me. But, I am uncomfortable, I am inconvenienced (good grief - I have semi-access to a computer, I'm writing right now, aren't I?), I am complaining.
Shame on me.
However - I am REALLY REALLY glad I could take a shower finally..... and so is Mel.
hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
I just really, really want my computer back. I'll stop complaining about the lack of heat. I'll try to anyway.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
And I Think It's Cold In Our Flat...
From Two Medicine webcam on the Glacier National Park webpage:
(If you can't read the numbers, trying clicking on the photo to make it bigger.)
Glacier National Park, Two Medicine webcam
This is obviously not correct, which may be why the 'current' photo is 3 days old. It doesn't get that cold in Alaska - maybe once in a century? Of course, who knows? Maybe it really was that cold! heh heh heh
(If you can't read the numbers, trying clicking on the photo to make it bigger.)
Glacier National Park, Two Medicine webcam
This is obviously not correct, which may be why the 'current' photo is 3 days old. It doesn't get that cold in Alaska - maybe once in a century? Of course, who knows? Maybe it really was that cold! heh heh heh
Cold and Water
It is cold outside - finally!
And it is cold inside - sadly.
We have no water. It went off yesterday to the accompaniment of very loud gurgles in all of the pipes. Drained away completely. The pipes are dry as old bones out in the cow pasture in the middle of a very hot and dry summer. Dry.
The dishes are piling up. We will have to buy water soon for both drinking and washing dishes because our 3 six liter bottles that we keep filled with drinking water are about half gone already.
But the biggest concern is that it is cold in here. Was 63 degrees when Mel got up this morning. There is the barest hint of warmth in the radiators. Barely. They are at least warmer than the walls are.
I have a thermometer that sits beside my plants in the window here in our office room. It reads 50 degrees right now. So between the plants in the window and where I sit not 3 feet away, the temperature warms up 13 degrees. That is better than only warming up 12 degrees, or worse yet, not warming up at all.
I have never been a cold person. I am usually the last person in the room to feel cold. I wear short-sleeved shirts when other people are in ski sweaters. But alas, after my surgery last January, I get cold much faster. Too bad, altho for the first time in my life I can wear a knit sweater and not feel like I'm suffocating, so there is at least one positive to it. I'm cold now. I would take a hot shower and warm up, but alas, no water...
Baby, it's cold INside!
And it is cold inside - sadly.
We have no water. It went off yesterday to the accompaniment of very loud gurgles in all of the pipes. Drained away completely. The pipes are dry as old bones out in the cow pasture in the middle of a very hot and dry summer. Dry.
The dishes are piling up. We will have to buy water soon for both drinking and washing dishes because our 3 six liter bottles that we keep filled with drinking water are about half gone already.
But the biggest concern is that it is cold in here. Was 63 degrees when Mel got up this morning. There is the barest hint of warmth in the radiators. Barely. They are at least warmer than the walls are.
I have a thermometer that sits beside my plants in the window here in our office room. It reads 50 degrees right now. So between the plants in the window and where I sit not 3 feet away, the temperature warms up 13 degrees. That is better than only warming up 12 degrees, or worse yet, not warming up at all.
I have never been a cold person. I am usually the last person in the room to feel cold. I wear short-sleeved shirts when other people are in ski sweaters. But alas, after my surgery last January, I get cold much faster. Too bad, altho for the first time in my life I can wear a knit sweater and not feel like I'm suffocating, so there is at least one positive to it. I'm cold now. I would take a hot shower and warm up, but alas, no water...
Baby, it's cold INside!
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