Back in Ukraine, but my body disagrees...

I am sitting at the keyboard, its after one am--when I woke up after a couple hours sleep. Which is more than I got the night before, when I lay awake until almost 5 am and slept less than two hours. Garry picked up at the Dnepro airport Friday afternoon. I landed almost two hours behind schedule, but I was happy to have landed there, since before we boarded in Vienna, they had announced that they might land in Kiev or Kharciv, due to fog in Dnepropetroesk, and then provide ground transport. I was madly texting Garry before riding the bus out to the tarmack--European air travel is not as glam as you may imagine-- with the news that the pilot would decide in the air, and if I landed at the airport it would be closer to 3 than 1:35!

They waited to announce we were in Dnepro until after landing---it got a bigger round of applause than the landing, and Ukrainians seem to alway clap when they land, it makes you wonder sometimes...It was foggy, Garry said it was worse than when he drove in as we rode back to the village. Garry said that there was snow covering the roads when he arrived the week before, but it was melting when I got back, and very muddy everywhere in the yard. Garry tells me there are some heifer calves to see in the barn, but I think I'll have to find some boots, or maybe it will be froze some in the morning.

Customs had me send my luggage through the xray machine - lucky me my suitcse came out on the carasuel first, so I hoped for a quick exit to find Garry who had texted that he was waiting--and then wanted to know about pill bottles--three bottles af Advil and I look like a smuggler I guess. I need my cold and sinus, I swaer I am allergic to Ukraine sometimes, I an fine at home.

I was hungry, I had not eaten much since dinner on the first plane two hours after leaving Newark, Breakfast 4 hours later was a chunk of kiwi, half a strawberry, and a cube of watermelon, a hard granola bar, and small muffin. Rush to board flight from Germany to Vienna, where I had an upset stomach and had cola instead of juice and only ate half the date filled crossiant served. Hurry through customs again since we landed a half hour late because of de-icing--once again no sercurity screening, some airports you do it everytime you takeoff, some drop you past it--find out plane was now sceduled for 11 am instead of 10:20, it was almost noon before we got onto the plane which had to wait to de-ice and get a spot on the runway in the light snow which had started to fall before we left. They had a good pile on the ground there in Vienna already.

Once were were finally in the air, my stomach growled with the info it was snack to be served, it was a lovely half cream cheese filled sandwich with green herbal flecks. I ordered tomato juice and tea with milk so I could fill up on my drink selections. My emergency stash of crackers and pretzels was in my roller bag at the back of the plane--- with the exception of a melted Hershey bar I didn't dare open. My computer bag was under the seat, since I barely got my coat in the overhead by the time I boarded and found my seat, I ended up 8 rows back of my ticket some old guy was sitting in 7D, he had been reissued tickets and had not realized his seat had changed so I headed back for his aisle seat in row 15 when he fianlly found it. I did get the only empty seat on the plane between me and an older lady, but had to give the flight attendant my bag to store, so I had to get to the back to get it and was the last one on the bus to the terminal and the last one thorough passport control, so  I thought bonus! when my flowered suitcase appeared first.

At least I wasn't Garry who had his hand luggage inspected at every stop by sercurity, lost some of his machinery parts that he thought would make his checked bag too heavy right as he started in Winnipeg, and somehow had the zipper come open on his carry-on bag in Germany as he was going down an escalator, spilling mast of the contexts down the moving stairs, he said people were helping him grab stuff as he decended, and at the bottom, Sadly he lost the pieces to the travel Blocus game I bought him at Liquidation Workl for Christmas when it hit the escalator, the case came open and the little plastic pieces went into the gears in the bottom of the escalator!

I was so hungry I did make pizza for dinner since it Friday, although it had no italian spice since Garry had not realized we were out of it. Andrei missed my pizza so much he ate more than one---pizza that is. Good thing I made three so there was three slices in the fridge. After only dozing on my planes I went to bed before Garry at 8 pm, was up twice in the night, falling asleep around 5 am and since the house was empty Saturday, slept until noon. I hope I am awake for teaching on Tuesday, Garry had no trouble adjusting and enjoyed his classes last week while I was in New Jersey.