What we've been doing this week

Garry's euro-maidon ribbon he got at a rally hanging in the car
(we tucked it under the visor when we were in Yalta)

What have we been doing this week besides watching CNN and the BBC to see the latest news about Crimea? Seems like another life, although it was just last week when we were there, walking the seaside in Yalta!

Well, this week Ukraine is in the news again, as the government gets ready for life without Mr Y in charge. It seems many local politicians, mostly mayors, are trying to renounce ties with the Party of Regions (the former president's party)  Nikolipolia's mayor among them. The villagers are still upset with him for the "official" opening of the kindergarten (preschool facility) during the parliamentary elections two years ago when the party of regions took credit for the renovations that the trade school group had paid for.

 Truthfully, many mayors only joined the party so they could get things done in the their village, so they are not jumping from a sinking ship, just trying to stay afloat. That's life in Ukraine. Many of them had to go to the anti-maidon rallies last month, having been told to send two people here from the village office and from the school, and don't forget to sign in. 



Garry and I have been visiting the gym! I have sore stomach muscles to prove it too. We went to two different ones in Zaporosia, and have signed up for a 12 visit membership at one, where we know the trainer, Marina. They had free water to drink, nice showers and towels included, besides the personal attention. Garry did like the first one with the ping pong (tennis) tables, but this one has stationary bikes. We went on Thursday before we went to the first English Bible study group meeting for the year. There are Canadians, Americans and Ukrainians at the meeting, we really liked it when we attended in the fall.

Wednesday night Garry had 15 people out for his English club meeting in Dnepropetjisk, they were excited to have him back. The roads were a little slippery on the way there, in the last couple days the weather is more cold and rainy than cold and snowy, and the mud is back.

Garry has been working on stuff for the trade school, they need to get some info out to get students signed up  for next year, and he continues to work on the malinky dome reno project, when he isn't running to a village to breed cows (one day he was going 50 km away according to Max, if I understood him correctly, while I was cooking lunch, it had to wait a little while before we ate).

Cement fill

Starting the plastering

Garry bought a ladder!

He listens to Russian lessons while he works

Sanding the walls is a little dusty

They have finished filling holes in the walls of the main room with cement and he is working on the plastercoats, and sanding. Today he was filling the ceiling near the beam where they removed the dividing wall. Next week they should be ready to paint this room, although there is some work to do on the chimney and the heat pipes for the furnace before they do the bathroom.