That's not all

 I said we had a busy week, but I didn't even talk about Wednesday and Thursday, which were stories in themselves. You might remember reading that Nikolai was putting the scoffs together Wednesday morning, I was keeping an eye on what three year old Danil was getting into in the living room (since Alona was helping her husband.) Garry was off prepping the new heifer barn build because the crane to lift the trusses was coming the next morning. Here's a few photos from the 9th when they did cement work over there.

Wednesday we left the village at 12:30, just as they were working on the broken power line near the store that had our electricity out for two days. We were on our way to the HIV clinic in Zaporosia with the two students who needed refills. Since covid they give them a three month supply, so Garry doesn't have to take them as often. We walked to a bankomat so I could get out cash (Garry had lost his ATM card right after I got back, luckily I found it in the van Friday evening) then we sat outside at a cafe drinking cold drinks and trying to keep Danil from picking the flowers off the planters until they were finished. It was 33 degrees Celsius ( close to 100 F ) and I was baking, even under an awning with misters going. 


We got home around three, then left again after five for a quick trip to Nova Lenya to get a curtain rod and doorknobs for our renovation project and Garry needed nails for putting on the trusses. A quick drive through KFC and we were on our way to the cow he was going to breed in Sharokey on the way home. He phoned when we got to town and told the lady to stand by her gate so he could find the right house.
We drove the street up and down looking for the lady, we had seen her and a boy the first time but they didn't seem to be looking for anyone, so we continued on, (this time of year people are often on the street) we stopped on the return drive and it was the house but it took a minute to confirm because they didn't have a cow to breed, they had a heifer to breed.

As Garry was at the side of the van, getting the semen out of the liquid nitrogen tank, a young man came up to talk, he switched to English to our surprise. He was the village school English teacher and wanted to ask if Garry could come talk to the students in the fall sometime. His English was pretty good considering he said that he was the math teacher, but they didn't have an English teacher at the village school, so he taught himself in six months to become the English teacher! He said there is about fifty students, a little smaller than Nikolaipolia's school.
As we were driving home, Garry's phone rang, and there was a cow to breed in Petropol, off the highway toward Zaporosia. Immediately his phone rang again and we had to turn around and go back to Morosnika, the village we'd driven through ten minutes before on our way home ( we'd almost gotten back to Nikolaipolia at this time) to breed a cow for the people with giant walnuts. By the time we'd returned to the village Garry dropped me off at the house with the curtain rod before going to Petrapol.

Garry was up early the next day, ready for the crane, unlike the combines, it did show up. It was wasn't coming until ten he said when he came back around 8:45 and bought me water and apple cider vinegar for my pickles. I had picked a big bowlful of cucumbers and green beans that morning. He had forgotten to buy lag bolts the night before but drove to Salone to get some. I didn't see him again until after six pm, but he took some pictures. It was 35 degrees Thursday afternoon, so the guys and Garry were all hot and tired. 

I don't think the finger is an artistic statement...

We finished off the room Friday morning, and they were excited to see the renovations when they got back Saturday. We were gone when they arrived back from their trip to the sea, as Garry had an English class in Dnepro this morning and I went shopping for groceries and yarn. 

We had a bit of excitement later today, first Garry lost his wallet. He thought it had been stolen from the car, which he'd left by the Quonset barn when he took the skid steer to clean the alleyways during afternoon milking ( the guys were all busy baling hay- six wagonfuls today and four yesterday, third cut was about the same amount as first cut hay). However, it must have fallen out of his pocket, becausehe found it in the skid steer when he checked. 

Then while the new couple were meeting with the students outside this evening, Danil climbed in the van and  turned the key, it was in gear and he drove it forward into a tree in the back yard. The van has a few more scratches on it. Garry's been trying to remember to take the keys out of the cars, because Danil just opens the door and climbs in.

Our little driver