We've been busy

 The last week has flown by. Sunday we went to church in the village, the pastor's wife was so excited to see me back in Ukraine and wearing my vishivanka (embroidered Ukrainian shirt) I got a hug. You might guess that masks have disappeared at church now. However most stores in the city still have signs asking for people to wear them, and most people do (although sometimes not very well).

Sunday afternoon we went to Epicenter on a buying spree. We bought more chairs for the table, two scoffs for the guest bedrooms (that's a wardrobe, one of the first words I learned 12 years ago) a curtain, a rug and some smaller items. Why the sudden interest in fixing up the "Crawford house" after living here a year?

We're moving out! In the next couple weeks, we're going to back next door (excuse me while I find a fly swatter)...

Now I am waiting for it to come back to nibble on my leg... Instead I found a flea climbing my leg. I hadn't seen one in a couple days. We have been working on eliminating them since Monday. We've been vacuuming twice a day. I have washed everything that can go in the washer and hung it out to dry. The washer  has been running constantly, except from Monday evening to Wednesday afternoon, when the power was out (more about that in the next post.)

Back to why we are moving. While I was in Canada, Garry met the brother of the guy who has been the official business manager since we became an official farm business in Ukraine a few years ago. He does all the stuff so we follow all the complicated tax stuff correctly, and 'keeps the books'. His wife's dentist office is doing well so he'd like to give up his side job and thought he'd train his brother, who just moved here from Russia.

So Oleg, he's Ukrainian, but his wife Lena is from Siberia, they have two sons, five and three years old. He was doing mission work there when they met. So they thought they might live in the village, so Garry offered them this house. They were living part of the time with Garry for the last couple weeks, they rented an apartment in Zaporosia for two months when they arrived from Russia. They seem to really be making connections with the students, and can talk with them about spiritual things without needing translation. 

So her father lives with them, and has been sleeping on the couch when they are here, the rest of the family is in the room with the bunk beds and a twin bed. So Garry decided we'd surprize them when they get back from their trip to the sea this week, by finishing the unfinished bedroom. Scott and Shannon used it for storage and we had plans but never got around to it.

He'd already reinforced the removable pieces covering the cellar steps, Andre Rudei welded a framework for them when I was gone. So Tuesday afternoon I painted the floor and we got Nikolai to assemble the scoffs Wednesday morning (Garry put the doors on this morning, because they might be back today, and Thursday Nikolai was one of the guys nailing trusses up on the roof of the new heifer barn (more on the build in the next, next post.) So the beds are made with clean sheets and Grandpa has his own room when they get back.

I guess the fly is waiting for later to attack, he hasn't returned. I did kill the flea, and haven't found more. Fleas really like me, I must have my mother's tasty blood. We may have to give up and spray the poison. Both cats got treated on Monday and next Monday we're going to try giving them flea baths. Should be interesting. Box will definitely be hiding after that! She's pretty much invisible when they're here anyway.