Enterprise

When I was little, I was a salesman. It started when my sister, 5 years older than me, took me around the neighborhood to help her sell her school chocolates - who can refuse a cute grade-schooler and a lisping toddler? As I got older, not only was I one of the top newspaper sellers for our little corner of the world, but I was also the kid out with a lemonade stand - only it wasn't lemon aid - it had to be something bigger, better, and more unique. So I would persuade my friends to sell marigold seeds, or rocks, or snow-cones.

If I spoke Russian - really spoke Russian - had $1000 free dollars and no job, I would be selling ledoxods - Ice Walkers.

Soon, after writing the post about our icy weather - my unobservant husband spotted an add for these miraculous inventions while reading about the Ukrainian elections. Like yak traks or a similar product they were cheaper than their American counterparts and for just 3 dollars extra, would deliver.

If I spoke Russian - really spoke Russian - I would be doing jumping jacks on the ice in front of the metro entrances and I would sell at least 50 ice walkers a day. You can run on the ice. I can stroll past young men in their prime as they shuffle along like grannies - In heels, in boots, there is no other word but amazing to describe them.

If I were running for Ukrainian president, I would had them out to all the babushka's - the target group that needs them most but would be hardest put to afford them - even though for a working Ukrainian they are quite reasonable - I would consider it a social help investment that's cheaper than buying plows and salt - and definitely less labor intensive than sending out the men with pick axes (really) to chop through the 6 in layer of ice that lies on top of the roads (really - little men out with pick axes chopping at the ice and slowly the market places and the sidewalks in front of the stores that employ them are cleared - the municipal property - bus stops, metros and the like - are still veritable ice rinks.)

Easy to slip on and off, I've found that while i can walk in them in the metro, It's better to slip them off - esp. if I have to transfer. Even if the snow melts tomorrow - This has definitely been the best $13 dollars I've spent in Ukraine.

Another year another election

Yesterday was the 1st round of the presidential election in Ukraine.
No surprises, the two candidates to emerge for the vote were Yanukovich (widely seen as pro-russian and less democratic) and Tymoshenko (populist and pro-west)

What was a surprise was the election itself - maybe it was the crisis - maybe the candidates had other tricks up their sleeves - but their wasn't the flurry of tents and gimmicks that normally abound. However, I did learn, that the majority of excess canidates who were running without a hope - were actually being sponsored by one of the main candidates - The idea being to steal votes from the other candidate and then collect them again in the 2nd round? Anyway - in order to get your name on the list of candidates you need millions of grivnen - so maybe there wasn't the overload of campaign posters and flags - but there was still a lot of money being wasted.
One guy - reportedly sponsored by Yanukovich - officially changed his name to "Protiv Vse" - Or our equivalent of none of the above - clever write in strategy if I do say so myself.

Frightful

Well - winter seems to be awful all over. This year I guess we have our first "real" Ukrainian winter - ie - the winter everyone thinks we have all the time.
2 weeks of -16C weather that felt colder with windchill, followed by a slight warming up and snow and snow and snow. The first days of snow was great - nice big fluffy things. Then it got nasty with storms taking down trees and driving hard pellets of icy snow.
Streets and sidewalks don't get clean here. The more people walk on a path, the icier and slushier it becomes. Metros and pedestrian underpasses are perilous because you have flights of outdoor cement steps covered in uncleared snow and ice. I've been lucky enough to only slip once (right in front of the apartment) but Alister has fallen several times and I've seen many another person take a tumble as well - one down the flight of metro steps at Beresteska. Just one of those things that reminds you that we are not in a handicapped accessible or old people friendly city.
After that - we had three days of +1C temperatures. This was great, in that it was incredibly warmer. You think that freezing is cold until you have something really cold to compare it to (Am listening now Shackleton's account of his voyage on the Endurance - South - and he says the same - but living in arctic water for so long - they actually thought melting was uncomfortably warm!!! - i'm not at that level of desensitization yet). Anyway - this turned much of the snow and ice into slush and lakes. The drainage in the parking lots don't work because 1) who's job is it actually to clean them, and 2) the grate covers keep getting stolen and so to save the cars from falling into holes - they get filled up with tires, tree branches - and everything else - this obviously doesn't help the drainage.

Now it has frozen again - and all that water - you guessed it - solid ice. And all that slush? Also solid ice - so between slipping along, you get to also stumble over deeply pitted and rutted icy ground.

The only reliable way to travel in this - and really any weather is by metro (if you can make it down the steps) Above ground - you are hard pressed to get a taxi (and they've raised their rates), the tramvays and trolleybuses are sporadic. And wherever the metro doesn't go you use your feet. Boots here are very important. A good winter boot with treads, inner lining, and fashion sense (we are in the capital city - do you think we can just walk around in moon boots?) A good pair is expensive - but worth it as you stay warm and are less likely to fall. A family I knew put it this way - a good pair of winter boots is an investment - we don't have cars and snow tires - we have winter boots - and boy do we use them!


The icewalk near our home.

Fall in Review +Christmas

I've been rubbish about pictures this fall- so here is our fall and Christmas in review - Enjoy!

If it has it's own commercial . . . . .

So the Euro 2012 match has been in a state of Limbo the last 2 years - will Ukraine and Poland pull it off or not? Well now it has its own commercial -so it must be happening, right?. Taking bids now for couch and sleeping bag space. 6 min walk from metro - 40 min ride to the arena ; )

Snow

We got our first snow fall the other day and after 3 more days of trying we finally got a small skiff that has stuck around. Not a layer - very definitely a skiff.

Sorry I don't have anything more interesting to say that that - we just haven't had time - our house isn't even decorated for Christmas yet - but having anticipated this to a degree I arranged a cookie decorating party for January 9th with the girls from Church - I thankful for the long holiday at least.

Alister, however will be gone for most of it - dashing off to the UK for a month of studies. He's actually relieved to be missing the traditional 8 weeks of carols that our church sings - but I don't mind - I was ready to sing Carols in November - but Alister said after Thanksgiving and then after 2 nights of carols he said we couldn't do anymore till the house was decorated. Well - the house is still undecorated so family worship singing hasn't wandered to the Christmas section yet. But I've been listening to my own Holiday stash as i've been tackling editing jobs and house work :- )

For new comers who want to know more about a Ukrainian Christmas - check out last year's post on Christmas music and this general letter.

Fruits of the season

Okay you supermarket junkies . . . .did you know that now is the season for
Brussle Sprouts
Pomegranates,
Sharon Fruit (persimmons)
Citrus of all sorts
?

While I still haven't really taken a shine to sharon fruit (male or female)- I do love pomegranates. Last year - when i discovered the easy way of cutting them so you and your kitchen don't end up looking like a crime scene - my appetite for them really took off.

I first became interested in them years ago when I first read The Mouse that Roared. My mom was good enough to buy one - but I was unimpressed - it tasted like corn.

Since then, I have gone on to bigger and better pomegranates - and while there is the occasional one that make you wonder how Persephone could have been tempted - on the whole I like them.

To make your experience with pomegranate better
1) cut off the tip top below the crown - while you might hit a few berries it won't be too many.
2) Take you knife and score the sides, like you would an orange peel in 4 or 5 places - you should be able to see white "guides" from when you sliced off the top.
3) Gently pull the pomegranate apart along the scores
- You can now either pick at seeds, or put the fruit upside down in a bowl of water for about ten minutes. This will further loosen the seeds and make them even easier to extract.