Good Luck

It is said to be a sign of good luck to catch a flying fish.
So this will be a token of good luck to all of us, who need it at this point in life.

I am meditating whether I should write a book with all these characters. It seems that there are bits and pieces of the story flying around in my tired brain. I need to put them on a single string and organize. A big project it is, and I will need to be very organized to make it happen. But may be this is the next step, the next challenge--to get organized and tie it all together.

Little Red Beret

A new one . Retro look. Red beret. Fat woolf in the background.
Tell me what you think!

A toast to Katya!

This post I wanted to dedicate to my best childhood friend--Katya. The photo above was taken at the train station where we met after all these years ...I did cry, a little bit:)
She is 4 years younger than me and when we were little I used to be in a role of the one taking care of her. Then when I was about 13 we suddenly leveled up and she made the most wonderful friend ever! We would write letters to each other and post them, even though we lived across the street, we would call each other at night just to see if we were brave enough to do it, we almost went to the cementery one night together, she almost convinced me to go jogging every morning (and she was the only person ever that could get me to do it), and most importantly we laughed a lot. And yes, one more thing she managed to feed a sand pie to me on several occasions.
I am so very fortunate to say that even though I left the country we managed to stay in touch all these years, and finally I was able to go and see her. I feel as though I have not just a friend but almost family in her. She is now taller than me(which was quite shocking at first), smart, funny, good drinker , wonderful cook...
If you are reading this, cheers! I had a wonderful time with you in Krakow and I wanted to say that I feel very special that my old donkey is still living with you. (you know what I am talking about)
That is us back then, and now. You can see that I did not grow too much.

Nightly Animals

Another new creation, inspired by the books I got during my travels. I will have to show them off some day

Movie Monday 31

A classic from Eduard Nazarov. Used to love it as a kid

Travelling Fish

my first new creation since I cam back inspired directly by the travels(available on Etsy)

In love

The first photo is of the Old Armenian church. The second picture was taken at the Opera House, Anna is really enjoying the beautiful architecture.

I promised to tell of my homecoming, so here I am. Confessing my love for the city. Lviv, Lvov...I am in love all over again. It was an amazing experience to go back to the place that I have dreamed about for 13 years. The experience almost surreal, since half the time I was walking on the streets I expected myself to be able to fly. That's what happens in my dreams when I go back there. I did not fly, but I feel wonderful. Something that was missing all this time has come together. The city I left as a child has grown. Like an old childhood friend. It is the same, but it is not the same. And I love it, with all the changes and all the imperfections that it has. My husband can't quite understand my connection to that place. In fact he is the professor of the theory, that we should not get attached to places. Yet I realize that I am deeply attached. And that place is the only place that I can relate to on an almost cell deep level. I am not making much sense here, but I am trying to :)

The kids had a great adventure as well. We spent a lot of time walking, down the streets to the city center, in the parks in the garden. So much fresh air after New York was a big change:)
Everything was in blossom, lilac in particular. It was everywhere, and I was so happy to find it in the most unexpected of places. It is so hard to spot in these parts.

May be people thought us a bit too much on the adventurous side to go into such an adventure with 2 little kids, but I think we did great. May be they will not remember any of this, but perhaps a little trace will remain, and that's all I am after.

This is at the museum of old Ukrainian architecture. wooden bee hives

A Ukrainian hippy at a fair
At the Opera House, tickets $8 each, best seats possible!
A pig in the street, a brilliant idea of some local businessmen. To take a photo 25c
Old Armenian church. The most beautiful thing I saw throughout the trip.
A still life made up by our hostess(Mom of my childhood friend). As a child I always thought that she has impeccable taste, I have come to the conclusion that it is really true.

Little Glimpses 1

Ukraine first batch of little glimpses

Back from childhood

we are back! My dream has come true:)

It was the most amazing trip I could imagine. So much to tell, so much to rethink, so much to paint now! I am still collecting my thoughts and figuring out which time zone I am currently in, but I am positive that there will be lots of new images to share soon.
So for now just this still life from a lunch we had and the terrace I spent a lot of time on as a child. Many more to come soon. Thank you all for the wonderful comments and messages, I really appreciate all of them!