http://greatdiversions.com/patchworkplanet ... the bits and pieces that make life interesting ... Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:11:22 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Namely this crazy country in which we currently live. This happened last week while we were gone. I suppose it's a positive thing that they were even in session, considering that the president desolved parliament last month and called for new elections. Guess they had to put those off in ... http://greatdiversions.com/patchworkplanet/2008/11/20/some-things-never-change/ From time to time we find ourselves still fuming from last year's airport experience when we tried to visit the States. Certainly we would never have to endure anything that horrible again, we thought. But then we found ourselves in the middle of this last week. It all started innocently enough ... http://greatdiversions.com/patchworkplanet/2008/11/19/we-will-never-take-a-vacation-in-november-again/ Last night was the Marine Ball here in Kyiv. Every year, Marines around the world celebrate the birthday of the corp in November and this means a ball at most Embassies. And, yes, this is the event that the dress was for. Here are a couple shots from the evening: To ... http://greatdiversions.com/patchworkplanet/2008/11/09/marine-ball/ We survived last night's Halloween party at the Marine House unscathed. Mostly by leaving at midnight when the party was just really getting started. (Our excuse was the fact that Shawn had to be at work this morning at 8am.) Being the brave souls that we are, we actually walked ... http://greatdiversions.com/patchworkplanet/2008/11/01/halloween/ I've spent today finishing our Halloween costumes. I'll be sure to post photos from the party tomorrow night. They should be pretty entertaining. http://greatdiversions.com/patchworkplanet/2008/10/30/finishing-up/ As you can see (assuming you're not reading this through bloglines), I decided to change up my header. The old one was too boring and I think this one gives you a glimpse into the types of things I see on a daily basis. I've been trying to really focus ... http://greatdiversions.com/patchworkplanet/2008/10/27/pictures-and-pumpkins/ I'm afraid I've been a bad blogger lately. As I've noticed that the days are getting quite shorter, I think the pre-winter blues have set in. There was even a forecast for snow today (although it hasn't happened yet). And Shawn was diagnosed with pneumonia this week. Nothing says winter ... http://greatdiversions.com/patchworkplanet/2008/10/18/tired-and-busy/ I've decided that one thing I'm going to miss in Nassau is Fall. I love the changing leaves and the crispness in the air. After way too much rain last month, the past week has been filled with beautiful fall days and evenings. Although I'm already feeling like the evenings ... http://greatdiversions.com/patchworkplanet/2008/10/07/signs-of-autumn/ Today I had what is perhaps my most successful shopping trip in Kyiv to date. It probably helped that I had really low expectations going in. In fact my mom was on standby to purchase the needed items in the States and ship them to me if today had been ... http://greatdiversions.com/patchworkplanet/2008/09/18/purchasing-fabric-in-ukraine/ So one of the things I've wanted to do, really since I first found out we'd be living in Kyiv, is visit Chornobyl. (I guess maybe I'm a little morbid.) The Ukrainian government keeps the area tightly regulated, which means that you can only visit by using an official travel ... http://greatdiversions.com/patchworkplanet/2008/09/16/chornobyl/