Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Fire!

Yesterday I was sitting at my desk working away on a program for my job. It had been thundering and it was raining. All of a sudden there was a huge blast of orange light - it was like staring at the sun.

Today we went out to see the damage and sure enough - a tree just outside my office window was struck by lightening. You can see the damage in the photo (that's our house in the background). The tree is only about 30 or 40 feet from the house and we are so lucky the bolt didn't come in over the phone or power lines. We've got everything on surge protectors - but I don't think they will protect against a bolt of lightening!

Then this morning I was sitting at my desk working away (still on the same program) and I saw something run in front of my office window. Two deer were running from a coyote! The coyote had them in the trees right by the tree that was struck by lightening....I think he was hoping for lightening to strike again. Either that or he was waiting for his ACME bomb to be delivered... That Wile E. Coyote.....beep beep!

Mikeee is coming home!!

Mike has been in England with his Mum since her heart attack on April 6. Sandra was moved today from the cardio ward in Bournemouth Hospital to the neurological ward in Poole Hospital. She will be receiving intense treatment there.

Mike is planning on flying back to Denver this weekend. Rosie and I are sure happy - we've really missed him!

More Ukraine Trivia

1. During what years was the country called "The Ukrainian National Republic"?
1917-1921. During this time Ukraine had FOUR different governments that proclaimed an independent UNR. Their attempt at independency 'failed' and their land divided. Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Soviet Russia all claimed parts of Ukraine.

2. What is the Ukrainian coinage called?
Kopecs (kopiykas)

3. What two seas lie at the southern edge of Ukraine?
The Black Sea and The Sea of Azov

4. What two rivers separate Ukraine from Romania?
The Danube and the Prut Rivers

5. Where was the first atom split?
Kharkiv

6. On what date did the Chernoby nuclear power plant 'explode'?
April 26, 1986, at 1:23 am. It released 9 metric tons of radioactive material, 10 times the amount in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings! It contaminated 100,000 sq miles, of which 18,647 are in Ukraine. Chernobyl is only 65 miles from Kyiv!

7. What is Ukraine's largest saltwater lake?
Lake Sasik, 79 sq miles (205 sq km)

8. For whom was the city of Dnipropetrovsk named?
From its founding in 1787 until 1926 it was nmaed Ekaterinoslav for Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia.

9. Three East Slavic princes and their sister founded Kyiv at the end of the 5th century. Who were they?
Kyy, Shchek, and Khoriv, and their sister Lybid. Kyy built a fortress on a hill that was called Kyiv. Today, two other hills in Kyiv are named for Shchek and Khoriv. A small river that once flowed Kyiv was named for Lybid. A huge staute in Kyiv near the Dnipro River shows the city's founders standing in a boat.

10. How many 'oblasts' (regions) are there in Ukraine?
24 plus the autonomous republic of Krym.

11. Whose image is portrayed on the front of each hryvnia note, the 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100? What is pictured on the back of each (relates to the person on the front!)?
1h (green) Volodymyr the Great, ruler of Kyivan Rus on front, Ruins of Chersonesus, Krym; where Volodymyr was baptized on the back
2h (brownish-red) Yaroslav the Wise, ruler of Kyivan Rus on the front, St Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv; built by Yaroslav on the back.
5h (blue) Bodhan Khmelnytsky, Kozak hetman on the front and Church in Subotiv, Khmelnetsky' s home village on the back.
10h (purple) Ivan Mazepa, Kozk hetman on the front and Caves Monastary, Kyiv on the back.
20h Ivan Franko, writer on the front and Opera House, Lviv on the back.
50h (multi-color) Mykhailo Hrushevsky, president of Ukrainian National Republic on the front and the Parliament Building in Kyiv on the back.
100h (multi-color) Taras Shevchenko, poet and artist on the front and St Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv on the back.

Last of my shots

Last night I got the second hepatits A/B shot - so I'm all done with mine. Mike and I got the first hepatits shot last month plus boosters for tetanus/diphtheria and Measles Mumps Rubela. I had no idea that an adult booster shot was needed for MMR - I thought that was only given to you as a child!

I went to Passport Health which specializes in giving shots for travel. They are up-to-date on all the current outbreaks. The nurse that gave me shots last night is also adopting. She wanted to adopt from Ukraine because she has a very close friend originally from there. But because of the 30 day in-country travel time it was too much time for her military husband to be off work. So, they chose China - but unfortunately got delayed with the latest law changes. So they have just recently switched to India. It was really cool to talk about all she has gone thru and all we have gone thru. Adoption is really quite an adventure!

There has been a lot going on in Ukraine recently. Unfortunately the USA news rarely shows news from Ukraine - apparently we're all too interested in scandals like Imus and Anna Nicole Smith! Here is a really good link that explains what is happening.