A UKRAINE GARDEN WALK IN MAY

 Come walk through my yard with me.  I've been too long away from my blog so here's what happened in the yard in May.  Above was a rare foggy morning in the back yard.

 The rest of these pictures are from the front yard.  In Ukraine houses have fences all around them including across the front.

 Peonies are always so beautiful.  I have white ones and red ones too.

 Iris and evergreens...

 Spiderwort....

 In the Russian language (that's what I speak here) these are called "Little Bells."  I don't know what they would be in English.  Behind are two varieties of hosta.

 The garden is just another art expression for me.  I love the flowers.

 Roses and strawberries.  The strawberries are in several of my flowerbeds.

I think these are called "Sweet Williams."  Thanks for stopping by. Sure appreciate it. 

CARD CLASS IN UKRAINE

Greetings from Ukraine

Though life has been rather chaotic with all the political action in the country we try to keep a  semblance of normality in our day-to-day activities.  Sometimes that is difficult.

 This group of ladies and I have been crafting together for several years now.  We've done a prayer journal, a min-book and now we do cards, which is always a useful craft to give friends.

 Most of them have children and they are in a church about 45 minutes away from where we live.  That sometimes hinders our winter classes, but not often since the busy highway that connect us is usually clear.

 My thanks to all those of you who have sent lovely materials that they use in their creations.

They have joy over doing them and I couldn't do it without your help.  Bless your hearts.

ART AND UKRAINE, KACHANIVKA CASTLE

In September Jeff and I took a trip to the town of Kachanivka, east of the capital,  Kiev, to see a castle.  Pristine and stately, it was owned by Pyotr Rumyantsev, Catherine II's Viceroy to Ukraine. He sold it to a Ukrainian who collected Hetman weapons, and under the Soviets it became a penal colony and tuberculosis hospital. They left the scene (thank God!) and now it is a National Historical and Cultural Preserve. A very peaceful and interesting place to walk.

As we toured the castle I was pleased to see examples of native art and many other artifacts.

 I especially loved the dolls and weavings as is evidenced by my photos.  Interesting that there are no faces on these dolls.  Wish I knew what this represented.

 I like the agricultural theme of this weaving.

 Orange and red...very traditional colors in Ukraine.  The word for red means "beautiful."

 An overview of the room and more dolls, some with faces.

 I just love the workmanship and detail in these dolls.

 A rich heritage of art.

Hope you enjoyed this little tour of Ukrainian art.  I love it when you leave messages and would be honored if you followed on this blog.

UKRAINE GARDEN DELIGHT

Already we have had several freezes in Ukraine so the flowers have been gone now for a bit, but I wanted to show you this pretty little corner of my garden because in the cold and bitterness of winter it is a delight for the soul to see something lovely.  Therefore as winter goes on I shall occasionally post some beautiful little tidbit from the summer display.  Like my art, the garden is one of my areas of pleasure.  It really is simply another expression of art using the medium of the garden.

When we moved to this home 15 years ago the yard was nothing more than a wild forest.  It was chest high in  "maleena" (wild raspberries)  and an abundant crop of "krapeeva" (stinging nettle).  I never had a plan to necessarily do the whole yard, but little by little, year after year I would plant more and it just grew.  Many of the sweet people of Ukraine gave me things from their gardens to get a start.  From that time I've transplanted and added.  This tiny teapot above has been in the garden since we moved here.  Winter after winter it survives through the season and moves from one spot to another.  As you can see here I do have a few little figurines in the garden that some have given me, but you can rest assured there are no elves or gnomes lurking around in the tall plantings.  Both of these pictures are shots of my rock garden.  It started out as a small clay hill in one corner of the yard in which I knew not a lot would grow so rock garden seemed like the thing to do.  Hope you like this little peek into my garden.

TENT CAMP IN UKRAINE

 July is tent camp month.  I say that because in Ukraine's climate the nights in June and August generally are too cool for tent camping even though the days might be quite hot.  This shot is the camp leadership.  On both ends is Dan and Cindy Williams from Antioch Baptist Church of Conway, Arkansas.  The center four is the Dektyarenko family, all in ministry. L-R Nick, Sasha, Julia and Lena.

 Even the boys and their moms got into crafting.  Look at those happy faces on those cute boys.

 I can tell you these are still in use as it is still hot in Ukraine, but next week is to be cooler. Yay!

Last day camp picture I took.  What a group.  Thanks to the Williams for bringing the T-Shirts and lots of other fun stuff.  What a blessing they were.

GOD'S ART

Sharing some of the beauty of Ukraine. These shots were from out trip to the western mountainous region this fall. We were there on a prayer retreat where I also led craft classes. It was a blessed time.





Crystal clear water.



Riches of nature.

VINTAGE UKRAINE

Do we think of these rocks as vintage? We were in western Ukraine for a prayer retreat this past week led by my husband Jeff. We visited this lovely waterfall as one of our mini-excursions. The area is called the Carpathian Mountains, but I would liken them to foothills of say Arkansas. They are tall enough to ski, but not like the Rocky Mountains. It was beautiful with fall leaves of yellow, orange and even some red. We also got to experience our first snow storm of the season as we left the mountains on Saturday.




Vintage view looking down into a country village from a hilltop.



What a relic this was. The Ukrainians think nothing of this old motorcycle, but I thought it was so cool with it's sidecar revamped for hauling. The Ukrainians are the most practical and innovative people. I am often amazed.



This old bridge was rich with beautiful grain in the heavy boards and rusty framework.

THE NATIONAL ANTHEM OF UKRAINE

Enjoy some of Ukraine's lovely sights and to see more go to our missions blog for a different take on the anthem: http://franksukraine.blogspot.com or just click on the title above.

Winter in Ukraine

This is what winter looked like on the day we left (Jan.4th) for America. I'm sure it still looks much like that, but maybe more snow. Makes me very grateful to be enjoying 60's and 70's in California for another few weeks before returning to the colder mid-west.

Memories of Spring

Since so many of us are in the "dead of winter," as they say, I thought you might enjoy some reminders of spring. It really isn't that far away and will be here in a flash. This is crocus, one of the first flowers that pops it's head up in our garden each spring. I love that time of year. It is a reminder that God gives new chances for all of us. We may make mistakes, we may really mess up, but he is ever forgiving if we seek him and ask for forgiveness. He makes us new everyday for his love is like the white of these flowers....it is pure and it is always there for us to turn to.

Ever Wonder About These?

Matroyshka Dolls are all the rage now in a lot of places. Those above are 5 sets that we have that were gifts given to us early in our ministry here in Ukraine. When tourists or short term missionaries come the one thing you can be sure they will buy is a set of these. If you'd like to read a short history on matroyshka dolls just click on the title above and it will take you to "Above the Clouds." Another spot that simply displays a whole lot of different kinds of dolls is this: http://ifitshipitshere.blogspot.com/2008/04/matryoshka-madness-russian-nesting.html
Enjoy, Coleen

Old Church

A few weeks ago we traveled to Romania. On the return trip into Ukraine we stopped by to visit a couple missionaries in Oleksyntsi. This is an old church in the town. It was fun to explore and photograph.

Nature's Marvels

This lovely is from my back yard. I just always think these ferns are so interesting and beautiful. They also reproduce like crazy and I have to thin them every year. They like shade, but I also have them in the sun and they do well except for long dry periods. Just another example of God's imagination.

Art

These doors are located in the capital city of Kiev, Ukraine. It's art as expressed in architecture. Kiev has some lovely architecture. Just wanted to share them with you.