Dinner at Elizabeth's

Wednesday night I Klara and Ivan gave me some "Liquor Vishnaya", a cherry flavored liquor they made from vodka and cherries. It was really smooth and tasteful, not harsh at all like I expected.
Thursday morning, got up, had breakfast, helped get the goats out to pasture. I was surprised how strong goats are for their size; the little kid goat was able to pull me around.

I went for a walk around the village; when I got back, my little Ukrainian teacher Katya was there waiting for me.  Katya had brought me a bowl of cherries she had picked from her father's cherry trees.

We had our English/Ukrainian lessons, then Klara served us lunch of potato-and-bean soup, followed by mashed potatoes and meat from a smoked pork shoulder. Klara had taken a huge smoked pork shoulder and put it in a pot early in the morning to boil. Was really good. Before it went in the water, it looked a lot like Italian prosciutto.

After lunch, Klara, Marta, Katya and myself went to the village cemetery. Saw the graves of my great-grandparents, my grandmother's sister and her husband, my grandmother's nieces and nephews and their families.

After the cemetery, we all went to Elizabeth Hlivko's home.
Elizabeth Hlivko is the daughter of Verona Silvasi, my grandmother's sister. Her husband Ivan was a Colonel in the Soviet Army.

Her home is very nice; I couldn't even dream of owning it!

I saw more of Aileen's artwork; I was even more impressed.

Elizabeth's home is built on the same land my grandmother was born on. When my grandmother was born, it was a 2 room home with dirt floors; now the home would be the envy of most Americans. In Dravtsi, no one has air-conditioning,
 but because of the way their homes are built, they really don't need it. Their homes are built entirely of masonry - cinder block and brick. Their walls are thick, even the interior walls are 16 inches to 2 feet thick. They keep the homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer. And they last forever. Not like American homes built with sticks on 16 inch centers covered with plastic siding!
As son as we got to Elizabeth's, I was warmly greeted by all my relatives - Elizabeth, her 2 daughters Natalya and Olga, Olga's husband Misha, Natalya's husband Josef, Natalya and Joseph's daughter Alla and granddaughter Aileen and grandson Artur,  Marissa's daughter Mariya, and Irina's daughter Olga. I learned that Misha worked as a bus driver, and Josef has spent 27 years as a Customs Agent at Chop and Uzhgorod.

OK, remember just before we left Klara's for Elizabeth's, we ate soup, potatoes, bread, pickles, tomatoes, and pork? When we got to Elizabeth's they had a feast ready: Fried chicken, chicken roulette, fried cauliflower, tomatoes, pickles, bread, and salads. Then chicken soup, with noodles Elizabeth had made by hand. Then another kind of potato, and pork chops. Then bread covered with a mushroom gravy. And throughout the meal we had champagne, a 3 year old home made wine, and a berry liquor. Finally a few hours later we had a cake baked by Alla.

With modern technology, my mother was able to see the party and talk to everyone by Skype. I was given a present of 2 books about Uzhgorod, a new one and one from Soviet times. Josef and Misha asked if I would be interested in taking a tour bus to L'viv; I said I would be, and they said they would arrange it for me!

We went back to Klara's; Klara had to go to church for a funeral service. I stayed home. Katya had her hair done by one of the college girls staying at Klara's. Ukrainian girls are pretty!