A Day Of Mushroom Hunting…

Today was the once a year excursion to the forest for some mushroom hunting.  Turns out we had drizzly Oregon type rain and never did do any mushroom hunting.  But there was a lot of spirits and crazy fun!

First we started with some snacks and spirits in the forest before we ventured to Lena’s house for the rest of the afternoon.  I had a blast. 

My crazy group….sometimes they are way too much fun….

   

One of my counterparts, Natalia…dancing on the bus between the forest and Lena’s house.

Lena’s house is wonderful.  She and her husband bought when they got married five years ago.  it is about 25 km from Lugansk and a small village.  When they bought it there was no kitchen and slowly they have been remodeling and building on.  I was impressed.  It is adorable and super cute.  Reminded me of a two bedroom, one bath starter home that many first time home buyers have in America.  And Lena has great taste.

The guest room closet doors are Budapest.  The master bedroom is currently being remodeled.

     

There is a main hallway that stretches the length of the house with wonderful wallpaper, arches in the doorways and lighting.  The bathroom is all Lena in red and poppies.  The entry is waiting for paint, but seems to be almost complete.

     

Time for meal number two in almost in as many hours.  I was so fun to sit around and chat…ok so I did more listening than chatting but you get the idea.

   

Two daughters where along for our play day and one asked if I would fill out a friend questionnaire for her in a book.  Olga helped me translate, but it was great fun.  I think even Olga learned something more about me.

    

Meal number two…I love Ukrainian food.  My contribution was Brownies, which were very popular.

Honestly, I am not even sure who this guy is, but he makes a great soup over the fire.

    

And here is meal number three in a five hour period.  It was so good.  It stopped raining and we all went outside.  It was a wonderful feeling to eat soup with a chill in the air.

   

These two were a blast to have along.  They are both ten and great friends.

And then I was invited to share a drink, which you DO NOT refuse.  I stuck with wine, and this guy was great about it.  And he loved the hug afterward.  As did everyone else from the office.  He was endearing.

   

And here is the entire crew.  This was a random last minute shot and will forever be one of my favorites.  We all had a fabulous day together.