Kompot!

 We asked our agent about the best place to eat our first night in town.  She suggested a few places, one of which was Kompot.  It serves local Ukranian food, which, according to the menu, involves a lot of potatoes and chicken livers.  The big draw for us, though, was a drink.  Kompot, which the restaurant is named after, is popular throughout eastern Europe.  Kompot is fresh fruit that is put in a jar along with a little sugar.  Boiling water is poured over it.  Once that is done, it's capped and turned every once in a while, then enjoyed cold.  This stuff is GOOD.  I've started making it at home.  First we tried the cherry, then the strawberry.  Maybe I'll put up a recipe for my apple kompot on my blog in a week or so.

The rest of the meal.... I had chicken dumpling soup, which was good.  Andreas had chicken stroganoff.  He said it was pretty good, too.  The serving was huge.  My chicken Kiev (okay, so what else should you try in the Ukraine?) was on the dry side and could definitely have been made better.

Edgy

Okay, I admit it.  When a piece is this small, I don't use stretcher bars.  I feel like they're too bulky and get in the way.  What I've started this week is the outer edge of my octagon.  Progress indeed.

New Thread!

I got these threads via a close out sale at Needle Delights.  All that silk!  Now to figure out what to do with it.

Top Of The Stairs

This square is at the top of the Potemkin Steps, one of the more famous Odessa landmarks.  The statue is of the Duc de Richelieu, who was the first governor of Odessa.  He got out of France in time to avoid getting his head chopped off and was welcomed at the Russian court.

The view of the passenger (cruise liner) dock is down the steps.  I think I have some better pictures of the steps later in the set.  Anyway, it was a beautiful, clear if windy day and we got to look around quite a bit.

A Real Finish!

One more crazy January start done and one more place on my rotation freed.  It feels good to finish a project that's somewhat larger than what I've been finishing lately!  This, for reference, is Chatelaine's The Bluebells.

Stuck In Brown

Lots of background to fill in on the branch side, and just a bit of neck done on the left.

Pushkinade

 There was a cannon right next to the statue of Pushkin, so both go into this post.  Every Russian speaking city seems to have a love affair with Pushkin.  I personally don't understand why.  It could be because he had at least an affair in every town.  I suppose I should read some Pushkin to see if his writing's any good.