Drawn reports in the form of the portraits - war in Ukraine. June 26-July 1, 2023.

June 26 - July 1, 2023. Days 486-494 of war.
This week's conversations were circling some domestic issues - what to cook when the weather is so hot and how to fix some things - like my painting pants, my backpack's pockets, or Mom's new accessory - a cane that was gifted to her by a new friend - another refugee from Ukraine who befriended my parents on the street. 

Both my parents got new glasses (we are very grateful to the people who assisted in the process!) I drew them with the new eyewear on the first day of July:)

My parents told me about a poem by one of the russian-American poet - Nobel Laureate Joseph Brodsky. I am more familiar with his works in russian than in English, and this poem was written in russian. I never heard or read it and, apparently, it never was published - however, there are video recordings of Brodsky reading it. And here is an article about it in The New Yorker. It is written on the Independence of Ukraine and is filled with anger, accusations, and an ugly-phrased statement that in the end Ukraine "will return". It brought many layers of feelings and thinking and we spoke about it for some time - until it became obvious that it is too painful for all. There is no simple way to convey all the layers - so I will not. 

Mom says: "I miss my library. But this missing is not helpful. Let me tell you about new blue flowers that just started blooming next door".  

Drawn reports in the form of the portraits - war in Ukraine. June 19-25, 2023.

June 19-25, 2023. Days 482-488 of war.
This week we started with a hot topic of hot weather and how my parents are fairing it. Eight neighboring cats and some new dogs with new people were featured in the stories of everyday life. We spoke about ways people adapt to different situations and learn to live with different things, agendas, professions, and weather. We spoke about languages (there was an excursion into French as we had a French-speaking family member visiting - which was a great treat for my parents). Engineering problems of the sunken submarine was Dad's favorite topic, Mom listened with horror about Messenia migrant boat disaster. But then all attention was back to Ukraine and even as russia descended into the chaos of a new kind. 

Drawn reports in the form of the portraits - war in Ukraine. June 12-18, 2023.

June 12-18, 2023. Days 475-481 of war.
This week during our video calls we tried to match views, sounds, smells, plants, and animals. For example my parents would tell me about the cat that keeps getting into their home without permission and I would tell them about a cat that decided that every evening should be spent under my window singing cat songs. We compare notes on the color of pomegranate flowers. And bird songs. Every one of these subjects sends my parents down memory lane - so I got to hear some stories too. 

My parents prepared some Ukrainian words to discuss with me and told me about a new cat that is a menace to the lizards. We spoke about our family and friends in Kharkiv and Kyiv and how tired they sounded this week from all the sirens and air raid warnings and but how everyone was telling about continuing donating and volunteering. 

Drawn reports in the form of the portraits - war in Ukraine. June 5-11, 2023.

June 5-11, 2023. Days 468-474 of war.
This was a very tough week: The Nova Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine, controlled by russia, has been destroyed. The ecological catastrophe will be unfolding for a long time in both directions: downstream where thousands of homes are flooded and have no clean water and upstream where fish is dying because water is left and many people soon will be left without fresh water. In addition, this complicates the already uneasy situation with the cooling of the largest nuclear plant in Europe - Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant - which is also controlled by russians at the moment. And endless air raids on Ukraine and Kharkiv in particular. These events dominated our conversations all week but after going over the list of all the relatives and friends in Ukraine we would try to switch: one day to talk about flowers that Mom found (I think this is pomegranate but better photos are needed to make sure). Another day Dad's memoirs about his travels to Magadan for work. News of a new cat that is now coming to visit them. New friends, my parents met on the street - refugees, like them. A few new dogs that they met on the street. Little tasks that they set for themselves every day. 

I am so glad that they are in a safe place. I am so sad and angry that they have to live through this. 

p.s. The destruction of the dam received some inadequate and strange media coverage. I think this article by Timothy Snyder will help you see through the political side of what the media is putting out. All attempts at looking at this tragedy by giving 50-50 responsibility are done without minimum thought put in - or are blatant support for russia's actions in Ukraine. 

Drawn reports in the form of the portraits - war in Ukraine. May 29 - June 3, 2023.

May 29 - June 5, 2023. Days 461-468 of war.
We spoke about all the flowers of June: from peonies to roses, and discussed the names in different languages - not all the names were easy to pull out of our heads but still - five languages are a fun combination!

There was a trash-collecting machine that fascinated my Mom and they spent part of one morning watching it work. Mom is amazing that way - I once left her and a kid next to a fire station to go get some food and when I came back in an hour both of them still were not ready to leave.

Mom and Dad found a new bread and new cheese and are making a list of things for me to try when I come to visit them :) New dog friends were made (Dad is a magnet for dogs no matter which part of the world he is in - I think if tomorrow he would go to Mars, all the Martian dogs would be running to him to get a proper scratch). More walking adventures happened this week, almost all sane. And even a swim and a half happened too.