My borther and his family have been visiting us. We failed to take them to Alcatraz but we did manage a trip to the Marin headlands and a trip to the farmers market at the Ferry Terminal Building.

This time of year is apparently the right time for monster morels.

We didn’t buy any but the same stall did manage to sell us a very reasonable black truffle

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One of the main reasons for this trip is selling the Discovery*. I’ve never been sentimental about cars but this one is different. First off, it’s a fantastic (if tremendously environmentally unfriendly) car. More importantly, we’ve been through a lot with it.

I’m getting a bit maudlin about Kyiv and Ukraine. For all the whinging and problems we’ve had, it has been an incredibly dense and interesting couple of years. I’m really glad I have the opportunity to come back.

* Of course, I say I’m selling the Discovery. That is a long way off. Today I have to have three separate legal documents notarised** so I can export it from Ukraine without being physically present at the border. then I have to manage the export process from the US and sell it once it’s back in the UK.

I did manage to get another an ex-pat to buy it but the Ukrainian customs control would impose a 60% sales tax on an imported car. I’m sure we could bribe our way round it but because of the sums involved, the bribe would be crippling too.

** Before I came to Ukraine I had never been to a notary’s office. Here it’s a weekly event.

I’m revisiting Kyiv and it’s a strange new experience for me.
Everywhere else we’ve left, I’m expected to go back - Japan because I was still working at the same company and France just because you always go there for holidays - but never did. So, this trip to Kyiv is the first time I’ve revisited a different country where I’ve lived *

It’s weird. Firstly, my autopilot keeps taking me back to the old flat. Secondly, whilst I’m on the way I have weird impulses based on strange foreign-country-survival-instincts I didn’t know I had. The strangest example being “Oh, the English bookshop is just here, I could see if they’ve got any new books in to take back for Jane”.

Then there’s the weird things you get used to whilst you live here and suddenly strike you as. I imagine this would be better in Japan where we regularly used to drink cold coffee from cans and eat seaweed for breakfast. In Kyiv it’s the way you need so much cash to get anything done. In the US, you can buy coffee using a credit card. In Ukraine, they want cash to pay for everything from dinner to the clothes you buy to wear while Air France find your bags. The other thing is that all the lobbies smell of cat wee.

The picture is of the flat I’m staying in. During the two years since we first stayed in Kyiv, the accommodation has improved hugely. Sadly, the colour matching skills are still a little iffy.

* Blighty excluded obvioulsy

Farmers Market day.

In America, they still use the Imperial system of units. Stuff is measured in “loads” they carefully measured it as it came out of the container and officially we have a “shit load” of stuff.

Far too much to fit in our new house. We’re sending most of it back to Europe. Let us know if you need a bed, a pool lounger or a wheelbarrow. Going free but you must collect.

I really didn’t want this blog to turn into one of those “Ohh, aren’t americans weird” blogs but, you’ve got to work with what you’ve got.

Without further ado, what is the fat content of this?

Doris* just mailed me:

just a quick note to let you know that the vessel arrived this morning, and all documents have been submitted to U.S. Customs. At this point, it’ll probably take a couple of days to unload the vessel before the container is even available for p/u**. Let’s hope customs clears pretty quickly so we can get the shipment delivered in good time.

* You do know Doris don’t you?
** Sadly I have no idea what p/u is

Hmm, I’ve been a little lapse in posting, must be all the stuff there is to do suddenly.

Since we arrived, we’ve had two trips to wine country, one gay* pride festival one American independence day, two trips to IKEA, several walks on the beach including seal, pelicans and cormorants sightings, a guided tour of the marine mammal rescue center including the chance to lug a dead seal onto the dissection table, two new friends, three old friends, post traumatic food shopping syndrome** including two farmers markets and two iPhones a (written) driving test*** and lots of mexican food.

Oh yeah, we bought a robot to do the cleaning up too.

Still, enough fun, our stuff arrives in Oakland this weekend so sometime in the next few days we get to rediscover what we put into boxes two years ago when we left france. We also get to find out how much smaller this house is than Le Mas St Isidore and The Pigeon House.

* Actually, Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and trans-sexual - it wouldn’t do to discriminate would it.
** They have stuff in stock. Even better morels and a choice of miso colours.
*** Passed thanks

Part of the problem with ex-pat life is saying goodbye. It doesn’t get any easier.

The guys at the office made is particularly hard because there’s a lot of them and I’ve had a hand in hiring all of them and by giving me some particularly fine presents. Three liters of Sono fuel*, a cartoon**, some Ukrainian CDs and a medal declaring me an “honorary member of the test team”.

I am a little overcome
* Finest Nemirof, the best vodka in the world
** never work with artists

you remember last year? The broken heating?

Well, so does Kyiv. Whilst Janis is stuffing her face with London’s finest sushi, my water has been cut off. There is a leak from our flat to the flat below which my landlord has apparently refused for fix for five years. The owner below took out a court order and got the water shut off. I’ve been without water for over 2 days now. Amazingly, this is legal until “all circumstances and details are investigated and fixed in corresponding order” which means at least 2 weeks or more likely until we move out and they can take the flat to bits.

I have two options:

- Find a short term place here
- Move to the US early.

I’m investigating both in parallel. The dogs are a sticking point on both fronts.