Naomi, Libertad and Yura spend all day at the notary’s office in Talne, valiantly battling glacial Ukrainian bureaucracy in hopes of processing the paperwork on Naomi’s new village house, aka “The Hideaway.” I while away the hours watching clouds drift and listening to birds sing; somehow this feels like an extremely productive use of my time.

Upon their paperless return in the evening (back in line at 7 am tomorrow!), we decide the day can be saved by making jam and having a steam bath in the magnificent banya that Naomi and friends constructed out of a former root cellar. (Remember, no running water or indoor plumbing at Echo Luna! Formerly, we had to go all the way to Uman for a bath!) The giant cauldron is pulled out of storage, the fire is stoked in the underground stove and by midnight there are 8 litres of berries bubbling on the stove and three dirty friends steaming clean in the sauna.

Sunday is Bazaar Day so off we go to Uman to stock up on essentials and peruse the treasures at the Babushki flea market. The day’s haul includes:

An assortment of soviet-era match boxes

A pink and white homemade cotton housedress

Bicycle wrenches

A scythe with hand-hewn wooden handle

Dried green peas

A spoon with a red bakelite handle

Two cast iron pans

Sweet cheese

Paper clips

Blue plastic buckets with lids

An electric kettle (a gift)

Dog food

Back at home, we celebrate with strawberries picked fresh from the garden served with a dollop of sweet cheese. Yes.

Yesterday’s thundershowers have given way to bright sunshine and blue skies: a perfect day for an opening at the museum. Naomi, Libertad and I hop on the old Polish one-speeds and hightail it into town. We’re just in time to hear Museum Director Vlad Chabanuk welcome the crowd of babushki, school children, university students, scholars and village friends to the exhibition of colorful folk dolls by Olga Sobkovich and then the fun begins: the kids make dolls, Yura plays music, everyone wants a picture with Libertad, the Babushki gossip while munching on cookies and candy, the young folks dance and even the goats are invited inside to join the celebration. And then, suddenly, everyone climbs into mini-buses and leaves and that’s it for the opening.

After stopping to pick up some coffee at the village store (and being chastised by the clerk for whistling inside: “It’s bad luck! No one will spend any money in here today!”), Naomi, Libertad, Yura and I pedal over to Yura’s place for a glorious afternoon of painting, napping, music and snacking, interspersed with visits from the various local Babushki who are constantly dropping in with gifts of eggs, flowers and dirty jokes.

Riding home in the cool midnight air, empty roads illuminated with the glow of an almost-full moon, I can honestly say it’s been a perfect day.

Ah, Echo Luna, it’s good to be back! It’s springtime in Legedzine and everything is green green green… the old walnut tree in full leaf, a big beautiful salad bowl poking through the black soil in the garden, and all around the house a feast of peonies, my very favorite flower.

Is there anything better than a good bowl of homemade soup at the end of a 20-hour journey?

Airports and long flights: I love them. Both provide the kind of surreal, out-of-time environment that’s the perfect dream-bridge from the workaday world to the adventure ahead…