A short break with loved ones ~ #SaturdayMemories

Hello there. Happy Saturday.

Summer is on it's high, I know these days are challenging for some of you. A record heat wave is melting Europe and got even to UK. And this is probably the only advantage we have in Ukraine (so far) - a nice weather, sometimes sun, sometimes wind, or rain. Man, how I miss vacation! I badly need a real vacation with my husband, my daughter, when I can actually breathe out and relax. And do not worry about the fact that some misfortune will happen next moment and turn my tough but settled life upside down once again.

That's it, enough dreaming. Last month I spent 3 days with my mom and Nat (she's my daughter) in my hometown, and this is probably be my vacation this year. Nat was so much looking forward to it and we planned all 3 days to make time for everything.

"Welcome, dear. We have been waiting for you so much!"

Look, I have a camera!

I had some spare time for myself. I spent it strolling around the city. I had my camera with me, hoping that I'll use it at last. I take camera but never took out of my bag. Mostly, I didn't dare. We have been told for so many months - don't take pictures, that I don't take pictures even for myself. I am afraid that my photos will cause harm.

I was walking along a crowded street in the downtown when I noticed a building with unusual design. I had not seen before, although it has been here for 2 years. I said to myself - give it a shot. What a pity you couldn't see me there. 😄 It was like.... I stopped. I looked around. "Look, I'm slowly taking my camera off my bag". No reaction. "I hold a camera in my hand. Here I removed the lens cover." No-one cares. "I'm bringing it to my face as if I want to take a photo. I gonna press the button." It was hard to believe, but people passed by on their business, they did not look suspiciously, they did not look at all! Like I'm back in the past...

I didn't take many pictures (inner paranoid does not sleep). Maybe I even lost the skill, what do you say?

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Drama theatre and a monument protected with sandbags.

A mobile point where children play and draw.

Another mural named "Portrait of the city". It consists of 24 vertical stripes and 24 portraits of local citizens, which make up the collective image of the hero-urbanist.

Look who's dropped in!

They are my oldest customers. So old that they are almost a family.😊💛 We met when they just opened. Ages ago! I am their long-time customer as well, albeit a fickle one. A cozy, stylish hair salon in the center of the old town.

I adore their huge mirrors 💟

Nadia looked at my hear and said: "I can't believe that being here for so long you only just decided to come. You should be ashamed." "But I arrived just today" - I laughed in reply. Now she was really astonished. She has no doubts that I fled from Kyiv in the early days of the war and couldn't believe this is my first visit. Why?

After all, it was so nice to see all this... And familiar smiling faces. And my hair miss all this, you know, shampoo, balms, care products, sharp scissors and skillful hands.

Super mom and super daughter

Do you know my sweetheart is a super trainer? She works in the best gym in town, and I must agree that it's much more cool than those I attend in the capital, haha. Nataly is very charismatic, friendly, but at the same time she is very diligent and conscientious, and attentive to details. Although I do not consider fitness trainer is the best job for a woman, I am very proud of her. Clients don't just appreciate her, they really love her. My sunshine.❤️

I quit training at home, and going to gym too. So could I miss a free visit and work out with her? Surely no. Besides, it's so much fun to see faces of her colleagues when they say "Stop, so THIS IS YOUR MOM??" 😂

Time to relax

Haha, I know what you think. What's the point of training if I eat up after that? And I gonna tell you. First, Nat is always starving, LOL. Since birth. Well, there was a break during adolescence. Then, it was about 4pm, and our only meal was a light breakfast. We had to share Nat's lunch, oops. Because after that we went to sunbathe by the river for a couple of hours.🏖 I almost forgot this smell.. and sound of a fast current ...

And only after that we hang out in a wonderful cafe with a view and ate a pizza! I was so hungry I could kill for a good fresh pizza!🍪 I miss it so much that I didn't mind to try their special Neapolitan pizza (usually I prefer Roman pizza).

Nat ordered a sparkling wine in a stylish glass, but for me, an ordinal white wine was just perfect. A perfect ending of a perfect day...

In addition...

As I said, I had 3 wonderful, memorable days. 💗 Nat also arranged a meeting with our family members, it's her aunt and uncle, and their mom and great kids. Oh, and a sweet dog Ziama, she's always welcoming guests.

Also, I visited my old school friend. I appreciate every our meetups. She's always been a support for me, and I tried to support her too. 3 of 4 her grandparents died from cancer, and she had a cancer too but she fought off it. She's so strong. At school we sat at the same desk with her, and we have same name. We were very different and it's so weird that we're still friends. We see each other every few years, but every time it feels like we haven't stopped communicating. Her husband has been serving in the Armed Forces for two months as a military medic. I was lucky to see him too.

We talked about another our classmate and friend who's in Kyiv. Her husband also joined Armed Forces voluntarily, although it was not easy - they did not want to enroll him. He was very persistent and inventive, now he's a scout (if it's a correct translation).

Finally, could I not make something yummy for my beloved? Together, we baked a traditional Jewish bread and cherry pie. Even alarming morning news about the shelling of Kyiv with ballistic missiles did not spoil our day. Love is our weapon.

This is all folks.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful weekend 🍹

Thanks for a great idea of SaturdayMemories to its initiator @olga.maslievich 🤗