Wow. This past week changed from the beginning to the end.

Let me explain.

Monday

Mike had ordered a big mixer for a church in Ukraine that makes pierogi and other food and cans it and sends it to needy people on the other side of the country. (We had asked a couple who has started attending our church, Ivan and Vika if their church needed support, and they said that the biggest thing their church needs is a mixer. They meet together 1 or 2 times a week and a rather large group mixes up dough and makes literally dozens of jars of pierogi - hundreds of them. They go to a local bakery and use their mixer now.) So, we thought about it and decided that we were interested in helping them with this. But they needed an industrial size mixer - not just a home size Kitchen Aid.

So, Mike did the research and ordered a big one - I think it is 20 quarts. I had told Mike that it couldn’t just be a 10 quart one. It arrived on Monday - but it was broken! - Cracked. It came in a crate, and the crate was big and apparently not strapped in. It is very, very heavy (more than 200 lbs.) and quite large. Apparently the delivery company had dropped it.

So, we were GOING to pack up on Wednesday and Mike was going to go on Thursday to the place where he was going to deliver this mixer and at this church they were going to meet the people from the area of Zaporizha who will get the load.

But, Mike contacted the people we got it from and the delivery company had to come and get it back on Tuesday and it got back to the company on Wed. On Thursday they sent a new one and on Friday we got the substitute one. (Yeah!)

Then Mike had to change plans - no packing on Wed. and no trip on Thursday.

So, we will pack up on Monday - the day this post is going live - and try again. Mike plans to go on Tuesday and either come back on Tuesday or else Wednesday. Thursday is Thanksgiving so he wants to be here for that.

On Monday I did go shopping for various things and put in my order for the wholesale place for the food order for Wednesday. The things I got today were zipper type bags, bullion cubes, vegetable oil, Bandaid type strips, sponges, diapers, dry shampoo, baby wipes, etc.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning first thing I went to the wholesale place to tell them the change of plans and asked them to hold off the order til Monday (and I apologized profusely).

I did some more shopping to help fill up the garage for chemical and cleaning supplies.

Wednesday

We got some things delivered that I had ordered. We put them in the van. We ended up taking them to the church garage.

Thursday

I got more things delivered again and ended up just putting them in the van to be taken on Friday. These are pillows and rechargeable flashlights.

Friday

I took my van load of things to the church garage and labeled my boxes of pillows after doubling them up. In other words, the boxes that previously held 5 pillows now hold 10. I squished them. I also labeled the boxes as “pillows” to go with pillowcases. I probably spent about an hour today working on these things - unloading the van, compiling things and labeling some boxes.

There is a little bit of food here but mostly no food (it will be delivered) - mostly things like power banks, hygiene items like soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, tp, diapers and wipes, adult diapers, adult wipes, pads for ladies, aerosol foam cleaning stuff for adult bodies, wool blankets, pillows, laundry detergent, tarps, water pitchers and filters, batteries, flashlights and work lights (rechargeables), warm socks for men and women, black leggings for ladies, hydrogen peroxide, over the counter medicine, towels, matches, lighters, first aid kits, deodorant - men’s and women’s, lip balm, etc. This is pretty much all the stuff that we bought for the last two loads. I tried to make sure everything was extremely practical. We will also send quilt bundles.

I also took a short video showing what is in the garage. I didn’t really plan it well - I will try to do better. I always seem to lower my voice when I talk on a video - I suppose because I feel like I need to be quiet. :) The tarps here are heavy duty.

We also got a little snow today. I said “a little, right”? Here are two pictures - one is on the van and the other is when I stopped to pick up packages from the package place - which I couldn’t do ‘on the way to church’ as there was not room in the van.