Our daughter Natasha celebrated her 53rd birthday on November 12th.  This year we celebrated at her house. We spent a lovely afternoon visiting and ended the celebration with a delicious Faspa. “Faspa” is one of those words for which there is no direct English translation. Faspa meant the gathering of family and friends, usually at 4 p.m. Sunday, for a light meal and fellowship, with an emphasis on fellowship. 

Remembrance Day in Canada happens on November 11th. My Grandfather was in the Russian Army during the First World War. Because the Russians were allies of the USA and Canada during that war my Grandfather received a pension from the Canadian government. My Grandfather was a brave man.
At the age of 28 he together with my Grandma and their three little daughters fled to Canada. My mom, even though she was just a little girl, remembers her Grandma saying goodbye to her two sons and their families before they boarded a boat on the Dnieper River to begin their journey to freedom.

Holodomor Remembrance Day happens on the 4th Saturday of November. I have included a PDF describing the man-made famines in the former Soviet Union.

HOLODOMOR – Pictures from the Genocide by Starvation 1920 – 1921 and 1930 – 1934 (1)

As far as my health issues they remain the same. I had an echocardiogram a week ago and have a consult with my cardiologist on Monday. Hopefully, I will get some answers. At the moment I am very concerned about my breathing issues. It is an awful feeling and one has to try not to panic. The three blood pressure medications I am taking are doing what we mean them to do. The change in pain medication is more effective and makes getting out of bed in the morning so much easier.