Sophia Lorens Mansion

Sophia Loren’s  mansion

Woke up like hell knows when, decided to heat myself my homemade cinnamon apple waffles and eat them with yoghurt and strawberries. Made myself some Lviv coffee with almond milk and maple syrup to drink. Currently, I'm sitting on kitchen counter, consuming the aforementioned perfect breakfast Haven't had such a pleasant morning for a while now. Just me, the fresh air and the crows singing.

Vibe-wise reminds me of my first time actually living in Poland when I was a teenager. It was in the town of Wisła and we woke up really early back than. Early Sunday morning is always the best morning.

It also reminds me about early roadtrip breakfasts when my family and I used to travel to Crimea by our old car, long before it has become occupied. It felt very hot and crowded during the day, since it was a black lada 112 (without no climate control whatsoever) and there was like 40°C outside, the fields on our way were burning. But the mornings were probably the most pleasurable parts of our trips.

Ciri from the Witcher

Ohhhh i f*cked up her shirt big time, but I like how I handled the face. I thought since I shared my Yennefer, maybe I could also share my Ciri

My painting of Basia in 2023 / My drawing of “the Queen” Basia (to the left) and princess myself as a cat ( to the right  ) in 2010 - yes, I was a weird child  :D

Despite the description, this post is going to be deeply personal   One month ago, I lost my dearest friend and one of the most beloved family members - my cat Basia. She was fighting a lymphoma since 2020, when she also had a surgery, but even afterward, the problem returned and started progressing again. By the end of May, my mom, who, together with the rest of my family, currently lives in Ukraine, wrote me a message that Basia stopped eating and drinking, and had trouble walking. Clearly, she was in pain and couldn't function anymore. We made a painful mutual decision to put her down the next day, so she wouldn't have to suffer anymore. 

That day, I called my parents on Telegram to say goodbye to my pet. She was looking very ill, she lost most of her weight, and her fur, once silky and smooth, was looking like hedgehog spines. I cannot choose the words (even in my native language, let alone English) to describe the emotional state I was in, knowing that I couldn't be there for her at that moment. I felt guilty and I was so sorry. However, there was nothing to be done. The next day, that was the 1st of June, her 14th birthday, a vet came over to my parents' house and sent her to her last, peaceful sleep. My parents buried her at a beautiful, safe place near the river together with her favorite toy, a mouse, which she had since she was a kitten. 

Basia was an amazing cat. She was very loving and supportive, as much as a cat can be for a human, and even more. In a way, Basia provided me with advice, when I needed one, by gently biting me on my hand when I was misbehaving as a teenager and not accepting my abusive ex-boyfriend into the family, as if she was protecting me. She was an extremely wise pet. She also was my bestie. We were together since I was 8, and she was a 2 months old little piece of fluff. She used to support me through my pain and health issues, both physical and mental. 

She was my painkiller and my inspiration. When we adopted Basia, I had been attending art school for about one year. I have always liked painting, but if before Basia I would paint trees and barbie dolls, after I got her - everything was about her. I used to paint her in different costumes, as if she was a human. Once I painted her on an a2 canvas in my school uniform and I think this work won some kind of competition, and even was hanging on the art school’s wall for some time (even though it actually was awful, if you ask me now XD). 

I guess what I want to say is that I loved that cat so much I could honestly paint her forever and even write short stories about her, as she had her own character and her approach to life, and her eyes were always filled with some unattainable cat wisdom. I truly believe that this cat had a huge influence over my interest in arts and was my first-ever muse. Thus, the most reasonable homage I can pay her is her last portrait, which would capture her young, silky and beautiful, the way I remember her, sitting on the porch of our cottage.

Basia, my dearest pet to whom I owe so much, I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you in 2020, when you first got sick, and in 2023 when your time came, but I hope you didn't hold grudges against me at the moment when you found your final peace, as you have always been in my heart and no other pet will ever replace you. I still rewatch the videos of you, jumping and playing with your mouse, and I appreciate you so much for fighting this horrible disease for such a long time. You were always so strong. Thank you for all the happy memories and for all of your support throughout the years of our mutual friendship. Thank you for everything. I love you and may your cat soul, wherever it is right now, rest in peace.

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I have nothing to post today except for this beautiful sunset

Vasyl Zinkevich, Volodymyr Ivasyuk and Nazarii Yaremchuk, circa 1970

They look like a team from some animated series - the handsome one, the brainy one and the goofy one. I can't believe they still haven't received their own crazy tumbler fandom.

I'll be the first one to step onto that dangerous path😵‍💫