My Wartime Diary. Kyiv, Ukraine. Day 24.

• Yesterday I felt that my fear goes away, little by little. Maybe the aroma of baking calmed me, or I passed another psychological stage. In any case, I decided to sleep not on the floor in the corridor, but in the bed. And lo and behold! My back did not hurt at night, and I could sleep. I heard the siren only once, but I didn’t hear the explosions at all. I hope there were no explosions nearby.

• 8 am. My 24th day started with a good news. My long-awaited cargo is almost in Kyiv, and I will receive it today. I'm so excited, and can't wait to see it!

Donations and my small Thanksgiving.

I have heard "each of us is a drop in the ocean" a million times. But only now I know, I feel it REAL meaning. Before, my focus was always on a drop, but this is the first time when I saw an ocean. I am of those people who find it very uncomfortable to ask for help. I always rely on myself first. But this time it was almost desperation, not for me, and I reached out to everyone I could. Even my daughter who's a fitness trainer made a repost. I told her with sorrow - "What can you do?"

This was the beginning of a miracle. As I write this, I can't hold my tears. I, a tiniest and unknown drop in the ocean, received donations even from a complete strangers. My friends on Hive (MY PRECIOUS FRIENDS) and people I didn't know before together have done wonders. My daughter's friends and clients are still very young (18, 25, 30 y.o.), and I know that they make a little money. The amounts were about 10 dollars, 15 dollars. The smallest amounts were $3.3, and the most generous - $1000. We got up to $6000!

I hope I can thank you all somehow, when it's all over. You are people with a big heart, and you've shown me that we are drops, but we are THE OCEAN.

I am most grateful for the donations for

@delishtreats @dswigle @priyanarc @olga.maslievich @livinguktaiwan @erikah @silviabeneforti @ellenripley @arcange @cardboard @proteancreator
@bulldog-joy @soyrosa @motionup @racibo @flemingfarm @ybanezkim26 @jacobpeacock @trangbaby @edb

and for you all, your upvotes, reposts, words of support, advices and care. You are in my heart! 💛💙

• Another news: Kyiv ranks first in the world in terms of air pollution. 😱 The indicators are 27 times higher than normal. This is due to the change in wind, and the presence in the air of smoke and fumes from other regions affected by Russian airstrikes. We are recommended to close windows and stay at home.

• For the first time in the last week, it seems that the occupiers failed to destroy a single house in Kyiv at night.

• Parcels received! Yoohoo! 🎉 I am going to deliver it today. 🚗

• Such an exciting day!!! A lot of things that guys need so badly. First aid kits, painkillers - a lot, bandages, clothes. I'm looking forward to get another parcel with army boots on Tuesday. I took all boxes to the destination and came back until dark.

• My writing was interrupted by loud rising hum. I rushed to the window. Planes? Vehicles? I didn't see anything out of my windows. But in a while, I saw a column of tanks with flags of Ukraine flying. 💙💛

• I've been to a rehabilitator. He has an unusual method of treatment plus acupuncture. I have never tried acupuncture before. In fact, I'm a coward and I'm afraid of needles, but if I don't look, that's fine. He tried to "fix" the right side of my back and my right shoulder, which has been in pain for months. I hope he succeeded. I will visit him again in a couple of days.

• Nick drove by earlier today. I gave him an apple pie. 😚🍰 He helped me load the boxes into the car, and for that I let him drive. I knew he missed driving. 🙃

• It is no longer a secret that there are many roadblocks in the city. All around the city, many, fortified. When they stop me, I always smile at them. I think they really miss smiles, especially women's ones.

• By the way, do you know what other secret weapons Ukrainians have? Humor. Moreover, it is a good humor, without evil and hatred, albeit on military topics. Ukrainians and humor are two inseparable concepts. In the evening, my daughter and I share the memes we like best, and our mood improves.

Phewwww. It was a good day. I have big plans for tomorrow, so ... see you!

Marth 20th. Day 25.

• The night went relatively well. How I would like it to be the same for the residents of ALL cities of Ukraine!

• The guy who brought me a package yesterday lost his mother at night. 😰 He managed to return home and see her before her death. Funeral in 2 days. He doesn't even have the money to bury her. I think I should help him too. It also means that I don't know when the next shipment will be.

• I'm trying to find good tourniquets at the best price in Germany. My friends will buy them and send here.

• A friend suggested me a good supermarket. There are not very many people, store shelves are full, and they have everything, vegetables, fruits, fresh meat, dairy. People in good clothes, children, dogs. I saw alcohol on the shelves and stopped in amazement. It turned out that they did not remove it, but you can not buy it. It is right. To say the truth, the prices are quite high. But I finally bought sausages. I missed them so much! Actually, I very rarely ate them before the war, but my diet and requirements have changed a lot.

• The economy seems to be slowly coming back to life as well. A friend who volunteers for the municipal authorities sent me link to an actual map showing running business. You will not believe, I signed up for a manicure! She will definitely be scared when she sees my nails. 😊 Maybe I can also cut my hair. My cosmetologist also stayed in Kyiv, and tomorrow they open again, but don't know yet for how long.

• Everywhere on the street there are long queues for the delivery service.

• In general, calmness is good. But I don't know if I should be happy about it, and for how long. As soon as I wrote this, I heard a siren and a loud bang, from which windows and furniture trembled .... Hm. And quiet again. As they say, beauty requires sacrifice, but this saying got a new meaning.

• This was my first long walk - 15 minutes to the beauty salon. The girls were discussing the recent explosion, wondering where the shell had fallen. They are also afraid to be on the street for more than a few minutes. I cut my bangs and did a simple manicure, and payed very little. The salon manager finally found the payment terminal today. She put it in the fridge on the first day of the war, under stress.

• The neighborhood looks depressed. In the next block, many windows on the ground floor are broken, the openings are closed with plywood. I think it's because of looters, not because of explosions, because in case of an explosion, there would be more damage. I couldn't see it when driving, and I am really upset.

• Road traffic. There were very few cars in the first week. Drivers often didn't follow the rules, but everyone drove slowly and with caution. I was saving gas because I wasn't sure when I could fill up the car. Now there are more cars, people adopted to the situation. Once, a volunteer who was traveling with me asked if I knew if the cameras for fixing speeding were working. This question was really confusing. After all, I suppose that they don't work, or rather do not fix breaches.

• My building is old and has only 5 floors, and there is no elevator. Another friend of mine told me today, that all elevators in the city are stopped, due to the safety reasons. So he had to go up and down by feet. I can only imagine how people live on the top floors of 24 or 32-storey buildings.

• I wonder, how much have gasoline prices risen in your country since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine? My friend says prices have doubled in Germany, but I know she likes to be dramatic.

• The silence is over. I smoked on the balcony and looked at the city. The smell of smoke and absolute, creepy silence. And then I saw a dark orange trail in the sky, and I knew what would happen next. This time it fell somewhere nearby. It seems that the night will not be calm. 😨

Marth 21th.

• I am okay, just a hard day.

Marth 22th.

• Long curfew was in Kyiv started yesterday at 8pm. I am home alone with my thoughts. In this unwonted silence every sound is heard

• An ambulance came to a neighbor from the first floor. His father was taken to the hospital, they suspect a heart attack.

• I feel trapped. Try to work, however sometimes it's difficult to concentrate. I hide when I hear the alarm. I don't know if it was the right decisions...

• Tourniquets. I have accumulated about 360€, so this is enough. Now I hope my frieds will be able to purchase that amount, and we'll find a way to get them here.

• It looks like the sprint is turning into a marathon. And it is very difficult to switch consciousness.

Marth 23th.

• I sleep in my bed for about a week now. Despite of air raids, I actually slept through a night. Time can speed up again any moment, and I need strength. My first thought when I wake up is "this is not a dream".

• Air smells like smoke, again. Yesterday, only one missile hit a residential area in Kyiv.

• The long curfew is finished, and the city comes to life. Neighbor's car is not in the parking lot. He left last night, probably drove to the hospital. No idea how did he managed it. His father had a heart attack and is being held in intensive care. He's old, but I've always liked him. Once he was an experienced climber. I sincerely hope his father is still alive.

• 9:30 am. I was wrong about one missile. In addition, in the morning my area came under fire. And right now I hear explosions and shots. 😨

• It's all right. Nick and his friend have stopped by. We had tea together, and they left. But their flying visit brought some life to my home.