In The Land of Sunflowers 🌻

In the land of sunflowers 🌻 there’s war, destruction and an unbroken spirit. Ukraine is burning but so does its people’s determination to live through it and rebuild.

This week marks 10 year anniversary since the beginning of my blog. I can’t believe it’s been that long, and here I’m, still writing in it after so many years. The blog has definitely evolved over the years: content and the overall design are different from where it started. The name itself also changed. If you’ve been my follower for awhile, you may remember that the blog’s name used to be The Food and Thought Peddler (I still own the domain though). Several years ago, I did a major overhaul to a private platform and redesigned the site that got the name The House of Dee. I had years when I was very actively posting: a recipe post every week and 1-2 weekly shorter posts too. My current struggles with health issues and private practice needs take most of my attention right now so currently posts are more sporadic in nature but hopefully cherished by my readers nevertheless. And, as always, the blog is not monetized so there are no annoying ads or pop-ups to ruin your experience.

A few weeks ago I started to work on a special recipe that I wanted to do for my 10 year anniversary, but the world is different right now, and I’m regrouping to create a recipe from my motherland Ukraine.

I was born in and spent my childhood in Ukraine, in the second largest city Kharkiv, the one that’s been burning for days, bombed, shelled with rockets, and is almost entirely destroyed but not surrendered. My family and I have been tracking and trying to stay in touch with some of the extended family still left in Ukraine and many of my childhood and family friends. Some people we still can’t in touch with so I can only pray that they’re alive. I can’t reach my best friend and her family there, the mother of my godson, who’s now a grown man, but a child is always a child to their mother, so I can’t fathom what she must be feeling, and I can’t even imagine my son being in the situation where all men are prepared to fight.

The city has experienced unimaginable destruction. Most of it (about the size of Philadelphia) is demolished, and many citizens (mostly women, children and elderly, out of almost 1.5 millions of the population) had to leave their ruined homes. There were centuries old cultural landmarks along with modern architecture and urban developments that got badly damaged or completely destroyed. No schools, universities, churches, hospitals, not even a city zoo with frightened animals were spared. The neighborhood I used to live in doesn’t exist anymore. Kharkiv was badly damaged during WWII, but this level of destruction is even beyond that. It hurts to even write these words. All I feel is grief and tears over the land I called home that’s still full of my childhood memories. But, of course, my grief is nothing to compare with what Ukrainian citizens are experiencing back there.

So, I’m not in my usual chirpy mood to celebrate the blog’s anniversary, but I will come back with a delicious Ukrainian recipe to mark it and to celebrate unwavering Ukrainian spirit.

In a mean while, may God safeguard and protect my family and friends in Ukraine and hear my prayers for restored peace and a chance to rebuild Kharkiv to its former beauty. I’m Ukrainian by birth, American by citizenship for almost 30 years, and my soul is deeply rooted in both countries, weeping for my suffering motherland.

I’m leaving you with a few pictures of the way the city was and with hopes that it will be this way once again.