If you’re off to Philadelphia this morning

I flew into Philadelphia last night and arrived at Trillianstar‘s and kylecassidy‘s lovely home. I had a few blissful hours of Trillian all to myself to sip tea and talk about life, love, friendship, art. Ah, if only I could bring her back with me in my pocket to Chicago (but I fear that the cats and Kyle would protest too much). Then Kyle came home from the video shoot with Amanda Palmer in New York, and we stayed up too late chatting and eating a delicious veggie meatloaf. So happy to see two of my favorite people!

We woke this morning and drove out to Jenkintown, PA to attend a Ukrainian Winter Bazaar, and it was fun to be able to share this glimpse into Ukrainian American life and culture with Trillian. We ate varenyky and potato pancakes, drank borshch, bought a few holiday treats, and I declared her to be an honorary Ukrainian.

I also met with Ihor Bilynksy, the secretary of the Ukrainian League of Philadelphia (ULoP). He was selling his raw, organic honey and beeswax candles (they smell amazing!) and offered to sell my books at his table. He was also kind enough to email news of my reading to his members. We discussed my coming back in the Spring to do a reading at the Club (So it looks like I’ll be back again relatively soon! Yay!)

After the  bazaar, we came back home, and I joined Kyle for a snack with Lauren  of Fairytale Vegas. I was still full from my hearty Ukrainian brunch, but I enjoyed the company. After Lauren dashed of to Dr. Sketchy’s, Kyle and I returned back here to a house full of actors rehearsing for Trillian’s Christmas show. This house oozes and echoes with creativity. I love it!

Now a bit of downtime to catch up and prepare for tonight’s reading. There will be tarot, wine, and cupcakes. No doubt it will be interesting.

Published by Valya

Valya Dudycz Lupescu has been making magic with food and words for more than 20 years, incorporating folklore from her Ukrainian heritage with practices that honor the Earth. She’s a writer, content developer, instructor, and mother of three teenagers. Valya is the author of MOTHER CHRISTMAS, THE SILENCE OF TREES, and the founding editor of CONCLAVE: A Journal of Character. Along with Stephen H. Segal, she is the co-author of FORKING GOOD: An Unofficial Cookbook for Fans of The Good Place and GEEK PARENTING: What Joffrey, Jor-El, Maleficent, and the McFlys Teach Us about Raising a Family (Quirk Books), and co-founder of the Wyrd Words storytelling laboratory. Valya earned her MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her poetry and prose have been published in anthologies and magazines that include, The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Kenyon Review, Culture, Gargoyle Magazine, Gone Lawn, Strange Horizons, Mythic Delirium. You can find her on Twitter @valya and on Mastodon.social @valya

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