week fifteen

Star Wars flashback! (If you even thought "Which Star Wars?" I have no idea why you read my blogs. There's only one.)

Here's my little jawa at the Vienna zoo.

It was so cold and rainy she put on my grey poncho over her raincoat...and her own grey hooded sweater. Two hoods, during lunch, at least, were better than one.

week fourteen

This is a contented girl.

She's in a cami because we had spaghetti for dinner, which is her current favorite. She's wearing a twirly skirt sent from a friend in England and boots from a friend in the US. Both of them are new to her and still a little big--but great for being a cowgirl.

On her lap is the last last, huge, piece of carrot cake from Easter.

She's enjoying the nearly-unheard-of treat of eating in the living room. She asked for a picnic and then settled herself in our monster of a couch--which is incredibly comfortable.

(My camera with no flash is always blurry despite breath-holding and bracing.)

After eating all that cake she looked at me and asked, "Is your tummy a little sick? Do you have to bleh?" I admit to laughing at her and saying that my tummy was fine. I asked if she needed to throw up and she indignantly told me, "No! I don't need to throw up!...Maybe I need to lie down." She proceeded to carefully do so and then asked, "Will you get the bowl?" When I informed her that if she was feeling like throwing up we should go to the toilet, she decided she was fine, but continued to lie down.

She scoffed at the idea that she felt bad from too much cake. Clearly, she thinks too much cake is an oxymoron.

week thirteen

Signs of mud season:

The fruit stand across the canal has re-opened. It's convenient, but not always reliable. This is where they hid moldy strawberries under my nice ones. And, I try not to think about all the pollution landing on these as they sit next to passing cars with no emission standards.


See our playground? Mud. See the naval academy behind the fence? Snow. The only reason we have mud is that snow was trucked away (for the first time since I've been here).

And, the drinking outside my window has increased tremendously. You can't park your car, open the door, and extract your six-year-old without a group of young drinkers peering in and breathing down.

The group pictured got started early. This is early afternoon. They're watching chunks of ice float past.

And, below are more pictures of the ice floating by in the canal. No, they're not the prettiest shots. Yes, I did get put out with the passersby who stared at us (as if we were in the zoo...or on tv...or were blind) in the window.

Knowing big chunks of ice in the canal is photo-worthy (from yesterday's photographing of the group above) Lexi came skittering into the kitchen shouting, "Mama! Come SEE!" Good eye, little one.



This might be ice coming down from Ladoga (I'd have to see the Neva to know for sure.). If so, that's a SURE sign that mud season is upon us.

week twelve

This is the only photo (!!) from this week. Our friend, "Kakleen" came over after dinner one night to have me put some peroxide in her ears. (Yes, our lives here are really that exciting.) Lexi immediately climbed up on the couch to help and observe.

When Kat asked what she saw in there, Lexi replied immediately, "Boogers." sending Kat and I into hysterics that lasted for days. Yeah, location humor. You had to be there.

week eleven

The reaction we have to men on the roof shoveling snow and knocking down icicles is now on par with the reaction we have to fireworks. What used to get an excited rushing-to-the-window is now met with anything from utter complacency to mild irritation. (Fireworks tend to get mild to more-than-moderate irritation. If you're out under the shovelers, then the irritation factor is upped for that, too.)

At least it was sunny.

week ten

When I stumble across little scenes like this, it just makes my heart happy.

week nine

This is what I call "meat jello"--three different kinds. It's a delicacy here...and no one back home believes me. No, I've never eaten it.

The photo isn't great because I got shooed away after taking it (and pretending to delete it--I learned my lesson the very hard way about deleting forbidden photographs. I would give a lot to have back a photo I deleted at the orphanage of Lexi playing with her friend.). Why people are so paranoid about GROCERY STORES being photographed, I don't know. But most have signs up prohibiting photography. I didn't see a sign here, but the ban is in effect.