MOPS logo in Russian

I started by finding this one on the web...

I updated it to look like this!!

I will be printing out business cards for the ladies to use to invite their friends and we will use these for our names tags as well... I still need to show it to our coordinator and print everything before our meeting on Thursday. Even as I look at it now I see things I want to change so I imagine I will be working on this for a little while longer!

This week is filled with shopping, finalizing plans, and setting up the rooms.  We are expecting guests from various churches throughout the city and you know what it is like when you are preparing for a guests to visit you at home... this is like that, kinda!

edited to add the new one:


I will show it off tomorrow and then let you know which one is the keeper!

taking out the trash

I remember years ago back in Kansas when my grandparents burned trash in their back yard. Peeking through a hole in the fence of a nearby construction site I saw this guy burning old lumber and trash.

MOPS is coming to Krasnodar!

Yesterday I was at the church helping to clean up the downstairs room in preparation for our MOPS meeting next week. It took three of us 3 hours to remove everything from the cabinets, sort through what was there, deciding what we needed to keep and what could be thrown out.  

We even took the time to test each marker to see if it was worth keeping or not... don't you love doing that at your house?  Along the way we found old photos of church members, memorabilia from years past and old Sunday school projects from kids who are grown and gone!

We went from this:

to this!!

Thought for today…

What can you see when you look out of the windows of your church??

We can see clothes hanging on the line in a garden, new construction, and even catch a glimpse of some chickens!  The clothes hanging out on the line remind me of my childhood.  Spending summers at Grandma’s, or Big Mama’s as she is affectionately called now, I learned how to hang clothes out on a clothesline.  She only used the dryer in the summer time for towels.  Everything else was hung out on in the hot Kansas sun to dry.  

 Here in Russia I don’t own a dryer.  There have been days when I wished I did, especially for the towels.  However, each time I hang my clothes on the drying rack on our balcony I feel connected to my past.  I remember my Aunt Lisa helping me hang the sheets...she taught me how to correctly place the clothespins so that we didn't use them all up too soon! 

(She is only four years older than me…please don’t tell I her I called her Aunt Lisa or she will sock me!)

 

noticing the haves and the have nots

Yesterday I left the house for a bit because Tom had someone over who needed his help.  I chose to sneak off to the Mega Mall in New Adigea a city not far from here.  I had fun walking around the mall, seeing all of the new technology, and looking at the overwhelming amount of products for sale in the fancy new supermarket. 

After getting off of the free shuttle bus that took me half way home from the new mall I walked over to the other side of the street to catch a bus that would take me back to our apartment.  This bus stop is located near a large outdoor market.  As I was walking I heard a woman calling out for people to buy her crawdads that she had for sale, saw people lined up on the street to sell their various wares, and noticed a little old lady sitting at the bus stop with a towel spread out beside her selling empty 5 liter water bottles.  

The disparity between the two sights is not unique to Russia.  We saw this in California as well.  However, what struck me was that in both places, the new mall and the outdoor market, there were eager customers.  I rode on the shuttle bus with many people who had large bags filled with things they had purchased at the mall.  I also witnessed both the woman selling her crawdads and the woman selling the empty water bottles make sales.   

One of the things that Russian President Medvedev promised to address in his State of the Union speech last week is the living situations of people here… it will be interesting to see what changes take place over this next year.  And if there will still be a need for a pensioner to sit at the bus stop with a towel spread across the bench selling her empty water bottles so that she herself can survive.

Russia's Got Talent

There is a reality show in America called America's Got Talent  Here in Russia the same program is called Minute of Glory  (you can click on those titles and it will take you to those websites)

Tom and I enjoy watching reality tv, especially the talent oriented versions.  Yesterday we enjoyed two of the acts quite a bit.  There was a 8 year old who did acrobatics and there was a man who did a balancing act.  We didn't like the people who balanced metal objects on their bodies or the group of jump ropers dressed in African costumes.  We were both impressed with the courage of the 67 year old ballerina... she was in great shape, looked beautiful and was very flexible!!  

You can click on each of the descriptions of acts and find a video clips that showing that act.  Hopefully, all the video clips will work and you can get a taste of the show as well!

Shopping on Krasnaya

The sign with green letters is for a Bank.

The sign with red letters is for a Beer Bar.

The yellow sign is a for a Christian book store.

So if you are wondering which one I chose... I will give you a hint.  I don't like the taste of beer and that particular bank is not mine!!

Somebody pinch me!!

I grew up during a time when there were not many African Americans in the public eye. Especially not on TV. This morning, here in Russia, I woke up to see Barack Obama on every channel that was showing the news.  This is simply unreal!

We have had phone calls today from Russian friends who are hopeful that "perestroika"(rebuilding) will happen in America, others who are hoping that relations between Russia and America will improve and others who were excited to see that America truly is a democracy by choosing to elect a "dark" skinned president!!

On Mondays Tom helps out with an English class at the BLTC. He always comes home with fun stories about questions that the students ask him since he is the native English speaker.

There is one student in the class who does not talk much. However, yesterday Tom needed to fax in our votes for the election in America. So of course the topic for the day became politics!! The gal who does not talk much helped get the fax machine up and running. She began asking Tom lots of questions about the Electoral College, the voting process, party affiliations and so on. She landed with the right person to ask because Tom is not Red or Blue… he is one of those highly coveted Independent voters!!

We received our Ballots here in the mail back in September. Tom took in the entire contents of the envelope and that became an item for show and tell. The students were interested in every little detail. How the ballot looked, how his Russian Address was spelled with English letters, the number of parties on the ballot and the instruction booklet that came in the packet.

Here are a few family voting facts:
This is our first presidential election with us not living in America.
This is the second time in almost 27 years of marriage that we voted the same way.
This is the first time that both of our children are old enough to vote.

Tom and I are thrilled that we had the chance to participate in the election from thousands of miles away. Like many other Americans living abroad we are grateful for our American citizenship and the rights that come along with it!

Here is an excerpt from my friend Cyndi’s blog that I wanted to share:

“Unfortunately battle lines are being drawn in the church. You can see it in the news, on blogs and even in the pulpit. God is calling us to be humble, we need to be careful about defining our own opinions. There is nothing wrong with being passionate. Passionate people thirst for God, hunger for truth. No political system can ever be perfect. So how do we find common ground? 1) We must move to higher ground, 2) keep our face to the ground, and 3) find the middle ground. Jesus Christ is our common ground. We must have humility and believe in God. Christians will be going to the polls on Tuesday and pulling different levers. When we wake up on Wednesday morning people will still need to be saved. At the end of the day take off the donkey and the elephant and put on the cross. Put your faith in Christ! On November 5th there is no us or them. Your brother and sister in Christ is never your enemy. Jesus can heal our land. Let the will of God be done.”

Peacocks!!

Tom and I took a walk in the Botanical Gardens not far from our apartment. We enjoy people watching and yesterday we not only saw people but a few peacocks as well!! I don't know if this is a new addition to the Gardens... but it was certainly exciting.

Hearing kids gleefully whoop and holler is a treat for us. Seeing the peacocks up close and personal was awesome too!!

Strolling Krasnaya

Tom and I were down on the main street last Sunday and we were able to see the changing of the guards!!  The men are dressed as traditional Cossacks.  Click here to read more about Cossacks.  We have never seen this before and from the reaction of the crowd standing around to watch and take pictures it was new for a lot of people! 

Walking on Krasnaya Street (which means red street) is definitely a cultural experience.  The street is closed to car traffic Friday through Sunday.  It is fun to see families out walking together, hear all the street bands along the way and check out the sights and sounds of our city.  You can also collect flyers from all the businesses who send people out to walk the street to advertise for them. 

I think Tom is planning to do a pastel of these photos... when he finishes I will post the results!

Iris tagged Sarah and Sarah tagged me so I will try to answer these questions with one word answers and then tag 7 other bloggers. I'll see if I can do it but the one word part is HARD!!

1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2. Where is your significant other? artroom
3. Your hair color? Salt and Pepper (I say it like it’s one word!)
4. Your mother? Kathryn
5. Your father? John
6. Your favorite thing? Worship
7. Your dream last night? fogotten
8. Your dream/goal? Russian fluency
9. The room you’re in? hallway
10. Your hobby? crocheting
11. Your fear? Kids getting injured
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here.
13. Where were you last night? Home.
14. What you’re not? young
15. One of your wish list items? Monk on DVD
16. Where you grew up? America
17. The last thing you did? Facebooked!
18. What are you wearing? jammies
19. Your tv? Necessary
20. Your pet? none
21. Your computer? Dell
22. Your mood? Peaceful
23. Missing someone? Nathan and Spencer
24. Your car? none
25. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
26. Favorite store? Barnes and Noble
27. Your summer? Awesome
28. Love someone? Yup, for almost 30 years!
29. Your favorite color? Lime green
30. When was the last time you laughed? A few minutes ago
31. Last time you cried? A few days ago

These are the lucky people that I am tagging!  Have fun!

Joann

Christie

Liza

Stephanie

Jeano

Michele

Cyndi

thought for today

The art of avoiding extremes is an art that is drawn on the canvas of maturity and painted with the abstract strokes of many experiences.

T.D. Jakes, from his book The Lady, Her Lover and Her Lord

I love T.D. Jakes' words pictures... he always gets his point across in a very vivid way for me!  The context of the quote is about learning the balance between selfishness and self denial.  Each day we are faced with choices.  T.D. 's words remind me that learning to set healthy boundaries and avoiding extremes is part of maturing as a woman and as a human being. 

finally back up and running!

Just after I checked email and posted to the blog last week our computer crashed...We have just had one adventure after another here lately!  

The plumbing is finally fixed.  

The wall paper just needs to be reglued down.

Tom fixed the lights on the balcony.

The computer crashed the same day.

Our friend Lena B. told me that her husband Valera could fix anything that could possibly go wrong with a computer... and we are so grateful to him for saving us from having to purchase a new hard drive! He even installed some programs that we didn't have before.  He said it took longer for him because he installed everything for us in English! 

I will be able to write more later when I can think clearly.  It is after one am... Valera just left.  And I have 136 emails to answer!

Thought for Today

“Today, let’s educate ourselves. Let’s take a class. Let’s read newspapers, books, magazines. Let’s ask questions and get involved with issues. Let’s learn about the environment, politics, sociology, philosophy, psychology or any other discipline that interests us. An education opens the door to a world of opportunity. All we have to do is turn the key.”
Carleen Brice, author of Walk Tall, Affirmations for People of Color


This affirmation for today reminded me about a friend who has started taking German lessons again. She is 50. I pray that I will always be open to learning new things!

windows into Krasnodar

Tom has been working on a series of pastels that give a small glimpse of the culture here through his eyes. This little lady is known affectionately as "The cat Babushka".

She sits out on the stoop and feeds all the neighborhood cats!

getting ready for winter!

Tom and I decided this year to go shopping early for our winter boots. We found his at a place called the Shoe Factory and mine at Clark's. Mine are last years model but were on sale for 50% off. My feet won't care that they are sporting last year's boots... they will be glad for the nice warm lining inside when it is -30 or more!!

Repairs are almost complete!

The wallpaper was carefully pulled back and taped down to keep it out of the way. The old pipes were cut out and replaced with new. There are other repairs going on in our building so all of the water is shut down for the radiator system. When everyone is ready the water will be turned on so the repairs can be verified as successful. If so, the guys will come back and fill the wall back in and reglue the wallpaper. If not they will fix whatever needs to be adjusted and then close the wall.

There is a light at the end of this tunnel and this time I don't think that it is an oncoming train!!

update on the leak

earlier this week this was the scene in the kitchen...


















you can see a line on the wall showing where the wallpaper was affected by the constant dripping.

a day later it looked like this...

The source of the leak is dscovered and the problem diagnosed!


now it looks like this!

The wall had to be opened up to gain access to the leak. The red wire is leading the drips directly into a bucket on the floor.


Hopefully, by Saturday all the repairs will be complete. This event has really taxed my Russian vocabulary. I should have paid more attention during those lessons about repair and tool names. But I honestly never expected to say the words spackle or chisel in a conversation!

Please pray that all goes smoothly from here on out!!

Thought for Today

We are a family of readers... Earlier this week I was reading a book of lists called Lists to Live By and came across this list that truly spoke to my heart!

17 Ways to Encourage Reading
1. visit the library
2. watch movies of classics
3. create a reading nook
4. listen to books on tape
5. act out stories together
6. be a reading role model
7. get your child a journal to record his/ her
thoughts and read them again later
8. read classic books aloud
9. subscribe to children's magazines
10. help your child write and illustrate his own book
11. tolerate comic books
12. keep reading time quiet
13. pursue special interests through books
14. attend a book signing
15. break long books into manageable chunks
16. visit bookstores
17. introduce series books

Some of my favorite memories as a family come from pursuing our common interest in books... you can ask Spencer about getting lost in Beverly Hills looking for the LA Book Festival. Or ask Nathan about being in line at midnight to get the latest Harry Potter book! We love books, yes we do!




PS. the leak in the kitchen: two plumbers came out yesterday and after looking at the leak left to go get their boss... we have not seen them since. We have a call in to find out if they are coming back today. The saga continues!

water leakage again!

Each year that we have lived here there has been a leak in a pipe somewhere in our apartment... this year is no exception.

Tom just turned off the water to all the pipes and we are waiting for a plumber to get here. Oh, the joys of being the owners and not renting!

Spinach Pasta

I shop at Tabris for most of our groceries... it is a European style market and carries items from various countries around the world. I like shopping there because I get a discount on everything that I purchase.

With Spencer and Nathan both gone Tom and I are trying new things that we know that guys would not like but think we might enjoy. So with that in mind I purchased the spinach pasta.

All of the instructions were written in German...I did figure out that it needed to cook for only 4-6 minutes though.

And as for taste... it was great!!

I did it!!!

Finally!!! It has taken me a year and 10 months to reach my goal weight... what a long road this has been. Now the hard part begins...maintaining!!