it is not the date that counts...

When December 25th rolled around it was a difficult day. Not just because Nathan and Spencer were not here to celebrate with us, but, because the rest of the country was not celebrating with us.

Russia celebrates Christmas on January 7th. This year our church held a Christmas morning service. The children sang and recited poetry. Everyone was in a festive mood. After the service there was a “sladky stol” or sweet table. Tom was able to stay for that and enjoyed spending time laughing and celebrating with everyone. There were guests at the service who had come from various parts of the country to celebrate with family and see the children perform.

I had to sneak off to a Christmas concert that I had been invited to. The Kuban Cossack Choir put on an incredible show that was sold out! I was grateful for the invitation and that we were able to get tickets! She and I both got to hear our favorite singers. She likes a tenor who truly did a fantastic job. However, my favorite is a bass… he was tall and thin with an unbelievably deep voice. After the concert my friend had to rush off to her church’s celebration, Tom came to pick me up and he and I went to Valera’s home to celebrate with his family and their long time friends.

Being invited to Valera and Ludmilla’s home was a significant event in our lives here. They celebrate Christmas each year with family and friends that they have had since childhood. We felt very welcome among this group of men and women who have been together more than 50 years. As we left there two of the women invited us to share a taxi with them. That was another first for us… we got stuck in the elevator! Fortunately our call for help was answered and we were only confined about 15 minutes. After getting the doors open we chose to walk down six flights of stairs to our waiting taxi instead of trying the elevator again!

It was a long day… but a truly enjoyable one. Tom and I both realized that the date we celebrate Christmas on is not important. It is the spirit of the season that counts. Celebrating the birth of Christ on the Orthodox date of January 7th with all of Russia was much more fulfilling than our attempt to celebrate on December 25th alone.

Snowy weather...

Tom just got back from running errands in the snow. It is only 1 below. So it's not that cold. But, there are about 8 inches of snow on the ground!

Over the holiday I lost a filling. Everything that I have read online says this is not an emergency... although it does make eating uncomfortable. We called a dental office this morning but they are closed for the holidays. Christmas here in Russia is Wednesday so I will have to tough it out for a few more days.















Having the AA group over on New Year's went well. Tom got a call from his friend V. who said that everyone had a great time! V came with his entire family. He brought his wife, two daughters and his granddaughter. Two single gals, E and T, who would have been alone otherwise also came. For several of our guests it was their first time in an American home. We made every effort to follow as many Russian traditions as possible.

We had the table set holiday style with New Year's presents for everyone. We watched President Mevedev on tv to bring in the New Year. Prior to his address to the nation we toasted the old year. Everyone had an opportunity to say what they had learned or what they were grateful for and we raised our glasses of 7-up, juice and non alcoholic champagne and joyfully clicked them together after each person shared! Following Medvedev's address the fireworks started on the street. We watched from our balcony and saw a great display from various points around the city! We laughed together, watched the fireworks and then went back to the table to eat some more and toast the new year! Dinner began at 11 pm and our guests left together in V's van at 2 am!!

During the evening, T, one of the single gals, got a phone call from a woman who had been invited but chose not to come... she was drunk. Another guy who could not make it sent Tom a text message saying that he had 5 months of sobriety that day and that is the longest stretch that he has gone so far!

Tom has suggested this gathering every year for the past 4 years and this was the first time that we had people actually agree to come over. We were glad that it was a success and we pray that it will become a new tradition!!

Our New Year's Eve Tree

Happy New Year!!

New Year's Tree in Moscow









Here in Russia the big holiday celebration of the year is New Years. Last night Tom and I put up our New Year's Tree and other decorations in anticipation of our guests coming over tonight.

We have people coming over after the AA meeting. So far it looks at if there will be about 9 of us. I am still cooking and we need to mop the floors again before everyone shows up. This will be a late night for us... we don't expect to get to bed before 4am!! At least that is when we hope our neighbors run out of fireworks to shoot off!!

Have a safe and Happy New Year!

Past and Future Presidents

This weekend on one of the news programs that Tom and I were watching on Russian TV, there was a correlation drawn between Obama and Putin. Obama was declared to have a presidential look... like Putin!

Whose name do you associate with Russia??

Alexander II
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Catherine the Great
Ivan the Terrible
Vladimir Lenin
Dmitri Mendeleev
Peter the Great
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Nevsky
Joseph Stalin
Pyotr Stolypin
Alexander Suvorov

Do you know all 12 of these noteworthy people? You can click on a name to learn more about that person.

Tom and I had to look them up!! He only knew 8 of the top 12 and he did not know the winner. In a program similar to 100 Greatest Britons, Russia voted for Alexander Nevsky as the Name of Russia. Tom cast his votes for Dostoyevsky and Pushkin.

The show was not without it's controversy... there were those who were not happy with the way the votes were counted for Stalin.

For those of you who can read Russian here is the original website:
http://www.nameofrussia.ru/

English readers can check out this link for more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Russia_(Russia_TV)

So tell us... whose name do you associate with Russia?

from our home to yours...

Making Sushi!!

Last Thursday at MOPS Joyce came to teach 14 of us the art of making sushi... born and raised in Japan she is our resident expert!!
















Joyce explaining how it should look when it is cut... all the ingredients should be in the middle!















Olya, Alyona and Sveta tasting the ginger and the wasabi!!


It was such a joy to participate and to watch the process! Many of the moms were making sushi for the first time. Most of them had only seen it in stores. Joyce took the time to explain each step and they eagerly wrote down the recipe, asked lots of questions for clarification, and some of them even drew pictures of where each item should be placed!!

We will take a break for the holidays and start back up again on January 15th. Please keep our group in your prayers as we now feel ready to start inviting women from the neighborhood to join in!

Tom enjoying the boys

Tom definitely misses having Nathan and Spencer around. Every chance he gets to rough house with a little one he takes it... Ruslan and Gabriel were more than willing to play with him!!

computer woes...

Once again our computer crashed... we are looking into purchasing a new tower or Tom is even considering buying an Apple. We never thought we would head that direction!

We are grateful to Brennen and Stephanie for the loaner while they are away!!

Thanks also to Mom, Dad and Nathan for the huge box! The snacks inside were a major hit at the seminar today. Especially the chocolate covered pretzels!!

For Tom's session this morning we had 15 people. Our women's group after Tom's lecture is growing in numbers and the sharing there is deep. It is truly a safe place to open up and to learn from the experience, strength and hope of another. Tom is teaching on Adult Children and today he presented the concept of a Family Tree, explained the common characteristics of an AC, and helped us all understand the chemistry behind addictions.

He has one more teaching in this series and then we take a break for all of the holidays coming up!


Glad to be back online, Alida

Thought for today

"Today let's take inventory of our health habits.  Are we eating properly? Getting appropriate levels of rest and exercise?  If we have been allowing our careers, families and the holidays to stress us out, let's take time out just for ourselves...Give yourself permission to be well.  A happy, relaxed person is a healthy person, which is the best present you can give to your loved ones and yourself!"

Carleen Brice, from her book Walk Tall

As I write this Tom and I are planning a New Year's Eve 12 Step gathering at our place.  We are cleaning the apartment, making shopping lists, writing out the invitation in Russian and so on.  I know that we are not the only ones attending parties, planning parties, shopping, working, going to school, and trying to get it all done on time.  My desire is to be a healthy person in all aspects of that word...physically, spiritually and emotionally and this quote from Carleen helped me to remember that I shouldn't give up on these goals just because of the business of the holiday season!  

  

Khinkali!

These tasty meat filled dumplings are a new favorite of ours.  It is a dish from Georgia... the country not the state. They are normally served with a little butter on them and some herbs.  I used dill, but parsley works well too.  Tom likes his with sour cream or ketchup.  

Warning:  when you cut into them they will squirt!!  

sights from Sunday

I wish I would have had time to whip out my camera!

Tom and I were on a marshutka (public van that follows a specific route) on our way to Krasnaya Ploshad (a large mall here in Krasnodar).  I was looking out the window and I saw a man tending his sheep in a field not far from a large housing development.  

Seeing someone with sheep or goats is not unusual.  But seeing someone holding a staff in one hand while talking on his cell phone was quite a shocker!!

celebrating 27 years today!

Today is the first of a three part series on Adult Children.  I usually bake cookies to have with tea at the end of his teaching time before we transition into our small group time.  To commemorate our 27 years together some of the cookies are heart shaped and to go along with Tom’s topic some of the cookies are people!   I baked, Tom decorated… being able to function as a team is one of our strengths as a couple.

We are grateful for the example that our parents set for us with their commitment to their marriages.  My parents have been together for 51 years and Tom's for almost 47!!  

sights from the city

I am always amazed at the things we find as we walk around in the downtown area.  I had no idea that Century 21 was here in Russia!  

Thought for today

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?  It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes or bags.  And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.  What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.  What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.  

~Dr. Seuss

There is so much wisdom to be found in the words of Dr Suess.  He has always been one of my favorite theologians!

Alida’s Persimmon Bread

Fuyu persimmons are plentiful in the outdoor markets here.  If you are like me and tried persimmons once but didn't like them... be brave and try them again!! After an unsuccessful online search for recipes with ingedients that I had on hand... I made this up from things I had in my pantry!  

1 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

½ cup vegetable oil

1cup persimmon-apple butter (recipe to follow)

1 tsp baking powder

1½ cups flour

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

½ tsp salt

½ cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease the bottom of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl whisk together sugar, eggs and the oil.

3. Stir together persimmon-apple butter and baking powder in a small bowl.  Add to the brown sugar mixture; mix well.

4. In another bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice and salt.  Add pecans.  Fold into persimmon/egg mixture.  Pour into prepared pan. 

5. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.

Alida's Persimmon-apple butter:

1¼ cups apple butter

3 Fuyu persimmons, diced

Place both ingredients into a medium sauce pan. Cover pan with a lid and simmer on the lowest setting for 1 hour.  Then remove lid and simmer until desired thickness is achieved.

This should yield two cups of persimmon-apple butter that you can save for another loaf of this tasty bread!!

 ***I make my own apple butter, but store bought should work just fine.

 

joyful noises!

I put together a small collage of photos that Tom took during worship... here you can see children dancing, people singing and an instrument called a bayan being used for the first time as part of the worship team!  

What did you hear at church today?

Pastor: 

"What is the purpose of your life?"

Overheard from a child in the Mother's Room:

"I like ta move it, move it! I like ta...move it!"

a MOPS morning...

Alyona's son Elijah came in to join his mom... he sat quietly on her lap eating a snack while we watched a film this morning.  

Today was our second meeting and Zhenya did a great job opening up with a circle time the for moms and kids. We had 11 mothers, 9 children and 3 childcare workers.  After singing as a group the kids were excited and eager to go upstairs and see the surprises that the childcare workers had for them.  This was an awesome "No Tears" transition!!

We opened with an icebreaker where each mom had to tear some toilet paper off of a roll; each one taking as much as they wanted.  After each person had theirs, they were told that they needed to share one story for each piece of toilet paper they were holding.  It was fun to hear the various anecdotes from the moms in the room!  We watched a filmed lesson followed by discussion time.  When the morning ended everyone pitched in to help with clean up.  

We are still in the beginning stages, meaning that we are in process of ironing out all the wrinkles, but I believe that we are off to a great start!!