"Whose shoe is this?"

We noticed the Olympic symbol on this little shoe. It made us stop and think about who may have worn it and where is she now? This shoe was one more reminder of our ex-patriot status. Russia is vying for the chance to host the Olympics. As Amercians we have seen many cities in our country go through this process. Yet, the next time we see the Olympics broadcast on TV we will not be watching in California at home on Yellowstone Drive on our big screen. It will most likely be on a more modest size screen here in Krasnodar!

Someone is moving their fridge! 

I just love her face! 

Klaus is preaching today! 

Pastor Valodya, his daughter Sasha, and Ulya sharing about a church they visited 

I'm not sure she's awake yet! 

Nathan's friend; Valentin... he's a tall one! 

Russian artifacts on display  

Lena, pastor Valodya's wife 

Franzi takes excellent care of the flowers at church! 

After you...no, after you! 

Krasnodar Bible Church "Church of the Open Door" 

Our new bedspread that I'm crocheting! 

eye of Spencer! 

Laundry day! 

Krasnodar, Russia...where do we live?

Krasnodar is circled here on the map

12x zoom. That is what I bought to get ready for Rome! I can take pictures of all sorts of things now! I was asked twice if I was a professional photographer today. "yah, zhournalistah!" is my response now. Spencer was called a tourist when we were out. He blamed it on his little camera!

Bi-lingual Shoppers

Kor-eetsa; cinnamon is a wonderful spice. I deeply enjoy the smell of it. I was telling Ella about needing cinnamon but not being able to find it here. She said it was right near where I found the baking soda… turns out she was right. I had her spell the word for me. Once you know the Russian word for an item and how it is packaged you are good to go! The Russian language is so beautiful and most people here are willing to help you once you overcome your fear of sounding dumb and just get started. There are many online resources to help with translation and with just looking up words.

Click here to see one of our favorites. It has come in handy sometimes when watching a movie or reading a magazine!

Nathan went to market by himself to pick up some drinks and food for dinner. He was asked what languages he spoke other than Russian. What a thrill for him. He had only spoken Russian with them up until that point. He showed me one of his stories today. His writing is so creative & inspirational. I can hardly wait for the day when I get an autographed copy of his first novel!

Mama Tom Recipes

Blonde Brownies
Recipe from: Mama Tom


2/3 cup butter, melted 2 cups flour, sifted
2 cups brown sugar ½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs, well beaten 1 teaspoon baking powder (not soda)
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces chocolate chips


Melt butter and add brown sugar; stir well.
Add eggs & vanilla; beating well. Add flour, salt & baking powder; stir until well mixed. Add chocolate chips; mixing well.

Bake in brownie sheet pan at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Cut into bars to serve.



Have you ever known someone before you actually know them? Tom 's mother is becoming known for her baking and she is not even here! I served her Blonde Brownies today to a few different ladies and they loved it. Now I have to translate the recipe into Russian. It should not take me too long; some of the words I already know. But, of course when you offer something new to your language tutor you should expect your homework to be translating the recipe! I have 50 lbs of brown sugar here. I am glad to share the recipe because I can also share the brown sugar. Why do I have 50 pounds of brown sugar? It was hard to guess how much I might need for a whole year! If you show up asking to borrow a cup of brown sugar I'll know why!

Russian home owners?

Apartment owners we are; but not on paper! In Krasnodar foreigners cannot own property. Some good friends of ours technically own our apartment. But, the paperwork is all done and we will start moving things in on Tuesday. I was speaking with Franzi today and she suggested that we immediately change the locks. When she and Klaus got their apartment they were glad that they changed the locks because the very next morning there were angry people lined up outside the door waiting with their non-working keys to get in. They had been rented rooms! We will take her advice. She gave me a lot of helpful tips today. About getting a water meter installed so we do not over pay for water and also about being able to rent a post office box nearby. Her building is three buildings away. It will be good to have her as a neighbor. She has been here for 9 years and knows the city well. She goes back to Germany for a short while each summer but is here for most of the year. Tom has hired Ervand to oversee the remont(repair). He also knows the city very well and he can direct us to the shops that have the best prices on paint, tile and what not! We can hardly wait. Tom called to check on why the wire transfer took so long. It was a clerical (data entry) error by the bank in the US. It actually made it here in two days and was sent back and had to be re-done!

Nathan and I went out shopping today and we picked up a few things for the house. We also found more drawing paper and erasers for him. I usually do most of the talking in Russian and then ask the guys in English if that is all they want and then finish the transaction in Russian. As we headed home Nathan said "people are going to think you are my interpretor" Pshaw! Like he could afford me! Right now I work for MOM wages... zip! Later on buddy; watch out! I require at least one grandchild from each of them! But, that will come later.... much, much later!

Nathan has decided that his favorte Russian word comes from the movie Madagascar.. Alex the lion, sneaks up on Marty the zebra, and says "sooopreez!" Tom and I were watching the Nanny last night. Which is an exact copy of the American show. It looks like they have copies of all the scripts and everything. During the TV show last night there was a scene where the Nanny's mother comes in unexpectedly and shouts "sooopreez!" Tom and I have not laughed that hard in a few days! I could hardly wait for Nathan to wake up so I could tell him! We have all been saying it to one another. Try it.... it is a fun word to say! "SOOOPREEZ!"

Family news and Russian headline!

Words that sound the same confuse us. I suppose when people learn English all the ryhming words are annoying. Today I thought the cashier at the market was calling me her friend. She was just telling me I could get another carton of eggs. The plural of friend and the word for "other/another" sound similiar. Anyhow, I was thrilled with being allowed to get another carton of eggs without having to pay. Last week this guy ahead of us in line had his bottle of beer break on the way out. The cashier just looked at him and then handed him another bag for his groceries. While Spencer was bagging our food the carton of eggs fell on the floor. I was allowed to replace them! I always shop at that market with one of the boys. I have not gone on there with Tom. If she had pity on me because she thought I was a single mom I am grateful. There are many single moms here and it's good to know that women look out for one another!

Spencer does not like having men check out his Mama. He told me this morning when we were out doing the marketing that some guy was checking me out. He said he stared the guy down. When we got home he told his Dad what he he had done. I keep referring to him and his brother as the boys. I need to remember that they are young men.

We had a great lesson today. We are learning more verbs and are getting better with what we already know. Lena had us practicing greeting one another. That was helpful... now we know not just context but the exact words people are saying to us when we are being introduced to them. Lena taught us the informal greetings that we hear at church and out shopping. Instead of the formal ones we will learn at school. When our lesson was over Spencer was concerned that Lena did not have an umbrella... I asked her in Russian if she did. She was so excited. She made me write out the question and told Tom and I that if you verbally ask the question you say it one way but if you write the question you say it another way. Pacheemoo? (why?) we ask her! Her standard explanation is "grammatika!" We can ask at language school. Evidentally there is more than one way to use the verb have! We talked about the English "I am" in Russian you do not say "I am" Lena said Russians already know that "they are" so they just simply say "I"! The "am" is assumed.... I remember in Spanish "soy" is "I am" but in Russian "yah" is just "I". Language study can also give insight in to the culture and the more we learn the more we want to learn!

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Amorous bull trashes Russian shop
A stationer's shop in a Russian town is counting the cost of a passionate fling involving a bull which followed a cow after it trotted in from the street.
There may not have been much china in the shop in Pionersk but eight panes of glass got smashed in the process, Russia's Interfax news agency reports.

The shop assistant fled outside where help was summoned with a mobile phone.

Yet there was nothing for it but to wait for the "end of the act" after which the pair vacated the premises.

The owners of the shop in the port on the Baltic, in the Kaliningrad region, were counting the damage on Monday as the owners of the offending beasts were sought, local police told Interfax.

So shocked was the shop assistant that she forgot to press the shop's "panic button" in her haste to escape.

Security guards and passers-by gathered in the street but were powerless to intervene.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4113464.stm

Published: 2005/06/21 00:49:21 GMT

© BBC MMV