As Bleak as Poe

It has been a rather bleak day, no sun, no warmth, light snow and more slippery than it was yesterday. I took a ninety-minute walk but it certainly wasn’t fun. It was more like an exercise in excess caution. I chose a route that had too many streets to cross that didn’t have lights.  Cars have the right of way here and even though there is a crosswalk that only means that the pedestrians are grouped together for a more efficient kill.

No matter how bleak I thought today was, our dear friend Yuri found it bleaker. Now Austria has denied him a residence permit despite the fact that he and his wife own a chalet and luxury hotel in Austria.  This guy is getting the bum’s rush wherever he goes.

I didn’t get to see much of Cindy yesterday. She got home earlier than usual but she went to the Russian lesson upstairs at 7:30 so we had an early dinner and I didn’t see her again until 8:30. She said the tutor has finally listened to everyone and is teaching the kinds of things we all need to know.  I had made a chicken, vegetable, and rice soup with all the leftovers so that we could eat whenever we wanted. It was very good, quite flavorful and filled with goodness. 

Here is something to brighten up the heart.  There are a series of ice sculptures in Red Square and this little video gives you a good sense of what Moscow can be like in the winter when it is bright and sunny.

And this little animated cartoon can be skipped by anyone how has never been an English major, professor, or doctoral candidate.  It is however very, very funny and ever so true.

From CC:  A word or two about the forest.  The trails and roads are cleared after every major snowfall – well, a few days after; first they do the real roads.  They even clear the benches and a wide area around them.  Every so often I’ve noticed a bird feeder hanging on a tree near a public street, and someone has hung a feeder in the forest near a clearing where two roads intersect.  I’ve seen an elderly couple there who stand very still with an arm outstretched and the chickadees eat out of their hands!  It’s amazing.

Happy Weekend, Cindy and Wm.