Happy MLK day to all and Happy Anniversary Kent and Valley.
Today was a bright and sparkling day here in Moscow. The sky was cloudless and azure and the sun, while not providing any warmth, was a delight to see. Today’s high was only about 9°, but with all that sun no one seemed to care and foot traffic was heavy. They were supposed to deliver water today so I had to stay home until 1 pm, but they never came and there is some automated voice on their phone but it is all in Russian so I’m guessing they might be on vacation. Everyone seems to still be on vacation, even those working. All the Christmas decorations are still up and no one seems in a rush to remove them. Perhaps they just want the color and light until January is over and we start to look forward to spring.
I finally got out of the house at about 1:30 and took a bit of a walk on the way to the grocery store. It is very, very brisk out there but it felt great to get out of the house and away from the three loads of laundry I did this morning. All the bed linens are fresh as a daisy, as are the towels and other laundry. Cindy and I did three loads on Saturday as well so I’m hoping we are all caught up. (In case you’re wondering, the washer is very small and can’t take much at a time.) The grocery store was finally well stocked so I got all the staples as well as some indispensables like cookies and fresh fruit. It was actually fun to shop, except for the fact that they now have the cheapest little plastic bags for the veggies. It is almost impossible to open them, but it is funny to watch everyone blowing on them, rubbing them together, and trying to find a way to get the darn things open.
I purchased too much for one person to carry home, but fortunately I had the backpack bag so was able to get everything into three bags and off I waddled. Feels good to have options in the kitchen again. On Wednesday, I’ll fill in the gaps when I shop at the commissary. I’ve gotten pretty good at figuring out who has the best prices, but most of the time the only things we get at the commissary are those which are unavailable anywhere else, or just too expensive anywhere else.
We were going to go out to dinner last night but it was really, really cold and we just didn’t have the energy to go out a third time in one day. I rummaged through the freezer and came up with enough stuff to make a rather decent dinner. We had pan seared tuna fillets with a lemon butter sauce, Brussels sprouts braised with onion, garlic and bacon, and a light risotto cooked in the water used to parboil the Brussels sprouts. We tried a new wine, a 2009 Entre Deux Mer from Bordeaux, which was just perfect with the fish.
Cindy called about fifteen minutes after I got back from shopping and wanted me to get the odometer reading on the car since it is due for service on Thursday and the Green Guys will take care of all the details once they have the reading. So, rather than get all dressed again just to run out to see the reading, I slipped on my regular sneakers and threw on my coat and gloves; I mean how cold could I get in three minutes? No sooner had I gotten the reading and was locking the door, when up comes this young sad eyed Russian guy asking if I can jump his car. (All communication was done with hand signals and guesses for words like battery, cables, etc.) I started the car and drove over to where he was trying to push his car out from the slot so as to gain access to the battery. He was very well dressed for dancing, not for pushing cars, so I got out and tried to get some traction with my sneakers and we finally got his car out into the middle of the parking lot. I drove my car up to his and opened the hood only to find out that he thought I had cables. He had nothing but a dumb looking towing line. I checked out his car and found out he had a stick and so we went though the motions of my asking him if he knows how to jump a car. I get in and show him the gear to be in(vtoron) and how to pop the clutch. I then rearrange my car and hook up the two cars and begin to pull him. I’ve only got until the end of the lot and if he hasn’t done it by then, we’ll have to push his car out of the way so that I can back up. Fortunately his car catches just as I’m about to hit the fence. I got out and disconnected the cars to his jubilant shouts of tank-u. I’m now freezing to the bone, my feet are wet from the snow banks and I’m dirty from all the efforts to get him started - but I have to admit, it felt good to help someone here in Moscow.
Off to create a dinner for my darling. Best to all, Cindy and Wm
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