Civility Dies in Moscow

Civility in Moscow died today at 11:21!  For those of you who have followed this blog since August, you will know that Civility in Moscow had been on life support for some time and thus its death must come as no surprise.  As I was navigating the narrow, icy footpaths of trampled snow that pass for sidewalks, I noticed that dog owners had decided to allow their animals to do their business right in the middle of the path, so that now, in addition to black ice, we have to avoid brown poop mines.  But that isn’t what killed Civility.  It wasn’t even the minus five-degree weather with the strong winds pumping out of the north that spelled the demise of Civility.

Death came when not one, not two, not three, but nine cars decided that the best way to avoid sitting in snarled traffic was to pull up onto the narrow sidewalk and drive down said sidewalk for a full block and then try to reenter the stalled cars, thus gaining a ten car advantage! They did not seem to mind in the least that those of us trying to walk on this sidewalk were forced to jump into snow banks to avoid being hit, and even then, one person was clipped by a side view mirror. Eventually even the sidewalk cars where forced to slow down and then stop since there was no way to reenter the traffic in a speedy manner, and this is when my keys came out and I just held them at waist level as I tried to maneuver around the queue of cars.  If a car came too close to me, well that car now has a souvenir of deviant behavior.

I eventually got to the embassy where I purchased skimmed milk and honey for my honey.  At one point on the trip I was so cold from the wind pelting my face that I walked into the entrance of a supermarket and took off my hat to put on my balaclava.  It never dawned on me that I must look like a guy getting ready to rob the store, but I did notice several people watching me with great interest.  I also learned that it is almost impossible to secure a hat while wearing mittens.  I think I’ll stay in the apartment for the rest of the week and just walk up and down the stairs. It is supposed to get colder and colder each day ending up with temperatures on Friday in the minus 12-14 range, and that is the predicted high!  (Weather in Marseille for Saturday is expected to be sunny with a high of 54°)

Our Valentine’s dinner last night started with glasses of Champagne, Russian to be sure, but still called Champagne because ‘under European Union law, as well as treaties accepted by most nations, sparkling wines produced outside the champagne region, even wine produced in other parts of France, do not have the right to use the term "champagne.” In much of the former Soviet Union, including the three Baltic States, who are now EU members, the term Sovetskoye Shampanskoye continues to be used, with the governments of those countries claiming that the rights to the use of the word “Champagne” was granted in perpetuity to the Russian Imperial Government by the French and that this cannot be rescinded.’

This was followed by a Russian salad of beets, potatoes and carrots (the Russians love their root vegetables) mixed with a bit of fresh garlic, chopped pickles, tarragon, mayonnaise, two kinds of mustard and fresh chives.  I served it in a fresh green pepper half on a bed of spinach.  

Russian Salad ala Embee

The main course was baked penne with vegetables.  I sautéed onion, garlic, shaved carrot, chopped red and green peppers, and mushrooms in a big wok and just before they were tender I added some oregano, salt, pepper, lots of pepperincino, and fresh parsley.  I dumped the cooked penne into the vegetable mixture, along with a quarter cup of the cooking water. I then added eight ounces of ricotta, some skimmed milk and a touch of butter and mixed everything together before transferring it to a baking dish. I covered it with a mixture of finely chopped garlic, seasoned breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and chives and let it all bake until the top was brown and crusty.  It was rather tasty.  We ended the meal with pieces of fresh apple strudel from the bakery served with Crème William.  This is nothing more than some sour cream, mixed with two drops of real vanilla, a bit of cream, cinnamon and some coarse granulated sugar.  (From CC: FABULOUS)

I had to cook between visits from the Green Guys.  The flame on our gas oven/stove is more orange than blue and I know that isn’t good.  Normally this comes from too much gas pressure so I thought for sure the boys would know this and be able to fix it.  I studied how to say, the flame is orange not blue. I even printed it out in Russian just in case I couldn’t make myself understood.  I told them what was wrong, they didn’t understand, I showed them the printout, they repeated exactly what I thought I had just said, and they laughed. They then proceeded to spend the next twenty minutes looking, talking, scratching, turning the gas on and off, scratching some more, but not once did I see a tool, a gauge, or any activity that might indicate that they knew what they were doing. I swear if there where three of them I would have had the complete collection of Stooges!

That’s it for today; I’m going to be holding a wake for Civility as soon as Cindy gets home so I need to chill the wine.  Best wishes, Cindy and Wm.

From CC: I wimped out yesterday and ran on the treadmill after school, but today it was sunny and not windy so I suited up and ran outside for 20-some minutes.  The forest is beautiful with lots of new snow, and my oh my those frozen paths are crunchy.  I did notice a lack of other people today, compared to normal winter days – I usually encounter a few dozen walkers and cross-country skiers as well as one guy on a bicycle (yikes), but today I encountered only 2 people.  Even Russians are finding these temperatures a bit too cool.