I had the strangest experience this morning. After getting Cindy’s breakfast done and bidding her goodbye at 6:40, I went back to bed hoping for another hour or so of sleep. I was rather restless and finally looked at the clock and realized it was 7:20 and I knew I wouldn’t get back to sleep so I got up, cleaned up, did my exercises and climbed the stairs before coming back for coffee. I was just about to sip my coffee when I heard a loud noise and BANG I was still in bed and it was 8:15!! Everything after Cindy’s departure was a dream, realistic, but just a dream.
I had to struggle with the fact that I needed to exercise and do the stairs all over again, but I did. I have finally realized that I’m a lot closer to a stewing chicken than I am to a spring chicken. My legs and hips really told me that I had some decent exercise yesterday and I knew I needed to do it again today. By the ninth floor I felt as self-righteous as a Texas preacher and by the time I got done my legs were as wobbly as an Elvis impersonator.
Ever vigilant for new contestants to receive a Darwin Award, I submit this article for your approval. On a lighter note here is a site, which will allow you to play some videos that display the ‘art’ of Moscow. One more article, this one about the business interest of the Egyptian Military. I had no idea!
I’ve talked about the terrible condition of secondary roads and most sidewalks here in Moscow, but those of you in the USA should be proud of how your tax dollars are being spent. You would be excused for thinking that the US Embassy in Moscow is under a dome. There isn’t an itsy bitsy bit of snow on the sidewalks or streets of the embassy compound. Zero, none, zilch, nada! It is just remarkable and has become my favorite place to walk in the winter. They use a combination of lots of salt and lots of labor to keep the place snow free. Very impressive to say the least.
I made a cross between a chicken soup and chicken stew last night for dinner. I’m trying to clean out the fridge before we leave so I chopped up all the vegetables from the chicken roast. I stripped all the meat from the remaining chicken and then combined all of that with the stock I made from the bones of the chicken, added lots of garlic, tarragon, chives and black pepper and the rest of the sour cream/truffle gravy. It was a hearty, healthy (almost) repast. Not sure what I’ll do tonight but I’m sure the fridge will be empty of perishables by the time we depart at 6 am tomorrow.
Here is a helpful household hint. Make sure that when you transition from the kitchen to the laundry area, you leave all your little kitchen habits in the kitchen. I’m referring specifically to my tendency to run my finger around a bottle or jar of something in the kitchen and then sticking my finger in my mouth. This works well for things like maple syrup, ketchup, honey and milk. It does not work as well with laundry detergent! Yep, after doing a bit of creating in the kitchen I went to put another load of laundry in the washer and out of sheer instinct, I quickly used my finger to clean the detergent spout and then licked my finger. Gross is the first word that comes to mind, stupid is right behind it. You should never be in a position where you have to wash your own mouth out with soap, and I didn’t even swear!
I just put away my snow sneakers, winter parka and heavy gloves for at least a week. Since we have not had any snow in two days I decided to go and clean the car. There are guys that shovel almost every day but since we have not used the car, our slot is filled with snow all around the car. I brushed the car off and scraped off the ice and damn near froze to death, it being a chilly -5°. I saw one of the guys with a shovel and I asked to borrow it, but he indicated that only he can shovel and he would get to it later. I drove the car around the lot and parked it in a sunny location while I went into the apartment and got a pack of Marlboros. I then walked over to the guy shoveling and told him, in perfect Russian, what number my parking slot was and indicated I needed it done NOW, as I extended my hand and said Please. These guys aren’t slow and he grabbed the cigarettes in one hand and my hand in another and shook firmly and started to speak with great animation. I can only assume he said many thanks and I’ll do it right away since the next thing I know he was over at the parking spot with two shovels. Fifteen minutes later I drove the car back to the space and he guided me into the beautifully cleaned slot and made sure everything was in order. Ah, the sweet pleasure of a good bribe.
Time to pack and get organized for our early departure. We’ll have the computer with us and if anything really exciting happens, we’ll be in touch. Otherwise, the blog will rest for a week. Happy Weekend to all, Cindy and Wm.
No comments:
Post a Comment