The Apartment is Getting Empty

Most of the morning was spent getting things organized for a ‘garage sale’. Only about three people came but we unloaded a lot of stuff.  We have sold almost all of our electronic things, including the multi-voltage, multi-system 32” TV.  I fear the movers will have very little to pack out for us, mostly just clothes and computers.

Jamaica Jerk Chicken and Cole Slaw

Yesterday afternoon I purchased a chicken and then cut it up into twelve pieces and marinated it for three hours in Jamaica Jerk, lime juice and a nice bit of BBQ sauce.  Then I cooked it until it took on that nice brownish red color and it was really delicious served with my crunchy sesame Cole slaw.  It appears I’ll only have about three more meals to prepare before everything is gone from the kitchen. As it is, it is getting more and more difficult to cook with fewer and fewer pots, pans and utensils.

Now here is a really bright idea sure to win the hearts and minds of Russians everywhere.  And this is a topic seldom discussed in Moscow, but pickpockets do exist.

Mayor's Residence

Yuir Dolgorukiy

We took a walk this morning after the tag sale and found some interesting places.  We walked right by Itar TASS, the old Soviet era propaganda paper. From there we walked to a lovely little gallery that was having an exhibition on Spanish bullfighting. Rather then go in, we sat by a great fountain that we had all to ourselves.  From there we went to the Mayor’s Residence and took some pictures.  There is a great statue of Yuri Dolgorukiy, founder of Moscow, in the front of the building and a great fountain to the rear of the statue. There were a few teenagers trying to skateboard near the fountain and man were they terrible.  I’ve noticed that skateboarding is a very big thing, despite the fact that I’ve never seen a Russian kid do it well. I’m thinking of starting The San Diego School of Skateboarding here in Moscow.  I’ll be rich!!

Central Fountain

The new mayor is doing a great job of dismantling all the wasteful construction that took place doing the old regime. He is also doing a fantastic job of getting rid of all the advertising that was on buildings under renovation. The old mayor used to get kickbacks from both the construction contracts as well as the renovation advertising.  It will do much to make Moscow more attractive.  We got home just before a big heavy rain that we hope will cool things down and get rid of a bit of pollen.

All the plants have departed the apartment for their new home and I must say the apartment seems much more dreary without them.  However, I’m sure they will thrive and since our time is running low, we needed to get as much done this weekend as possible.

Extra Credit: What Does This Say?

Have a lovely Saturday, Cindy and Wm.

Irritants: Wind Blown and Otherwise

With the Russian schools out, the playground outside our window fills with Vietnamese kids and moms/grand moms at around 8 am.  There are about twenty-five kids ages one to ten in the morning and then the older ones join them at about two pm.  This will give you a sense of what it sounds like.  

We had about an hour of rain last night and I was hoping it would clear the pollen from the trees but no such luck.  My allergies are really acting up and the air is once again filled with cottonwood seeds.  I walked to the store but that was it for walking outside today, just too much pollen for my delicate eyes and nose.  I hope things clear up so we can have an outdoor weekend; we still have lots to do on our list.

Purple Passion Flower

Purple Passion Stinky Flowers

Plants II

Yesterday when I started to do the laundry I noticed a smell most foul. It smelled like sour milk or vomit and I checked all the clothes and clothes containers but found nothing.  As the laundry cooked I watered my plants and as I bent over the purple passion, I found the cause of the stench.  I have taken very good care of that plant and as a result it was filled with blossoms, delicate little yellow blossoms that stank to high heaven.  I have never had one flower before and therefore didn’t realize that they smelled so bad.  I read up on them on Google and it was suggested that the blossoms be cut so that the plant can fill out, so I cut them, about a hundred of them, and threw them out the window.  Everything smells fresh and clean now. 

Plants I

 

I think I mentioned this before but when we arrived I found about eight plants that had been left unwatered and unloved over the summer. Some were in friends’ apartments and several were just sitting near the garbage.  I salvaged them all and with some TLC, good watering, and fertilizer, I’ve nursed them all back to health. Now I have to say goodbye to them since people who are staying really want them and of course, we can’t bring them back with us.

Curried Vegetables with Butter Poached Cod

Dinner last night was a lovely fresh vegetable curry served on a bed of spinach and topped with chunks of butter, garlic and dill-poached cod.  Cindy did not like the cod I made before so I had to find a way to make it taste better, moister, and fresh*, so I decided on a two part recipe. First I made the vegetable curry by melting some butter and a bit of olive oil in a big pot. I then added my spices, curry, turmeric, nutmeg, ginger, chili flakes, and black pepper and cooked them until they began to release all their lovely flavors.  I then added chopped potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic and green beans and cooked them until they were just getting soft (NO German Bean Sprouts).  I then added a half-cup of chicken stock, stirred, turned off the heat and partially covered the pan.  In a smaller pot I placed about a half stick of butter and some sliced garlic and over a low heat got the butter melted and the garlic soft. I placed the pieces of cod in this and cooked covered for about four minutes. I added some fresh dill and turned the pieces and turned off the heat.  Just before serving I added a half-cup of sour cream and a quarter cup of yogurt to the curry mixture and slowly heated it while stirring all the time.  When it was ready, I placed spoonfuls on the spinach and then topped it with the cod and butter sauce, which I gently had reheated.  Cindy did enjoy the cod this time but I will be our last attempt of using frozen cod. From now on, fresh only! (* from CC: I hope it’s clear that the dish I did not like was for good reason; I’m not fussy!)

I realize my time is getting short here in Moscow and as a result I’m certainly not as objective as I might be, but today at the market things just seemed to be even more ‘Russian’ than normal.  There was a level of aggression at the vegetable area that I’ve not seen in a long time.  One woman was giving her plastic bags of fruits and vegetables to the clerk to be weighed and priced, while at the same time filling new bags with fruits near the clerk. This seemed to be a deadly sin and she was attacked by two women who told her - in no uncertain terms - that you don’t get in line unless you are done shopping.  While they were having at it, the clerk was idle so I handed him my four bags and was out of there while the conversation continued.

There seemed to be chaos in the fresh fish area since the fish wasn’t fresh.  You could see by the color and odor that this was not fresh fish and sharp words were exchanged with the clerk. I saw this argumentation all over the store today, in meat, dairy and even at the bakery, which is usually a tranquil spot. Everyone was just standing around arguing and blocking the narrow aisles. At the checkout, the two women ahead of me were paying with coins. Don’t know why I think that is charming in France or Germany and I find it bothersome here. Well maybe I do know and it is good that I’m leaving.  Perhaps the barometric pressure is affecting everyone, or perhaps it is the pollen, but these are not especially happy people today.

I received lovely notes of thanks yesterday from the folks in charge of the Liberty Store at the Embassy, thanking me for my assistance.  It is always nice to be recognized, even if it is only in praise of my ability to unload pallets.  Speaking of recognition, Cindy has been getting her fair share as people come to understand all she has done and wish that she could stay and fight for their technology concerns.  I’ve told her to be strong and resist.

I had to clean the screens on the windows today since they were clogged with the fluff from the cottonwood trees. I wet down some paper towels and on my first swipe the towels turned black!  I keep forgetting that Moscow is a dirty town when it comes to air pollution. I went through a half roll of paper towels just doing three screens.  No wonder my allergies are acting up; it is a combination of dirty air that is also filled with pollen. Not the best combination in the world.

That’s it for today; time to get into the weekend.  Today was Cindy’s last Friday at work since she’ll be home with me on Thursday and Friday of next week to prepare for the movers and supervise their packing out of our stuff.  Nice to be able to count the last of things.

Best wishes, Cindy and Wm.

Aeroflot: Best In Business

I’m back from a very fast two-day trip to Wiesbaden Germany.  I feel like I was in perpetual motion from the time I left the apartment at 8 am on Monday until I arrived back here at 8 pm last night.  Since it was a short trip and I didn’t have much time to prepare, I was unable to stay at any of the hotels I would have preferred in Wiesbaden.  There was some type of big convention going on and I was lucky to find anyplace in the city. I ended up at a small place called Hotel am Kochbrunnen; right across the street from the, yep you guessed it, Kochbrunnen.  The Kochbrunnen, Cooking Spring, is a natural hot water spring used continuously since the Romans soaked their bodies in these springs.  The hotel was fine, clean and small but my room on the first floor faced the street and since it was really hot, I had to keep the window open, which made the room very, very noisy from five am until midnight.

I had purchased a last minute coach ticket, which cost about $300 more than it would have if I had been able to purchase it a month earlier.  I have to tell you, that $300 was very well spent. I took the train to the airport and then had to spend about thirty minutes getting through the initial security before walking to the Aeroflot section of the airport, the furthest from the train.  I stood in line to check in and when I got to the front I was told I had to go to a different check-in counter. NO reasons are ever given for anything in Moscow.  I got there to discover that it was where you check in for Business Class, which was surprising.  They looked at my ticket and without any hassle gave me a seat in Business Class and an invitation to the lounge, which brightened up my morning considerably. 

It turns out that the Russian Schools went on summer vacation last week and there were hordes of children in the airport. Security was very slow since kids being kids didn’t know the drill, so it took another forty minutes to clear security and head for the lounge. I was very happy I had decided to take the earlier train. The lounge was nice although a bit sparse, and had no windows, which made it rather dark.  My 11:20 flight was not scheduled to board for another fifty minutes so I had some tea and cookies while writing to Cindy regarding my good fortune.  I went back to the coffee/tea area and saw a line of men waiting to pour themselves glasses of cognac to go with their beers.  Without them saying a word, I knew they were on one of the SAS flights leaving for either Sweden or Denmark.  The lounge had three different types of cognac and three types of vodka, but nothing else other than beer and some indifferent wine.

Toilet Kit for a Three Hour Cruise

For those of you of a certain age who remember the old Aeroflot, you can imagine how I was mightily surprised about the quality of the service in Business Class.  I had the luxury of not having anyone next to me, and the leather seats were comfortable in a 2x2 configuration. Each seat had a good-sized pillow with a linen cover and a nice wool blanket wrapped in plastic. The flight attendant took my jacket and returned with a selection of drinks, water, juice or Champagne. The Champagne was Louis Roederer Brut Premier and it was delicious, even though it was served at room temperature.  She later came by with toilet kits, which was very surprising to me since it is only a three-hour flight.  The kits are in a nice blue bag and have slippers, eyeshades, pen/paper and tissues. We departed on time and were treated to a lovely view of Moscow as we made our swing to head southwest.

As soon as the seatbelt sign went off one attendant came by to take our drink order while the other handed out small personal video players and noise cancelling headphones.  These slipped nicely into the seat pocket in front of me, thus freeing up the tray table for lunch.  I had ordered Champagne and was surprised when she came by with Cristal. I asked about this and she said it must have been a mistake or a promo since they never had it on board before. What a lovely mistake!  I felt bad drinking it with ice, but it too was room temperature and they didn’t have any way to chill it.  As I expected, there was no Cristal on the homeward leg.

Menu Items

I started to watch a movie as they began serving lunch. There were lots of choices - the menu is attached - and the food was delicious and in some cases quite innovative.  I skipped coffee and desert, opting instead to try a little bit of their excellent cognac, Hine Antique XO Premier Cru, which I’m happy to report, was simply divine.  All too soon we were heading into Frankfurt International and the fun and games were over. 

I was scheduled to come back today, but since I was done with my work I called to see if I could depart on Wednesday. I was told I could for an additional fee of 400 Euros. I instead made a reservation at the airport hotel for a lot less than that and was resigned to spending a night at the airport.  When I woke up on Wednesday, I decided that I would go to the airport to plead my case in person since I knew they had empty seats.  I put on my jacket and tie and headed out convinced that the Byxbee charm would carry the day.  I was lucky to get a very sympathetic person at the counter who understood that getting home a day early is sometimes like winning the lottery.  We negotiated prices until I was able to get her down to about the same price I would have had to pay to stay and eat at the airport and she reissued my ticket, again placing me in Business Class. This was a fine trip.

Now it is back to reality, two loads of laundry cooking and soon I’ll head out to find something for dinner.  It is, however, great to be back early.

Best wishes, Cindy and Wm.

Noisy Sunday

Our Romantic Balcony

A lovely Sunday at home with just the tranquil sounds of sirens, car alarms, heavy drilling equipment, construction noise and of course the constant singsong of Vietnamese.  This place would be so much better with air conditioning; that way we could drown out the clutter by keeping the windows closed. Of course if we had kept the door to our balcony closed, we wouldn’t have this photo.  Years ago when we lived in Germany it was illegal to make any noise on Sunday. You couldn’t mow the lawn, hammer a nail or do anything that would violate the quiet of a Sunday.  I’m sure that has also changed but it sure was nice while it lasted.

We did a lot of domestic things this morning.  I did some laundry while Cindy made six (small) loaves of her famous Chinese Lemon Bread from a secret recipe supplied by Barbara Romig, who I’m reasonably sure is not Chinese.  This is good stuff, dense lemony cake filled with golden raisins, walnuts and lots of eggs and butter. The house smells divine.

We took a little walk this afternoon just to get out of the house a bit, and enjoyed the flowers that are now everywhere.  We stopped at a local bakery/coffee house for some bread and two of the best cups of espresso this side of Trieste.  To think, it has been there since we arrived and we never tried it.  Not only was it fantastic, they gave us two glasses of water, FREE, which is a very big deal in Moscow.

Pasta Caprese

We didn’t think we would want any dinner last night but around seven thirty we were both a bit hungry so I did a quick look about the kitchen and came up with a nice Pasta Caprese served on a bed of arugula. I flash fried some quartered cherry tomatoes, garlic and coarse salt. I added the drained pasta and a half-cup of the pasta water and mixed it all up. I then turned the heat off and added the mozzarella and some pecorino and basil and stirred until things started to melt, and then transferred it to the plates of arugula.  It was just what we needed.

Hope you all enjoy your Sunday, Cindy and Wm.

Spaso House, Moscow

I must say that I pulled a dirty trick on Cindy for her birthday and I loved every minute of it.  She has wanted an iPad2 for a very long time and I had ordered it three months ago. Because of the earthquake in Japan there was a backlog of orders and the unit did not arrive in Charles Town until one day before I left two weeks ago.  I purchased a Kindle as a placeholder for her, just in case, so last night I made believe that the Kindle, plus a nice watch, were her birthday gifts.  She was gracious but I knew she was disappointed, so I asked her if she wanted a drink or something else – like perhaps another gift. She was very happy with the iPad2 and now she has to learn how to use it.

We had some friends over for Champagne and caviar to celebrate.  I have to tell you that getting caviar in Russia is not as easy as one might think. I finally found a place that carried the good stuff and purchased 100 grams for the equivalent of the gross national product of Peru.  It took about twenty minutes to complete the transaction since there was one person who had the key to the cooler, one to take the caviar to the checkout line and another to actually ring it up.  I think it is easier and cheaper to get cocaine in Moscow.  I served the caviar with warm blinis and sour cream and I must say it is as addictive as cocaine. It was truly something to enjoy and savor and we all had a grand time. 

Dinner at Ragout was much better than our first visit and we all had magnificent dishes, which were shared. The wine was ice cold and affordable enough to have three bottles.  Needless to say we were all feeling quite relaxed after dinner.

Today was a party at Spaso House, the residence of the US Ambassador. Cindy played with her trio for an hour as the guests arrived and it was a truly elegant affair.  Great food, wines and one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in Moscow.  I had a chance to talk with the Ambassador and extend the best wishes of his friend HRH Marie Louise, Princess of Bulgaria.  He was gracious and interested in knowing how I met her and we had a nice little chat.

It is late and we are home and looking forward to a quiet and relaxing Sunday. With best wishes, Cindy and Wm

PS the other day Wm wrote about the kids we saw dancing in a production in the park.  I was so impressed and at the same time feeling a little sad that we don’t have any similar traditions in the U.S.  Well, yesterday at AAS they proved me wrong, at least where it comes to our students (65 nationalities, but the largest share are North American or British).  We have a former Bolshoi dancer on our teaching staff and it’s a year long project to teach all of the 4^th graders (about 100 of them) some Russian folk dances.  They all have costumes and they started and ended with the whole group dancing together (Kalinka was last), and in between each of the 5 classrooms were doing a different dance.  While it may not have been as polished as what we watched in the park, by golly those kids knew the steps and were in unison!  Some of the boys even did pretty well at the Cossack style “squat kicking”.  It was so cool that it was enough to bring a tear to my eye.

Big Birthday in Moscow

Happy Birthday to my darling Cindy and adorable Valley!!

Cindy at Sixty

It is a June Third day in Moscow, which means picture perfect as it always was for Cindy’s birthday in Anoka, MN.  She is coming home at five and we’ll start the party.I must say, with all objectivity, that she is one good looking sixty-year old.  She just gets better and better and this photo shows. 

Swan Lake was absolutely lovely and I stayed for the entire performance. I wasn’t thrilled with the male lead, but the rest of the corps was just perfect. Perhaps this is common in Russia, although we don’t remember it from Romeo and Juliet, but every time the male or female lead had a solo or a Pas de Deux, they would take bows. Not just a head nod of recognition, but full fancy bows, stage center. They really played the crowd for all it was worth. The pit orchestra was really wonderful and we had a lovely view from our balcony of the violin soloist, who stood while performing even though no one could see him.  It shall always be fun to say, ‘Yes, we saw Swan Lake at the Bolshoi’. 

I put in two eight-hour days at the embassy unloading hundreds of boxes.  They are most appreciative of my efforts and gave me a free bottle of water and a coffee, which I hope won’t ruin my amateur status.  I was invited to the Embassy Staff picnic today so I must have done okay to be considered Staff!!

That’s it, have to become a party planner now and get things moving.  Best wishes and happy weekend to all, Cindy and Wm.

Sour Cream Omelette, potatoes and avocado

Countdown Begins

It would appear we are in the final countdown and things are moving at a rapid pace.  Lots of little things to do, mostly paperwork, but it is all getting done and we are still on track to be out of here at the end of the month.  We postponed turning in our passports and diplomatic cards until I return from Germany next week, so that gives us a bit of breathing time.

Cindy has wanted to invite a couple here that had her over for dinner once when I was gone. They had the movers come for their stuff yesterday so they have nothing to really cook with and it was either have them come tonight or bag it.  I can’t believe that we have almost no free nights before we depart.  I had to go shopping since there really wasn’t anything in the house.  I have never seen such gridlock on the streets of Moscow as I did today. There is a one-way street that Ts near our market. It normally has three lanes, two to turn left and one to turn right. Today it had SEVEN and it caused shear chaos; the solution of course was to blare your horn, which I can still hear in the apartment.  Walking home with two heavy bags provoked a great deal of sweat since it is a lovely 78° today.

In case you missed it, today is NO TOBACCO DAY here in Russia and perhaps all over the world. It surely is not observed here.  Even when you go into a café that has a no smoking area, you are condemned to contaminating your lungs.  What is observed in Moscow is authoritarian rule.  You are free to protest if you are protesting something supported by the central government.  Do not however, try to protest for Gay Rights or against the authoritarian rule of the dynamic duo.

I had gone to the embassy for a few things yesterday, but most of the shelves were bare, which means a new shipment is coming soon.  I did find a box of frozen scallops so I made a scallop and edamame stir fry with garlic rice.  I served it with a small salad of shaved carrots, garlic, raisins and arugula with a spicy sesame dressing.

Just got the call from the embassy that I’m needed to unload the new shipment tomorrow and inventory it on Friday. That means I’ll most likely not post anything for the next several days.  Tomorrow night we have tickets for Swan Lake at the Bolshoi and the next night we are busy celebrating Cindy’s birthday.  I’ll fill you in on all of this on Saturday.

This is what happens when you park illegally under our bedroom window.

Best to all, Cindy and Wm.