place2place

ice rink, St Basil's, Christmas tree, Kremlin

Today was a hot chocolate in Red Square kind of day.

"suberb" says the nyt, and so do we

Just in from chez Charger d' affairs after a wonderful evening of wine, cheese, and the Shanghai String Quartet. Twenty-one years ago, Dina and I hired another string quartet to play at our wedding. So it seemed appropriate to go hear this rich quartet play Ravel and Beethoven along with some Chinese pieces. The setting was intimate and the acoustics were warm and vibrant. 

A joyous 21st my pet. 

good excuse for eating gum drops

After seeing the gingerbread houses at the German Christmas Bazaar I had to make one. It was a three day process, what with the making of the parts and the drying of the royal icing, and then having to make more royal icing because I didn't make enough the first go around. Camille says she wants to learn to make royal icing so she can make a batch to just eat. At decorating time, she would rather watch the American Music Awards, oh well. Stefan and I had a good time decorating it and maybe even a better time eating gum drops. 

Our gingerbread houses always look like a cheap Southeast Portland rental inhabited by overly cheery people.

A few years ago we labored over a gorgeous gingerbread house in the back yard at my sister's house, (another year it was beautiful and warm in Northern California at the end of November.) After we finished we went in the house to wash our hands and the dog got up on the picnic table and ate the whole thing. 

Now back to my regularly scheduled program of unpacking the studio/office room.

what are you listening to right now?

Peter's cousin, known around here as mc, always chooses a personal cd of the year. I am so looking forward to hearing what it is. Camille recently downloaded Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams and I love it. She loves Green Day, and Stefan is asking me to play this song again. He has the gene where you can listen to one song for an entire afternoon. Here are the last ten individual songs we downloaded from iTunes:

Yellow acoustic Coldplay

Shimmer Shawn Mullens (trip down memory lane)

Monsoon Tokio Hotel (Camille)

Light On David Cook

Irreplaceable Beyonce (Camille)

Trouble Cat Stevens (cause we are learning it on guitar)

Unfaithful Rhianna (Camille, keeping us with it, I guess.)

True Colors acoustic Cindy Lauper (cause I want to learn it on guitar)

Pata Pata Miriam Makiba (Had to hear this after hearing of her passing, she is one of those artists whose cassette tape I wore out, good times.)

Happy Christmas (War is Over) John Lennon

How about you?

dreamy

Sound it out, the big word on the cover of the Bolshoy Ballet's program, move your lips to each Russian letter: Giselle. Also, it's not black nail polish, it's very dark red. The older I get, the more my hands look like my dad's. Oh well.

At the theater, before the performance, have a glass of Russian champagne.

Small theater at the Big Theater.

The ghosts of the second act of Giselle. I'd never cried at a ballet before...it was otherworldly. Must go buy more ballet tickets.

domashnia robata ruskie | russian homework

Between, Dina, Camille and Stefan, Stefan's is winning the Learning Russian race by a mile.

ketcheps, sauces and what to wear to the grocery store

a weekend to remember

Aside from the already described encounters at the grocery store and mall, Dina and I stayed up super late Friday night looking up guitar music on the internet, playing guitar and drinking wine. We laughed and laughed, and were surprised that when we went to bed it was 2:00 in the morning.

On Saturday morning, I walked to the farmer's market, a billboard showed the temperature at -3 degrees celcius. We had invited one of my doctors and his wife and kids over for Sunday brunch. Dina made Milla's current scones and pumpkin muffins served with fruit salad and Russian tea.

That night, was the Marine Corps ball (233 yrs. old). Dina wore a beautiful strapless dress with high heeled shoes and pearls. So pretty. For a moment, I felt like I was giving her away and then I realized she's mine for keeps. The food was delicious and the alcohol was free! The Ambassador gave a great speech. He compared the navy to an SUV: stylish yet rugged. Well dressed and utilitarian. The air force he compared to a Corvette: sexy and fast. Able to get around quickly. The army is like a 4X4 pick-up truck: can get just about anywhere and drop a load. But the Marines; well, they're of a different caliber all together. They are like a Harley-Davidson. Drop down on you like thunder and gone before you know it. And then we danced.

Yesterday we recovered from the Ball. In the evening, Dina and I went to the Bolshoi Ballet to see Giselle. Again she looked perfectly styled in her black dress and shawl. We sat on the wing of the orchestra section. The ballet was by far the best of any we had ever seen. Every set was dreamy. The dancing was superb and the unison and choreography was flawless. 

Today is another work day. But tomorrow is a Russian holiday,woo-hoo.

funny things

Dina and I just spent a few hours at the European mall. An unbelievably enormous shopping mall packed with hundreds of stores and thousands of people. Just one metro stop away! The Russians seemingly have unlimited spending ability. Shoes, lingerie, furs, jewelry; you name it, they are buying it. We went to Zara, a clothing store, to return a vest Dina bought me because it didn't fit and they didn't have my size. An open floor plan displays women's and men's clothing on opposite sides of the store. And you cannot cross over from one to the other if you are holding any merchandise. We stood in line for 30 minutes just to return the vest, which required one sales person plus two other signatures. 

We exited and came upon a manicure counter, Dina had her nails done. While they filed, soaked, and cleaned her nails, the owner or manager came over to chat while the manicurist continued her work. When she found out we are from America and asked what it is like, she said, "most Russians are afraid to go there as many Americans are afraid to come here. In America bears roam the streets!" and she made a face in horror while shaking her hands and miming a silent scream. Dina was debating what nail color to apply and the manager talked her into "Midnight in Moscow." A deep red, almost black color. Dina was a bit shocked but it looks great! 

While standing in line at the grocery store, a young girl in a short tennis skirt outfit approached me and asked me if I smoked. She was offering some new brand of cigarettes or something. "No," I replied. "Excellent choice" she answered, and walked away. We laughed. The young couple behind us were being funny too. The girl came to him carrying one small package of crackers. "You were gone 15 minutes and that's all you brought?!" he asked, truly amazed. Then he grabbed a huge softball sized lollipop and told her she had to have it. "Maybe next time," she said.

red blooded american

I've had a few emails from people wanting to know about the Russian reaction to the elections. So I wandered over to the embassy to find someone to speak for their entire country. Natalia showed Stefan his anemic blood under the microscope--apparently his blood cells are shaped liked hot-dogs and coke bottles--I wonder why? I asked her what she thought of the American elections. "Obama won," is the official comment.