Coats, Cans and International Women's Day

Tanya is the happiest today I have seen her in two months.  Yesterday she took the bus to Dnipropetrovsk to go shopping.  She has been needing a full length dress coat for some time.  It is often too warm for her heavy leather/fur coat but she had nothing but short casual jackets.

She phoned me about 3:00.  She found the coat of her dreams, classic black, "not expensive", only $375.  But there was this car length burgundy coat she just loved.  What should she do?  "Buy the black coat because you need it and the burgundy will be from me for International Women's Day"*.

Both coats are well-made, from St. Petersburg and are cut "to fit Russian women".  I owe her $400. She wore the red one home and it looked awesome on her.  The black one was just lovely, too.

I didn't sleep good last night.  Happens from time to time.  I lay awake for hours and drift off about 3:00 am or something.  Tanya laughed and said she knew why:
"Ivan, why can't you sleep?"
"Because I can't pay Maxim next door the money I owe him"
Wife pounds on the wall of the apartment, "Maxim, my husband can't pay the money he owes you......Go to sleep, Ivan, it is Maxim who cannot sleep now".

This morning she and Lina went to town for groceries.  Tanya was dressed to the nines. Black skirt, black and white sweater, her new black coat, black and white scarf.  She. Looked. Good.  And she felt good.  "I have wanted a coat like this for a long time.  I feel like a woman!" **

When they came home, I said "All men look at you but you come home to me".  "You're the only one who buys me coats"..

Called my son on Skype later in the day. He was cleaning the bathroom, down on his knees scrubbing the toilet and the floor.  I said, "That's fair as you pee all over it".  "Not ALL over it; just in one spot".

I told him about Tanya's new coats and mentioned that Friday, March 8 was International Women's Day.  "Hey, Mel, Friday is International Women's Day. I won't hit you that day and I won't complain if you don't have my supper ready on time".

*For the uninitiated, in Ukraine and Russia IWD and birthdays are when men spring for gifts for their beloved...or else. 
** Note to husbands: Anything you can do to make your wife feel good about herself pays off in the long run.  It isn't always easy, either. I know this.

Upper Crust; Lower Crust

Tanya was bored because it is too miserable to work outside and finish off her garden for the winter by putting dirt around the roots of her rose bushes.  She is already perusing the gardening websites on the internet.  So she phoned Lina to meet her and I drove her into Zhovti Vody to go shopping.

The two of them wandered from store to store for a couple or three hours.  Lina needed new winter boots so it gave them something definite to look for.

I went home and continued turning numbers into pictures.  I have about 30 pages of charts and tables and other information for my report but can't get a story line clear in my head to write it up which is frustrating.

On my way home from town, I stopped to buy bread.  It was still warm from the bakery oven and is home-made just like "mother used to make".  Not really.  My mother made wonderful brown bread from home ground whole wheat flour.  I wouldn't say the loaves were heavy but you could fire one through the side of a wooden ship with a small cannon.

Tanya loves the bread crust.  If I buy two loaves of bread it is not unusual for find the ends missing from both loaves if she has made herself some lunch.  And sometimes not only the ends are missing but the top, sides and bottom too.  I get to eat the middle of the loaf.  Tanya says she does this out of thoughtfulness for me because I am old and have not good teeth.

Tanya-isms - Part 2

Demeur commented on yesterday's post: And the odd thing about long relationships is that soon you'll start answering each other without even asking a question aloud.

Another +40C day.  Tanya and I got back from town and I grabbed a cold Obolon Svitli from the fridge and split it 200:300. Half liter bottles are nice that way as Tanya only wants a small glass and 300 ml is a regular Canadian bottle (I think) so I don't feel gypped.

Half an hour later I walked into the back pantry and stood looking as I had already forgotten what I went for. "Why am I here?"

She didn't even turn her head.  "You went to get more beer to put in the fridge".

Wives just KNOW.

Tanya-isms

Time to update on the putdowns.  Considering her English is conversation passable only, I would be afraid what she could do to me in Russian.

On the bright side, last week she threw a red bath towel into a light load of wash.  I think every husband lives for something like that as even if it is never mentioned again, the next time you do something stupid, it gives you a mental edge.

***********

The other night, about mid-night, I fried up some left-over spaghetti, pork and onions, coating it liberally with Thai Spring Roll Sauce and washing it down with apple juice.  Half an hour later we were lying in bed when there was a tremendous rumble of tummy...
"Is that you or me?"
"Me."
"Your spaghetti is looking for some place to spend the night."

***********

We have AC in the upstairs bedroom and a firm mattress in the downstairs bedroom.  Upstairs is good on hot nights so I prefer it in summer and downstairs is best for Tanya's back so she prefers it whenever possible. Last week one night she decided to sleep downstairs in spite of the heat.  She came up stairs where I was already in bed reading and yelled at me because I left the hall light on and it attracts no-see'ums. Then she went into the bathroom and came back and yelled at me for leaving the light on there too.  Then she went downstairs and went to bed.

Next morning she apologized as she had actually come upstairs to kiss me good night but by the time she was done yelling at me she had forgotten why she went up stairs.  I love being married to her.

***************

Yesterday we were parked by the roadside, waiting for Lina when a woman walked by in a low cut dress.  She was full busted as they say in polite company and them puppies were right up under her chin and bursting out of the top of her dress. Tanya drew my attention to them or I would have missed it completely.

I said, "She has nothing on you.  All you need is a little more support to get them up in place" and I imitated lifting something by jacking it up.  

She said "I need one of those too".   

Moral - never start with a woman.  You WILL lose.

Hanging out the Washing (on the Siegfried Line?)

The weather has moderated.  Climbed to 0C today.  May drop next week to -10C but far better than -25C.  It was even up to 23C in Siberia today.

Tanya decided today was house cleaning day. I have no idea where the dust comes from but our floors are always dusty.  If dust we are and to dust we shall return then there is someone either coming or going under our bed.  I didn't hear the Ninth playing backwards so it isn't Beethoven decomposing but I digress...

 Cleaning day means I had to clean my bathroom, including the shower.  Cleaning MY bathroom, washing the dishes and hanging the laundry are the three things I can do well enough to her satisfaction that I am encouraged to continue. Toilet and sink get done once a week (so THERE, MayB!!!) but the shower...

My theory about showers, like that of many males, is that a) they can't get dirty because they are constantly being washed with soap and hot water and b) they don't need cleaning until the scum builds up inside to the point you can't get in.  Of course in my case that takes less time than for other people, as when I close the doors there is not a lot of extra room.

Needing to look busy the rest of the day, I decided to see why the flame had gone out on our electric fireplace.  It had run steady during the cold spell and the heater still worked, but no magic flickering flames from the fake fuel.  Pulled the fireplace away from the wall, pulled the metal box out of the wooden "fireplace" frame and set it on top of the mantle where I could get at it.  Pulled the back off and both 40w light bulbs were burnt out.

Taking the back off was no easy task.  There were 18 little metal screws to remove.  Manually.  With a Philips.  I was afraid I was going to get Screwer's Elbow again.  I had that once thirty years ago. Before I got a cordless screwdriver.  Whatever I was making needed to be screwed glued and tattooed.  Some 350 3/4" screws and I was in agony.  I went to the clinic and said "Doc, I got Screwer's Elbow."  He said they prefer to call it Tennis Elbow to avoid confusion. Learn something new every day.

Tanya said "Are you going to town for new light bulbs today? Otherwise that thing will sit there in the living room for two weeks".  I went for the light bulbs. She knows me too well.

Another hard day at the office

Normal rising time is 9:00 am in winter. By 10:00 I was showered and dressed. No idea why - sometimes that doesn't happen until 4:00 pm. Tanya made a pot of tea and I did up yesterday's dishes. There weren't many.

Looked outside and my dogs were on the street. The two dogs live to run on the street for a while, go and visit other dogs in the neighbourhood and then come home and be duly bribed back into their yard. Three days ago Volk discovered how to escape over their high yard fence. Next day Bobik figured it out too. He is a bit slow on the uptake. Not the first escapes. We had to knock down a couple of piles of things that they learned to use to escape over the fence. Last escape was over a year ago.

I tried to find the escape route but no obvious places. Fresh snow yielded no tracks along the fence. Snow along the top of the fence had not been disturbed. There was some old steel fencing leaning against the old outdoor privy about a meter from the fence. No tracks to it but I moved it anyway. If they are still in their yard tomorrow morning, I will know the escape route but not the methodology for covering tracks. Are they reading Westerns?

We went into the city (sometimes I say into town, sometimes into the city, same thing) for dog food, groceries and to pick up a dress Tanya had at the sewing shop. Tanya says she needs a simple sewing machine. Simple. Like her ideal microwave: two buttons - Make Hot; Open Door.

White sugar was $1 per kg. Brown sugar was $10 per kg. I declined the honour until next month. No brown sugar, no desserts. Don't need them anyhow. Anyone coming to visit? Bring brown sugar.

So tonight Tanya is downstairs watching TV and I am upstairs on the computer. Decide it is time for another coffee and start thumpingly down the stairs. Thumpingly because our floors are cold and I have to wear old man slippers aka mules, which I have not yet mastered. Tanya catches my eye and quietly goes "Sssshhh"...long pause...points to sleeping cat and cracks up laughing. Groan.

Today's Tanya-ism

Conversation while driving to town.

"Our neighbour says her new puppies look like Bobik. (pause) All the dogs in the neighbourhood will soon look like Bobik.  All the cats will be orange (like Kuchma).  (long pause) Good thing only old Babushkas live around here."

She comes by it honestly.  She was talking to her sister Luda on Skype this morning.  Luda showed us one of the fresh buns she had just baked.  I said "Luda, please come and bake some for me".  I could hear Papa in the background yelling to me "If you wanted a woman to cook and look after you, you should have married one".

Minding my own beeswax

Number ONE son worked on a honey farm for 13 summers and a few winters too.  The boss's wife,  Queen Bee, was and still is a second mother to him.  He was no drone, heading up the outdoor crew for most of those years.  I never cared much for bees, not that I am allergic and break out in hives or anything, but I am fond of honey.

We buy it in 3 liter jars and go through about three or four a year.  Someone had given us a large chunk of honeycomb which for some reason we didn't eat and it sat in a dish in the pantry for six months or more.  today I decided to do something with it.  Tanya said throw it out.  The comb was all darkened and it looked unappetizing. 

I stuck it in the microwave to see if I could melt the honey out of the comb.  It melted all right.  The comb turned really black and smelled disgusting.  Like the inside of the extractor house.  The wax floated on top of the honey but there was no way I could skim it off without taking most of the honey with it.

We compromised.  I took off most of the wax and the honey will be added to the dogs' porridge.  Tanya makes porridge (kasha) for us and the dogs every day in this cold weather. 

I got wax all over two plates and a large soup dish in the procedure.  Trying to clean beeswax off the dishes was not fun at all.  Sticks like glue.  Tried heating it in the microwave again.  Helped a little but I was quite a while cleaning up the mess.

Do you think I will EVER learn just to listen to my wife?

Tanya's Name Day

Today, January 25th is the Feast Day of Saint Tatiana of Rome (January 12th on the Julian Calendar). It is also Robbie Burns Day so  presumably the saint balances off the sinner. Saint Tatiana is venerated by Orthodox Churches (and possible others, I don't know).  At any rate a complete list of her miraculous recovery from torture in 3rd century Rome can be found here.  They would wail on her all day and next morning after a night of prayer, she would appear before her accusers perfectly healed.  They finally cut off her head...(the original "Highlander"?).

Many countries celebrate "Name Days", which is to say if you are named Tatiana then your name day is January 25th. Tatiana is also the Patron Saint of Students so Tatiana's Day is also known as Students Day in Russia. 

A name day is is not quite as important as a birthday but still requires recognition.We needed groceries anyhow so we went into the city.  Flowers for Tanya and Tania and the four of us (Masha was already out of school for the day, Andrei was at work) had lunch at Sweet House, a not bad restaurant and a break from Marichka where we usually go. 

Next is Valentines Day which is catching on here, though International Women's Day, some 3 weeks after, is far more important. It is celebrated here like Valentines Day in North America. 

I am slowly learning "Do NOT miss buying flowers on important days". (like Tuesdays???).  But it isn't easy.  Our family was never much for celebrating "Hallmark" Days.  We did try to remember the kids' birthdays, though at least one has not forgiven her mother and I for forgetting many years back.  Apparently busy was not a valid excuse.

Celebrating Five Years of Marriage

Tanya and I celebrated five years of marriage on Dec 23rd. We found it hard to believe that time had flown by that quickly but I guess with age time speeds up. For supper, Tanya made Chicken _?_*  that she saw on TV and we drained a bottle of bubbly between us.

On the 24th (yesterday) we had a dinner party for 16 friends at a local restaurant owned by a friend of Andrei's whose son is in Masha's class. We ate, drank, danced and sang and had a great time.  Since we had been married in Canada, this was the celebration in Ukraine we didn't have then.

It has been a good five years, we both agree.  Filled with love, filled with fun, filled with happiness.  We suit each other in so many ways.  And our families get along.  Tanya loves my kids and they love her.  I love Tanya's kids and they love me.  Someday we would like to have the whole family together in one place, even for a week, just to say we did it.

We are not without our differences (viva la différence) and misunderstandings. Some is personality, some is family tradition and some is cultural, I am certain, but they are all mixed together and hard to sort out.  Men and women never speak the same "language" anyhow but we really do speak different languages and have different cultures so it makes us doubly aware that we need to be careful and let things slide many times.  Both of us, I am sure, feel we give more than we take so it is likely pretty well fifty:fifty, as it should be.

Speaking for myself, I am happy and contented.  Many years ago I named my consulting company Odyssey because I felt like Odysseus wandering the planet trying to find "home".  I think my quest is over and while I will still wander the planet (as long as someone else pays) I know where home is.  It is wherever Tanya is.

The anniversary couple

The anniversary cake

A few of the guests, (while we waited for the rest)

*Chicken breast sliced thin, a layer of ham and a layer of cheese with another layer of chicken breast on top, dipped in egg, rolled in bread crumbs and fried (could have been roasted) and took her all of 10 minutes to make.  She said it is NOT Chicken Kiev; anyone know what it is called?

Gnus and Vous

Tanya went with Andrei to Dnipropetrovs'k today in his Lexus.  He had to go and adjust the seat for her.  The seat adjusts 16 ways to breakfast with a whole collection of buttons.  Too complicated for Tanya, she of the two-button microwave (Make Hot; Open Door).  Tanya would like only one button for seat adjustment "Make Comfortable".

Tomorrow is Tania's birthday.  Masha got some materials from her Babushka and is making her mother a hand-made birthday card. See what you started, Dana, with that lovely card you made? We will be going for ice-cream and cake sometime tomorrow, not sure when yet.

Masha went to school Thursday and Friday and then was home sick Monday and Tuesday.  She told Tanya that she thought she was allergic to school.  Good try. 

Kuchma Kot sits outside the bathroom door in the morning, waiting for Tanya to come out and feed him.  This morning she took too long and he clawed the door open and meowed at her. When we are eating, there is one chair by the table that he jumps up on to wait and hope we feed him something good.  When Masha is here, she sits on that chair.  Kuchma jumps up behind her and tries to push her off the chair. That is HIS chair.

The hounds have been running free for a few hours each day.  However that has ended.  They started collecting girl friends and bringing them home.  Last night, they came home quite cheerfully when I called and I locked them up.  Thirty minutes later they tried to kill each other; serious, no-holds-barred murderous fighting.  This time, I left them to sort it out themselves.  Apparently they did, because a few minutes later they were all best friends again. Their girl friends hang around at night hoping the gate will break or something.  We can hear Bobik and Volk howling pitifully several times during the night.  Tough luck, boys but you can stay home.

Today's Tanya-ism

"Sometimes I could kill all men."
"Even me?"
"I just go where I can't see you. . . then I miss you and come back."

Did I ever mention I love my wife?

More Tanya-isms

Last night Tanya came to bed about mid-night and commented on the size and brilliance of the moon.  I said it would be so romantic if we could sit on the balcony and admire it. She said "And howl at it like your dogs have been doing all evening".

Monday was Tanya's birthday.  We were having the family for shashlik in early afternoon which Roman was to prepare and BBQ.  Tanya had told him she was going into town in the morning and would pick him up on her way home.  In the morning I could hear Tanya chewing him out about something.  He had called a taxi and was on his way, not waiting for her.  When she got off the phone, she stormed, "Why can't everyone just do what I tell them?  The whole world would be better if people just did what I told them and didn't argue". I am trying not to crack up and said "I am not saying anything".  "GOOD!"

Lena's last day of summer vacation was Monday. Andrei dropped Masha off at our place on his way to work and brought flowers for his mother and gave her a hug.  He came back in the evening for warmed over shashlik and whatever other food Tanya could hunt up.  Andrei is always hungry when he comes here.

Maxim and Ivan came over when they saw Masha was here.  They had some cake and then the three of them took off to play.  School is coming soon.  I could hear them racing around the yard, shrieking with laughter.  They had gone and sat on the hammock which was wet from the rain still and soaked through the seats of their jeans.  There is something wonderful about the sounds of kids' genuine laughter.

The Remains of the Day

Worked most of today getting my notes all caught up from my Kazakhstan trip so we can prioritize our follow ups.  Not as easy as it sounds though most of it is already in email form, keeping my team informed.  Yesterday was catching up on expenses accounting, making sure everything was tallied and tabbed.  Cannot for the life of me remember what I did on Saturday.  Catch up on emails and napped most likely.

Took time out to make chili con carne or at least my version of it. Usually make it with a pound of beef and two cans of kidney beans at about $1.25 per can.  We were in Metro a while back and saw a big can (2 or 3 liters??) for $4 so Tanya said I could make a big batch, freeze it and save money.  Five lbs of lean ground, 6 onions and this can of kidney beans filled out biggest cooking pot.  Two 500 ml jars of tomato paste and a dozen fresh tomatoes went in too.  And two heaping soup spoons of all the hot stuff in the house.  Chili powder, chipotle (sp?) powder, cumin, etc etc.  Simmered it for a couple hours and it was awesome. Had a huge bowl of it for lunch. The rest is now boxed in plastic happiness and will go in the freezer tonight.

This was after I had eaten a bowl of it for lunch.  The pot was FULL.

Tanya had a couple of spoons full and inhaled a glass of water.  She figured I would be cleaning the toilet quite a few times before the chili was gone.

Masha has been here the past two days (home at night).  Maxim is next door for the summer and they get on so well.  Water colour painting has taken much of their time as both enjoy it.  Tanya says they will be friends for life but doubts there will even be romance.  (As SOMEONE who shall remain nameless once remarked "It would be like marrying my brother".  OK, so I am a lousy matchmaker.)

Tanya and Lena are out in the garden, which is pretty much finished.  Peas and beans long finished. Tomatoes and cucs still coming in.  Beets and carrots all processed.  Corn came and went while I was away.  Tanya didn't freeze any this year.  Onions are dug, dried and boxed; not sure about the garlic.  Purslain is a terrible weed.  My mother fought it all her life in one of her gardens and it has totally infested our garden.  You can't kill it.  It will set seed hanging on the fence.

There is a family of five kids that we act as food bank for about once a month or so.  Father is in and out of hospital all the time, too sick to work, maybe diabetes which is a real curse as it is not controlled very well - no one can afford the test strips and the free insulin is terrible quality.  Not sure about the mother's problem, could be alcohol. The oldest girl about 15 and a boy about 10 were here today.  Usually it is a 12 year old boy. The mother, in her early 40's, is in hospital.  She is pregnant and having difficulty so the doctor stuck her in hospital. Tanya was furious when she heard the woman was pregnant again.  She wonders if the kids even go to school as they have no money for clothes or books or anything.  Not sure where the state sits on not attending school but expect it is illegal - so what are they going to do about it?  Well, if it costs the state money, nothing.  And another generation falls through the cracks.

When we were filling a bag of food, Tanya suggested some of my chili but I said no, they would not thank us for that.  It is a learned taste.

Three stories from the weekend

If you look at the first picture in the previous post, the shot of the front garden, you can see at the back right a huge tree with a concrete power pole running up through it and a yellow natural gas pipe disappearing into it.  The tree is now gone.  Both gas and electric companies said the tree had to go so Saturday it went. It wasn't our tree; it was in the abandoned yard next door but we anteed up $15 and had it cut down before it did real damage. One of the men who cut the tree admired Tanya's flowers.  His daughter's birthday was Sunday, could he get a lily from Tanya to give her?  For sure.  So he was here bright and early Sunday and Tanya cut one of the lilies for him.

One of our neighbours across the back from us runs a small greenhouse operation with his family.  He specializes in early off season cut and potted flowers, (tulips and daffodils) and sells bedding plants as well.  They plant a huge area to tulips and daffodils each fall, then when the flowers bloom, lop the heads off to force growth in the bulbs.  Then in early June they dig up the bulbs, dry them off for the summer and plant them in pots in the greenhouse to bloom in February. They must be adding lilies this year as there is a big patch of lilies blooming now in his yard.  He dropped over to visit Tanya yesterday afternoon, to admire her garden. Tanya was very glad as she got to pick his brain about a great many things.  He knows his stuff.  In return, she had to promise him one of the huge pink and white lilies in the fall as he had never seen anything like it before.

We had dinner guests last evening.  Lena was here and one of my Tanya's friends, another Tatiana, whom I had met before.  Tatiana is a lawyer here in Zhovti Vody, (an advokat as opposed to a notarius).  She is quite attractive, doesn't look her 50 years, and was, I thought divorced. In the course of dinner, I mentioned my friend John in Saskatchewan (who has been alone some 7 years now and apparently needs a push to rectify the situation) should be invited over to meet Tatiana.  My Tanya said "But Tatiana has a husband".  I was sooo embarrassed.  Tatiana said very enthusiastically, "No problem.  I'll check him out".  We all just howled with laughter.  Tatiana lives here because there is more work here for an advokat.  Her husband lives in Dnipropetrovs'k because that is where his work is. They see each other on weekends only.

Flowers After the Rain

Tanya's flowers enjoyed our rainy week and have responded rather well.  Tanya is quit proud of them and is taking pictures every day of new blossoms. The lilies just don't quit, with new ones opening every day.  They are  a surprise to her when they bloom as most of them are ones she acquired last fall or this spring.  The front flower bed is a mass of colour as everything is filling in.  The vegetable garden was so soft after all the rain, Tanya was afraid she would sink to her knees in the mud.  so she "used my slippers as snowshoes".

Front flower garden

Raindrops on roses

Portulaca blooms

Red and orange lilies still blooming

Huge yellow lilies

Newest addition to the lily patch

Beautiful pale peach lilies

These are at least 25 cm (10 inches) across

Zhabba's Hut

Tanya was less than thrilled to find a large toad (zhabba) had taken up residence in her rubber garden shoes.

The gladiolas will be next.  She planted over 100 last year.  Not sure how many this year.

Good Hearted Woman

Tanya would take under her wing every stray dog, cat or kid in the country if she could.  There is a family in town with a bunch of kids that live with their grandmother who is often sick.  When they are down to dust in the cupboards, the oldest boy, about 12 will show up at our house, a long walk from the city, and Tanya will put together a food hamper and a little cash.  It doesn't happen very often, maybe every month or two.

Last week there was a young boy about Masha's age or a little younger, riding his bicycle up and down our street, all alone.  Back and forth, back and forth, all day long.  Masha was here on Sunday afternoon which meant Maxim was here and Ivan, too.  Tanya called the little boy in from the street. 

Vladik was visiting his grandparents who bought a house at the end of the block three years ago. We had seen him before, just never on a bike until this year. He is 7 1/2 and has never been to school because he has, as he put it, "problems with his eyes and cannot speak well".  He squints terribly and has a very thick tongue making it difficult for him to say a lot of words.  He has been to "the doctor" and will likely start this fall in a special school where they can help him with his speech.  Other than that, Tanya says, he is a pretty bright kid.

Tanya introduced him to the three kids and clamped down hard when they started asking him to pronounce difficult words. She got them playing Russian Lotto and said to them, you help Vladik.  Maxim cottoned on right away and you could hear the four of them laughing and having a great time.

Yesterday, I saw Valdik and Maxim walking together down the road, talking and laughing.

I love my wife.

It's Winter

I love Tanya.

When I wake up at night sometimes and find her snuggled up against me and her arm over me, hugging me, I feel so loved.  I am thankful every day (and a little puzzled) that she loves me as much as she does.

Because I delight in catching her off guard and doing or saying something totally stupid.  A non-sequitur that puts her in kinks. Some days it doesn't take much if she is in a giddy mood.

When a man gets old, his hair starts falling out but growing back in his nose and ears.  Jeff Foxworthy says if you pull on an old man's nose hair, you can watch his hairline recede. We were driving into town yesterday when she reminded me that it had been (quite) a while since I trimmed my nosehair.  I said "It's winter".

She lost it.  I guess the visual was too much for her.

Hard Times (Pudding)

Today is Saint Tatiana Day, the Name Day of all Tatianas everywhere.  My Tanya and Andrei's Tanya, along with Masha and Lena celebrated by going for lunch to Marichka's for pizza while I reloaded programs on my computer.  We then invited friends over for supper for which I was responsible for dessert.  I made Oatmeal Squares (my kids will recognize this). They turned out perfect except for one small flaw.  They were glued solidly to the cookie sheet and one needed a chisel to remove them - in small pieces, not 3" squares.  Plan B was to serve ice cream with lots of cookie crumbs sprinkled on it.  Still tasted good.  And now I know why the recipe said to cover the cookie sheet with wax paper.  It is what you call Cookie Doh!!

I got looking at all the different family dessert recipes handed down over the generations made with flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, raisins, baking powder, milk and butter.  These are pretty basic ingredients, not fancy, not expensive.  Homestead food, poor farmer food.  The milk and butter were home grown, the rest of the stuff bought in bulk with no use before date and no refrigeration needed, so to speak.

A favourite of our family when I was growing up was Hard Times Pudding also known as quick raisin pudding, though at our house it was "Raisin pudding in its own sauce", a rather cumbersome title.  Basically it is sweet biscuit dough, filled with raisins and baked in a brown sugar sauce.  Mom would sometimes make it for supper but most often it was a surprise dessert hot out of oven late on a cold Friday night or Saturday night when Dad, my brothers and I would come in from working late outside on "weekend chores".  A double recipe would fill the big green Pyrex bowl, (the same one in which she baked scalloped potatoes), and the six of us would make quick work of it.

Ice cream would have been perfect with it and that is how I serve it now but in those days, even at 99 cents for a half gallon, it was a rare treat.  Now I need to go chisel the rest of the cookies off the cookie sheet.  #%^&@@@# to coin a phrase.

Four Years and Counting

Things have been a bit hectic this past week so, like the butcher who backed into his meat grinder and got a little behind in his orders, I have a bit of catching up to do.

Tanya and I celebrated four years married on Thursday by collecting my youngest off the train in the morning at 11:00 am and going out for supper in the evening.  It was a good day and I am married to the most wonderful woman a man could ever ask for.

Four wonderful years together.

Lyn's flight was canceled on Dec 21 because of the weather.  Thankfully, she was flying Lufthansa who are pros at looking after their passengers.  A hotel for the night, supper and breakfast and come back next day to see what they can arrange.  The next day, she reluctantly dragged her luggage to the airport (London City) expecting, (as did I) that she would only have to drag it back to a hostel somewhere.  Ten minutes after she arrived at the ticket counter, she was in line to board a flight to Geneva to catch a Ukraine International flight to Kyiv.  She arrived in Kyiv at 11:00 pm that night.  And caught the 7:00 am train out.

Tanya was not surprised at this.  She had been telling me since the first flight was canceled that Lyn would fly on the 22nd.  She was more than a little miffed at me for being, uh, less than receptive to the idea.  Call it faith, call it a sixth sense, call it whatever.  She is right often enough (like 95% ) that I should learn to just shut up and listen.

Tanya is downstairs fixing Christmas dinner.  She sent me upstairs so I wouldn't "help" as she says sometimes my helping makes more work for her than not.  Our Ukrainian family is gathering today for Western Christian Christmas, in honour of Lyn and I.  We will celebrate New Years Eve and again Orthodox Christian Christmas.