Just a few things to share

This isn't something you will see often in our house. Francesca (the dark one) is ALWAYS near me and sleeps on this sofa which is next to my computer. Olivia usually sleeps in the kids' room or the dining room. Well, she wanted to be near her mama too, so she took the risk and curled up next to Frannie. Neither bothered the other for hours. In the end, the dinner bell woke both.

I came home from work the other day and Olga, our housekeeper, was telling me all about her day. She took me into the dining room and showed me these flowers. She said there were tomatoes inside! I said, "Really? Can you eat them?" To which Olga replied, "Yes, but you don't have to!" Aah! The joys of conversing in a language other than your own. What I meant when I asked if you can eat them is are they edible? What Olga understood was, "Can I have some for dinner?"

Another reason we love Olga so much is she made us three huge jars of homemade pickles! She got tired of buying them in the market for us, so she made us some. She keeps them at her summer house and when she is driven to town (as opposed to taking the bus) she brings them in. They are wonderful! Very garlicky!

Laura and I went for a walk today to buy souvenirs for some friends I will see next week. It was such a gorgeous day. I got some great pictures of St. Andrews. Here is one!

Next Saturday I am heading to London for a day and then on to Marrakesh, Morocco. I am going for an IB conference. It will be an amazing experience. When I return to London, Landon and the kids will join me for the weekend in London. I am so excited! Look for pictures on my Picasa site!

OH RATS!

It all started last week when as I was driving to work, I noticed one of my headlights was out. In my eyes, this is the same as walking around with your fly open! I immediately called Landon and asked him to contact the mechanic! We needed a new light! Fast forward a week--the days are dark and rainy and cold. The light still hasn't been fixed. I covered my embarrassment by driving around with my fog lights on instead of the headlights. Finally on Thursday I asked one of the drivers at school to have a look at the bulb and tell me where I could get another one. I was hoping he'd say, "Oh Christina, don't worry! I will buy it for you!" I would say his attitude towards helping me was mediocre at best!

Together Sasha and I went to the car and figured out how to get the bulb out. He said he'd ask around and see if he could find out where to get a bulb. Three hours later, Sasha appears at my door and said that the bulb works fine. What I needed was a new fuse! A fuse? Well, where is the fuse box? He was not going to help me find the fuses, so I just thanked him and resumed eating lunch. I knew my friend, Dan, knew all about fuses and could help me. I gave Sasha my keys and thanked him again. 15 minutes later he appears again--with someone else to translate--and said I don't need a new light and I don't need a new fuse! He said I need new wires because a cat or a rat chewed through them! So much for finishing my lunch!

I was convinced that it was a cat because I had seen several in our neighborhood. I had never seen a rat in our courtyard. I know this city of four million people has rats because I have seen their remains on the road--regularly. But never in my yard. In my mind it was a cat--not a rat. Or so I thought. This morning I was looking out the window watching my dog friends wake up. Olivia was there watching the birds and I was watching the dogs! Suddenly the birds scattered and the dogs took off chasing something. When I focused on what they were chasing, I saw that it was a big ole huge humongous rat! EEEEEWWWWWWWW!

Thankfully, Dan came to my rescue today and fixed the wires! He said he could fix it and would do it joyfully! Well, he fixed it, but I didn't see much joy. It took two hours, but in the end, all the lights work. While Dan was working, I examined the area under the hood well. I found chicken bones, bread crumbs, peanut shells, a plastic bag, and several piles of rat poop! You could see the rat prints all over the engine (it was pretty dirty).

In hindsight, I think that sucker has lived in the car for a while now. For two years, I was parked next to the two dumpsters for the building. They are emptied each evening, but I guess there was enough there to welcome the rats. The dumpsters have been moved and I hope so has the rat. I will now check on a regular basis for their return! If I see them, I am not sure what I will do!

I guess I will call Dan!

The dumpsters that used to be next to my car! No wonder I had a rat (or was it rats?)

St Andrew's church

Well the weather has changed and I fear that fall is settling in! It is cold and rainy today and the forecast is for more of the same. Yesterday we attended the annual Embassy picnic welcoming new families and saying good-bye to those heading on to their next adventure. It was overcast and chilly, but not too bad. Here are a couple of pictures of the "garden" where we picnicked!




On our way home, we were stopped at the light at the end of our street and looked to the left where the circus is and were quite surprised to see the camel looking at us! They look like they want to go for a walk!


As I reported last time, Laura and her classmates headed to Crimea for a week long bonding trip. She has made it back safely and resumed her tween like tendancies! When we went to get her at the airport a colleague of mine who traveled with the group said, "Thank you!" I asked why she was thanking me. She told me that everywhere the group traveled they had a police escort and Olga, the colleague, was sure it was me who arranged it! Well, I was concerned about the safety of the children in an area of Ukraine that is sympathetic to the Russians (in light of the current situation) and asked Landon if he can have anyone help out. Well, one phone call led to another that led to another and the next thing we knew, police escorts were arranged! Another colleague told me it was in the local newspaper that these "special guests" were provided protection!

Here are a couple of Laura's pictures from her trip! It looks like she is following in her Mama's footsteps!