Thursday Afternoon (10-16-08)

Greetings to all of you. I'm always so happy to find I've had a "visit" from you, even if you only left a "one-line" note!
Skies lately have been mostly cloudy, and our world outside looks like a black and white picture. The trees that were bright with golden leaves are bare now. Coat, scarf, gloves and boots feel good when we go out.
Yesterday seemed a little nicer and we left for our meeting about 5:45. Boots didn't seem necessary, and because I knew how HOT it was going to be inside the apartment where we were going, I didn't wear anything warm under my coat. Surely it wouldn't be necessary to take
our umbrellas...just one more thing to carry! Half an hour later we noted raindrops on the bus windows. When we came out in the darkness after the meeting, it was raining steadily and we had to "keep to the shore" around the puddles and leap the "rivers" by the curbs. The buses
were crowded and the rain turned to big, wet, snowflakes while we waited for our bus. We had to wait for the third one with our number before we could get on. The "shrink-pack-peopler" was working and soon people were crammed in tightly...glad to get in out of the weather. Windows soon steam over and I've learned that ours in the second stop after we turn the corner.
We were pretty glad to get home...my coat was wet through at the shoulders and my toes wet and cold. We treated ourselves to a cup of hot chocolate (two packets that were left in the box at home that I had tucked in my suitcase), before bed.
Earlier this week, we went off on another bus route to a BIG store..whose name I haven't learned to pronounce yet. It is really a kind of mall and outside the main part of the city. It is HUGE and a number of stores are in there. It took a long time to walk the isles of the supermarket and pick out what we thought we couldn't get - or could get cheaper than in the small local stores. I looked at coats..there were plenty. Probably I'll have to get one, but didn't that day.
This was my week to cook. Interesting. So, we have had a yummy "dutch baby" (apple pancake sort of thing) baked in the skillet; tuna chowder; spaggetti; stir-fry with rice; chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes; fruit salad (minus grapefruit, which doesn't seem to exist).
I'm so pleased that in spite of some substituting it all turned out. Luda has seemed quite happy with it...or maybe just polite? smile.
We have another meeting tonight, with more walking than last night. I'll NOT trust the clouds this time. EARLY tomorrow (while you in the states are still in afternoon or early evening) we will be out of bed and off for the train station for the trip to OMSK...city "somewhere" 13 hours away in Siberia. I won't take my computer, but will my camera. We'll come back on the overnite train on Monday night.
'Till then, "dah-svee-donya".
Mom/Gma Cilla/ Priscilla