Thursday, October 09, 2008

Catching up

I started this during nap time yesterday and didn't get very far....



I'm not quite sure what to write about. I'm pretty comfortable now with how I have things set up for computer use. We've been enjoying quiet, beautiful fall days, but haven't had anything too exciting going on. Julie is still here, and we're loving that. Jaan and Raia think she's a perpetual reading machine, and she doesn't seem to mind. Our things came from Russia, so we've been trying to organize and put away and not be too overwhelmed. (That last one is just me.)



We bought a pumpkin last week and enjoyed pumpkin pie, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice lattes, and more pumpkin frozen for later. Julie keeps telling people that this was her first experience with baked pumpkin. I started to ask her if she usually bakes or boils her pumpkins, and she thought that was pretty funny. She's always gotten them from cans! Another highlight was that we had to call a wonderful friend of ours, who we haven't talked to in ages, to get the cookie recipe. (Hi Debbie!) And then we called back later to talk to her daughter, and we also spent a while on Skype with another friend. (Hi Lara!)



This photos kind of randomly fit with the text. The tree at the top is glowing outside our window. It's beautiful! I keep wondering why the kitchen is so lit up and then realizing it's the reflection from the ash tree. Overall, fall hasn't been too spectacular here--at least, not yet--but the individual ash trees are lovely. And the weather is unbelievable. It's finally not hot, but it's certainly not cold either. . . . Where was I? Oh, yes: photos. The next is Julie, eating her pumpkin pie. By the way, I've gotten confused questions about her visa situation. No, she has not been waiting for this visa since I went to see her in Odessa. That was one visa. She got that one and went back to Russia with it. This is a different one. Once she gets this one, she should be able to stay in Russia for a year. Okay, third photo: I mentioned that our things are here, that includes the long-awaited tricycle! It's funny, but I don't have any photos of Jaan on it. He's really enjoying it, though. When he first saw it, he insisted that it wasn't his: "But my tricycle was big!" We finally convinced that he has grown, the tricycle hasn't shrunk.

I should stop here, so that I get something posted. Since I said that nothing exciting has been happening, we have had a very exciting visitor. And I've been reading a fascinating book. Anyone know anything about ancient Russian mythology? But, like I said, I'll stop here.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Phyllis!! (Do you hear the inflection of exasperation?) We don't want cliff-hangers....but we do love hearing from you and seeing the photos.

Thanks so much for posting. We love each of you.

Baba Julie said...

Ha! Ha! Your mom sounds like me with my visa questions!! The picture of the tricycle brought tears to my eyes! I know the children are glad to see their beloved toys!! Love to all!!

Anonymous said...

ooh, exciting visitor. You're leaving us all hanging for the next installment. I want to be an exciting visitor! Lord willing, late next summer or fall, I'll only be 16 hours away!! Everyone keeps saying how far that is, but I feel like it's SO close. If it wasn't for IM responsibilities, I'd be there every weekend! =-) Anna

Anna said...

ooh, I have an ID now.

Alissa Maxwell said...

Hooray for getting your "gear" out of Russia. The joy of re-discovering your things and the chore of having to find places for them!

By the way, I had the most amazing Pumpkin Pancakes the other day, but don't have the recipe. If I experiment and it goes well, I'll have to send it to you.

Debbie said...

What does Anna do? What is IM? Wow, Julie has been there quite awhile, & I am guessing everyone is thoroughly enjoying it.

Anna said...

Hey, did I read about the mysterious visitor on your facebook status update? =-)

Debbie, I'm in NC working until Jan. IM is International Messengers, a Christian mission. I'll be going to their training school in Montana from Jan.-May. Then, if I have all my support, I'll be heading to Odessa in June for an 18 month internship.