A lot has happened here in Russia in the last few weeks! Our little region is going crazy getting ready for Sochi (which is a mere 280 kilometers away) and at our little house, changes are underway.
First things first, Grandma Vera has moved in! Tanya's parents lived in a big house with a big garden in a town about 5 hours from here, where the Ivanyenkos are originally from. When Grandpa died a couple of years ago, the house became too much for Grandma to take care of on her own. She put her house on the market and finally, after about a year of looking for buyers, the house sold!
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| Enjoying tea on moving day |
Grandma came with a mini van packed full of stuff. Aside from the usual things like clothes and furniture, she brought her refrigerator complete with a freezer full of food, light fixtures, fruit trees and plants from her garden, and dirt. I kid you not, the woman brought bags of dirt from her garden. Tanya was in a panic about all the things Grandma Vera was bringing and kept saying, "it's going to be like a train station in our house!" but Baba Vera is nothing if not industrious.
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| See the fridge back there? Full of food |
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| Kostya and Tanya hard at work |
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| Baba Vera's moved into Masha's room; Masha is in my room until her room is finished |
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| Boxes upon boxes |
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| Grandma's washing machine headed up to my room |
She immediately brought order and food to our household. Her biggest joys in life are feeding people and spending time in the garden. She's already planted most of her garden (yes, in December, because the climate here is a dream) and busies herself cooking and cleaning. Grandma is a wonderful blessing for such a busy household, and as a girl who misses her own grandmas very much, having her here is a great encouragement.
The next big even was last week: Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and I'm not about to sit around and mope because I can't be with my family! This is the second year I've whipped up Thanksgiving dinner by myself, and I really do get a lot of joy out of cooking. And feeding people, I love feeding people! Baba Vera and I are not so different after all...
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| Photo courtesy of Nastya |
In attendance was the Ivanyenko family minus the boys (Tima was in India serving the Lord, Kostya was in another town getting his driver's license), my dear friend Vasil, Kostya's girlfriend Nastya, two girlfriends from English club, and a couple friends from Masha's church that were in the right place at the right time! We all thanked God for what he's done this past year and enjoyed the feast together (in the new kitchen, by the way).
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| Left to right: Nastya, Baba Vera, Alina (Russian Jane and Uncle Ilya in the background) |
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| My friend Katya and her little baby Toma |
(I brought gravy packets from the US specifically for Thanksgiving this year, and I have to say, what a difference gravy makes! It's the one thing I just can't get right from scratch.)
Camp is just around the corner, in less than a month. Andree, my boss, had emergency eye surgery this last week (a few months ago he had a really serious injury and almost lost his eye), so we've been getting ready for camp without him, which is a little scary! He won't be able to look at computer screens for a while, so I'm in the process of teaching myself Photoshop. Instead of little books for English Camp like we usually do, we're making a map. I'll be sure to show you the finished product!
That's all, friends! It's a beautiful day out, 43F if you can believe it! I may go on some kind of excursion today, it seems like walking weather to me!
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| I hear it's freezing cold in Montana; bundle up! |
Пока ребята, Russian Jane
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