The Approaching Winter

We live on the tenth floor of a 1986 apartment building. The topography is typically flat and barren. Unfortunately Russians don`t expect anything outside their apartment to be attractive. The result is grafitti, abandoned savaged cars, and a lot of ugliness. But you can see some plants in an occassional window and other evidence of someone trying to make things better.

Now the USA is experiencing some of the economic insecurity which people here have lived with for years. Americans have been blessed with generally good climates, decent government, and beautiful scenery. The Civil War was the last large scale war on American soil.

Russians are strong, not easily frightened. and don`t worry much about tomorrow. It appears that it`s much easier to panic Americans about a variety of topics than many other people. I know these are generalizations but they represent some of my observations.

Every day has less light so this can affect mood.

During these short days the best thing is to have a party! Tomorrow is Larissa`s birthday so we spent much of the day in the kitchen, she prepared Russian cold salads and charlodka (apple pie) while I was the captain of the casserole... Overnight Southern Casserole. We put together two, and parked them in the fridge overnight. Tomorrow they will cook for 45 minutes and represent American tasty food.

My Savannah Georgia brother in law initiated contact with Dell Video Chat which is just the thing to perk up this glum time of year. Tomorrow we will introduce my Savannah relatives to those in St. Petersburg, which should be fun, after many years here.

Enjoy each day where you can and write when the spirit moves you!