Burlaki on the Hudson

My wife’s brother’s wife’s sister’s daughter had her first child the other day. Yeah, I know, it’s not exactly a close relation, in-laws of in-laws, I’ve never had a chance to even meet them. Still, there is a certain implication in this new arrival.

To that new baby, I happen to be – a remote and far from direct – but a GRANDFATHER!?!?!?!?

The thought helps me none in overcoming my age hangups.

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Sorry, you have to be of Russian-speaking background to fully comprehend the situation. While English-language cultures label the relationship such as I have to the new baby as something like “Great Uncle” or maybe “cousin once removed”, in Russian, a family member two generations older might be called “an Uncle” or “an Aunt” for simplicity, but would in fact be a “grandparent” with an “x times removed” modifier depending on their relation to the direct grandparents.

Being silly

A long overdue little glimpse into our living.

The cupboards under our upper floor stairs leave enough of empty space for a person to step into when the traffic in the entrance hallway becomes too heavy. Some of our visitors may recall painfully banging their heads on the stairs as a result of such a maneuver.

Well, we finally decided to post a warning (Natasha’s Dad provided the sticker).

  

Click to enlarge, if you’d like. The right-hand picture gives you an idea of what the space looks like.

For my non-Russian readers, the sign translates as “The Place To Hit Your Head (don’t hurt yourself, be careful!)”.

Being silly, Photography