This little project has been years in the making. When I worked on the movie about our first Paris trip, in 2002, the well-known Russian pop song (called “Walking about Paris”) was the obvious choice for an opening segment. Unfortunately, I realized that we did not tape a single scene…
I mentioned in my Valentine Day’s post my collection of model houses and then promised in comments there to illustrate. Here is a slideshow of about half of my collection (I’m currently moderating its growth on account of not having space for display), with brief notes on where the houses…
We’ve gotten really predictable these days. A nice, if crisp, sunny day means that we take Kimmy to her favorite playground, while Becky stays home to prepare herself for her next outing with her friends. Very little variety in that. At least, we still seem to find fun even in…
Kimmy and I cuddled on the couch watching Stardust the other night, when my 8-year-old suddenly said: “Daddy, you’re the warmest person in the world!” After a momentary pause, she added: “And the second funniest.” “Second funniest? Who’s the first?” asked I with an appropriate doze of indignation. She gave…
My lovely wife is 18 again today, prompting mass celebrations in all corners of the world. The outpouring of congratulatory notes and phone calls has been overwhelming, so a new channel in the form of the comments thread to this post had to be authorized. The birthday girl herself plans…
Halloween was an annual disappointment for my girls. There is not much of trick-or-treating happening in our area. We had lighted jack’o’lanterns on the porch, and still only one single visit from neighborhood kids. Kimmy, all dressed up as a Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, decided that she did not…
Natasha, I love you! We’ve been together for half of our lives, and married for the last 17. Counting each year for three1, we passed our golden anniversary a few months back. It does feel as if it has been longer, in a good sense. I can barely remember the…
It snowed here last night. For no more than an hour, and melted instantaneously, but it was a huge surprise nonetheless. While Becky boldly went where her parents have never gone before, – she is on a school trip to Iceland, – Kimmy required extra attention than normal during her…
One of the gifts that Becky received this year for her birthday was a recording studio experience (idea by Mom, funding by Grandma and Grandpa). She enlisted a couple of her friends as a personal gallery and went the other day to record three songs of her choice. I have…
This year, Becky started celebrating her birthday a bit ahead of time, with a now commonplace invasion of her schoolmates for a sleepover. I customarily holed myself up in my study, trying in vain to ignore the squealing that permeated the house. Today started very similarly to that famous day…
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…
Kimmy’s heart all but melted, as we woke her up early in the morning with a chorus of “Happy Birthday to You”, accompanied by a cake with requisite candle-blowing, followed by the exciting procedure of opening presents. Just as she requested last night, before going to bed. Happy birthday, Кузька!…
Click to enlarge.
Besides giving everybody a chance to see my girls enjoy an exotic – for us – pursuit, I also aimed at illustrating the quick-changing weather with this clip. Alas, the compressed diminished quality of the video made that less discernible. Just smile at the sight of the girls ahorse, then……
Natasha went to the parent/teacher conference at Becky’s school last night. In a manner deserving of the expensive private institution, the conference was smoothly organized as a series of face-to-face meetings with every teacher that Becky has classes with. There are seventeen of them for Becky’s form, so the process…
This week heralded another milestone in our parenting life: For the first time ever, we let Becky use public transportation all on her own. The determining factor was scheduling: When Kimmy has her swimming lessons on Wednesdays, Becky needs to stay in school resource center for over an hour after…
Continuing the topic of bragging about my daughter’s scholastic achievements, I present for your pleasure the clock that Becky designed and built at her Design Technology class. It is similar to woodshop class in the States, but not to the exclusion of plastics.
Natasha’s 17-year-old niece Katya, who has been fighting Hodgkin’s lymphoma for over half a year, has passed away last night in Rostov. We knew that she has not been doing well lately, and one of the main reasons for Natasha’s trip was that she knew she might not get another…