Lightening Knight

After I showed Samuel "Once Upon an Engineer", he decided that he also wanted to make a movie. This is something Samuel and I have been working on and we hope to complete it before I leave. (We think we can only film on weekends, but we'll see.)

Hope your Saturday went well and that you have a good Sunday!

P.S. Who liked tea and who like coffee?

Monday

Besides it being one of my favorite person's birthday (who wishes to remain anonymous), it is also Monday and the beginning of the week.

It began as normal, with the addition of snow covering the ground, until Jeremy realized that one of the snow
tires was leaking air.

Amy wanted to take me to Central Market, so we worked it into the day. Jeremy only taught one class, so we all drove into the city, dropped Jeremy off, and went to the Mall.



Central Market is a huge 3 story mall. It also was originally a real market (right Ben?).

I know the lighting isn't amazing, but this is (I believe) a 100% wool hat.

I decided I wouldn't by dried whole fish.

It is cold here. It did not get above 24 degrees (that I saw) and I checked later in the afternoon. I think I need to change to my winter boots as, with my Fall boots, my feet were cold for some time.

I hope you all are enjoying your Fall. Take lots and lots of good pictures all you who are able! I love this time at home with all the beautiful colors, smells, and the crisp weather (that comes about at times :).

Silly? Yes, definitely. But It's hard to catch snow falling in a photograph. :)

Blessings!

I am planning on doing a real blog post soon, but in the meantime...

it's snowing. :)

And it's suppose to keep snowing for the next three days or so. 

With the Piguets

I have been at the Piguets the last couple of days, and I thought I'd show you some things that happened while I was there.

So, Craig and Lindsay both had various things to do Thursday afternoon, leaving Daniel and I in charge of the house.

 When Lindsay got back from the store, she had me follow a recipe for split pea soup. I, obviously, read next to nothing in Russian, so even though the directions were in English, the bag size and all was in Russian. All that to say, I made enough split pea soup to last them one night for the next several weeks - good thing they like it. But this made me laugh - the two bags of split peas were from the Western Hemisphere. One was from "Орегон"

(sound it out James and Zachary). It was from Oregon and the other was from Canada.

 Apparently,
they still trusted me in the kitchen 'cause Lindsay asked if I would make pancakes for breakfast the next morning (just so you all know, with everything I made while I was there, Lindsay had taken out all, or most, of the ingredients - helpful when some are in Russian!). So, black current pancakes were on and pulled off successfully.

The rest of the day was "normal" cleaning and baking. Speaking of baking, I found out what "caster" sugar is. At Fort Vancouver, there is a barrel labeled "Caster Sugar" and no one knew what it meant. Apparently, it is a very finely ground sugar, but not as fine as powdered. Very good for cakes and macaroons.

I am officially Aunt Rachel now to Daniel. He loves books - especially this one called "Bee" and especially the last page with the mouse (which he, on occasion, hits and is cheered on to continue this by Lindsay). He has begun to love books sooo much, that he decided they must taste as good as the look.




Well, now I'm back with Amy and Jeremy and the boys. I really should head off to bed now. I hope you all have a good Friday!

Sundays

Well, Sunday mornings are very slow here. (Actually, in general, most "mornings" don't start till after 9:30am.) I Skype my family, while Amy and Jeremy Skype their parents.


Yes, it dawned bright and beautiful today - though it rained the rest of the day.
(I don't mind the rain that much - it was a real rain too!)

Today, after all the Skype sessions and a half feeding of the twins, Amy and I went to pick Craig, Lindsay, and Daniel up from Лента (Lenta - a grocery store).

In Russia, part of hosting is having food - lots. When we all arrived home, we ate cinnamon rolls, eggs, juice, and coffee made by Craig. :)

Daniel, Camilla, and Samuel

We then read and talked for a while, and, before we had completely finished, company had arrived. This family had just been to Crete and wanted to share their pictures with Craig and Lindsay, and Jeremy and Amy.

I got to work a little bit on my Russian words playing "Twister" with Samuel and their kids.

Names in Russia:
Samuel's name in Russian is pronounced "Sam-oil" (Сэмюэл)
My name, on a familiar basis, is "Raychka" (Рейчка)

So there you go - that's a somewhat "normal" Sunday for me. Hope your Sunday goes well with whatever you are doing.



 

Saturday

Saturday has been rather normal here. I get downstairs at 8 or 8:30am to help feed the twins.

Zachary and Ryan

After that, I skype family and friends (as I did this Saturday) and play with Samuel.

Only one of these happened this morning.

Today, it snowed. It snowed enough for Amy to say it was a real snow as opposed to yesterday's sleet.

(It technically "could" stick, it just won't stay all winter for a while - and, just so you all know, it is gone right now.)

.

Then, around noon, we make breakfast (pancakes!) and eat.

Yes, I was in my pj's at 2:30 - actually, almost till 4pm.

Even though I don't have pictures, I made my first batch of rolls here and have been given the task of bread making. I am really happy about that!

Well, I hope you all have a good Saturday - and if you're not, I hope you make it end well!

Blog Tag!

Yes, a game of Tag. So, here are your rules.

here

1. Thank whomever tagged you - Thanks Red!
2. Answer his questions.
3. Add 11 random facts about yourself.
4. Come up with 11 of your own questions.
5. Tag up to 11 people with under 200 followers to answer your questions and follow the rules.

So... are the questions I was asked:
1. What is your favorite board game?
Monopoly
2. A favorite quote of yours (humorous or thought provoking)?
"Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."
3. A book/series that disappointed you?
You are asking the person who doesn't read...

Ryan (back) and Zachary (front)

4. Furthest place you've traveled from home, and why?
Ufa, Russia to help friends with their twins.
5. Your favorite non-board-game activity (sports, reading, card games, eating, etc...)?
Sports - definitely sports. I like some baking, too.
6. A favorite character from a book/movie, and why?
Sir Percy Blakeney  from "The Scarlet Pimpernel". He is just - well, you have to read the book. I've listened to it at least twice, and am reading through it for the first time by myself. Love.that.book.
7. If you could have any car, which one would it be?
Some type of convertible -  not sure.
8. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Washington State. :)
9. How many states have you been in (driving through, staying at, but not flying over)?
No idea.
10. What is your favorite type of pizza?
Pepporoni or cheese
11. What's the story behind your favorite (or most infamous) nickname?
Rachie, Ray, and Rewster (pronounced rooster). Ok, so you all are curious about "Rewster". When I was much younger, we had some friends and their mom called their son Drew Drew the Drewster. So then my mom called me Roo the Rewster. :)

Me in Moscow after traveling for almost 24 hours.

Honestly, there aren't 11 random facts about me. But I'll give it my best shot.

1. I'm the fourth in a family of ten kids

2. I have naturally red, curly hair

3. I played soccer for four years

4. I have soloed with an orchestra on my cello

5. I have taken five years of French

6. I will start getting tutored in Russian later this week

7. I jumped thirteen hours ahead of myself last week

8. I have the most-awesomest-amazingest family ever

... See! There you go! I don't have 11. But I do have 8... kinda... and you all know most of it anyway. :)

Ok, my turn. Mom, Kelsey, Bethany, and Emily - you are all it. 

My questions for you are...

Just out the front door.

1. What's your favorite color?

2. What's your favorite smell?

3. What's your favorite memory?

4. What's your favorite book?

5.What color socks are you wearing right now?

6. What was the last thing you ate?

7. Who is your favorite historic character?

8. What was the last state (besides your home state) that you were in?

9. What, so far, has been the highlight of your year?

10. What are you studying right now?

11. What was the last thing you memorized?

Sorry for the strange assortment of questions - I'm not very good at starting conversations. :)

And so ends my first week of being gone. Have a great Wednesday - I did. :)