From Darkness, Layers and Snow -To Sunlight, Sandals and Flowers

When summer finally got here, it was hard to believe the transformation that took place all around you – that is after all the mud, slush and puddles diapered. Summer came in with more sunshine, warmer weather and – biggest change of all – longer days! I think the days are getting shorter again – but for a while there in June the sun would come up some time around 3:30 or 4am (I not for sure ;)) and go down after 11pm (now, that I do know!).

You might not even be able to tell that these are pictures of the same places!

In mid May around here, they figure it’s warm enough to shut off everyone’s heat (since we’re all on “government” heat in our apartment buildings) – this would be fine, if the weather didn’t go back down to 30 F at night!! Needless to say, the wool blankets were well loved! It actually wasn’t until a week ago that I stopped wearing a hooded sweatshirt to bed.

Another exacting summer event – is the turning off of everyone’s hot water so they can “clean the pipes” and do repairs. Again, this wouldn’t be so bad…if it was actually hot outside, it was only for a few days, and the water out of the tap didn’t feel like it came out of a glacier! (You seriously lose all feeling in your extremities after about 30 seconds.) Thankfully, they turned our hot water on again on Saturday (after boiling water and often sporting a pony-tail for 14 days) . . . though the announcement outside our apartment building said it’s not over – there’s still 8 more days of glacier-bliss to come!

Now that the rain has let up (I think it was like 3 weeks or rain back in June) the bugs are coming out! I haven’t noticed many misquotes but little nasty gnats are EVERYWHERE and bug spray doesn’t even faze ‘em! If you stand still for 10 seconds they attack your head – who knew those little buggers could bight!?! Good thing I’m already used to them living in our apartment! (See Jan entry “Babushka Babblings: Flies, Ice Cream and Potty-training” and Dec entry “Miss Scarlet did it in the kitchen without any weapons”)

I think it’s time I share some more of the blessings of summer . . . I think I’ll just list my top 10:

10. going running in the morning (and not having to wear a coat, worry about ice, snow and it being dark)

9. not having to blow dry my hair before I leave the house in order to keep from getting yelled at

8. seeing beautiful flowers and less trash (much of which was covered up by grass and plants)

7. eating fresh greens and vegetables from Baba T's dacha

6. painting my toe nails knowing that they will actually be seen

5. walking on paths that I didn’t know where there before (since they where covered with 3 foot of snow)

4. going to the dacha with Baba T

3. getting a fresh bouquet of flowers from the dacha every week (every week a new flower is “featured”)

2. eating a bowl of strawberries every lunch and dinner (and I’m still not tired of them!!

1. NOT wearing tights (the Russian version of long underwear)!!!Baba T. has been bringing a ton of strawberries back from her dacha - a basket like this 3 times a week! It's interesting how we will feast on one thing from the garden for 2 or 3 weeks and then that's it (like a month of "green soup" - made from ground grass and weeds followed by 2 weeks of sour wild berries, 4 weeks of radish salad and now strawberries! I wonder what will be next!)

Here is my bouquet Baba T. picked for me for this week (I'm sad that I haven't been taking pictures all along - they have all been different, beautiful and smell great too!)