Dear everybody. This is a sad message today. A week ago our house got on fine in the middle of day and was burned. We all weren’t home, except for our BELOVED dog. They couldn’t safe him. I dont want to say much as we all are in a deep grief. We loved that dog and everyone had a special love for him. He is a pure gold and he is unreplaceble. I had so many stories about him I put on Facebook and I planned to do much more…Speaking of house itself-everything was burned according to fire people. I haven’t been inside yet. I had all my memories of kids when they babies, videos, photos …it’s unreplaceble as well. I also have a novel already written -kids story about dogs I was working for 5 years. It was saved on computer, which also was in house. I torture myself with questions Why? What if…and I know, it’s not right thing to do. We should be thankful no one was in a house. And we all think that if only dog will survive we would be very happy despite of house lost…We always will love our Riley. It was a week ago and I am thankful for family and friends who supported us in this difficult time. Neighbors opened GoFundme account and help with all possible issues, many people talked to me since that time. I very appreciate it. I was not sure I wanted to write about it in my blog, but it is too big to miss plus I have people following me who is not in any other media. Please, pray for us. I believe it will help. We all dont take it easy. We need your prayers. Thank you. With Love.
Flowers with History on Mother’s Day
Today is Mother’s Day in the States. They celebrate it here like we celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8. The only difference is that 8 of March is a day off, but Mother’s day is always on the second Sunday in May. However, we are always happy to celebrate Mother’s day again. And again. After all, however many times we celebrate this day is never going to be enough, since our mothers are our everything (and even more) and we can only hope that our children will be able to say something like that about us. Now for a little story, very suitable for this nice day. In the photo I post peonies. However, these are not simple peonies, but flowers with a history. They grow under the windows of my neighbor and friend, Ansley. Several years ago Ansley bought a house in my neighborhood. At Christmas, she received a postcard from former owners of the house, where they asked her not to dig up the land near the garage windows. The postcard came very timely, as the husband of Ansley, a great lover of beautiful landscape designing, had already set his sights on this part of the yard and decided what to plant there. From the letter of former owners, it turned out that when the former landlady gave birth to her daughter and came from the hospital to this house, her mother presented peony bulbs, and they planted them in the sunniest place under the windows…. Since that time every year on this place bushes grow and they bloom on Mother’s Day. Ansley, of course, waited for the spring and it happened: beautiful bushes grew up and blossomed with pale pink buds on Mother’s Day. Ansley has two wonderful children: a boy and a girl. Now every year Ansley along with the children carry flowers to the neighbors and congratulate everyone: the flowers are so heavy that the bushes are leaning towards the ground under the weight of the flowers, and she cuts them in dozens every day. I can’t describe how much these flowers inspire me: I photograph flowers, I put them in different vases, I am about to eat them, – how much I enjoy it. And here I give them to you virtually! Happy Mother’s Day, everyone!
10 Tips to Travel Azores
- Azores is the new must-have on your dream vacation list. It’s a nirvana for nature lovers, but don’t underestimate the cultural life which is blooming there. For example, on Terceira Island there is a wonderful history museum you can easily spend a half day in and great musical events (ask me details if interested).
- Don’t try to speak Spanish in Portugal. None. Nada. If you know some Spanish words and assume that the Portuguese will understand you – forget it. They probably will understand you, but it won’t do you any good. They don’t like to speak Spanish and don’t appreciate others confusing them with Spaniards. You’d be better off by gesticulating with your hands and smiling.
- When travelling Portugal, stay in a Pousada at least once. A Pousada is a hotel located inside of a real medieval castle of …
- Try seafood anywhere you go. It’s all as fresh as it can be. If the waiter tells you about the catch of the day, trust them/ It will be the best catch you can have
- You don’t need to run far to catch an amazing sunset. There are tons of places (Miraduro in Portuguese) specifically created to enjoy the view
- Everyone who goes there starts by checking out the volcanos: there are different types of volcanos -horizontal, vertical, old or acting. See them all
- A local travel group created a lot of hiking trails of varying difficulty. Ask about maps in tourist offices or your hotel.
- There are no wild animals you to avoid, only domestic bulls. Locals say that be careful especially of those who are alone. Run fast or climb a tree.
- Pineapples are grown in the Azores natives. There are a lot of local cheeses and other dairy products. As well as wine. Don’t leave the islands without trying them
- The Portuguese have a sweet tooth. There are signature desserts you have to try such as donna Amelia cake and the famous Pastel de Nata. Don’t forget to order coffee Galao (espresso and steamed milk). It is served in a tall glass
The final advice is: Don’t waste your time, don’t google it! Just go there!
The Azores: 50 Shades of Green Islands
When I first heard about the Azores, I didn’t know where it was. As a person who travels extensively, I felt ashamed. I had to google it. When I saw the pictures, I was mesmerized in front of the computer, such lush greens and deep blues. When we hear the word island, we subconsciously think-beach vacation and scenery, maybe a sunset over the water. Some beach scenery Continue reading “The Azores: 50 Shades of Green Islands”
Happy New Year: a Year of Dog
Dear all, Happy New Year! We had such a huge New Year party in Russian way, that it took me some time to recover. According to Chinese Horoscopes, this 2018 is the Year of the Dog. All my family are Big Dog Lovers. I grew up with dogs and I love to have them around. I sincerely think that dogs combined in them all the best humans qualities. For several years we babysit different dogs (I have several posts about it) , but we didn’t had our own. My son begged for that, but with our intensive travel schedule, I was hesitating to have a dog. However, we always keep saying to him “later, one day, we’ll see”. So, after all trials with different kind of friends’ dogs, we finally decided to take our own. We simply ran out of excuses for our son. We came to Atlanta Humane society to find a dog for us. My son saw one, dragged us towards his cage, and we all fell in love with him at first site. Despite the fact he was only 7 months old, he already had a history. He was found as a baby and adopted by someone, when he was 2 month old. However, his “family” returned him when he was 7 months old. The same day we met him. He looked very sad and scared of everything. I had a lot of concerns why his family returned him. Maybe he was not house trained? Maybe aggressive? We didn’t know. I knew it was risky to take him right away, since you can’t return dog again – it would be really cruel. But we followed our instinct and took him with us. We changed his name (it was probably fifth time because we didn’t know his previous name, only Humane society one), bought him toys and bed and took him home…
… It happened 3 years ago. Now, our dog is a spoiled baby. We love him and he is a part of the pack. He knows it. He still have a separation issue, and cry when we leave him even for a ten minutes, but we are working on that. He is our little philosopher, looking at life with his deep dog’s look.
This year is a Year of Dog. I wish you all to be surrounded by people with the best dogs’ qualities: faithfulness, dedication and kindness, by people who love you without any reason, no matter how do you look, and always ready to forgive you. Happy New Year!
Labor Day is over
Labor Day weekend is over. First time I didn’t go anywhere. Before, we always tried to go somewhere far to catch the last summer fun. (For example, last year we flew to Budapest, Hungary-we bought tickets at 10 AM for 5PM flight the same day). Well, this year Continue reading “Labor Day is over”
Theater Culture in Russia
On March 27 was the World Theater Day. From early childhood, I love theaters. In past, I lived in front of theater and always watched crowds and actors to go in and from work and went to almost every play. I also played in school theater (of course-who doesn’t).Theater is a big part of Russian culture, and I really miss it in the United States. Of course, if you are in New York or San-Francisco, you probably will have enough to feed your theatric curiosity, but not everywhere in the US. When I go to St. Petersburg during summer, on the second day after arrival I run to Continue reading “Theater Culture in Russia”
Happy Old Russian New Year!
Today is Old Russian New Year. 
One more opportunity to make New Year resolution, make a wish and watch “Goluboi Ogonek”, and everyone’s favorite ” Irony of Fortune”, if you miss any of that at the New Year. Happy Old Russian New Year!
Good news from Russia
Here is some good news. I understand that in the ocean of problems our world is experiencing right now, this is just a tiny drop, small sip, but still – good news is a good news. Have you ever thought that a little dog can be brave enough to fight with a bear? I am sure neither dog, nor his owners would expect that, but our pets can sometimes surprise us in unusual way. I bet Mark Twain knew that when he said “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” http://blog.fido4ever.com/brave-dachshund-fights-off-grizzly-bear-to-save-two-little-humans/
Happy Halloween!
I like Halloween. I like it for orangy, spicy, colorful attitude, fun preparations and sweets generously distributed at any corner. It also gives me an excuse not to clean the spider web above my front door for two weeks or so. That’s a real perk. Despite the tradition, I don’t Continue reading “Happy Halloween!”
Marriage With A Foreign Accent 