Day Tripping in Madrid y Toledo

Our final visa trip in pictures:

Ruins in Retiro Park.
The Crystal Palace in Retiro Park.
Fallen Angel in Retiro Park.
This was a free museum we to see. The building next to it was a mosaic of shrubs that completely covered the end of the building. It was quite impressive. The museum itself is cloaked in rusty metal for effect. I have a picture taken form the inside of the museum that gives you a better idea. The rusty metal was purely artistic. It is not part of the structure of the building!!

During our visit, the museum was displaying an exhibition of modern Chineese art.

Another exhibit.The beautiful staircase.
The rusty facade taken from inside of the museum

Hundred year old carousel door at the Ritz.
Mickey Mouse stops by for a visit in Spain (just outside the park).
Interesting Church architecture on the way back to our hotel.
Chris steps out and has black spaghetti. She felt like she was eating worms!!
Chris and Narene on the bullet train to Toledo.
City Wall and Gate.
Our little group, the Reeses, Irelands, Shepards and the Perry's from Samara.
Inside a big cathedral, with an amazing view of the city.
View of the City.
Quaint rooftops!!
Couldn't quite get this entire cathedral in the picture, so I improvised.
Betty Boop strikes again in Spain. She must be very popular here!!
Sam pretending to be asleep!! Actually, I was trying to get the picture while he was "at rest," but I woke him up, so he posed for this one. However, from the natural state of the pose you can tell he really had nodded off!!!
A head in the Metro. Some sort of exhibition. Sam and I got our pictures taken there and were chastised for touching the sculpture.
Chris and Greg on our way back to the hotel after our travels. This is in Retiro Park.

A Child is Born or Feeling a Little Lighter in Madrid

The blessed day has finally arrived. Oh, the wonder of the miracle of life--an occassion full of promise. What will become of this child?

On the one hand, there is hope that this little angel, who has just come from the presence of He who created all things, will find a path that will lead to joy in this life. A life full of service and benefit for his/her family and his/her fellowman. On the otherhand, there is another creature, with the same promise, who makes his/her way a path of destruction, who finds pleasure in preying upon the weak and the innocent. A person one who has mastered his/her craft, not without much study and practice. "Here a little, there a little, always willing to lighten your load," so the song goes (Master of the House from Les Miserables). One of the lowliest creatures in all humankind...the pickpocket.

This freak of human nature found his or her way onto the Metro in Madrid and despite precautions taken to zip up every pocket, an innocent was victimized. It was 9:00. The next stop was the airport terminal. What was not apparent to the victim at the time, was a sharp little bend in the track, that could be counted on to throw the unsuspecting passenger off balance. A circumstance that surely many have fallen victim to in the past. A nudge, at this instance, would not only go unquestioned; it would be expected. It was the perfect trap.

In an instant she found herself with an unquestionable confirmation that her passport had been taken, causing an unexpected nauseous feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. She dared not submit to what she was thinking about. Surely, she had misplaced it. But the zipper that had been secured just moments before, was now completely open. There could be no doubt; her passport was gone, along with her new Russian Visa, a credit card and 1,000 roubles. It was the beginning of what would turn out to be quite a trying day.

Immediately we set off for the U.S. Embassy to try to obtain an emergency passport. Uncle Sam came through in flying colors. Eight-two euros and three hours later we were on our way to the travel agency to see if we could not pursuade the agency to call up all of their powers of persuation to get the Russian Embassy to re-issue the visa, based on the former Letter of Invitation (LOI). The first word uttered from the agent's mouth, in his primitive English and a shake of his head, was "difficult." We pressed further and with the help of our office staff (who translated our case over the phone from Moscow/he was Russian speaking), he called his contact at the Embassy. When we heard words like Harashow and Ladna, even Chris and I knew we were making progress. Despite having a typed message on the new passport, explaining that the passport had been re-issued due to theft, we were instructed to go to the police station and obtain a more official affidavit. We hoped and got a purple stamp. (You know how the Russians like stamps.) We were back with our documents by 4:30 and we were told to return with 330 euros at 18:00. We had a quick bite of pizza with the Rees' and returned to claim Chris' passport with the new visa at the appointed hour. Now, we only needed new plane reservations and a driver in Moscow. Two phone calls later and the arrangements had been made. It was a team effort and there were a lot of prayers, and by 8:00 this morning, despite the obstacles, we were home, once again, in Moscow!!

Just a couple of months, prior to this incident, a couple who also lost one of their passports, were stuck in Spain for 20+ days, not because of the passport, but because their LOI didn't get processed correctly. It normally takes 3 to 4 weeks to obtain a Letter of Invitation, which would have been a disaster in our case, since we are just in the midst of organizing the Mission Presidents' Seminar, among a few other important items. For us, there was no guarantee that they would process the LOI twice!

We felt very blessed and are very happy to be home (in Moscow!!)

I will post tomorrow about the fun part of our trip...daytripping in Toledo.

A New Russia Upon a Hill

The following is an article published in the Moscow Times. Do you think this guy is serious? Fasten your seat belts!!

A New Russia Upon a Hill
12 January 2009
By Igor Panarin

[Igor Panarin, former analyst with the KGB, is dean of the international relations department at the Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Academy.]

The United States, which is at the epicenter of the global financial tsunami, will suffer the most damage in 2009. In a worst-case scenario that has a roughly 50 percent chance of coming true, the dollar and the entire U.S. economy will crash by November. As a result, the country's dire political and economic problems could lead to fierce competition between the states in which wealthier states will withhold funds from the federal government and threaten secession and civil war. This in turn could lead to disintegration of the country into six parts by the summer of 2010 as the leading foreign powers take their pieces of the fallen giant. Under this scenario, California and six western states would fall under Chinese influence; Alaska would go to Russia; Hawaii would go to Japan or China; 15 states in the Midwest and Great Plains would be under Canadian influence; Texas and eight other southern states would be under Mexican influence; and the eastern seaboard states might join the European Union.

Russia must take advantage of the U.S. crisis by expanding its influence and power both domestically and globally in the following areas:

•Pacific Doctrine

Russia needs regions that can produce breakthrough technological innovations, and Primorye is a leading candidate to fulfill this role. While preserving its military and political importance, Primorye should become a powerful financial and economic outpost in the Asia-Pacific region in the 21st century. By 2012, it can and should become one of the main centers of international business activity, a hub for investment and innovation.

The political future of Russia's leaders, as well as its ability to become a leader in innovation, will largely depend on whether Primorye's political elite can -- with Kremlin support -- adapt to the reality of world politics.

This primarily means supporting the concept of a fifth "I" -- intellect -- in addition to President Dmitry Medvedev's four I's of institutions, infrastructure, investment and innovation. This would entail developing a partnership between government and the private sector that will ensure Russia's position as a world leader.

•Former Soviet Republics

A U.S. collapse would lead to a political and military vacuum among former U.S. allies in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Russia should declare its intention to return to the foreign policies of Catherine the Great.

•The Middle East

Russia should start by building a strategic partnership with Turkey, which supported Russia in its war with Georgia in August. Russia should take over all of the former U.S. military bases on Turkish territory. In addition, Russia should take full advantage of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan by deploying forces from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to provide peace and stability.

•South Asia

Russia should try to become the main arbiter in the dispute between India and Pakistan. It would also make sense to include Iran and China in the settlement process.

•South America and the Caribbean

Moscow should focus on strengthening its ties and influence in Brazil, Venezuela and Cuba. Russia should direct colossal economic and military resources to those three countries.

The year 2010 should see the re-establishment of Russia's radar station at Lourdes in Cuba that Moscow abandoned in 2001 with 750 technicians and 2,000 troops. At a December meeting of leaders from 33 South American states -- which was held without the participation of the United States for the first time -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon proposed creating an organization called the Union of South American and Caribbean Basin States that would facilitate political and economic change on the continent. If such an organization is established, Russia should strive to become a strategic economic and informational-ideological partner.

By expanding its influence in the above areas, Russia can integrate Eurasia and strengthen its political, economic and military influence in the world. The U.S. decline offers Russia a golden opportunity to replace the United States as the world's leading superpower.

Wow!!

Five Suggestions to Fix our Economy

For months now, I have been observing the antics in the marketplace, just like everyone else, but I have not offered any solutions to the problems we are experiencing. So, today I am putting forth five simple ideas that I think would fundamentally change the economic landscape and put our economy on solid ground. Understanding these simple rules does not require a Phd in Economics, like Mr. Bernanke has, but it does requires some common sense. I invite others to share their ideas.

1. All credit card debt should be payable at the end of each month, in full. It is a convenience, not a way to spend money you don't have.

2.If you want to buy a house, you will need 20 percent down and the payment must not be more than 25 percent of your take home pay (remember those days!)

3. Home equity loans are only allowed for home improvements. Helocs are outlawed. (If you need money, sell your home and buy a samller one.)

4. Outlaw the securitization of mortages (CDOs). All loans remain on the balance sheet of the lender!! What a novel idea.

5. If you buy a stock, you must hold it for at least 30 daysbefore you can sell it(Bye-bye, day-traders and speculators).

Will this slow down our growth? I suspect it will, but whatever growth we are able to achieve will be real growth, not growth that results from artificial stimulus. It will be an economy built on old-fashion bedrock, not an economy built on sand.

O.K. enough on the economy; back to the mission!! Today we head for Madrid, for what will be our last visa trip. We will be home by April 1. Our replacements' calls have come late, but our visa and travel people are sure that they can get their visa on time to be in Russia by March 17. When we get back from Madrid, we will have our annual plan to complete, our annual report/video conference with the Council of the Twelve to prepare for and then the Seminar. I have performance appraisals to do for our office staff, General Conference meetings to schedule, and a little housekeeping to get ready for the new couple. Then its two weeks of training and transitioning and finally, packing, flying, arriving and settling!!!

We will be traveling to Madrid with the Rees' and the Ireland's. We will have one day trip we can take on Monday, which will probably be to Toledo, one of the ancient capitals of Madrid (Granada being the other one (when the Moors reigned).

Well, its time for me to get busy with decisionpoint. I have about 25 minutes to complete. These minutes will put me over 1,000 minutes in the last twelve months. My, how things have changed since we started using this software.

What Does the Rouble, the American Economy and Elder Shepard Have in Common

We are all going down!!

We are now getting 32.5 roubles to the dollar and on the street it is nearly 34r!! The market dropped back to 8100 before getting a lift from who knows where (maybe it was the demise of BAC or the third rescue of Citibank, or was it that sinking retail sales figure?) to settle in at about 8400. Elder Shepard was at, shall we just say, +190 and he is now within a hairsbreadth of 179!! Like the Rouble and the market, there is still plenty of room to drop!! My goal is 169!! Goodbye Russian hand-wrapped chocolates, American Snickers bars, and M&Ms during an internet movie!!

Today, I taught my 5th and final Gospel Doctrine class as a substitute. Next, week we will be in Madrid and then after that we may start up another Preach My Gospel class.

We both had a nice nap this afternoon. Chris is watching a Harry Potter movie on DVD and I have just finished reading the executive summary of an amazing document called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Program, the new stimulus program. The new administration has arrived just in time and given a blank check (howbeit written on an overdrawn account) to spend to their hearts content. Every program on every wish list ever created must be in this bill. Throw as much as you can against the wall. Surely, something will stick!! In truth, it is the mother of all pork. Somehow, I don't think our political leaders believe that the prior levels of consumption were unsustainable (that's on both sides of the aisle!). Surely, this package, which they warn us is only the beginning, will restore home values to their prior levels and then we can all go out and obtain more HELOC (home equity line of credit) loans and go on our merry spending way. Sheesh!!!

The First Vision

Today, we ventured forth to the office to do our Saturday duty. We accomplished a lot. Everything looks so organized. Nobody will want to use the closets and cupboards for fear they might messed them up...yeah right!! In two weeks, we may be right back where we were, but at least we can say we tried.

I was able to find some quiet time in my office to study my lesson for Gospel Doctrine tomorrow. The topic is the First Vision. In the Church, this relates to Joseph Smith's first vision of God the father and his son Jesus Christ.

As a young boy in his fifteenth year, Joseph was disturbed by the religious commotion in his community. He spoke of the conflict that existed between the preachers of various faiths. Everybody claimed that their religion was the true religion. At the time, he was inclined toward the Methodist faith; his mother and some of his family had already joined the Presbyterian Church, because of their desire to be baptised.

On a spring day in 1820, Joseph retired to a grove of trees not far from his home to ask God which church he should join, having been impressed with a scripture that he had read in James 1:5, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God..."

This was his experience written by his own hand:

Joseph Smith History 1
15 After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.

16 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

This is the beginning of Momonism. At this very moment, the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times was ushered in. This was the beginning of the Restoration of the Church that Jesus Christ had established on the earth, nearly 2,000 years ago. The Great Apostasy was over. Revelation was on the earth again, as it had been foretold by the prophets of old:

2 Thessalonians 2: 2-3

2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first...

Amos 8-11
11 ¶ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:

12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.

Act 3:21
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

The events that followed, according to Oliver Cowdery, a young man who served as Joseph's scribe when he translated the Book of Mormon, "were days never to be forgotten--to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude in this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated...the history or record called the Book of Mormon.

So, tomorrow, we will study these events and how they have affected mankind and our families.

The Russian Saturday Workday

The government giveth (time off after the first of the year) and the government taketh away (make up for lost time by assigning everybody to work on a Saturday or a Sunday). So tomorrow is our turn to work on a Saturday. I think last year we were on our visa trip and missed this wonderful opportunity. So tomorrow, we don our gay apparel (jeans) and go to the office to clean cupboards and closets!!

Next week we leave on our visa trip. This time we get to go with the Rees's and it turned out that we get to go with the Irelands, as well. So the six of us, I am sure, will have a grand time in Madrid!! We always have a day for a day trip. We just have to figure out where we want to go!

A word about the market (I need a little space here to blow off some steam!). It looks like the market is celebrating today, ghastly amounts of previously undisclosed losses at Merrill Lynch, which is now owned by Bank of America (BAC). So the BAC stock is down to a 17-year low and the market is up 100 points because the government has stepped in with over 400 billion dollars to bailout BAC for the second time and Citibank (C) for the third time. We are now approaching 9 trillion dollars off monies committed to the bailout and stimulating the economy. This is all in the past 12 months. My questions is, when is enough, enough? Is there no limit? We are definately entering a brave new world brought on by the unprecedented response by our government to the Recession of 2008-2009!! The scariest part is there is only one opposing voice that I have heard (one of the Fed Governors). Everyone else is heading for the cliff in unison.

Have a great day!!

All Quiet in Moscow

The markets may be in freefall, but things are pretty quite in Moscow. We had a small group for FHE this week, but we had a great time, just the same. It has warmed up considerably, so now we have the dreaded ice to contend with in our comings and goings.

This is a 6-day week in Russia. Last week the Russians had to work Sunday and this week they have a make up day on Saturday. It's a little strange to have the government tell you what days you have to work.

The rouble is devaluing daily. Good for us and bad for the Russians. At its strongest, the rouble was 23.2r to the dollar. Now, it is 31.7r to the dollar. More roubles for less dollars means our fixed expenses like rent has gone way down. But we were surprised to see that the price of a 60-pass metro ticket went from 580r to 850r!! I am told that the same is happening in the grocery stores too. Thirty dollar a barrel oil is not a Russian's best friend. Of course, $147 a barrel oil wasn't our best friend either!!

We got our signed contracts from the hotel, so we are good to go with the Metropol Hotel. We have worked for this one. We hope a splendid time will be had for all...

Pushkin Museum Revisited

This picture , from our visit last weekend to the Contemporary History Museum. I just thought it might convey a little about how Russians like their icons SUPERSIZED!

A major hammer and sickle!

I forgot to mention to mention that we had a new Russian experience the other day (actually twice in one day!!), when we were traveling to the hospital. The metro actually runs above ground between just two stops on the Green Line. It is always nice to look out the window and see a little bit of Moscow when you are traveling. Otherwise, we feel mostly like moles. But what was so unusual about this trip is it began snowing inside the car. It is not so hard to figure out. Each car has a series of scoops on the roof that intake air from outside which cirulates in the car and goes out an exhaust scoop, also on the top of the car (the opening pointing toward the last car). What makes it unusual, is that since the metro is rarely above ground, the effect is effectively nuetralized underground.

On Saturday, we made our way to the Pushkin fine art museum and Ismayla to see if I could find some goodies to bring home. We went to see the Turner Exhibit at the museum. Turner was an English painter who lived in the 18th and 19th century. I enjoyed a few of his pieces, but overall I was not that impressed.

Chris's favorite floral painting at the Pushkin. This was not done by Turner!

The rest of the museum was fun enough. For Sam and Narene and all of the other seniors, this was their first time to visit the Pushkin. It made Chris and I feel a little more senior, when we discovered that we were the only couple to have been there before. We went with the Price's over a year ago!!

The Pieta. One of hundreds of plaster copies of classic sculpture. It like being in a number of museums at once. I don't think they missed a thing!

It was very cold day. Actually, it was about as cold as it has been since we got here. We didn't last too long at Ismayla. We defrosted our fingers over the shashleek pits and grabbed some good bar-b-que for lunch (pork and chicken on a stick). Then we went inside to eat, where there was no heat. It was very cold inside, as I am sure the pictures shown below will convey.

Chris blowing off some steam!!

Sam and Narene feeling like they were back in South Dakota!!

From Friday night, Sam and Narene seeking inspiration from the wonderful view outside our window(you know, of course, theirs is much more impressive!) I guess they didn't get much (inspiration, that is). A few minutes later they were the victims of a very cunning Rummicube strategem.

Today, we went to church and I taught my fourth gospel doctrine class as a substitute. Then I was asked to teach next week as well!! Oh well, it keeps me off the streets!

It was not quite as cold today as it was yesterday. Nice little snow fall to walk on. We were home by 2:00, had a nice dinner and a long winter's nap (do I dare confess: 3 hours!) It was wonderful.

I wonder if Chris is up for a game of Rummicube?!

We Sang Like Angels

Our little group in the snow taken after our visit, just out side the hospital.
We were on our way by 9:00 a.m. this morning, for our 11:00 a.m. appointment at the hospital. Sister Marina Kharlamova was waiting for us at the metro stop at 10:45. Last year we sang two programs to the elderly women of the hospital. Today, we had 4 performances, this time three groups of women and one group of men.

After a few opening remarks (we rotated this assignment), we began with Jingle Bells, then a few Christmas carols and ended with I Am a Child of God (in Russian) and Silent Night.

A few observations: First, they were most appreciated. One little gal kept saying Happy New Year (Marina told she had been a biologist). We were impressed with her English!! Others cheered us for being Americans. Second, when you look out over the group (20-25 in each group) you can't help but notice that none of the women wear make up. Just freshly scrubbed faces, all beautiful. I remembered one lady from last year. I made a point to shake her hand and wished her Snovim Godom!! In fact, I shook every one's hand in that opening session. My eyes were full of tears (I am not sure where all the emotion came from). I could hardly sing the last verse of Silent Night. Each one wished us a Happy New Year, some blessed us, all smiled, their eyes big and bright.

After our performance we passed out our bags of candy. Some were just popping one after the other. Some with no teeth were a little more challenged, but they didn't let a little thing like that keep them eating their chocolates.

When we sang songs like Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer or Frosty the Snowman, Marina would tell them the story in Russian after we sang the song. They liked the stories! Marina already has other ideas for return engagments. She would like the Seniors to do another program at Easter. I am sure they will.
Marina Kharlamova, our leader!!

We also visited many who were bedridden and could not come to where we were singing. We shook their hands, wished them a Happy New Year and gave them each a bag of chocolates. It is fun playing Santa Claus. Wouldn't it be wonderful if our bags were stuffed with dollar bills that they could use to buy some new clothes or have their hair done.

Marina commented to me with tears in her eyes, that one of the sisters related to her that she wished us twice the blessing they had just received.

I talked with one male patient, who was quite elderly, who spoke perfect English. I could not even hear an accent. I asked him when learned how to speak English. He said it was 18 years ago. His body was trembling, steadily, as we conversed.

The seniors were really into it. Each carefully taking the hands of each patient and wishing them Happy New Year. Clark said he was doing pretty good, until he saw me.

One group after the other. It just got better. Finally, we took our picture in the lobby with Marina in the center of the group. I kept back one bag of chocolates for her. The seniors all thanked her for all that she did to organize the event for us.

In the lobby of the hospital.

It takes a little effort, but the giver always gets more than the receiver. That is how it should be, and that is the way it was today.

Later, we went to lunch as a group. Sam and Narene then followed us home and were playing Rummicube, when our landlords arrived, with mother and younger sister. It was our day to pay the rent. They are a very sweet family. Their visit was more like having company than transacting business. It only left us time to play one game, but tomorrow is another day!!

Rudolf, Frosty and Jingle Bells

We just finished our first week back in the office with 14 video conferences with our mission presidents and one day of Area Presidency meetings. I should say we attempted 14 video conferences, we had to surrender 4 video conferences for four telephone conferences due to difficulty with our equipment. Nevertheless, it was our first effort with every mission and we learned a little bit more about how to operate the system. You can imagine the blessing of conducting conferences from our conference room with one of 14 missions spread out over 11 time zones, not to mention Salt Lake City!! The Area Presidency will move on without me tomorrow for a another round of meetings, as I will be traveling with the Seniors and Marina Kharlamova, from our office (our translator and event coordinator), to the hospital for the elderly women. We will sing, but we won't dance!! But we shall bear 120 bags of chocolates for our audience.
Charity Never Faileth...this simple phrase is the battle cry of members of the Relief Society, worldwide. Marina, is the Relief Society president in the Moscow District. Seen here, on the day of Office Christmas party with Lidia and Sister Nearon in the background, Marina is always serving. She is the one who organized the activity that we will participate in at the hospital. She also helped pick out our bags, ribbons and chocolates for the presents.

The New Years/Christmas season runs through the end of this week, with Christmas officially being celebrated on January 7.

We will sing a few Christmas carols, I am in a Child of God (in Russian) and a number of popular Christmas carols, such as Rudolf (a fine Russian name) the Red Noised Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells and Silver Bells, to mention just a few. The program is to sing to groups of 20 or 30 people at a time, moving from floor to floor, until our candy runs out!!

We did this last year and it was very special. Afterwards, we will retreat for lunch and then its back to the apartment by 4:00 to pay our rent...just two payments to go!!!

I paid my last internet bill today. Based on the favorable exchange rate that we are enjoying, the internet is only costing about 20 dollars a month for high speed service.

Good-Bye to the Curbishleys

We had fun tonight. We had a four-part Family Home Evening. Dinner, then a few spoken words by the Curbishleys (our guests of honor, who will be leaving after their next road trip to 4 different missions), dessert, and putting together 130 packages of assorted Russian chocolates and candies! Our production line would have been a model that GM, F or Chrysler could follow. Here is a video of the group introducing themselves and then you will see a video of our service project. The chocolates go to a nursing home for elderly women. We will perform for them on Friday.

The coat rack.

The production department.

We fed 16 people in our little apartment. You can live with less!!

We were all quite cozy!!

Back to Work

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I will be in the office with the Area Presidency. Chris will continue with her holiday. I will rejoin her on Friday!! Then the following Monday, everybody in Moscow returns to work!!

We have enjoyed the downtime. I was able to get my antibiotics today. It only took two pharmacies to get it. So, the regimen is hot pads twice a day, pills three times a day, washing and topical antibiotic twice a day. It is still very red. It is too early to see if the antibiotics are having any effect. The good news is it doesn't seem to have gotten any worse and there is no pain. We will do what the doctor ordered and see if we can nip this in the bud. I do have a good excuse for going into the office tomorrow without a white shirt, though. The cyst is right at the collar line, which was aggravating it. Since we will be doing video conferences and I will be out of the line of sight, I should be OK!

Chris made some meatballs today with a little bit of sweet and sour sauce. Very good indeed! We are both on diets and doing well for the first 5 days of the year. No bread or sweets have touched my lips. Chris is doing well too! I think I would rather be at work, because there is less temptation there.

Tomorrow night we will celebrate the Curbishley's mission. They are heading home in a few days. They are a wonderful couple. They have been on 5 missions, three in Russia. They are two of the chosen ones. Chris is hosting the event. We will have chili and salads and, of course, some will have desserts. Chris made chocolate chip pumpkin cookies today. It will be a test of our resolve!!

Yesterday Chris and I played Rummicube and we were a draw if you count how many times each apponent goes out. But unfortunately, the game is scored by the number of points you catch your apponent with. In this case, it was a rather lopside victory for me. I am sure the next game we play will be Scrabble. She has established herself as the queen of Scrabble in our family. I have won once while we have been in Moscow, but lately that has been a infrequent event.

If we haven't mentioned it, Sarah and Armando got their fixer-upper house. This should keep Armando off the streets. The good news is that Armando's family and friends have lots of skills painting, carpeting, tiling, taping and bedding, etc. I am sure he will call in all of his favors. Eden is very excited about getting her new house, and has already picked out paint for her bedroom. Max has new paint too, but I'm not sure he is as excited!

Grandpa Jack and Zack are trying to get the motorhome back to the house to charge up the batteries. The coach batteries are pretty dead. They are going to try to charge the coach batteries with my charger, while the running the car engine. I have done it a number of times before and it should work. They only need enough power to retract the jacks, so that they can drive it home. Then Zack will be off to Lewisville and school at UNT and Armando has consented to start the motorhome up once a month, until we get home! I am sure we will have to replace batteries when we get back, but hopefully we can do that prior to our first trip, so that we can go with fresh batteries.

That's about it from here. All of your best to you. I suspect everybody was back to work today and that traffic was miserable. Just be careful.

Early Risers

We started church at 9:30 a.m. today. We have to leave the apartment by a little after 8:00 a.m. It was actually light outside, so that was good, but it was sure cold. And when we got back this afternoon, it was even colder. You can't count on the day time bringing warmer weather!!

I had my incision checked out by Elder Rees at church. It was a little red, so he going to put me on an antibiotic, just as soon as he learns the Russian name for Keflex!! He has a computer program to help with that. I have also been applying a hot press, starting today. I managed to put it on hot enough, so that now my neck matches my cut!!

We both just got up from a nap!! (Is there much in this world more indulgent?) Chris passed out first, followed by me. But we are up now, bright and cheery!! Chris is talking to her dad on Vonage.

Later we will play a Rummicube.

Braving the Cold

It is 5 F outside and -12 F (real feel), but that doesn't stop the seniors!! Well, we'll see!! This is the coldest it has ever been for an outing. We have a couple of places to consider. One is the Modern History Museum (indoors), which takes you from the revolution to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Another is Kolomensaya, an outdoor medieval looking village, with all wooden structures. The last choice is their Science and Technology Museum, with is also indoors. Where do you think we will end up? Anybody's guess!! Sam also wants to take a peek at two new metro stations at the end of the blue line. I think we will start there.

If my fingers are not frozen, I will give you a full report later today!!

Well, it was plenty cold, but not unbearable. We cancelled our trip on the blue line to look at metro stations. Sam and Narene and Clark and Renee had accomplished that yesterday afternoon. So we proceeded to pick up the Masons, Irelends, and the Reeses and headed for Kolomenskaya, the wrong metro stop. The place we were going was called Kolomnesaya, but we needed to take the next stop on the metro to get there. A quick call to David Yorgesen confirmed our suspicions. It was but a few trains later (about 5 minutes) and we were joined by the Curbishleys at Kishmirskaya. When we came out of the metro, it was just about 200 yards away. I was looking for redemption. Unfortunately, after we walked over to the little village, we discovered that it was closed for the winter. But the seniors are an optimist group. So, we gathered for a photo in front of the fence surrounding the buildings and took a picture. We even commemorate our failures!!

A few moments later we were off to Tverskaya to see the Contemporary Russian History Museum. It covers Russian history form the late 1800s to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. We have walked past it several times before, but did not know what it was. It was very interesing and only cost 100 roubles a person to get in. We spent at least a couple of hours there, before heading for Arbatsky so that Beryl Curbishley could finish some shopping and so that we could eat lunch. We chose to eat at My MYs (Moo Moos). Yes. We were greated by a cow at the entrance of the restaurant. Moo Moo's is a Russian cafeteria. We didn't order anything too weird and we were quite satisfied, for a price that was about half again as much as our standard, McDonalds.

We had a fun time. Chris was having a little difficulty with her geography, but other than that she was sharp as a tack!! (No need for incriminating evidence!!)

Chris is fixing dinner and its time for me to study my lesson for tomorrow. I will try to post a few pictures later.

Under the Knife or Pain in the Neck

We just got home from the Rees's. Elder Rees is our medical advisor. The doctor lanced the cyst that I had on the back of my neck. We did things the old fashioned way. We boiled the operating utensils. Then I laid my head on my folded arms on a table and he went to work. Can't feel a thing right now. I have Bacitracin and hydrogen peroxide to wash with for the next few days. No stitches; he preferred to leave it open so that it would heal better from the inside out. Chris held my hand, then forgot about me, as she became more interested in the procedure!! (Just kidding, but she did look!!)

Happy New Year

Jan 2, 2009 sunrise. The sun just clears the apartment buildings on a clear, beautiful, cold day in Moscow. It is 9:30 a.m. The sun will not get much higher than our twin sister apartment across the way. We don't get much sun, but we sure enjoy what we do get.

I started this post yesterday, but I didn't get very far.

Yesterday, I spent most of the morning balancing checking accounts and preparing end of year financial reports for the tax man. How boring!!

Later in the day we had the Irelands and Nearons for dinner. Then we retired to the Nearons for a movie, The Queen.

Light snow yesterday and a bit warmer. Today the weather forecast says if feels like -2 F.

Below are a few pictures from our New Years Eve celebration and day trip we took with the Irelands to Red Square last weekend. As you will see, Moscow is reallying getting into the season!

Napoleon looking for someone to have their picture taken with him. Chris and Greg with the Snow Maiden ice sculpture.

A little tyke on a Russian sleigh ride just outside of Red Square. That's the Metropol Hotel in the background, the site of this year's Interim Mission Presidents' Seminar!!

Ferris wheel with no motor!!

Sam next to temporary Renock (selling Christmas crafts) outside of Red Square.
To stay warm, we decided to go into National History Museum. It was quite impressive. What was most impressive, if you look a little closer, they had a replica of the U.S. Declaration of Independence!! I wonder if V.P. knows this!!

Chris and Greg inside the Museum.

Chris and Narene after our tour of the History Museum.

History Museum at night.

Chris and Greg warming up in the Gum department store.

The Gum ice skating rink, looking a little magical, with the history museum in the background.

Red Square was closed until 6:00 pm. We were among the first to enter.

Father Frost looking for someone to have their picture taken with him!!

Outside the theatre before the performance.

The Nutcracker Ballet!

Sam, at intemission, happy to be in the theater. He forgot his tickets...again!!! Fortunately, Narene was able to sweet talk an usher to let her come in without a ticket. Sam made good time though. He only missed about 15 minutes of the ballet--less time than he missed once he got there--when he fell asleep!! The last senior moments of the year. I wonder who will author the first senior moments of the new year!!

Linda Rees with Chris and Narene.

On our way to dinner! Chris seen here with Linda and Stephen Rees.
At the American Grill Restaurant.
The second half of or group.
Snovim Godom. Happy New Years sign Moscow style!!

After dinner the Shepards, Masons and Gregorys headed back to the Irelands for snacks and fireworks. We left at 9:00; Masons stayed until 1:00!! Sorry, I was dead asleep by the time the fireworks began. Chris says they ended at about three in the morning.