On this cold, rainy, windy day, the first heavy
snowflakes of the season danced among the raindrops then disappeared before
they hit the ground.
We can't pretend it's summer anymore - not even Indian Summer. It's been a cold, drizzly week. When it rains, the streets fill with water and there are puddles everywhere. There are no storm gutters to drain the water away. When it rains for one day, the puddles stay for a week, and everything turns to mud. The cars spash muddy water as they pass. Sometimes it's impossible to cross a street without slogging through some mud to get around a puddle. The cuffs of my slacks are muddy when I arrive at work. It's that time of year here.
But there is a wonderful detail on these days that makes it all seem just so normal and routine. Whenever I enter a public building on a messy day, there is a basket of little disposable "shower caps" for my shoes, so I don't track in. How civilized!
I'm ready for winter now. The sooner the better. It's funny how a few messy days have changed my perspective on the seasons. Summer is over. Freeze up the mud and cover the ground with a beautiful white blanket of snow. Please.
Hi Steve, I'm posting from the computer on Neptune Rd next to Fish Lake, in costume as a Bedouin woman, as I look at the photos of your students and their Halloween costumes - very cool makeup and costumes! How long until the snow starts? Do you have sufficiently warm clothing and hats? We miss you here but are enjoying your blogs from Russia!
ReplyDeletexoxo Shawn
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteI am sure it is going to snow soon because each year, on November 7 (the anniversary of the revolution), we had snowstorms in Voronezh. We (John, Christie, and I) were talking about you today, and I was wondering if there are still bath houses for the public to bathe and use the sauna. Have you seen any of those buildings? I loved the sauna, and we could get wonderful massage too from massage therapists.
We think about you and miss you,
Aniko.
Aniko,
ReplyDeleteWe've already had a couple of little "snows" but nothing has accumulated yet. The gym I go to here has a nice sauna, but I haven't heard of a bath house. I'll have to ask around. A massage sounds wonderful!