Adjusting

Letter time again! Looks like rain outside, and the baby is taking a nap, so I might as well write up a report, even though it?s technically only been a couple of hours since I actually sent that last letter. We?ve got to wait until tomorrow before we can actually pay the ISP for another months? usage here, so Natasha let us send from her account ? thanks, Natasha :) So, I sent the last letter out but have not checked email, as the connection wasn?t quite feeling up to it.

Like I said, it looks like rain, and hopefully it really will. It was again particularly warm today, and like I described before ? dusty. We were walking around town this afternoon with Natasha, and picked up some books and learning toys for Leilani. She?s not ready for them yet, but since we?re only here once in a great while we have to plan ahead. We?re trying to teach her English and Russian at the same time, and so far it?s working well; she responds equally to both languages and answers in both, too. A couple of days ago she was non-stop with the ?what?s this?? and pointing at everything.

Time just flew by this afternoon, too. I think most of it went to the walk, as of course one has to walk everywhere here ? a good thing, really, as it keeps you more fit. Which is also important because it?s all too easy to eat more waffle-cookies here than you initially intend to. If you ever get to Ukraine, you just have to try these things; there?s absolutely nothing like them in the States ? even the imported waffle cookies that you can buy at Russian grocery stores. They?re just not the same. (My family has requested that we bring back as many as possible.)

This next part continues the next day: No, it didn?t rain, and it feels worse because of it. But no matter, we had a lot of things to get done ? business-type stuff, no need to bore you with it ? and we did. Still haven?t found out about going to the Crimea, although we?ve looked at some maps and Elena has a place in mind to go first.