Alex's new favorite colors

So last night Alex announced that she has new favorite colors. Red and green. Being the time of year that it is, and being the Jew that I am (and she is, although she doesn't understand anything about it yet) I hold my breath after asking her why those colors.

The answer: because those are the colors apples are.

That's my girl! Well, that's actually more like Terry's girl, but why quibble.

Wordless Wednesday

T-minus-not-enough-days

until my language test. It's next week. My Russian teacher today gave me a mock interview, guessing at the types of questions I may get on the Real Thing. After incorrectly conjugating the very first verb I ever learned, then making the same wrong-case mistake with one of the most common words in conversational Russian three times in a row, I have decided this: I need more exercise and meditation, and not necessarily more studying.

And if the exam goes as badly as things went today, I can always hope and pray the removal of the grandfathering clause that lets me get my points at a mere level 2 rather than 3 waits another 6 months, although the rumors are growing that it is imminent.

Gratitude Last

On my last November Gratitude posting, I am grateful to have access to technology in order to send my thoughts and ideas into the world; education to enable me to think about and write about concepts at all, and even better that what I put down is generally legible to other humans; consistent electricity; the freedom to access whatever web sites I like (well sort of, a bunch of USA sites won't let me in with my Russian IP. It's probably better that Target won't let me in overseas, it's bad enough when I'm home); and a warm house to blog from. With November being such a damp, dark, gray and dreary month, it's nice to remind myself of how good it is.

Gratitude #27

Today I am thankful that my dishwasher broke. Sounds counter-intuitive? Read on:  The problem with the dishwasher was a pipe that couldn't be replaced or repaired, so GSO gave us a new (well, sitting in the warehouse, exactly the same as the old) dishwasher. But the new one had one life changing difference - it does not signal the end of a cycle with a blaring wake-me-from-a-dead-sleep beep. As people who routinely fill the machine by the end of the day and need the clean spoons and bowls the next morning, thus requiring a run around bedtime, this difference is blessed. 

Wordless Wednesday

Gratitude #26

Today I am grateful for how much Alex loves to learn. I'm talking crazy love. The first thing she bought with her first allowance was a math workbook. I can't wait for her to start school next year (and worry a tiny bit about her getting bored). The kids look nothing like me, don't really act like me in most ways, but I think we can all agree this one is all mommy, not a touch of daddy!

Gratitude #25

Our housecleaner comes on Tuesdays. Today, in honor of not having dusted or mopped in 3 years, I am thankful that the wage structure here is such that I can pay my housecleaner a fair wage - in some comparatives a generous wage - and still afford for her to come every week.

Gratitude #24

Today I am grateful for the cabin. As is only natural, it sometimes stings a bit to pay a mortgage on a building that sits empty 360 days a year, give or take depending on how often my in laws actually go and use the place. But, as Terry reminds me, "Have you ever left the cabin feeling stressed or unhappy?" Well, no. And some day we'll live there every day!

Gratitude #23

Today is the IWC Holiday Bazaar! Today I am grateful for the opportunity to give a little something to people who don't have enough. It really puts my concerns in perspective when I know there are people who worry about having a warm place to sleep or enough to eat, and there is an emotional satisfaction of knowing that I'm having a tangible effect in someone's life.

[edited to add: And now that we are home from the Bazaar, I am incredibly thankful that I managed to get the last gingerbread house from the Finnish stall. I've been eyeing them for 3 years, but as I've always managed the USA table I never could get away.]