Our 2nd Christmas in Russia

Sometimes it's hard for Sara and I to believe that we have lived for about 18 months. Time is going by unbelievably fast. It seems like just yesterday where the focus of our days was on things like figuring out how to buy bread and who can help get us English language television.

The holiday season gives us a chance to reflect a bit... and helps us realize how much things have changed in the past year+... but it's still strange to think this is our 2nd Christmas here...

Since Dec 24 / 25 are not holidays here (remember Jan 1 is the biggest holiday, and Russian Orthodox Christmas is Jan 7)... I took some time off from work. We spent Dec 23 traveling to Moscow. We decided it would be nice to go out for dinner in Moscow and see a little bit of the city for the holidays. We went to Cafe Pushkin (one of the best restaurants in Moscow, and definitely one of our favorites)... and celebrating over veal (for Sara) and grilled lamb (for me)... we walked back to our hotel with the intention of going swimming for a bit. Unfortunately the pool was closed (early hours for the holiday period)...

Dec 24 was spent with our typical Saturday morning in Moscow routine - grocery shopping. 3 stops today - Stockmann's for some small items... Cash & Carry (near the Expo Center) for the bulk items... and then Beethoven Pet Store - since the dog & cat wanted food as well. We left Moscow ~ 1PM on Saturday, and made it back to our cottage in Novomoskovsk around 3:30PM. As I unpacked the groceries, Sara started to prepare the Christmas eve feast - grilled tequila lime shrimp for starters... fresh vegetables... steaks & baked potatoes, and grilled asparagus. All was delicious... and then it was time for presents!

Sara and I exchanged some gifts prior to Christmas... she got me an Xbox 360 (thanks for the assistance Ken)... and I got her a new down comforter for the bed. She always asks for nice things for the house for Christmas - some people think her choice is odd when she asks for cooking supplies for the holidays :)

We exchanged the rest of our gifts, including gifts for Joe & Rommel... squeak toys, cat nip, treats & toys... they seemed to like everything. Sara received lots of books & DVDs, some knives to add to her Global Knife collection... some new cloths & socks... some Loccitane things, etc. I got a new iPod... some DVDs, some clothes, video games, other small & shiny things... everything was wonderful.

After playing with our new gifts and having a nice desert, we headed to bed. Slept in a bit on Dec 25... then got up and played with our things a bit more. Sara prepared another wonderful dinner of roast chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables. We spoke to most people in each of our immediate families (sorry Deb & Roy - we missed you while you were in transit)... but it sounded like everyone had a nice holiday.

One thing that was new this year was the amount of SMS (short text messages that you send via cell / mobile phones) Christmas greetings that we received this year. It was really nice that so many people in Russia were thinking of us on the holiday... and getting a timely "Merry Christmas - hope you are enjoying your holiday" was really a nice surprise.

Dec 26 will be a day off for me... and a recovery day for all us... as I write this - the cat is asleep on one of her favorite beds in the house - the Sky Satellite decoder. Sara and Joe are still in bed (it's 11:30 AM!!!). I think we will just enjoy a nice quiet day today. I need to go back to work on Tuesday...

We will leave for Moscow Saturday morning, Dec 31. We will spend New Years in Moscow, probably at Red Square (like Times Square in New York in terms of volume of celebration)... then we depart on Jan 1 to go to the Orange Bowl! While our trip to the US will be short - Sara and I looking forward to a Penn State victory & at least a couple hours on beach.