The Cat Likes the Heated Floors

OK - I think many of you know already, but Sara and I have moved to Moscow. More on this is a future post... but I thought some of you might appreciate the picture below. Our new apartment in Moscow has heated tile floors. And Rommel really likes the heated floors.

No wine (or liquor) to be found...

Click on the title of this post to take you to an article discussing the current lack of wine and spirits in Russia... it's quite an interesting situation now... if you go into a shop today, there is basically no wine or spirits to be found (the store shelves are literally empty). The cause? A change in labeling requirements for alcohol went into effect July 1, yet there are simply not enough labels available (one company has the contract for the whole country for install and certifying label-producing equipment). I've heard anywhere from 30% to 50%+ of wine shops and distributors will go out of business permanently as a result of this.

An exception was made where labels for Russian Vodka can be printed by another government organization... and, alas, there are enough Vodka labels available :-)