Liankacreations

  Tomsk telegram channel calls August - a month when the summer ends, parents and children get ready for a new school year (in Russia it starts on September 1st for all students),  gardeners pick up the crop and clean up the gardens.   Here, it’s a little bit different. It’s still warm, even hot and humid. Humid but not wet how it is in Primorye. Primorye is a territory in Far East Russia: the Amur River, Baikal Lake, border with China, and the Pacific Ocean. Over the past day, a monthly amount of precipitation has fallen in Primorye. In Primorsky Krai, 29 settlements were cut off from road traffic due to flooding, several bridges were destroyed, suburban and long-distance passenger trains were delayed.  The beginning of the school year has been shifted by several days, taking into account another impending typhoon Sanba, - according to the governor Oleg Kozhemyako. Another news that caught my attention from that region… China has released a new map on which the isla...

  Not every morning I watch the news. I try to know what’s going on in Russia, near the frontline and in the world. I usually watch YouTube bloggers. America lives in a different time zone, so many things happened by the time I wake up. But today (Sunday) the TV was on all morning.  It was an interview with Roger Cohen*. And it was interesting. Here is the link to read it that I don’t need to repeat. He spent some time in Russia, and shared his experience.  The main thing that caught my attention: the Russian government goal “the war must be invisible”. And local officials succeed with it.  It’s not that difficult. Many-many Russians stopped watching the news. My friends ask me why I continue to watch it?  The problem is (my problem of course) I constantly worry about my family and friends in Russia, about friends from Ukraine.  It’s such a pity that I cannot enjoy life now, when my life has become much better.  After that interview I decided to take a...

  Almost everyday (the main word here is almost ) when I do my leg’s exercises I face ( literally face) a piece of my creations - a handmade ottoman*. Lately I have become obsessed with the idea of recycling or upcycling or reusing things. For my job I'm in a constant search of new ideas for my “Get crafty with Elena” program. So I monitor Pinterest and watch videos on YouTube.  I got fascinated by the ability of some people to create something from nothing.  Some of them inspire me so much that I try to make something too. Well, I do try. A few months ago I started making this thing called ottoman. It’s not real (you can’t sit on it), but it serves its purpose -  I can store clothes in it.  I cut out cardboard boxes, glued them together with two different kinds of glue. To decorate, I crocheted a chain using t-shirt yarn (I made from old t-shirts). I used hot glue to attach the chains, and even made a little design.  Then, about two months later, I eventua...

  I’ve just finished reading/listening to the Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon.  Of course, it’s a mystery. Italian mystery. This the twentieth novel in the series. By a lucky chance, I introduced Donna Leon to myself with the 1st novel Death at la Fenice. I have read 4 or 5 books out of 20, and not in an order. There is no need for order. That is convenient, isn’t it? Every time when I get tired of the cozy American mysteries I like to read something European.  And Donna Leon is my proven choice.  Here we go,  Venice, its beauty, and boat public transportation.  Venetian Commissario Guido Brunetti, his family relations, food (some names of the dishes make me curios and hungry) Crime. That book was about the suspicious death of a widow.  But my conclusion is that the book is about love. A love that some people are lucky to have. A love that is very painful to lose. To be honest, I don't even want to think about it. I'd better start reading the next bo...

  I heard Crackle’s barking when I just pulled into our parking lot. He is really happy to see me home. He knows in the afternoon he can get a little bit more attention from me.  In the morning my goal is to feed the dog and put him outside a few times to do his business. Daniel usually gets Crackle in the house around the time I arrive. So I can peacefully enter. You should have seen my entrance that day.  I don’t know what words to use, you help me… I had my purse (not big, light color, for summer), a big laptop bag (I needed to use my computer at work), a tote (where I had my coffee cup, charger, sweater, notebook, and a few other things), a small bag with knitting (it didn’t fit in the tote, but I needed it for work), and my lunch bag. Can you imagine what I looked like? In Russia we call it a camel. (Because Camels are very often used as porters).  Eventually I made it through the gate, kissed Crackle on the forehead, and kissed my husband. Then I asked him: wil...

  In about a month, my WordPress blog Lianka in the US will become unavailable. It will just disappear. Like if it never existed.  It's probably sad, but that's my plan. I decided to stop paying for .... There are two things I had to pay for: hosting (an online “apartment” where my blog “lived” for 5 years) and a domain name (the online address of this “apartment”). The truth is the expenses for my hobby are inadequate, in other words they are too high and not necessary.  I started blogging in January 2018 on the Google Blogger platform, where we are now. I was writing and at the same time learning about blogging.  Many, many bloggers have said that the blog will look more beautiful and professional on the WordPress platform.  I decided to try, but first I talked to my husband. I already found out that the WordPress software was free but I had to purchase a hosting plan and domain name (www.name.com).  In fact, in the first year it was much cheaper. It was...

  Did I tell you how I learned the “Secret”? It was a few years before I moved to the US.   I worked at a store in the shopping center. One day a friend of mine stopped by to see me.  After he found out where I worked he visited me no more than 2 times a year, just to talk. Who knows why. We’ve known each other for almost forever, lol, we went to the same school for 10 years. He is a year older. We were not close friends but it was interesting to see  who we became 20 years after graduating. One day  Emil came in (to the store). He was happy and maybe even excited: he bought a dvd called “Secret” in a small dvd department in my mall.  Honestly, now I don’t remember what he said about the disc. I don’t remember if he recommended this movie to me. But for some reason, I became very curious, and decided that I also wanted to watch this movie. The fact that a successful person ( Emil owns a small business, rents out a few apartments, which allows him to travel...