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Unstable November

 Sunday, Nov 19th, 2023


The longer I don't write, the easier it is not to write.

I got too carried away with my hobbies. But things are happening, and I want to document them. 





November is here, a few  days before Thanksgiving. 

The weather is… typical (what is typical now for November in New England?). 



It seems that everything is unstable now, and so is the weather.

In Tomsk, one day it rained and 46°F, and the next day it snowed and 14°F. 

Usually at this time of the year in Tomsk, the outdoor temperature would not rise above freezing, and snow doesn’t melt. 


Here, it was sunny and warm (sweatshirt warm) today, and it will drop below freezing at night. 


The world is unstable too. You don't need to watch the news to know that. 


However, there are (meaning my life) a few stable thingsб or I should say several: 

-we have to go to work still

-we are getting older every day

-busyness

-holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year) 

-my computer is stably slow.


Daniel and I still have to work. Daniel is on a 10-hour shift. It’s tiring, but we do what we have to do, right? Now we have a purpose in life - pay off the loan for the land. The Russians (maybe not only them) have a joke: nothing unites a couple as much as a mortgage.

BTW, the ¼ of the driveway is done. We are happy.



My work is stable 35 hours a week, the schedule has changed but it is just the working moments.

Unlike Dan's employer, mine gives us benefits for personal, sick leave and vacation time. I really appreciate it.


Especially because we are getting older every day. I know  I am not the oldest person in the world, and unlike Rosalynn Carter, I am still alive. I shouldn’t complain. But it’s very unusual to feel pain, and even more unusual to feel it for a long  period of time. 

For about 6-8 months I have been doing some exercises to eliminate the arthritis pain in my knee. At first it helped, then it stopped, just at all! Now I have much less pain, even though I don’t exercise. What is it all about and why? 




Well,  I started walking Crackle more often. But during the walks I spend a lot of time waiting for the dog (he needs to sniff everything and pee on it afterwards). It is really boring. Unfortunately, I cannot take a book on tape with me, I have to talk to the dog all the time. Otherwise, he keeps forgetting who walks whom. 😂


We can walk from 30 to 50 minutes, I have no patience for longer walks. And also I have a few ongoing projects that await me at home: books to read and listen to, knitting, sewing (heming Daniel's new work pants), and etc. And the housework.


Yes, holidays are coming. It means it’s about time to clean your house more thoroughly. Or pretend it (😂). 

I have time until Christmas. This year we are going to Daniel's brother’s house for Thanksgiving. And on Christmas we are having friends over. I have plenty of time.



Last Sunday (the 12th) we went to Westport for a baptism. I haven’t been to a baptism in the US before. It is very different here. Well, I am not Catholic either. It must be different. 

In Russia, parents are not presented during the ceremony, only the Godparents. Godparents carry a child and a candle (a lighted candle), watching that the baby wouldn’t grab the flame. They walk around baptismal font. The baby usually cries out loud before/during/after  immersion in the baptismal font. Everyone is stressed and looking forward to the celebration, usually at home.



Here, you know how it is here, guests talk to parents and take photos, the priest talks about Patriots’ last game, someone reads the bible, then a few other ceremonial things and people take off to the restaurant.

We didn’t go… we had Cacoila cooking in the slow cooker at home, and an early rise the next morning. 



Another stable thing is my slow computer. I started writing this post in the morning (Sunday the 19th). But my computer didn’t want to wake up.  I know there are a lot of temporary files on it that need to be cleaned up… I don’t understand one thing  - someone who came up with an idea to update the software couldn’t create a way to clean up the old versions of the software?…So why, why do we need these updates 3 times a month, why clutter up our pc with all the old versions?

Well, I found 2 videos on Youtube that recommend approximately the same actions for cleaning temporary files. I did it. We'll see.


If my post sounds boring and sad, I have good news: a friend of mine purchased a house in Italy. Well, an old house and a mortgage … but now she and her husband have a real purpose in life - to pay off the mortgage. 



Daniel and I are very happy for them. I just admire Elena. She is a brave little bird, also very talented and determined. 


There are some photos… Everything looks so Italian. 😂











P.S. While I was sleeping (the time difference with Tomsk is 12 hours), a snow storm passed through the Kemerovo region. According to the latest data, 3 people were killed, 20 were injured. Hundreds of houses and cars have been damaged, boiler houses (small buildings that can heat from 1 to several small apartment buildings) do not work, classes have been canceled in schools (not in all damaged schools though). In addition to the Kemerovo bad weather raged in the Omsk and Novosibirsk regions, in Khakassia, in the Altai Territory, a woman died there.




Resources:

https://www.1tv.ru/news/2023-11-20/465441-srazu_v_neskolkih_regionah_sibiri_ustranyayut_posledstviya_moschnogo_uragana




















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