Liankacreations

  I haven’t written here forever, though I probably should have. When you live under constant stress, it becomes difficult to write. Sometimes, it feels difficult even to live. I think every single one of us is stressed for one reason or another. Is it a new reality? I don’t like being stressed, although I know stress can sometimes be helpful. In my case,  stress stopped being useful and became overwhelming. I have been deeply worried about my relatives in Russia since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war. I know all their news before them. Today I spoke with my best friend, Olya, my best friend who owns an apartment in Gelendzhik, Russia, on the Black Sea. She told me they don’t have gasoline in Gelendzhik. Well, I already knew that—I watch every possible news source on YouTube. My other friend, Marina, who often sends me photos from Russia, just went on vacation to Khakassia by car. Before their trip I warned Marina about the gasoline shortage, but th...

  I was about ready to forget my Russian superstitions. But my husband likes me being myself. On the weekend, we cut the fallen (blooming, but beginning to fall down due to lack of support)  gladiolus to bring home. All are pink. Who knows what happened to our gladiolus all of them are pink now. In Russia, people make bouquets of flowers only in odd numbers.  Even numbers of flowers are used for the cemeteries and funerals.  I mentioned this to my husband. But, honestly, I was ready for even numbers. I was ready, and he wasn't, he pointed to exactly 3 of them.  Daniel makes a good laugh at my omens and beliefs, but still respects them. However, it seems I am losing my Russian soul.  Another superstition: don’t sew just before leaving the house.  My opinion is it all depends on what you are sewing.  For example, sewing a hole in the dress you were going to leave the house in is a bad omen. But a friend of mine believes that any sewing (before leavi...

  Every morning I thank the Universe for where I am and with whom I am. And it's not about the kitchen in a small house in a small city.  My American kitchen hasn't been renovated yet, the cabinets haven't been painted yet, new lamps haven't been installed, etc. And it's not about the weather. The weather in New England is much milder in winter, although it is terribly humid in summer. It's about my mood, with which I start the day.  This does not mean that I jump out of bed early in the morning with wild delight. Of course I want to be lazy and not go to work. But we are an ordinary family, so the work cannot be canceled. As well as household duties. The condition of my mood depends a lot on the person I am with.  Even though this person is at work more often in the morning than at home. In other words, it's about having this person in my life.I can be myself here with him.it's very important and valuable for me.     In short, every morning I thank th...

  Do you remember Agatha Christie and her story How Does Your Garden Grow? In Russia, there are two different words. Garden (сад) - flowers. Vegetable garden (огород) - vegetables. This year, as well as last year, many of our flowers decided to be pink. Really. I don’t know how this happened. The first year, our gladiolas were red, yellow and pink. Now only pink! What happened to the reds? Mystery! Zinnias really struggle to grow in our gardens. Some insects are very fond of young shoots of zinnias. Daniel sows them 2-3-4 times until finally they start to grow. But when they begin to bloom, the beauty is indescribable! Petunias make me happy this year. I went to choose/buy them myself. I planted them in hanging pots. But Daniel is the one who  waters them. Coneflowers are entirely the husband's concern. We have them in two different colors. They  look gorgeous! We don't have much choice from vegetables. Cucumbers grow in a separated garden surrounded by a wired fence. My ...

  My husband and I decided to “cut the cable” eventually. Now I'm watching and listening and asking people about their plans and costs. Honestly, I'm a little tired: too much information.  So on my work break I was watching and reading Russian news.  Vladimir Putin, in an interview with a “Kommersant” correspondent, issued another absurd, it turns out that the Wagner PMCs does not exist.  — Well, the PMCs "Wagner" does not exist! Vladimir Putin exclaimed. — We don't have a law on private military organizations! Simply does not exist! And what was it all about then? — The group exists, but legally does not exist! — the president repeated. — This is a separate issue related to real legalization. But this is an issue that should be discussed in the State Duma, in the government. A difficult question. Just on Tuesday he admitted that  from May 2022 to May 2023, the Russian state paid more than 86 billion rubles (approximately $940 million) to the Wagner Group. The g...

  And why did I decide that I love / know how to write? Where did it come from and how did it start? As long as I remember myself at school, I hated writing essays. But I wrote them regularly and even got good grades. Back then everything was simple there: you read the novel, you get the topic of the essay, the teacher discusses the plan. You don't even have to have your own opinion. The Ministry of Education, through teachers, has already drawn up a “correct” opinion. Your task is just to write everything down. So I wrote. It was boring, but necessary. It was much more interesting to write letters, you know, the real ones by hand and in an envelope. It seems I did it perfectly. A couple of years ago, a girl found me on the Russian social media Odnoklassniki claiming that we were friends. I couldn't remember her face. And then she said that we were pen pals when we were 13 years old. Unfortunately, I don't remember that. But she says she still keeps my letters (why?). After...

  Today we installed an AC, in fact - 2 air conditioners. One of them is portable, though, not really. It’s  big and loud, but serves its purpose. We put it in the living room.  It cools the room and the kitchen. We have owned it for, maybe, 3 years by now.  We purchased the second one literally today at the “ocean state job lot” store. This is the window AC. We could only install it in the spare bedroom.  All other windows are incompatible with ACs. These two “guys” really made the difference in the house.  The air has become drier, temperature - lower. My husband and I sweat less. You know, in Tomsk (Siberia, where I am from) we didn’t have such bad humidity. We would have it before the sunderstorm and maybe a little after, but not like here.  I never learned to like the hot summers. I simply didn’t have time to enjoy it.  Now I don’t know what to feel. I just take what Mother Nature gives us. These AC  “guys” help to be tolerant. Today we ...