or bathing suits. Afraid of them. They are scary. Ever noticed?

Missed this. Too bad. A nice healthy howl would have been just the thing... ;)

Just checking in. How are you? We're happily howling at the moon here, thanks, even though we (I) did miss the eclipse. Did you see it?

Fits and starts

It's been awhile (again) and it's late so...
We had great days last week. Lots of sun, some rain, some clouds. Lots of blankets and pillows aired. Lots of blankets re-folded and put away again. Lots of steps back and forth and so on.
This morning, a kid and I (ok, she's a young lady; she's a university student; she can hook up and run an IV and even ask all the right questions, do all the right things. When will I ever get used to these kids growing up on me? Never, that's when.) So, Irina and I got up bright and early and trekked across the road to the bus station. Bus was (supposed to be) at 8.40. At 8.35, no bus and I went to ask the dispatcher. She looked personally offended and assured me it would definitely be there. 10 min later, no bus. I go back, this time to the ticket counter, not wanting to risk offending the dispatcher completely. Ticket lady assured me it would come. Roam around looking and feeling doubtful. No bus. Then an announcement- our bus broke down and has been cancelled. All passengers should sell back their tickets. Great. I was first in line because I already was in hover mode. Get tickets for 9.50- an hour's wait. Too much baggage and too many steps to drag it all back to the apt so we find a spot and wait. Along about 9.45, with no bus in sight, I'm getting antsy again. At 10.00, in I go. To the dispatcher. Our bus hasn't come. She nods her head. It was supposed to be at 9.50. She nods her head. It's not coming, is it? She nods her head. Take your tickets and get on the 11.00 bus, she says. This time, we go up the hill a bit to a café for coffee and an early lunch. We have, after all, approximately an 8 hour bus ride.
About 15 min before bus time, back we go. The bus is there. Hurray!! Heh. And it's full. To capacity. No seats. Groan. Now this could get to be a long day. Sigh.
Dispatcher scurries over, looking for me. I have to buy your tickets back and sell you new ones, she gasps. Tickets on the earlier bus were more expensive than on this one. I hurry off after her and then mournfully explain what the morning's been like. And, I say plaintively, there are no seats. Nothing but standing room.
How is that possible, she asks. You have tickets. You don't stand when you have a ticket. Come on, I'll sell you places on the bus. There are just a bunch of people on that bus with no tickets (a common scenario, I might add. They simply buy them from the driver, generally at a lower price).
And you know what, she sold us tickets. With places 15 and 16. Now go out there and tell those people to give you your seats. And make the driver help you.
I scurried back out. There were a couple of teenagers in them. Umm, I say. Umm, we have tickets for those seats. (I felt bad...but we had a long way to go and, as it turned out, they didn't.) they looked like they'd been expecting that very thing for awhile already and quickly got up and moved to the aisle. I thanked them profusely and we sat.
The bus was crowded most of the way. People standing for hours. I asked one lady why she hadn't gone and gotten a ticket like we did. She said she'd tried at the last minute but couldn't. Had been told to come talk to the driver. And it dawned on me that, since we'd had tickets all along, they were good to us. And I decided then and there that no matter how much some drivers fuss at you for getting tickets inside, I'm going to cont doing it. Today, it was completely worth every hassle I've ever had in the past.
And today? Today, I met the nicest bus station lady/dispatcher ever. I had no idea they could be like that. She was sort of ouchy at first but totally came through for us. I could have hugged her. :)
And now...we're in. And it's late. We're far enough north here that this time of year is deceiving. Summer solstice. Gets dark late. 9.30 PM and you can see just fine out there. 10.00- it's twilight. So, it's high time to be in bed. But it's great to be here!
:)

Mr Tiny

Grandma has roses. Lots of them. Mr Tiny lives in the front part of the house.

Mr Tiny's Mom brought him down the hall to see us

Grandma makes tea out of the rose petals. Mr Tiny saw them.

And loved them. (hard to miss them strawberries there, eh? Seriously the best berries I've ever eaten. Ever)

Pick them up

Smell them. He was having so much fun, being so dramatic... but my phone camera is too slow to really capture all his drama. He followed this sniff motion up with a dramatic sweep up and away from his nose and by saying 'Ahhhh'. It was too cute.

Grandma was getting concerned for her potential tea. But really- you pour boiling water over it, right? So, it's gotta be clean, right? Right! ;)

Gone... to the dogs!

well- first to the cats. These guys are so sweet I can't stand it. Bend over to get laundry out of the basket and one of them will jump on your shoulder. Sit down- One's in your lap. They rub on your legs. They love to be loved. And they're so polite to boot. :)

This is Pirate. He's a mess. Underfed, underfat and wired to move. He loves company, he loves attention. 

He loves to have his ears rubbed (probably full of mites...) But- I've been feeding him table scraps off and on for 6 years now and he just grows on you. I think I'll bring him home with me, Ok? 

Blackie on the left (surprised you, didn't I?) All 4 of her feet are spring loaded and she goes 5 feet in the air if you even think about moving her direction. She's yappy. She's bouncy. But... she's cute. Choppa's on the right. She's another story. 

Blackie trying to hold still. No idea how that happened. 

Yes- so Choppa. She's a master escape artist. A regular Houdini. Slips her collar just because she can. So- Mr Man-Who-Lives-There had had enough. He fixed her wagon. Rigged up a collar that goes in front of AND behind her legs, encloses her chest. She was Put Out. Completely. So embarrassed she would hardly look at me. And so mad she snapped at and bit the other dogs if they got at all close to her. She was properly ticked off at having her wings clipped. Poor Baby. And...  she'd been puppied. There should be baby pups there any day now... oh joy.  

And then there's Lyustra (which means light- as in light bulb or chandelier). She's a biter by instinct. She's the one that has to be shut into her dog house when someone she doesn't know is working nearby. And she's scared. Of everything. And if you change direction suddenly and move towards her, she's gone so fast you're wondering if there was a dog there at all. She was a stray and apparently her former life wasn't a nice one. 

But there was something so short and cute and brown about her that I kept going back (low to the ground and slowly) and talking to her. And feeding her. 

She's actually starved for attention. I won her trust and had a new best friend. Give her half a chance and she's in my lap. She'd bury her whole head in my arms, my skirt, my shirt- whatever was handy. Just press herself right in. And then stay. This is the doggie I miss. What a Sweetie when you get to know her. This is the one I'd really like to bring home with me. Little Light Bulb! ;)

It was a month...

of good and special times.
Earlier this week, I came back north after a month in the south. A special month. I've been a lot of places the past 11 years, covered a lot of ground here. But it seemed like wherever I was, I usually ended up back in the South for a stretch. And- not being someone who really likes HOT weather all that well- huh. I really like it down there. A lot. There are a lot of special people down there. This time, though, the good-byes were just that. Good-Bye. sniff.

He's right between my 2 oldest nephews in age. I babysat him some when he was tiny. His parents are deaf. The joke was that this kid would learn Russian with a N Amer accent since it was what he heard most. No worries- he didn't! When he was 3, I hadn't seen him in awhile- months, as I recall. 'Lyosh, I said. Can I kiss you? It's a little early for that, he said. Some time later, a friend was at his house. His dad (or mom) signed a question to him. He answered. And then turned his head and said- I lied, haha, I lied. Forgetting he had a hearing audience for a change. heh. He's normal. But a sweet sweet little thing so far. I'll miss you Alyosha. You and your shy slow smile.

Nastia and me looking our best! haha N's mama always wanted another baby. Daddy wanted a new car. 20 years later Mama got her baby and Daddy did not get his car! She's a keeper. Daddy agrees, too. In fact, I caught him doing the ironing while Mama was taking care of Baby! ;)

Alyosha's baby brother. as seen previously here and here. He's a first class truck sound maker. heh.

 Some people get into your heart and stay there. Not because they do everything right but because. Because that's where they belong. Because of all the things that draw you out heart-first. I've known M since she was about 12. I wrote about her mother's fun'l here. Here she is with Baby Veronika, named for the grandma she'll never meet.

M's oldest dau, Nastia. She's a pistol. And a cutie. And Sat, Grandpa was home for the weekend and she was Queen of the May. She is Grandpa's Girl! And when Grandpa took me back to the bus stop on the back of his motorcycle, N went, too. She loves motorcycle rides! Sits up front prim and proper and holds perfectly still. And she even told me good-bye and waved- but not for long. She was in a hurry to get going again! N and her mommy a few years ago.

oh. oh yes. And there's Rikki. Rikki- even though you shed ALL Over the Place, you are one of my all-time favorite Cat People. I'm glad I know you, Rikki! 

I'm really looking forward to being back in the States (anybody actually not got that figured out yet??) BUT I'm going to miss those folks.