Fall has Fallen Upon Us
9/1/09
Weather
Heavy rain during the night, icey mist all day
Lightening & thunder (of course)
Wind 10-12 mph westerly Temp 7C --44F high, 5C --41F
The weatherman got the memo and fall has started with a bang. Monday night, 9/31, we had a doosey of a storm as we left the Mission Home after the first session of Zone Leader's Council (ZLC). We crammed four elders, ourselves, and a reluctant driver into a small cab to get home during a down-pour. He decided that it would be OK as long as we paid him as if he were a van.
Tuesday morning the sky was dark, the clouds were very low and a must was falling like those misters that are used to cool you off in a Florida summer, but this was almost freezing. It stung your face and made it hard to breath. What made it worse is that I forgot my umbrella and the mist didn't really get to me until about half-way to the office.
This was a rare occasion when Sister Cindy was not ready and I had to be at the office to meet the auditor who had come from Moscow to audit the mission records and procedures; that means me. She was to follow later after doing some cooking for the Zone Leaders who would come for dinner and hang out after the final session of ZLC waiting for their train, bus, or flight. Sister Cindy feeds them. they sit around and talk shop, check up on members they knew from being assigned to another city, talk about what's going on in their city, but very little talk about dyeing; going home.
As it turned out, Sister Cindy never showed up. Yep, she liked it so much staying home and cooking while SKYPING with her daughters that she just stayed home the whole day and played while I faced the auditor alone. When she called to break the news of her change of plan, I asked her what about lunch. Her reply was heart-warming and caring, "There's apples there, have some."
Fall happened suddenly right on schedule. a 20 degree drop in the temperature, rain that would produce snow a few degrees colder, and wind that cuts through your raincoat like a knife. Yep, it's fall. Now we have to stay warm until they turn on the heating system in October; got to stay on schedule. The leaves have been turning yellow for several weeks and this day brought a lot of them to the ground. Actually, I am looking forward to the change of weather. Winter is REALLY cold, but fall can be pleasant. We'll see.
One good thing about the colder time of year is the weather drives the drunks under shelter. Our office is just 100 yards from the Oktabraskaya Metro Station. On warm summer evenings groups of two to 7 or 8 men will stand around and drink. You can see them along walkways and on street corners all over the city. We have gotten used to them and they don't seem interested in us as we pass; sort of like the Borg, you are not noticed until you become a threat. You never see groups of women clustered around a bottle or laughing heartily as they consume another bottle of vodka. This pastime seems the exclusive option of the men. I wonder how it would go if the women stood on the corner drinking with their buddies and coming home to a cold dinner severely under-the-weather. I guess someone has to feed the kid.
What a country.
DS
9/1/09
Weather
Heavy rain during the night, icey mist all day
Lightening & thunder (of course)
Wind 10-12 mph westerly Temp 7C --44F high, 5C --41F
The weatherman got the memo and fall has started with a bang. Monday night, 9/31, we had a doosey of a storm as we left the Mission Home after the first session of Zone Leader's Council (ZLC). We crammed four elders, ourselves, and a reluctant driver into a small cab to get home during a down-pour. He decided that it would be OK as long as we paid him as if he were a van.
Tuesday morning the sky was dark, the clouds were very low and a must was falling like those misters that are used to cool you off in a Florida summer, but this was almost freezing. It stung your face and made it hard to breath. What made it worse is that I forgot my umbrella and the mist didn't really get to me until about half-way to the office.
This was a rare occasion when Sister Cindy was not ready and I had to be at the office to meet the auditor who had come from Moscow to audit the mission records and procedures; that means me. She was to follow later after doing some cooking for the Zone Leaders who would come for dinner and hang out after the final session of ZLC waiting for their train, bus, or flight. Sister Cindy feeds them. they sit around and talk shop, check up on members they knew from being assigned to another city, talk about what's going on in their city, but very little talk about dyeing; going home.
As it turned out, Sister Cindy never showed up. Yep, she liked it so much staying home and cooking while SKYPING with her daughters that she just stayed home the whole day and played while I faced the auditor alone. When she called to break the news of her change of plan, I asked her what about lunch. Her reply was heart-warming and caring, "There's apples there, have some."
Fall happened suddenly right on schedule. a 20 degree drop in the temperature, rain that would produce snow a few degrees colder, and wind that cuts through your raincoat like a knife. Yep, it's fall. Now we have to stay warm until they turn on the heating system in October; got to stay on schedule. The leaves have been turning yellow for several weeks and this day brought a lot of them to the ground. Actually, I am looking forward to the change of weather. Winter is REALLY cold, but fall can be pleasant. We'll see.
One good thing about the colder time of year is the weather drives the drunks under shelter. Our office is just 100 yards from the Oktabraskaya Metro Station. On warm summer evenings groups of two to 7 or 8 men will stand around and drink. You can see them along walkways and on street corners all over the city. We have gotten used to them and they don't seem interested in us as we pass; sort of like the Borg, you are not noticed until you become a threat. You never see groups of women clustered around a bottle or laughing heartily as they consume another bottle of vodka. This pastime seems the exclusive option of the men. I wonder how it would go if the women stood on the corner drinking with their buddies and coming home to a cold dinner severely under-the-weather. I guess someone has to feed the kid.
What a country.
DS
4 comments:
That is so wierd! I thought the Cabo room had just thawed. I can't believe it is fall again. Time flies.
I would write more comments but this site seems to want me to reregister every time I write a comment. I wrote this wonderful comment about Cindy's cooking and the hospitality I enjoyed on my visit with Cindy and Doug. I also wrote that winter would be a good time to visit them to get the full experience of Siberia but I was more clever in the original which got lost because of the "fight" I had with the site. Time to pull out the woolies, gloves, fur hats, and flannel nighties. It could be a very long winter. Love to you both and thanks for the memories.
that is so Mom. Have an apple, but hurry before we get to the check point. Sounds almost wonderful. Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the crisp air and the changing of the leaves. Nice way to bring ni the Borg. Love it.
Yes, I am one of the reasons mom stayed home and left you to fend the auditor alone. We did have a nice chat. I am excited for you to see fall - its my favorite time of year too Trish! I am excited to see an east coast fall...
Hope you enjoyed your apples!
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