Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Feb 2, 2012, 6:30 am
Copyright 2012 Photobucket Corporation.  All rights reserved. Russian postal clerks and local deliverers are women. There’s the easy way, and then the Russian way... Larissa observed when we were living in the United States, that ‘Everything is for the people.’ meaning that the conven...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Jan 10, 2012, 6:07 am
Our new kitchen wallpaper, safely up after our scamming adventure.   We recently got out of a possible scammers’ trap just before it slammed shut.  It all had to do with whether to pay a deposit before work was finished, and overall sloppy business practice. Time to wallpaper! Back aroun...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Dec 12, 2011, 5:53 am
Setting moon tending towards waning gibbous, dawn 1051, 12 December, NW St Petersburg.  Taken 1 1/2 days after the full moon and total lunar eclipse (obscured by skies) around 630 pm 10 December. Barking at the full moon eclipse... The Cold, Long Night, or Frost Moon are names for the full moon...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Nov 17, 2011, 5:38 am
  The time has come, the Walrus said, To talk of many things Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax-- Of cabbages--and kings-- And why the sea is boiling hot-- And whether pigs have wings Lewis Carroll, 1872 excerpted from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There.  The Walrus and the ...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Oct 30, 2011, 9:36 am
robrush54 from Photobucket When people look at current economic statistics, whether about the USA, Russia, or Greece, often they feel that things have gone wrong when it comes to fairness. I view talk by the conservatives about austerity as a big lie meant to continue manipulating people to cave ...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Oct 17, 2011, 7:52 am
  A kneading break after a 5 minute workout. Hesitation and procrastination... I was worried baking bread would be more chaos than Larissa could stand, maybe with yeasted dough growing quickly to fill the kitchen, and bulging out the door.  First, I was going to wait until she was ...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Sep 28, 2011, 9:03 am
  Scrumptious! I wish we could’ve brought more of these babies home!  This post goes a long way in explaining my weakness for all things tomato!  We kids were ecstatic when we saw tomatoey Carrigan Hamburgers cooking for supper.  Mom got the recipe from our next door Maplewood neigh...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Sep 21, 2011, 7:54 am
Unlabeled unsliced bread in plastic wrap.  Baked in-house at Season Supermarket. Missing wonderful bread... Traditional bread is robust with texture, smell, and taste.  It’s a high point of our village summer.  But why is it more prevalent in Zaloz’ye than St Petersburg?  Maybe because c...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Sep 1, 2011, 6:13 am
The northwest side of our house in Zaloz’ye with only a light stain on the lower window trim and the front veranda. Back In April 2003 we stayed for a week with our farmer cousins, Tonya and Sergei, at their winter home in Zabelino.  We were waiting for a treacherous ride on the icy road to Za...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Aug 23, 2011, 7:02 am
Many long conversations take place at the kaleetka, калитка, gate. This past year we welcomed new neighbors to our summer village of Zaloz’ye... Gennady and Tatiana next door, Alecsei and Galla just across the dirt road from our property. I still have no idea what any of them specificall...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Aug 7, 2011, 3:24 am
If you remember old ways to do the wash, tell us your recollections in Comments below.  Russian village washday always starts in the morning - after the bath the night before!    When we boil the cauldron for a bath, much of that water is left to wash our clothes the next day.  Just about ev...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Jul 27, 2011, 5:57 am
  Out of sorts?  Feeling a little dejected?  Zveraboy -also called St John’s Wort or goatweed – may be what you need! You probably have some growing near you! Larissa has been taking zveroboy from the field by the lake, on our way back from swimming.  She hangs it from an attic ...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Jul 16, 2011, 4:19 am
  Life goes on in Russia, regardless of the economy, the government, and the weather... just as it does in America.  It’s comforting to consider daily challenges (big and small) and how Russians and Americans meet them.  Even something trivial such as roof ladders can tell a lot! I know, th...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Jul 7, 2011, 5:06 am
  Work gloves, short shovel, and a smile.  Missing?  A hard hat.   When summer comes to Zaloz’ye, our thoughts turn to wells!  Just last year we posted A Water Рассказ [hotlink] about the  ways we get water... off the roof, pumped from the lake, and from a well... and not alway...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Jun 27, 2011, 6:16 am
  Whether from Latin America or Tajikistan, migration can be a rough time.  What do you think about immigration?  Just click comments on the next to last line of this post, and let us know! Howdy Stranger! It’s my habit as an American to be friendly to strangers.  This is contrary to Rus...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Jun 17, 2011, 7:11 am
Valery Chaliy, sculptor, Mosquito, Lata, Russia. The mosquitoes, комары, are overwhelming Tverskaya! For me there is no better place to read a book than in a good folding chair under the apple trees.  It is something I relish and look forward to with happy anticipation every summer. Bu...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Jun 7, 2011, 5:42 am
             A springtime cottage   Where am I? If you wake one morning in a pretty but unknown village, and see some homes with windows leaning both right and left... there’s a good chance you’re in Russia! Larissa’s country cousin, who calls her ‘sister’ accordin...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - May 27, 2011, 4:57 am
l A visit from the autolavka is a shopping and social event!  This autolavka always has cheerful music playing.  The trucks stop under the birch just beside our house. How do we food shop all summer with no car and no store to walk to? Zaloze, our summer village, is isolated, much more so th...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - May 16, 2011, 7:54 am
  1997 MAGELLAN Geographix www.maps.com Please add your thoughts by clicking comments at the end of the post. Shock The strange story of the killing and disposal of someone who may have been Osama bin  Laden brought back the confusion, disbelief, and sadness I felt in the first years af...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Apr 30, 2011, 5:03 am
Just after midnight at 0030 7 May, our train leaves for our summer life in Tverskaya Oblast.  A one way ticket costs rubles 765.5 = $27.93, for a comfortable ride in a compartment with foldout beds.  If you run a line from Petersburg and another over from Riga, Latvia, they intersect near our simp...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Apr 26, 2011, 6:16 am
Welcome back to the second half of our Without Blunders Etiquette  post!  Just click comments at the end to let us know about table etiquette where you live, or to elaborate or modify what we said. Savvy drinking tips. Toasting is part of a festive meal.  You, too, should give a toast, even ...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Apr 16, 2011, 4:28 am
  Are there Russians in your community?  They are convivial people who love to share meals.  Whether you are the host, or you have asked them to dinner, it’s good to know what they expect.   Good manners simply means making each other socially comfortable.  Etiquette is mainly comm...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Apr 5, 2011, 6:34 am
Image via Wikipedia   America has lost its promise. ...of a democratic country with good intentions for all.  Stupid priorities hurt the lives of Americans everyday.  The federal government squanders money on unnecessary bases and task forces, reduces taxes for the rich, and then cries ...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Mar 26, 2011, 3:35 am
Image via Wikipedia     The Phoebe Snow, bound for Buffalo, roared through Maplewood just before 10.  Bored with Miss Bailey’s math class, we boys were distracted and noisy when we heard the horn/whistle.  It’s passing was more accurate than the classroom clock. Telling time goes bac...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Mar 16, 2011, 3:16 am
  Image via Wikipedia Chert in English... a  rock.  In Russian... the devil. Language Dejection! How do you view your life... winning or losing? ... in your career, your marriage, your health?    When it has to do with learning Russian, recently I  felt a loser.  It’s an up-river ...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Mar 7, 2011, 3:06 am
  Image via Wikipedia                   Previous Learning Russian Posts. Learn Russian in Only Nine Years  23 March 2009. An Expatriate Learns Russian in St Petersburg 12 Nov 2009 Tip 1...  Take seriously how you pronounce your first language. In 1949, my older siste...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Feb 26, 2011, 3:21 am
Image via Wikipedia   A cautionary note... Statisticians are a careful crew.  But interpreters may not indicate which average they are talking about... mean, median, or mode... or the study time span. The results may not be labeled clearly, or mention a crucial consideration, such as upward m...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Feb 16, 2011, 3:26 am
  Russian applewood cellphone http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2007/08/22/russian-wooden-phone/ We watched the politico’s assistant shout into a cell phone while jumping around in the rain, trying to improve reception.  Michael, his embarrassed boss, stood near us inside the Shaker Cafe...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Feb 5, 2011, 5:22 am
Image via Wikipedia   The Expat Cook says... Our up-to-date list of Russian Cooking Blogs is at the end of this post! Russian wives are usually a compliant lot about what’s cookable in the Slavic kitchen.  True, Larissa doesn’t like smelly kidneys, and changes the subject when I talk a...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Jan 26, 2011, 5:53 am
  Image via Wikipedia  unidentified location   I’ve always loved vehicles... cars, buses, tramways, trolleys, ferries, ships, trains, airplanes, helicopters... anything mechanical, historical, and full of implied adventure.  And, on a silly note, tramways hold an  attraction due to the...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Jan 16, 2011, 7:00 am
Image via Wikipedia Sochi TV Tower on the Black Sea   I didn’t come to Russia to watch TV!  True, but television is the largest use of free time in America and Russia.  The Nielsen Report of 3 Jan 11 says Americans watch 34 hours a week.  I figure Russians exceed that number. The surv...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Jan 5, 2011, 9:07 am
Image via Wikipedia   It started with a piece of paper... I felt true love in my New Jersey kitchen. The food was served, we were ready to start, Larissa took a paper napkin and carefully tore it in half.  “That’s enough for both of us!” I didn’t understand the napkin bit until my...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Dec 26, 2010, 7:27 am
  There’s a moon out tonight... ">Early 21 December around 2 PM, I pulled back the bedroom curtain to do some sky gazing.  The nearly full moon was in the western sky.  It looked like an egg yoke from a poorly fed chicken, on a drab yellow-grey blanket with tinges of red... the worst, most ...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Dec 16, 2010, 8:31 am
I saw the walkway getting larger through my glasses... tried to catch myself, but landed on the  left side of my face, twisted my glasses, and later had to retrieve a lens on the sidewalk.  How did this happen, where was I, and what did this accident have to do with shopping in Russia? A flash...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Dec 6, 2010, 3:30 am
Image via Wikipedia I see a red flag and hear a bell... There I was, just 68, fat dumb and happy, in the salon chair a few weeks ago.  Angela, wearing an orange doll wig, had just finished with the electric clippers. She unzipped an old leather case with several small scissors, took one and s...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Nov 27, 2010, 2:37 am
Image via Wikipedia Little things… make the difference between a good and bad society… not grandiose programs.  Stray dogs, abandoned cars, mess on sidewalks, pedestrian drinking, rudeness, unguarded pits, snow covered store entrances, little fire safety, no school crossing guards. But instead...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Nov 16, 2010, 3:32 am
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Nov 5, 2010, 8:39 am
Image via Wikipedia                     Not one ticket on a windshield in the last 10 years!  In America it seemed in the 90’s every actual or imagined violation was written up and punished.  Russian life is free of hawk-eyed enforcers and you are free to do pre...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Oct 27, 2010, 4:38 am
Image via Wikipedia Ever had your money swept from a bank account? - Cybercrime is the modern internet way to steal from banks and people like you and me. - I watched the Russian parents of jailed cybercriminals. They were on Пусть Гаворутб, Puct Gavorat, Let Them Talk, explaining that ...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Oct 17, 2010, 7:23 am
This symbol, on a shop door window in my neighborhood, means the store will not close for a break in the middle of the day, as is the custom for many banks, government offices, even radio stations. -But for me the symbol is a reminder to not drink tea!-  Where am I?  - I remember waking one ...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Oct 10, 2010, 8:06 am
- Larissa is an excellent Russian wife.  As such, she sees it as her responsibility to uphold these typical Russian rules… Preliminaries! - A.   Before you enter the apartment replace street shoes with тапышки (ta-pich-ky), slippers. - B.  Immediately on entering change to your home...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Sep 30, 2010, 4:31 am
Image via Wikipedia -  Things are different in Russia. Accept it ‘cause you can’t change it!  True, but some aspects of medical care here are worse than in America and they can be improved. - But first, remember that Russia continues to have quite a bit of free medical care without any ins...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Sep 22, 2010, 7:24 am
Image via Wikipedia The Vodka Belt from Norway to the Bering Strait Today we hear from the Expat Cook!  The weather since late August has been leaning towards a cold grey fall... It’s time to turn our thoughts to provisioning ...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Sep 13, 2010, 6:03 am
Image via Wikipedia - - - - - - - - My Western Nerves -- Imagine my feelings on the Metro subway and driving through the streets of St Petersburgwith the  equivalent of $20,000... 600,000 rubles, all in cash.- If it’s lost it’s gone forever. ...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Aug 31, 2010, 5:13 am
  Public Enemy #1     Bessie the Cow   Our little bit of Heaven is now cold and often rainy.  A bear was spotted in the village a few days ago.  I think the wildlife wants its privacy back. We’re finishing food in the fridge and ca...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Aug 20, 2010, 2:33 am
    Most Russians  are just a generation or two away from the village.  Larissa’s mom lived not far from Zaloza, our summer town, in  Dobroa which no longer exists.  She left to volunteer for the Red Army in 1941 and has since lived in Leningrad, now St Petersbu...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Aug 1, 2010, 9:19 am
The Modem Works With No Phone Lines Petersburg dial-up challenging... We arrived clueless in 2000 about connecting our Compaq laptop to the internet.  An old boss of Larissa’s invited us to see how dial-up worked in St Petersburg.  Like a child that won’t talk whe...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Jul 16, 2010, 9:54 am
Cartoon by Riverh Each summer at the dacha I spend  a week in Peno Hospital.  I am lucky to have  insurance  on my вид на жительсво, spoken~ vide na jeetelcva , my permanent resident passport, and  a great doctor...  my wife’s cousin. ...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Jun 12, 2010, 6:53 am
Image via Wikipedia   How an American gets  information to drill a well. 1.  Checks code requirements. 2.  Looks at the Yellow Pages, ads, checks Google Local, looks at  site signs, makes phone calls. 3.  Talks with drilling companies.  Visits past  worksites and asks the ...
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Robert MacDonald posted an article on American Russia Observations - Jun 5, 2010, 5:50 am
A Traditional Russian Story is a Рассказ, pronounced Raskaz.   Here, after an introduction, is our Water Рассказ...   About the photos... Our water rolls off the roofs, is pull-pumped from the well, or push-pumped from the lake (by a small su...
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