Picnic in the park

After several days of intermittent rain and a chill in the air, we truly appreciated a sunny Sunday. Not too hot, not too cold. We learned that there would be a concert in Marinsky Park that evening, sponsored in part by our church. We had several friends who planned to be in [...]

Read Full Post »

They’re back!

Yesterday, Jamie and Dasha arrived back in Ukraine for the first time since they moved to Boston in January. Though we had seen them on our trip to the States in March/April, Dasha’s family and their friends were so looking forward to this moment. You can imagine how disappointed we all were when [...]

Read Full Post »

Rude awakening

About 5:45 this morning, Jim and I heard an incredibly loud crash followed by the sound of broken glass. We both shot out of bed and Jim ran to the balcony overlooking the street. The intersection near our flat is the home of many an accident so we figured we were about to [...]

Read Full Post »

Boldness in the workplace

I’m posting a letter that my husband received via e-mail last night. Not to exalt him. But to encourage each person to keep on doing what you’re doing, right in the place where God has placed you! You just don’t know how your words or your attitude might affect someone.
“Dear Dr. Peipon,
My [...]

Read Full Post »

Zhek notice

Periodically we find posted to the apartment-building door various notices written by the Zhek. The Zhek is the person in charge of how everything runs in the building. He is the one that you go to with requests to have water temporarily turned off during remodeling or any emergency situation. (Like when [...]

Read Full Post »

Big city with a small town feel

We live in a huge city that is occupied by four million people. And some reports say even more. I am definitely NOT a big city girl, but I must admit that the convenience of public transport — metro, tram, bus — is a huge plus to living in a city. A [...]

Read Full Post »

Buying Christmas cards

Jim and I walked to the main post office after church yesterday to buy some Christmas cards. I just haven’t been able to get my act together to create the cards this year — and I didn’t want to go another Christmas without cards! (Last year we were in the throes of wedding [...]

Read Full Post »

A little overwhelmed

I’m feeling just a little bit overwhelmed.
I need to design our Christmas card…soon! I need to get ready for 10 for Thanksgiving dinner (actually a small group in the history of our Thanksgivings!). I need to create a few Christmas gifts that will take a bit of time. Always the baking, but [...]

Read Full Post »

Corelle crash

Okay, so we’re sitting in the living room — Jeanne, Kolya, Cara and myself — when we hear the sound of SOMETHING breaking. Jim is in the kitchen, so we assume that he has dropped a glass or a dish.
Jeanne and Kolya first thought of their collection of beer glasses representing beer served in [...]

Read Full Post »

Kitchen makeover

For the last several days, Kolya has been living his days on a ladder or at a home-supply store.
Our kitchen ceiling was not in the best shape — the wallpaper applied to it was separating and sagging in a few spots. We asked Kolya if he would be willing to take the paper off, [...]

Read Full Post »