Saturday, January 28, 2012

Buried in

Wow, this is how I remember winters from when I was a child.
A lot of snow, piled up to my knees....

Check out my last post to see the first photo of this chair on my back patio to see how much snow has fallen!
The funny thing my children noticed, though, is that since the children walk to school here, it is right on our village camp, there are not any "snow days"!

Good thing my refrigerator is stocked!

Bella is interesting in this weather...she like to play in it for awhile, but then her paws must get really cold because she barks to come in.

A different type of fun for us, but still fun all along!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Snowflakes


Ohhh, it's a good day here if you like the snow!
The flakes are falling. Even though they are fine and seem like just twinkles in the air, they are accumulating on the ground.
The weather forecast is calling for much more snow to fall throughout the weekend.

Perfect days to for me to snuggle in near the fire and watch some amazing tennis from the Australian Open!

I love the purity of the white snow and how fresh it makes the ground look.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!


Friday, January 20, 2012

Christshenya

Here in Atyrau, my friends and I are always up for an adventure. It is hard to find much to do besides exercise, cook and get together with friends.
(not that any of these activities are bad, but any sort of city wide festivities, outside of our village, are not the norm).
So when an opportunity to walk on a frozen river to get to the site of Christshenya came up,
we all jumped on it.
Christshenya is the Russian Orthodox celebration where the water in the river is blessed 12 days after the Russian Orthodox Christmas. Believers follow a procession from the church to the river where the priest says his prayers,

and blesses the water.
The most hardy of the believers then submerge themselves three times for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Their sins are absolved and they begin the year anew.


They had a scuba diver ready in case tragedy struck...aka...someone lets go of the ladder and falls underneath the ice.

Musical entertainment provided by the man with an accordion.
Changing room...(term used lightly!)

Those that can not fathom jumping into a frozen river in extremely cold air with only their undies on can collect the blessed, holy water and keep it in their homes until the following year, using it medicinally, to drink or however they choose.

We walked from our village down the frozen river. The ice is strange to walk on, half of me feeling secure, but yet feeling a little nervous in case I were to fall through!

It makes beautiful bubbles right underneath the surface.

The sunrise was beautiful behind this lone ice fisherman.

It was definitely a not-to-miss opportunity here in frozen Atyrau!


Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy 2012


What a vacation this has been!
We've enjoyed the Florida sunshine, our family in Pennsylvania and back to the sunshine for a few more days before head back to Atyrau.

I hope that everyone has a peaceful, healthy, and Happy New Year for 2012.
May we all find our own happiness in our corners of the world!

Ballerina Girl