
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Succulent Succulents
I mentioned in my last blog that my succulents were terrible this year. That is true of my usual Hens and Chicks variety. For some reason they just looked awful. In other years they were so pretty that I took many pictures that I played with in Photshop and turned into a quilt. You can see the quilt here.


Friday, October 22, 2010
Exuberance !
When I looked at at my deck and saw my annuals just bursting at the seams, it made me smile.
Everything, except the poor succulents, are at their peak. Little do they know that there will be a frost any day now and they'll be goners.

These vines on the deck railing just started blooming. That was one small plant when I planted it in the spring. I don't know what it's called, but I will surely plant it again next year if I can find it. The Lobelia was an experiment. I loved the intense royal blue color, but it waxed and waned throughout the summer. Not sure if I'll do it again.
I had always heard that Parsley likes it cool and Basil likes it hot and dry. Well, someone should tell that to my herbs. The Parsley is the best I've ever had it and it was a hot, dry summer. The Basil, on the other hand was measly. Barely enough to pick, let alone make Pesto, as I usually do.
I'm kind of hoping we do get a frost soon. I'm getting tired of watering and I can't bare to toss things out when they're still blooming. I'm still picking my Sun Gold tomatoes even though it's so cool at night.
Everything, except the poor succulents, are at their peak. Little do they know that there will be a frost any day now and they'll be goners.



I'm kind of hoping we do get a frost soon. I'm getting tired of watering and I can't bare to toss things out when they're still blooming. I'm still picking my Sun Gold tomatoes even though it's so cool at night.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wordless Wednesday and a Tutorial

Well it is VERY easy to do and you don't need a Google account.
At the end of every blog entry you see small blue letters that say " comments". Click on that and it will take you to a page like this.
Write what you have to say in the big "leave your comment box".
Unscramble the word for word verification. That's so I don't get computer generated spam.
If you don't have a Google account, go way down to the bottom of the page and click "anonymous". But be sure to sign your name in the box with your comment so that I know who you are. If I have your email I will respond to your comment. Then click the orange "Publish Your Comment" box. Try it! It's EASY!
I get so few comments that I wonder if anyone is reading my drivel. It's nice to know that I'm not just talking to myself.


Monday, October 18, 2010
A Fond Farewell
All good things must come to an end and of course our trip was no exception. I've only given you a glimpse of some of the things we did. I couldn't possibly include it all. Suffice it to say that it was a wonderful experience. Our tour guide was terrific, we met some delightful people, saw incredible sights and learned so much. All pictures are clickable.

Na zdorovie! (Russian toast)
I don't know what or where our next trip will be. We usually book it several months in advance. Maybe a river cruise in Europe, maybe Australia, maybe somewhere in the USA, maybe..........
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Red Square and the Kremlin
I must admit to knowing very little about Moscow before I got there. I had done quite a bit of reading about St. Petersburg and the tzars, but ran out of time before I got to Moscow.

This is one view of Red Square, with St. Basil Cathedral at my back.

The famous GUM Department store. I had thought it would be dull and gloomy, but I was so wrong. The exterior, as you can see, is beautiful and although the inside had been quite grim during Stalin and Soviet years, it is now an upscale mall.





The Russian president no longer lives in the Kremlin, but his motorcade takes him to work every morning. Many of the buildings are for state functions and are off limit to visitors, as was this one.
One of the most impressive buildings in the Kremlin is the Armory Museum, which holds much more than guns. Here are the elaborate golden carriages of the Tzars, the coronation crowns and robes, unbelievably beautiful jewels, throne displays and the remaining Faberge eggs exchanged by the last royal couple, and much, much more. There were even horse bridles studded with enormous diamonds. There were no pictures allowed, so you'll have to trust me when I say that it was beyond magnificent.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Moscow Metro
Moscow's Metro system is really something to see. It is clean and efficient, but the older stations dating from the 30's, 40's and 50's are grandiose. We went down the longest escalator I have ever seen to get to the station, rode the train and got off to see three of the most impressive. Be sure to click on each picture for a larger view.

It had 76 magnificent bronze figures of the creators of the new Socialist order: soldiers, workers and collective farm workers.


This station, Park Pobedy, was just corridors of gleaming marble. No graffiti!

Here you can see that it actually is a busy train station.

The newer stations on the edges of town, which we did not see, are just bland, but spotless white tile.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
More Moscow
Just a few pictures today as I continue with my travelogue of my Baltic/Russian tour.




Speaking of weddings, we saw so many here and in St. Petersburg. Weddings are held all days of the week, not just on weekends as they are here in the USA. The ceremony (usually civil) is held in the morning and then the wedding party spends all day going from one historic site to another having their pictures taken. The receptions are held in the evening.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Moscow
I have really been dragging my feet in getting these travel pictures on my blog. Moscow is the last city on our tour and I promise to finish it up in two or three posts. The first thing we learned about the city was the pronunciation. We were told that there is no "cow" in Moscow, but rather it is pronounced with a long "o" for the last syllable.
You may think it strange that I am including these pictures taken in a cemetery, but it was one of the first things we did on our tour and was unlike any other cemetery I had ever seen. Apparently there was a period in Russian history where sculptures were forbidden in the city as public art. So sculpture artists put their talent to work in this cemetery. Each monument had a life-size, or larger, statue of the interred person. Often their profession was depicted, too.
I guess you had to be someone very important to be buried here.
Be sure to click on each picture for a bigger view.


Monday, October 11, 2010
More St. Petersburg









Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)