wanderingquilter

In Moscow

Posted on June 10, 2013 by kuwaitquilter

This afternoon I finally got back to Russia. I am in Moscow now, and will be for a few days until my single entry visa can be exchanged for a multi entry one.

After being met at the airport by a driver who took me the long road from the airport in the south to the Holiday Ann on the north side of Moscow, I settled in and Napped. It is a 12 hour flight from Las Angeles to Moscow, and I had already flown there from Calgary. It seemed quite silly to be flying back right over Calgary as we did the “over the top” route. I’m hoping that I can sleep well and get myself on Moscow time quickly, as when I leave for Sakhalin Island, I will have another 8 time zones to deal with.

Off the the office tomorrow morning, and then I should have two days to explore. There are several train stations close to my hotel, and there should be enough in central Moscow to keep me busy. As I will have nothing to do here by myself in the evenings, hopefully I will get busy and let you know all about it right away.

Until tomorrow, da svidania.

Posted in Into Eastern Russia | Tagged flight, Moscow, Russia | 2 Comments

Spring is Sprung – Memories of Springs Gone By

Posted on June 4, 2013 by kuwaitquilter

The flowers I remember as a child are beginning to bloom. I am so lucky to be here and remember them.

The ones in my earliest memories are the caragana bushes. On the farm where I grew up, we had tall hedges of them, and there were two rows about 10 feet apart. The space between them was my play house, and I delighted in showing friends the wonder of it.

Soon after the leaves, these lovely, yellow pea flowers came out. If you pulled one apart, you would find a drop of sweet nectar. Of course, I wasn’t the only one that knew about this. With the flowers, came the bees. Needless to say, I wasn’t playing between the rows while they were in bloom.

After the flowers dropped, tiny pods like peas developed. I would pick them and shell out the tiny green seeds for “food” for my tea parties. I was careful not to eat them, although I don’t think they are really poisonous. And when the pods ripened, they would split with a loud crack, flinging the seeds far away, and leaving the sides all hard and curled.

I grew up in the bottom of a shallow valley with brush along water runs and the creek that had carved the valley in the first place. Saskatoon bushes grew in some places………. and were a highly prized find. The flowers were sweet and white, and one of the first bushes to bloom. You needed to mark the spot carefully, and hope that late frosts and early birds didn’t beat you to the luscious fruit in July. I think that this shrub only grows in the Canadian Prairies……. it tastes a bit like a blueberry, but is redder, and much more delicious, especially with just a touch of lemon. Saskatoon pies and jam were always a wonderful summer treat.

In the middle of the lawn, a lilac and a chokecherry bush stood entwined, fighting for dominance. I’m not sure now which one was the intended and which was the interloper, but as chokecherries grow wild, I’m betting on the lilac.

The chokecherry bloomed first, filling the air with a wonderful, sweet aroma. The long racemes of tiny white flowers soon shed their petals like snow on the grass, and small green fruit grew. As they ripened and turned dark purple, it was always tempting to pick one and pop it into your mouth….. at least until you knew what to expect. These tiny fruits have a very large pit, and the most pucker-power of anything I have ever tasted. But cook the berries, squeeze out the juice and boil it with sugar, and you have the most delectable pancake syrup on the planet.

Soon after the chokecherries, the lilac bush would bloom. Now there are so many varieties and hybrids, but the one in the lawn was of the old variety. A heavenly scent emanated from the large cones of tiny purple flowers. they were a favourite to bring in and put in a vase to sweetly scent the house.

As you can see, with the cool weather and rain, the lilacs here are only beginning to open, but I am hoping that they will be by Saturday when I leave.

There are lots more flowers that were signs of spring to me as I prowled among the hills and grasses of my valley…… these are just a few of the early shrubs.

And a nostalgic glimpse into my childhood.

Posted in O Canada | Tagged Alberta, Canadian Prairies, caragana, childhood memories, chokecherry, lilac, Prairies, Saksatchewan, saskatoon | 6 Comments

Obstacle Course

Posted on May 24, 2013 by kuwaitquilter

This has been a very crazy two months. I wonder if this is the longest visa run on record. I wonder if Guinness has a category for this.

Sixty days ago, I was in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, enjoying finally being with my husband again, after a long, drawn out move from Norway. We were wondering what they planned to do about renewing our visas……. or maybe I had just heard that they were sending us to Bangkok.

I have been in Canada now for 45 days. it snowed when we first arrived. Now, on May 23, in the midst of predicted record rainfall, it is snowing. Huge snowballs of wet snow. It is beginning to land and stay on the grass, instead of melting on contact. The temperature is +3.2 C. They call Alberta God’s Country. I think God has quite a sense of humour.

The obstacle course of applying for a Russian visa is ongoing. Russia has a lot of national holidays in May. When my Letter of Invitation was finally issued and on it’s way to Calgary, we discovered that my name had been misspelled. It is now on its return trip, somewhere between Los Angeles and Moscow, where it will be corrected and sent back to me. With any luck, I will be in Moscow by the middle of June, and in Yuzhno shortly after that.

And back in Canada six weeks later for summer holidays.

Life sometimes pitches curve balls that you didn’t expect. While it is a nuisance to be away from home for so long, I have been enjoying the unexpected time with family and friends.I was in BC for the long May weekend….. playing fetch with my daughter’s dog, Vimyhiking with my nephew on Sumas Mountain….. visiting Whistler, BC for the first time.

Saturday I am going to yet another quilt show at Heritage Park in Calgary……..

It has been good. But I am still longing for home. Could I just have an easy one over home plate, please?

Posted in O Canada | Tagged Alberta, BC, British Columbia, delays, snow, Sumas Mountain, visa run, Whistler | 7 Comments

5000 Kilometers and Counting

Posted on May 11, 2013 by kuwaitquilter

I have been in Canada for a bit over a month. We rented a car at the airport when we arrived. Since David left for Russia on April 20, I have bee driving around Saskatchewan, Canada visiting friends and relatives.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with the Canadian Prairies, the southern part is FLAT and very lightly populated. Cities and towns are quite far apart. We measure trips by hours rather than kilometers. Two hours is nothing………. a four hour trip to a major city to do some shopping is not uncommon.

I think by now you are beginning to realize the significance of the title of this post. I looked at my rental papers this morning – the odometer reading was 30082 km. This morning it was 35548. I think that is a record, even for me.

While I await my Letter of Invitation from Russia, so that I can apply for a new entry visa and finally go back to my new home in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, I have been driving around in circles, visiting friends and relatives, and cadging bed and board for a few days as I go. As my Mother is now in a seniors’ home, I have been trying to stay fairly close, so that I can spend as much time with her as possible. I have seen Spring trying desperately to push Winter out of the Prairies. Three weeks ago, the Canada geese couldn’t even find open water to land in.

It is as if Mother Nature forgot to turn her calendar from March to April, and even now, with May already a third over, she is balking yet. There is still ice on lakes and ponds, snow banks along the tree rows.

It is great to see the Saskatchewan sun and marvel at the incredible clouds in this vast, open sky; to revisit small towns – some dying a slow death, and some still thriving in spite of diminished population and the tendency to shop in the city because you have to go anyways to see the doctor or pick up parts. The grain elevators that used to mark every small town in the prairies are a thing of the past now. The few left have been bought privately and are used for seed cleaning operations.

Once you knew a town was ahead because of these prairie skyscrapers. Most of them have been moved or torn down……… and if you blink, you will not even notice you have passed Marquis or Duval or Parkbeg. Often the only clue is the trees close to the highway and a few broken down buildings.

It is a bitter-sweet kind of a visit – good to visit friends again, but very conscious of aging – both myself and those around me, as well as the culture of the prairies. Smart phones and internet have brought us haltingly into the new world. No longer can a farm wife go to the city for parts, and return home with only what was on the list when she left home. On the other hand, if they don’t have what she needs, she can call home to see if there is a suitable substitute. Progress has its price.

Before this gets too nostalgic and melancholy, I must hasten to say that I love this land, and I love being back to see it awaken from Winter’s grasp. Good friends – none can compare to Prairie folk in their openness and readiness to lend a hand, or a bed.

I hope you enjoy the photos of Saskatchewan – the high water of spring floods, the flat goldenness of left-over Autumn and stubborn white of snow that came too early and left too late.

Of hundreds of snow geese on their migration north –

and cattle in the fields, so glad for green grass after months of dry hay –

Of open skies, and the open hearts of those that inhabit this incredible land.

Posted in O Canada, Photography | Tagged Canada, miles, Prairies, Saskatchewan, skies, snow, spring, traveling, visiting | 5 Comments

Missing in Action

Posted on April 17, 2013 by kuwaitquilter

Wow! It’s been a while since I was online to write. Life sure does throw strange twists and turns at you when you don’t expect it.

We are now in Canada-actually we arrived here a week ago. Yes, I know the last you heard we were enjoying the warmth of Bangkok and applying for visas to return to home and work in Russia. Long story short, we don’t have Thai passports, and didn’t go in on long term visas, only the regular one month ones, and so they couldn’t process our applications. So here we are. At least, being Canadian citizens, we are eligible here. David had to go down to Toronto to apply, but will have his visa in hand Thursday and be back to Calgary. He heads back to Russia on the weekend, and then the process to apply for my visa will begin. I will probably be here for another month at least.

That being said, it is nice to have an extra chance to come home and see our families. I’ve spent some time with my son here, and next week will go to Saskatchewan to visit my Mom, daughter, and a few friends.

Winter is still here – really unusual for the middle of April. Mother Nature, would you please look at your calendar, and flip the page to spring! Back to buying clothes, as we went to Bangkok never dreaming that we might be landed in cold weather again.

I have lots of photos from Thailand, and stories to tell, so stay tuned. When David returns with the power cord for my laptop, I will do my best to give you a glimpse of the great time we had there.

Thanks for dropping by.

Posted in Norway - the New Adventure | Tagged Canada, cold, snow, Visa | 3 Comments

Norway Under My Skin

Posted on April 7, 2013 by kuwaitquilter

There is a song by Cole Porter, made famous by Frank Sinatra –

I’ve got you under my skin.
I’ve got you deep in the heart of me.
So deep in my heart that you’re really a part of me.
I’ve got you under my skin.

Norway did it to me, and I never even suspected it.

I have always lived in the sun…… and it’s mostly cloudy and rainy here…….. and I have come to love the rain, and miss it if we have too many sunny days in a row.

I’m used to people saying hello on the street, even if they don’t know you ……..so many Norwegians will look at the ground as they pass so that you can’t catch their eye. Don’t get me wrong, I have met lots of friendly people as well, and I’ve found that having an unusual dog has helped spark conversations. I was told once that Norwegians are like thermoses – hard and cold on the outside, but warm on the inside. It’s a good description.

There have been frustrations to be sure. The hassle getting drivers licenses without having to take the course like an 18 year old…… and waiting for them to change the rules because Norwegians don’t make exceptions.

Learning to shop on Saturday mornings because the stores all close in the afternoon and don’t open again until Monday morning. this is a great rule, actually, as that way almost everyone gets some weekend time with their families. But it does take getting used to.

Remembering that NOTHING will be open on Christmas or Easter, even though Norwegians as a whole are not religious.

Wanting to talk to older people and not knowing the language well enough……..I think that must be how a two year old feels, and why they throw tantrums when we don’t understand.

I love the green of the hills and trees, and the ever changing blankets of flowers. I’ve been so blessed to live near a park, and have good neighbours. I’ve even gotten good enough at the language that a time or two I was mistaken for a native…. For a few seconds, anyways.

Being one-quarter Norwegian (my great grandparents left Stavanger area in the late 1800’s), I found it fascinating to see where they had come from, and just what the conditions were that made emigrating look so inviting. I wish that I had tried sooner to try to find grave stones, or remaining relatives, and quit feeling immobilized by the cold.

Well, I left Norway in early March, and have seen an amazing number of new and exciting things, but you know….. I left a big part of my heart in Norway. I definitely have to return someday to get it back….. Or maybe I’ll end up leaving a bigger part there. It sure felt like home to me. I guess there is something that is in the blood, after all.

Posted in Norway - the New Adventure | Tagged frustrations, love of Norway, memories, rain, under my skin | 6 Comments

What Autism is Really About – Or Blue Scarves Don’t Help Anyone

Posted on April 4, 2013 by kuwaitquilter

Amid all the foundations clambering for our money, and the hype to wear a certain colour to show our support for one group or another, this young lady’s has given us in inside look at what autism is really like. Well worth a read. Thank you, Gareeth.

gareeth

It’s that time of year again. April fast approaches and with it the scramble to not so much become aware of autism but to be seen to be aware. Like any condition where being aware of it is “cool” there will be the usual Facebook things. For autism for whatever reason the colour of choice is blue. Like cancer awareness, autism awareness is an industry in and of itself.

You can buy blue accessories to show the world how aware you are. Along with any other number of things that really don’t do much for actual autistics at all. The foundation that shall not be named (I have chosen to treat this especially noxious group much like Voldemort is in the Harry Potter universe) will make a very hefty sum of money in April as will many other groups. The raise money for autism trend is spreading so you can…

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged autism | Leave a comment

First Impressions of Bangkok

Posted on April 3, 2013 by kuwaitquilter

Wow – where to begin?

The heat and humidity. It hits you like a wall, especially when you aren’t used to it. It envelopes you like another skin. I’d forgotten the feel of being totally warm, totally immersed in a thin layer of perspiration. It warms you to the core. After over a year of never really being warm, except in dry, overheated buildings, it felt like a homecoming. I love it. David says my years living in the Middle East have ruined me.

The colour. Thais love bright colours, it seems. And it is everywhere, the gleaming psychedelic mix of pink and green and yellow on the buses and taxis. The decoration on tuk-tuks, billboards and the street-side shops that crowd pedestrians on so many of the sidewalks. The small alters along the streets and in so many yards. The riot of bougainvillea along the canals and other flowers everywhere.

The buildings – huge skyscrapers all around. You really only get a true feeling for just how big this city is as dusk settles into dark and the lights come on – as far as you can see. It’s quite amazing to look down from a tall building, or across the city from the 37th floor. And when you get out and about, the mix of tall and stately in close proximity to small and tattered looking makes you really look again.

The motorcycles – they are everywhere. They weave in and out of the traffic in alarming proximity to cars, buses and other vehicles. They all filter to the head of the pack at red lights. There are motorcycle taxis, bikes with whole families on board….. And the traffic jams are insane.

The smiles – as your eyes clear from the confusion of so much going on around you, you see smiling, happy people. People who will strike up a conversation with you as you sit in the shade for a moment away from the blazing 38 C sunshine. The person bringing you your plate of rice or noodles. Busy people, rushing of the where ever – but they still look happy….. maybe even content.

We had a busy first day in Bangkok…… I’ll take you along on our adventures another time – but here are a few of the sights and colours…… it’s really surprisingly quiet for all the bustle and crowds.

Posted in Photography, Travels | Tagged adventure, Bangkok, colours, heat, motorcycles, skyscrapers, traffic | 4 Comments

Airports and Airlines

Posted on April 2, 2013 by kuwaitquilter

Last Thursday, I really got an insight into the wide variety you find in airports. It was a study in contrasts, to be sure.

We started out in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk…….. an international airport on a very mini-scale. There is one baggage carousel, a small hot-dog size souvenir stand (with an amazing variety of rather interesting items, I must admit) and one international departure lounge with one shop that sells drinks and snacks, all at Yuzhno’s rather inflated prices. The benches are comfortable, and are not divided by armrests, so if it wasn’t busy, you could stretch out to relax. Low backs, though, so you must stay awake unless you have your back to a wall.

You walk out on the tarmac to your plane.

We flew the first leg of our journey with Asaiana Airlines, and what amazing service! I wonder if we can send all of our Air Canada staff over for retraining?

Transfer at Seoul Incheon Airport. Talk about night and day. This is one of the largest and busiest airports in the world. It boasts a book store and a Museum of Korean Culture. The security line was quite long, but moved quickly, and we were soon out looking for food in the amazing multi-national food court. Add Korean efficiency to that too….. You order your food in one location, Korean, American, Chinese, burgers…….. And get separate chits and beepers for each location that you will need to pic up your food. One central kiosk for drinks, which you get right there. Wait time was less than 5 minutes, and the place was busy.

After we ate, we realized that our departure gate was at another terminal. No worries, there is a shuttle train that runs every 5 minutes, and we were soon at our departure gate.

When we had checked in in Yuzhno, we were not seated together on either flight. There was no problem in moving up on the first one, as we each had three seats to ourselves. While we awaited our flight in Seoul, however, we were pleased that they called us to the desk and changed our boarding passes so we could travel together.

Boarding was quick and efficient as well on Thai Airways? I was amazed at how soon we were seated. Again, service was quick, efficient, and gracious. In typical David-fashion, my husband was asleep almost as soon as we had eaten ( and we were hardly in the air when the food and drinks arrived). I tossed and turned, but that was just me in an airplane.

Six hours later, were arrived in Bangkok. Again, deplaning was quick, and we were soon in the main hallway, with signed informing us that immigration was a mere 450 meters away. We walked to the second one, and had a bit of a wait, but it wasn’t that long until we had our luggage and were wondering where to find a taxi. Again, no worries. We were greeted by someone who quickly got us one, and we were on our way through the early morning darkness of Bangkok.

We will see what the departure setup is like when we leave with our visas, but I’m totally impressed with these Asian airports and airlines. It’s no wonder they have the reputation they have for world class service. I’m a believer.

Four am saw us curled up and ready for a good rest before we faced our first day of exploration in Bangkok.

Posted in Travels | Tagged Airports, Bangkok, flying, food, Seoul, shuttle, Walking, Yuzhno, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk | 2 Comments

The Last Morning Walk in Sakhalin

Posted on March 30, 2013 by kuwaitquilter

for a while. This afternoon, we are being shipped off to Bangkok, Thailand, to apply for new Russian visas.

This may sound a bit weird, but I’m not really happy about going to Thailand. I’ve never been there, and I’m looking forward to seeing one of the countries that EVERYONE goes to visit – but not right now!

It will just be three weeks tomorrow since the pets and I finally arrived in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, after planning and waiting since November. I’d really like to stay a while and get settled. But our visas expire tomorrow, so there is no other option. Somehow, a stay in a Russian jail is not on my bucket list.

This morning, Snoopy and I had a wonderful walk in the park. The air was mild, the sun shone – not brilliantly, but it was there, promising more melting later in the day. There is water standing in the road behind the apartment.