How can...

[ConnerVT]

How can I have MORE stuff packed into suitcases going back to visit my wife's family than we did when we moved here last year? 

Finished packing yesterday.  The hard side suitcase was over 38Kg when I first weighed it!  Had to redistribute the wealth, and chance moving some of the bottles to a less sturdy suitcase.  I just hope Rvr's hot sauce doesn't break, spilling on to all of the clothing in there.  :?

It will be the first real vacation we have been able to take since we married (always difficult when you have a 6 y.o.).  My MIL has been buying wine and vodka to drink with me, as everyone else in the house is a tea totaler.  Wish my liver well.

The whole family was making pelmeni the other day.  Made two batches of dough, and they lost count at 720.  My guess is that would fill a small carry on suitcase.

We will celebrate our one year anniversary with a party of about 40 guests.  My wife's family is large (My FIL is one of 8 children, most who live in/near the city).  A few days later, we will head off to Sochi for some fun and sun (although it has been around 30C degrees here in VT every day so far in June).

Well, need to be at the airport in about 3 hours, so hope all of you boys and girls can play nice until I return...

 

[Jet]

Have a great trip Conner!

The wife and little guy head over there this time next week, and we're having the same problem with bottle distribution

[jb]

This is the T/R I'm looking forward to reading.

[ConnerVT]

This is the T/R I'm looking forward to reading.

If I can remember any of it...

Fortunately, one early anniversary present was a new JVC digital camcorder, and 8 DV tapes.  So at least I can review the footage.

[KenC]

Have a great trip.

KenC

[Bruce]

Conner - we should be in Tver about the same time.  I am going later this week.

Bruce

[ConnerVT]

Well,I'm wheels down here in Tver, no thanks to Aeroflot for extending our already long layover in New York an extra 5 hours (no fun with an anxious young son!).  At least the pilot realized he forgot to extend the flaps, and aborted our takeoff BEFORE reaching the end of the runway!

I'm sitting in an Internet cafe, with a broken spacebar and pitiful bandwidth.  I should have my ISP for the laptop soon, so I will start uploading some T/R stuff for jb's (and everyone elses) enjoyment.

So far, my liver is holding it's own.  Start me off with a bottle of Russian Standard Premium Blend, and I'll be ready for anything.  Even my wife joined us, and she's more of a cognac drinker.

Anyway, more soon...

(Quite interesting the list of names who have posted to this thread so far.  A good group of people, AFAIAC...)

[Bruce]

I hope Delta turns out better than your run over with Aeroflot.  Five hour delays are no fun.  I am glad you got him some hot sauce - my bags are already overflowing with trinkets for the family plus cans of food stuff which the wife just has to bring over, which naturally weigh down the luggage.  Too bad my wife can not bring any food other than canned or she probably would have made me bring a rack of lamb, a side of beef, some Purdue chickens and a side of pork on ice to bring alot of her favorite FOOD from America home to the locals.

[anono]

have a great rip conner, looking forward to  reading your TR

[ConnerVT]

Bringing food into Russia is no big deal.  It's bringing it back to the USA that's a hassle, due to USDA regulations.  But I expect that Russia will begin to tighten their regulations sooner or later.  They already have had problems with pests imported from other countries, which is why the USDA is so strict.

I finally have grabbed a calling card, allowing me a dail-up connection here to the Internet.  Sitting at the kitchen table, drinking my first cup of coffee.  Now, I just need time to compose some text of my past few days.  Been pretty busy, but now it's slowly going to ramp down.  For about 10 minutes, I think...

We have been preparing for our 1st wedding anniversary party.  I gave my wife a budget figure to work within, and it looks like we will make it.  There are going to be about 35 guests.  Yesterday she confirmed the menu at the cafe, and Dad and sister went shopping for the liquid refresment: 20 bottles of vodka, 24 bottles of champagne and wine, 30 bottles of water, 30 boxes of juice.  Hope there will be enough.  My BIL Serg and cousin Andrei are already making plans to have me very drunk by the end of the night. 

Today I'm supposed to hook up with RVR, and drop off his Red Cross package.  He and his wife have been very busy, so we won't be able to hook up for dinner until my wife and I get back from our one year late honeymoon in Sochi.  (BTW, our wives used to attend the same English class here, taught by Sunny from RWG).

We leave Thursday for 5 nights in Sochi.  My wife is not the best flyer, and had what little confidence she had in Aeroflot now completely eradicated, so we will be traveling by train.  Tickets by train in a premium (ie private) coach were more than 3x the cost of airfare!  We opted for the semi-private tickets, which ran about par with flying.  Should be interesting.

Well, I need another cup of coffee, so I'll sign off now.  Paka.