Once again, I need to bring this blog up to date.  Sooo much has happened.  It is one of those unfair things in life that when things get busy, lots of stuff happens that would be interesting to read about, but then I don't have time to write any of it down.  Gee, sounds like a time management problem for me! hmmmm.  Well, time to get to a quick summary.

First, (re)enter Masha:

Welcome back!  Masha spent the 2004 / 2005 school year with us, and has now recently completed her first year of Medical school in St. Petersburg (and doing very well at it).  The three of us had talked about her visiting this summer for a month or so, and everything worked out very smoothly.  She arrived in mid-July and is now happily eating watermelon, watching many DVDs (Netflix to the rescue), and of course hanging out with us and our strange summer activities.  Of course we are enjoying having her here immensely, and planning a full summer.  Updates as they happen (and as I have time to write about them).

The other piece of excitement is that we are going to be hosting Nina from Novgorod this next school year!  Her name is Nina, also known as  "Brave Nina"!  

It is a funny story, because the first person to tell Nina she had a family here for the year was Masha.  We were talking with her on the phone arranging her trip here, and told her about Nina.  She immediately asked for her email, wrote her, and then they met.  And you know the amazing part?  Even after surely hearing all about us, Nina is still willing to come and stay with us :-))) .  We have since exchanged a few emails and had a telephone conversation with Nina, but of course we still don't really know much about her.  But we do have pictures, so here she is - somewhere unknown in Russia with her Mom:

More about Nina as she arrives, I'm sure. In the meanwhile, the summer goes on, and busy it will be.

We are planning something each weekend, and trying to squeeze everything we can get out of summer.  One month can come and go so quickly.  Hopefully in addition to sailing and walking and bicycle riding we will get to the Adirondacks and to the ocean in New Jersey.

Gwendolyn is not getting to play and rest as much as Masha and me.  She is working hard at her nursing training.  For the next three weeks in August she has "clinicals", where she follows other nurses around in various hospitals and practices her, well, "nursing stuff".  By the time she is done with this she will be qualified to do all sorts of stuff, from doing examinations, to diagnosis,  to giving injections and (gasp!) setting IVs.  She is practicing everything on me, but one rule remains - no needles! :-)  There are stories she has to tell, but they are almost rated R, even though they are hilarious!

During the summer my company has instituted summer hours, where we work four 10 hour days instead of five 8 hour days.  Interesting concept, and gee having that Friday off does seem to make the weekend much longer.  But those OTHER four days!  Work starts at 7 am, and runs until 5:30.  I feel like a high school kid getting up that early!  :-)  Now all we need is a school bus!

 

All told, I think it is actually a good deal for the company. Yes, it takes me a while to wake up and start working, but heck, that happens each day.  After that, I get a longer, uninterrupted work day.  But boy does that morning go slowly!  Once you get to lunch, you are good to go, however, as the time between lunch and when I normally go home is about the same.

 

Then you have Friday off.  Well, here

I just got back from giving Anya a short run on the trolly trail.  After a reasonably warm day, it is starting to cool off - down to 21 degrees now.  The lightning bugs are flashing, it is finally starting to get dark, with a deeping blue-violet sky.

But this is not a normal night - it is the Forth of July-- Independance Day.  Since the start of my run, the sky and soundscape is filled with the sound of random fireworks.  Some of city-sponsored displays, shooting high into the air with great sprays of colored flames, and many are just individuals setting off their charges of smaller fireworks.  A very cool experience.

In past years we have watched these from the water at the yacht club.  But on those nights we took the next day as a vacation day, so we could simply drop into a tent afterwards and sleep.  No such luck this year - I myself did get a "5 day weekend", so I feel like I have had a vacation, but G cannot claim being so lucky - she has a major paper due tomorrow (Wednesday)!  So she has been writing and writing.  She did camp with me last night at CYC and planned to stay today also, but the weather was on-and-off raining, so she came home.  I stayed and raced an awesome sailboat race (I will spare you the details, but it was windy!), and came home around dinner time.

Sailing this year is strange - it seems (and I am not the only one to say this) that it has been really windy this year.  Many weekends sailing was exciting, true, but not very relaxing, with much concentration required to just keep the boat upright.  But all told, no complaints.  Although a bit unusual with all of G's studying, I have actually been able to enjoy this summer quite a bit.  I am looking forward to more.

Well, no doubt, this has been a classic rainy day.  At the beginning of last week the temperatures were in the mid-thirties, but now we were lucky to get to 18 today.  It rained, and rained, and rained.  My accomplishment for the day?  I spliced a split-bridle mainsheet (don't ask, just don't ask!).  Exciting, huh?  And house cleaning, etc.

Tomorrow I try to sail (we have not actually gotten a race off in V15s yet - the first week it was crazy windy, and last week then canceled racing due to no wind at all), but if I do, it will only be for a bit - I have to fly out to San Diego, CA for a TWO HOUR meeting on Monday.  Groan.... I am trying to figure out how to make lemonade ("if life gives you lemons, make lemonade!") out of this lemon I have been given - still thinking how.