"Today is a Good Day to Drive!" .....Van-Go

July 19, 2008 Sueann was out in the yard when we arrived; she has such a pretty flower garden. After looking around we headed inside for cookie making. Will was our mixer man and dish washer. We were done in no time. Jen, you are gonna love all the cookies.

July 24, 2008 Will spent the morning putting the Roadtrek up on blocks to level it so we could sleep in it. Justin was to come in today at midnight, but his flight got all messed up so he is coming in tomorrow night. Kathy spent the afternoon at her sister, Carmine's. Robert made a yum dinner of steak on the grill; we call him the Grill Master!

July 23, 2008 We made a gazillion pelmani today and put them in the freezer for the party on the 26th. The first ones were made with a meat combo of pork and beef; the second batch were made with strawberries. We sort of cheated and used a wonton ready made dough so they were square; real ones are made with round dough cuts to hold in the juices. Between preparing the foods for the party, we dusted and ran the sweeper; Jayne's looks so clean! Yea, it looks like Will does all the work! He is a big help! "As for dough for pelmeni, it's very easy to make: you have to take plenty of flour (4-5 glasses), add some salt, mix, then stir in eggs and water in equal volumes. 4-5 eggs will make dough for 100+ pelmeni. You have to knead the dough with your hands for some time until it gets smooth and let it rest in plastic bag for an hour before making pelmeni. There are several different ways of handling the dough, I prefer to roll it out a little thicker than it should be in the end...

July 21, 2008 Little Taryn is almost one, Damiana is six and Finnaeus is five. We got the good news, Nicole is expecting number four in March!! Th kids loved their nesting dolls! They have played with Kathy's and were really excited to have their very own. Wednesday was a good day for worms and watermellon.

July 20, 2008 Thanks for the pipe cleaners, Jill! We made whiskers on Wednesday while eating worms and watermellon.

July 22, 2008 Cleaning day for the kitchen at Jayne's. We took everything out of every cupboard! And put it all back. Looks great. Will made us ham salad sandwiches; thanks for the ham Sueann. It was yummy! Kathy cooked down that huge bone and is making lentil soup next week.

July 18-21, 2008 The Kremlin is a self contained city. Inside its red wall are a multitude of palaces, armories, and churches. It is a medieval fortress that today houses Russia government houses. The Armory is headquarters of the Kremlin Guard. A group marched past as we entered. The State Palace uses its 6000 seat hall to host theater, music and dance performances. The Senate building was commissioned by Catherine the Great and is today used as the Presidential residence; when the flag is up he is home. The 40-ton Tsar Cannon is the largest in the world capable of projecting wine casket size balls; it was never used however. The 200-ton Tsar Bell was never completed and never rung, but is the largest in the world. If one thinks of Russia as a traditional matryoska doll, with Moscow contained within the country and the Kremlin similarly nested inside Moscow, then Cathedral Square is the final solid figure contained within the Kremlin; it was Russia's first great public space. Domi...