Merry (Orthodox) Christmas

We haven't really observed the Orthodox Christmas - didn't even attend church last night - and the weather certainly doesn't feel like Christmas, Orthodox or otherwise. Yesterday, the expected high was 67; today is a bit colder, but still in the 50's. It's just as well that we didn't go to church: I've been battling a cold since Friday. It's not the same thing that Igor's had on and off for a month, and I think I may be getting better. But last night, I had to elevate my upper body in order to get some sleep. Otherwise, I felt like I had something in my throat. Igor slept terribly as well between my difficult breathing and Nikita kicking. Nikita seemed to know not to sleep next to me; so far, he hasn't come down with anything.

I realize that this is my first real post in the New Year, so I'll recap a little bit. Last weekend was filled with celebrations: a holiday open house at my friend Melissa's, Galina's birthday (12/30), and New Year's. I got to catch up with my bookgroup at Melissa's; we've been terrible about meetings lately. Galina's request for her birthday were Bethany's Lemon Squares (a recipe I received from friend named Leslie, not Bethany) and ice-cream cake. We got the latter from J.P. Lick's - strawberry and black raspberry - which turned out very well (better than Lizzy's from last year); I'm surprised there's still some in the freezer. Galina also made blinis with meat and various Russian salads. We celebrated New Year's with roast duck, potatoes roasted in duck fat, and Russian salads. As usual, I tried out the Cook's Illustrated recipe for roast duck; it turned out okay, but the breast was too dry. I ended up recycling a fair amount of the meat into duck soup (yummy - with ginger, mushrooms, bok choy, and mung bean noodles) and duck tetrazini (also very good).

Hanging out with Nikita has been fun. Because of the warm weather, we've been going to various playgrounds (which is where Igor thinks I caught my bug). He's also been obsessed with puzzles. I think I already mentioned that within a week, he was able to put together a 25-piece puzzle (a headshot of a parrot) that he received for Christmas. So, two days ago, I bought him a 36-piece puzzle, a street scene by Richard Scarry. A bit more difficult, but he's already getting the hang of it. I wish libraries lent out puzzles because they cost about the same as books. Otherwise, I'll have to figure out how to make them myself. I don't think paper alone will satisfy him because he likes the little "thump" he hears when he puts two pieces together. My brother Michael says we should look into Froebel blocks - Frank Lloyd Wright played with them. We shall see.