Jet lag

Am suffering extremely delayed jet lag. After a swimmingly easy adjustment in England I am now back on Salt Lake time. Finally fall asleep between 3 and 4am and fight to get out of bed before noon. Probably doesn't help that dusk lasts until midnight and by 4 it is already dawning.
Relieved to have Alison's clarification about from whence she is not losing hair. Enjoyed the pics of mum on her blowup pal.
I am about to head out on a photography project I have dreamed up.

MOSCOW

It is pouring with rain. It rains in Russia like everything else Russian - with huge excess-- A cloudburst that results in immediate street flooding. I left the flat to come read my email and immediately regretted my choice of footwear. There was, just outside the gate, a sea of water. Helpfully someone had arranged some broken bits of brick into stepping stones and I joined the queue of people waiting to demonstrate their sense of balance. I spent most of today just lounging around the flat. Towards late afternoon I was drawn to the windows on one side of the apartment where I saw a sea of kneeling men at prayer. There appears to be a makeshift mosque down there - I shall go and investigate tomorrow. A little later out the other windows there was something transpiring in an embassy compound - It looked like a wedding or maybe a theatrical performance. THe bride wasn't wearing white but something huge and golden and at one point a man in a suit picked her up and twirled about with her. Then it started to rain and everyone ran inside.
I intend to post regularly because this place continues to be as weird as always. You just venture outside and are amazed.

More pictures

Back by popular demand...

Ok, so here is the before and after picture of the "accent" wall in the family room. Most members of the family loathe the new color, but I don't see any of them wielding a brush.

pics

Here are some recent pictures - Catherine suffering through my idea of a birthday cake (key lime cheese cake) and Ryan with friends. God, is pregnancy in the water?

At last an update

I don't have the hang of posting regularly yet and fear that I shall lose my miniscule audience! So here is a little update. The children are out of school for the summer and it is the time of year when I get wiggy according to Craig. I can't bear to see them splayed sloth like in front of the TV, xbox or computer, but seem to lack the wherewithal to keep a constant assault on this slothdom. Miraculously, the past few days have been like a dream come true for me. In fact, as I write this I can hear C, S and a friend downstairs playing a furious game of monopoly. This has been going on for hours, interrupted only by a trip to the bowling alley. It is pouring with rain so have roasted vegetables for dinner which seems hugely unseasonable for June in Utah.
I have, of course, been following the baby updates. Arrival of new niece in California -- finally someone bearing the Hacking last name for the next generation. And of course we have all been avidly been following Alison's blog (or was that boobs?). I am enjoying these pregnancies vicariously. Daniel is over the moon about Olivia and I don't have to contemplate a sleepless night!

A Slice of Americana

So, we went to Catherine's dance recital this evening. The yearly recital, where girls grouped by age, tap, shuffle and often stumble their way through a series of dances, is a flourshing aspect of at least a Utah girlhood. "Suzanne's School of Dance" where Catherine and two of her friends go weekly looks to have around 200 girls from 3-18 trying to step in time. And Suzanne is just one of many valiant women across the Salt Lake valley imparting the love of dance. Every other year the recital is held on the university campus at Kingsbury Hall with costumes. In the off year, there are matching T-shirts in a Church basement. This year was Kingsbury Hall. Dressing rooms, bright lights and, oh, the costumes. I shall try to paint a picture for those of you who don't immediately know what such an event might look like. And stay tuned for photos and perhaps even video to be added next week.
First, the costumes, because clearly this is mainly what it is all about. Each group does three dances and hence, gets three costumes. They are a wonderment of spangly, sequiny, stretchy delight. The very young girls also get at least one dance in yards of tulle. Lest they look too innocent, this is offset by another number in an outfit that Craig remarked "wouldn't look out of place with a pole". The dances fall under one of four rubrics: jazz, hip hop, tap and ballet. Ballet is only for the little girls, and hip hop only for the big ones. The hip hop dances are all to songs that I am quite sure Mrs. Stott does not grasp the lyrics of. My favorite of the evening was Sean Paul's ode to marijauna backing a bevy of jaunty, very blond mormon girls.
But it's not just dancing. There's more! In addition to the dances, there is tumbling. After one of their three dances, the girls demonstrate two tricks that they have been working on. The audience is subjected to an astonishing array of aborted handstands, failed cartwheels and split second head stands. This is all done on blue mats that have been dragged on stage. As an audience we begin to get the hang of the routine and the appearance of the blue mats becomes Pavlovian. We know we are in for some class entertainment. No one is any good at any of the tricks and most people are beyond bad. Why must they do it? Why must they confront the mat of shame? It did make us contemplate buying the DVD of the evening just for the sheer comic value. But given that Catherine was among those who "misjudged" her trick... we thought it might just be unkind.
I promise pictures.