TNK's dacha

We are back! Leaving on Sunday was nice - an empty train so everyone got a "window" seat; a not so crowded bus so we all got to sit for the bumpy ride; and a raspberry pie waiting for us when we got to the dacha! The pie was the best part. The kids got to "work" right away picking raspberries, playing in the sandbox with Misha's new toy (it was his birthday); picking the pea pods and seeing who got the most or smallest or biggest, etc.

The next day was cold. TNK (which stands for Tatiyana Nikolaevna Karmanova - or as the kids call her - "Baba Tanya") dug through her closet looking for her granddaughters' clothes to see what the kids could wear. Up until that day, it had been hot and nice, so we only had shorts and bathing suits for the kids. We got dressed, ate breakfast and the fun began! Baba Tanya told us at breakfast how her husband SSK (Sergei Stepanovich Karmanov) had built an outdoor shower, but the hole underneath wasn't big enough and it needed some rocks for drainage. So while I was washing the dishes and tending to Pasha and Misha, Yura took David and Kiana to the nearby river and went rock hunting. They brought back a wheelbarrow full of rocks and put them by the shower. Then the kids took turns digging. Yura would loosen up the soil and they would dig it out into the barrell.

As it was warming up, we decided to eat lunch, then go for a swim. After lunch, the cold came back! Clouds covered the sky and we put on our sweats again. Although a little disappointed, the kids picked more raspberries, played in the sandbox and ran around the garden. TNK and Yura had been discussing landscaping designs and the next thing I knew, Yura was redesigning the flow of the flower beds and transplanting grass! The kids thought that was cool, so they pitched in and helped where they could. Pasha enjoyed watching from his blanket. His main goal was to find a way to get to the grass and try some to see if it was any good.


We finished off the evening with dinner and a quick trip to the banya to wash all the days work away. The landscaping wasn't finished, but it sure was in progress!


The next day was warm in the morning so they were back at it, finishing up the now redesigned flowerbed edges. This required another trip to the river where the spontaneous swimming happened. Rocks were being collected inside and along the river, so from what I hear (I was back at the dacha tending to Pasha), Misha stripped down naked and went into the river. David and Kiana hiked up their shorts and waded in the warm water.

When they returned, there was an area where the grass had been removed, so the rocks started going in there. We found more rocks around the garden, which finished up the area nicely. I think at this point, Yura was missing his landscaping days! But it was obvious that evening that it has been over a year since he worked those muscles! Poor Yura. The finished product looked really nice and since the flowers were already in full bloom, it was the small adjustments that made a visible difference. TNK mentioned that her husband SSK will probably be in shock to see all that went on while he was gone (he works during the week and comes out on weekends). I think I heard some talk about putting in a back porch which would require removing one of the flower beds and adding a couple of foot bridges? One can get carried away when lungs are filled with fresh air! Maybe next summer. (Note: The picture to the left is the "after" stage. If you look above where David is standing with the wheelbarrow, that is the same piece of land in the "before grass & edging" stage).

On Wednesday said goodbye. The men were expecting a Bible Study at our place that evening and we ran out of diapers for Pasha. We returned exhausted, dirty, and content. Have a blessed day!