Real hockey

Last Sunday we decided to go watch a game of "real" hockey. "Real" implies that, unlike my Monday night games, the teams are composed of players who know how to skate backwards and stop, and who don't try to get rid of the puck like it's a hot potato whenever they get it. The other difference is that it costs 500 rubles to watch (while you can come watch us play for free in Berdsk on Monday nights).
The game was showing Sibir (that's the name of the Novosibirsk team) against a team from Kazakhstan (Baris) . Sibir won easily, 6-3 if I remember well. "Real" hockey is quite impressive to watch: the players skate fast, they pass each other the puck faster than I will ever be able to shoot, and they hit each other quite hard. I guess it's easier to hit someone when you don't have to worry about being hit back the Monday after.
To make up for the lack of entertainment provided on Monday nights by the beginners who accidentaly run in the walls or fall hard on their butt, "real" hockey uses cheer leaders who get animated every time the game stops. Not as fun, but interesting enough to get the crowd all cheered up. That's a good trick we'll have to keep in mind if we want to start charging on Mondays.

My life with Urmik

Urmik is the schnauzer that has recently come from Moscow to live with me, here in Akademgorodok. I know that this move represented a lot of sacrifices for him and I am very grateful he left behind his many friends and his chewed soggy bone, and spent a night in a bag in an airplane to come here.

I lack the precise vocabulary and the theoretical knowledge to describe exactly Urmik and how he fits in the Schnauzer race. I believe Urmik is a blend of D 615GY and D698BL, but a cuter version.

Schnauzers in general (if I can assume that Urmik is a representative sample from his race) adapt quite well to Siberian conditions. It seems the perfect place for them to practice their favorite hobbies such as chasing snowballs. A hobby we also appreciate as it does not require any extra equipment or gear, provides hours of fun and gets Urmik very exhausted and he leaves us alone after that.

Urmik also likes the long walks on the frozen lake. An occasion for us to take good pictures while Urmik feels the connections with his cousins the wolves and huskies.



Walking on the frozen lake is a bit cold to my taste, and I still am a bit apprehensive that Urmik takes a giant leak and melts the ice while we are in the middle of the lake. So we are still working on building mutual trust...

Halloweeeen!!

Look at these creepy dishes that we prepared for a small Halloween gathering at our place.

Note it's not so easy to export Halloween in Siberia, because the stores don't carry the basics: no chemical coloring agents for food, no jello to make the classical oozy brain snacks. For a moment, I even thought I'd have to stuff the olives with paprika myself, like the Greeks were probably doing 2000 years ago. So without the basics to do the typical Halloween recipes that can be found on Google, we had to think hard to get our creativity going. I was happy that Katya turned out to be very imaginative about creepy stuffs, which is a quality I appreciate on a once-a-year basis.

Finger foods were a blast. Everybody drank the old witch's brew like if it were milk. And the mushrooms with pepper made very nice little eyes... As for the caviar-made pumpkins, it's a treat that you won't find in the US.

Happy Halloween!