As I sit in our dining room typing this weeks blog, the snow is snowing and the wind is blowing it into quite a blizzard, about 3inches has fallen in less than half an hour.Tomorrow we have friends coming from the UK and we just hope they are prepared for snow, as you will see from the first pictures we do still have quite a bit of the white stuff. Reports come to us from friends in England that temperatures are up, and spring flowers are blooming, and we still have all that to look forward to.
This picture is taken from our guest bedroom
In the blizzard we couldn't see the trees at the bottom of the plot
Since I last reported from Upes Iela we have had problems with our Internet connection in as much as most of the time it's not been there. Gets terribly frustrating as it is our lifeline to friends, and more importantly family.All possible repairs have been made and new parts installed,but the problems still seem to be there,at the moment we are running on reduced capacity and boy! oh boy! is it slowwwwww.!!!!!!!!. Thank goodness communication with God doesn't depend on such things, just a quick word and He hears His children.
. Last week we had friends from the UK stay overnight with us, two Dorothy's, Alan and Tony. It was good to see them again and catch up on news from England. We can't say "home" as the family tell us Latvia is now your home mum and dad, you just visit England.
Dorothy Ellis is the lady who introduced me to Latvia in 2004 when I joined a team bringing aid to people who were in great need of love and practical support,it was truly a life changing experience. Thanks Dorothy. We were able to visit some local folk and take them some food and a little financial help, unfortunately the snow prevented us from getting to some of the local pensioners.
On a brighter note ,we are happy to report that one lady who we visited on a regular basis now has a place in a home for pensioners in Vecumnieki where she will be well cared for, we plan to visit her in the near future.
We also had visitors from a little closer to home when our neighbours daughter-in-law brought her new baby to show us. His name is Kaspar's and he's a gorgeous little boy, he came with his big sister Kittya , who is 3years old and a real poppet,
You can see from the picture Valerie was in her element
Friday the 5th saw International women's day and yet another concert in the school, followed by a local "am dram"group who treated us to a Latvian farce, we were able to follow the plot but didn't understand the words, and a good time was had by all.
A week later we were in the theatre once again but this time at the other end of the spectrum, the "Dailes Teatris"in Riga is very modern.We had booked tickets some time ago, for "Saju Amors Bultu". Upon arrival it was suggested that we visit the theatre cafe for some refreshment, and what a treat that was, two cups of tea, a large slice of chocolate and raspberry gateaux and some Latvian honey cake set me back the princely sum of 3 Lats. Hows that for good value?
Unsure of just what we had booked for we took our very comfortable seats, sat back and waited in anticipation. Well we enjoyed two hours of music and song about the life and love in the circus. The cast were brilliant, they had such enthusiasm which made the whole performance most enjoyable.
My latest project was to build a fireplace,using some recycled wood,and other bits and bobs,, BUT !!"Just popping out to B&Q takes on a new meaning!!!!! Our equivelent of "B&Q" is 60km away so!! next time you are popping out to your local DIY store, spare a thought for me,so plans and list's are a must.
I am now waiting for visitors comments, and commissions { I think it has turned out OK,!!}
To finish this week on a high point our chicken's have started to lay again, saved from the pot once again.I think I will have a boiled egg and soldiers for tea!!
Well here we are the 1st of March. February came and went in a sort of white blur, temperatures have risen to a comfortable +1-2c when the sun isn't out and a little higher when it is. Spring is in the air judging by the way our cockerels are acting yippee!!!!! Perhaps we might get some eggs from our hens,for the last twelve weeks we have fed and watered them and the payment we have had could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Valerie has on several occasions gone in the hen house calling "chicken chasseur" and "cock au vin" but it just fell on deaf ears, perhaps if we show them the film "chicken run" it might have the desired effect.Watch this space for further reports. [Alright I know this isn't a winter picture but it's a nice one]
We had a phone call from our friend Egil the other day, asking if he could bring the man who owns "the dry house" [large barn] to meet us as he had heard we were living in Stelpe and would like to ask our opinion on some things. OK! lets see what he wants. He has a new house in the village which can be let as a holiday rent,and also how could he develop an income from the wool of a flock of sheep he keeps as a hobby. He was a very interesting gentleman and shared some stories of his life in Soviet times [my goodness what sheltered lives we led in England] He stayed for two hours and so now we have to get our thinking caps on. If anyone wants a holiday in rural Latvia just let us know and we can sign you up.
The highlight of our week was meeting friends in Bauska for a meal in the Aveni restaurant [Aveni is Latvian for raspberry] gave a bit of a novel twist to eating out, I can assure you no "raspberries" were blown. Oh yes if you find yourself in Bauska we recommend it as a good place to eat [check it out on www.aveni.lv] but don't go on a Friday unless you like line dancing and country music.
We had a lovely meal together celebrating Kathleen's birthday, caught up on all the news and before we knew it over four hours had flown by,we parted with a promise they would pop in on their way home to show us plans for a new house they plan to build this year. Our journey home,was interesting to say the least, some twenty five kilometers on a road that was like driving on a skating rink!!!
Kathleen and Ian arrived next morning and we did a bit more catching up!! well one thing led to another and so they stayed the night, leaving mid day Sunday with a three hour journey ahead of them, we had an email later that day to say they had arrived home safely.Thanks K&I for a great time.
This left the afternoon free for us to visit Egil, Sandra and family across the river.As the crow flies they are no more than 200 meters away,it is always good to spend time with them,we have learned that just being together is a real blessing,sharing day to day things, but walking there yesterday caused us some funny moments as the snow has a firm top to it and can give way when you put your weight on it, causing one to walk like someone under the "influence", lurching from side to side, and falling over,Valerie has become quite an expert at this [falling over in the snow that is] as previous pictures have shown.
I am now waiting for visitors comments, and commissions { I think it has turned out OK,!!}
