Friends, Family and Fun

December 2016

December was a mixture of parties and events with new friends in Moscow and parties and events with old friends and family in Ottawa and Halifax. I am blessed to have so many fabulous people in my life! 

December 6 features a trip to the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum for concert by Mikhail Rud; a Soviet pianist that defected in Paris in 1976 at 23 years of age. The concert included the music of Gluck, Mozart, Wagner-Liszt, Debussy, Ravel and Mussorgsky accompanied by, what I considered, weird video installations attributed to Kandinsky and Chagall. Rebecca, Eva and I grabbed burgers at Voronezh and then headed to the concert which was held in a beautiful room in the Museum featuring fabulous art. I may have fallen asleep for a few minutes (!) but the music was fantastic and the surroundings surreal.

December 10th, after a highly entertaining Canada Club on Friday night, I was up and at‘ em Saturday morning for a brunch at I Love Cake in Patriarshiye Ponds; an affluent residential area in downtown Moscow. Looking at the cake offerings in the two displays, the reason for the restaurant’s name is obvious but they also serve a spectacular brunch. 

The Pond is one of the main settings of Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita; a must read that is currently on my list of Russian books to buy. After brunch, Robin and I strolled through the area checking out some of the quaint little shops and bakeries along the way. A return visit in the spring is a must.

Both Robin and I are heading home for Christmas so we grabbed a bus and the Metro and headed to Ismailova Market to pick up some last minute gifts before heading home. It was a bit cold but our expedition was successful. 

Saturday, December 10 boasts another Embassy Christmas party, this one hosted by Jack and Shirly. They live in my building so there is lots of time for a quick nap and shower before whipping up a little something for the party and putting on my glad rags. Jack and Shirly are the Embassy’s unofficial Aunt and Uncle so their parties at are always well attended and the food is plentiful and fabulous! Another late night but loads and loads of fun!

On December 13, I co-hosted an Ag Attaché lunch with my US colleagues as my last task before my flight to Canada. We hosted about a dozen guests from around the world with an interesting speaker on the future of Russian Agriculture. Back to the office finish up the inevitable last minute things before holidays and then home to finish packing. Embassy staff had been offered an opportunity to buy hockey jerseys signed by the famous former goaltender for the Soviet Union's national hockey team; Vladislav Tretiak; a fundraiser for his Charitable Foundation that supports children. The jerseys arrived an hour before I was leaving the office so my Dad's Xmas present is in the bag!

Rebecca modelling one of the Tretiak jerseys

My December 14th flight home includes an Aeroflot-Air Canada (with a change of terminals) in Heathrow so that was all very interesting but I arrived in Ottawa pretty much on time and headed to Karen’s; my home for the next few days.

After a few hours of catching up with Karen and Sally over glass after glass of wine, I crashed in a heap. The next day, I had a lunch with work colleagues, a meeting with my boss, a dental appointment and then dinner at the Royal Treasures with Gavin; another full day that ended earlyish. Friday, I crashed the Animal Health Directorate Christmas lunch to chat up my former colleagues and friends, relaxed for a bit with Karen and Sally and then headed to the Manx for a great night out with the usual suspects. 

Anyone seeing a pattern here? Food, drink and friends! 

Saturday, I hung out with Karen during the day and then headed to Linda’s for her Xmas party and more great friends, fabulous food and fun. Sunday, one more chance to chat with Gavin as we grabbed a bite en route to the airport and my flight home. I miss my Ottawa peeps and I didn’t get a chance to see everyone but I certainly tried! Thanks to everyone who made my visit so special and for those I missed, I will try to do better next time!

Most of the next eight days were spent in Halifax hanging with my Mom and Dad. I did manage to squeeze in a visit with Chrissy, Maureen and the Crant/Smith families, a card night with Connie and Mary but mainly I spent some quality with my folks. 

Mom's Tree

My sister Heather hosted the clan Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Peraux where we were treated to some great food (including maybe the best lobster I have ever eaten!) and lots of laughs. 

Yummy Crustaceans

A visit from the Pyle family on Christmas Day with their two precious boys was a highlight as was ahanging with Ashton, Cody, Heather, Rob, Mom and Dad. 

Too soon it was Boxing Day and I was packed and headed to the airport hauling along an extra suitcase to bring back all the food I’d bought to stock my larder! The green monster rides again!

The flight home was a bit hairier as I had a tight connection in Heathrow and we were late leaving. It was one of the few times that I can say that I was happy that my flight was delayed as the connecting flight to Moscow was also delayed so I made it to the gate with lots of time to spare. 

I arrived home a little late but my luggage didn’t make the connection so I worried for a couple of days about the butter, cheese, lobster and other delights that I had brought back and what condition they would be in when they finally arrived. With a bit of prodding and follow up, I managed to have the bags delivered Thursday night around midnight! All my treasures survived the ordeal because it was winter and quite cold.

New Year’s Eve Eve, Craig and Kerry hosted and evening of dinner, cards and silliness though I was well-behaved as I was hosting a large contingent for New Year’s Eve the next night and I had lots of stuff to do.

I love hosting parties though I have usually avoided doing so on New Year’s Eve so this was a first for me. The day was spent cooking and cleaning up the disastrous mess that ensued but I planned it well as there was time for a nap and a shower before the guests were to arrive. 

There was lots of food as most everyone made something for the table.  Melissa outdid herself bringing enough cookies, confectionaries and cupcakes to stock a small bakery and assuring there would be no lack of sugar for the guests big and small!

We had a great time chatting and laughing and as midnight approached, we donned our winter gear, grabbed the bubbles and headed to the bridge behind the Christ the Saviour Cathedral to enjoy the fireworks from Red Square and Gorky Park. Luckily the thermometer was hovering around 0C so it wasn’t cold.

The Boys!

The Girls!

Fireworks over the Kremlin

Champagne!

The bridge was packed with people ready to continue their celebrations. The fireworks were a bit disappointing because of the low cloud cover but we popped the corks on the champagne and toasted the New Year with friends and strangers before heading back to continue the festivities chez moi. 

The festivities continued until the wee hours though I may or may not have nodded off before the last guest left – Jet Lag!! Can’t wait for the adventures that 2017 has in store. 

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