Windows to Russia

Svetochka sent me a link to an ad that is run in a local website. The link on the ad goes to the link farther below. It is a site about our monastery…

Николо-Бавыкинский мужской монастырь
Скопинской епархии Русской Православной Церкви

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St. Nicholas Monastery Bavykinsky
Skopinsky diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church

At website…

http://nikolobavikinsk.cerkov.ru/kontakty-2/

Which is the new official website of our monastery…

History of the monastery from website

Nicholas Monastery Bavykinsky About four years ago on a mountainside in the forest by local people was found the image of St. Nicholas – on a spring day in the Holy Spirit. There’s also the first miracles began to happen. Quickly the news about the amazing discovery went around the surrounding villages, and the people in great numbers began to come to the source of God’s saints to pray to Nicholas. Soon after the miraculous icon was moved to the nearby temple of the village Large Mozhar, and in the holy source since in the Holy Spirit and St. Nicholas celebrations has always been crowded …

The majestic forest on sandy Bavykin mountain at the foot of it flows the river Couple quiet, skirting the mirror ponds. Flowering meadows along the river with a modest complement the beauty picture the mighty pines and birches shy. In 1879, a farmer from the village Belorechye Elena Sazonov decided to settle in this place with the intention to form a women’s monastic community. To do this, she bought from a local owner of AF Hanykova land, built a two-storey building for the sisters and a chapel in honor of Our Lady of Tikhvin. But all the money to pay the contractual term of the community could not and soon closed. About this trouble found pious merchant Alexei Shulgin and trusting in the intercession of St. Nicholas, took care of all contractual obligations. Soon after the decision of the Holy Synod in 1888, approved by the new St. Nicholas Bavykinskaya female community. And there was another life, imbued with the monastic spirit. The first sisters lived very simply, with the total room and board. Work together on obedience, we prayed together in a warm Tikhvin Church.

May 22, 1894 in the community of converted monastery. With the support of Alexei Shulgin and other donors monastery acquired remarkable view of the architectural ensemble. In the center – a large three-altar Cathedral in honor of St. Nicholas, on either side – stone buildings with cells and Refectory Church of St. Sergius and Nikon of Radonezh, and the monastery walls crowned tower with a clock. Nearby is another 15 wooden residential buildings and their monastery cemetery, and behind them was the very first Tikhvin Church. By the beginning of the October Revolution, about two hundred people prayed and labored within the walls of St. Nicholas Monastery Bavykinskogo. Godless authorities are not left without defilement, and this holy place. The arrests, exile, oppression were a sign of attention of the new government. Buildings and structures expropriated. It was a desperate attempt to bury all holy. But the locals have time to hide the main shrine – the icon of St. Nicholas. Able to preserve and pass on to descendants pure faith and a good memory…

Kinda what I have been talking about all along. There also was a clock in the bell tower, as I mentioned also. Now that I would like to see again…

WtR

Sometimes walking has benefits…

Boza found a hedgehog and this hedgehog told us in his hissing voice like growl, “Please leave me alone! I am out looking for a girlfriend and they are hard enough to find, much less if you two are hanging around!”

Boza and I took a picture and left. For life is rough enough without two hooligans like us watching a hedgehog hunt for a girl hedgehog…

Hope he finds who he is looking for…

WtR

Yesterday, a bulldozer came up our hill. The operator circled around the bell tower area and I thought he was going to fix our roads. I heard him shift the tractor into high and he started to take off down the hill. He was leaving and I hollered and ran after him. He saw me and stopped and I negotiated a deal to fix our road…

One bottle of vodka for widening and smoothing the road. No more than two or three passes extra and the vodka would be his. The vodka cost me 200 rubles at the Magnet Market and I keep it for emergencies. Such as getting the road fixed and other things, it is interesting to use vodka as money. In America we use to use moonshine, here it is nothing but vodka…

200 rubles is $3 American. It was worth it to get the road fixed. Our road had huge car eating ruts from all the rains. Yes it was worth it and to pay money would have been 1000 rubles. But to pay with vodka, out in the middle of nowhere, vodka is priceless in some peoples eyes…

I have a saying I made up, “A bottle in hand, worth five in the store!”

WtR

PS: By the way this is the bulldozer that the engine blew up in during the winter! All good now!

Bye bye, Butterfly. RIP the greatest…

Died at 74 and in my eyes, this ended the era of the greatest heavyweight boxing times… Lots of memories in Ali fights and I followed him to the end. He was a great statesman and tried to change life and make things better. His actions and deeds extended beyond the boxing ring and he stayed with us, as illness dragged him down. Year after year he continued and left the world doing more good than bad…

We can not all say that!

RIP Mohammad Ali, Cassius Clay Jr., The Greatest, The People’s Champion, The Louisville Lip…

The Liston fight favorite quote of mine: Following the win, a triumphant Clay proudly walked to the edge of the fight ring and, pointing to the ringside press who attested him at times, and proclaimed loudly: “Eat your words!” (Meaning the press,) he then added just as loud, “I am the greatest! I shook up the world. I’m the prettiest thing that ever lived.”

Yes he was……..

WtR

Boza and I got up at 4 a.m. and after about a half an hour and a cup of coffee, we walked to the bell tower and Boza did his thing. He likes doing doggy functions at the bell tower. Then we walked home and watered the garden. Ten buckets later, everything was watered…

I use rain water to water the plants. I have 200 + liters in big barrels and today, since it will rain in the next few days, I drew out a bunch, to water stuff. I try to rotate the water when rain is coming, I have a well to get water from, but I prefer rain water from storage…

I checked my blood sugar when I got up and it was right dead on 5 mmol/L. That is a great start for the day and means I ate right at dinner. I am taking my pills while I write this article and hope I can continue the same pattern all day. It is hard at times to eat correct and eat at the proper times. I stay so busy that I will forget to eat and then my blood sugar drops to the low side. I have lost more weight and that was the plan. I still am trying to ultimately get to 200 or so pounds. About 20 to 30 pounds to go…

It is harder to do, since my walks have been shortened. Boza is not ready to walk two or three hours and most likely will not be for a month yet…

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I use to think my Grandpa Wayne had a sweet tooth! He would every once in awhile grab a butterscotch candy. He was Type 1 diabetes and at that time in my youth. I did not understand such issues. He loved butterscotch candy. I do also, but can not find such candy in Russia. I use caramels as my source of fast sugar…

I keep a bag of them in stock and when I feel the sugar blues coming from dropping below 5 mmol/L, I grab a candy, sit for a few minutes and then check myself and usually eat. Ninety nine percent of the time, when I drop below 6 mmol/L, I know it within a few minutes. I am here to tell you that if you listen to your body, it will talk to you. I have learned to listen, now I am stubborn and do not always do something about it, but my body tells me what I should do…

Svetochka gets after me for working too hard and she is correct. I work and then forget to listen to myself. Did I just say that Svetochka is correct? Oh my!

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Today I have to mow some more. Yesterday, I mowed all morning and got less than half of the yard done. Our yard is much bigger than it looks and it takes time to get around all the plants and stuff that do not need to be mowed. Our brush cutter does a great job and like our chainsaw, it is Russian made. I have found that Russian made items are some of the best I have ever used. I have used some of the best tools and that says a lot for Russian tools. I had to replace a tool set that was stolen in Moscow and I chose a Russian made set. After working on the car this last few days. I have to say, they are some of the highest quality tools I have ever used. They remind me of the old Craftsman warrantied for life tools. There was a time I used Craftsman and nothing else. I know I will be back to continue the same line of tools as needed from now on in Russia…

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The pain in the butt coo coo birds are everywhere. I am sitting here listening to one just coo coo like nuts. I love them, but I know that they are a brood parasite, but I love their sound. The birds here are pretty smart in most cases. I see eggs of the coo coo smashed to the ground, but, some birds do not care and thus the coo coo population grows. I watched a bird push an egg out of a nest. I looked it over and found the egg they pushed out was huge, compared to their eggs. That was a smart bird and saved her own kids. For soon the coo coo baby will kill the rest and eat just as much food as the rest would have. I feel sorry for tiny birds and the way nature works at times…

Coo Coo’s are the most chased away bird, even over the raven and or crow…

“Coo Coo”, says the smart but stupid coo coo bird…

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Poor George our Shrike! His girl decided to find a doctor or lawyer or something. I guess George is too small village for her and he is alone. Maybe it is his parents who own the yard he lives in, but whatever, he is alone and still looking for a hot babe to nest with. It seems our yard is a yard of bachelors for the most part. We do have three or four nests of various birds, but George, who is one of the gang, is without a girl….I am lucky, my girl comes to say high once in awhile… 😉

Next year George, for now enjoy your freedom. Boza says, “Yes George, you can run with me and stay away from girls! They are just trouble…”

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Speaking of George; he had a snake  and beat its head into the top of a fence post until it was dead. Now that is what a Shrike is good for and he keeps snakes, mice and other big creatures out of our yard. Now if I could just get him to dig up moles? Hmm! Hey George, come here!

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We have a new bird and I can not tell what it is. It has a nest in our yard and looks like babies are here and they are running constantly feeding them. Being a bird is hard work…

Not sure what this bird is, but it is a happy bird and makes a weird hissing crackling noise amongst its beautiful singing…

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Well need to go! That is enough for today and if I sit here any longer, I will get nothing done. Need to mow. I can hear Svetochka…

Sveta would say, “Slow down and relax, it will still be there tomorrow!”

Sveta is always right… 😉

WtR

Finally the ducks are starting to accept us and this morning they decided not to all run away. I have tried for weeks to get images of them and they have done nothing but run. This morning though, they all ignored Boza and I and they played in the duck pond…

The back side of the pond is really full of ducks, but they did not cooperate, they ran. But the ones at the road accepted this paparazzi…

Oh and yes, that is Sammy the Volga. She is a model 310221 Volga GAZ. Best car in the world and she is feeling pretty good right now. New water pump and some other parts. I have to figure out how to run the valves, for they are way too loose and affect the way it runs at low speed. In fact it really only runs on three cylinders at idle. Time to read up on adjusting the valve train on a Volga…

It was +3 this morning and the sun popped up at 4 a.m. and Boza and I were out walking. I have to say that it was a perfect morning. Ralph the Raven greeted us and him and Boza danced their dance for a few minutes. The ducks were agreeable to having their picture taken, the fish were jumping in the lake and Nicolai across the road was cutting grass…

What a perfect morning…

WtR

I still have the fan shroud to put back on and clean up the car. Sammy the Volga is leak free now. The old water pump was a surprise when I pulled it off; it had been JB Welded for cracks and half packed with gasket sealer. Sammy never ran hot, but we had a terrible time getting heat in the winter, now I know why. Therefore, I will be replacing the heater core when I finally have the money. I am positive that the heater core is clogged with red gasket sealer… 🙁

Crappy mechanics irritate me, be they professional or shade tree variety. I am lucky that I inherited the ability to do my own work, from my dad and grandfathers. It come naturally, even if I am typing with hands blackened by old oil, I enjoy the work…

Vova kept coming by and telling me what I was doing wrong and or right. He said, “I could make good money fixing cars!”

He is right and I will think about it…

Vova is one of those types that knows everything and knows very little at the same time. We all know such people and we all befriend them. They mean well and as he told all about what he knows, he finally said, “Tomorrow, Soup at my place, for a good job!” Vova can make a fantastic soup, that he does right….Yummy…

Vova is a good man and means well in all he does and says. His moral support helped me get the Volga done! 🙂

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Boza is officially well and he ate almost 20 packs of food yesterday. He ate, drank water and went and did his doggy thing outside all day. He said it is time to find girls and he needs his energy! I just rolled my eyes at that and told him, mommy is the only girl in his life. He sighed and kept eating…

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It got to +2 last night! Only +14 yesterday and looks like today will be only + 16. Today is gonna be a sunshiny day!

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Tidbit of information. Mosquitall is the damn best mosquito killer and repellent I have ever seen. If you come to Russia and play in a dacha or village, buy some of this Russian made product. It drops the mosquitoes like they are hit by lightning and is safe to use for us humans. Well do not drink it! I finally found a source for the product, Magnet Markets, a grocery store all over Russia. I picked up a bunch of the stuff and it is cheap to boot…

Those damn demons are dead before they hit the ground….Oh how sweet it is….Makes my outhouse excursions easier by far…

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Yesterday I built a sweet pea trellis! It is ugly but will work and do what is needed. Besides in a month, you will not see the trellis, it will be covered in pea vines…

The pea plants are putting out tendrils as I write this article and looking for a place to grab onto. I can not wait to have sweet young peas to munch on. I use to eat more than I shelled and my grandma, would get after me, but she always let me eat them. She knew they were good for me…

This week I have to cut stakes and tie up the tomato plants. It is time…

I have to start thinning the spinach, beets, turnips and rutabagas. It is salad time and I have a garlic dressing waiting, just for this purpose… Yummy…

The potatoes are wonderful and we have 38 plants growing like crazy. Blue eyed potatoes and we can not wait to see how they taste…

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I had to end with Bozochka, my partner in crime! Well at least when Svetochka is not around. Sveta is a good partner in crime, but Boza works hard at taking up the slack. It is hard to believe that he was hours from death less than a week ago. I keep his walks short and keep lots of food for him. Good to have my straw boss back, he watched carefully yesterday, while I worked on the car…

WtR

Svetochka left Boza and I to fend for ourselves. Sveta came a the best time, Boza needed her and I needed help to care for Boza. Boza was very sick and Sveta came in perfect time to save the day…

Sveta did two things that made all the difference in the world. Walked Boza and weeded the garden. Well a few hugs and kisses are day and or life savers also! 😉

We made one last trip to the Big Village and got the last of the auto parts for fixing the Volga. The car made it home, but can no farther until I replace the water pump. I have food, parts and will work all week on the car. I have to work around the weather and the mosquitoes…

Sveta walked to the bus stop and took a taxi from there to the train station in the Big Village. I was ordered to stay home with Boza. Boza gets upset when Svetochka leaves and we wanted to keep the impact to minimal. Boza has been too sick to allow him to get upset as his mommy walks away out of sight…

I reluctantly agreed and just watched her disappear from sight and got upset myself. She was right as she always is and while Boza won’t eat this morning yet. We took a good walk and he is happy. He keeps looking for Sveta and sighs as he resigns himself to her being gone again…

Therefore, after I get a few things done today. I will start taking the front radiator out of the Volga. I plan on taking most of the week to do this, for I will rebuild anything I can as I find issues. I will also flush out the radiator and see what comes of it all…

I blew the budget for the next month, buying parts for the car. Total was about 5000 rubles for all parts, fluids, new belts and other goodies. That is 75 dollars for Americans and for this village guy, that is a months worth of food easily. It is a good thing that things here are cheap…

Our Volga is such a smooth road car and she is worth putting the money into. We bought her for about 50,000 rubles many years ago and has rewarded us with fantastic service. Time to get her feeling better, just like Boza had to get better…

I want to thank the people who have sent Boza donations. He has lots of good food, lots of medications and lots of love…

WtR

You can not imagine some of the shock I felt in the past as Russians stared starry eyed and asked, “Is America really paved in Gold?” I have seen a transformation and to the best for Russians about the fallacy that is America…

To be honest, I think that it is less than 1% and I know that Russians have been woke up to the facts about a cruel and sick USA!

I simply say, “Thank Goodness and even if I suffer from that awakening, it is worth it.”

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gallup-just-1-russians-approve-of-u.s.-obama-far-worse-than-bush/article/2592568

It is still a anti-Russian article and we try to say that the rest of the world just simply loves America; But I know better and the world is watching the way America is destroying herself and trying to take us with her…

No hate on my part, just facts from my own eyes, on the ground, in other parts of the world…

Simply, simple facts…

WtR

Life is a series of hills and mountains! We take them all as they come, but I noticed that a simple thing as a grain of sand or rock, in your shoes will send everything to hell in a hand basket quick. Boza, Sveta and I just emptied our shoes from the excess sand, as we crested the top of that last mountain. Going downhill is much easier and we will see what the next hill brings….

We have received several donations going for Boza. The donations covered the original cost of emergency service and there was enough to cover the next round of medicine from the Pet Pharmacy. Boza, Svetochka and I thank you. We also received dozens of e-mails asking/praying for Boza to get better…

Boza is doing good and now wants to go on a walk for a short time. Even without us having to carry him to the yard. He now has gained enough strength back to get around by himself. His urine is clear again (blood is gone,) his back legs are much stronger, his eyes are clear again and he no longer is in danger. We will continue his vitamin shots and he has one more day of a caffeine shot. I found it interesting that a very important part of the treatment was injecting caffeine once a day into Boza. Not much, but it was very important to make sure he got it…

We cooked a pack of chicken breasts and after we ate a small bit, Sveta and I decided that this was going to be Boza food for as long as he wanted it. Thus, chicken broth as a fluid and we actually chewed up the chicken breast pieces by ourselves, and then gave it to Boza hand fed. He drank lots of water, lots of chicken broth and ate little bits at a time of chewed up chicken breast. Yesterday, he finally ate a pack of his dog food and we can tell he is out of the woods, but still too near the edge of the forest, to ignore his health. So, I will be very vigilant about how he acts…

Sveta and I ate bologna and Boza ate chicken breasts! You can tell who rates in this family…

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Svetochka leaves today (Monday.) Boza and I will miss her and she came at the perfect time. We needed her and Boza definitely needed her. She has to get back to Moscow and see her mom, uncle and her son. They all need her to deal with life and that is that… 🙂 We want her to come back soon…

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We made it to the Big Village and bought a new water pump, radiator hoses and clamps for the Volga. Total cost was less than 2000 rubles for all parts. That is about $30 total. I decided that I need to replace every old hose while I am at it. My past experience is akin to a new water pump and old hoses explode… 🙁

Once again, thank you to people who donate. The Volga will be fixed, because of donations. The same money spent on Boza, is the same money to fix the car. It all goes in a big circle and stealing from Peter to pay Paul, just works only do long…. The donations put that money back to fix the car…. I do 99% of all work on the car myself and it is fun, with the exception of mosquitoes and horseflies… Do your own work and save money…

I will get Sveta to the train tonight and then for the rest of the week, I will tear the car engine down and put it back together slowly. I have to pull the radiator to do the water pump, so I will flush the radiator and get everything back new that I can afford to replace…

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We have been looking at 4X4 vans and trucks. It looks like the van is a slightly better deal and just as good at getting around in the snow and mud. The one above is around 77,000 rubles. Give or take about $1000 dollars and can be bought cheaper…

We have a large part of this money already, from donations for the purpose of a 4X4 in the village. This is a vital necessity to live in the village and I promised to update on what we will do about those Russian Winters and living here…. This is one of the ideas for a truck. For Vova just smashed his truck and broke more of it than what was broke. So that leaves out that vehicle. Too much wrong at this point… Sad really…

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Therefore, I have to end this post today. I have lots to do and Svetochka and Bozochka are sound asleep. Happy healthy girl and doggy! Life gets no better than that…

Thanks again for the Boza well wishes and donations for his medicine…

WtR