Дикая Кошкa

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Sveta and I added a kitten to our household. We call her Tara, short for "terror" or "terrified." Yesterday, there was a lot of running and hiding and, when I would grab at her, hissing. I'm not sure if Tara's acclimated herself to 7 Yursha Street, but today it's clear that the initial terror has been replaced by intense form of hyperactivity. Tera enjoys climbing the wall rug and attacking the curtains. Unlike her predecessor, she seems to have come with an inborn knowledge of what a cat box is and how to use it. And we are grateful.

Somewhat surprisingly, I was the one wanting a cat after Barsic's death, and when we saw an ad on a bulliten board, I insisted that Sveta call. Sveta is a little jealous, looking on while Tara and I play, asking if I'd rather watch a frightening Tarkovsky movie, telling me the cat is getting tired. Or maybe she had hoped that, for at least a little while, she would have a break from cats, their cat food, and their cat boxes.

And now, like the kitten, I too am terrified -- not of 7 Yursha -- but of round worms. I understand that kittens have them, and I am quite sure that I do not want to get them. Needless to say there's been a lot of handwashing. I became quite agitated this morning when Sveta dropped the breakfast salami on the the floor -- where the cat was padding about -- and then picked it back up. She said she'd wash it, and then, when I continued to protest, said she'd fry it.

Today begins the first of ten days in which there will be no hot water. The first floor bulliten board said the authorities would shut it off, and we are waiting for it to stop. They do this every year, to prepare the pipes for the long and cold Perm winter. But we have no idea why we must endure cold showers for two weeks. The pipe work itself takes a few hours. I guess the answer is, let Russian people suffer. It could have been worse. In Yekaterinburg, they turned on the heat in the middle of July, roasting the citizens. The authorities there say that the heat should be turned off by autumn. Yekaterinburg is not know for its warm autumns.

I am making plans for a trip to Helsinki while awaiting an upgrade to my visa status. In order to get my work visa approved, I need to leave Russia. Thus, I'll be spending the second week of September with the Finns. It's a trip that I had not expected, but nonetheless one to which I am looking forward. My long summer vacation continues.

As for work, I am not an assistant professor at Perm State University. I am a docent. A friend tells me this is actually a step above an assitant professor. I am more than willing to believe him. In any case, my docent duties begin the first week of September, and the I leave for Finland. So Sveta will be pulling a double shift at Perm State University while I am out of the country.

Here are the kitten photos!

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Photos

Frozen in fear
The kitten gets photgraphed

Not mother's
After we forcibly separated Tara from her mother and sister, Sveta and I attempted to simulate the mother cat with some milk and blankets.

Cat bed
Living in fear is exhausting.

Looks like Nellie
Found this in Sveta's grandmother's closet. It's a brandy box. The dog looks like a munster lander spaniel my parents had that I was very fond of.

Making bacon
I found some Hungarian bacon at the store, so on Saturday -- just like weekends in Lincoln, I fried some up. My only protection from the bubbling grease was the terrier-themed apron you see in the photograph. The bacon tasted like smoke and vinegar, but was in its own Hungarian way quite good. Also, I'm not naked underneath the apron.

Comments

[Jamie Norwich McLennan]

Cute!
Of course I mean that the kitten is cute...thanks for sharing the picures and the commentary. I hope that the water is not off too long! Blessings to you both.