Happy Easter / "Pussy Willow" Sunday!

Another quick post today! Happy Easter! However, here in Russia, Easter is next Sunday (following the Orthodox calendar), so today is Palm Sunday. I suppose since palms aren't too common in Russia, they don't call it Palm Sunday. What is available this time of year? Pussy willows! So this is Verbnaya (pussy willow) Sunday, and you see people with pussy willow branches in church, or the branches are used to decorate. All week the old ladies were selling bunches of pussy willow branches on the street.

Here is Lydia coloring and decorating some eggs at our office on Monday evening.

And now for a special blog entry from Aaron! He sent this story to some people on email, but it's so funny I wanted to post it here too. Oh the adventures!

Friday, I had an embarrasing commute home. I had forgotten to strategically place myself near the doors of the metro train- to be able to exit as soon as we came to a stop. You have do this at our station, or the flood of people entering the train will try their best to make you stay on until the next station. Well, when the doors opened I was not hardly out of my seat when I saw the flood of people coming in. I was determined to make the 3 yards needed for the "first down", so I gritted my teeth, turned sideways, and lowered my shoulder towards the first few ladies just coming through the doors. I could see the amusment/annoyment on their faces as they must've been thinking "just try to get off this train". But, after a few grunts and deflections off of several anonymous bodies, I could tell that, with just seconds left, I needed only another few inches to freedom. So, I lowered my shoulder a little more and stepped hard sideways, just getting my left foot through the threshold. Then, it happened. As I was still in the middle of the oncoming surge of travellers, my left foot descended rapidly through the 6-inch gap between the train and the station platform. All I could do was let out a frightened "oy!" to those I had been pushing against as my entire body tried to follow my foot through the gap. They watched me struggle below them with one leg still on the train (doors about to close!) and half of my other leg dangling under the train, stuck at the kneecap between the train and the platform. If had I been them, I would've had a smug look and the thought of "serves him right!". Praise the Lord, despite the large, bloody, goose-egg, below my left knee, no other injuries were incurred- except to my ego. But, that wasn't the end. Just a few minutes later, I was waiting to cross our busy, 4-lane, avenue (probably surrounded by those who had witnessed my acrobatics on the train). The cross-walk light turned green, and the large crowd I was in began to stride towards the large crowd from the opposite corner. This time I decided to play it smart, and I took up a position behind a couple of would-be blockers to make my walking a little easier. Half-way across, my right foot (must have been jealous of my left) decided to fully plunge itself down into a small (I had never seen it before!), but deep, and water-filled pot hole. "Down goes Frazier!" -I could hear it coming, but just barely did I stay upright, though my stride changed considerably for the next few steps. Did I hear some snickering behind me? How all the water from the pot-hole didn't wet my right foot, which was in the hole, but did soak my left foot and several inches of my left pant leg, remains a mystery.
So now I'm contemplating how to completely avoid having to be seen by that same group of commuters in the future.
~Aaron