Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Ridiculous and the Sublime

I have nothing profound to report, so I'll fill the empty space with pictures I have taken but been unable to find an excuse to post.

So many weird and wonderful things are juxtaposed in Moscow.

Below: Nastasinskiy perulok off Tverskaya ulitsa. The robin's egg blue building on the left was a city treasury. It's quite lovely.

Below: The giant flower garden in the park on Tsvetnoi bulvar. Every few weeks or so they yank out all the flowers and replace them with something new.


Below: Same park. Piled up like puppies. This is about 8:30 a.m.


Below: Horrors! The faulty washer is still languishing in my apartment. The cats use it as easy access to the bookshelf. The bookshelf is full of things that are

1. not for cats and
2. fun to play with or knock off the shelf.


We hate them. Not only do they climb curtains and forbidden bookshelves, but they run around the apartment like idiots starting about 4:00 a.m. It is extremely stressful as I am convinced they will pull down the curtain hardware or knock the leg off the hall table (long story, but it isn't attached).

Then, after making noise for about two hours, they have the nerve to take naps just as we are leaving the apartment in the morning.

Below: Sometimes they nap in the clean laundry.


Below: Last escrime class. Baboo in the blue vest.


Below: Neighborhood dog takes a break.

He is always in the same place, behind a residential building that we walk by daily. We call him "Mr. No Tail." Note he is not thin. One day I came across him with a new yellow tennis ball. I got suspicious. Then one night I walked by and could not find him anywhere. As this was about the time of the Street Dog Purge in preparation for Eurovision 2009, I got worried. I walked the length of his building, until I realized he was inside, asleep on the floor in the foyer.

He clearly lives there, but I'm not sure he belongs to anyone.

One day, I heard one of the security dudes who hang out with him call him "Rex."

Below: What's wrong with this picture?


Not sure? I'll zoom in a little for you.


Not sure how Dude got there, but I saw him walk along the island, sit down, light a cigarette, lie down on the concrete wall, and finish his cigarette. Not sure how he got out of there either.

Below: A poster on the Museum of Modern Russian History. I was one of four moms who accompanied Baboo's class there on Friday. It's advertising an exhibit titled "Reality of Utopia."

Skittle-isms:

Skittles got inadvertently slashed about the shins by Crooky the Cat one morning because Skittles was winding up some ribbon the cats had unrolled and it was Just. Too. Tempting.

Me, upon hearing the pitiful wails: "What happened to you?"
Skittles: "Crooky came out of a HOLE!"

She's had a bad series of run-ins with the Teen-aged Crooky. After the leg scratching, Crooky came blasting into the living room one day, vaulted over a chair in which Skittles was innocently sitting, and used Skittles' head as a launching pad. Ow.

Another day, I think it looks like maybe she's starting to get breasts. Ever discreet, I ask, "Hey! Are you getting boobs?"

Skittles, sadly: "Just one."

8 comments:

Ian said...

I was driving in Ft Lauderdale the other day and the local radio station announced "Someone in Moscow is listening to 96.5 on the internet!". They like to announce all the countries of people who stream their music from the internet. I thought " I wonder if that is the Expatress!". It's a rap station though so it seemed unlikely! But somewhere in Moscow there is another person who has spent time in South Florida. There is a challenge for you.

Tina in CT said...

One boob?

OMG! I'd have a fit having 2 cats running around the house at 4:00 AM as I don't like being woken up at all. My daughter learned that at a very young age and was extremely quiet when she got up before me. My dogs have always been quiet until I am up so I am very lucky.

I feel so badly for all the stray dogs in Moscow. I'm sure there is no such thing as no kill shelters there or is there even an ASPCA?

valentina said...

POOR Skittles. What I want to know is why she no longer plays Pet Society on line like Baboo? I signed on to play with the girls but Skittles has disappeared leaving her pet naked...Has she just lost interest?

And what's with this "One boob" thing? She is after all only going on 9 years old!!

If this were Baboo I could understand!! But Skittles?

Love the general miscellania of this blog entry!

Lots of curious info is always fun to read.

Can't wait to see you! Only 2 more weeks! Hooray! xov

The Flip Side. . .Or Maybe Not said...

Once had a cat named Stinky Binky. If Satan had a cat, it prolly would have been him. He was the nastiest thing ever. His favorite past time (other then biting people on the ankles and spraying on guests) was hanging on the perimeter concrete wall then waiting to jump on his victim's head then bite their ankles (while victim is grasping head in pain wondering if he/she has a concusion or bleeding from having claws dug into their scalp). We moved to a flat and mum left the door open and he walked out. I have to admit, I didn't whole heartedly search for him.

The Expatresse said...

Tina: There are shelters here. But there are so many animals that need homes. I am always impressed, actually, with how fat and well-fed the street animals look. Probably not really a good thing, as it just enables them to multiply. But still. I've been feeding a cat family near the kids' school. And I notice I am not the only one.

Stinky Binky: LMAO! Another friend of mine talks about the Tower of Terror, where his cats lurk and slash at people.

Ian: I like all music except rap and jazz. Sometimes I stream CD101 from Columbus . . .

TRex said...

The dogs in Moscow are intelligent and alien. Not friendly but not dangerous either, just existing in their own doggy world. I leave them alone.

The Expatresse said...

It's true. They generally ignore people, so I ignore them back. Like Cesar Millan says, "No touching, no talking, no eye contact." They never intimidate me, but I'm not walking a dog either.

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