Word to Marianne From Home

Sunday, March 19, 2000

Dear Marianne,

We talked this morning so I know your Friday presentation in Prague went very well and that you are enjoying the sophistication of the Czech Republic. I hope your flight back this evening will be smooth and event-free. I thought I'd catch you up on what's happening in good old Kiev so you won't feel like you've missed anything. I'll let some friends and relatives listen in if you don't mind.

Friday and Saturday were very nice here. Lots of sun and all the snow and ice and even the sand from the streets is pretty much gone. A sure sign of Spring and, even though Winter hasn't been TOO bad, it was nice to see it go.

Friday was a normal work day. Running here. Running there. It looks like there will be two new Scientech guys assigned here as residents so I guess that means business is up 200%. We got all the agreements on Friday so now Roman will show up on the 29th and Bill will arrive in Mid-April. Get your shopping lists ready.

When I listened to the answering machine on Friday night, someone was saying we had reservations for next week in Istanbul. Is there something you wanted to tell me? I guess I'm just the last 10% to know. (Sounds great in any event.)

Saturday morning I got up at our normal hour (way too early) and headed over to the new house to do an inspection. As usual, lots of mess and lots of sign of progress. The "plaster sculptor" had obviously been busy. He had delivered some new parts of the cove molding for the Studio and all the rosettes had been repaired as had the ceilings. Sometimes I worry that this guy won't keep up but the workmanship is impressive. I wonder if we need to buy some of whatever he sculpts for his day-job.

In the Great Room, there was activity everywhere. The fireplace was at least in the room now. I still don't understand exactly how it fits into the wall but that's what Lena promises. The rest of the room is a mess but I thought I'd get some last pictures of the old windows. They are supposed to be replaced on Wednesday.

The kitchen side of the room is shaping up too. Just slap some cabinets in here and install the custom bar and we're in business. Well, maybe a bit more than that, but it's only 5 weeks to completion day. Pretty amazing.

Now, on the Guest Bath. I know you and Lena have been working hard on making this a "funky bathroom". And we even paid a bit extra to have a blue commode installed to go with the blue wall and floor tiles. And the mirror is going to be a piece of artwork - as is the light fixture. But I have to tell you, it's not ready for Prime Time yet.

All in all, it's still looking good. This week should see the new windows go in and more of the ceilings might get done too. As a matter of fact, this whole thing is so much fun I was out looking for new projects just yesterday. It was beautiful sunny day and I ran across just what we need. A wonderful view overlooking the lower city and the Dnipro River. Plenty of room for all our HUGE parties. Just needs a little care. See, we rent out the new place, mortgage the condo in San Jose, ...

But today, is another story. After a couple hours of just plain chores like laundry, washing dishes, making soup, and studying Russian, I treated myself to a walk to Arizona BBQ and then a leisurely stroll home up Andrievsky Spuce. Pretty quite day on the Spuce but I did manage to find Sergey the ceramics guy. He was showing off the first work from his new kiln. Nice piece. Still part of his Teapot Period but new, quieter colors. He called them "white" but it was hard to find the ceramic colors under the snow.

Yeah. I forgot to mention. Snow. Bunches of it. I don't have the digital camera so I can't show you. The next best thing was for me to get an archive copy of last year's pictures. The same thing happened then.

Before I forget, speaking of last year, we are reportedly in What's On magazine again. For St. Patrick's Day. This place is so frugal even news photos are reused.

See you in a bit.