David, Katya and Elizabeth Farr in Denmark

before and after - weekend fun

2011-10-31T11:15:00.000-07:00

Turned the built-in wardrobe around and rebuilt it after repositioning the wall

Wall just needs some paint and touching up

Before

After

Garage too small!

2011-10-29T03:38:00.000-07:00

Bike #1 was getting lonely, so it's now got a buddy :)

My wonderful wife really does not understand this, but accepts the differences.

(She has her car serviced pro-bono :) )

Back to blogging

2011-10-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

I (Katya) finally figured out the bug on the blog site that wouldn't allow me to post anything since spring! So here we go- last 9 months in pictures :D

This was our Easter break, which we spent at the north coast of Germany- the worst trip ever! Well, we didn't want to leave our cats alone for too long, so we brought them with, just to see them running away from us! Then we spent the rest of the holidays looking for them among about 200 summer houses and caravans- only to find and bring back one of them. 3 months later some very kind German people found Sasha. So David drove all the way back to pick him up!

In May we had Billy and Freda visiting from Northern Ireland. We spent some lovely time with them, playing tourists, and spending some time with my parents at my sister's summer house.

Here's the whole "gang" enjoying my Mum's Russian cooking with "pirogi" and tea.

Having a 3-year old toddler she needs to be entertained, and here's where the year tickets to the local fun park Tivoli come handy. We spent many summer days in Tivoli!

And this is our summer vacation in Croatia. Besides the clear blue water, that you can spend the whole day in swimming- it's a beautiful place with it's old town Dubrovnik, where we stayed. Great place to go to with kids, and very friendly Croatian people!

It's such a blessing to have grandparents close by during summer- both for us and for Liza.

Liza performing at the Russian school, which she's going to every Saturday and seems to enjoy, as well as the result (that is speaking Russian) is above all expectations. But I think it mostly has to do with spending time with her grandparents :D

Our birthday boy! 40th.....

As though as having 3 cars is not enough, now we've got two motorbikes, too.... I have no more comments on that one.

Liza's enjoying having Sasha back from the german wilderness.

Our sweet birthday girl. 3 years old- what a fun age! Mummy and Daddy are very happy that terrible two is OVER!!!

Another birthday girl...

On a date in Aarhus, cafe Hack- very nice place, just beside the Aarhus Theatre, lovely atmosphere and delicious food! Enjoying the opportunity of grandparents-babysitters just a phone call away- what a luxury we have during the summer months!

Russian Christmas Party

2010-12-12T08:56:00.000-08:00

At the Russian school where Elizabeth is going every Saturday, we had a Christmas party, so-called "utrennik". Uncle Stephen was able to join us, and we all, including Liza, had a fun time. Russian Christmas party is all about kids showing different performances- singing a song, dancing or reading a poem, acting, or anything else creative. They all have to show it in turns, in order to get their Christmas presents from Santa (ded Moroz), who has his grand daughter Snegurochka with him as a helper. New Year also stoped by to teach everyone some fun line dancing ;)

Winter guest in Denmark

2010-12-12T08:43:00.000-08:00

Stephen in Marselisborg forest. Was nice to have big brother here with us for a week. We saw Kolding, went snowboarding in Marsilisborg forest, repaired a car and set up some carbs for the bike for better weather. Looking forward to the whole family coming over sometime!

Koldinghus

Braai in -8 ºc

This uncle's ok!

If it doesn't work, you can hit it...

... or you can cut it...

... or when your wife is on the other side of the country, you can boil it!

Carb soupe a-la-citron.

A biker buddy in San Francisco was laughing at this pic, which brought it to the attention of his wife who commented that if ever he did such a thing in her kitchen, she would stab him in the neck with the dog.

The wrath of a scorned woman!

Sunny winter in Barcelona

2010-12-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

A weekend in Barcelona with my sisters was a great way to spend time together. We had amazing cultural and gastronomic experiences, felt the buzz of this big city, enjoyed some breathtaking views and city's best flamenco dancing. Shopping, coffee shops and LOADS of talking was the red line of the trip :) Thank you girls for a great weekend! I'm already looking forward to the next year's sisters gettaway.

New addition to the family

2010-09-24T02:09:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen,
We're happy to present two new members of our family- Sasha and Harley. Here they are:

Summer holidays

2010-08-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

I love the month of August. Partly because there are so many birthdays in it, of both family and friends, including my own :). Also because this year we had to work the whole summer, June and July- these are the months ALL Danes go on holidays, and cities are basically empty!
But our turn has finally come, and we started with a week at the summer house with my parents. I love long holidays because usually it takes me at least a week to unwind from the busy hospital work, important decisions of life and death, and just everydays rush...
The quiteness of the place where the summerhouse is, is always healing for body and soul (added with my Mum's lovely cooking!) For Elizabeth it was the world of exploring, too, as we were outside all the time.

Next week David joined us, and we all spent a week in Sweden. It was lovely to get away just 3 of us and enjoy the beautiful nature of Gothenburg area. We stayed in a cabin on the island Orust, about 1 hour drive from Gothenburg. One- day trips were done to Smøgen- which is a paradize of sea food lovers! Smøgen shrimps, fresh caught in the sea- is an absolute must. Their lobster season is starting in September.
We were fortunate to meet up with our good freinds from Northern Ireland Paul and Margareth, who came to vist their daughter Clare and her family in Gothenburg. It was lovely to meet old and new friends and catch up on "norn irish" news.

Smøgen with colorful fishing cabins.

There's always time for ice-cream!

Day trip to island Soringø- what a peacefull life. Was amazed by how all their houses are built on the rock (wise people indeed!), simply because there's no earth- rock everywhere.

The back yard of where we were staying was FULL of blueberries- how handy!

Happy Elizabeth after sorting out the candles- it has to be in a perfect row and don't you dare to mess it up! She does it at the moment with everything- toys, shoes, spoons, plates...

As we returned back to Denmark, we started planning for Katya's round birthday party. It was a picnic out at the summer house area where we have a plot of land with some trees on it. Just beside is a play ground which has just been extended with a new terrace with tables and chairs and plenty of space for Katya's 45 guests. It was a great day- thanks everyone for coming and sharing it with us! It's probably not so bad to be 30... now I'm thinking.

Here's the link to some pictures from the party.
http://picasaweb.google.dk/jymukendi/20100821?locked=true&feat=email#
Thanks Patricia M. for taking those :)

Bike licence!

2010-07-18T02:19:00.000-07:00

Woo-hoo!

Birthday girl

2010-07-15T11:54:00.001-07:00

Our little girl turned 2! The time is really flying. When we look back just a year ago when we were celebrating her 1st birthday- the changes are huge. Liza's now walking, running, dancing and jumping around, crawling up and down the furniture, or at the play ground. She's quite daring but still very careful. She talkes NON-STOP, most of it we don't understand, but she loves telling us about her day so much that we just listen. She loves to make sad faces, and pretend she's crying, then suddenly she laughs. Her favourite game is hide-and-seek. She loves hiding behind big rose bushes in the garden, later on discovering that roses do smell nice but also have thorns! It is truly amazing to watch her discovering the world around. She can stand for a long time in the garden, and talk to the flowers, birds and different bugs and insects.
Her favourite words are "water", pronounced WO-TA and "flower" (FLA-WA). She pronounces it as David with South African accent- funny how she picks up that!

In the morning we started celebration with Liza's daycare. Her nanny Susanne is on the left with other 4 kids. Her best friend Smilla is in the front. After summer break there will be in all 3 kids in the daycare and one of them is Smilla- to Elizabeth's big delight :D

The rest of the day we enjoyed playing in the garden. "This frog gotta try my pool!!!"

"I love my new scooter :D"

"and my new music bug, too. Thank you granny Freda"

Prague- our wedding anniversary trip away

2010-07-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

This year I was planning our 4 days gettaway, and Prague was the city I've heard so much about. That's why we after less than an hour flight found ourselves in this fabulous city! It was truly worth a visit. Very beautiful, rich in culture (and tourists -most of whom to my surprise were Russians- hehe!) with very cosy downtown and busy nightlife. We spent our days from early in the morning (must be a habbit now to get up no later than 6.30 am) till late in the night exploring the city, listening to jazz music, eating out, sailing on boat... Concert of a local jazz band Rythm Desperado was awesome. Being just us two, we did all the "grown-up things" like museums, concerts, late night out, or just hangning out in the pub enjoying live music and czeck beer :) We surely missed Elizabeth a lot. It was weird in the beginning, and I had to keep on telling myself that she stayed home with grandparents, and that we have NOT forgotten her somewhere at the airport. But she had a good time with grandparents and was very well looked after. We've enjoyed our short break and now ready for another busy month at work before summer break in August.

Fun in the sun

2010-06-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

The Danish summer has oficially arrived today! The definition of it is temperature over 26 degrees in different places. Already from the past weekend it has been lots of sunshine and hot. Here're some photos.

Mummy, why are the ducks running away from me?

Just look at these cute ducklings!

David worked hard the whole weekend on yet another terrace, this time from the South side of the house. Will we ever finish these projects??? I can't wait the day to arrive when we'll just sit and enjoy our garden, but as you can see it's a long way still...

My week in Chicago

2010-06-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

For me being Russian a trip to Chicago, US was a big experience. Not only because it was mainly business- a big annual congress of ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology), and sponsored by Bayer HealthCare we've got a five star treatment everywhere (except for United airlines, but it's not Bayer's fault...), but also because born in the USSR and later moving to Denmark, visiting the States was always more like a dream to me not necessarily coming true.
I must say i truly loved it! I think people are so friendly and service minded, they smile and apologise to you if something is wrong- even the buss driver apologised for the nasty weather!
It hasn't actually started all that well. My bag got lost by United somewhere between Brussels and Chicago. Me and my colleague with the same unlucky fate were forced to go shopping for some clothes, etc, because we were going out for dinner the same night. I must say being tired and jet laged does not go with shopping! I wasn't impressed by United Airlines at all, also because they could have been a bit more friendly and organised at the airport (on the way back we checked our luggage in 15 min prior to departure, all because we had no clue what queue to go to... but made the flight :)
The ASCO congress was something to experience. About 30.000 people there from all over the world! There were sessions of different types all through the day with the latest news and research within oncology.
My days were very busy, and the evenings, too, where Bayer was taking the whole group out to some really nice places to eat. If you happen to be in Chicago, Shaw's crab house, Cite (on the 71st floor of Lake Point Tower) and the Architects' cafe are definitely worth going to!!!
Another highlight of my trip to Chicago was meeting up with some very special people- my school friends from Minsk, whom I haven't seen for more than 10 years! Veronika is now married to Maxim and they have adorable Christopher 3 months old, and Galya came all the way from Canada taking her family with her and being off just for the weekend from her Police training! I really appreciate all the efford you guys made to come over- it was all worth it. As Maxim said, I hope we won't wait for another 10 years to meet up again :)
I really hope we all get a chance to go to Chicago another time as a family- there's so much fun stuff to do!

Here are some pictures.

Chicago by night...

At the ASCO congress

Fine dining with the collegues. In the center the view from Cite restaurant

Meeting up with Veronika and Galya and their families- we took a boat trip, had dinner together and visited Willis tower with some amazing views of the city from about 1400 feet!

Beach!

2010-06-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

Risskov beach - great place. Brought back stones - have no idea what for.

This went on for a solid hour... up, down, up, down, up...

Liza discovers the extreme excitement of stone horses

Lets see... hmm, the owner's out of site. We could grab Bernie quickly and stick him in the boot of the car!

Ah, looking forward to mum coming back. It's all too much.

While the cat's away...

2010-06-05T07:54:00.000-07:00

Mum's away in Chicago so dad's taking me all over the show. We went to Randers Regnskov today after a drive around Randers while I was sleeping in the car. We wanted to visit Mogens, but dad has a memory like the sea and we couldn't find his place.

Anyway, we had great fun, as you can see.

Yeah, just you try pull my tail, go on i dare you

Don't look at me like that!

Hey dad, where's yours?

Way cooler than dad's old rustbucket.

That was fun!

Doctorz 'n Bikerz

2010-05-30T12:33:00.000-07:00

Well, the weekend started with the Århus Oncological Department's 75th year jubilee festivities - celebrated by over 400 members of the department....until the small hours of the morning, but for what they do for the greater complaining population of Denmark - they deserve it.

While mum was getting some sleep after her party, dad took Liza to an early morning Harley event.

I think the bug bit Liza as she was quite keen on her MC during a visit to the Pischkes...

...but for me, common sense and budget (or my loving wife) would have me settle for something a little more within budget, so I settled for this...

Now all I need is a licence... details... details...

2010-05-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

Hallo everyone. Here I am with the newest updates from cold, rainy and-really-nothing-like- spring- Denmark. They say over here that Danes have such good and comfy lives that all they do complain about is weather. Well, this is not far from the truth!!! I never imagined being Russian that I'll start complaining about the weather!
Apart from that we all are doing great and trying to keep up with our busy weeks. David still working with EDI-soft Denmark has moved offices just because the old one was too small. In connection with this all the employees were invited for a reception with their families. It was fun to hang out with EDI-soft croud again, and the kids had a great time, too!

Here's Elizabeth having a great time at the Sunday school in Galten Valgmenighed- the church we're a part of in our town.

Liza's new passion- trying Mummy's and Daddy's shoes on. I'll say she's doing quite good walking on those hills!

Here's Liza's new friend- "Kata", whom she met at the house of our friend Sandra. She had a great time playing with it, and now we're reconsidering getting a cat....

Last weekend we had something called "Family day" at the summerhouse area where we have a plot of land. We're often visiting my sister Larisa and staying at her summer house there. It was nice to hang out with other people in the area, where the reason for getting together was that they have built a new shed for a common tractor and a new terrace at the local playground. It was celebrated with breakfast, which followed by lunch and then presentation of the building with speech and champaine. Great chance to hang out with Larisa and Mogens!

Last, but not least, David has decided to take his MC licence. Having owned a motorbike (actually few motorbikes!) for years in SA, her never had licence. So now, he's off to theory classes twice a week and driving lessons, too. Here's his dream bike, in case someone is wondering what to get him for the upcoming birthday...... :D

Bluetooth fun

2010-04-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

The great thing about HTC Bluetooth mobile accessories is that no matter how long they've been in the oven, the name is still clearly visible.

That's good marketing :)

Our last week

2010-04-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of different things we were doing during the last week.
Elizabeth is getting bored staying at home. So we try to find some fun things to do outside. Here's an outing to something called "Den økologiske have" (=organic garden), where she got to play with some chickens, see different animals and play at some rather creative instruments. Cold and rainy weather let us stay for just an hour or so. But in summer definitely a great place to spend the whole day.

Another fun thing for Elizabeth is going to a deer park, where deer walk freely and you can feed them carrots and apples.

After discovering Lego blocks at the house we stayed at in Portugal, David got Liza some Lego, too- all 400 pieces! The question is- who's having more fun with it?

One week in sunny Portugal

2010-04-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our gettaway to Portugal. We decided to cheat on Danish grey and rainy (still very cold!) spring by spending one week in Portugal- and it was just what we needed. It's our first time in Portugal, and one thing for sure- we'll definitely be back :)

We arrived at Lisbon and spent two days there with my old friend Joana, who lived in Denmark working at the University of Aarhus. Now she's back to Portugal with her Mauritian husband and lovely baby Elias. We were very happy to meet Fazeer's parents there, too. Thank you all for your hospitality and introduction to some delicious locally made cakes!

After touring Lisbon, we went to the most western point of Europe, where we ran into probably the biggest motorbikers get together I have seen...

We spent the rest of the week in Algarve southern province of Portugal. It was very nice weather, lots of sunshine and beautiful nature to see. We stayed at D'Jangos Castle- fantastic big house with the views to 180 degrees. It was very special to experience the hospitality of Chris Freer- the owner of the place.

Beautiful sunsets and long talks by the barbeque- all you need for a relaxing holiday.

Busy weekend

2010-02-27T13:09:00.000-08:00

Last weekend (or rather 2 weekedns ago, as I'm a bit late with this...) was very busy. We were a part of a happy occasion on Saturday- our friends Lars and Aon got married!!! We have known Lars for a while, he's our neighbour in Skovby, and now we're very happy to have met and got to know Aon- a wife of his from Thailand. It's very nice to have been a part of their long and romantic journey of getting to know each other, having a long distance relationship and now finally uniting in marriage. It brought some nice memories from our own good old days of Ryanair, MSN messanger chats, long phone calls and sad moments of saying good-bye at the airport. It also makes one believe in happy end (or beginning?), and that dreams DO COME TRUE...
Congratulations, Lars and Aon!!!

Oh, back to busy weekend, I had a 24-hour working shift on Sunday- that made the weekend long and busy for me.... But now I have 2 days off :D (told you there's a happy end!)

Winter vacation in Norway

2010-02-20T13:25:00.000-08:00

7 - 14th February we (accompanied by Dasha, Sergey and Masha) visited Skeikampen in Norway where David's company has a double story apartment which employees can have for free one week at a time, whenever there is a vacancy in the booking. It's a great place, sleeps about 10, has everything you need in it including XBox360, Playstation, 2 x flat screens, washers, dryers, tea, coffee, salt and far too much pepper.

We spent the time swapping childcare duties, so Sergey and David took to the slopes in the mornings, and Katya and Dasha took to the cross country skis in the afternoons, with the exception of 2 days where they were on the downhill skis. Those not skiing were taking care of Elizabeth and Masha. Masha is a good ski beginner and learned some good balance, being able to ski down the gentle slopes on her own. Elizabeth was more interested in walking around in the snow, or being pushed downhill in the sled. She seems to like speed.

It was a perfect time to visit this ski area, as the school holidays had not begun for any scandinavian country, so we had the place to ourselves. David managed to get the snowboard up to 73 km/h and Sergey was registered at 104 km/h on skis - not possible when there are lots of people on the slopes, so we were pleased with the scarcity of people on the mountain.

We took alternate turns at cooking and shared some good times together. The temp was between -5 and -15, so that was perfect for winter sport, with sunshine every day.

We will definitely be back!

Here's some "action" shots from the top of the mountain- about 1300 m. It was the first day, so the guys were just warming up...

"Avatar" 5 out of 5 stars

2010-01-16T03:22:00.000-08:00

Friday David and I were both off work, due to some overtime from last year. We did something we haven't done for sooooooooooooo long- went out to movies, lunch and shopping- just TWO of us!
We saw "Avatar" and it exceeded all our expectations. Fantastic 3D experience, graphics and the story.
If you haven't seen it yet- it's definitely a must see.

Merry Christmas and happy new year

2010-01-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

Here's a bit about our Christmas holidays. This year we both took 10 days off over Christmas and New Year- a rear thing for us because my (Katya's) patients don't always have Christmas vocations... My employer must have been in a good mood to let me take the whole period off. We went to spend this Christmas with David's brother Stephen, Heidi and their two boys Joshua and Matthew.
Staying inside away from cold winter weather that hit England as well, we all had a fantastic time. Elizabeth really got to know her big cousins- was following them everywhere and was interested in all they did (especially when they were playing Nintendo DS and Wii). Josh and Mattie took a good care of her. When Elizabeth gave them a big hug at the end- must be because she wanted to stay longer :)
We haven't seen Stephen and Heidi since our wedding in 2006, so it was great to catch up on each others lives and see boys grown so much. Looking forward to see you all in Denmark!!!
Here are some of the highlights in photos.

Making cookies and ginger bread house- Farr boys and Grimshaw girls are very creative!

Hanging out together... for Elizabeth everything at the moment is a mobile phone- even a Wii remote.

"I've got so many presents this Christmas- thank you everyone! But I prefer to play with Mummy's shower cream bottles..."

Winter in Denmark

2010-01-02T06:43:00.000-08:00

This year it was really white Christmas in Denmark. The snow fell just before Christmas, about 8 cm. The temperature has been more or less below zero since. Despite hard work of cleaning the snow around the house every day (otherwise they can sue you for injuries outside your property!), it is actually very nice outside- snow and sunshine, and moon light at night.... romantic...

Last minute November update

2009-11-29T06:59:00.000-08:00

As cold and rainy winter uproaches Denmark, life still goes on in our household. It's been a busy month for us.

Busy in a nice way, as we hosted Katya's parents since the beginning of November. Vera and Nikolay haven't been over to Denmark in winter for a while, because they're usually coming for a visit in summer. Rain and cold weather didn't keep them at home though. While we were at work they cleaned our garden and prepared it for the winter (one of these things we had a bad consience about for a long time), as well as cutting a whole load of bushes in the back where we plan a fruit garden next year.

In the peak of a flu season we decided to keep Elizabeth at home, so her grandparents had a great time with her.

Here's Elizabeth enjoying weekly baby swimming sessions.

Elizabeth is turning into a real helper in the kitchen- she'd better! as most of cleaning is to be done after HER meals.

Big interest in computer gadgets- so early! Must be genes... "It's paradise in Daddy's office, wires everywhere. Much more interesting than my box of toys"

Radiobiology, tapas, opera, history- and so much more in Toledo

2009-10-25T05:04:00.000-07:00

I've just returned from the course on Radiobiology (which is basic knowledge about radiotherapy for cancer that I work with) in Toledo, Spain. It was a great week with very long days and intensive teaching from 9 am to 6 pm, but a 2-hours long lunch break in the middle really helped.
After the course I had enough time to do the sightseeing with loads of walking, because this is the best way to see the town. It was getting dark at about 8 pm, and Spanish don't serve warm food at the restaurants before around 10 pm- giving you plenty of time to visit churches, sinagogues, monasteries and other museums, go into the shops (that are open till 9-10 pm) or just sit down and look at the sunset...

Toledo is a capital of the Spanish province Castilla-La Mancha. Historically it's been influenced by 3 different cultures- Christian, Muslim and Jewish. This is where the art of sword and knife making comes from. The historical center of the town is situated on the hill with river surrounding it from 3 sides. There are gates and bridges remaining from the old times when it was the only way to enter the town.
After the course my collegues and I had an opportunity to visit the local theater and hear the opera "Rigoletto"- masterpiece of Verdi (sung in Italian with Spanish subtitles :)
From the course organisers we had a social dinner one night, where we experienced the best of Spanish cuisine with 5-course menu (just starters consisted of 4 different dishes!) and some music and dancing afterwards.
If you really get a chance to go to Spain, Toledo is one of the must-see places. It's only 30 min drive from Madrid.
Now I'm back in cold and rainy DK, but very happy to be back home. The whole week without David and Elizabeth was hard after all. But I promised them to go visit Toledo next fall all together.

On the way to Toledo, Spain

2009-10-16T03:59:00.000-07:00

I'll be spending next week in Spain attending a course on Radiobiology in Toledo. Looks like very nice historical place. It's a small town not far from Madrid. The programme is quite heavy from 9 am till 6 pm, but we have one afternoon off. The weather forecast for Spain is sunny and +20!!!

On the home front things are going well. About a month ago Elizabeth started walking. From one insecure step, she's now basically running everywhere- door steps or carpets no problem. If she looses her balance once in a while, she gently lands on her bum or hands. We've been lucky to avoid any major injuries, so far...

Swimming and DIY

2009-09-19T06:11:00.000-07:00

I love swimming, really I do but I prefer not to see the world through rose coloured glasses, at least in the pool!

Then there's the DIY project. Funny how men come up with a project, then wives involve themselves in the sport of complexifying, should there be found such an expression, the job into something of a larger challenge. Anyhow, one room grew to 3 rooms, and thence new timber flooring was laid. No point in me being bored on paternity leave.

And here's the before and after results...

Weekend on Zealand

2009-09-11T13:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend and Monday and Tuesday of this week we were on a grand tour of Zealand. Started by visiting David's work collegue Morten and his wife Stefanie and their two dogs in Kirke Sonnerup- south of Zealand. Elizabeth couldn't get off the door from watching the dogs playing in the garden. I'd say the interest was very mutual- the two dogs (black labradors) were very interested in Elizabeth, sniffing and licking her :)
Then we visited my sister Dasha and the family in Søborg- great to see you guys as always.
After that we went more north to Jens and Kath's (Katya's Danish family) residence in Gribskov. Walks in the forest, picking up mushrooms and great company for dinner, the hit of the day was their dog Trold, white labrador. Elizabeth couldn't get enough of it! Now we're seriously considering getting a puppy. There's just one thing with it- what about all the travelling we do? We'll have to do more thinking about it.

Otherwise, biggest news of this week was Elizabeth starting at private day care. It's a nanny called Susanne, who lives close to us. She aslo has 3 other girls, about 2 years old. They were all interested in this new "baby-girl" coming :)
Elizabeth spent 3 hours at her place every day from Wednesday. It went very well. She noticed David disappearing on the first day and was a bit quiet for about half an hour. Other days she hasn't even noticed it. Next week she'll go there for the whole day.
Time really flies. Next thing she'll be starting in pre-school!!! I know it's a long time untill then, or is it really?

Berlin with EDI- Soft Denmark

2009-08-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

It's not a secret that David loves his job. Not just for it being challenging and interesting but also for the great bunch of "EDI-softers" they are. The company definitely puts value on employee's families- something we really felt on this annual "employees- with- spouse" trip. This year it was to Berlin. We had to take Elizabeth with us, and it was just fantastic to have her around. She enjoyed it too.
Berlin is a great place. Because we've been there before, it was a very relaxing trip this time, taking a boat trip on the Spree river, lying on the grass in the park, shopping in KaDeWe (the largest shopping centre in Europe), and of course having a great time with other EDI-softers.

Norn Iron - as good as ever :)

2009-08-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

Hi all, Dave here - We recently spent 9 days in Northern Ireland, split between the Lindsays and the Farrs, where we were treated with no less than the best of Ulster hospitality. I could say Irish, but then I'd be on shakey ground and would be accused of all sorts of other things like making SDLP jokes at the home of the host who, unbeknown to person A worked for the SDLP, whose Grandfather and Father also worked for the party... but the dinner was fantastic :)

I was honoured in being promoted to Godfather to Sorcha Lindsay on 1st August. They expect nothing less than a wee box filled with money on every birthday from now on. I hope Rubles are ok. Sorcha is a sweet little lady and I look forward to the honour of being involved in her life in the future. It was great to be at the "wetting of the head" celebration afterwards down in Katy Daly's - an old haunt from a past life - sort of de-ja-vu the whole evening, but most pleasant.

We spent a few days with my folks in Comber. I had this idea of making South African Boerewors (traditional spicy farmer sausage) so I delivered a mix of spices to the local butcher along with the recipe and he did a really good job on it, I was impressed. The butcher is The Finest Cut - 6 Bridge Street, Comber... go there and ask for a bag of Dave Farr's South African sausages as he made 9kgs of the stuff!)

Liza had fun on grandad's new piano... (Can't a girl get a cup of coffee here, I mean Chopin's Prelude in C# is killing my wee fingers!??)

Ah, I'll pack up the PC now while I'm ahead. Katya goes back to work tomorrow after a few weeks vacation and I begin 7 weeks of paternity leave.

Life is great!

Back in DIY gear

2009-07-21T03:40:00.000-07:00

Yeah! It's great to have holidays, forget about work and enjoy these nice summer days. Especially when it's an extended holidays for David, as he has 2 months on paternity leave from August to the end of September.
Now's the time to finish some jobs around the outside of the house, like putting up fence. It needs to be painted first.

One pole in- 11 other to go.

The fence will be all around the front yeard, hopefully in couple of days
...
Here's Daddy's little helper

Look, Liza, this is how you hold the hammer

Oh, Daddy, I think it's too heavy for me!

I can also help you watering the garden
You have no idea, parents, what deal you've got here- I can do anything!!!

It's fun walking

2009-07-21T03:30:00.000-07:00

Liza has recently discovered a pushcart. The trolley of sorts on the weels to push, which also has a space to put her toys in and close the lid- fancy! She's really enjoying the upright movement and has got a good control of the thing. There's one minor problem- it only goes forward!!! Luckily we have a big grass lawn in the back garden with not so many obsticles, except for trees... Where she can't get on her two, she can on her four. Just like this.

Lindsays trio visiting

2009-07-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

Aye, we had a visit from the Lindsays, who showed us how to do a Belfast fry - proper... actually, I did the frys and Dave did the pro dinners - presentation is everything, was the word of the day. Their little girl, Sorcha is really sweet, and I'd forgotten how small a newborn is. It was great to have them over and we look forward to raiding their fridge and enjoying their wine collection.

Yes, I've been hired as the Godfather to guide and direct where necessary, which I find a great honour and I'll try to live up to it as best I can.

I guess that's it for this insertion... 'till next time... that's all folks

Elizabeth's 1st birthday

2009-07-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we celebrated Elizabeth's birthday. 1 year old! As much as we want to believe it- we can't- that our baby has turned into a little girl- so sweet and adorable. We can't believe how quick the past year has gone. Seems just yesterday we were rushing into the hospital on early Saturday morning and coming back couple of days later with a tiny bundle of joy Elizabeth, when all she did was sleeping most of the time.
Now we have a curious little girl, moving around the house at the top gear, chatting away in her baby- language (which we agree sounds mostly like Russian) and bringing her parents so much joy every day!
We had Katya's parents and sisters with their families over for tea and cake party. Dave, Lynda and baby Sorcha from Northern Ireland were visiting us, which we enjoyed greatly, especially Elizabeth who learned to blow raspberries at Dave every time she saw him. Thanks everyone for your presents and fun afternoon!
Here's more pictures from Elizabeth's birthday party.

"I like to ride my bicycle"

2009-07-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took an advantage of nice weather and our new (actually old- given away by the neighbour) bicycle carriage for Elizabeth. She definitely enjoyed the ride, feeding the swans and a snooze on the way home.

A surprise trip for Katya to.... Faroe Islands!

2009-07-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

This year it was my turn to plan an anniversary trip away for us, + our extra baggage in the form if Lisa chewing on everything within bite distance.

I think it's original name taken from norwegian is "Sheep Island", and this figures since there appear to be many more sheep than population. Great place for a barbeque.

The islands are located at 62º 01' N, 6º 47' W, above Ireland (and halfway to Iceland from Ireland) and are made up of 18 isles (although there are some extra ones not large enough to be named). The landscape is quite dramatic, with all towns being coastal, given the relief of the land ie:-typically a 30 - 45 degree angle from sea level to mountain tops, which are all bright green and covered in grass.

The islands are mostly accessible by road, otherwise it's boat or helicopter, probably the only place there a chopper tour is slightly more expensive than a bus ticket. There are many tunnels joining islands, or travelling through the mountains, some wide enough for one vehicle only, whilst the oncoming vehicle awaits in a lay-by cut into the rock. I'd say they used a whole lot of TNT here.

We stayed in the Hotel Føroyar, and I was greatly impressed with the view over Torshavn. As for the hotel itself, I think they are using the view to sell everything about the place, but dirty carpets, old smokey smell in a musty bedroom without extraction and sour Apple juice served for breakfast was not what I was expecting from a 4 star establishment and means we'll not be back there... it'll be camping for us in future, and this seems to be quite popular, since the Faroes are not the cheapest place to visit, on a par with Verbier, Switzerland methinks. There are many places to pitch tent, and if you can't find an official camping spot, the locals are ok with a tourist or two in their field for the night, or so i've convinced myself.

Elizabeth had a great time, and it was a bonus having a car, which for her is a big magical sleep machine. She's started to walk about with help to balance provided by a stooped down parent and seems to be enjoying her new found height.

But for now... it's back to work for us both... and I'm staring into a computer screen again for 8 hours a day, whilst Katya is actually helping people.

There you have it in a nutshell.

The Faroes - go there, it's great!

Here's a nice filmclip of the place....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69huWkZs034

So Retro!

2009-06-06T06:35:00.000-07:00

I like my old car:) The danes can laugh at her all they want, but she cost me the price of their spare wheel, and she starts every single morning :)

Ahhh, Toyota!

Liza and the swings

2009-06-06T03:57:00.000-07:00

We have recently discoved our common playground at the end of our street. They have swings for babies there, which Elizabeth has discovered with great enthusiams. Now you can't take her out of it. When we go walking and she just sees any playground in the distance- she starts jumping in the push chair and gigling.

Liza enjoying the grass in the backyard.

Look at my hands- I can clap them now :D

Birthday boy

2009-06-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since David's birthday on the 25th of May, but here are some pictures from it.
The weekend before the actual birthday we had David's collegues and their families from EDI-soft Denmark over for a nice barbeque evening. Our new bbq terrace is well in use now!
A birthday cake for David and his collegue Henrik. Now we know what "kagemand"- a cake man- is :D

On the day itself David and I went out for dinner. Elizabeth was well looked after and put to bed by her granny, while her parents had a romantic evening at Sct. Clemens brewery and restaurant. (Very nice beer!) I think it was our first night out without Elizabeth. It felt a bit strange not to have her around, but we definitely enjoyed it.

Rainforest

2009-05-22T00:43:00.000-07:00

After having a full house during the week when Katya's both parents were with us, we just enjoyed quiet weekend at home chilling on the sun. Finally the weather was warm in Denmark to sit out in the garden. We also went to Rainforest attraction, where Elizabeth met some exotic plants and animals.

She's 10,5 months old now and has very curious and sweet personality. She loves meeting new people, especially children, as well as animals. Her recent best buddy was a parrot that we were taking care of during the weekend for David's collegue. She had fun singing together with it.

As you can see the new hit is standing. I wonder if there will be any crawling at all... Potty training is going well, too. She not only thinks it's great fun, but there's an obvious result every time. I think she figured what potties are for, but can't express herself in words yet. One thing for sure- we're already saving money on nappies!

First week at work

2009-05-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

Being back to work this week was interesting. It was very nice to see all my old and new collegues, who were welcoming me back. Very exciting to be back to work at the hospital as a medical professional, back to this huge responsibility we have and (sometimes hard) decisions we make as doctors on a daily basis. Back to busy hospital life and lots of driving every day. I've realized just this week how much I've missed it. I'm in an area where I haven't been before- radiotherapy (all part of Oncology), and there are loads of new things to learn, so I'm excited about it. My days are really not that busy, so I'll call it a very easy start.

On the other hand, it was rather strange being at work and NOT home with Elizabeth; during the day; being with other grown-ups and not with my little baby, talking about and discussing totally different things. Really strange feeling.
So there's no wonder that no matter how exciting my day was at work, I won't be staying after the working hours, because there's someone so very precious I'll be rushing home to!!!
(Yes, my Mum is potty training Elizabeth. Amazingly- it's working so far!!!)

Inlaws have arrived

2009-05-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true... Vera and Nikolai have arrived to Denmark to stay for about three months. Nikolai will stay at Larisa's summer house for most of the time as he has his hobbies there - mainly bee-keeping. Vera will stay with us during the week and is taking care of Elizabeth. She's really very good with her, and Elizabeth seems a little more excited than usual. It's nice to see how they get on. and interesting to see the different ways of doing things. There are a lot of mother-in-law jokes to be found, but I think we get on well... albeit my Russian language has gone to the dogs. It's regressed rather drastically.

On a different note, the foundation for the braai corner has been created. I'm going to build a braai area with two different types of braai with a marble/stone worktop... a small weber and another S. Africal style 250 gallon drum with 1/4 of it cut out so that I can mount a slow rotating motor to drive a gear which will turn a small lamb. That's the idea... which will come to fruition after I buy a welding machine and motor to drive the works...watch this space. Our neighbours gave us their old garden furniture today as they upgraded, and we traded some SA wine in return. We'll be hosting an SA afternoon for my Danish colleagues on 23rd May, with a braai during the afternoon and an audio visual on SA in the evening... but I'll need to practice that as it's been over 2 years since I gave that talk to some school pupils in Denmark who were learning english at the time.

More of Crete

2009-04-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

Stones on the beach, blue sea, old monasteries, blue and white colours, relaxed atmosphere downtown Chania, laid back Cretans, not too many tourists yet, delicious Cretan/ Greek food, shopping unlimited for greek spices, buzzy night life- Crete is all that and so much more...

See how Liza enjoyed the holidays

2009-04-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

A week on Crete- Knossos

2009-04-29T07:05:00.000-07:00

Being impressed by the warm weather, sunshine and Cretan driving (=overtake if you can otherwise get off the road) we spent the first day at Knossos. It used to be a capital of Minoan and ancient Crete dating back from 6.000 BC! At some point it used to be the largest city in Greece and the European continent. What has been excavated of it are the bits of ancient settlements including the Palace of Knossos. Amazing how skillful the builders were milleniums ago. Elizabeth definitely enjoyed the trip being carried around, touching and feeling the ancient hand-cut stones.

A week on Crete- booking and arriving

2009-04-29T05:51:00.000-07:00

If you haven't tried to book one of the last minute travels, how about trying this for fun. Elizabeths passport arrived at 1 pm on Friday. The Internet booking system for the travel agency has closed at 12 pm. Luckily Katya was checking the availability of the places in the morning and left it on another pc, so we could just proceed to booking. The trip was bought and car hired at 2 pm. Next morning we have driven to the airport to catch the flight in the aftrenoon (having shopped for a fold-up push chair for E before!)
It was a bit of a rush but all worth it when we arrived on Crete. Oh, the car hire company stood us up, but thanks to the Budget owner, who happened to be South African (!!!) we got us a good deal. I guess you don't meet that many SA mates on Crete :)

The hotel we stayed at was very nice, 5 stars, self catering appartment. Huge place, with couple of restaurants, bars and swimming pools(www.calderagroup.gr). It was nice but we only slept and had breakfast there. We just needed to get out from the bunch of Scandinavians sitting by the pool, smoking cheap cigarets and drinking booze the whole day.

Garden in bloom, new terrace and Irish citizen

2009-04-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

This week has been so sunny and warm that our garden started turning green and blooming. There's nothing better than spending a day outside in a sunshine admiring God's miracle of life. This is what Katya did this week- enjoyed her last month of maternity leave. She's going back to work on the 4th of May, which is so soon! This time home with Elizabeth has been so precious and pleasant, I wish I could stay home for a bit longer... Well, going back to work is actually not so bad. I do miss it to be quite honest. Just that change from long days at home with sweet Elizabeth to the busy and often stressfull hospital world will be quite dramatic. But I'm looking forward to it.
This week David has been enjoying his time off work in the company of his precious girls. Here are some pictures of what he's been busy with. It's not just computers he can fix- handy man indeed!

View Album

Get your own

And last, but not least, the postman brought today to us the most wanted letter- Elizabeth's Irish passport!!! Finally after 2 months she could get a temporary passport, while a real one will be arriving next week. So, now we've got something to celebrate- Elizabeth became an official Irish citizen.
To celebrate it we've bought ourselves a trip to Crete- yahaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! More updates on that will follow.

Easter Holidays

2009-04-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

We spent Easter this year at home. Still haven't got Elizabeth's passport yet, which means that we can't travel anywhere with her. So we decided to stay in Denmark.
David was off work since Thursday. The spring has really come to us as it was up to +17°C. We took advantage of the great weather and got our terrace furniture out.
Katya's been wanting a green house to grow her own tomatoes in since we got the house. Well, this Easter we installed the greenhouse glass, washed all the panes, and David built the potting table for it out of pallets cut to shape with his vast collection of carpentry tools and worked it into to shape and the planting boxes and soil have been bought- all ready to get started!!!
In the evening we had a grand start to the barbeque season! It's so nice outside now without winter clothing and without freezing all the time. Having a couple of hours of daylight in the evening makes it much better. Elizabeth enjoyed staying outside too. She was a great helper, sitting in her pram and entertaining Mummy and Daddy by laughing, singing and talking her usual "Dadada" and "Bababa".
On Good Friday there was a service in our church (Galten Valgmenighed, meaning Fellowship of Choice www.gava.dk). Even that the occassion was sad- our Lord Jesus Christ being crucified, it was a very encouraging message we've heard, about why it was necessary for Jesus to die on the cross.
On Easter Sunday we celebrated this joyful occassion in the morning service, or should I say David did as Katya had to walk around the church building half of the time to get Elizabeth to sleep, as she was very tired- that's a part of parenthood.
Otherwise we enjoyed having some friends over for coffee and supper and going out to see some friends and family.
We spent Sunday afternoon at Larisa's (Katya's sister) summer cottage. It's a lovely place in the middle of the forest with only summer houses and plots and trees. We visited our own plot of land, which we have in the same area. Not much more than trees on it, but we hope one day (when David learns how to use a saw) to build a house there. It'll be one of those DIY jobs for David for the year of 2016, maybe? (But will update you on this progress on 2056 :D)
Here's a visual presentation of our Easter holidays.

Flower Lady

2009-04-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

Here's looking at the lady who was awarded a contribution by a pharmaceutical company towards an Oncological course. There were 10 recipeints out of 23 applicants so there was some competition. Personally, I think the flowers were a winner :). Well done Katya!

Here's Lizzy and I in the Hammel swimming pool. I can almost swim now, thanks to Lizzy! Anyone for a taste of Plastic Fish?

2009-03-30T14:37:00.000-07:00

Ah, there's nothing like a braai, but perhaps this is a pipe-dream for now since the temperature here in DK is somewhere slightly above freezing, but since the beer in the fridge is somewhat the same temperature as can be enjoyed in SA, I'll say we're halfway to the braai... just missing a boerewors maker in the local vicinity, but I sense the job being placed on my own shoulders.

For some reason I'm wanting to go snowboarding, don't know why, but just feel the urge. This is a good thing. Not sure why, but who needs reason... just feel the urge to escape from people attached to telephones (-99% of population)

Ok, enough dribble, I'll compose something coherent once summertime shift has settled my schedule down a little.

Looking forward to the three Lindsay's coming over soon. (Could use Dave's assistance with a spade :)

Happy girl!

2009-03-30T04:47:00.000-07:00

Last week we had a visiting photographer in our local grocery store. Katya couldn't stand a temptation to get more, this time professional, pictures of Elizabeth (in addition to other couple of hundred photos of her we've taken at home!). The photographer turned out to be pretty good, so we came back the next day- for the family picture.

Elizabeth Róisín, 8 months old

2009-03-26T03:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent pictures of our little Liza. One thing for sure- she loves posing for camera :D
Some of the pictures are from our trip to Copenhagen to visit Katya's sister Dasha, Sergey and cousin Maria soon 3 years old.

Garden enthusiasts

2009-03-25T11:55:00.000-07:00

For happy house owners like us there's no time to loaf on a sofa when the weather is getting sunny and warm in our part of the world. Now we like to spend some time in the garden doing big and small projects.
It all started when we bought our house in 2007. The first thing David said was: "Oh, I love all this greenery in front of the house!!!" There was SO MUCH greenery that one couldn't see the house from the street at all!

This is how it looked. With time we realised that trees and bushes are not only covering the house and taking the light away, but also require MUCH time of garden work to keep it nice and trimed. So last spring we did this to our front garden.

Big front and side terasse project was all hand-made by David, his creativity and his spade (and a little bit of pregnant-at- the- time Katya's supervision).
This year we continued removing trees and bushes in front of the house. The big ones were taken down by the local electricity company, after we described to them all the danger of the brunches growing into the cabels. So, now it looks like this.

The grass has been planted in the very corner last weekend. This is also where we plan a small fruit tree garden. A short fencing will be put up along all the front in the coming weekend.
Those of you out there not being scared of getting your fingers dirty and wanting to enjoy some sun and fresh air, and of course a nice barbeque afterwards in candle lit back yard- always wellcome!!!

Unexpected visitors

2009-03-19T13:20:00.000-07:00

Living in Denmark we almost forgot what it's like when your friends give you a buzz and rock up for dinner an hour later. It's because Danes are usually very organised about their time and plan everything in advance. Not being used to it in the beginning, we're very much acustomed with the planning tradition now- that's why it took us by surprise when our friends Jean-Yves and Patricia Mukendi came to visit Friday night. Unexpected- but VERY NICE!!! Must be an African thing :D

(not that it's summer in DK- I wish!!! It's just a photo with Jean-Yves and Patricia from the last year)

Then our friend Sandra from Germany, who's been travelling around the globe (Romania, China) and whom we haven't seen or heard from for 3 years (!), appeared to be back in DK working as an au-pair. Sandra came to visit Sunday night and stayed untill Monday. It was a very pleasant surprise, great to catch up on her news, and Sandra got an insight into what staying home mummy's life is like :D

A fresh start

2009-03-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since our last post- more than 2 years! It's the time to start writing again. Very much has happened since then and most of you are of course updated on our biggest news :) but we'll try to make up for it- somehow... We'll be posting something once in a while, a bit more often than once every second year :D
The status for now is that we are still in Denmark, living in the suburbs of second largest city Aarhus, which is situated on Jutland. Katya is staying home at the moment taking care of 8 months old Elizabeth- our adorable daughter. David is still with EDI-soft Denmark, Norwegian company providing logistic solutions, working mostly as an installer of their software, driving out to customers all over Denmark. Other things that keep us occupied are occasional DIY jobs around the house and garden, car repairs (happening luckily not very often), spending time with family (Katya's two sisters live in DK, and parents come out for the summer) and friends, air rifle shooting in the roof space, having coffee with the "mothers club" (mummies with their babies in the local area) and many many walks with the pram in any kind of weather (it's still winter in DK now).
That's it shortly, we'll be keeping you updated soon...

Hello 2007

2007-01-01T21:15:00.000-08:00

Well hello all,

This is just a quick note to say that I trust you will all enjoy a happy and meaningful 2007, one in which will see your plans all working out for the best.

Personally, I'm going to be working on time planning but less talk and more action!

2006 was a good year, but 2007 is going to be equally challenging, with the start of my new job as I'll be speaking Danglish until I can speak Danish properly. (I woke up early to leave for work on the first day on the job today, only to discover that I was supposed to be getting up an hour later, as the job starts at 09:00 instead of 08:00 hence all the talk about time planning... this is how it all starts...but at least it provided me with time to update the blog :) ) Katya has some changes in her position at the hospital. She has 2 more months of working in the A&E department at the Kolding Hospital, then it's 6 months of 9-5 (ish) hours in a GP practice with no more night shifts during this time. :) She has a difficult job, but she's bearing up well with all the responsibility that she carries in it. She's also a fantastic wife.

Anyhow, I wish you all a very successful and Happy New Year with all of God's blessings throughout 2007 in everything you do and all that you achieve.

Kindest of regards to all...

Keep in touch

Dave and Katya

"As you know, these are open forums, you're able to come and listen to what I have to say." --George W. Bush

Bye Bye Summer

2006-10-16T23:40:00.000-07:00

Thought I would do a quick update for all you folks before I carry on with what the day has in store for me.

Tis early morning here, and Katya is now out to work. She has a pretty tough job dealing with a myriad of problems at Kolding hospital, or "Sickhouse" as they call it in Danish. There are a lot of kids doing hard drugs. Seems strange that so much goes on in such a small place. A daily report is published on the police site every few days, but it's in Danish. http://www.politi.dk/Kolding/da/lokalnyt/Doegnrapporter

It looks as though Summer has rushed out the door. Here is what we see from our apartment or "Leglihed" as they call it here. Prizes will be awarded for correct pronunciation. Speaking of which, I have passed my first stage of the Danish Language School, which means that I now know quite a lot of words, but mispronounce almost everything, a little dangerous when "Shut Up" and "I know how you feel" sound ever so similar. I'll have to keep my voice down for a while.

Here's a pic of the Language school modules... I'm bottom of the pecking order!

Sorry to leave so soon... need to go and read "Vi Ses"... Vi Ses!
:)

Friends in America

2006-09-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

America is fun. Here are two of my pals performing a traditional greeting in the United States. I think this is called Tribal Symbolism in the 21st century, but perhaps not even the president would be able to define this articulately.

Back in the saddle again

2006-09-12T01:17:00.000-07:00

Well... I'm back in the saddle again, long time no write - been slack.

Mmm, a few interesting events since the last post... namely... we had a nice holiday for nearly a week in a summerhouse in Sweden (thanks a million to Kath and Jens for that) Swedes are different to Danes. Not everything has to be perfectly neat, in fact, it's ok if your front garden looks like a skip, as long as your house is painted red and white, or yellow on the rare occassion, then you are Swedish.

We went to Kosta Glassblowing factory (http://www.kostaboda.se/) where we saw them doing their thing with lumps of molten glass, quite fascinating, really. Quite expensive too, I might add... probably about £200 for a glass blown set of 6 place settings (main plate, side plate and bowl)

We also drove past the IKEA head offices and store in the town of Almhült. We didn't have the time to visit the store, but my theory is that once you have been into one IKEA, you have seen them all.

I found some time to rekindle my skills at small bore air rifle practice, although it's been 20 years since I last tried this. Jens has a Diana 26 and it's deadly accurate. Pure good German craftsmanship.

Katya scored 75% at 10m, a pretty good achievement since she had never held a rifle before. I came in at 92%, but I'd need to get up to 95%+ to be of any use to a shooting club, which is exactly what I will do once I have some sort of gainful employment.

We collected about 6 or 7 kg of mushrooms, and Katya fried the lot of them. One has to be careful picking muchrooms, some are poisonous, others are pretty good.

This is a poisonous one. It will eat your liver and kidneys in 3 days. It's called "Angel of Death"

This is a good one.

Last weekend was Vera's birthday, so we visited Larisa's summer house to spend a weekend with them all. Here is Vera, Nikolay and the latest addition to the extended family Masha (Maria), daughter of Dasha (Katya's sister) and Sergey, Dasha's husband and CV specialist ;)

And of course, there's a lot to be said for Japanese Cars!

So... not much luck on the job market yet, but the major obstacle is language, so I begin the sprogskolen this week. I guess once I am conversational, then I have a fighting chance at employment. I think I have sent off my 101st job application.

People keep telling me to change the photo on my CV, but I think it's ok.

On the home front, the builders are still very much entrenched in our kitchen and bathroom. Here's the apparent progress over a 2 week period.

...still using the portable ablution block outside. Good thing it's not minus 10. Things could be worse.

Katya is in Intern Medicine in Kolding Hospital. Not the easiest of tasks, as she has everything thrown at her that could possibly go wrong with a person, and from young to old. Quite stressful because she's hardly time to finish dealing with one case when another presents itself and since each case requires research through the medical files, it takes quite some time to attend to each person.

I prefer working with computers and networking gear... there's that little reset button... if only people had it... wars could be stopped, and boy bands may never exist, but that is for another day...

Read my lips...

2006-08-23T23:49:00.000-07:00

... no more beans.

Home Improvements

2006-08-21T22:59:00.000-07:00

There I was thinking that for us, a home improvement was merely one of us making a decision about something. I was wrong. So, the new kitchen and bathroom project has begun. I think it's more like an art statement than a renovation, it's where a team of burly looking chaps take a PERFECTLY FINE kitchen and a PERFECTLY FINE bathroom, and replace it. They are probably practicing for a job somewhere else and using our building for their apprenticeship. Ah, perhaps that was unfair... but please, judge for yourselves.

Kitchen before improvements

Kitchen after improvements

Ok, so I suppose I should give them a chance to clear up the art and rearrange the bricks and mortar. It's going to take them 6 weeks to remove good quality 1960s wooden fittings, and replace them with 2006 MDF chipboard cupboards. The good news is that we don't own the place... :)

As a result of all this, Katya and I have had to make a kitchen out of one side of the lounge.

I'll take all the blame for the mess.

Thankfully, we can both get lunch at Kolding Hospital, and costs about £1 for a plate of really food. That's a step up from ASDA beans for me.

On a completely different note, it has to be said that I married the most amazing woman. A real sweetheart, couldn't have found better if I tried. She's fairly patient with a man who has been independant for so long... but the key is accepting one another, and not trying to change one another. (This will be where the hard work and patience comes in, but we will journey along the road and work hard at things)

She is presently on a course in the Kolding Hospital and has been performing hand surgery procedures to join severed nerves back together. Amazing stuff, really. It's a little easier to discuss than descriptions of how catheters are inserted. Ouch.

It was Katya's 26th birthday on Sunday! We had Katya's Mum, Larisa, Dasha, Maria, Kath and Jens over for Sushi, cheesecake and coffee. Kath commented that we seem to have filled the apartment fairly well. Let's hope we don't fill it with junk, for this makes moving again a nightmare!

We are very happy with Roisin McNulty's wedding pictures! Roisin, you're a STAR. You're also a very talented photographer.

My brother and best man. Sweet.(Stephanie and Davina)

Aside from all the above stuff, I'm still continuing with the job search and becoming a little frustrated at the time it takes to register with the different recruitment sites. Most of them don't accept a CV in MS Word format so a custom online CV has to be completed for each different site and there is no set standard for it. Since the sites are in Danish and I have not yet begun the Danish Language school, it takes me just that little bit longer to complete the online CVs. Just a little bit longer...

Still, I can't complain about things. I discovered that my job searches were severely limited because I had my firefox browser language setting on English instead of Danish interface... all this from a person who has worked in IT for 6 years... one wonders... so off I go to the library now to continue with the job search.

Here is a little about where we live... in the meantime, adios!

http://www.visitkolding.dk

Chopped 'n Registered

2006-08-14T23:24:00.000-07:00

Nice,

Hair cuts here cost about 12 quid. Hair clippers cost 9 quid. The choice was clear. Look like convict though. Katya says I look like a "New Russian" ?

Really good thing happened this week. I got my Danish CPR number. If you don't have this number, you don't exist. You can't order any goods, can't open a bank account, can't get credit, battle with job applications on websites which insist on an applicant being registered, can't register for the language school and you can't even take out a library book. However, once you are registered, you are traceable so I now have to behave myself and be nice to people wherever I go. mmm.

Katya's birthday on 20th August... will have to plan something nice.

August 10th

2006-08-14T01:09:00.000-07:00

To whom this may concern...

Mr-Danish-Resident is doing fine, whilst his wife tried to sleep in the midst of all the noise and mayhem next door. They are renovating ALL the apartments in this residence. In Denmark, people act like sheep. Nobody does anything out of line or sorts. If they do, it is only an indication that ALL people will act in this way, or share the same opinion, so the person who appears to take the initiative for a thing, is merely acting as a starting point for the mass movement of the actions required to get a thing moving, or to have an action acted upon. In this case, someone living in the Kommune on this building said "We will have our bathroom and kitchen renovated because it is out of date with Danish fashion, and is not the acceptable thing anymore", so speaking on behalf of the masses who live in the 24 apartments forming this residence, it was taken that ALL kitchens and ALL bathrooms were to be upgraded. I have added the suspects name to my little Black Book.

The problem.

I am African. I can cook anywhere, even under trees, preferrably Bayleaf trees, but I suppose any tree may do. What someone does to my kitchen, is of no concern to me. In the South African Defence Force I ate raw potatoes warmed up in an aluminium pan which made them look like they were cooking, and hence Psychologically, they did not seem as crunchy. The beetroot was another story. We played cricket with it.

(picture of South African dinner, just for effect) I digress, but the point I make is that kitchens can be ripped apart, and I will never care, as long as the fridge does not actually warm up the food, the results of everything else are inconsequential.

However, having come from Africa, and having been to see the animals on the Serengetti at dinner time all gathered warily around the watering holes of the dense African bush, one becomes protective of the supply of water, and indeed the environment. Now, we have a bath and this reminds me of my own little piece of Africa in Denmark, for I can wallow for hours like a hippo (albiet, I am not going to be mistaken for one:-
1 - because I am white (but this is not to be mistaken for racism, for a hippo is neither black nor white)
2 - I am of athletic composition, hence I am slightly slimmer than a hippo bit fatter than a stick insect but I digress.

The Danes don't like baths, they have wetrooms. Now, a wetroom is a bathroom, which has a slightly sloped floor, the slope angled gently towards a drain cover in the corner of the room. It's like a place where an English person would ask their incontinent geriatric relatives to stand during a visit in case they leaked onto the new carpet in the lounge. The Danes shower themselves and feel free to spray water all over the bathroom, somehow miraculously missing the roll of toilet paper with the spray. After their shower they stoop down to squeegee the floor with something similar to that which an English person may use to clear water off a newly washed window with. A sort of hand held car windscreen wiper with a super strong rubber blade.

Not good. To have to clean a whole room, when all one has done was to take a mere shower?

I have no choice, I have to accept that the bath is going to be ripped out and a wetroom-Danish-shower-dammit-thingy is going to be built in it's stead when there was nothing wrong with the old kitchen, or the bathroom. Nothing. Nada. Zulch. NeMnoga. Niks. Niet.

Ah, well perhaps I'll get used to it. The noise is a bit grim... from 07:00 they start into the adjoining wall with a jack hammer. I often wondered why they called it a jack hammer. Tried a little research, which only brought me to www.jackhammer.co.za, not quite the same noise, bit perhaps a mere rearrangement of the composition? Sometimes, our kitchen tiles pop off the wall during this jack-hammering, nice touch. Only in Denmark can they take 6 weeks to renovate a bathroom and a kitchen. There's no place like home.

On the bright side, we procurred a second hand leather and oak lounge suite from www.dba.dk (a sort of non-eBay site ?) for about £45. The seller bought it in 1980 for £1600, so I think we may have bagged a bargain, except for the african animals that had to die in the making thereof, but that's another story for another time. It's comfy.

That's about all my news for now. Got a call from Reading from an Englishman who wants a group of Scandinavians supported... time will tell if I get another interview, so until then, I plod on with emailing (spamming) the world with my CV, and a ridiculous cover letter.

This weekend I am going to replace a CV joint on my car. That will most probably be the topic of my next email, as it should prove to be an interesting excercise, never having changed one in my life. The question is, do we drink Whisky before the job has been completed?

:)

Davey

3rd August 2006

2006-08-14T01:03:00.000-07:00

Hello,

How is married life you ask? It's great. One of Katya's friends (from USA) got married last Friday and we were invited to the Ceremony, the after party and the after after party. It was good. Imported American wedding culture, imported Bridesmaids dresses, imported Bridesmaids, imported Pastor from California, but no imported beer. Best speech of the night I say, was one of the bride's friends whose words to the Bride were "Don't try to understand each other, try to accept reach other, for if you try to change each other, then you will end up becoming each other, and this is not why you met in the first place... to fall in love with oneself makes no sense at all". Great. I commended her later on a great speech, and noted that she was not the shyest woman I had ever had the pleasure of meeting... then she told me she worked in PR... rather telling. She went on to dispense some rather poignant career advice in my general direction.

The Danes.

They are a mad bunch. They have something called Janteloven. They applaud in unison, whatever they do, a rather deep-rooted trait. Sort of like a Danish 10 commandments to counter individualism.

1 You must not believe that you are anybody
2 You must not believe that you are as important as us
3 You must not believe that you are cleverer than us
4 You must not deceive yourself that you are better than us
5 You must not believe that you know more than us
6 You must not believe that you are more than us
7 You must not believe that you are good at anything
8 You must not laugh at us
9 You must not think that anyone cares about you
10 You must not believe that you can teach us anything

The versions have a flip side

1 You must believe everybody is somebody
2 You must believe everyone is as important as everyone else
3 You may be cleverer, but this does not make you a better person
4 You must believe everyone is as good as you
5 You must believe everyone knows something worth knowing
6 You must think of everyone as your equal
7 You must believe everyone can be good at something
8 You must not laugh at others
9 You must think that everyone is worth caring about
10 You can learn something from everyone

(The above commandments are an extract from Xenophobe's Guide to the Danes)

You may be bad at something, but I’m definitely not going to tell it to you. I’ll tell you that it is an interesting way of doing the thing, then set about trying to discover how to do it better, patent the idea, call it “Intricate Danish innovation” Brand it, and when you suspect me one day of stealing your idea, I’ll tell you that A – I have the patent so I’m making the money, and B – I learned it from society. You will never hear from me that you are stupid, and your ideas are crap, you will gain this knowledge by a process of osmosis or something like that.

Interesting.

Otherwise, things in Denmark work, but process and procedure are the order of the day.

Flexibility of rules is not an option. We bought a mattress. Delivery was £20. I asked that instead of it being delivered to our home, that it be delivered to the shop for collection by us so that we would not have to pay delivery (Yes, scheister). I was told that they don’t do this, as it would make the shop look untidy. I said that a condition of purchase would be that it be delivered to the shop. Begruntled, the salesman said they could make an exception and told me several times that they don’t do this. I heard him the first time. Delivery day came, I trundled car and happy bouncy trailer along to said shop, but mattress was not there. Said salesman was not present. I was told by another, that said salesman was such a good salesman and would never have become confused over such details. I was being called a liar. It was then said that “somebody” must have misunderstood. I was being called a liar. So, I gave them options… either they knock off the cost of my gas to drive to the factory and I collect it there, or they deliver for free. “There is a £20 delivery fee.” Yes, you told me this, but here I am, wife – car – trailer and no mattress” Somebody misunderstood. “Yes, so I’m told” Would you like it delivered? Yes, for free. “There is a £20 delivery fee.” No, free, not fee. You are not going to charge me for delivery. Well, it’s not in our conditions. Well, my conditions say that if I am not happy, I cancel orders and you get no money from me, nor do you get repeat business from me, or any of my friends, or people that my friends know, or even great distanced acquaintances of the acquaintances of distant friends that my distant friend’s far removed friends and distanced friends that my acquaintances once had, knew only very remotely through a distanced friend or long past acquaintance, savvy?? Ikke Forstor? Ok, me no happy, you no money, capish?

“Ok, but we cannot deliver it up to the third floor, because we have not got insurance for that… “

(boom……….)

Long and short… got mattress delivered for free to third floor.

What does it take…

Denmark has no ASDA. No cheap beans. Nada. Wine… sometimes they have good specials. This is important because when you don’t have a job, you need to drink wine. Also, one can buy 7.7% alc vol beer for 27p a bottle. Gets one rather pie-eyed, and the brake fluidy taste eventually wears off.

Otherwise, have not heeded all marital advice, and tried on several occasions to understand my wife, but it fails me miserably. (note - advice not always heeded) I need to perform tasks and household duties, and so does she, except that these duties are usually issued by my wife to both herself and myself. I am reminded on the very first occasion possible that a job issued to me has not been completed.

She seems to complete all her tasks, timeously, or at least seems to come up with much sharper responses as to why a job has not been completed by her such as…”I just worked 2 24hr shifts this week and you are not working”. Fair enough, not much I can say about that. It’s like a trump card. “I give you pocket money, and you’re going to work for it”

I just can’t win it. I really do want a job. However when my wife issues me with a job, the outcome is sometimes delayed.

Time

I am South African. If you ask me to do something, my response will always be..”I’ll do it just now” Just now, means that I am thinking of something else, and the thing that I have been asked to do will be filed in the order that the requests were heard. FIFO. It will not be processed because I am still thinking of the other thing. It means that I do not consider any request to be immediately important, but there may be exceptions to this rule. Once I have a cup of coffee and think about all the things I have prioritized in the “Just Now” category, I may shuffle them a bit according to my own agenda, such as having another beer, chatting on MSN and then hanging up the washing, after I have given my Toyota (bless it’s precious soul) a good scrub and engine overhaul. Either way, you may not receive the required result from your seemingly urgent request.

You don’t know what goes on inside my head, so how can you tell me what is urgent and what is not. I may be thinking of a solution to the volatile political situation in Somalia, and you may never be aware of this. You may never understand that despite the fact that I think of these things, whether or not a solution is ever brought to the surface, is a matter of freedom of thought for me, and is my own prerogative but it still makes me a busy person, even if I am virtually busy.

This brings me back to the deliverance of task performance. I have another mode. “Now Now” This is an urgent mode for me. It means that once I am finished my coffee, I may not overhaul my Toyota engine before I put out the washing to dry, but I may watch a DVD and go to town to do some shopping, for beer at 27p per bottle. It doesn’t mean that your task is less important than the things I have going on in my head, it simply means that it’s not MORE important that the things going on inside my head. It’s definitely not less important.

Another mode…”I’ll do it NOW”. Well, this is not strictly true. It means that after the currently running event, such as a 3 hour movie that only started 5 minutes ago, yours is next in line. I may stop the movie in the middle to break for beer or wine or both, but I will process your request once the movie ends. The movie needs to continue until the very last piece of music ends and the titles have disappeared. I may even watch the making of the movie (usually another 50 minutes or so, with trailers), after the end of the movie, because it is still the same DVD, but I will not watch another movie, that would be cheating and unfair. I may have more beer during this time.

The mode “Ok, I’ll do it immediately”. Usually I’m in loads and loads of trouble at this stage. Things get done, stars fall from the sky and there are fireworks. All jobs are placed on hold until your job is completed. Once completed to industrial standards of satisfaction, health and safety, UN Regulations 65/2a and a fine eye, I ask you several times whether you think the job has been done entirely to YOUR satisfaction, and proceed to remind you of how well I did that job… for at least a month or perhaps several. I remind you of this completed task at parties, Easter and New Year. Birthdays are also good.

An example to the above would be this email. I’m supposed to be applying for a residence permit this morning, but I said I would “do it now”. I’ve run out of excuses and coffee, I think, so I had better get myself and my papers into their respective positions.

I’ll write more later, but to answer the question, married life is great.

Davey Crockett