Day Five

It had started snowing lightly yesterday afternoon. It snowed most of the night and we greeted with a fresh carpet of snow this morning and with snow continuing to fall. Normally, the snow is melting away here, but the weather this far north is also unpredictable.

I've not been out when it is snowing often, so it was a treat for me to walk through the snow to the car, on the way to the Shelter. Once there, we got permission again to take Katya out. So, after Asel had faxed a document for the adoption, we headed back to the Skiff.

During our visit, we played "Go Fish", threw the beach ball around, and had a snack. We also were able to go down to the gym that is in the hotel, for a little running abound, basketball and general letting off of steam. Katya also practiced copying the Enlish alphabet.

12:30 came much too quickly and it was time for Katya to return.

It is possible that Marina will arrive tomorrow, although Asel is not certain.

We discovered another of Katya's food dislikes, cheese! That explains the dislike of the pizza. It will be a little challenge to find things she likes when we get home, as I incorporate cheese in much that I make for Cameron.

We are all just waking up for our afternoon naps, and then it will be time for dinner. We have been ordering our food and having it brought to our room. It makes for a relaxing meal, as Cameron can leave the table and run around, once he is done eating, and we can take our time finishing our meal. I tried "Monti," the night before last, a traditional Kazakh dish. It is dumplings, filled with meat and onion, served with either sauce or mayonnaise. I found them quite tasty. One of my favorite dishes here is a beefsteak with tomatoes and cheese on top. I usually order a salad as well, cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes and olives. For breakfast in the morning, we have fruit with yogurt and porridge. The porridge is very good, with a lot of butter and milk. Cameron seems to enjoy it. We also have "apelsine sok", orange juice.