this recipe looks delicious!
a lovely poem that my cousin marked for me
packets of postcards
my favorites from the pictures
my very favorite picture of Chekhov's cottageLast year I was able to connect with relatives in Russia that I have never met yet, but have been in e-mail correspondence with. This third cousin of mine, her mother being my second cousin, and I have enjoyed getting to know each others family stories and history along with her sharing many pictures from Russia of family and the lovely city they live in .
It has been a blessing to me to have this contact, as my brother who lives in Virginia, and some cousins in Arizona which I have never been able to find, are the only living relatives on my mothers side. It is very comforting to learn about the customs, food and culture of half of my heritage. ( I am half Czech and half Russian)
My parcel contained many gorgeous post card packets of sites around Taganrog which is a port city in the south of Russia. I poured over all of the pictures choosing some favorites, although all were quite lovely! I especially enjoyed the cottage home of author Anton Chekhov, and wouldn't mind living in one as quaint and cozy as that!
A poetry book by Mikhail Lermontov was included with special markers on ones that my cousin liked or thought that I would like. I read almost all of them last evening, and I did very much enjoy them. (one page had Russian and the opposite page had English!)
And, a lovely Cossack Cook Book with many pictures and recipes of foods that look so yummy to me, also with English translation! I am certainly glad about that since I don't have ANY knowledge of the language and can't even fake a good Russian accent!
I am especially happy about this package from afar and for the kindness and affection of my two lovely cousins!
What a wonderful surprise and how wonderful that you have made this connection with family in Russia. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteI know that when the weather cools down you'll be cooking up some Russian cuisine with that cookbook. I love the picture postcards, especially the cottage. I assume your cousins can speak English or do you have to translate your e-mails?
ReplyDeleteA great surprise, like a trip abroad without all the travel! I bet the recipes are delicious, and the pictures are lovely. How neat to have family in another country.
ReplyDeleteIncredible that you were able to connect with your distant family! Very exciting, and I'm sure getting the package was thrilling! Did you find you relatives via the internet? (None of my business, I know, but I'm always interested in how people manage to do this!)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great day for you!!!
How exciting for you to have found relatives half way around the world. And what a lovely surprise awaited you in your package!
ReplyDeleteyes, it was through the internet that she found me after I had posted in my blog about living with my grandfather in Pennsylvania. She had done a search for his name and my blog came up, then she made a comment giving me her e-mail address. She e-mailed many pictures including a photo of my mothers brother which my grandfather had sent to relatives in Russia many years ago! It is really amazing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful surprise to receive.
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