Extreme temps vs. Rubber

I haven't posted a Frozen Tales post for a while so we thought we would share this pic to show the effects of extreme cold on wheelbarrow tires. The wheelbarrow which this tire was taken from was left outside and had obviously been moved around a bit during the winter months. As a result, the tire cracked open as if it were made out of...well, something less flexible than rubber. 

The cold weather wins this fight!

That First Sunday Morning...

.....when the temperatures drop well below what you would hope for, for the very first time this season. 

You know winter is coming, but, you just celebrated fall with the missionary kids in the area. 

Friends back home are just now heading to the corn mazes and choosing pumpkins for their traditional pumpkin carving family night.

Plants are still blooming, back home.

Teens are dressing up for homecoming night in fancy dresses with open toed shoes, back home.

Thanksgiving is more than a month away! No one dreams of a white Thanksgiving!

Even for us, when that first cold morning of negative temperatures below -10 arrives, we never feel ready! 

It is even more difficult of a transition when the coldest morning yet, -17 Celsius, happens on a Sunday.

It means...

those gloves and hat just haven't made it out of the storage box they have been hidden away in,

the lack of winter boots in your wardrobe becomes a reality,

the lack of snow tires on your car becomes a reality,

you start to make a mental list of the winter clothing items that you now REALLY need to hurry up and purchase for the family,

you are reminded once again that the numerous outside summer projects either just became more important or will simply have to wait for warmer weather, including the floor of your garage which your husband has been working on all summer, that is not completely ready for the car to be parked inside.

On a day like today, that means the car needs extra attention this morning just to get it to start.

Sometimes all the preparations for that a cold Sunday in Siberia are a bit overwhelming,

 maybe even discouraging,

but then you drive down a road sparkling with newly fallen snow and you see it,

A little bundled up person waving and smiling from ear to ear as they hear or see your car approaching their house.

 They are excited that you are there to pick them up and take them to Sunday school.

You greet them with a smile as they step into the warm car which you thank the Lord started today. 

The cute little bundles of joy, even on such a cold day, warm your heart by offering to sing a song for you, since you are their Sunday school teacher.

There is no audio with this clip but you at least can see them bouncing around and showing their missing teeth!

 The cold morning that took a lot of effort is already another memory of life as a missionary in the middle of Siberia.

(Pics of the REALLY cold mornings coming soon!)

Missionary Ingenuity - Siberian style!

Every now and then there is a photo that so captures life on our mission field that it has to be shared. Sometimes it is simply a photo of a captured moment from our daily routine that stands out and will always be a special memory. Just because it is us, working together as a family and staying warm in this cold land.

This photo shows my husband's great ability to put anything to good use as well as our adorable boys hard at work during chore time.

A broken wheelbarrow.
Some old skiis.
A few left over pieces of lumber from building projects.
Rope.

I

And there you have it - winter ash removal made simple.

Okay, maybe not simple, depending on the weather. 

But at least - easier!

What In the World Do I Wear?

I think this will have to be the last "Frozen Tales" post for the season because, honestly, I am ready for SPRING! 

The temperatures have stretched up a little higher than zero Celsius. The days are getting longer. Plus temperatures and a little bit of sunshine are all we need around here to get excited about spring's soon arrival!

However, to answer one question we are frequently asked as we travel around visiting churches on furlough is, "How do you dress for such cold temperatures?" So, I asked my daughter to take a quick photo of me before I went out one day for a quick trek to the store to buy some fresh bread (we do this daily since the bread only keeps for about three days).

So, here I am all bundled up and ready to go! 

Under the coat is also several layers of shirts, tights, thermals, a skirt and  as many pairs of socks as I can fit into my boots to keep me warm.

Those strange looking boots on my feet are called "Valenky". These boots are made out of a thick felt. I am sure you would agree that they are completely UN-fashionable! I only wear them out in the village when I must walk to the store. Normally, ladies wear fur boots that are very stylish with high- heels and all! I have those too. But, when the temperatures are 30 degrees below zero and I am just walking around in the village thinking about keeping my toes warm enough until I get home, that's when I break out the "valenky."

The beautiful thing about "valenky" is that you can wear your thickest, warmest socks with them and still have plenty of room. The standard rule when buying "valenky" is to be sure the size is large enough so you can kick them off and send them flying! So they easily allow for extra layers of socks! Nowadays, "valenky" are actually considered to be in style since designers began sewing felt flowers, designs, and everything imaginable on the sides of them to make them more feminine and (supposedly) pretty. Oh, and this also allows them to charge three times the price for them as well! If I really feel the need I am sure I could make mine more pretty too by adding some embellishments but for now I wear the longest skirt I have with them to make them less noticeable.

Supposedly, the warmest boots you can find here look like these:

These boots are called "Unty" and are often made with reindeer fur. They come with various designs and colors. I haven't been willing to pay for a pair of these yet! The fur makes them cost a bit more than the plain  "valenky".

Hats of all shapes and furs can easily be purchased in the outdoor markets. My dear hubby bought me a nice mink fur hat when we first arrived in Russia but it made me so warm when I wore it that I had to stop wearing it! Now, I just wear a simple wool hat and use my hood like in the above photo if it is really cold and windy.

Well, from head to toe that gives you an idea of how we dress around here for the cold winter days. 

I think I will go put away some of these things to make myself feel like spring is even closer!

Winter Fun

Obviously, with our long winters, people here have to find many different ways to beat the winter blues and enjoy some outdoor recreation. We have a ski resort, Bobrovy Log, for down hill skiing and snowboarding.

Photo Source

Snowmobile tracks can be seen all over the sides of the roads and up the hillsides. 

Photo Source

Cross-country skiing is also a very popular sport. Our kids love it!  I love it when I can go out with them. It is definitely a good activity for our boys to help them expend their "extra" energy after long school days!

Ice Skating is also a great way to enjoy the winter weather.

An even better way to enjoy the winter weather is to go sledding down ice slides that people make by building elevated steps up to a wooden ramp. Hot water is poured onto the boards again and again to build up layers of ice.

Eventually the ice runs all the way down a street or path. Some can be made completely out of snow and ice. This particular ice slide was made by a man who lives in our village. He built the slide right beside his house so he could stand out on a balcony and watch the children as they slide down the street.

Beka enjoying the slide.

The kids loved to pile up with my husband and slide down with five or six children hanging on to a large piece of cardboard or whatever they could find to give them the quickest and farthest run!

For those who enjoy a bit more extreme fun, we found a new way to make the best of winter weather here in Siberia.

 This is something a little more ingenuitive, creative, and masculine.

Recently as my hubby was driving our daughter to piano lessons (in our village), he spotted something we had never seen here before.

Ready?

A snowcycle??


We've actually seen this beast in action. It's quite funny watching a guy drive this around.  We need to catch it being driven around and video it to post on here!

Just goes to prove the old saying, "Boys will be boys," no matter where they are in the world!

Freeze Frames

Ever wonder what can freeze up when the temperatures drop way below zero? Here are a few pics of some  of those unexpected things!

The front door of our new house!

There was just a tiny space around the lock which allowed air to be exchanged. The combination of warm air from the inside of the house and the cold outside air would cause our keyhole to freeze up every night when the temperatures were below -30 degrees Celsius.

Hair dryer to the rescue!

Every morning when we went to unlock the front door we had to plug in the hair dryer and melt the ice that had gathered around the lock that previous night while we slept. So, that brings me to another all-purpose tool here in Siberia...the hair dryer! We have gone through several because some of them are not only used to style the hair on our heads but, to thaw pipes, to warm car engines...the list goes on!

The front wall of the old house was not insulated very well, maybe even not insulated! We would be very anxious to see the insides of those walls if we ever decide to tear down that house. As a result, any boxes or containers had to be moved away from the walls especially during the winter months since the humidity in the air would not get "stuck" in the corners between the walls and any containers and freeze. So, that means that several toy containers would have to be regularly cleaned out to remove the water standing in the bottom of them. Sometimes we waited too long to do a clean up and the water froze the toys (Hot Wheels in this case) in place!

Both cars have a layer of ice on them.

During our first winter living in the old house, 2006, our daughter's bed had to be set up along that bad wall in her room. This meant that when her bed was made her comforter also touched the wall.  

Beka showing off her icicle collection (2006).

One morning she noticed her comforter was unusually cold in one spot and she then found that icicles were hanging from it! Beka had a great time telling that story the next time we returned to the US for furlough!

A must have item when living in Siberia

This past summer we had a load of sand brought in for work that needed to be done around the house and property. Unfortunately, with how the house and existing drive is positioned, there is little space to dump loads of coal, sand or gravel upon delivery. (We have already had to rebuild our front gate to the driveway since several tractors and trucks making deliveries have hit it while backing into our property! But, the new fence is a bit wider and looks much better than the existing one did!) Due to the lack of space, this particular load of sand had to be dumped right over the access hole which is used to pump the septic tank. We felt most prepared for the load of sand to be delivered since we arranged ahead of time for the septic tank to be pumped one last time before the sand truck arrived. 

Speed forward to this winter and the sand pile which was not all used before the snow fell is now frozen. We moved into our new house and about a month later, unexpectedly for us, the septic tank needed to be pumped! Oops! 

Now the temps are in the mid -20's and it is a bit chilly to be "playing" in sand. But, life goes on even when it is cold outside! So, off my hubby went to dig out the septic tank access hole in the middle of a frozen pile of sand. Thankfully, a friend of ours who lives in a village not too far from ours called to ask if David needed any help with this fun project! He came over and joined David in digging. 

They got it done much quicker than if my hubby had been digging all alone. Thankfully, my hubby guessed the position of the "target" pretty accurately and they dug right to it quickly.

The septic pumper guy who we had used the last time had already changed jobs (don't blame him one bit) and we had to find a new guy this time. If there is one thing you learn when living in Russia it is that "svyazy" or connections will help you get it done! Knowing people is very important here to survive and not go insane in the process. In this case, we asked our next door neighbor if he knew of anyone who pumps septic tanks. Turned out he had worked with a guy in the past who was now had a septic pumper tank rig and he gave us his number. Score! So, ended up being not very long after the guys finished digging out the access hole that this guys' son-in-law shows up to do the job.

We were excited because within a short amount of time we were pumping away! Just as the job is about done, David notices the guys seems to be "disturbed" about something. As soon as he pumped the tank the "contents" were running back into the tank! He told us the shut off valve had broken so he was going to have to drain the contents back into the septic tank, drive the truck home to fix the valve and come back tomorrow to empty the tank again!

A few minutes later he explains to David that the valve had actually froze open and he could not shut it off to keep the contents from flowing back into the tank. So, when something freezes in Russia what do we do? We break out the gas/propane torch! 

No kidding! These little contraptions are used in many situations to keep things warm or to defrost them. I may be able to get some good pics of other uses for a blowtorch around here. If so, I will be sure to share them with you! 

Today's use is to defrost the shut off valve that has frozen open on a septic tank truck. That's right! If it is metal and frozen, just take a blow torch to it! So, that is just what our septic truck driver did!

See the flames!

Within a few minutes he was good to go and back to, again, pumping our septic tank. I was a little concerned about the fumes from the septic tank and the torch usage at the same time but we are all still alive and the guy drove away unharmed. Maybe I was just alarmed for no reason as I often get here when I see men using these things! Well, I do recall some remarkable blow torch stories....

Duck, Duck...

This was my bathtub. (old house)

This is my duck in what was my bathtub.

Any questions?

I know crazy, huh?! Yes, there was a duck in my bathtub. Actually, it is a Muscovy duck. You saw them on my previous post about our pets when they were small and really cute. Now, they are large. 

They were living out in our chicken coop. At least until this guy, Duke's, feet got frostbitten. Yes, frostbitten. So, we put him in a container of warm water to "thaw out" his feet. Turns out the chicken coop wasn't warm enough for the ducks. "Then what?" you may ask. We had to move them to a warmer place to live through the winter. What place would that be? The basement of our new house. Yes, the ducks moved in to the new house before I did! Duke's life was short lived as he never recovered from the frostbite. He had to be slaughtered. Poor Duke. 

Good thing the basement is all cement so I can clean it out easily when the temperatures warm up and the ducks move back to their chicken coop.

Guess what we are building this summer!? Yes, a new, WARM duck pen!

New Series of Blog Posts to Come

Several months ago I was thinking of a fun series of posts I could write for my blog to describe what it is really like to live in Siberia. I know that for me, and maybe many of my friends who are also missionaries would agree, the unusual ways of life in a foreign country often become "normal" to us as we go about our daily living. What once seemed totally strange to us soon becomes "all in a day's work" and we forget how different of a world we live in compared to our family and friends back home. Sometimes it is not until we furlough and begin to share these stories with others that we realize how unusual, dangerous, interesting, and even humorous (after the fact!) they really were.

For us here in Siberia as in most foreign fields, life is challenging at all times. By far, the most challenging part of life for us is living through the long winters. During the winter months, every day events become even more challenging and definitely funny! That being said, I would like to introduce a new series of posts on my blog called: Frozen Tales. In this series I will share stories of life during the winter in the middle of Siberia and the moments that make it so memorable. Hope you enjoy it! Stay tuned! 

I already created a button with the above image which you can grab at the bottom right side of the Home blog page.