February 28: Stuck in the Slosh

February 28: Stuck in the Slosh
Public places in Moscow do not always have parking available. Drivers have to sometime park on the sidewalk or grassy area. My driver parked in a field today and got stuck in the slosh. It took 6 strong men to push our van out of the muddy snow.

February 27: Memorial to Michael

February 27: Memorial to Michael Jackson

This is a small memorial (flowers, cards, poems, etc.) in memory of Micheal Jackson located next to the American Embassy in Russia. I pass by this area at least once time a week and am surprised Muscovites are still memorializing him. Don't mistake me as a Micheal Jackson fan - I am not. I think it is just interesting people are still leaving stuff bears on a sidewalk in his memory.

February 26: Buried in the Snow

February 26: Buried in Snow

Snowplows clearing the street have almost buried this car in snow. This car has been moved at some point this winter as there is not a lot of snow accumulated on the top of the car and the windshield has been cleared. The owner will need to get a shovel and start digging. This would be a good job for Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame on the Discovery Channel.

February 25: M is for Metro

February 25: M is for Metro
M is for Metro in both Russian and English. These large signs are located on the street at every entrance to the metro. Over 7 million passengers use the Moscow Metro each day.

February 24: Wet Clothes Drying

February 24: Wet Clothes Drying at School
After playing in the snow, my son's class hang up their clothes to dry. Notice the pants and gloves in the cabinet next to the coats. The white object located in the bottom of the cabinet is a heater used to help dry the clothes quickly. All children are required to wear a snowsuit, hat, gloves, and boots to / from school each day.

February 23: Defenders of the Fatherland

February 23: Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland

Today is the Russian Holiday "Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland". This holiday was originally created to celebrate the day the red army was formed. Now it honors all men who have served in any branch of the military. This poster, and several others displayed throughout the city, commemorates the day.

February 22: Storm of the Decade - Part II

As forecasted, almost 20 inches of snow has fallen in Moscow in the past 24 hours. This makes the 4 day accumulation total approximately 26 - 27 inches.

February 21: Heavy Snow
The residents of Moscow go about their life as this was any ordinary day. All stores are open for business and public transportation is running on time.

February 21: Snow Remove Vehicles
Snow remove vehicles work as fast as possible to remove the snow. They do not wait until after the storm as it would be to difficult to remove at one time and to easy travel during the storm.

February 21: Digging Out
Snow plows clearing the streets encase cars parked along the street in snow. This man is shoveling the snow around his parked car so that he will be able to move his car.

February 21: Removing Snow from Building
This man is removing snow and ice from the roof of the building. This is done on almost all buildings in Moscow to prevent falling snow and ice from hitting people standing or walking on the street. Several people in Russia are severely injured and / or killed each year from snow and ice falling off of a building.

February 21: Car Wreck
Despite the fact Muscovites are use to driving in treacherous conditions, car wrecks still occur.

February 21: Coffee Break
Alex and I take a break from walking in the snow storm to enjoy a hot cup of coffee.

February 21: Storm of the Decade

In the past 12 hours, 6 - 8 inches of snow has fallen in Moscow. The forecast calls for another 20 inches to fall by the end of day tomorrow.

February 21: Convoy of Snow Plows
During or after a heavy snow fall, snow plows will travel in a convoy formation to push as much snow as possible to the side of the street. You can see the third plow in the formation about to turn the corner.

February 21: Snow Removal
A bucket loader is used to move snow from the side of the street into dump truck or a designated point on the street.

February 21: Helping Hands
This machine is called "Helping Hands" in Russian. Snow is pushed up a conveyor belt (located on the left) by metal hands and is dumped in the back of a dump truck. The snow is then removed from the city.

February 21: Man Shoveling Snow
A man shoveling snow outside of a store during the snow storm. The snow needs to be removed as quick as possible in order to prevent an icy build-up and allow people to walk on the sidewalks.

February 21: Chemical Spray
A chemical to melt ice and snow is sprayed onto the main streets in Moscow. This will prevent the ice from forming for approximately 24 hours. Locals say the chemicals are sometimes so strong that they will melt a hole into the bottom of their shoes.

February 20: Fur Boots

February 20: Fur Boots

That is not a cat next to her leg!

Not only do women in Russia wear fur coats and hats, but many of them also wear fur boots. After all the pictures I have posted of dirty snow, can you imagine what those white fur boots look like after wearing them 1 day in Moscow?

Feburary 19: Militia Oustide of Red Square

Feburary 19: Militia Oustside of Red Square

Militia Men (police) gathering meet outside of Red Square. A public concert was schedule for later in the day and they were there to help with crowd control.

Feburary 18: Best of Intentions

Even the best of intentions and well thought-out plans sometime fail....

I was feeling rather smug with myself for posting a daily picture on "This is a Russian Life in Photos" for 14 days in a row. I mean, come on...14 days is a long time! Think of it in dog years! In fact, I was in the process of writing an post for my other blog regarding the daily pictures when my computer suddenly experienced a major electrical failure.

The man behind the curtain decided to reminded me not to get to smug with myself.

As Alex kindly posted on both of my blogs, I had no back-up plan for posting a picture. Using a public computer in Moscow is not really an option. Not only are the expensive to use, but there is a high probaility any data typed on a public computer is stolen. Russia is the number 1 producer of SPAM - and I do not mean canned meat - and second only to China in hacking / internet theft. Imagine if someone got a hold of the passwords for my blog and started posting content. This would no longer be a family friendly blog. No telling what you would find when you logged on to look at the daily photos.

Alex has taken my laptop to the an authorized dealer of the brand we own for repairs. ( I am not going to mention the brand as it is my former employer. I still own stock and want you to buy as many products from them as possible.) Anyway, the authorized dealer is located in the electronics market in Moscow. This is a place where you can find anything related to electronics, legal or illegal, that you want. There is not doubt in my mind the data on my computer is being stripped and sold as I write this sentence. Good news is I listed to my mom and do not have any of those type of photos that could be embarrassing stored on my laptop. I am sure she is proud!

In the mean time, I am now working on a new mini laptop Alex bought be when he was in Asia. ( Please no comments from my friends and co-workers at my former employer. This is what was available when he went to purchase the laptop. Think of it as a desperation purchase.) Alex and I had been talking about buying a min-laptop for when we travel; our hand was just forced sooner than later.

Here is a picture of my new mini-laptop:

I think I will wait a couple of months before I congratulate myself again posting pictures daily. And before I do, I will make I have backed up my primary computer on to my external hard drive and my new little laptop is up and running. On April 18th I am going to have a party and invite everyone from Oz for my celebration. You can hear me laughing now at the man behind the curtain. Ha! Ha! Ha! I do like to live dangerously as long as I have a back-up!

I will start posting again daily....

Crash

Samantha's computer is refusing to start and Alex is traveling (again) somewhere in Asia. New photos will be posted when Alex returns from Hong Kong with a brand new laptop.

February 7: Fur Coats

February 7: Woman in Fur
Fur coats in Russia are considered fashionable. The majority of the local woman own fur or fur-lined coats.

February 7: Women in Fur
As this has been one of the coldest winters on record in the past 10 - 20 years, almost all of the local women have been wearing their fur coats daily.

February 7: Women in Fur
People often wear fur hats too. The women on the right has on a black sable hat. This hat costs significantly more than her coat.

February 6: Dirty Side of Snow

February 6: Dirty Side of Snow
This is is what happens landing on a street in Moscow!

February 5: Stalin Skyscraper

February 5: Stalin Skyscraper
This is one of the seven skyscrapers Stalin had built to dominate the Moscow skyline. These skyscrapers are referred to as the "seven sisters". This "Seven Sister" skyscraper does not have a particular name. It is now used both as an office and residential building.

February 4: Russian Church at Sunrise

February 4: Russian Church at Sunrise
A small Russian Orthodox church at sunrise. The wooden structure in the foreground is also located on the church grounds and is used as an office and storage facility.

February 3: Perfect Parking Spot

February 3: Perfect Parking Spot
Due to the poor driving conditions in the winter (ice, snow, tire requirements, etc.), there are some people who park their car for the winter and do not drive. This car has not been moved since late November.

Febuary 2: Mini Storage in Russia

February 2: Mini Storage in Russia
This is a typical metal storage building / garage located outside of an Solviet style block apartment building. These garages serve the same function as garages in America - somethings they store cars, but most of the time they store junk. Someone spray painted "slut" in English on the outside of these garages and several kiosk last Spring. Instead of removing the graffiti, the "U" was transformed to an "O" and now the word "slot" appears.

February 1: Shopping at a Street Market

February 1: Shopping at an Open Market
Russians buying fresh fruit and vegetables at an area market.