Dacha
Recently we were at dacha, Olga’s grandparents’ house in a small village named Dolgovka. The house is well over 200 years old. It was clearly built by a wealthier family; the house is one of the largest and was built with high-quality materials and workmanship. Now, it’s run-down and needs a lot of TLC. One [...]
Ten years ago today I proposed to Olga in the garden at dacha. We’re at dacha again, just like 10 years ago, to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday today. Earlier that morning Olga and I both felt God’s clear call for us to be married (she had a dream and I had a miraculous revelation as [...]
You don’t see this every day – At dacha last week, a member of our family (who shall remain un-named) was cleaning the inside of the reservoir we use for the water system. (That’s our banya in the background.)
We are back in Russia after a great visit to the US. We arrived in St. Pete a little over a week ago. After battling jet lag, we are finally back on schedule. This weekend we are at dacha (rhymes with ‘gotcha’). A dacha is a Russian country house, anything from a hovel to a [...]
Nine years ago on August 28 I proposed to Olga. We were at dacha (a Russian country house) celebrating her grandmother’s birthday. A couple of days ago, we had another birthday lunch under the apple trees at dacha. Russians love to give toasts at special occasions. Orest Grooten, Olga’s grandfather, gives a toast to his [...]
The end of the summer is upon us, and now is the time of harvest and of looking forward. The apples, mushrooms and berries (and carrots, peas, cucumbers and potatoes) are plentiful. Last week we were at dacha again for Olga’s grandmother’s birthday; she is 77 years old this year. On that day, August 28, [...]
Continue reading about A Postcard from Russia — Apples, Mushrooms and Berries
Here are two contrasting videos. The first is what I see a lot of when I’m in the city. The second is what I wish I saw more of at dacha.
Please keep this in prayer — on the way to church yesterday Olga’s mother, Tanya, was hit by a car. She has lost some teeth and has a concussion. The neurologist said that she’s OK, but some of her upper jaw has been damaged so that it will be difficult to implant teeth in the [...]
We went to dacha a few days ago. Olga’s grandfather Orest is not feeling well, and we brought him to the city to go into the hospital. He’s 90 years old and though his health is failing, his mind is still sharp. I took this video of a classic dacha moment. Orest is building a [...]
Can you tell that I’m learning how to post videos? Here are four short videos from our visits to Olga’s grandparents’ house. The Russian summer or country house is called the dacha (rhymes with gotcha). In usage we say things like, ‘I am going to dacha’ or, ‘how was dacha?’. These videos are pretty poor [...]
