Hello Babies,
Jenia's family is a diamond in the subarctic Slavic coalmine. I have stories galore, so I'll hit you with one from time to time. Right now I'll pick the most intriguing topic: Defecation.

In Russia, you have to pay to use a stinkin' port-a-potty. And by stinkin', I truly mean it, my darling mother-in-law, Galina, pointed out to me that a Chinese tourist had just pee-peed on the floor. Kind of a waste of a good 10 roubles. And these are the fancier WCs, while driving home on our 16 total-hour driving trip home from Moscow, at 4am we stopped at a toilet that was just a stoop with a hole. My cousin Janine had quite a problem with these when she was in Germany. She felt she'd rather not use it, and get a colonic back in the States.

Real life toilets that are in private homes are really cool. Jenia's house has a designated doodie bathroom (On the desolate side of the house) the inside of the bowl has a shelf and then a small dip filled with water where the refuse gets flushed. So when you poop, you could see the actual size, color, and distinctive features, like a beached whale, as Joey put it.

It makes you proud too. Ahh, it's good to be home.