Without Lissie

Mrs Beaver:

Just a quick post before a nap. Mr. Beaver and I have been up since 1:45 a.m. local time. Our plane left at 4:50am.

I'll return to the story of Lissie beginning her crazy-hard-but-Jesus-is-worth-it adventure in upcoming posts. However, right now I just want to post a few pictures of our walk to and from the restaurant where we ate lunch. It probably wasn't wise for emotional reasons, but we ate at the same chic coffee house/cafe where we ate twice with Lissie on the other end of this trip. I ended up weeping during the meal over the goodbye we had said to her. I knew my tears would come, despite my FIRM belief that Lissie is in the perfect place for her at this season of her life. I just hadn't planned for them to flow in front of the lunch crowd in a popular eatery.

Here are pictures from the restaurant's surroundings:

 

This is the world-famous Bolshoi Theatre, renowned for the ballet, opera and concerts that take place there. While we stood admiring the architecture of the building, a pianist was practicing in an adjacent building with the practice room window open. We were treated to our own mini-concert!

 

In front of the theatre is a circular drive. Surrounding the drive is a beautiful bed of flowers, still thriving despite how CHILLY Moscow has been recently.

 

 

 

We took this photo of three cellists exiting the Bolshoi Theatre in honor of Joe Shufro. In addition to being Jaynie's cello teacher, Mr. Shufro is the conductor of our area's youth orchestra. Both Anna and Lissie rose to the role of concert master during their years with that symphony. Our whole family adores Mr. Shufro and his wife, Hahn.

 

 

Here's one more photo of a nearby Russian church with its classic onion dome on the roof. I don't know the age of the building, we've learned on recent trips to this city that many of the churches that were decimated during the communist era have been rebuilt since the fall of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991. The churches have returned to their original purpose as houses of worship.

 

 

 

Oddly enough, whether or not the sun is shining, somehow these gold domes glow. Since this city has often been cloudy when we've been here, they strike me as a beacon of beauty amid the gloom.

 

Once again, I'm going to sign off. Before it gets dark or begins to rain, Mr. Beaver and I are going to go for a walk to the Red Square area. We hope to eat dinner at our favorite local restaurant which specializes in blini (thin pancakes filled with sweet or savory goodies).