I was hopeful that naming my fears last night would enable me to overcome them this morning, but I still didn't write much today. I certainly didn't actively waste as much time today as I did yesterday; I did sleep in, but after that, I didn't spend all that much time on the internet. Instead, I hung out upstairs, made some tuna salad (with miracle whip and homemade sweet pickles like a good midwesterner - sorry if you find that disgusting) for lunch, and then was forced to shower and doll myself up for an unexpected visit from some of my mother's cousins. The cousins were Nancy (whom Katie would remember, as she occasionally subbed at our school way back in the day), Donna (a prof at ISU), Nancy's son Jason (who teaches at a college near Boston), Jason's wife Emily, and Aunt Leila (who has gotten the last laugh in her longstanding pseudo-feud with my grandmother by outliving her - congrats Aunt Leila!). As I said, this was quite unexpected, since they called earlier in the afternoon and said they were coming over, but it was nice to see them (and it gave me a built-in excuse for why I didn't have time to write today).
After they left, I read through my mother's Russian cookbook (of which I have a copy in California), since we're going to do a 'feast of the old country' while I'm home. The old country actually has nothing to do with our ancestry, but since a) we lived in Ukraine and b) all the immigrants in my family came over so many centuries ago that we haven't preserved any old country traditions, it's always fun to do some Ukrainian feasting once in awhile. We'll make the usual pelminis (pork-filled dumplings) and deruni (potato pancakes), but I was ecstatic to find a recipe for something that sounds like the delicious cheesy pancakes filled with raisins (or mushrooms) and covered in sour cream that we had for breakfast every when we visited in 2007. So, I'm going to have to try my hand at them while I'm home.
Which brings me to the exciting news that I'm going to throw a "Lincoln vs. Stalin" party at some point in the nearish future -- maybe a May Day party? There were plenty of Civil War battles to commemorate in April/May, including the first shots at Fort Sumter on April 12 (which overlaps nicely with the Soviet holiday of "Cosmonautics Day" to honor Yuri Gagarin) and Lincoln's assassination on April 14. Also, Stalin died in March, so an March/April party could be fitting.
The main point, though, is that while the idea of a Lincoln vs. Stalin party is patently absurd (and I'm pretty sure that Stalin would crush Lincoln, sad as it makes me to admit that), it enables a perfect marriage between my lovely log cabin, a bunch of Russian food, and copious supplies of ice-cold vodka and champagne. And who wouldn't want to celebrate that?
Anyway, after supper (roast beef and mashed potatoes), I watched the Kennedy Center Honors with my parents, which I quite enjoyed. At some point, I also wrote a character profile for another secondary character (Madeleine's aunt), which I realized was critical because her actions in this book have to make sense with her personality in the first book I wrote, or else there is no reason why Amelia would end up in an arranged marriage. So the day wasn't a total loss, although I'm not making the progress I would like.
But now, I should sleep; we've got more family stuff tomorrow, and our trip to Missouri is apparently happening on Thursday, so I need to get some stuff done tomorrow morning before the madness begins anew. Goodnight!
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