The only family holidays I remember all took place before I began school. After that, I cannot remember going on any holidays as a family. Looking back through old photos it seems New Jersey was the place my parents preferred for holidays. Although I have no idea where the main
I have decided to write my memories of my youth, my life and now my “senior” years so that you will know your mother better. So begins the memoir my mother started but never finished. It is handwritten on just three pages of a notebook which was once thick. I
Despite the common assumption that only children are spoilt, I cannot remember that being the case. I was definitely lucky though. As the only child of a Baltic German father and a Russian mother, I celebrated both birthday and name day, Christmas on 25th December and Orthodox Christmas on 7th
I was excited when I found several books at my local library on the Russian Revolution, including a few memoirs. I recently began to write a historical novel, set during the Russian Revolution and loosely based on the last couple of years of my maternal grandmother’s life. As some of
In my opinion the best gift you can give a child is a book. There is nothing I love better than shopping for books for my grandchildren. I can spend hours browsing through the titles in the children’s section of bookstores. Sometimes I know exactly what I am looking for
New Year’s Eve conjures pictures of countdowns with clocks striking midnight, fireworks and corks popping out of champagne bottles. I have spent many a New Year’s Eve with those pictures and sounds, surrounded by family and friends, or one or the other. Lately the night has been quieter. There is