Destinations, Dreams and Dogs - International adventure with a fast-track family (& dogs) of Old World values, adopting the Russian-Italian-American good life on the go…!

The very fact that my husband read the recent blog, and then desired to comment, is against his nature of “Do Not Become Involved”.  But here is the Italian-American side of the Russian-American family, giving his own comments, which are suspicious enough because all of his arguments are involving places not located in the U.S.,…

Benedetto is directions-challenged.  Our oldest son’s tennis playoffs were happening in a distant city and we wanted to make the trek.  Naturally, I had scoped out the tennis center in that part of the world, but my husband insisted he had his own directions.  I was happy for him to take the initiative. Not so…

All I can say is that archaeologists work up an appetite.  I’m not sure if it’s the hard, physical labor, or being outdoors in the fresh (and alternating hot and freezing) air, or what.  When it comes time to eat, most archaeologists don’t pack anything with much dazzle for lunch– hummus and pita, leftover pasta…

A Colonial den of iniquity is all I can say.  We had been plunked down in a tiny town, numbering around 281 souls, which dated back in continuous courthouse records to 1632, referring to John Smith’s map of the area in the early 17th century and had Daniel Boone’s signature from land surveys in the…

For our certification course in archaeology, we need to learn many things.  First, we need to learn what it means to be certified.  That will be today’s lesson.  Certification does not mean that we turn into real archaeologists.  That would be for individuals holding undergraduate and graduate degrees in anthropology and/or archaeology.  That would not…

If you travel a bunch on commercial aircraft, you need a luggage scale. Really. Trust me on this one. Nowadays, airlines charge for most bags, and the point is, their luggage scales are not always calibrated correctly. If you can weigh the bag ahead of time, and know within a couple of pounds, or a…

By now, everyone knows that Russia warned America about the elder Chechen brother who eventually masterminded the Boston Marathon terror attack.  Russia reportedly also cooperated in questioning the father of the suspects, with Russia proving to be an ally-of-sorts during America’s time of need.  Is global warming being taken to the next level in a…

Our four-day weekend of an archaeological field school took place in a very small town on Virginia’s Eastern Shore near the Chesapeake Bay.  The historic area and the survey excavation work on the village green drew students, professionals, and retirees from all over the country, including points as distant as Miami, Florida, and Seattle, Washington. …

Hello, my name is Alexandra and I am a Master Scheduler, also known as a mother.  With almost four teens in the household (one joining the ranks in about six months), it’s all I can do to keep their calendars clear.  Not as in empty-clear, but as in understandable-clear.   Simple blocks on a piece of…

My oldest son and I watched the brief interviews with the Chechen terrorists’ father, now in Dagestan.  He claimed that some cops framed people, and that this had undoubtedly happened to his poor sons, accused of placing bombs at the Boston Marathon. My teen thought this through. “Mama, if someone accused us of a crime,…