The move has gone very smoothly, so smoothly I still don't fully realize I'm in Moscow. Except that our new apartment here is so very lovely - Mishah did an amazing job decorating it and all that. I feel like I'm visiting someone else's terrific place, cosy and with so much to explore: it's been a year and two months, so I only have a very vague memory of some of our stuff. Marta slept like a baby on the train - too bad the bunk was too narrow for me to really enjoy it. I can't stop feeling terrible about having left my parents behind, but I try not to think about it all the time. Also, with Marta, I couldn't be of any help to mama, so at some level, it's not a great loss to her. But she'll miss Marta a lot... Well, this is life, I guess. And we'll be back in Kyiv in about three months.

Thank you all so much for your comments and wishes... And - merry Christmas!

More later.