MONSTER RALLY 2

      

     The lunch was scrumptious! Sveta made borscht and golubtsi (stuffed cabbage rolls). Dr. Park, who was starting to pout from the lack of attention to himself, thought that it was a Korean soup, because of the red color. For those of you who don't know what it is, borscht is a beef soup (emphases on beef), made with beets, cabbage and potatoes. Its eaten with a dollop of sour cream. The taste was beautiful: better than wine! Sveta is a fabulous cook. After my mom passed away, I didn't think that I'd ever eat such wonderful Russian food. I can imitate her, but it never comes out that good. Golubtsi were also delicious; there was so much food that we ourselves got stuffed too!      Right after the main meal, Sveta pulled out a home-made cake. We didn't want to upset the hostess, so we ate the dessert. And what a dessert! The cake was dense, with apples and crisp walnuts in it and delightful cream-cheese icing. Cream-cheese icing can be too bland or sour, but that one was just perfect. I'm sure, I'll find the reasons to visit that house very soon! 
     I don't know, who raised my companions! After the lunch, Taka peacefully fell asleep next to me on the couch, Roberta got her hands on the orange kitten and didn't pay attention to anyone else, Dr. Park only paid attention to his Smart Phone, playing some game or something: it bleeped a lot. Sonny and I were left to carry the conversation. Thank God for Sonny! 
     I asked Sveta to tell us about herself. She was born in Russia, close to the border with Ukraine. She has many brothers still living there. Her mother passed away and father is living. Sveta joined our movement in the beginning of the 21st century. She and her husband worked in America for a long time, before they settled by themselves. 
     While the adults were eating, kids, who ate earlier, got their hands on the package of table napkins. Looking into the living room, we saw that they laid the napkins on the floor, like the plates for all their soft toys, whom they sat in a line across the whole room. When we began talking after dinner, children started the campaign to draw our attention to them. There was a lot of running, jumping off the furniture and even balloon popping! Katya came and leaned on me heavily. She chewed the gum and used her hands to pull it in all directions out of her mouth. Then she used my new scarf to wipe her nose, while looking at me naughtily. I tried to re-direct her towards a more conventional play, but - nothing doing! She climbed on the end table by the couch and started to jump off of it behind my back. We realized that it was a good time to go. As a parting present, Sveta gave us a cake like the one that she made for lunch. Its now sitting on the table in our house and getting smaller and smaller!