My main purpose in "A Cuppa Tae" is to eliminate the hassle (on my end) of the email list. I always forget somebody; mailerdaemon sends me 12 messages saying that "so-and-so's" email doesn't exist; my browser times out halfway through a 10 paragraph retelling. These are just a few of the hazards of US email usage, never mind the horrors of internet in another language.
So I hope that you enjoy this account of my second trip to Russia. I leave June 1st for DC, and will arrive in St. Petersburg on June 4th. From there I will travel to Volgograd, and then spend 7 weeks in Astrakhan' on the Volga River, near the Caspian Sea.
Love you,
Shelley
