This is called "September Flower" and it grows all along the Presidents walkway at the mission home.   The walk is probably 40 feet long and the grass and some trees are along one side.   They are tiny about the size of a merigold.   Fall is not only a time of harvest but a blossoming time also.   xo

Seasons of the summer.   I have to admit that I had help from the President.   But I just love all seasons for different reasons.   Finishing well is nice though.   xo

Remember the beautiful sunflower picture that I posted some time ago.   I asked the President to take some of the same fields after the harvest.   Not a single sunflower head was left in the field.   The cutting machine is in front of the tractor and catches the heads of the sunflower and cuts them off.   It cuts many rows at a time.   Well done---spring, summer, fall and harvest time.   xo

Are you ready to make cookies?   They tasted so good.

Sometimes it takes many hands to make perfection.   Liza had the best ideas though and the cookies were a high success.

Liza made cookies for the missionaries.   Every Monday this event takes place.  Liza this week made oatmeal cookies that the missionaries could smell from miles around and they came in to take part in this great taste feast tradtion.

Ok so now you can see my new "do"  --- it is a great color and a nice cut.   Everyone has told me how nice it looks and how much younger I look with it colored this way.   You can also see my corner of the earth where I do my deeds.   So much for new cuts and do's.  xo

This is our building.   The stairs on the right side lead to a mall and under the stairs is a McDonalds---yes we have eaten there a couple of times.   I think the food is better than in America!  Now on the left side down just a ways you can see the little street stand which is directly in front of the double doors leading to our apartment.   Nice city right!   xo

On the right side of the Carnaby Store you can see the two tall brown doors with long handles.  These open to our stairway.   The President took these early in the morning when he was taking Liza to seminary so no one was on the streets.  The low wall on the right front is the opening to the stairs that lead to the underground crossing that we take each day to cross the street.   Al has made friends with the guard in the underground

This is our neighborhood!   Fancy don't you think?   We love living where we do.  The President took these pictures and they are just so nice.  In the top right picture you can see our front door---behind the stand you can see two brown doors.   These open to our stairs.  I will post a more detailed picture but I wanted everyone to see our entire building.   xo Barb

As you can see these horses were munching their way right towards us.   We had stopped to have lunch by the side of the road and these horses just wandered up and seemed to enjoy our presence.   The dark one in the back seemed to be the boss.   This was also on our way to Volgograd.   They were spirited but tame at the same time.   |President Nechiporov just wandered up close and took this picture.   Nice!

I just loved the fields that we passed that had been harvested and now had these huge bales of straw in them.  It was truly a thrilling site----well done!

This in Volgorad when we went with the President and Sister Nechiporov.   It is where the big lovely lady "Mother Russia" is.   They have made it a wonderful place to visit. 

Potters and the Prices on the River Kuban.   What a nice day in Krasnodar.   Notice the padlocks they are all over the railing.   Newly married couples come here to seal their lives together using a padlock.  It is impressive to see hundreds of locks.    xo

This is a Russian T34 tank which was the best tank in the world at the time.  All American experts found that this was the best tank in the world.   It looks great in real life.   We were with the President (who is taking the picture) and the Potters in Krasnodar.   xo

The Rostov Mission Presidency---Elder Potter, President Nechiporov, Elder Price.   What a great opportunity it is to be here in this mission.  I took this picture with the Presidents heavy duty camera and that is why it is grand.   xo

Mother Russia at her best-----She is awesome as Hank would say.   This is night.   President Nechiporov took this picture.   Can you feel the power she has?   Elder Price is in love with this lady.

This is our mission Mom---always on the go to one zone or the other doing wonderful things.   She talks, she prepares meals, she tends the sick, and is a great missionary.   I think that she is like Mother Russia waving at the world!   We all love Sister Nechiporova.

Do you realize that this is the real "Steppe" of Russia.   It is so beautiful.   We have seen this when we have been traveling with the President.   Amazing right!

This is the shore line of the Don River.   It looks like the sea in this picture.   This is our beautiful city Rostov!

From left to right----Vascily, Natasha, President Vlad, Irina (the accountant and it is her birthday), Sister Demina, Angzela, me, Elder Price.   Happy Birthdays are always a treat in the office.

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This is the beautiful ice cream cake that the office had waiting for my birthday celebration after a wonderful breakfast with  President and Sister Nechiporov.   How do you like the cards?   All were handmade and so appreciated.   The card on the left Sister Nechiporova made and it was was so nice.   The Elders made the others and they were also so very artistic.  I am now officially done with  my 18 1/2 times four birthday as celebrated in the wonderful Rostov Russia Mission.   Don't you just love sunflowers!

This is a picture of those who were at my birthday celebration in the office.   Elder Wright, Elder Nancollas, myself, Elder Hodson, Elder Kelly, Sister Demina, Natasha, Angzela.   It was such a nice day.   The President took the picture.   he always takes such nice pictures.   It is a treat to have a birthday. 

This was the dinner that Elder Price ordered.   It was just so nice to look at that we had to take a picture.   Only in Russia would the presentation be so pleasing to the eye.   The taste matched the presentation.   What a nice evening.   This was in Novorossiysk

This was the most fun to watch.   The first picture top left was a lovely Russian lady who talked to Elder Price for about five minutes with gestures and all telling him to move.   He finally got it, got up and started to move to a new spot.   He is happy after he sits down by another lovely Russian lady.   This made Sister and President Nechiporov and I just quietly have a good snicker.  

This is one of the beaches in Anapa.  It was just so full of people having fun in the sun and enjoying the water.   How woud you like to be a missionary in this kind of environment?   The Elders do a great job and work hard.

You have to love a Russian battleship.   It is now a museum.   The flag is not a British flag it is some kind of navy flag.   You can see in the background the mountain on the other side of the bay.   It is a limestone mountain.   They make lots of cement there or close by.   What a day!

Sister Nechiporova just bought the cutest cake to take to the Branch Presidents house.   She seems to know just where to buy everything in every city.  We then went to Anapa to the visit the Branch President.   This is a resort city on the Black Sea.   The Branch President and his wife are both artists.   They had a wonderful display of fruit on the table and a watermelon cut like I have never seen.   They have two grown children who were very nice.   Also there was an American couple who are working for an oil company.   They are the Rosewoods.   He is in the Branch Presidency and adds a little spark to a small Branch.   We just loved this visit.  

The President took this at the military review and it was such a day!   I just love a band and a parade.

This was a fancy military review of all of the countries that border the Black Sea.   Russia had their most important navy commander there.   Each country had band that would play their national anthem.   It was impressive and exciting to see.   August, 2011

Novorossiysk--one of the largest Russian seaports on the Black Sea.   It was just fabulous to see and to walk along the water front was impressive.   It was a very special day.  August, 2011

If you are here in July or August you to can see thousands of acres of sunflowers in bloom.   This area is the largest producer of sunflowers in Russia.   They are truly a visual feast that fills the soul.   Some are yet to be harvested and it is mid September.   This picture was taken on the way to Krasnador from Rostov.   The President took this with his great camera.  Thank you President.

 This was a day when we had an Area Seventy come.   Sister Potter and I had haircuts.   Sister Nechiporova took us to her lady hair dresser and she fixed us up really nice.   It was so hot that my hair started to curl before I could show off my new dooo.   Elder Price was in the meetings learning lots of new things.   It is nice to be here in Rostov.  

This is a wonderful monument on the South side of Rostov it is called "Tachanka".It is a wagon pulled by four horses or two sometimes and holds a machine gun on the back.  This was invented in the south part of Russia and the Ukraine about 1920 during the civil war.   It is huge and impressive!   We took this photo on our way back from visiting in Stavrapol. 

This is my favorite companion!  He is so smart and nice and he is doing a great job in the Rostov Mission