Not Matryoshka, but mine!

My Russian dolls

 

   These are the little Russian dolls I told you about in a previous post. Unlike the Matryoshka  (nesting ) dolls, they're carved from a solid piece of wood. Check out the piece of watermelon the little guy on the left has. How cute is that?!

   The Matryoshka dolls that nest were first introduced at an exhibition in Paris in 1900, so they're not as old of an idea as one might think. I read somewhere that the original idea came from a Japanese toy. I've seen a wonderful version that depicts Russian leaders but my favorite has to be the set I saw based on Russian fairy tales.

   I rarely buy souvenirs of any kind when I travel. Not only are they expensive, but they're hard to carry around. Luckily, I can now order them over the Internet and they'll be delivered to my door. I do take a lot of photos though. My blogs (this one and my WordPress) have a lot of them.

   What does all this mean? Absolutely nothing! It's just that I'm used to talking to someone when I have my morning coffee but I've lost most of the talkative members of my family. What I've got left is family members who are waaay too busy to sit down and chat. That's okay. I've written a lot of my stories down so they can read them someday when they have time!

 

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The Crossroads of Continents Exhibit and Russian dolls

   I found the above photo in my files recently. I took it at a Russian Expo that I think was in Seattle. It was so long ago, I'm not sure! Isn't she gorgeous? Sadly, the doll is the closest I ever got to the land of Dr. Zhivago. I had high hopes of going on an archaeological dig in eastern Russia once in the nineties while I was a docent at the Anchorage Museum of Art and History, but I didn't pass the physical and I think they thought I might be more trouble than I'd be worth, ha.
   Anyway, while I was at the Anchorage Museum of Art and History, I got to serve as a docent during the Crossroad of Continents Exhibit that was over ten years in the making. Moscow sent a wonderful curator from the Hermitage Museum (I think--I've lost my notes) to train the docents.  The Russian contribution to the collection was enormous. Stunning. Amazing.
   One of my fondest memories is leading a parade of women from my apartment building down the hill to the museum so I could practice on them before the exhibit opened. I could go on for hours about that exhibit. The catalog for it is huge; I spent my last few dollars on it and wouldn't let it go for anything. Maybe, I should insure it, like Betty Grable did her legs!
   I could never afford a doll like the one in the photo, but before I left Alaska, I purchased three little wooden Russian dolls in a local hotel gift shop for $7.95 each. I was so embarrassed because I was in a fancy hotel and I had to dig clear to the bottom of my purse to get enough money to pay for them. Afterwards, I didn't even have enough change left for a cup of plain coffee, but I was so thrilled! I'll take a photo and show them to you soon. They sit above my fireplace year around except at Christmas, when I hang them on my tree. One of them always makes me laugh: he's eating a slice of watermelon. Watermelon in Russia? Who knew? I grew up in Oklahoma, which is watermelon country in the United States. That doll is very dear to me.

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