Day 95

These weekends are becoming hard work. Rebekah and Kyria were up during the night for nocturnal visitations. Then again by Kyria in the morning just before 7am. Got up for negotiations with Matthias over the Wii, breakfast and getting dressed. Then out for morning church and an impromptu leading of the English youth group. Then back to base for food, further negotiations with Matthias, the Wii and food. Then out for the afternoon session, co-leading the worship session, Kyria going steadily green and then promptly was sick in the hotel hallway whilst we were dashing for a taxi. Get the kids read and Kyria settled. A little Harry Potter though I was dashing onto the computer trying to find out what was happening in the Paris-Roubaix cycle race. More food. Throw the kids into bed and then finish off Skyfall (ran out of energy last night) then having Rebekah creep up on us at the one not nice moment in the film. Then ensuring everything is ready for tomorrow. And that feels like an average day, heading into Monday totally drained. I wonder when our children will start sleeping through every night properly? I know that is usually coupled with not getting up in the mornings, but I could cope with that for a little bit seeing as we are not rushing into schools in the mornings at the moment.

The destabilisation of Ukraine is getting worse. Sensing that things will come to a head more quickly now with pro-Russians wanting to push towards the Dnieper River, splitting the country down the middle. It still is infuriating to hear the "protection of Russian speakers" line being repeated in defence of their actions. A real Clintonism. Dmitry Rogozin said some pretty inflammatory remarks, but the one that probably is correct is that economic focus is heading towards the East, but I doubt without the participation of current Western powers. How the surrounding countries to Russia will then behave is probably an easy guess. No doubt with several trying to walk a tight rope until the US meets Russia head on; no one else can make a stand, save Germany perhaps. I think they've got enough economic clout to survive the cold shoulder. As for Kazakhstan, the country could be effectively split along the centre, but their economy is closely ties into the region and I would not be surprised if another devaluation of the Tenge were to ensue before the year is out.

Ray