It’s time for peaches and apples called “Белый Налив” in Russian. I have no idea how this kind of apples is called in English (белый = white, налив = ripe), because whenever I see it in little grocery stores in my neighbourhood, there is a big sign saying “Настояший белый налив $0.79/lb” meaning “Real belyj naliv 0.79 dollars per pound”.

I remember how I learned  to choose the best peaches by squeezing them gently between the fingers, strong enough to make sure that they are firm and could  be damaged by my soft grip, but not too strong as to not actually damage the fruits.

As for Белый Налив, it’s one the apple sorts of my childhood. As long as I can remember, there was that huge Белый Налив apple tree in my grandmother’s garden and it’s fruits were usually ripe in the middle of July. This kind of apples is very seasonal though. Unlike many other sorts they can’t be stored until late autumn or winter times.

Now is also time for sour cherries. For some reason they are not popular here in America and I can rarely see them in Russian grocery stores, but they don’t look too appealing and pretty expensive, so I didn’t taste those for 4 years already. I probably should buy them just for old time’s sake.

We finished watching the first season of “Lost” and the next one is coming out on DVD only in September. A torture (a minor one, but still!!). We also reactivated our World of Warcraft accounts yesterday. I wouldn’t believe it couple of months ago, but I actually miss playing this game sometimes.

Today I stumbled upon a weird, but nice CD by Huber Vot Goiser. He plays some kind of Austrian folk songs in his interpretation, which is not bad at all. I’ve noticed that I like native tunes of different nations, reworked a bit to match modern ears.