This year, summer in Moscow is so fresh and cold,  that I hardly remember those few days when I could put a shirt with short sleeves on, and my sandals are still waiting for their turn. Many people are discontent about with it. Actually, Russian climate is rather severe, and summer months bring the only consolation: the rare chance to warm a one's blood and to get charged by the sun. Even when the summer is warm, it seems too fleeting; its end arrives too soon and unexpectedly. But this year, we are out of any dose of sunny vitamins and joy. It’s been raining from since May till now with short pauses. However, I don’t see a reason to keep a stiff upper lip,  because such weather is very comfortable for studies. So, I’m spending my days in the library proof-reading my PhD thesis, and in the evenings, I’m visiting art exhibitions or strolling along Moscow streets. Thanks to the wide pavements laid during last three years, our city center became much more agreeable for walks. What’s more, many citizens prefer to leave Moscow in the summer and move to the countryside. That is why it becomes more quiet and empty, and thus, comfortable for promenades. Yesterday,  after the library got closed and my husband finished his work, we took an architectural guide and observed three magnificent houses built in the 1920s.The first one was a so-called “Melnikov House”. It was projected by Konstantin Melnikov, and it reminds of the Art Deco style. The edifice has two adjoining circles in its plan and a spiral stairs inside. The windows are diamond-shaped, and the front wall is made of glass. The second house on our way had been intended by Trotzky to be a club for ex-prisoners. It included a big cinema theater, a library, and a hall for meetings. The building was constructed by Vesnins brothers, who were famous constructivists by that time. Vesnins wanted to experiment with heavy cubical volumes and put them one by another. But now the edifice looks rather like a prison with monolith bank wall. From some angles it resembles Bastilia. But I’m not sure if the architects had it in mind. The third building on our way was a Narkomfin House. It had been invented by a famous avant-gardist Yakov Guinzburg. It is a very elegant, and,  I would say, graceful edifice, long as a ship, with continuous windows and a line of ascetic columns below, which makes the building light, as if it was lifted over the ground.This evening, as soon as the storm will be is over, we will certainly continue our educational adventures!

It's raining in Moscow

Congratulations!  Your English is at a very high level.  You express yourself better than some native speakers.  Also, I enjoyed reading your notebook entry.  It was very interesting and educational!  Keep up the good work!