Halloween. Party, party, party.

Ok. This isn't a Halloween photo, but I thought it was pretty cute. Here we have Munchkin #2 prepared for a paperwad fight with the family (we had SO much fun making a big mess). She is wearing her bandanna mask, has a Star Wars tie-fighter piece as a shield, and paper holsters for her paper wads (ammo). Really, way too much fun.

The muchkins got to wear their costumes to school. And, not much work was accomplished in my 'realm' either. Everyone was having WAY too much fun.

Today was a great day, but it felt a bit weird to not go 'trick or treating.' Ah, well. Still, it was a fun day.

October 31 is coming and I'm a busy mum

Sorry no snap/pic tonight. I've been busy making Munchkin #1's costume for 31 October. He's going as 'Ed' from the Cartoon Network show "Ed, Edd, and Eddy." The munchkin has Ed's voice down pat. Munchkin #2 is going as a very colorful 'witch' - we bought her costume in Norway. Whew...saves some sewing! We won't be trick or treating, but there's 'party' kinda stuff going on. If you'd like more details, feel free to email me.

Ok...back to sewing. Hopefully, I can get SOME kind of pics/snaps posted tomorrow night.

Cheers.

Long day...and just a touch homesick

Wow. It's been a long day. Got a 'new guy' at work - very sweet, but doesn't speak much of a language I can understand. The next few weeks shall prove interesting. For those of you who KNOW what I do for a living, this will make a bit more sense.

The munchkins are safely tucked into bed, Daisy Rat is just waking up for her evening romp, and I just received these snaps from my folks. The top two are 'Mum and Dad' at one of my favorite places on this planet. The third is 'The Bear Log.' On my folks' tree farm is a small clearing with this old rotten log. The log used to be so big that I could barely move it. Well, it has been dubbed the 'Bear Log' because during the summer, I move it during the day, and the bear moves it/rolls it around someplace else looking for yummies. I have not seen this bear, but I have smelled him. And, he smelled really bad! This next summer I'll have to see to it that he gets a new log to play with (or is it I who really plays with it?).

The bottom snap is the gate to the family tree farm. Ok. I think this is just super cool.

Well, I need to sleep. I could barely keep a thought straight and finish a sentence by this afternoon. Cheers.

Happenings.....

Gee, I love twisty roads. Great stuff to explore. This snap is from lovely 4X4 road.

Not much happening today, work, mum duties; you know the routine. The husband was telling me about a bit of news he came across, and I found an article on it. Thought some of you might find it to be interesting. http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2007/October/theuae_October725.xml&section=theuae

Daisy Rat continues to munch and nibble her way through her world. She MIGHT get to be a guest in Munchkin #2's class with Mum 'presenting' including facts about mammals. Loads of potential fun.

Things continue to be 'normal' here. Munckins, groceries and work. Until then, Peace.

Oooo! Look at the fishies!

Oh yeah. We had a good morning! Check it out! The husband woke me up WAY too early this morning to tell me, "Hey! No wind! The water is BEAUTIFUL!" Well, it took about half an hour to haul myself up, but once I saw that water, I knew I had to jump in!

The 'current' has shifted. It's now pulling/pushing in the opposite direction and is running much cooler. Those of you coming to visit in March, if you wish to swim/snorkel, you may want to consider an inexpensive wetsuit. I was actually shivering after being in for about 30-45 minutes (not the norm for me). Well, the fact that I only had one cup of coffee in me may have been part of it as well. We didn't see any rays this morning, but there were LOADS of fish right up at the beach. It's not a coral reef, but we still have fun.

The husband and I were both bemoaning that we don't have an aquarium any more. We have a PERFECT place for one, but we don't know who'd come in to feed/maintain while we are out roaming the planet. Oh for a BIG tank and a BIG cast net!

The husband just went out to try and get a Blackberry. In some places on the globe, he gets good internet access but no cell phone access. Other places, he gets cell phone but no internet. Hopefully, the Blackberry will HELP in a few places. It's crazy. In some countries, he can call out and text out, but I can't call him. Yet, I can get text through. Makes NO sense to me. Anyhow, hopefully, with the Blackberry his customers/coworkers etc will be able to stay in better touch with him. And, won't bother me if I can reach him better for that matter. Coming out of our home country, we really took communication services for granted. We don't any more! The husband's home country mobile number has REALLY helped him more than a few times - especially in Northern Europe. At times, that home country mobile phone feels like a little portable life-line.

Ok, now I really need to upload and email Norway snaps. Peace.

Look Mom!

Well, now that I've had a full week back and at work and got to sleep for about 10 hours straight, I'm back on my computer.


This snap shows Munchkin #1 getting the up-lifting experience of being bumped on a see-saw in Oslo, Norway. I think this was the first time the munchkins had ever played on a real see-saw. The playground stuff in Norway (and here for that matter) really rocks. Personally, I think that since there's not such fear of lawsuits, the more unusual equipment is out for play. Now, granted some might think this is not such a great thing, but for REALLY active kids like mine (especially Munchkin #2 who's so strong) this kind of stuff is much more interesting.

Ok. Time to upload to my 'backup' all my Norway snaps. Also, I went snorkeling this morning, so hopefully got some good pictures. Munchkin #2 and the husband had loads of fun watching a sea star crawl around on the husband's fin. I tried to get pics of the whole thing. Maybe more later today? I'm going to email out all the Norway snaps. If you want them but some how get left off my snap email list (it's gonna be around 300 snaps this time), send me an email and I'll get them to you.

Too tired to type!

This snap is from somewhere between Oslo and Kristiansand, Norway. Took this from a moving train. Yup, I'm pretty proud of this snap, and I have not touched it up either.

Well, back in the mid-east after a fabulous holiday in Norway. We came home to cooler temperatures and nice breezes - not bad things to come home to. But, I'm really tired after traveling and working a full day plus 'mummy duties.'

I'm glad we got away for a holiday. It was expensive, but I was desperate for grass and trees. But, now, it's good to be back in my own bed with our own home cooking.

Sleep now, more fun to come! Life must be lived!

Norway Zoo Day

Today the munchkins and I visited a zoo that didn't really feel like a zoo. It was awesome. There was a very long elevated wooden walkway. As we walked, you looked down on what was essentially Norwegian forest with a bit of fence in it. We saw lynxes, moose, arctic wolves, white fox all up close and personal in their natural habitat. Really, stunning stuff. Other places in the zoo was just pathway through the forest. All these snaps, and the video, are from the zoo today. We were there all day with heavy coats, a backpack and fruit, cookies and bread. I think we'll all be ready for dinner and some sleep a bit later! FYI: turn your volume way up on the video; you can here the lynx talking to each other in the forest.

Roaming Kristiansand, Norway

After breakfast at the hotel, the munchkins and I took off walking. We stumbled into the fish market. LOADS of live lobster, I counted 4 varieties. Live fish, live crabs, and even two live eels! It was like an aquarium of food! I hope to go back to buy some salmon for my work associate who's watching Daisy Rat for us. I just have to figure out if I can bring salmon into the middle east. Walking along the water/warf at the fish market, the water was crystal clear. We saw a massive pink jellyfish, large sea stars and loads of fish.

Further on, we found a little island covered in hiking trails. We walked just under 3 hours. Well, we also threw sticks and rocks into the water, played chase, and pretended sticks were wands a-la-Harry Potter style. The views of the ocean from the rocks were tremendous. Lush pine trees mixed with trees changing colors from green to fall. Wonderful morning. This little island was kind of the 'stereo type' of what one expects Norway to look like.

After the long walk/hike, we needed bathrooms and the fresh raspberries back in our hotel room (they're pretty cheap here) beckoned. After snacks, we trekked into town to do a touch of shopping. Armed with cash, a debit card and a list of stuff not to be found in the middle east, we jumped with relish into the Kristiansand shopping scene. The highlight of shopping for me was sitting outside a bakery watching the world go by sipping a latte

Viking Ship Day!!!!

I'm posting this a day late since Blogger was down for maintenance. The top three snaps are of the Stave Church, the 'farm' is well, an old farm building, and the bottom one is obvious. And, in this bottom ship snap: it didn't contain the body/grave of a man but that of a woman. FYI: you can click on the above snaps to 'blow them up' for a better look.

Well, I’m typing this from the train between Oslo and Kristiansand. My brain is on overload. After being in the desert, and then jumping into the fall color change of Norway, well…it’s mind blowing to say the least. The pines are a lovely deep green, and the parks and paths are loaded with oak a maple leaves just begging to be jumped on and crunched. The smell is homey and comfortable after the smells of sand, dust and sandalwood of the middle east. The middle east ‘smells’ good, but it’s not a ‘homey’ smell for us yet.

Yesterday was extraordinary. We took the bus from our hotel out to the Viking Ship Museum and the Norwegian Folk Museum. The Viking Ship Museum was as amazing as I had always dreamt it would be. When we walked in and saw the first ship, it almost brought tears to my eyes. Ever since I was very young, I have dreamt of seeing a ‘real’ Viking ship. Yet another check/tic mark on my life’s to-do list. Until I was up close to the ships, I just didn’t realize how big they are. But, even after seeing how big these ships are/were, it is still amazing to me that the Vikings traveled so far and wide in those open decked vessels. They must have been tough people.

The Norwegian Folk Museum was next. It’s a large park with winding paths and a collection of 155 old buildings. The Stave Church from about 1200 was the best. I’ve seen big stone churches, but the warm look of this old wooden structure was comfortable and yet inspiring. Our next favorite set of buildings was the old water wheel saw mill from the 1700’s. An old rusty saw blade was still sticking up through the floor of the mill. The husband barely touched the old water wheel, and the bearings still worked. All these old buildings were just clustered into groups in the ‘woods,’ and you could peek in them and get really up close with them. It felt like one was touching history. The old farm houses were really fascinating to me because as I looked at these old houses, I could see the roots of the styles of farm houses I’ve seen in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The table in our family’s farm house looks like a brand new version of what we saw in these old buildings – right down to the benches. I knew that the Northern U.S. has been influenced by Scandinavian culture, but I didn’t realize just how much until I came to Norway.

For dinner last night, we were ready for familiar food – plus we were all sick of walking all over Oslo looking for someplace ‘cheap’ (they don’t exist). We ended up at a TGI Fridays and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

As I look out the windows of the train, I’m still amazed by how lush and beautiful it is here. It’s like the lush woods of Minnesota and Wisconsin, mixed with the rocky coastline of Oman, mixed with a touch of the Appalachian mountains, mixed with a touch of the Rockies. Truly fabulous. And, I told the munchkins that since Daddy has to work the next few days, we’d try to find some places to go hiking and play some in the woods. The munchkins responded with cheering. Yup, truly fabulous.

Norway Day 2

It's been an awesome day. We walked for over 7 hours today. Our day began with yet another massive breakfast buffet. Yum, yum. We then headed out on foot for the Historical Museum. Wonderful place. Loads of viking artifacts and kid friendly exhibits. I can't post it (I'll email it out when we get home), but I took an awesome snap of Munchkin #1 holding a model of a viking shield and looking ready to go out on a raid. Super fun stuff! In addition to viking bits, the museum had a large 'medieval' area containing artifacts from medieval era churches. The best part was the painted ceiling from an old Norwegian medieval church - Al Stave Church - late 13th century. The postcards I bought to keep of the ceiling just don't do it justice.

After the Historical Museum, we sat outside and had a lunch of fruit from the breakfast buffet and breads bought the day before. A recycled Coke bottle served as water bottle. But, we did manage to find a little shop later for some coffee, and tasty sugary stuff from our country of origin that we had not seen since June (sugary stuff we hadn't seen that is). Sigh, smile.

From there, we walked to the Oslo Cathedral. The building is completely covered up and being refurbished/restored until 2009. Hey Dad, you don't know anything about redoing churchs do you? Ha, ha. But, we did have a lovely stroll through town.

Since we had time at this point, we walked down to the Oslo waterfront and Akershus Fortress. The castle portion first began 700 years ago. Unfortunately, the castle interior was closed (tourist season is technically over here), but it was a lot of fun running around the exterior of this large complex. The first snap posted above is inside a tunnel at the Fortress walking towards the castle section. The second snap is me standing in front of the Historical Museum, and the last snap is Oslo's waterfront taken from atop the Fortress.

After the Fortress, we retraced our steps to a local restraunt. Hardly anything was printed in English inside, and one of the menu choices was patties made from rheindeer. We had pork (surprise), beef meat balls, potatoes, and peas made into this stuff that looked like green mashed potatoes. The peas looked unusual, but man, did they taste great. We bought one 'adult' meal and one 'kid' meal, and we still had food leftover. (FYI: price 240 krohner or $45 U.S. - and this was a cheap place.)

Even with food left on the plate from dinner, as we walked back to the hotel, we just HAD to stop for some desert -two chocolate/chocolate chip cookies and an 'oreo' brownie/bar/slab of yumminess thing. We still have a bit left for tomorrow.

Now that our day is done, we have socks and other clothing bits hanging up over the tub from being washed, Munchkin #2 is in the tub, Munchkin #1 is playing, and the husband is seeing ads on a cable channel advertising shows about where we've been in the middle east.

More joy and happiness to come tomorrow.

We're In Norway!

Wow! We've got four days here in Oslo, and it's not enough! This place is beautiful. But first, the journey here. The husband and I slept a hair over 3 hours on the flight out of the 'Middle East' into Amsterdam. We couldn't sleep the rest of it, so we enjoyed the in flight movies. The munchkins slept a good bit longer.

We landed hungry and tired in Amsterdam. The restaurants were not open in the airport when we landed, so the husband and I made an attempt to teach the kids how to sleep in an airport across the seats by wedging one's self in under the armrests. The kids, however, seemed happier with their video games. The husband and I got almost an hour of sleep. Uncle B - it was WAY more comfortable than the floor in Moscow was!

The flight from Amsterdam to Kristiansand, Norway was short and easy. The view out the window flying towards the Norwegian coast was spectacular. The husband had to make a brief stop in Kristiansand to do some work/business. With the business complete, we headed for the train station. We had about 3 hours to blow before our train, so we loaded ALL the luggage minus the laptops into train station lockers and went walking downtown. It's cute town - reminded me of Estes Park, Colorado but a bit grittier. The husband knew of a lovely pizza place where we ordered pizza absolutely loaded with various 'pork products.' Yummy!

We boarded the train and watched scenery, too spectacular for words, for about an hour. Once it got dark, we all totally crashed out. Sleeping on the train was much easier than sleeping on the airplanes.

Once in Oslo, we had a 5 block walk to our hotel from the train stop. Nobody seemed to think it was odd to see a family pulling luggage and loaded with backpacks walking through the theater district. Very nice hotel. The breakfast this morning was yummers; the buffet was loaded with pork products. Smile. And, true to Norway, loads of whole grain breads, fresh fruits, and cheeses.

Today we went to the 'Natural History Museum' which is actually several decent sized buildings in a lovely park (see the snap above). The Museum is part of/run by the University of Oslo. The museum was really nice, but we spent more time just running around in the park and sitting in the grass. At one point, we all got on our hands and knees, put our noses to grass and smelled deeply. Glorious. We also had WAY too much fun with a teeter totter/seesaw that we came across.

As we've roamed around so far, we have used the subway system here. Fairly easy going, but not as clean as some I've seen. People here walk, use the subway, and ride bikes. Outside each subway station is a large bike rack filled to capacity with bicycles. Roaming around this city reminds me of roaming Moscow.

Tonight we walked the approximately 10 blocks from our hotel down to the waterfront. Most of the restaurants were pricey and inside seating was not available. The outside seating offered heat lamps and blankets while you ate. Really different. We walked a touch off the beaten path and found a really local pizza place where our whole meal was the price of one plate at the waterfront.

Food here, even in the grocery stores, is really expensive. At the grocery tonight, I bought 4 large rolls, the husband grabbed a small package of local cookies/biscuits, and the bill came to 50 kroners which is around $8 U.S. There appears to be a 25% tax on restaurant food, and there may be tax on groceries as well. This is not a cheap place. But, it is a glorious place to roam around especially with all the parks, grass and trees. Yippeee! Our 'toast' tonight at dinner was, "Thank God for places without sand." We enjoy the middle east, but it is lovely to see trees and grass in abundance again.

I almost forgot the funniest bit: twice today we were stopped by people asking us for directions! They thought we were locals! It is lovely to be able to blend in so well.

A special note for "Twisti": Please note the hanging thing on my backpack. Look familiar? Love ya!

Sand storm today

Today, we experienced our first sawafi (Arabic for sandstorm). The munchkins did not have recess at school. I wonder how wild things were at school with it being the last day before a holiday AND a sandstorm - hhmmmm. The snap above is from the Crown Plaza in Dubai, but it shows the 'haze' that happens when so much sand is blowing around. The husband emailed from Saudi. I'm supposed to ask him about a 'Saudi thunderstorm'. I bet that it was a big sandstorm. I can not wait until he gets home! And, Munchkin #2 has had some asthma problems. As a mum, I'm thinking that the 'front' of the sandstorm is what triggered the asthma. But, all is well now. We have a lovely doc here and access to excellent meds.

And now.....(cue old Beastie Boys Music) "No sleep till (boom, boom, boom) NORWAY!!!!" Actually, I will probably sleep a tiny bit tonight. But, frankly, I'm so excited I don't know which will win out - the excitement or exhaustion from work.

Now that I'm feeling a touch more settled, I have to admit I'm happy here (if you hadn't guessed that already.) What just a short while ago felt 'exotic,' now feels 'everyday' or 'normal.' A friend who used to live in Saudi told me that I will go through some culture shock when I return to my home country. It is going to be interesting to see if I experience culture shock heading for Norway. We'll see.......

My laptop is traveling to Norway with me, or at least that's my plan. I'll be posting snaps of Norway while we travel. So, until then.....Happy Eid.

Vacation comes a day early! Yippee!

Eid Mubarak! Or....Happy Eid! This Thursday is a holiday. Yippee! No worky worky for me! And, the husband just rang from Saudi. His laptop is 'dead' and can't be fixed until we can get it to a specific office that's not in this country! So....he gets some slow down work time on Thursday as well. Yippee! One must rejoice in the small things.

Daisy Rat is currently perched on my shoulder. Over the Eid break, she's staying with a co-worker of mine. I've already promised my co-worker a ride to find a car when it comes time for him to buy one. I work with such nice people!

The snap for today is the Burj Dubai. It's actually taller now then when I took this snap. But, it still looks very much under construction.

Ok some info on 'Eid.' I found this bit on-line. My goal here is to simply provide basic information about the culture in which I now find myself.

http://www.funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/articles/eid.htm


Have great day!!!!!!!!

Quick Science bit

Ok. This is just way too cool not to share! Just did a home 'experiment' with my munchkins. Go into a VERY dark/black room. Rub a balloon on your head. Touch the balloon to a FLORESCENT light bulb (you hold it in your other hand). The balloon builds up enough charge to spark as it touches the bulb, and it LIGHTS up the bulb. Truly, awesome cheap thrills. Yes, I need to get a life according to some people, but I'm just too busy having fun. Cheers. I dare you; try it.

Sigh, tired tonight

This picture has nothing to do with being tired. It's just a really fun building - Mercato Mall. Actually, it has a lovely grocery store inside and some friendly places to get a coffee.

Long day today, but that's ok. Just a few more days until vacation.

My mum was asking me about 'henna', so I'm giving you some links with some good henna pictures. I'm not going to read through these links TOO well, so just note the pictures.

http://www.trailart.org/henna.html

http://www.hennapage.com/henna/encyclopedia/bride/index.html

http://www.hennatribe.com/gallery/index.php?Qwd=./qdig-files/Adorn%20Henna&Qif=DSCN3173.JPG&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=M

The last website has loads of good pictures. I hope the link works.

I'm planning on getting some henna done before I travel home for a 'winter break.'

Sad Day

This is my poochie dog back in the 'home country.' My family is taking care of her for us. I REALLY miss her. Munchkin #1's gerbil, Blackie, died last night. He was an old gerbil, about 3 years. He lived a long and happy 'tube filled' life. The little fuzzy black critter will be missed.

It's hard giving one's heart to furry critters. They just don't live long enough. But, we can love them while we have them. Living where I am, it is hard to have pets. This place just doesn't seem as 'pet friendly' as other places.

Wow, looking at this picture, I almost can't believe how green that grass looks. I have not seen really green grass now for over 4 months. Which, I guess, really isn't that long - but it feels like an eternity. Boy, am I homesick. My oh my, I miss my family and my dog. The fact that the husband is traveling on business doesn't help. And, he's out of cell phone range. Sigh...sad day. I need to go get a cup of herb tea. Ah well. At least there were smiles at work today. And, my Monday meeting was canceled. And.....I leave for Norway in 4 days. "Always look on the bright side of life" - Monty Python.

Fun Weekend

It's been a great weekend. Munchkins got to have friends over to swim. We made chocolate chip cookies. And, when I took this picture, I was actually trying to take a picture of a VERY large sting ray - at least big for my favorite piece of coastline. It was about 1 meter from 'wing tip to wing tip.' Fabulous. The two tourists it swam up to, however, did not think it was so fabulous. It had reburied itself in the sand. The tourists were walking in the direction of the buried ray. I thought the ray would probably swim away, but just in case I informed the tourists of the location of this large ray they were almost on top of (and I hadn't seen it swim off yet). The man almost jumped out his skin, and then he was rather afraid to move. But, they spoke English, and we got to have a nice little chat about rays. So, this pic/snap was supposed to be of this huge ray, but he had reburied himself by the time I clicked the camera. At least I got a snap of this little fish. Really, great fun.

Busy, busy, busy!

Yes, this is a weird picture. But, you can kinda see the world reflected in the sunglasses.

It's been busy lately (so what's new right?). This is the first chance I've had to sit and blog for a couple of days now.

Munchkin #1 has another B-Day party to go to today. He's excited. I'm glad he's making friends. And, can't remember if I wrote about this already, Munchkin #2 went on a 'play date' with a friend from school the other day. They seemed to really have fun together. It gives me a peaceful feeling to know that my kids are happy and adjusting to life here. But, we all still can't wait for the cooler weather in Norway next week!

I may be taking a new acquaintance furniture shopping tomorrow. She knows how to get to a couple of places where you can buy wood furniture from India cheap. I've heard about these stores, but I didn't know where they were. There's a style of coffee table we really want made from an old wooden door (from India) with a glass top. In the regular furniture stores, they are super pricey. So, it'll be nice to know where these other options are. We've already got a dining table and chairs, two night stands and two living room end tables from India - really beautiful stuff.

Yesterday, the munchkins and I had to go get a b-day present for today's party. While we were out, I picked up a couple of presents for two ladies back home! Other than my mom and mother-in-law, if you want me to.....send me measurements! I'm happy to bring back more goodies! I've done enough shopping with my mother-in-law and my mom that I already know what will work for them! But for the other ladies in my life, send me measurements. Things here are comfortable, fun and inexpensive. Whoop!

Thanks for the emails of questions. It is so much fun to share things about life here. Like I just told one of my aunts, this place makes me feel like I'm living in a National Geographic article.

What things are really like

Well, here's a true local view of Ski Dubai. Way cool, huh? The silver tube thing is the ski slope.

Did some grocery shopping today after work. Munchkin #2 had a 'playdate' with a little friend. They had a really nice time. The 'little friend' is from Brazil. Just shows how cosmopolitan this place really is.

I entered into a discussion today about 'having help at home.' I'm just not one who goes for having a live-in house keeper. When I lived in another place, and the munchkins were both in diapers, I had 'help' twice a month. But, I just don't see a need for us to have 'live-in' help. The husband does most of the ironing and helps put laundry away. He also helps do dishes and makes lunches before school in the morning. I shop, do most of the cooking, and I wash the clothes. On Friday afternoons, the whole family does 'family clean.' We can TOTALLY scrub this place in less than 2 hours if we all work together. I seem to be a bit of a black sheep for not wanting live-in help. Ah, well. That's what it's really like here.

I'm tired today!

Isn't this a beautiful building? Underneath this beautiful dome is a comfortable place to sit and have 'a coffee.' For those of you who come to visit us, we'll make certain you get to see the inside of this building.

Today was good but tiring. I had an after work meeting that I didn't know about until this morning. It was supposed to go about 25 minutes and went for a hair over an hour. I'm just glad that I didn't need to get munchkins to any activities today. As it was, the husband and munchkin #1 were a tad late for their haircuts.

I am glad I got to talk with my grandpa the other day. He's not doing well and is 'in hospital.' I am truly grateful for that conversation we had just the other day.

To another topic.....I'm posting a link to a lovely map of Norway:
http://www.us2norway.com/maps/scandinavia_ScanRail.jpg
The map is interactive and you should be able to click on it to get it to enlarge. We are really excited to get out of the desert for a bit even if that means sitting in a cafe drinking coffee and eating goodies while we watch it rain/sleet/snow. We've got snow clothes, so we're ready.