Hello winter

1.5 weeks ago we discovered a new beautiful lake in the area, with a cool marina restraunt as well. We enjoyed reading and walking next to the shore on a Sunday afternoon after our long car ride home from church. We thought perhaps, we could take my mother there for her birthday this past weekend as they were visiting.

Think again! Winter has come. We have had a few snowfalls since then, and the weather has been mostly in the mid 20s during the day.

I am not minding it as much as I thought. The cold air rejuvenates me, most of the time, though on Monday it did instantly send shooting pains through my head. The snow is beautiful, but the lack of sun isn't as welcome, and for now I am going to enjoy the temperatures above zero. Rumor has it, temperatures can drop to -20 to -40and with the wind chill this pretty much means staying inside as much as possible.

This month our weekends are mostly full. This past weekend my parents and brother Paul's family visited! It was wonderful meeting our new nephew and seeing our neice in her new stage of independence and toddlerhood. This next weedend, we are driving to Indiana for a logic conference for Yiannis at Nortre Dame. Nortre Dame is only an hour away from my grandparents and other family, and we will all be having a Thanksgiving meal together while Yiannis attends the conference. And finally, we will be driving to Kansas for Thanksgiving if the weather permits.

Yesterday I had my first experience of the year scraping a good layer of ice from the car. And I have to admit, it was kind of nice being made to work a bit, instead of simply walking outside, jumping in, and driving away.