It's Been A While...

...but yes we're still alive and fully functioning! Despite the cold. And the ice. And the snow.

OK, ok, you've all seen the weather forecast and know that the Big Freeze is over now, and we are - for the time being at least - living through milder weather. The temp drops below freezing at night but rises to about 3-4 Celsius during the day, which seems almost tropical in comparison to a week ago. Unless of course you have just moved from the tropics. And unless a FORTY DEGREE temperature difference doesn't bother you. Hmmm, who could I be referring to???

Anyway, I am so over complaining. check out these pics. Directly behind our house is a 'natuur ijs baan' (natural ice rink), which is basically a flat open area which is flooded with water when the temperature drops below freezing for long enough to make it worthwhile. There are two skating areas; one is for sleds, beginner skaters, and amateurs such as your truely. The ice is rough and lumpy and no-one is skating at any speed on it. The second rink, a large oval, is highly polished and reserved for SERIOUS SKATERS. There are a surprising number of these in the Netherlands, and God forbid you wander into their path. There is a kind of winter apartheid which exists, fully accepted in Dutch society, and it ensures that rank amateurs such as myself don't dare to venture onto real skating ice. Fair enough too, it's so bloody slippery that you'll fall over and break an arm within 30 seconds of venturing onto the rink.

Despite the intense cold which makes your feet ache so badly that stories of climbers lost on Mount Cook suddenly spring to mind and your toes feel like they've turned black within an hour, it is so much fun to play on the ice. The neighbours are swooshing down the canals to work, the kids are going to school on sleds pulled by parents and all are wrapped in dozens of layers of clothes...The sun shone for much of the time the weather was seriously cold and so it was absolutely beautiful. Global warming??? Show me the money honey.

The worst part of this weather (apart from the extreme dryness of the air which makes your skin, hair and nails simply dissolve and flake off) is that it take at least 10-15 minutes to get the kids and myself ready to leave the house. I mean, even inside you're wearing trousers, long sleeved shirts and socks, but you have to add over trousers, boots/shoes, scarves, hat, gloves, and jackets. Add up the individual bits then multiply them by the actual number of individual items, and you get some idea of how long it takes to get out the door. Of course one glove is always missing, one shoe is always AWOL, where is that damn hat anyway???