Snowflakes, tea and a groundhog



rements of summer covered with winters chill



      The winter drags on. The sun has decided to show itself with a bit more frequency but what must not be forgetten is that the absence of cloud cover leaves us highly vulnerable to the freezing temperatures. So it should come as no surprise that we have experienced temperatures of - 20 Celsius this past week. The sun is shining for all it's worth, yet the cold is determined not to allow the sun to break through to melt even the smallest piece of ice.
On such days it makes for fine photographs of the little flakes of snow and ice clinging to everything. The sun is still low in the horizon making for a great soft lighting.
This week however has been warmer and the temperatures have crept tantalizingly close to numbers above zero. :) Today we even had sounds of dripping as the snow melted with a wonderful balmy day of 1 degree.

    This California girl is seriously missing the warm companionship of the sunshine!
I still have my faithful cup of hot tea each day to warm my insides. 

   If there were groundhogs here in Estonia, I'm pretty certain they couldn't break out of the frozen ground and come up through the heaps of snow just to peak out and see if the sun is shining or not. So I think it's safe to assume spring won't be showing it's face anytime soon in this part of the world.

Rebel

          My birthday present from my man was something I've wanted for a very long time. We have both been learning how to use it. This is one of my passions and I can't wait to see how I can improve my skills over this next year. It's great fun to experiment and here are some of the results so far.

Photography is such an art and I realize the more I study about it how much I have to learn!
When I post pictures please feel free to give any advice or comments because I am eager to start taking better photos!

Goodbye Christmas!

Goodbye Christmas, see you next year!

As I'm taking down the lights and decorations from the tree, carrying it outside and sweeping up all the needles that it left behind I think of what this new year will hold. I wonder what experiences and adventures I'll have before Christmas comes around again.

Christmas 2009 seems so long ago. In this last year we moved, left behind good friends, drove across part of Europe, and began a new period of life here in Estonia, met new people, and each experience has left us with something to think about, a new life lesson, leaving us older, and hopefully wiser. :)

It's good to look back on the year and remember the good. So maybe I'll post about my best memories of 2010 next time. 

For now I'd better get busy shoveling snow and work on adding to the already 5 foot tall pile of snow along our driveway.

  We took the tree outside and stuck it in a snow drift last night. After another snowfall overnight I'm pretty sure it looks better outside than inside!

Hello Euro

The new year has begun and so has a new system of money here in Estonia.  On 1-1-11 we welcomed the Euro (some more enthusiastically than others) to this country. At last my hubby knows what I went through when I first came here (and still today) to convert all the prices in my mind to figure out if an item is expensive or not. Truth is, now I'm doubly confused but I'm hopeful that someday it'll all make sense. :)

Estonian Kroons

It is a bit sad to say goodbye to the Estonian Kroons as they are very colorful and much more interesting and unique than the euro. But I think the hardest adjustment will be having all the coins to carry around now. Thank goodness for bank cards right?!