Basta with this WINTER thing!!!!

Note: You may want to see the new pictures of my pups...go to the right boarder, in Flickr.

I know you all think this is the tropics, but...let me tell you it has not been tropics since September! I miss the nice sunrises, and warm days. As I write this at 7 a.m. (8 if you are on CDST) it is 62 degrees, and still foggy up to my patio...which is the worst part of it. The wind has been awful, and we are all feeling the ware of it on us. We have had nice days, here and there, and I run out and soak up the rays as I am afraid it will only last a minute or two. I think we have England weather now, and the tropics have moved farther south. We are about 3 or 4 months into the dry season now, and have not seen it yet. The rainy season will start...continue, pardon me, next month, and we will not feel like we got a break. I can only hope that the rainy season brings clear skies, and sunshine for 10 hours or so a day, like it does to start with. Or, we may all loose our minds. Everyone is feeling this...had dinner with friends last night, and I'd have to say, the weather was the main topic. Oh, and we did some "remember when" about it also.

Then, as a topping on the evening, the guests at the B&B broke the key off in the door, and no one was getting in the rest of the night. They had to stay the night in San Ramon...and I will have to get a locksmith today. Drats! Another day in paradise! Just glad my dogs were not there, or I'd have had to do a "breaking and entering" thing...no thanks. And I was so cold trying to get the key out, etc. that I was shivering.

Sure hope nice days come back soon. Now I am really getting excited about my trip back to the USA. I never considered myself a "shopper", more of a hunter...find what I need and drag it home. But, I can honestly say, I am totally going to enjoy WalMart. A friend of mine said "...felt like kissing the floor when they visited WalMart on their last visit to the States. I can totally agree! I even liked the smell of WalMart! And book stores, OMG; all those books in English! Grocery stores….I am totally in awe of all the food products! I actually gasp while travelling through the isles much to the embarrassment of my sisters!"...and I am sure I will have that moment also. (I'm sure she won't mind me quoting her) I belong to an online knitting group, Ravelry, and there is an expat group on it. Gals from all over the world write about their experiences, and most echo the same frane, the things we miss are about the same. Living abroad can have it's advantages, and most would not trade the broadening of experiences they have had, but most miss the good old USA. Modern, well kept, and variety seem to be the biggest themes, no matter whether it is food, clothing, or lifestyle, one is talking about. Some of my biggest reasons for moving here, cost of living, for one, is disappearing in the cost of the global resession/depression we are all feeling. The cost of food and utilities have doubled and tripled just in the two years I have been here. I am now paying the same for electricity, alone as I was for my electricity/air/heat in the states when I left to come down here. I do not leave anything on, nor do I run a lot of elec. items. Dehumidifiers take the bulk of it, to start with. So...one must really consider the cost versus advantages, in more than the money it takes to live where one chooses to live.