Winter in Beijing in cold, especially on the windy days!  But once in a while, we'll get a little light snow that makes things a little prettier and worth the cold.  It's not Utah, but it's pretty.  This is definitely not snow you can eat though.  Most of the time, the snow comes when we've had bad pollution and the snow helps to make the sky blue again.  A few benefits to having the snow!

On the tennis court of our apartment complex, this worker was shoveling snow into a large cardboard box, set it on a cart, and pushed it to the side of the court.  He did this over and over.  We thought maybe it was because he didn't want to use a shovel on the court.

We finally got some snow! 

And it was only a little bit, but it came...just a few times.  Once in November and a few times this month in January.  This winter has been so mild.  Definitely not what we were expecting.  We came from Latvia prepared with snow pants and boots just in case, but there was never time to play in the snow because it would melt off so quickly.  We got one day when the kids got out 2 hours early and then a snow day the next day (school was canceled!) because the temperatures were supposed to be too cold that it be too icy after it snowed for people commuting.  D.C. basically shut down as well with all government employees going home at 1pm the day the snow started and staying home the next day, along with most other businesses.  It really didn't end up being bad, but it was too icy for driving.  Better safe than sorry.  Glad we got to have some snow though so it would feel a little more like winter for us!

We haven't gotten that much snow this winter, surprisingly really, but it it still VERY cold and we get a lot of winds every now and then that cut through our coats and hats.  It's beautiful.  And I'm mesmerized by the patterns of snow settling around and on our house.  It is cold, but it is beautiful to look at from inside a warm house.

Today we were on our way home from church in Riga when we noticed a man and woman trying to find coverage from the rain as they were carrying cardboard signs that said "Jurmala."  We pulled over and asked if they needed a ride to Jurmala which is the city past Pinki where we live, and they happily took us up on the offer.  We enjoyed visiting with them and found out that they were from Germany.  Savannah, our horse lover, was interested in the woman's career of being a physical therapist for horses.  The drive took us about a half hour longer than we thought it would because we decided to take them as far through Jurmala as we could to help them get closer to their destination.  We dropped them off at a gas station and said goodbye to our new friends, and headed home to feed our hungry stomachs.

On our way, we came across these men out on the frozen lake ice fishing.  I've seen smaller numbers before, but this was a large group, and there was a place to pull over for a picture.  ;)  I wanted to preserve the memory in a picture because it always amazed us that people would sit out in the Latvian rain and cold to go fishing.  Truly dedicated people! 

There are many Saturdays here in Latvian winter when we just want to hunker down in our warm house and be cozy and snug in our blankets and fuzzy pajamas.  Today, Briant and I wanted to get out and explore, while the kids wanted to hibernate and play on their technology since it was Saturday and they had a break from school.  So Bri and I dressed in layers of course (leggings underneath my jeans, multiple shirt and sweater layers) with our best coats, scarves, and gloves.  We decided to do a "Bog Walk."  Of course a better time to do this would have been the fall, summer, spring, etc., but I wanted to get out and see something new in nature, so we did it.

It was wonderful--no cars, just humans and nature.  :)
 The wooden path was underneath layers of snow, and if you fell off of it it was just snow and not a wet bog, so there was a benefit to doing this in the winter.

It was crazy to stand on a road that was built in the bog by the Germans back during WWI in 1916/1917 when they were trying to attack Tsarist Russia!  The Germans and Russians had signed a friendship peace treaty promising that they wouldn't attack each other, but then the Germans reneged on the agreement.

 At the top of a lookout point

It was a beautiful place to walk and explore.  It was definitely cold, but it was great to get out of the house and be in nature on a date together!

 

 It's hard to see, but someone walked out on the bog while it was frozen, to make a snowman!  They were brave!
 After the walk, we went to a nearby restaurant/store and got some grub for lunch.  I ordered one of my favorite Latvian dishes--pork with cheese with baked cauliflower and cheese casserole on the side.

Bri was super satisfied with his meal as well of cauliflower and cheese with a dill sauce.  The Latvians know how to do dill!

It's official, winter is here!  We were feeling nice and comfortable at 41 degrees, and then almost overnight, it went to 21 degrees.  So now in the morning at 10:13am, it's about 14 degrees.  As the small print says though, it "feels like 1 degree."  No joke--with the humidity and wind especially, it's cold!

 And indoors, our heater has decided to give us a little grief for about 3 days and will not budge from 14 degrees Celsius, which is about 57 degrees Fahrenheit.  It's not central heating, but this portable wireless controller somehow controls the floor heaters.  I think the cold has gotten to it and it's refusing to move.  I don't blame it. ;) 

To cope, the girls and I who are home during the day, have had to put our cozy, fuzzy, extra warm robes on over our clothes, along with hats, a few pairs of socks, and blankets.  It's also helped to drink something warm, so I've been making a lemon, cinnamon, ginger tea.

 One of the things that I love about winter, is the contrast between the white snow and the sunrise in the sky.  Thomas and I are both obsessed with sunrises and sunsets, so he helped me capture this sunrise as I drove him to school.

 Later that afternoon, at 3:30pm, as Rhea and I drove to pick Savannah up from horse riding lessons, I captured this sunset pic.  Beautiful!  I'm appreciating these sunsets and sunrises now because in a few short weeks, there is going to be a gray sky that will loom over us for months, refusing to move along.

 A "kingly" bird or "queenly" bird at my neighbor's house, sitting atop its throne looking over their kingdom, unfazed by the cold.

 And even if it's just a little snow, the kids don't care.  They are outside playing in it!

 This pic of the girls I captured from my other window, as they were watching new snow fall and were getting excited to go play in it again.  Priceless expressions on their faces!

 When going to pick Briant up from the embassy after work, I noticed they have the green and red lights on to be festive for Christmas!