Drat, the little rodent saw his shadow. Six more weeks of winter. This can only be good if it means lots of snow and snow days. I doubt the later will happen since I work for a district that believe in providing a warm safe place for children.

After several days, I finally heard from the oldest offspring who has been on holiday in New Zealand. She says, "It was a very safe trip - you know, within the first day of getting off the plane, I was riding around in a jet ski, later on, I jumped out of a plane, almost got peed on by a drunk Canadian, white-water rafted a class 5 river (it had a 21 foot waterfall!), and we ended the trip today by flying through the southwest corner of Cyclone Gene. Yep, very safe." Somehow she forgot to mention the ride on the motorbike and who knows what other adventures she knows her mother doesn't want to hear about!

Now, she is safely back in her home-away-from-home, Vanuatu. I don't know if safely is the correct work since Cyclone Funa just passed through and Cyclone Gene is rocking the southern portion of Vanuatu.

I should be worried but I'll just leave it in God's hands.