Christmas Day 2012

Cold and clear here this morning, 36F (2C) and 31 (-1C) in the wind, after 3.5 mm of "wintry mix" including some wet snow overnight but no accumulation. Good weather for flying, which M&X are doing this afternoon.

Christmas Eve in NYC

Hi! We believe it's hot and Christmassy in Sydney. Very cold here but no snow, although there is a storm tracking up the Appalachians that could bring some wet snow on Tuesday. Here we are this morning on the East River ferry coming back from a coffeee and egg and bacon roll at Toby's Estate in Williamsburg. It was 3 deg C, and -1 in the wind. Then this afternoon we went to the Lord & Taylor flagship store near Bryant Park for their Christmas window display, replete with fake snow. Xavi was fooled.

Look who's getting all spruced up for his trip to Australia!

Gotta love Joe Biden

The unspeakably shocking incident last week has really inflamed the gun control debate. The Vice President Joe Biden (who is a fantastic straight shooter and probably single handedly salvaged Obama's campaign with his debate performance) has been put in control. This You Tube clip from 2007. shows there is some sanity in this country after all....

Happy 18 months, Xavi

Where has a year and half gone?? He went to the pediatrician today for his well baby check, and got a great bill of health - weight stabilized at 10kg as expected, on 30th percentile, 70% for height (32 inches), and head circumference 93%. Achieving all his milestones. Good news for him is there was a Hepatitis A shot today, then no more until he turns 4. "Il signorino" will be back in Sydney very soon - here's a sneak preview!

Birthday dinner at Bareburger restaurant

Tale of 2 cities, version 2.

We are having another spell of mild weather with above average temperatures for December and no sign of snow at least until New Year's Eve, much to Xavi's chagrin. He forlornly says "snow?", "snowman?" each morning when he looks out the window. But it looks like we only have climate change in the USA, when you compare our weather with Milan (I guess they are well inland).

Coincidentally, the NY Times published this article today on the gloomy outlook for the $10B ski industry which employs 187K people across 38 states. Here is an excerpt from the full article "Rising Temperatures Threaten Fundamental Change for Ski Slopes" by Katherine Q. Seelye. The full article is at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/us/climate-change-threatens-ski-industrys-livelihood.html?hpw NEWBURY, N.H. — Helena Williams had a great day of skiing here at Mount Sunapee shortly after the resort opened at the end of November, but when she came back the next day, the temperatures had warmed and turned patches of the trails from white to brown. “It’s worrisome for the start of the season,” said Ms. Williams, 18, a member of the ski team at nearby Colby-Sawyer College. “The winter is obviously having issues deciding whether it wants to be cold or warm.” Her angst is well founded. Memories linger of last winter, when meager snowfall and unseasonably warm weather kept many skiers off the slopes. It was the fourth-warmest winter on record since 1896, forcing half the nation’s ski areas to open late and almost half to close early. Whether this winter turns out to be warm or cold, scientists say that climate change means the long-term outlook for skiers everywhere is bleak. The threat of global warming hangs over almost every resort, from Sugarloaf in Maine to Squaw Valley in California. As temperatures rise, analysts predict that scores of the nation’s ski centers, especially those at lower elevations and latitudes, will eventually vanish. Under certain warming forecasts, more than half of the 103 ski resorts in the Northeast will not be able to maintain a 100-day season by 2039, according to a study to be published next year by Daniel Scott, director of the Interdisciplinary Center on Climate Change at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. By then, no ski area in Connecticut or Massachusetts is likely to be economically viable, Mr. Scott said. Only 7 of 18 resorts in New Hampshire and 8 of 14 in Maine will be. New York’s 36 ski areas, most of them in the western part of the state, will have shrunk to 9.

Xavi having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit

Xavi wasn't too impressed by Santa when we went to get his photo taken at Bloomingdale's - needed a lot of encouragment. Also freaked out by the giant snowman when we went to buy a Christmas tree today, although he likes the tree once we got it home and decorated it. Maybe he'd be happier if we try celebrating Hannukah next year :)