Dec 11, 2009

Greetings. Edna just got home. It is 4:40 pm. The kids and I have been here since noon. We are now officially on "Winter Break!" Three weeks with which to do as little or as much as we like.

It's been -20 here at night and it rarely gets above -10 during the day. Phnom Penh, Cambodia, is one hour ahead of us and the average temperature is +25. That's a 40 degree spread and in approximately 48 hours, we will be there. So as soon as we get back we'll post some pictures and some stories.

The pictures below were taken a few hours drive from here. I'll let wikipedia take over:

The Issyk kurgan, in south-eastern Kazakhstan, less than 20 km east from the Talgar alluvial fan, near Issyk, is a burial mound discovered in 1969. It has a height of six meters and a circumference of sixty meters. It is dated to the 4th or 3rd century BC.

Situated in what was at the time eastern Scythia, just north of Sogdiana, the burial contained a skeleton of uncertain sex, in all probability an 18-year-old Saka (Scythian) prince or princess, interred with warrior's equipment, variously dubbed "golden man" or "golden princess," and with rich funerary goods, including 4,000 gold ornaments.Right now we are getting ready to go out for dinner to a Uiger restaraunt. Never pass up a Uiger meal; it's fantastic food.

So, Merry Christmas to all! Happy Birthday to brothers John and Hank. Congratulations, again, to Hilda and Waldo (looking forward to the reunion next summer). Russ: why'd you sell your horses? Sue: Happy--Boxing Day--Birthday; we'll face west, from a beach on the Gulf of Thailand, and hoist a pint for you. Who'd I forget? Oh, yeah: Happy Birthday George, his son Dan, and our niece/cousin, Courtney. Also, Marja, her daughter Tracy, son Ryan, and nephews Curtis and Dale--all December babies. That's a lot of birthdays for one month. And, of course, Jocelyn; she's 7 whole days old!

Happy Holidays to all. We'll check in again in a few weeks.