My symptoms exactly Eliza! I even began to think I should make an appointment with the dentist because of the pain in my gums! Like you feeling slightly better today - never had something that hung on for so long!
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Och, its just a wee bit o snaw…
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Good morning from the dull snow-free land of Florida!
Such a beautiful snowfall many of you are experiencing, especially the fluffy wet snow that accumulates in thick blankets. It makes indoors cozy and changes everything outdoors with the way it absorbs sound and crunches underfoot. Lovely!
I am just sorry to hear that @Eliza, @SheilaP, and the @OldGreyFox household is still feeling the impact of colds. All the more reason to bundle up and stay indoors.
Just as difficult are the pangs of sending children and grandchildren off to their busy lives. I suppose we have to let them go to look forward to their return. At least we will open the doors to find food in the fridge!
@Chilliboot, I had to read up on those pipes, not knowing how old they were or that they were pre-filled and disposable. Apparently, many can be found here in the Chesapeake bay. The new word for me today is “mudlarking.”
As soon as I finish here, I am about to decorate the outdoors with Christmas lights. 
. Yes, you read that right. With three days of hard freezing temperatures looming, we are wrapping all the tropical plants with lights before covering them with sheets and plastic in hopes they will survive. I suffer for the animals in this part of the world that acclimated to such conditions.
Stay warm, swim in the tea, and enjoy the view out the window!
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I got these pipes as a Christmas present. I’m not sure they would fare all that well in The Thames. Not all that well here either. They seem to be decreasing in number… 
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They look very yummy mart, best not chuck them in The Thames 
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Nor me, if I never see snow again in my life I will be a very happy bunny.
My daughter, who of course grew up without seeing snow, is off to Japan in February for skiing and snowboarding. Madness!
Some years ago she took me to the Snowies - its a day trip from Canberra and as a pensioner I had a free car pass - while they were out snowboarding I spent the entire day in the pub dying to go home.
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They are brilliant finds Chilli, have you ever searched with a metal detector?
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Ah! the lazy man’s pipe. If you drop it you don’t have to pick it up. 
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Thanks Foxy!
Yes I have used a metal detector, bit of a nightmare really. The Thames foreshore is absolutely riddled with scraps of iron. Even with the discrimination adjusted accordingly the detector is chattering away like crazy, very frustrating. I’d much prefer to use my eyes. The Port of London Authority is no longer issuing permits sadly 
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Yes of course Chilli, I didn’t think of the metal rubbish deposited in the Thames. I’m thinking like an amatuer. I built a metal detector but have never been out with it, apart from round the garden, so even a coke tin or bottle top would be an accomplishment…
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You actually built one?
That’s very impressive Foxy! If you’re on good terms with any local landowners there’s the possibility that you’ll get permission to search in a field or two. You never know what you might find 
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I empathize totally @Bruce, I’ve never understood what the fuss is all about, how can you enjoy yourself, freezing?! 
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But some people do! I liked Skiing in Glenshee in Scotland.
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Oh, I’m sure you did @OldGreyFox 
Winter/skiing holidays are very popular over here. If you go to the Alps this time of year, you probably won’t find a free slope to ski on, being so packed with holiday makers. 
I’m one of a minority, who doesn’t like snow. 
When the kids were toddlers my husband and I used to take them on day trips up to the snowy mountains to go for rides on their sled . It was good family fun but you know what it’s like with children, enjoyment is guaranteed, and I was many years younger then 
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I didn’t used to hate snow so much but over the years, it has become my pet-hate. . I’m sure if I lived in a city, it wouldn’t bother me that much, the roads get cleaned at least! 
I think I was also left traumatized after “the big snow” we had in February 2012. 
One metre of snow for a whole month! 
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I loved skiing too, and always felt like it was the winter form of surfing. It is an altogether different experience these days; weekend ski passes are around $300 before ski rentals, parking passes, and other costs.
I broke my leg when my binding failed to release long ago, but undeterred, I returned to the slopes in Vail, Colorado a couple of years later. I was feeling confident and really getting my skis under me, when my brother and husband swooshed up, laughing and asking how I was doing. Describing the joy of my comeback, they howled in laughter. When I asked what was so funny, they pointed to slope sign, which showed a skunk on a sled. Apparently, I had chosen “Skunk Hill” designed for children, novices, and bad skiers. I am still living that one down 
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Hi Surfermom.
The skiing slopes gradually changed as the climate got milder to the extent that it was nn longer viable at Glen Shee. Life moves on…
That’s a shame, Besoeker. My own personal "climate change’ has likewise left me less viable on the slopes.
Similar for myself - I’m nearly eighty…(
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