Not to forget Siberia...

Todd's mom, Jerry, walking amongst ice sculptures.

Regarding my 'bitter cold' pictures, I decided I didn't want to neglect how cold Todd's parents probably are constantly. They are living in Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia. It's been this (as pictured above-I looked this up today) cold for months now. Here is how Jerry described it in their latest email:

The view from our window is like a Currier & Ives picture come alive. The women walk along in their full length fur coats and hats to match; the men in their woolen coats and fur shopkas maybe pulling a little sled behind with a child or packages. The little children look so comical in all their winter clothes—like fat squares trying to walk. If they fall down, they cry out for someone to stand them up.
When I go outside, I feel like I am inside my Amana freezer, but with all the hats, gloves, scarves, boots, coats I am cozy. It only takes about thirty minutes to get all this on before going into the weather, but found that if you dress right you can exist. Mostly the temperatures have hovered around -18C which is zero, and occasionally this week it has dropped to a minus 21 and 24. Breathing in that air is definitely exhilarating!!