Where the Deer and the Antelope Play - Living in the USA (visitors welcome)

[SuperBunny]

East Coast
MaNanny - Boston
Twinmommytobe - Boston
MuminCT - CT
Greatgooglymoogly - NY State
Yesthereare4ofthem - NY State
Brooklynmom - NYC
alarkaspree - NYC
MKG - New Jersey
Mummimamma - PA
Poetmum - PA
Twirl - MD

South
Earlybird - TN
jabberwocky - AR
Sunchowder - Florida
Marls001 - Bentonville, AR
Tinpot - NC
MadameDeathStare- AL

Midwest
SuperBunny- Chicago
Dodgykeeper - Dayton, OH
Chocchipcookie - Ohio
MonkeyLover
KickAssAngel - Ann Arbor, MI

Rockies
Alipiggie - Boulder, CO
Ribena

Northwest
AnnieLaurie - Seattle, WA
Dooneygirl - Oregon City, OR

California
SittingBull - nr San Francisco
Califrau - Milpitas
loopsngeorge - Brentwood, LA
Syd - Manhattan Beach, LA
SofiaAmes - LA
LATyke - Redondo Beach

Texas
Texan - Dallas
Tiggyhop - Houston
Vixie78 - Houston
BananaPudding - Austin
Cosmicdust - East Texas

Canada
Hellish - Ottawa
Shouldlistenedtomymum - Hamilton
Nooka - BC
Jacksmama - Langley

Exotic Islands
Anorak - Bermuda
cp - Trinidad
Barefeete - BVI

Brazil
Albert

i use the coat check. when it's -20, you NEED a big coat, even just to get inside the mall (don't wander around town in this weather), thenyou get inside & it's too hot. i felt very sorry for dd when i was making her try on snow suits, she went all red & cross.

My mum has just sent me a fabulous cashmere thermal vest. It is sooo cosy. It's deep blue with lacy edging - not sure I'll be able to wear it to work Today dd wanted to try out her new bike. We managed 10 mins, before realising we needed snow trousers. Can you even cycle in snow trousers I wonder!

Cashmere sounds wonderful. I have silk thermals that I wear when it is terribly cold. I do no own a vest though, and haven't done since I was about 6.

Oh, our train system is a good one - you get on, pay your $2.25 and can ride anywhere in the city all day (as long as you don't get off). It is full of homeless people at this time of year because it is so warm

Silk thermals, that reminds me - I have simply got to find the rest of my winter boxes This has been the most unorganized move/unpacking of my life! I find myself constantly wondering where something is

didn't even know that silk thermals existed. next time we go to the big outlet mall (tis a strip mall, took me ages to figure out what they actually were) i shall stock up. there's a big place about an hour north of here, where we got stuff for dd & dh, then i thought we'd spent too much money & that my normal winter coat looked so much smarter that i wouldn't bother. gues tis me who looks stupid now!

poor dd, she gets all dressed up in snow suit & boots, then i keep telling her to hurry up. she can barely move, cerrtianly wouldn't be riding a bike!

still, i'm doing better than the mum at the bus stop last week who was wearing her pj's under her ski jacket!!! how did she cope, i wear 2 pairs of trousers in the morning, waiting for that big yellow bus to arrive.

They're always right, Cali

My DS is always so bundled that he can barely move, Kickass. And I have been trying to make him put his boots on himself but he looks at me with big tears in his eyes and says, "But mummy, I can't move" so I give in and do it for him. Am so glad I do not have to wait for a school bus every day.

yes, when i go to dd's school, outside every room there's 20 pairs of snow boots & jackets. luckily, they have recess right beofre home time for the kids on half day, otherwise she'd have to get dressed, partilly undress on bus, dress again (not allowed off bus without mittens etc), undress at school, dress for recess, undress for more lessons, dress for bus, partially undress on bus, dress again to walk down drive, finally get undressed when home.
no wonder she doesn't like to go out in the afternoons!!

sb - do you know anything about camping on lake mi? we want to go for a long weekend, but things already booking up!! not sure whetherr to just book a site near holland, cos it looks popular so presumeably has lots to do, or try to find out more. any advice?

It's exhausting getting ready to go anywhere!

I don't know much about camping on the Lake - from here, most people go to the Indiana Dunes but the coast in Michigan in MUCH prettier. I might be able to find a bit more info and I'll get back to you if I can find it. Someone recommended a place where you can rent log cabins and yurts.

we're planning to take our tent, we've camped all over the place in the us on previous trips here, it's always fun to see the faces of people when they ask how big your vehicle is, and you just go 'nope, just a tent & a car'.they still ask if yu want electricity!
actually think a weekend is too short -there's snad dunes, beaches, grand rapids looks nice & there's some cute old towns too.
i shall keep looking. i need dh nere to actually book - he's the only one with a credit card as i only kind of exist.

Ok, the two places that are often recommended are:

Bridgeman, Michigan 'has a wonderful camping site on the lake owned by the
town with a little restaurant to do your rainy day activities or eat'

Sleeping Bear Dunes - lots of people recommend them.

Saugutuck is pretty too.

I went to Grand Rapids for a day last year but saw nothing than Walmart and Home Depot and a Red Robin restaurant. I am sure there is something more interesting than that.

I have asked that someone bring over my tent from the UK this year so we can go camping. Does anyone know if you can get those little Coleman gas canisters here?

Look how pretty Sleeping Bear Dunes are

Virtual Visitor Centre

thanks. am trying to find somewherre that has grass pitches. we once blagged a space on the 'lawn' at the entrnace to an RV park (was getting dark & nowhere else to go) the lady was quite worried that we wouldn't have running water - there was a wash room, showers, water etc about 10 feet away, but she didn't know how we'd cope!
not sure about gas, we also have a trangia & finding the irght stuff for that is hard. dh would love going on the dunes. i shall stay on the beach. dd will just want a play place.

Those little canisters are everywhere. You can usually even find them at most grocery stores here during camping season.

I'm home. Yay. I was going to request someone send food, but was using MIL's computer, and didn't want her to find it, as she is a wonderful person in every other way. Even though they've only been in their house for a few months, the Refrigerator of Doom is up and full of expired food and leftovers over a week old that are heated up in their entirety day after day and then put back in the RoD until finally consumed.

We accidentally discovered an amazing chocolate place, visited our friends, did some amazing discount shopping and otherwise had a great time, which was nice after the few days I had before leaving.

Glad to know you aren't leaving, Cali.

Tell me about the chocolate place! We have a moonstruck cafe - I think there is one in your neck of the woods but it's not amazing, I don't think.

I'm getting excited about the prospect of camping now Kickass. I am determined to take DS to Sleeping Bear. He'd love it.

chocolate place He just had amazing chocolate, and a wonderful array of flavors that went with it, and he was very restrained with the other flavors and they didn't overpower the chocolate. Even DH was blown away by how good the chocolate was, and he just isn't really a chocolate person. MIL bought a bunch of things, and I see she kept a couple pieces for herself, and put the rest in with our stuff, so we have a bunch. There's some sort of chocolate fest up here this weekend, and the chocolate guy will be up here, and we're going.

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy of a grace
As lang's my arm.

Ye pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware,
That jaups in luggies;
But if ye wish her gratfu' prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!

HAPPY BURNS NIGHT EVERYONE!!!

(thank your stars I have only posted the first and last verses rather than the full 8...

I'm worrying about the RoD

Happy Burns Night AL!

It is awful. At least the cheddar hasn't had time to be totally encased in blue mold. DH had to take me out to breakfast one morning, because I was so starving.

The day before we had cereal for breakfast, bean soup, which seemed to consist of a few beans in water, and "ham" and split pea soup, where the ham was really a tablespoon of ham soup base, it was the same thickness as water, and there were no bits of anything in it, as there were no other veggies, and I don't really know what happened to the split peas. I didn't sleep well that night as I was starving.

She had salad and veggies as sides, but I knew from talking to her that the veggies were almost a week old, and the salad was all wilted and had wet, slimy mushrooms in it. We'd just go out, but you can tell she gets offended if we do, so we managed to plan our visits to our friends around mealtimes later on in our stay. I've tried offering to make food, but that doesn't go over well. I actually broke my no McDonalds rule as she made us blueberry pancakes that weren't cooked in the middle for breakfast.

Ooh that sounds grim! My mother is a fab cook, but dh always feels starved there (he is a bit of a snacker, and that's just not done at my parents) so we take supplies and hide them in our bedroom! When he was bodybuilding he'd take extra meals, and she was so not happy.

Oh, and Happy Burns Night to those with Scottish roots Annie I hope you are bearing up with it!