We're in the "January Thaw" apparently. The polar vortex seems to have settled over Michigan and the Great Lakes and left the rest of us to enjoy some milder weather. It's much more like a UK winter now and we can go outdoors without feeling like our faces are going to fall off in the cold.

So, to catch up after Christmas. On Boxing Day (a holiday not recognised here in the US) we had our friends Peggy and Deon and children over for some food, drink and chat which was lovely and their daughter Megan slept over which kept the girls happy. A couple of days later we went with them to watch the Boston Celtics, the city's basketball NBA team. Through his work Deon has access to a box at the TD Garden, the stadium where the Celtics and the Boston Bruins, the ice hockey team, both play their home games, so we were very well looked after. It was a great atmosphere and involved lots of chanting of DEE-FENCE when the Celtics were trying to defend their basket.

On New Year's Eve we went into Boston in the afternoon for the First Night celebrations. Starting in the morning and running throughout the day and into the evening were lots of events and attractions, a lot of them aimed at families, to help celebrate the New Year. There were fantastic ice sculptures dotted around at various locations, lots of street entertainers, a family festival with circus acts, puppet shows  etc, and many other things going on which we didn't manage to get to. The Mayor's Parade was due to start at 5.30pm, travelling from the Prudential Centre to Boston Common and we managed to get ourselves involved in the parade! A community puppet workshop had created lots of carnival-style and Chinese dragon-style puppets and were inviting passers by to carry them in the parade so we thought, "why not?" and managed to secure for ourselves a Chinese dragon puppet decorated to look like our local Green Line T train. The four of us stood in the cold for about an hour beforehand as the parade was being set up and then carried our Green Line train in the parade for about another hour, weaving our way across the road and into the crowds watching. It was tremendous fun, if a little chilly, and we were able to finish with a welcome hot chocolate before dashing to the public gardens next to Boston Common to watch the 7pm fireworks display which was spectacular. There were more fireworks at midnight but it was much too cold to stay out any longer (the polar vortex was on its way) so we headed home and saw in the new year watching New York's celebrations on the TV. What a great New Year's Eve - definitely one to remember.

The girls were back at school and Barry back at work on Thursday January 2nd, which was when the snow started so they all had a day off again on the Friday when we waded through the foot of snow which had fallen since Thursday morning. Sadly, we were due to go to watch the Boston Bruins with Peggy and Deon in their box at the TD Garden on Thursday evening but we all decided it was too much of a risk in the snow so we had to pass. Hopefully we'll find another opportunity to go as watching ice hockey (or just hockey, as they call it here) live is great fun. On a sporting note, we've been keeping an eye on the progress of the New England Patriots, the local NFL team, who are due to play the NFL final against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Should they win, they go to the Superbowl. Denver are probably the favourites but not by much so it could be exciting. I can't say we've got into American football (or just football here) in the same way that we enjoyed the baseball but we will watch the match on TV on Sunday and hope the Patriots win. It would be great to have the local team to support in the Superbowl.

The girls did manage to get back to school the following Monday and have had no further snow days, although it stayed very cold for several days afterwards. At least we weren't suffering the gales and rain storms that the UK was experiencing. You were in our thoughts!

We managed our first skiing trip a couple of weeks ago at Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire. We drove up on the Saturday afternoon after Isabel's basketball match and stayed overnight in a nice little hotel with Dougal. Barry and the girls met up with one of Rachel's school friends Sydney and her Dad Marvin for a day's skiing and I spent the day with Sydney's Mum Jami and Dougal, walking in the snow and generally pottering around. It was very pleasant and absolutely beautiful scenery.

Marvin and Jami have taken us under their wings and decided we all need feeding up, I think. Marvin is an excellent amateur chef and we have been over their house a couple of times for food. The first time we were served the best, most tender beef I have ever eaten and the second time it was a seafood fest and, despite not being a seafood enthusiast (ie I don't do seafood) I ate almost all of it as it was delicious. I passed on the oysters, only because the meat didn't slide out of the shell into my mouth so I took that as a sign and gave up. Barry was in his element and was most impressed with me! Apart from feeding us they have also entertained Rachel on several occasions, including taking her ice skating.

Finally, to bring us up to date, we had a great night out last night eating yet more wonderful food. Marvin and Jami had invited us along to a dining event at a cafe up the road from where we live, where a local chef was preparing a seven-course tasting menu. Barry mentioned it to some colleagues at work and we also mentioned it to Peggy and Deon and we ended up turning up with a big gang of friends and had an excellent evening, eating all sorts of interesting and unusual foods (have you ever eaten fluke before?Apparently it's a fish and it was lovely - very delicate).