And you can dance... for inspiration. Come On ...I'm waiting.

I think I am pregnant. I hear that when there's a bun in the oven stange things are craved. Right now I would dearly like to hear Madonna's Get Into the Groove. On that note, something wonderful has happened. I have blogged previously about the muzak they play at the local shopping centre. Come Christmas time there is a respite as they swap CDs in the control room for some Bing or some such other Christmassy dudes. Then, usually the muzak is popped back in and belted out ad nauseum. But, this year there's a whole new world of shopping at Ecoll Lilas (why oh why don't they call it something Japanese people can pronounce!?). I was startled when I first realised I was listening to one of my favourite songs there, New Order's True Faith. Woohoo. It's the small things...

Now, to whinging. Just how cold is it now? Well, it's been snowing on and off today but I came home to a winter wonderland. It was so beautiful - a clear night with an almost full moon casting a bluish light over the white-painted world. I got home, grabbed my camera and went for a walk. I headed for a cool little railway crossing. I had a certain shot in my head of a passing train and set up in anticipation. I got the shot and then tried for another angle - had to wait for the next train. This went on a few times which meant I was standing there for quite a while in 0 to -2 degrees (it's 1 degree in Kobe now and, in the mountains, we're usually 2-3 degrees lower than that). I was bringing back Bird's Eye Fish Fingers instead of hands and they were aching from the cold as I walked home, so I couldn't wait to get inside.

My front door lock was frozen shut, but thankfully only needed a little encouragement. Once inside the blood started flowing to my fingertips, but rather than feel better, the pain intensified. Eventually they felt the way they would a few minutes after dropping a brick on them or shutting them in a door. I almost had tears in my eyes for a while there. After a few minutes the aching subsided and now they still feel a little raw, but otherwise fine. I was wearing gloves. Dang it's cold!

My place has never looked so inviting before.

Beyond the trees you could see the same dusted effect on the far mountains.


I hope you like trains and railway crossings, 'cause you're gonna get 'em...

Catch you next time.