The weather has started to warm up a little. Instead of being below freezing during the day, it's about 5 C/41 F. Still cold, but the snow has started to melt and you have to watch out when you walk under the eaves of roofs. We have one area blocked off at school because the snow has started sliding down and could crash on top of someones head any minute. I heard that is snowed a little about midnight last night, but I wasn't awake for that, of course. The weather channel said that it would snow a little this afternoon, but I have yet to see that. Living surrounded by mountains has it advantages when it comes to weather, like the typhoons weaken before hitting us, but it is also rather unpredictable. It reminds me of Houston. We have a saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait thirty minutes. It'll change." I often find the same true living here. A week or so ago there was a day where it was sunny and snowy off and on all day and occasionally both. It was stranger than rain on a sunny day. Since Japan doesn't participate in daylight savings, the winter days are really really short and cold. Sunset is about 5:30 these days. I could actually see the sun going down behind the mountains as I walked home yesterday. I feel sorry for the kids with a sunset curfew; since you can't see the horizon here, it's really early even in summer. I think most people give their kids a timed curfew anyway.