Well the kid's are watching Bob the Builder and a mutton curry is brewing away on the stove. Though it might be time for a proper update. Although they say a photo is worth a thousand words and I've definitely posted a few photos today. We're doing good. This week I have even managed a couple of morning runs which is something I haven't done for the last few months - I'm not sure how long it will last as I suspect it is pretty difficult to run with frozen nostrils once winter really kicks in.

Swine Flu has finally been detected in Ulaanbaatar so there has been the usual flurry of concerns and proliferation of face masks associated with that. It hasn't really affected our daily life apart from the fact that we have to drop Justus off at the outside door at Kindergarten as parents are no longer allowed to enter the premises due to Swine flu concerns.

Steve is continuing to enjoy his work and Justus is settling in more at Kindergarten. My culinary efforts are slowly having more predictable results and the breadmaking is coming along slowly - Thanks for all the tips Madz :). I have discovered that Russian tomato paste is good but the cheaper chinese stuff in a can is the colour of saveloy skins which is a little disconcerting. I am still perfecting my butchery/dissection skills as meat here comes in random muscle/bone lumps which then need to be formed into something looking a little more edible/meat like.

The weather is now hovering around 0 degrees although I am amazed how well my body is adapting. I was out walking today in 1 degree with a t-shirt and light jumper - CRAZY!!

We had a great weekend, B went down to a ginormous market here (Naran Tuul) to stock up on more winter warmies for the family and then we headed out to a Mongolian friends place for dinner. On Sunday we spent a lovely afternoon with some Australian friends, the kids had a great time playing and we had delicious soup by candlelight (another power cut) and real N.Z. anchor butter - ah bliss!.

Mongolian language learning is puttering along slowly. I've got a funny feeling that Justus may soon surpass the two of us. Even Riley picks up a suprising number of words.

We're all healthy and happy. Hope that all is well with you our lovely friends.
b xxxx