A little ice and snow.

Even though we are in the middle of Chun Jie or Spring Festival, it's still winter here in North East China.  We are still in long john's, hats, gloves and flannel night gowns - just not at the same time.  The days are longer and the cold is not quite intense.

Last night we had an ice storm. I actually rode my bike without gloves the day before and  took some pictures of the melting snow the day before.  The last night the rain started which turned into freezing rain and then sleet.  We woke up this morning to beautiful ice on the trees and not so beautiful ice on the streets.  There are no snow or ice days here, so school was open and off we all went.

Lantern outside our apartment building the night before the ice hit.  These are all over China as part of the Lunar New Year Celebration.

The same lantern the next morning dripping with ice.

Flooded park near our language school, full of ice and people taking pictures of ice!

A different lantern.  It was a clear and sunny day but frigid with a cold wind.

Ice on the trees.

Ice on the buses.  When it is really cold, icy or snowy, we ride the bus rather than bike.  The buses are unheated and usually have slush on the floor.  They are pretty fast and get us where we want to go!

Sweeping away the ice with a straw broom.

This man really has nothing to do with ice.  He was waiting for the bus at the same bus stop and was really charming and delightful to us.  I wanted a picture of him in his old army uniform.  It's not unusual to see older men in their old uniforms.  They are warm and practical, I guess!