Spring Break 07- ROOOAD TRIP!

The railroad in the North(it wasn't compelte the last time I was here)
Stuffed in a cab with Christi and Pandu
-The sunset on the farm










Traditional Ovambo Hut - Massive tree
Under a mosquito net










Ndapandula & Pandu .......... Preying Mantus.................Huge Rooster!




-mahangu storage.. Makondjo,christi and Pandu. Makondjo playing around wearing a traditional ovambo womans dress


Martha waiting for taxi... Me and the Moon (picture doesn't do justice)


Kuku Anna

kuku annas farm... mahahngu... field

Foibe and baby.. foibe in traditions dress
Giraffe in Etosha.............Girls Playing In Puddle

John and Makondjo

Children of the Mahangu...Ewilili(spider)


Fina sewing dresses to sell at the open market
-Picture by Pandu (sandals and Chicken)




Family in Havana 2 ( father Present)

The week…….

Friday we left Windhoek to embark on a journey that would take us over 1200 kilometers to the northern part of Namibia as far as Oshikati and back to the city center once again. Along the way we encountered many people, animals, bugs and the hot sun all in our little white Toyota tazz, which is similar to a geo metro but just a little bigger. Charlotte, Annie, Foibe, her 3 month old baby Mansona (Gift) and I stuffed our belongings like sardines in the little tazz and were on our way by 10am with a radio/cd player that only worked about 30 mins our whole trip. First stop, Okahandja, to drop off food and school supplies to the family that the girls Annie knows from Holland helped while they were here. The sun was hot while we pulled up to their house and started to unload the supplies. One of the milks we bought had split open on the way up and it was only on the way home, a couple hours outside of Windhoek, when we finally put two and two together about what was making the car smell so bad for our entire trip. After we delivered such gifts, we made our way to the famous wood Market of Okahandja. “Madam, come take a look into my shop. Free Touch, I’ll give you good price, just take a look”. I quickly realized that the female hawkers initially gave us better prices and were easier to bargain with than that of the male sellers. It was interested to see who would offer what prices for similar items. 150 from one person, 40 from another- I suppose they thought it was easy to sucker us tourists into paying three fold for a product. Of course, it is important to support local traders, but there should be a medium where both buyer and seller and happy with the end amount. It is a technique that takes some skill, and it helped immensely to have sharp Charlotte with us who is a pro at bargaining. After getting sick of all the heckling, we decided it was time to hit the road so we would make it to Waterberg Park before sunset. No radio once again. Silence followed by a little singing here and there, followed by laughter and little cries here and there from Gift who slept most of the way due to the relaxing hum of the car on the paved road. The drive into Waterberg was fantastic- my first plateau ever! I have heard about them in 4th grade geology and figured that they were flat on top hence “plateau” but it is very beautiful to see in person! We arrived in the late afternoon and after settling in our nice bungalow, Annie and I went for a walk on the trails and saw the great vastness of Namibia and Waterberg Park. Along the way we saw termite hills, big black dung beetles, and an array of winged insects, birds and animals. We realized after walking all the way down, we would then have to walk all the way back up. Needless to say we took a nice water break when we got back to our house. While at dinner we heard the chatter of the beetles in the background and finally had to move inside at the end for they were flying all around us, swooping down in our faces. Imagine a June bug and then times that by ten! Creeeeepy!
The next morning (the day of my birth) we made our way to Otjiwarango where we finally purchases a radio with a tape player. The shopping center was flooded with people because it was the end of the month, which is when most people get paid. We stopped on our way home back to Windhoek again to return our radio that had a busted antenna and radio dial and the center compared to the last time we were there was a ghost town, this time semi-filled with kuku’s (grandmas) collecting their pension (N300=$45) and going grocery shopping. From Otjiwarango we made the trip to Oniipa, Ondangwa. We passed through a checkpoint and entered the free range north where animals are free to move all over the place, including across the roads. Eyes were open for cows, goats, donkeys, guinea fowl and dogs- “freedom of movement” as Charlotte said. It got hotter and hotter the more north we got. Annie’s arm got tan on the ride up and on the way down she had to sit on the other side of the car in order to even out such color. As we got closer to Oniipa, the Ondunga tree, which resembles a palm tree, started to spring up and I knew we were not far from our destination. When we reached the Lutheran Guest House I called my family that I stayed with and told them I was here. Later, the would tell me next time to give them more notice ( I called them a week ahead of time) so that they can prepare gifts for me and my family as well as food. I told that they everything was perfect, the fact that they welcomed me back into their home was good enough. Before I went off to stay with Martha, we dropped Foibe off at her parents, driving back into the villages and barely making it through the brush. When we finally reached her house, which was undetectable because there was no roads leading past it (we took the back way) we just had dodged the two gaping holes in the ground. Foibe’s family lives in the tradition Ovambo huts with a bunch of other family members. We got a picture of four generations of women-Gift, Foibe, Meme and Kuku (who was at least 90). She made sure we knew that she bore Foibe’s Father. We gave them gifts and they offered us a huge plate of traditional sweets (dried fruit). It was great to be back in the area and to see the traditional way of living once again. It is completely different than the urban center we came from for many reasons, one being the wide open spaces, the other being the nuclear families that all live together on the farms. There are a lot of issues that surround rural vs. urban living. Many people move from the North trying to find jobs in the city; young people are not content with the simplicity that the norther rural areas offer- often feeling they need money to support not only their families but also their material needs. It is quite a contrast between my brother, Makondjo, who has never been to the city and is very pleasant and considerate (he actually ironed Pandu’s and Christi’s uniforms for Martha as well as did the dishes after we ate) and the other guys that live here in the city, many of whom have come to Windhoek to find work and end up living in informal settlements worse off than before moving. The thing is, although many would consider the city to be livelier, they comprise their lives for a little material wealth, a lot of the times contracting HIV. Furthermore, many men will lead double lives- one family in the city and one family in the north. While we were out in the community doing family interviews many women expressed that the father’s went back to the North. Yet, it is a double standard because when we talked to some women in the North, some of them said that the fathers were in the city (or another city around Namibia) working. So what exists is this vacuum where fathers are absent, working in any city other than the one where their family exists. Only once out of all the interviews did we actually meet the Father of one of the children. Back to the family stay: it is a shame that I couldn’t stay longer, because it is so peaceful and relaxing- granted I didn’t have to do any house work (although I offered to do dishes and what not). All day Sunday I played with the children and we went for walks and they pointed out the oshivambo names for things and were telling me about the animals and trees. We ended up at the old farm that I stayed at the first time-this time I stayed with Martha in her new house that had electricity, running water (a kitchen sink and indoor bathroom). Kuku Annas farm has grown over the years, bigger trees, more housing and many more chickens. It was good to be back once again and see all the wonderful people that I had spent time with before. It was sad to leave and Christi cried all morning before she had to go to school and we actually had to drag her out to the taxi that brought her to school. We drove through etosha on the way home and stayed at this great guest house and then we got back to the city wed..One coudl write forever about the differences between rural and urban areas and all that it entails (economics, culture....)

That is it for now (am out of time and will write more later) make sure to check out annies post below!

This week we haev the easter party on sat.

Love you all and thank you everyone for the kind birthday messages!

It was great a day that I spent on the road adn with my family in the North!

Take care everyone.

peace

mary

Hi-ho Hi-ho off to the north we go

Tomorrow we are off to the northern parts of namibia.
We are stopping in Okahandja to visit with a family that the girls that annie knows from the netherlands worked with wihle they were here. We are going to drop off a huge food parcel and some gifts for them. After that we will do a little shopping in the market there. From there we move onto waterberg park to spend the night. It is suppose to have fantastic views and greenery. From there on saturday we wil be driving all the way up to ONdangwa in Oniipa. We will be dropping Foibe off to see her family and I will be meeting up with my family that I stayed with for my rural home stay the last time I was here.
TOday was filled with getting ready for our trip.
I have a feeling that when we get back, time will fly by because that is when we will be doing most of our giving and buying of supplies for both programs.
We are still waiting to hear back from ivan, the guy in charge of christa plans for her land about the estimates on leveling off and the dates with that so hopefully something will be resolved by the time we get back!

I will try my hardest to get to one internet cafe while we are gone, but it seems like that will be pretty difficult.
When we get back we will be staying at a place caleld Penduka. THis place does a bunch of imcome generating projects and its specifically for women and children. They also run huge TB awareness campaigns and so forth. More to come on that once we arrive!

We have rented a car and I will be going about trying my driving skills here in Namibia..

STAY TO THE LEFT!!!!!

I hope everything is going well with everyone!

There will be some great pictures to come of our adventures when we return!

byeeeeeee!

Mary

Yummmmmy meeeeeat?!?!
-Norma
-We are trying to figure out the diagnosis here.....He was extremely depressed and while all the little ones wanted to look at their pictures after we took them. he just looked away and walked back into his house... he also when in and changed before the photo...

-Boys Playing Soccer without shoes on the Road that was filled with rocks/glass.....

-The menu at FHS for Lunch

Two Girls that wanted me to take their pic...-Christine and Annie

-Playing games in the Yard at FHS...
-Meeting under a tree in New Havana
-Kuku (she takes care of three children, one is her daughter's that passed away and the other two are from another woman that passed away as well from "pulmonary tuberculosis") and Pinky the dog.
-Meeting with another family- Anna and new born baby.
-School in session at FHS. One of three sections..

A lot of the times when young people are dying, they won't put the cause of death as AIDS or HIV.. They will instead put something to

the effect of tuberculsis, or cardiac arrest or pneomonia. We got to actually see the death certificates of the two mothers children that the Kuku was taking care of and they had not listed it as HIV... Many reasons is the stigma or even trying to keep one's status confidential. But this in fact produces many problems because for one it is then hard to actually gain sufficient and accurate information and statistics on such matters....

A day in the life of the settlements….

I can’t even imagine what it would be like to live a life that the people here do. Not having electricity and running water in your home. Having to travel over hills and down long path ways to fetch a bucket of water under a hot sun so that you can bath, cook and drink, assuming it is clean, consumes a major part of the day. Sometimes the taps are not working so many people have to travel very far, carrying the heavy weight of the water on their heads as they return home walking up and down the hills of “Hollywood”.
Or is it because generations are being born here, they don’t know any different? Many children have never been to the city, let alone have seen a white person in the neighborhoods. So they stare in awe, not knowing what to do, how to act.. Should they smile? Most sit there struck by this alien person they have never seen before in their lives. Adults being programmed on how to act, teach their children to waive, say hi and smile.

The smells of this place burn my nostrils. Its of urine, feces, dirt…. Today I smelled the animal fat that was being hung up on a clothes line outside someone house.

And the kids, they are what get me. That they can run around in this stuff, with no shoes. That they are being born into a life that they didn’t choose and have to be subject to such suffering, never given a chance to succeed and never having the opportunity to make something better because many of them will die before they are 25.



Its a completely different world over here. It is easy to separate yourself from it..
Yesterday (tuesday) I got extremely sun burned (again).... but when i cam eback i told this guy frmo the UK after her asked me how my burn was that i had been out in the settlements all day, and he said "oh in the bush??" like with the bushman and i said no.. the informal settlements and annie asked him if he had ever seen them.. he said no. So- do you think he will make the effort to see such thigns. or just take a glance, say poor them and move on to his safaris??

Finally we are getting things rolling by getting some money to abigail for food.
we met with families both monday and tuesday in the settlements and still have a good 5 more to talk to.
its hard. its so ery hard to pick and choose. who do we invest in. but we are onlt going to pick 12-20 and then the rest of the $ goes to abigail for her programs-- food, school supplies etc...

Christa- we have been in contact with Ivan- who got the plans approved by muncipality and now todayu he is going to get esitmates on how much it is to level the land adn the date we can do it..
after that the rest goes to formula, water, food as well as a printer for her computer..

out of time!

love and peace to all

please email me with any quetions or comment on here I love to hear from whoever is reading this!

mmishek1@hotmail.com

my number 0813287251
figure out the country code,,
byeeee

More pics...

Damara woman that runs business out of her home
-Dancing girl
The Lock on the Gate at FHS (5 minutes after we left and drove past it the gate was open again...


Future Techies...Checking out the video camera

A group of boys eating their lunches at FHS

Activities in the past few days:
Thursday: Helped Christa Set up a computer that someone donated to her.
Taught her how to enter names, addresses, phone numbers and birth weights into excel.
Had a religious discussion, where I listened about how the bible is the way. But there was more to it than that. I think, although it was not said, that there is this underlying theme in human existence that we must help one another out, regardless of our circumstances (age, sex, religion, race,class…etc…)

Friday: Attended a meeting on PMTCT (prevention of mother to child transmission).
It raised a lot of interesting points and questions surrounding PMTCT and HIV/AIDS in general. We watched a video about a woman in South Africa, Patience, who found out that she was HIV positive after she went into the clinic for her ante-natal care and they tested her there. This is a reality for a lot of young women here in Southern Africa. Many don’t go to the clinic to get tested until they find out they are pregnant. Imagine the feelings that arise. First the fact that the woman is pregnant is a load in itself to take on, but to find out that one is positive is something that could crush one down to the ground. And then the emotions that follow about weather or not the baby will become positive too. The sad reality of the situation is that if one has money and the means, it is quite possible to deliver a negative baby by taking all the PMTCT precautions: taking nevorpin, having a c-section, formula feeding and so forth. But this is not an option for most of the women living positive and pregnant. The only thing that is on their side is the probability and chance that through all of it that their baby will come out negative. Many don’t have the means to have a c-section, let alone afford to feed the baby formula (hence Christa’s program). Along with this is many are lacking the proper education about all of this as well as access to nevorpin. Only until recently has this been available.
Here is what happens if a woman, who is positive, is pregnant:
She is giving Navorpin during her pregnancy, before but no later than 30 weeks into the pregnancy.
In order to have the best chances possible the mother would want to have a c-section, but if that is not available (which is the case most of the time if you are poor) then she is given another dose of navorpin during the birth to reduce the chances of transmission.
Once the baby is born, it is also given a dose of navorpin to improve the chances of it to be tested negative.
Now this is where the controversy comes in. The government of Namibia has adopted a policy that advocates breastfeeding. In the discussion at this meeting, issues were raised on exclusive feeding. If the baby is exclusively formula fed after birth and is tested after 6 weeks, that test is 100% conclusive. If the baby is breast fed, they are tested at 6 weeks and it is not completely accurate, so then the baby is tested again after the mother stops breastfeeding (if tested negative) after 6 weeks and switches to formula and in the 4th month is tested again- at this time the test is 100% conclusive. The problem is that the mother, after six weeks of breastfeeding, has to switch to formula and this presents many issues. One of which is affordability of such formula as well as clean water to mix it with. So what happens is that the mother then resorts back to breastfeeding, and the chances of transmission become higher. Along with this is the cultural expectation of mothers to breastfeed and the stigma associated with formula feeding. If one is to formula feed, then questions arise as to why this is happening and rumors arise about their status. SO is one supposed to protect their reputation or their baby’s health?
Stigma is a huge issue here and many people will go to any lengths not to disclose their status, but there are a lot of movements here that are advocating “know your status” and trying to get more people to accept reality and get tested before it is too late, or rather, in order to promote awareness and education.
The meeting itself left me with more questions than it did answers, but nonetheless I learned and got to see the reality of PMTCT. I often wonder what the chances of transmission are between rich and poor people: will the rich, because they have the means to afford the medicine, excellent hospital care and formula, have a lesser chance of transmission, then say a person that goes to the state hospital, can’t afford a c-section or formula? One would think that a parent would do everything in their power to prevent their child to become sick, but what happens when they don’t even have the means to prevent such transmission? Perpetuation…..
One good thing that I got out of this meetings was that fact about the counseling and support groups out their for HIV positive mothers who are expecting. I don’t know what is on the ground here in Namibia, but listening to some people that attended, one of whom was a counselor, it is important to have these resources so that the mothers are supported and feel that they have a venue to discuss their fears and questions that they may have, so that they will remember that they are not alone. Some issues that were raised though were: the involvement of fathers- a lot of emphasis is placed on the mother but what about the father? (some groups are advocating for PMTCT to be changed to Prevention of parent to child transmission) Father’s too have a lot of fears and questions and it is important to involve them in the process. That of course is assuming if they are even around, that there are supportive fathers out there willing to take part in the process. In Namibian reality, I for one, have had a hard time seeing the involvement of fathers- I hope that I can be proved wrong with more time here.
So that was my Friday. I was overwhelmed with all the new information I had heard so I went home while Annie took three little guys (Martha’s sons) ages 9-14 into the city for their first time. I had the pleasure to be with them for a little bit while we bought them ice cream and they walked wide eyed looking at the bustling crowd, walking through the mall and streets. She took them to the park as well as out to dinner at a restaurant where she told the waiter that it was one of their birthdays. I wish I would have stayed to see their faces when they brought out the sparkling dessert!
Today, we went to FHS for Saturday activities. It was such a joy to be with all of those children. I got a bunch of video of them playing games in the yard, dancing traditionally, and just being kids. They were so interested in the cameras I had and they would laugh and smile when I would show them the pictures I had taken of them on my digital camera. They ran out of food during lunch, even after we had bought a bunch of apples for them, so a couple of girls and I walked up to a store about four blocks away and I bought 8 loaves of bread and some drinks for us for the walk back home. Kids were playing soccer on the path which was filled with jagged rocks and tiny pieces of glass because littering is a part of everyday life here. There is no trash pick up let alone recycling (you have to pay). To top this off they were all playing barefoot. This is everyday life for these kids. No shoes and even if they have shoes some choose to take them off to play soccer with a ball that is made out of balled up plastic bags, or one that has a hole and no air in it.
I got sun burned again from this 10 minute walk. When we had arrived back at the center all the kids were inside waiting. So as they left the center we gave each of them 2 pieces of bread and a few sweets. Norma, 19 came to the center for a meal. She told me she had cancer while she proceeded to take off her hat and show me the scars on her head. I could see that she also had suffered a stroke that left the right side of her body limp. She said that she had to learn how to write again with her left hand and now she just sits at home and waits out the days. She stuck around after most of the kids left and we had some bread left over so I gave her four more pieces. I can’t even imagine….
On the way home Foibe took us to the local market where we bought some veggies and fruit, along with some lunch: traditions ovambo bread, fried fish (none for me), and some pieces of sausage that they cooked right there. On our walk out we were saw some more meat being cooked (people will just be cooking it on the side of the street) and we came across this home where a Damara woman runs a makeshift business from. Hanging up on clothes lines next to a pink child’s shirt were chunks of meat and she signaled me to come into her house so that she could show me something. She proceeded to open up this freezer where I saw the rest of the cow. It smelled funky and later she told us that the power went out the day before. This woman was running an all out business out of her home. Fridges full of beer, meet for cooking and selling, economy size bags of candy, tango cards (prepaid phone recharges), soap, flour, rice, bread etc… This is how many people try to make an informal living here, by turning their homes into businesses or shebeens (bars).
This week we are going to the homes of the kids that Abigail has identified that we will help. Basically we will be profiling them so that people, or future donors, will have a chance to gain a glimpse into their home lives. As I was looking on the list, on the right side was a column that noted if the parents were alive or not. Taking a quick glance, there was at least one parent dead for each child, if not both. This is the reality of many children in the settlements here in Windhoek and even throughout Namibia. They are living with sisters, grandmas, aunties, who ever will take them…. which in most cases are women and the kuku’s (grandmas) who are the only ones still alive.

From Annie:

To My family and Friends,
It has been an exhausting first week in Namibia. We started with such high hopes of building Mount Sinai and have run into many road-blocks. Christa has the blueprint of Mount Sinai and it is quite beautiful. Her plans include a center for Mom’s to come for the baby formula as well as a counseling room, a boy’s and girl’s dormitory that will serve as a hospice for orphan children with AIDS and even a room for international nurses quarters when nurses want to come and stay to help work at Mt. Sinai. We are in the process of waiting for the municipality to approve the plans. Nothing seems to happen very fast here in Namibia. I do think it helps that American women are accompanying her to the different government organizations to assist her in the process. This is so very much needed and yet we seem to have to jump through the proper hoops to accomplish each small step. I was naïve to think it could happen so fast. We toured the land that Mt. Sinai will be built upon, but we cannot start building till we have the official OK. I realize now that we will not have the money to build the entire project. I will take home with me the blueprints so that I can share them with all involved. My hope is that we will begin to build before we leave. My wonderful friends in Holland have donated much of the money that will start the building and they have given us the idea to incorporate the press and other resources to get the word out that Mount Sinai MUST happen. Mary has her degree in political science and along with her computer skills we will help Christa start a website so that we can all communicate with her after we leave the country. When we are ready to build –first we must level the land—we are going to invite the Namibian newspaper, NBC, the first lady, and members of the community to the ground-breaking ceremony to celebrate the start of Mt. Sinai. Hopefully this will create awareness of Christa’s work. We will also help with writing grant proposals so that she can submit them to the many organizations here in Namibia in hopes of generating more funds for the building. My good friend Christa is tired but her faith in the project never seems to waiver. My heart goes out to her as I see what a struggle it is to accomplish this beautiful dream of hers. If one was to look up the word ‘networking’ , you would find Christa. She has gone to every source available to ask for assistance in Mt. Sinai. I don’t believe there is a person out there that is so dedicated to a cause like Christa is to the mom’s, babies, and children of Namibia. I know that I will not rest till I see Mount Sinai a reality!
Our second goal is to help Abigail at the family Hope Santuary Project in Hakahana community. This project is going well. I see the progress made from last year and it is so rewarding. The garden that we helped to create last year is going strong. They continue to have the plumbing problem of last year (the water pipes have burst and water is leaking), but this has worked to an advantage to both the community and the garden. The government has not fixed the pipes so people are able to collect water from this site for use in their homes and the community uses the water to water their big garden! I hesitate to try and fix the problem as it benefits the community and water is free! Abigail and Fiobe are helping to identify children in the community most at need and the money will go for school and food hampers for their families. We have decided to focus on 20 children (to start) and Mary and I will take these children on an educational outing as well as a shopping experience where we will buy school supplies, uniforms, shoes, and necessities for their families. We will also pair the children with ‘penpals’ from the U.S A.(Alex’s 3rd grade class). It is our hope that we can set up a sponsorship from the US for these children. Many of my kids from last year are now attending formal school!!!!!! We are also going to have the ‘2nd annual Easter egg hunt’ at Hakahana the saturday before Easter. This is my most favorite projects as it brings such joy to the children who need it the most. It will be an Easter party and we will serve special food that day and it will be a day just for the kids!!!
We are overwhelmed with—not enough time-not enough money-but we can do what we can do. I only wish it was more. My little baby is still at the hospital in Katutura-waiting to be adopted—now there are more babies. I only wish I could bring them all home with me. Out in the informal settlements the children cling to us like vines. I hug and kiss them and silently pray that God will Care for them. It is always the children that cause the ache in my heart. I think of starting an orphanage and know that it would be flooded with children within a day! It is the children that bear the burden of AIDS and poverty, remember them in your prayers! All my Love , Annie

Day After Independence DAy

These past few days have been filled with rain. But here that is a blessing. Just got Annie set up here so that she can start posting things herself. We tried to put up a few of her writings, but they were saved in the wrong format, so I will try to get them up here in the next few days.
We had a braai yesterday and invited a bunch of friends over- Christa, Charlotte, their kids, my friends Solomon and Nace from when I studied here, Marybeth who is from the states but had lived here for 2 years and setting up this soccer program for over 500 kids, and many other including the girls from holland that are also staying where we are at. It was a pleasant time and we had JUST enough food. These past few days have been a little more calmer so that has been nice and being able to relax is a treat. It being independence day here yesterday there were many celebrations troughout windhoek, one inlcuding a big ceremony at the stadium, which i hear was jammed packed full with people even though it was raining on and off all day. I have tried to reflect, even though i am not Namibian, what it means for them to have 17 years of independence and if at all things have gotten better over the years. In some respects they have, in others they haven't. Its hard to be optomistic when the gov spends its money on 15 nerw mercedes and a huge state house for the president- which if you think about it, the wall that protects it (I hear parts of it are made of gold), could build 20 mt. sinai's over and over. The president here, ive heard a few say, is trying to fight corruption, but it still exists nonetheless and the problem is how do we change that?
I met Marybeth last night and she is an amazing woman. She brought up a really good point that makes me think and think. She talked about how many people rely on handouts from organization- international, national and local- so what results in this is that they are become apathetic to their situation as well as their government. So what wouldh appen if we took those handouts away. If we took all those grass roots organizations, a lot of which as NGO's, away that support these people... They would have to do something, they would have to demand change from their government.... they would not be so quick to forget that their government must help them... that they too deserve the right to the same things that gov. officials have access to. What a day that would be... So how can we get the people to realize that things must be different- that they can't live in these conditions forever and they too deserve access to food, water and shelter that is clean, affordable and nutritious. I guess we can only wait and see....
So that is it for now. I am going to try to get annie's posts up tonight for everyone.

dare I say that 60 degrees is now cold???

later,
mary