During the holidays, Ashland turns into a little gingerbread house of a town with it’s festival of lights. Every evening, the whole downtown is engulfed in a show of lights outlining Ashland’s favorite hot spots. This morning I woke with hopes of getting to see Nicole, getting myself settled for a bit, having an incredible work session on Joewell and going to cirque class with Susan. What I wasn’t planning on was waking to fabulous snow covered mountains and a crisp chill in the air. I quickly checked the weather in Düsseldorf to find it QUITE a bit WARMER over there. So those nay-sayers telling me I’ll hate the winter in Germany and Holland and the cold will be too much for me probably hadn’t thought that after 8 years living in snowy southern Oregon I might be a tiny, tiny bit prepared for the chill!