Sketchy weather

These pictures are from a few days ago. No matter, it looks about the same today, minus the snow on the ground. There was a bit of snow flying earlier today. It's one of those summers. I'm very curious to know what is controlling our weather this season, if it's some kind of shift in the SAM (southern annular mode) or just normal sketchy antarctic weather. It has not been a warm and sunny summer. It's not a "Big Melt Year". There has been no "flood". Today we learned that the road onto the sea-ice has re-opened to large wheeled trucks, not just track vehicles. It has been cold and cloudy so the road is firming up and the wheels don't sink in. Tomorrow the forecast is not looking good. Three of our co-PI's are due to head south, so hopefully the storm does not develop as promised.

I think I should go for more walks, but then when it's grey and snowing and blowing, a trip to the Coffee House is more appealing. The coffee house does not look like much from the outside, but inside the atmosphere is cozy. They serve coffee and wine, so the coffee house is also known as the "wine bar". It's a relaxing place to go in the evening for a glass of wine or two and a chat with friends and co-workers. As my friend Rhoda says "It's always condition 3 in the office." And that sentiment applies to the Coffee House too.

Coffee is an important part of life for many people here. Besides the fact that many of us are caffeine addicts in our regular lives anyway, we work hard here and coffee is a nice way to take a break and feel recharged. It's also a social thing. For me it's nice to make and drink coffee as part of my normal routine here. Because we all eat in a cafeteria, and therefore do not cook our own food, it's nice to prepare the coffee in the morning and then to drink it!