This is just not right. It's WARM today. Not sure of the actual temperature, but it's really, distinctly pleasant to be outside. I grabbed a sweater on my way out the door this morning and I WISHED I'D LEFT IT AT HOME. This is not normal. Everyone keeps telling me that they expect the winter to be really bad because of the warm summer, but so far I haven't seen anything resembling winter in a month. Chilly, yes, but not the terrible Berlin winter I've heard so much about. I'm sure once it hits I'll regret having said anything, but sheesh!

Another odd thing I've noticed: Peanut Butter. Walk in to an American grocery store and tell me how many types of peanut butter there are on the shelves. Let's see what I can think of off-hand: Jiff, Peter Pan, Skippy, Laura Scudder, the store brand, and then a low-fat and/or unsweetened version of most of the above. Then you get to choose between two or three different sizes, and decide if you want smooth or crunchy.

If you manage to find a jar of peanut butter here, you will get a choice of one brand, usually called something like "Uncle Sam". You will get to choose between smooth or crunchy, but it will be heavily sweetened and will usually have American flags or a stripes-and-stars theme all over the label. It will only come in one size: small. And it will cost more than freaking Nutella. Sigh. I never realized how much I like unsweetened peanut butter until I couldn't get it any more.