The Great Seattle Snowstorm/Ice-storm of 2012

It has been awhile since I have blogged. The main reason being a lack of interesting things going on in my day to day life. Roger and I are on different work schedules right now and we have unfortunately drifted into a ships in the night existence.  He works days and I work nights with different days off, so that means that we don't get out and do anything together. You tend to fall into the day-to-day rut of your routine existence. It happens to us all every now and again. So how do you make time for that quality companionship, a blizzard and ice storm!

It started out nicely enough, fluffy snowflakes falling through the pines. Starting to coat the branches. A pretty winter wonderland worthy of a Currier and Ives print.

Then it kept snowing. The roads iced up and we were stuck at home. No problem, quality time!! We lit a fire and got ready for a nice cuddly snowcation.

Charlie loved it, we took him for a walk in the snow and he met some friends out playing in it too.

Then it snowed some more!!!

And some more.......

At this point, walking the dog was not so much fun.

But we are still having fun at this point. Can't go to work, so we're gonna watch some movies and snuggle and watch it snow. Great couple of days. Then the Ice Storm hit.  I have never experienced the dreaded ice storm before and do not want to again. A freezing rain fell as the temperature plummeted over night and left us with a half inch if ice coating the six or so inches of snow that we had already. Everything became encased in ice.

The weight of the ice and the existing snow in the trees caused the branches to start breaking off, even entire trees came crashing down and what that means is .......no power!  The lines came down beneath the trees. So we had no power for some time and again had to huddle in front of the fire place wrapped in blankets to keep warm.  Thank goodness we truly enjoy spending time together, snowed in with no electricity, heat or hot food for a couple of days. No showers either, phew. So we read alot. Talked. Played Scrabble on my Kindle Fire. And tried to keep each other warm while convincing Charlie that he really didn't need to go out to pee.  That was tricky on the very slick and icy road. In the silence all you could hear was the wind and the loud cracking of the tree limbs. Very scary sound.

A huge branch broke off of this tree in our backyard.

This one fell and blocked the street and was drug to the side.

  So we ended up trapped in the house from Tuesday night until Saturday morning, a great little vacation. And that quality alone time I was wishing for with my dear husband. This week we are back to work and normal life, the sun is actually shining and all is right with the world again. But I actually will miss the dinners of cold cereal by candle light evenings that we shared during the Great Seattle Ice Storm of 2012.

As Winter Creeps In.......

December 22nd brought us the Winter Solstice and the shortest day of the year. The official start of winter. I am not thrilled by the thought of the coldest and wettest months that lie ahead, but am heartened by the fact that the days will start getting longer from here on out! And truth be told, we have been having a rather pleasant winter. Many more bright sunny days than is the norm for the Pacific Northwest.

Although we have had some really cold sub freezing days and nights, they have been relatively dry.  Somehow the clear and crisp winter air is much clearer on a sunny day than the hazy days of summer, making for a spectacular view. But all of that is about to change! We are waiting for our first snow of the season this weekend. It is all the buzz and everyone is talking about it. I would say that 90% of those folks are excited about it. Unfortunately, Roger and I are not among them. I love the beauty of the snow out the window blanketing the pine trees, however the reality of the cold that comes with it while trudging along walking Charlie is not quite so romantic. Charlie however, loves to romp in the snow and it appears that there is alot more sniffing to be done.  As well as a bunch of Pee-Mail to catch up on. I call it doggy Facebook along our street. If you have visited us, you can understand our transportation dilemma on an icy day.  We live on a little dead-end lane that runs down the hillside, so if the roads are icy, nobody gets out of the street. We were iced in last November, the week leading up to Thanksgiving and watched several people give it a try. One brave soul (spelled i-d-i-o-t) in a big 4-wheel drive truck tried to make the top and slid sideways down the neighbors driveway. He was stuck there for a couple of days.




The snowy sky is forming and you can smell the changes in the air!


So, I am planning on a grocery run in the morning so that we can snuggle in for a few days and watch it snow. Hooray for 3 day weekends!!!! 
As long as we don't lose power, it will be cozy and romantic....
hot cocoa by the fire and movies and football.......

until Charlie needs to poop!