Road View Report

So happy to report our drive over Snoqualmie pass was uneventful and smooth sailing.

The Ryegrass rest area was our first stop to change drivers. From this point to Vantage there was an Elk migration warning. We kept a keen eye on the road and the hillsides for Elk but didn’t see any.

The worst conditions we had were on Division driving through Spokane where the potholes were huge! Hwy 395 also had some potholes to watch for. Yikes. This winter has really taken a toll on the roads!

We made to our son and daughter in laws just before sunset and this is the view from part of their driveway (minor road) after switchback #1 and before switchback #2 and #3 that leads up to their home. Glad our 2 wheel drive did not get stuck in a rut on the driveway!

Today Dear is starting to paint the nursery and a dresser and toy box truck. I’ll be taking the dog for a walk when I see the outdoor temperature gauge rise above 20 degrees. Here’s a “good morning” view from Dan and Jamie’s world.

Being on the road most of the day yesterday made for a dismal amount of steps for me. We’ll see what today yields. I hope to get around to blogs later this afternoon. Hope your Thursday is starting nicely. So pleased the sun is shining today and it’s not snowing here right now. How’s it in your corner of the world?

Fleeting Five…

Fleeting: Lasting for a very short time. We had a snow event in the Seattle area that lasted a couple days. It arrived on Monday and by Thursday morning was all washed away by steady rain. Thursday morning all three passes across the Cascade mountain range were closed to traffic due to ice storms. Our friends in the Frasier Valley in British Columbia are still covered in snow and now ice and snow.

Many of you deal with harsh winters. For us in the Seattle area harsh winters are not a given. Some years we don’t get any snow. Wind storms can cause a lot of damage with downed trees on power lines or on roofs. We have big trees in the Pacific Northwest. We also might get flooding because of the quick melt off of snow that make our rivers rise.

If during one of our rare storms we manage to keep power it’s more like a party. We usually don’t experience cabin fever because of snow and not being able to go out and about. If the snow turns to ice it’s very hard to get around the Seattle area because of all of our hills. It is very scary driving down a hill with no control because of ice. There have been those years in our past where it was freezing and we had no power for up to 5 days. Those times we put our refrigerator contents out on our deck to keep it cold. During these times we do suffer from cabin fever.

Our kids in northeastern Washington are very tired of the snow and especially since they have to plow themselves out off their hill to the road below them.

1. In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
in the bleak midwinter, long ago.

2. Our God, heaven cannot hold him, nor earth sustain;
heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

(Christina G. Rossetti)

Thankful for fleeting things and the everlasting: 1. Our brief interlude of snow. 2. Bare roads again after the snow. 3. Digital cameras that can capture some of the beauty. 4. Power, light, heat and running water. 5. Our God of heaven who came down to earth to a stable so that we could be saved from death in our sins to life in Him because of his sacrifice on the cross and His gift of righteousness to us.

Linking up with Amy for Five on Friday and with Susanne for Friday’s Fave Five

Super Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What’s the last thing you did that someone else thought was super?

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Dear and I drove some important papers that needed to be north about 80 miles from us on Tuesday morning. The roads were fine on the interstate but when we arrived in Bellingham the side streets were compact snow and ice. A little tricky to drive on. We were happy to make it there and back again in record time and safely. Our son thought we were super to do this for him and his firm.

2. The last thing you ate that tasted superb?

While in California we had many superb meals with family and friends. One day my sister and I picked up our dear old pop and took him to his favorite Armenian restaurant in Montebello, Golden Skewers. The food is superb and we all enjoyed our choices.

3. Supersensitive, superstitious, superwoman, superambitious, supercilious, supervisor, superficial…pick a super word from the list and tell us how it relates to your life in some way recently or currently.

When I am in a large group of people I’m superficial. I find it hard to engage with anyone in particular and I buzz about without landing anywhere for any meaningful exchanges.

4. Do you love easily? If you’re comfortable doing so, explain why you think that is.

I think I’m cautious when it comes to love. Once I love you I’ll love you forever. I might not like you at times but my love will continue.

5. Valentine’s Day lands on a Tuesday this year. Will you mark the day in some way? If you’re celebrating with a dinner out somewhere will it be on Tuesday or will you celebrate over the weekend?

This day is hit and miss at this old house. Some years we celebrate big and I pull out the Valentine bin and decorate and some years we do not. Nothing is planned for Tuesday except typically on Tuesdays we go to our local Mexican restaurant for lunch or dinner. We call it Tequila Tuesday.

6. What’s something you are loving right now?

The anticipation of the arrival of our first granddaughter who will be our very first grandchild. Today we got a message from our DIL with a photo attached of her in the womb and she’s hanging on to her foot with her hand. They say she’s chubby and hairy!

7. Write a three word (or less) phrase you’d like to see on a Valentine candy heart.

I’m For You

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Linking up with From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

E is for Ellen’s Winter Wonderland…

We don’t get snow every year and this was an exciting surprise for us when we woke up early on Monday morning.

It won’t last long but the exhilaration causes an excessive amount of photos every couple of minutes on social media. I like how this old house looks in the snow.

Dear and ellen b. went for a walk in the snow. Dear is home because he is not employed and hasn’t been employed since June of last year. We are still not sure if this is unemployment or retirement.

Our pear tree that we just finished pruning last week.

Our privacy fence that encloses our deck from eavesdropping neighbors.

An enchanting view on our walk east of our home. There were ducks in that pond.

On our early morning walk we encountered neighborhood children enjoying this steep hill sledding.

We ended our snowy walk with a selfie of Dear and ellen b. Our house is behind Dear’s head.

Linking up with ABC Wednesday which was going to end but has been revived with a new leader.

Morning Surprise…

Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow.
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

The blessing by faith, I receive from above;
O glory! my soul is made perfect in love;
My prayer has prevailed, and this moment I know,
The blood is applied, I am whiter than snow.

Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow.
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Snow is always a surprise in the Puget Sound area of Washington state. We only had about 4 inches, other areas got more. Some trees are down, some power is out and there are delays at the airport. Many schools are closed today. Our kids in Northeastern Washington got a foot of snow overnight. Our son is busy plowing his drive which is a long one to the main road below their home. We are not a region that is guaranteed snow and we are not good drivers in snow. One of the really scary things is that our area is very hilly with many steep roadways. Consider San Francisco if it got snow and you get the scary picture.

Headed out for a walk about the neighborhood. Happy Monday everyone.

Watch Your Step…

We have been experiencing freezing temperatures at this old house. This next photo is our frozen deck and we need to walk very carefully on or we’ll land on our backside.

It’s about 26 feet from our deck doors to our garage so when the ice is thick and slick on the deck we’ll circumvent the deck altogether and walk around from our front door to the garage to be extra safe. This next photo shows the length of the deck we walk daily although this photo was taken in early Spring.

I took this photo of this frozen fountain yesterday. It is outside one of our favorite garden shops to visit especially for their after Christmas sales. The fountain is for sale, not on sale, for $3999. I wonder if you get the ice at that price?

Our kids in Eastern Washington have been having temperatures in the minus -5 degree range. I’m glad I bought our little one who is busy gaining weight in her mom’s womb this snow suit that she should fit into during next winter. Justifying purchases for her has begun already. This was 1/3 it’s original cost so the justification came easy.

Dear is about to install a new piece of equipment that our internet provider sent us to upgrade our unit that they say is way out of date. I might not be able to be on the internet for a while. I do hope all goes well and we are back up with no headache problems with the installation. Hope you have a wonderful day free of any internet issues! Blessings…

Snow!

Snow started falling last night at about 9pm and when we got up this morning our neighborhood was covered in a blanket of snow. Rain is in the forecast so we know the snow won’t last for long. Snow is a major event in the Seattle area and everyone is talking about it and sharing photos on social media even though only a few inches has fallen.

This last one was taken at 9am with a lot more light shining through the clouds. Many school districts are closed today because of the snow and some of the braver kids are out trying to make snowmen even though it’s raining.

I managed to do all the Christmas decorating I’m going to do except for our tree yesterday. The tree will wait until next week.

This was taken last night before our first party of the season and before our guests arrived. We were able to send everyone off after a fun dinner and before the snow started falling. I’ll share more of the inside of this old house decorated for Christmas in a later post. Quote of the night during dinner last night, “My mom was a great cook, she could take the taste out of any food.” We were all laughing so hard.

Have a good weekend everyone!

High Winds Wreak Havoc…

On Saturday morning the rains came and then high winds began. Early in the afternoon when the high winds really whipped up we knew we had to go out and remove the patio covers before they and our supports were ruined. Shortly after the covers and any light furniture and decor were tucked away nicely the power went out. We were without power from two in the afternoon until seven in the evening. We were the lucky ones who had their power restored. Our kids still did not have power on Sunday morning. When we left the house for church on Sunday morning we saw some of the wind damage in our neighborhood.

Saturday was not a good day to travel anywhere and I’m happy we all stayed at home and rode out the storm. Katie and I worked on a jigsaw puzzle by candlelight.

My neighbors are now waiting for insurance adjusters to come out and survey the damage before they do any removal.

These examples were minor compared to other damaged property and some lives lost when trees landed on top of cars driving down the road. There are still thousands of households without power.

We are very thankful for the rain and that the high winds are dying down. Hope your weekend was more peaceful…

I’ll be linking up to ABC Wednesday started by Mrs. Nesbitt and carried on by Roger and the ABC team on Tuesday. H is for High Winds and Havoc!

Sunday to Sunday…

Last Sunday we enjoyed a sunny and warm day. We had a great meal and time together before the Sounders opener and the Sounders won big.

This Sunday we’ve had nonstop rain with no sun shining through and the Sounders lost their game last night. Boohoo. Today we had a great church service and we are meeting the kids in downtown Seattle to enjoy a meal and Irish Music at Fado (Irish Pub). That’s sunshine of another kind…

How was your weekend?

Snow Trumps All…

When snow falls in our area it trumps everything. We were at a Memorial Service yesterday afternoon where it was so good to see so many loved ones we don’t see often. Forever friends are good to have. After the service we had dinner out with our kids. When we got home we started seeing that some of our Facebook friends south of us were seeing snow fall. At about 8 P.M. it started falling at our house in earnest.

When we woke up this morning we had a nice 2 to 3 inch covering. That probably makes some of you snow worthy people chuckle. Here in our area where snow is always a surprise 3 inches is enough to keep us at home and some events end up being cancelled.

We didn’t watch any news yesterday so we did not hear any warnings about a possible snow fall which made it a delightful surprise.

Snow is great around these parts only if it doesn’t hang around for too long. Remember we are an area with lots of steep hills. You cannot describe our part of Washington as flat. This old house is at the top of a hill so for us to get out and about we have to go downhill which can work okay but then we have to come uphill to get home and that is a bit tougher.

It will be interesting to see when this snow will melt off. I just told Dear he might have to make a run down the hill to buy some milk and try out his 4 x 4 Jeep in the snow. You think he’ll jump to my challenge? Time will tell. Well that didn’t take long. Dear did go down the hill and made it back with no problem but at the very bottom of our hill signs were up saying “Road Closed”. Dear made it through the barriers and up the hill with no problems but there were cars abandoned on the road that could not make it up…oops!

Are you watching the Olympics? It’s been fun for me to hear the Russian and understand some of it. I was able to sing along with the Moscow Nights number in the opening ceremonies. And we keep wanting to train the U.S. announcers on the pronunciation of Matryoshka (the Russian stacking dolls). Three syllables not four!! Maw-trosh-kah or Maw-trosh-key (plural) is the easiest way I can spell it phonetically. Love seeing these dolls at all the venues!

Watching the Winter Olympics with snow on the ground outside seems quite appropriate. Hope you have a good week!

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Weather