April

Did I tell you that it snowed here on April 1st? Prolly not because if I'd told you then you wouldn't have believed me because it was April 1st. But it did. Wet, sloppy but very blizzardy snow for something like 5 freaking hours. Which meant that the Seattle area has had some kind of snow event for 5 straight months.

The globe, she is warming, and I will smack upside the head anyone who still thinks that can be debated.

On the other hand, this weekend was lavishly springlike and warm. Beautiful, hopeful, singingly springlike.

I almost trust it.

But not enough to go out and pull weeds, lay compost and set seeds. It was the perfect opportunity but every time I'd read a seed packet I'd see those words: "After all danger of frost is past".... and I couldn't do it. I couldn't trust those teeny tiny bearers of life to a cold ground that could easily be colder tomorrow. It just didn't seem right. The thought of their tiny little selves squeezed to death by ice crystals just made me want to cry.

So we'll wait and see if this warm stuff is any kind of trend before we risk the manicure.

It sure was a pleasant change of pace, though, I'll tell you that.

Ho Hum

I always envied people who grew up in wintery climes. It seemed to me that I was missing out on some fundamental life experiences: sledding, daring someone to lick a metal pole, snow men. My deprivation came to me every single time I heard Bing Crosby sing "White Christmas". I mean, who gets to count on a white Christmas? The only white Christmas I ever had was when I was 6 and we had to drive all the way to Flagstaff, Arizona to get it.

Snow always has been an event in the northwest. I do remember one year, somewhere around when I was 10 or so, that we got a lot of snow; enough that school was cancelled for several days and we built things in the snow and ate snow ice cream and I'm pretty sure we even had a taffy pull. (Taffy is a huge project, which is why, I'm sure, Dame Judi declared it a special treat for those elusive "snow days"). I still remember those few days as a "long winter", it was such a departure from the norm. Good lord, it snowed so little during my childhood that we didn't even own things like snow boots or gloves.

And I've regalled you before with the few big snows we've had here, big being relative, of course, because I know that in snowy climes they do not shut down the city for 3 inches. I suppose the rarity of it makes its own sort of magic. Actually, I know it does. I think of the flurries we got the Christmas of 07 that led The Child to declare that "the best Christmas ever"; until '08, of course, when we had snow, real snow, for over a week at Christmas time.

Take that snow, plus the fact that we also got snow in January and February and one might begin to make the case that perhaps, just perhaps, all those CO2 emissions are rewriting the winter experience of this region. Maybe, just maybe, we are going to start being a place where a white Christmas is less rare; where parents will tell their children of walking through the snow to school (3 miles, uphill, both ways) and they won't be making it up. (At least, not the snow part).

Maybe winter=snow will be our new equation and with it will come a different attitude. Children will no longer stand with little noses smashed against windowpanes at the first sight of a flurry, praying that it sticks. Grownups will not longer freak out about how to get into work. We'll use language like "the first snowfall of the year", blithely assuming it won't be the last or only. People will own warm clothes and snow tires and snow shovels and will, when it snows, go about their business as usual.

I can tell you this, when it started snowing yesterday The Child was all, "Oh, man, I'm sick of this" and it never even occurred to me to call my collegue with all-wheel drive. "So it's snowing again", I thought, "It does that in the winter".

Oh, Frakkety Frak!

It was very cold today. The Child and I were marvelling at all the piles of (dirty) snow that still linger on the highways and byways, but commented that we are glad that the roads are clear and life has returned to normal.

That was this morning.

It started to snow about 2 hours ago.

It's still snowing.

There's like an inch on the ground already.

Frakkety frak.

---

Update, 10:04pm

"They" say the air is warming and that the snow will turn to rain any minute now.

There are 3 frakking inches of snow on the ground. That rain better hurry the FRAK up!

Holy Cats!! It's Snowing!!

Again.

I like pretending I live in Norway.

Gledelig Jul!

For Nicole

There's more where this came from.Rosehips in the Snow

Garden Pot with Bamboo Stake

Tree with Snow Garland

Snow Bench

Snow Angel, of course

Our Lady of the Snows

Let it Snow and Snow and Snow and Snow....

Here's how it transpired:
Thursday: snow.
Friday: cold.
Saturday: started snowing again at 3pm, snowed until the wee hours of the morning.
Sunday: started snowing at 10am. It is now after 8pm and it is still snowing.

Good thing that the Christmas shopping is done (finished that yesterday downtown with The Neighbor, just before it started snowing again), the groceries are fetched (The Spouse has 4 wheel drive) and the power is on.

But we're out of rum.

Maplecicles

Dangercicle

Side porch cicles

Lampcicles

Front porchcicles, Saturday night

Front porchcicles, Sunday morning

And It's Snowing. Again. In Seattle.

I'm enjoying the spirit of the season. It's hot and it's buttered.

I'm Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

Seattle in snow is stunning. Ridiculous, too. Too many hills, too many people who haven't a clue how to drive in it. But we have a housekeeper at work who lives in my 'hood, is from New York and has four wheel drive. It's all good.

Before the snow came I had "Baby, It's Cold Outside" on my mind all day. And that made me think of the scene in "Elf" where Zooey Deschanel and Will Farrell sing the same. (I love that movie).

And that made me think about the recently learned fact that Zooey is in a band called "She and Him" so I went looking for something that would showcase her talents more fully and found this little gem:



She and Him "You Really Got a Hold on Me"

No wonder she's on The Spouse's list for The Child's New Mommy.

I'm Not Being Coy

My computer has been weird. The Spouse did some detecting. He described my hard drive as a "petri dish". 'Nuff said.

Then there's been the whole Arctic Blast-7-inches-of-snow thing.

My Oh My

March is going out like a lion. Actually, right this second, it's pretty nice. Cold, but nice. Not like the sloppy snow-rain and frigid temperatures of the last few days. I think it's because The Neighbor returned from a week long trip to her mom's. (She's a very nice daughter but that sort of behavior really messes with my cocktail hour).

This is what it looked like on Friday.

This is what The Child thought about it:

Life now returns to normal. The Child is back in school, The Neighbor will be home for cocktails this evening and I, well, I am caught up in the magic that only happens once a year, swathed as I am in the sense that anything is possible, anything can happen...all you gotta do is believe. Yep, it's Opening Day.

(Do I like the M's chances this year? Their record was 13-16-3 in spring training, which pretty much means nothing. Who knows? Ask me in July).

A Little Update For You

First of all, the snow all melted away. Then it started to snow again. So much so that the speech tourney was cut short and someone had to go get The Child. Which The Spouse did and I was very grateful for driving in the snow is not something I do.

By the time they returned home, the roads were covered and we probably had about 3 inches of accumulation.

At which point my camera died. (Like, I think really dead, never to take another picture again and not because of the battery because I charged it last night).

But that's ok, for now, because I've been busy making snowflakes at that cool site that I'm not going to link to because it's right over there in my sidebar and you can just go play yourself. And then the coolest thing happened because I got a comment, on my last post (if you want to go see) from Bad Alice that she'd found one of my snowflakes. How randomly awesome is that? Because there are a lot of snowflakes on that site. About 412 of 'em are mine.

Then Hat and I sat on speaker phones and made snowflakes together for a while. That was fun.

Here's a picture of one of my favorite of my snowflakes. It's a snow queen. Can you tell?

The Child is gone for the night so I'm thinking this would be a good time to go snuggle up with The Spouse in front of the fire and revel in our winter wonderland. Or, possibly, reheat some fajitas.

God Baked a Cake Last Night

But then She felt lazy so instead of bothering with 7 minute icing, She just dusted it with confectioners sugar.
Someone isn't quite sure what to make of it.I was very excited when I woke up super early and saw the snow. I had reluctantly agreed to judge an all-day speech tournament and the falling snow hinted at a cancellation. Then we confirmed it was still on so I was sad. Then we got to the tourney and the coach (who is also The Child's home room teacher) said he was going to judge so I didn't have to if I didn't want. I told him he was a rock star, wished The Child luck and fled before Mr. R. changed his mind.

As if that wasn't all reason enough to be gladsome, I stopped by Hat's to inspect her holiday finery and man o man is it superfantastic. Plus she has a link to a site where you can make snowflakes. It's too much fun and nearly as addictive as Speed Scrabble. I've already make 3. There's a link on my sidebar, because I'm a big fat copy cat, and I plan to make a snowflake every day this winter. You should, too.

Then JP called to say he was in the club and we made all sorts of plans for a "Here's the 80s" Christmas party (next weekend - make a note) and so now I have all sorts of things to do. I have to make sure Sling can bartend, order liquor, hire a caterer, line up the bands. It's a lot but I can do it because I'm warm and cozy in my little kitchen instead of sitting in a high school classroom judging largish children. Yippee to the skippy!

Inching Back Toward "Normal"

There is a little stone cherub who reclines, head on hand, in my kitchen garden. Last night I noticed that, after sleeping under a blanket of snow all week, he'd finally popped his head out. I almost took a picture because it amused me, just this little cherub head floating on the surface of the snow. But I didn't.

This morning I went to check on him and now his shoulders, hips and top leg are airing out. That means that about 1 inch of snow melted overnight. The slush season has begun.

School is starting 2 hours late today, but it will be in session. Cars are driving at normal speeds in front of the house. All the fabulous icicles, which I also neglected to photograph, have dripped away. Bare patches of grass are peeping through the snow. The Big Chill has moved on. I'm okay with that, save for the temptation to climb on the roof of The Neighbor's carport and make a snow angel in the last pure patch of white.

Whataya Do With The City's Largest Snowball?

Make the city's largest snowman, of course.
He measured 7 feet, 3 inches.
He's a big Seahawks fan. Poor fella.You can also build snowchairs.

That way, you can sit and contemplate the city's biggest snowman.

Ah, but the Chinook, she is blowin'. Everything is turning to slush now, and the snowman soon will return to the earth. It's the circle of life (she sang).

P.S.

Another storm warning was issued yesterday. This warranted some discussion. The Neighbor mused about how she would get to Tacoma for a meeting if that were the case. But we didn't take it too seriously. The fact is, every few years we have some snow fall and then it warms up and it rains until June. That we still have snow in our yards after a week is a little crazy but surely we'll get back to normal soon enough.

The only thing I worried about was the side streets, which still bear a fair amount of snow and ice from last week's storm. To get to The Child's school I have to go up and down some significant hills. The main arterials are all clear and have been for days. It's getting to them that can still be a challenge. If it did snow, even a little, that could make the morning communte nerve-wrackingly slippy-slidey.

I needn't have worried. At 5:30 The Spouse gently shook me awake. "Look", he said, singing his little "la la lalala" to the tune of "Sleigh Ride". The snow was coming down. Hard. And it's supposed to snow like this for at least another hour. The reports are suggesting that it will turn to rain later today, which, if it clears the roads and doesn't freeze over tonight, means we'll get back to normal tomorrow. Or we won't.

Things to Do Today:

• Eat a big bowl of Scotch oats with lots of brown sugar and maple walnuts.
• Make a snow angel. Maybe 3.
• Bake something. Maybe some brioche, or some cinnamon rolls.
• Make a big pot of soup for The Child's lunch.
• Do something academic with The Child. She is going to be dumb as a brick if this keeps up. Perhaps I should just plan on homeschooling her until spring.
• Enjoy the beautiful, pristine landscape as long as I can.

A lot of people have grown weary of all this. Some reporter was even talking about kids who were disappointed to see more snow. (I doubt they are upset about the snow, per se. It's the prospect of being in school into July that is no doubt weighing on them). But I'm not yet weary of the pristine views, the quiet days punctuated only by the crunch of intrepid kids looking for a new sledding spot. I like that the bare patches in the back garden, churned up by The Dog, are all frosted over again. I like that it is so frosty brisk outside and so toasty warm inside. This snow is a rare and beautiful gift. So long as I don't have to drive in it, I don't mind a bit.

An Open Letter to My Midwestern Readers

Dear Midwestern Readers,

Sorry.

Love,

Lorraine

I'm Living in a Currier and Ives Painting

It's snowing again. Has been for the last 3 hours or so. Amazing. They said that it was going to warm up to a "balmy" 40 degrees by Monday. They said that it would be clear and cold through Wednesday. They even went so far as to note that if we had 4 straight days of sunshine it would be the first time since October. They obviously don't know what they are talking about.

The Spouse is splitting wood. The Child is getting ready to go sledding. Again.

This is the wackiest winter ever. It's actually winter. Go figure.

Bearer of Glad Tidings

It was the standard routine. The Spouse kissed me goodbye, then kissed The Dog, whispering softly into his shaggy ears, "I'll miss you most of all". (Yes. He really says that. Right in front of me). As the door closed behind him my alarm went off. The Dog had started to lick my nose so it was easier than usual to rise right away and besides, it's grocery day and I haven't planned a menu yet.

Here was the plan: have some coffee, plan the menu and make the grocery list, rouse The Child, leave the house by 7:30 to pick up a classmate in order to get to school by 8 in order to get to coffee by 8:30, assuming certain road conditions or what-have-you. Because I've been late for coffee the last few weeks and that's not good.

Then I noticed that there's still a bit of snow on the ground and the temperature had dropped significantly last night. Best check the news because school might have a late start and there's certainly no way I'm going to rush around and force The Child to hustle out of bed if we don't have to be there until 10.

The ticker on the morning news was just getting to King County private schools when I turned on the TV. There was a long list of "Our Lady ofs" before the saints started. But there was a clear trend: hardly anyone was starting late. And then St. G flashed on: school closed. Just like all the other iced over private schools. Closed, closed, closed! Another snow day!

I would make a terrible school principal.

The Child went to bed assuming there would be school, thus she will be sleeping for several more hours. When she stumbles out with a wondering expression I'll be able to tell her the superfantastic news. And since she's caught up on her home work and since it's a 3 day weekend anyway because of Martin Luther King Day, she now has 4 days stretched before her. And snow is involved.

This so rocks.

The Obligatory Snow Photos

This was our back deck after about an hour of snow last night.

















The Neighbor's apple tree.



















The kitchen garden.















Garden pots.



















Rosemary.



















The rose garden.















The Dog, it turns out, is quite a snow dog. He had the best time running around and nipping at snow flakes.



















The Spouse took him and The Child out for a night-time walk. Check out the snowballs that gathered on his furry little paws.














Our Lady of the Snows.



















The Japanese maple.



















The birdhouse on the playhouse.



















The Child off for a morning of sledding.

You Know What I Love?

I love lying in bed in the dark of the early morning, listening to the gentle voices of the NPR hosts. I especially love it when they say, "Seattle Public Schools closed", because if the public schools are closed, so are we. Snow day!!!!!!!!!!

The snow started to fall around 4 yesterday afternoon. First it came in fat pellets of snowy hail. But after laying a nice crumb coat of icing, the snow began in earnest and it fell until at least 11pm.

Our snow blanket is 4 inches thick, with drifts that are even deeper elsewhere. But 4 inches is enough to make everything beautiful. Everything. I love that about snow. The Psalmist said, "Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow", the most apt of apt metaphors. Weedy gardens are smooth, lush with snow. Bare branches and the empty rat-tail vines of the hop plant are rounded with blooms of white. The snow is very powdery and little blizzards occasionally blow from tree branches and rooftops. A small group of tiny black birds gathered in a tree across the street and I'm pretty sure one of them said, "Oh, this is why we're supposed to fly south for the winter".

The light has a blue tint and the air is quiet. Even now, at the height of the morning, there is that particular hush that only happens when it snows. The only sound is The Dog, barking furiously at the children walking past, dragging sleds up the hill. (Sleds around here could mean anything from an actual sled (rare) to a large slab of cardboard (more common)).

The Child has been out since 8am with neighbors. She would have gone sooner but I was trying to enjoy the luxury of sleeping in on a school day. Funny how I have to use a cattle prod and air horn to rouse her on any given morning but today she was up at 6:30, watching the news and waiting, as only a kid can wait, for assurance that school would be closed.

The sky is perfectly blue now. It is still very cold but that is small comfort. Around here, snow disappears as quickly as it comes. Last night the street was full of families, making snow angels while the moon shone, because there wasn't even a guarantee that there would still be snow come morning. Now we all expect it to be gone by evening and the landscape will resume its dark, sodden January appearance. But for now we get to enjoy the luxury of perfected landscapes, the giddy pleasure of marking virgin snow with a footprint, the delectable comfort of hands chilled red, cupped over a steaming cup of cocoa. Snow day!!!