Christmas Snow

Holy Cow Batman. Remember when I was joking on my last post that I was going to ski to work? Well, I actually had to do that because we got so much snow. And it just keeps on coming!!! To date, Spokane has received 63 inches of snow in the month of December. We got 10 new inches this morning. I have lost count of how many separate storms we have had over the past couple of weeks. Most of my free time has been spent shoveling; clearing off the roof of the boat shed, the porch roofs, the back deck, driveway, sidewalk, doggie yard, etc. It has been amazing. We had to give up on the compost bin and start chucking the veggie matter because we could not get out into the backyard without snowshoes. Like, no shit. The last time I measured snow in the back yard we had something like 34 inches off the back deck. Crazy. You would think that with all this snow I would be out being a maniac in it, but that has not entirely happened yet. With the first 24 inches came horribly cold air, down below zero for almost a week. Roads and street were closed all over the place. That was when I skied to work. My big Solstice performance with the Women's Choir was cancelled. We have been working on it since October. We had to keep the water running in most of the faucets to keep the pipes from freezing. Ahhh, the joy of owning an old house. Nancy and I have also been down to one vehicle...the evil Suburban. But with studded snow tires and four wheel drive it gets us around. My Jeep is great as long as there is no ice and I let it warm up for an hour, and my Blazer has a leaky heater core and I can't keep the windows clear.

We have managed to have some fun. We went cross country skiing up on Mt. Spokane on Christmas day and I tooled around the back yard on my new snowshoes. I just went back on my old work schedule as of today, so I will be back on 4 ten hour days with much more time to play (oh yeah, and get housework done...barf). Anyway, here are some pictures of the snow and different things in my life around the holidays. Cheers!

The house after the first wave. If we only knew then what we know now.

Digging out the Jeep

Elliot's first trip into the bed. He was so brave!

Sophie, snuggly and warm in front of the fire.

Elliot, chillin'

Nancy plodding through the beautiful powder on Christmas day. It was topped off by a fire in the Nova Hut and frozen Snicker bars.

Weird waves of snow over the fence in the back yard

The backyard and cliff behind the house

The snow in the front yard against the 4 foot fence. This was after several days of warm temps that melted a bunch of the snow.

Urban Skiing

Wow, we have a TON of snow coming down. There was 7 inches in the parking lot when I left work at 5 and it has been non-stop since around 7 this morning. Tonight I went for a ski around the neighborhood just for fun. It was about 2 1/2 miles. I skied on the streets from my house to Liberty Park and then got on the Ben Burr trail, an old light rail bed, to Underhill Park. I was going to ski down the big hill and then back to my house but I started down the hill and it was too scary. I got my ski caught in some branches on the ground and fell over. I trudged back up the hill and went back on the trail and skied down the Altamont hill on the sidewalk. It was a blast. I had my headlamp but did not use it because it was so light out. I might have to ski to work tomorrow. That might be fun. The forcast is for at least a foot of snow. I love it. I have been more than ready for some skiing and snowshoeing. I finally bit the bullet and bought some new snowshoes. I think I left my old ones sitting next to or on top of the car in Idaho and drove off without them. Someone got a really nice pair of MSR snowshoes. I am anxious to use them. Nancy and I are planning on spending Christmas day in the mountains so I am sure I will have some pictures then. Aside from the snow today, we have had bitterly cold temps below zero and in the single digits. It always sucks to to be in a 121 year old house when it is that cold. I tore walls and floors out when I bought it and put in new insulation and windows, but keeping the plumbing from freezing is always a challenge because there is a very small basement and most of the house is above a crawl space. But, hopefully it will not last too long. It is a balmy 15 degrees at the moment. Feels like a heat wave.

Recent Ramblings

Walter at Heyburn State Park, Idaho

I have been a bit pressed for time to sit down at my computer and post my comings and goings, so I am going to consolidate them all into a quick post. At the present I am working a weird schedule that is not conducive to getting out and about (ok, get this...40 hours a week, Monday through Friday). Walter has been feeling the lack of love and that has sucked. Aside from my schedule at work I am also hot into the Solstice Ritual choir. The solstice celebration is on the 22nd of December and the choir is working really hard to pull it all together. This year has been a total bitch. Lots of new 2nd sopranos. We do 15 a Capella numbers which are incredibly complicated. This is my 4th year but I still find it hard. The choir has not melded yet which is bad considering this is the 9th of December. I am also waiting for snow. I am itching to get my skis on and I have been checking the ski reports each morning. Anyway, aside from a few hikes, snuggles, and stuff, Walter and I have not been up to much. I should start back on a more sane schedule around the first of the year. So here are the pics from us doing a few things out and about.

My 1989 Ford Festiva...finally sold. Now I miss the 40mpg.



End of the summer perennial garden...can you believe we started it this year?


Fall canopy leaves at Dishman Hills

Snogging Walter on top of Eagle Crest

A fall bike ride along the Centennial Trail



Our cold, wet, windy camping spot at Heyburn State Park, Idaho on November 1

The duck hunter guy who woke us up at 5:00am with shotgun blasts...I ended up having a nightmare about Sarah Palin


Nancy and Elliot in the snow on Mt. Spokane

The sunset from Mt. Spokane at the end of a good hike



Nancy at the Liberty Lake cedar grove, Thanksgiving day

Lily and Biggie chillin' in the laundry room

PS Hey Juan, you still out there? When are you coming back?