ok, enough already with the snow.

For those of you that don't believe that we are still pretty much snowed in....

the front yard, 9am this morning

Granted, we can get out now but it's just because we own a monstrous old Land Cruiser with snow tires. Without that we'd still be doomed.

Home again home again

Until we got to Woodinville the drive was effortless. Then suddenly we turned from the main road onto our neighborhood street and it became something out of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. There are still at least 2 feet of compacted and lumpy snow on the road, pierced by a set of ruts from somebody's truck. Somebody's truck that has tires that are a little further apart from the ones on the Yeti. We got good traction in one rut and then leaped and popped out of the other, lurching and praying we wouldn't meet anyone coming the other way. After a few white-knuckled moments we made it to the top of our driveway. There was no way we were going down it. The snow was deeper than the tires could possibly handle. So I pulled the snow shovel out of the back and we traded back and forth, shoveling a parking space at the top of the drive. Then we discovered exactly how exhausting it is to carry luggage and groceries down a hill and into the house through 3 feet of unbroken snow after shovelling for 45 minutes. It is quite tiring.

I got a second wind as soon as I looked at the front porch and realized it was sagging alarmingly. While Charlie cleared off the back deck I got up on the roof and threw wet soggy heavy snow off a shovel-full at a time. All of the gutters are full and frozen, but at least now the melt is sloughing off the side of the roof and not pushing into the house crease and seeping into the porch roof. This was definitely a disaster narrowly averted.


It will take till next spring to find out the true damage to our land. Looks like almost all of the enormous wild rhododendrons (we're talking 20 feet wide and at least 15 feet tall) and azaleas have been smashed to the ground. One huge camellia bush was snapped clean off of the trunk and is a goner. The two beautiful gnarly willows in the front are all but crushed as well. I can only hope that once the snow melts the branches will un-bend and get some life in them.

But the house is standing, the chickens are alive, and we managed to go grocery shopping on the way home and can be house bound for a few days. Nothing makes you feel better after a few hours of wet snow shovelling like a big bowl of carbonara and a bottle of Alexandria Nicole 2006 Quarry Butte. Delicious!

After some ibuprofin and a good night's sleep I will be able to wax rhapsodic about our Texas Christmas adventures.

presents

I love it when my presents get good use

a purple and a rainbow silk scarf

crown courtesy of crafty mama Gabriel

Snow Accumulation

Can you see Charlie's car in this picture? It is the lump behind the crumpled willow tree on the right side.

We are still in Texas crossing fingers that roofs and trees aren't falling over at home. Our wonderful neighbor has been checking in on the chickens and other animals, and thus far things seem to be holding together. The willow tree in the front yard seems to be a casualty of the storm. Lucinda took these pictures and sent them to me today.

Paul, it's a good thing you built a great roof on the coop

Deep in the Heart

We made it to Texas in one piece, thanks to the Yeti and a brief window of calm in the weather. Then I suffered through 24 hours of tension while the latest huge storm hit at home. You know what's worse than being stuck in your house with several feet of snow while the wind is supposed to hit gusts of 75 mph and freezing rain is forecast and the power could go out for days? Being in Texas while all of that is going on, and not knowing if enormous trees are crashing on your house or your animals are freezing to death.

Luckily we have an absolute gem of a neighbor who has been walking by every day (there's no way anyone can drive in our neighborhood, with 2 1/2 feet of icy snow covering everything since there's no plowing). She's been giving the chickens warm water and letting me know that so far no trees have fallen down and the power has stayed on.

spice cookies in progress

These reports have allowed me to relax a bit and do important holiday activities like stuff myself with good barbecue. And make spice cookies. And wrap presents. And call my parents, who have a house full of grandkids and several feet of snow outside. At least they have extra help with the shoveling!

spice cookies ready to go in my belly

from the day

a traditional Lally "snow flamingo"

Images from the afternoon. We finally set out to shovel some paths, because the snow was spilling over the tops of my galoshes when I went outside. Some of our friendly deer were checking to see if there were any apples left in the orchard.

no luck. there were some tasty raspberry bush leaves to eat though

Charlie's car is almost completely buried

but I dug a path to the Yeti

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Eggs laid in the coop today: 2
Eggs laid in the coop Wednesday: 2
Eggs laid in the coop Tuesday: 2
Eggs laid this year: 381

gimpy

We aren't exactly paralyzed, but a foot of snow overnight can certainly cramp one's style. Our power flicked on and off a few times last night, so hopefully our snow day will be warm and well-lit!

snowy fear

Today's headline at the Seattle Times read:

Seattle Paralyzed by Chance of Snow

Mom and Dad (and Gabe), now is the time where you laugh and laugh and laugh. Because really, honestly, everyone here was sitting around unable to commit to anything because it Might Snow. It was a town full of people looking up and talking about nothing but the option of precipitation.


Then around 5pm it really did start to snow, and suddenly I was glad I was driving Charlie home in the yeti with snow tires. The bottom of our neighborhood is a graveyard of cars that couldn't make it up the several hills and speed bumps. We growled our way up without a slip and are all warm and cozy.

brrr

It's 18 degrees outside.

housebound

bread, in the beginning

Charlie took the yeti to work this morning, leaving me tethered to the house. It wasn't bad, really, because I had plenty of projects that had been piling up and I was unable to distract myself with random trips to the feed store etc. I experimented with a new oat- and wheat-bran bread recipe. The loaves are still cooling but they look tasty and smell divine.

adding salt after the autolyse period

It never got out of the 20's and the house was pretty chilly, so I had to let the dough rise in the oven with a bowl of hot water. No balmy 70 degree house today, even in the sun.

Harry capitalizes on a sliver of sunlight

The chickens had a mighty cold night last night. It was only 10 degrees or so and their waterer froze solid. Three gallons of water in a big block. So this morning I brought them out a little temporary waterer along with some warm rice mixed with left over tomato pulp (Charlie made awesome sauce and meatballs last night). I never did get around to running a buried power line to the coop this summer, so I had to make do with my outdoor extension cord and a lamp to give them at least a little bump of warmth in the deep of the night.

to a chicken, this looks delicious

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Eggs laid in the coop today: 1
Eggs laid in the coop Sunday: 2
Eggs laid in the coop Saturday: 2
Eggs laid this year: 375

curiosity chilled the cat

let me in, lady

We got more than a smattering of snow last night. It resulted in a gorgeous landscape in morning light, as well as two cold cats who just had to go out on the deck and walk around for a few minutes.

the woods in the back are wintry

chickens are chilly but comfy in their coop

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if they have the same theme, can they really clash?

Smattering

Our promised winter storm devolved into an attractive dusting of snow. I won't complain, because that would be inviting something more along the lines of what my parents are experiencing right now.

NH ice

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An important note to self: when driving to a cookie exchange, be sure to place the cookies you are transporting out of reach.

Steak in the Manger

Friends came over last week to play board games, and they were very quiet after arriving. I was busy lighting a fire and bustling about and should have recognized that silence = mischief.

wildlife handler, keep that baby subdued!

plumber, I fear you have bigger problems than can be addressed by that little red toolbox

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We've got rock band set up in the basement so we can play on the big screen for maximum stardom. Henry loves it when we play and doesn't seem to mind the loudness of it all. Since I've been playing drums a lot lately he flops down and tries to get in my way as much as possible.

Throw your panties on the stage! No wait, you're underage!

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Eggs laid in the coop today: 2
Eggs laid in the coop Thursday: 0
Eggs laid in the coop Wednesday: 2
Eggs laid in the coop Tuesday: 0
Eggs laid this year: 370

secrets

sending out holiday letters (just imagine the carols playing in the background)

I am not the kind of person that searches the house trying to find my hidden gifts. Charlie sometimes will taunt me with an offer to tell me what my present is if I just ask....knowing full well that I really don't want to know what I'm getting. I love the frisson that comes with the almost knowing, the option to know, but really I want to wait. I love the secret.

Over the months it's been easy for me to work on gifts without the recipients knowledge because they are not living in my house. Sure, there have been some last minute scrambles when friends arrive, when I realize that their gift-in-progress is spread out over a table. Thus far no one seems the wiser. But for Charlie it's harder. He is extraordinarily difficult to buy for because he has the habit of coming home with something just days after I have bought the exact same thing for him and hidden it away. Friends also know the debacle of the time I tried to buy him something on Ebay only to be outbid at the very last second by....him. He didn't recognize my login name and had no idea he was simply driving up the price.

So for Charlie the craft's the thing. I can only hope that he does not buy what I am making him. But it necessitates certain measures. During daylight hours I'm generally working on yard or house projects that require light, so I settle down to work a little bit on his item only in the evening. I never really know when he's going to walk through the door.

primitive yet effective measures

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I took the Yeti to get his claws today. His snow tires are on in all their studded gripping glory. Supposedly there will be snow this weekend. I will be completely unfazed. Perhaps I will let us run out of coffee so there will have to be an urgent trip to the store early Sunday morning.

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Eggs laid in the coop today: 2
Eggs laid in the coop Sunday: 2
Eggs laid in the coop Saturday: 2
Eggs laid this year: 366

elfing

the pile, it grows

Tis the season to ship gifts, so I have been spending a lot of time in my sewing room making bags. Over the years I transitioned from regular wrapping paper to brown craft paper and finally gave that up in favor of jolly fabric bags. With the serger they are especially simple to make and you don't have to worry about things getting mussed in transit or doing a not-so-hot job with the wrapping. Plus here at home we have a very strict no-ribbon rule because of a particular cat that cannot help but eat it until he has to go the emergency vet. I've got most everything done, and just have to divide into ship/take/home presents. Then it will be time to inventory the jam empire and figure out who gets what out of that stash.


And who says that snowflakes have to be white?

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Eggs laid in the coop today: 2
Eggs laid in the coop Thursday: 2
Eggs laid in the coop Wednesday: 2
Eggs laid this year: 360

You are a universe

Today's title comes from my Wednesday-friend, a six year old who I mentor in artistic endeavors every week. Her comment came in a quiet moment of contemplation, when I was crocheting and she was spooling yarn out to me. I'm guessing the concept was a result of her recent interest in space, but knowing the source doesn't make it any less of an insightful statement. There is something about working with your hands, with yarn or paper or scissors or tape, and making that can center you. You are a universe.

I was a very happy universe this morning when I took the Yeti for emissions testing and he passed. Passed quite handily, in fact. I was dreading having to quick-like find a trusty mechanic and get things fixed. Buying a used car sets into effect a cascade of required papers and registrations and they have a 15-day period do be done. As of 1pm today, everything was complete and the Yeti is a licensed and registered member of our family.

The piano has been taken over by this years' nativity scene. The newest addition is the alligator handler. For now everything is set up neatly, but I encourage visitors to move things around and create their own tableaux. From left to right:

behind-the-scenes of the production, with hazmat and portable toilet

The traditional center: Jesus & family, plus a livestock audience

Over to the right, craft services, a nun overseeing the production, and the evil contingent trying to steal the loot of...

...the right most side. Wise men, a viking prince, and Santa are all being asked to fork over the loot. (apologies for the wonky lighting. I haven't the energy to figure out why this photo exposed with the tungsten setting)

winter

the Yeti

No, it hasn't snowed yet. It's still raining and dreary and typically damp for this time of year. But what makes it different is that now when it does snow, we can leave our house. Meet the Yeti. Technically he's a 1989 toyota land cruiser. He came into our lives late last week and has taken up residence in the front yard. He growls in a nice way and next week will have his studded snow tires put on so his claws are ready. So much easier than having to put on chains!

I love the graphic for the Oregon lottery. So hopeful!

This past weekend was Charlie's delayed birthday trip to Portland. Had to wait until the pesky game was done so that he could actually relax. It was a fun three days at a fancy quirky hotel and lots of walking around. We found the most important part of a good vacation: a place to eat breakfast. I have a passion for french-style cooked eggs and it was met at the Bijou Cafe. We roamed around the city, found fabulous toy stores and crafts and spent the required few hours wandering the halls of Powells Books. I limited myself to buying only so much as I could carry.

fanciful bed

armoire of philosophers

pretty glass front doors

And in random notes, the thanksgiving turkey carcass gave it's all last night and was made into gumbo by Charlie. Oh dear lord that stuff is good. Lots of hot sauce and rice and oh so tasty.

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Eggs laid in the coop today: 4
Eggs laid this year: 354