Winter Weather Update

I don't really have much to say, but I did upload round number 3 of photos, which include some skiing I did at Steven's Pass. Also there are a lot of videos this time around.

Winter in Seattle

On today, the shortest day of the year, Seattle was supposed to get a tremendous wind storm with snow and freezing rain. Well, we got everything except the wind. When I woke up this morning there had been a layer of freezing rain on top of the snow from the previous days, which made it very difficult to ski through (crusty snow). Winter has truly gripped Seattle. This is more snow than I've ever seen in the city. I have been taking lots of photos and thought I would share them here:

Snowstorm (Part 1)

Skiing at Crystal Mountain

Snowstorm (Part 2)

Happy winter solstice!

Snow More!

Did you see those pictures from the weekend? HA! That's nothing. I stepped out my front door this morning, one hour and fifteen minutes after my Boston-trained driver came to fetch me from five miles away. My boot sank until the snow went over the toes and I couldn't see my foot anymore. It took us another hour and a half to make the return five-mile trip.

After that, it snowed for another four or five hours, enough to erase most footprints left undisturbed. The steps to our yard from the sidewalk? Well, they're really more of a ramp, with a few slight bumps. And my car? It might be a Beetle, but it's certainly not blue.

Assuming the airport and airline aren't lying about the thirty minute delays, I leave tonight for sunny 72-degree weather. I can't take snow more.

There's no business like snow business

It snowed. A lot. I had to work, and it sucked. Beacon Hill, as usual, got hit with an extra inch or so on Saturday night (virtue of the "hill" portion of the name), starting around 6 p.m. By midnight, when I was driving, several inches had accumulated. I'd guess our total was around 4 inches, but I tend to over-estimate when talking about snow in my vicinity.

In better news, Michal has had our house decorated in holiday lights since Thanksgiving weekend, and I am just now getting around to taking pictures and posting them. The snow does add a certainly holiday element, I'll give it that. And it takes care of two things at once: snow pictures and holiday light pictures.

Although the snow came Saturday night, as of Monday evening it's still here in force. We haven't had any more, but the temperature, even with one full day of sunshine, has been low enough to prevent the snow from melting. The car doors have frozen shut more times than I care to count, and everything that did unfreeze a bit is now ice. Luckily, since I have to work, the roads remain clear, at least until Wednesday, when there's more possible snow in the forecast.

Weekend in Whistler

We just returned from a three day weekend at Whistler. It was early season, and the Pacific Northwest hasn't had much snow yet this season, so there were only a few lifts and only a few runs open. I ended up skiing two mornings and snowboarding both afternoons, with Sunday being a relaxing day with a late lunch in Vancouver.

We had a great time ice skating, shopping, eating, hot tubbing, and watching Coupling.

See the photos here.

Turkey on Rainier

Michal and I made our annual November trek to Mt. Rainier National Park, driving up to Paradise. They've got an awesome new visitors' center up there, and despite the shady weather forecast, we got really lucky with several sun breaks. Of course, it also snowed during our hike up to Glacier Vista, but it wouldn't be Rainier any other way.

See more photos from our day trip.

Andy & Angie's Not So New Baby

I finally got to meet Andy and Angie's newest addition, Ally (short for Alyssa), in the middle of November. She's a real cutie. I've seen them several times since we got back, but this picture was taken last week on Monday evening. Ally likes to eat, sleep, and smile. Pretty cute.

I anticipate seeing much more of them in the next nine months before Angie goes back to work, but not again until late December.