Squamish Moon

Sunny Sunday in Seattle

Spending an entire day in the USA.

Gorgeous Day on the Sea to Sky Highway

Signs of Spring

It's been so warm and lovely in January in Seattle this year that even
the cherry blossoms have started. Usually they bloom the first week of
august.

A Gorgeous Day in the Pacific Northwest

Today was just absolutely stellar. Sarah and I started the day by going shopping to get a doggie life jacket, then we took the kayak out for a spin on Lake Washington. No photos, but the views of Mt. Rainier were just a little bit more magical today than usual, and even Mt. Baker popped out to say hello.

95 in the house.

95 in the house.

Hot, Hotter, Hottest

Also known as Monday, yesterday, and today.

You can probably figure this out for yourselves, but Seattle doesn't do hot. In the seven summers I've been living here, the city has averaged two days a year over 90 degrees. And when I say over, I mean it makes it to 91 or 92 briefly. We rarely see two ninety degree days back to back, and never three digit temperatures, which is why no one has air conditioning.

We've moved into the basement to try and outlast the heat wave. Today I resorted to covering the front window with cardboard, which may do nothing but make me feel better. One fan has already bit the dust from constant use.

Black Bottle Birthday Bash

Happy birthday to me! The best present of all - spring! - has finally arrived in Seattle today, with sunshine, cloudless blue skies, temps in the 70's, and gorgeous views of snow-topped mountains.

Last weekend, we had a blast in the private room at Black Bottle to celebrate in style. Thanks to everyone who showed up for making it so much fun! See our photos here and here.

Happiness Is

Chick-Fil-A. In Washington. That's me in Bellingham with Bellingham Bay in the background. We had to go 90 miles to get the goods, but that's a pittance compared to the distance to L.A. (previously the closest Chick-Fil-A), and much more doable on a weekend. I gorged myself, then we brought home enough to share and then some and I am still hoarding chicken. When we got home, all of it was still warm. Mmmmm.......

In other good news, the weather warmed up over the weekend, with lots of sunshine and hitting 70 one day, which added icing to my Chick-Fil-A happiness cake. You can see the brilliance, even 90 miles further north, in the photo.

Oh, and we stopped to see the daffodils, because the tulips also object to the long cold winter, and haven't bloomed yet. Michal has tons of pictures of that, too, and even I took a few here and there.

April Fools

It snowed. This is not funny.

Looking for Spring

At least something around here thinks it's spring. My Gerber daisy houseplant flaunts several blooms, despite continuing winter weather around here. I never thought I'd say this, but thankfully the weather got into the 50's this week, so there's some hope that spring might arrive before 2010. In the meantime, I'll have to enjoy the indoor promises of heat and flowers to tide me over until then.

Somebody Hates Me

If they had a voodoo doll with my name on it, they'd be sprinkling sugar or flour over it on a regular basis. As you can probably tell, it snowed. Again. For the zillionth time this winter. I am so over snow it's not even funny. Once again, these three or four inches surprised me in the morning. That's good because it meant I got a decent night's sleep, rather than worrying about getting to work while tossing and turning. It's bad because I had to get to work in it, and to do that, I had to uncover my car. To give you an idea, unlike last time, I couldn't see the hood or the trunk of my car, and both windows had a thick layer (about like the chairs in this photo) as well. I dumped several puddles into my seat just opening the door, and the back windshield, even after the ride to work, was still completely covered in snow.

Most of the snow melted by the end of the day, and nothing got canceled, but that's more because we've gotten so jaded about snow that everyone ignores it. As every good Southerner knows, when it snows, you stay home, unless you run to the store for extra bread and milk to outlast the white stuff.

It's practically March. No more snow allowed.

Not a Happy Snow Camper

To Whom It May Concern:
When I opened the door to leave for work last Monday, this sight greeted me: 3-4 inches of unpredicted (at least to me) snow. I was not happy. The good news is that I start work later on Mondays, so some people had already driven through the snow and left tracks to follow. I could also see the scary patches easier because it was daylight, and I arrived at work in one piece with no incidents. It snowed more Monday evening, and through most of the late morning on Tuesday. In places like the northern slopes of Beacon Hill, some patches stuck around as late as Thursday and Friday. It's February. I've had enough. If I wanted snow in the winter, I would move to Michigan. Or Minnesota. Or another snowy state. But instead I live in Seattle. Please stop the snow.

Snowstorm Timelapse

Sunday evening the first snow of 2009 came down in Seattle. It didn't last very long, melting over the course of the day on Monday. I took a photo every 30 seconds and made a 2 minute video:

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.