December 24th, 2008 - Christmas Eve. This will be a Christmas Eve we won't forget. This December holds the prestigous record for the most snow ever recorded in December. I think the last measuring we did showed snow 15 or more inches deep (depending on where it was measured) in our yard - and there was more that came after that. December 23rd it was predicted that we would have another five inches and then freezing rain would begin. Greg and Charisse made the decision not to attempt coming to Portland today as planned - well actually the decision was made for them when they couldn't get out of their neighborhood due to the snowy, icy roads, and the steep hill down to the main highway. We were sad, but much more important to us was their safety - that came first.
By about 10:00 am this morning, the forecast was drastically changed. A warming front was coming thru very soon, temperatures would rise, and it would begin raining - and that's exactly what happened. It rained all day, huge chunks of snow fell from trees, the streets became slushy and deeply rutted - more dangerous than before almost. The ruts would throw cars all over the road - including into the path of oncoming cars.
During the day as the rain fell, I baked and glazed rum cakes, put together Apple French Toast for breakfast tomorrow morning, cut up veggies and made dips for Christmas Eve dinner. I organized as much as I could of the rest of the food for Christmas Eve, and all I could for Christmas Day - for both breakfast and dinner. I finished wrapping gifts, washed tableclothes and dishes for tomorrow, and cleaned up as much of the house as I could - or at least as much as I knew could be done ahead without the cats disturbing things.
By late afternoon it seemed that major highways were becoming clear and drivable, but sidestreets were still a mess. There is the hope Greg and Charisse may be able to make it down tomorrow afterall - yea!
At 4:30 we left for dinner at Margie and Bill's - a fairly treacherous drive as we spun out once, and the deep ruts made driving difficlut and the feeling that we were on some kind of Disneyland ride. We made it to Margie's and noticed as we were driving in that there was no electricity on her side of the street. Sure enough, they had lost power not long before we arrived. We entered to see the house beautifully lit by candle light and a fire in the fireplace. Chris, Jan, and Beth were there - Peter went to Sunriver with his girlfriend - Sean, Kelley, Melissa, and Annie. Lucky for us this years dinner was not something that needed to be cooked in an oven! Chris and Jan brought wonderful sandwiches that Jan had ordered, we had smoked salmon, cheeses and crackers, veggies and dips, salads, breads, green beans gingerbread cookies, and wine and beer to drink. It was perfect. Annie got a call from Santa Clause (Dave) while we were there, asking her if she'd been a good girl this year and what she wanted for Christmas. She was very excited about that!
We opened gifts - Margie got the cow this year - with my added addition of a pig attached to the cow. It will be fun to see what addition she adds to it next year.
Sean and Kelley and the kids had just left, the rest of us were on our way out, when finally, the lights came on! It was pretty funny. We had all done everything by candlelight for the whole night, and now we could see! We came back in, looked at the beautiful ornaments on the tree, the decorations in the house, and could actually see what each other was wearing - including the sweater of mine that Katie was wearing. Jan had the same exact sweater, and had worn it earlier in the day and just changed it to come for Christmas Eve. Too funny.
We came home, organized a few things for morning, and then relaxed and watched old movies on Tv. Morning will come soon - and still lots to get ready. Better stop here and get some sleep!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
The Snow Continues to Fall
We made it thru the weekend, as inch after inch of snow piled up. It's Monday afternoon as I'm writing this. I measured the snow this morning - 14 inches - maybe more - depends on where it's measured. Greg and Charisse are stuck in Seattle and may not be able to make it down for Christmas. Greg was going to drive down tomorrow, and Charisse was going to take the train when she got off work on Wednesday - Christmas Eve. I don't think that is going to happen - but we'll wait and see. I will work on manifesting opportunities for them to get here.
Christmas Eve as always is planned at Margie and Bill's, but I'm not sure if that will work or not. Don was going to fly up from California tomorrow, but the airport is a mess and hundreds of flights have been cancelled. At this point it sounds like he will just stay put in California and not even try to make the trip.
Dave shoveled off the driveway, dug out his van, and put chains on his car this morning. We ventured as far a Hagan's for a few groceries we needed. The streets were deep with snow, and the only people not slipping and sliding were people with chains or four wheel drive - and even some of them were sliding. The worst part of the trip was trying to avoid all of the people walking along the sides of the road - some pullng their kids on sleds. Really dangerous for them - once a car started sliding, there was really no way to control where it was going. I hope no one is hurt!
I think we're in for the rest of the day. The Blazers will be on TV at 6pm, so we'll just settle in and watch the game. We have plenty of food, and of course some wine - what more could we want?
I just heard on TV that not enough TSA people showed up to work at the airport today, so all those stranded people are being shuttled thru the D and E concourse. Just something to add to the merriment of the poor people stranded there for days on end. Some people have now been there for four days - with small children- YIKES!
I've taken pictures the last few days, but haven't downloaded them yet. As soon as I do, I'll be sure to add some of them to todays ramblings.
This is supposed to be the worst snowstorm in Portland since 1950 - wow! I'll keep updating as I have news to report.
Christmas Eve as always is planned at Margie and Bill's, but I'm not sure if that will work or not. Don was going to fly up from California tomorrow, but the airport is a mess and hundreds of flights have been cancelled. At this point it sounds like he will just stay put in California and not even try to make the trip.
Dave shoveled off the driveway, dug out his van, and put chains on his car this morning. We ventured as far a Hagan's for a few groceries we needed. The streets were deep with snow, and the only people not slipping and sliding were people with chains or four wheel drive - and even some of them were sliding. The worst part of the trip was trying to avoid all of the people walking along the sides of the road - some pullng their kids on sleds. Really dangerous for them - once a car started sliding, there was really no way to control where it was going. I hope no one is hurt!
I think we're in for the rest of the day. The Blazers will be on TV at 6pm, so we'll just settle in and watch the game. We have plenty of food, and of course some wine - what more could we want?
I just heard on TV that not enough TSA people showed up to work at the airport today, so all those stranded people are being shuttled thru the D and E concourse. Just something to add to the merriment of the poor people stranded there for days on end. Some people have now been there for four days - with small children- YIKES!
I've taken pictures the last few days, but haven't downloaded them yet. As soon as I do, I'll be sure to add some of them to todays ramblings.
This is supposed to be the worst snowstorm in Portland since 1950 - wow! I'll keep updating as I have news to report.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Snow and freezing rain
Snow continued to fall all day-inch after inch. The weather people from every local news channel were on all day - looking more and more tired as the day drug on. At least once every 15 minutes a 'weather alert" was announced. I'm not sure what was different from one fifteen minute segment to the next - but they sure did seem to take it seriously. Different parts of the city began closing later in the afternoon, chains were required for driving, and various interstate highways were shut down. Dire warnings and predictions began to pepper the airways. At 5:30 we ventured out to the house of friends who live about six blocks away. We had scheduled a holiday dinner, and decided that it was still possible to make it to their home and back. We had a wonderful dinner, and then dessert. Better than anything we could have gotten in a rest aurant. About 10:30 we looked outside and saw that freezing rain had begun falling. We quickly gathered up our things, and headed out for the drive home. We made it just fine until we got to the driveway. Once there we couldn't get in - or out for that matter.
Dave jumped out of the car, shoveled the driveway under the tires, and then climbed back in the car to maneuver it into the driveway. A couple of tries, and in we went - a little sliding, but still - we got in! We checked the yard - snow was at least 2-3 inches deeper than when we had left. Wow!
Off to bed - long day, and probably a longer day tomorrow. Good night.
Dave jumped out of the car, shoveled the driveway under the tires, and then climbed back in the car to maneuver it into the driveway. A couple of tries, and in we went - a little sliding, but still - we got in! We checked the yard - snow was at least 2-3 inches deeper than when we had left. Wow!
Off to bed - long day, and probably a longer day tomorrow. Good night.
Snow, snow, and more snow - then freezing rain
It's been snowing off and on here in Portland for the last week. There was enough snow and ice every day that the kids were out of school all week - bet they were happy! It started in again this morning and hasn't stopped - it's about 2:00pm now. The freezing rain will start somewhere around midnight here in the Portland area - outlying areas will begin around 8 pm. Many of the flights at PDX are cancelled - both incoming and outgoing. I'm sure there are a lot of really sad people trying to get home for the holidays, and they have no idea when they will be able to leave.
The weather people are in heaven - they've pretty much been on the air non-stop since Monday. With the ease of the internet, people are able to take videos of their areas of town, and then send them on in to the TV stations to be shown on the air. That does make it a little more fun to watch - not quite as tedious as seeing the same news people saying pretty much the same thing over and over. At this point it sounds like this will stick around for a few more days - at least until Tuesday. This sure isn't great for the stores - people can't get out to shop - less money being put back into the economy. It is what it is, can't do anything about it.
I finished my shopping yesterday, and wrapped all of my presents. Today I made a batch of pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting - yummy! I have a big pot of chili simmering away on the stove - smells delicious. When it's done cooking, I'll freeze it and then get it back out again for Christmas Day dinner.
Christmas morning we'll have a whole crowd here for brunch - somewhere between 11 and 15 at last count. I'm going to make a caramel apple spiced french toast, fruit, juice and champagne. I think Kelley will be bringing a strata with sausage to go along with it. When brunch is finished and people who are leaving for other places have gone, we'll do our quick change trick. We'll whisk all of the decorations, dishes, glasses and food off of the table - along with the tablecloth and placemats. We'll pull out a clean tablecloth, new placemats, new decorations - and start all over again with new place settings. We'll be all set for the next group that will be arriving for dinner. By the time Christmas Day dinner rolls around, I think most everyone is pretty full - so dinner will be pretty simple and light. Chili, french bread, and maybe a salad. Of course we will also be serving beer, wine, champagne (my personal favorite)and soft drinks.
Two days after Christmas we will be doing the Larson Family Christmas at our house. It looks like we will be lucky enough to have everyone be able to make it this year. It's hard to get everyone together at the same time with so many committments during the holidays. Dinner that night will be lasagna, french bread, salads, and whatever people bring beyond that. I'm sure we won't go hungry - always much more food than we could ever eat - but it's all so delicious.
Time to go check the snow again and see how deep it's gotten since I last looked.
The weather people are in heaven - they've pretty much been on the air non-stop since Monday. With the ease of the internet, people are able to take videos of their areas of town, and then send them on in to the TV stations to be shown on the air. That does make it a little more fun to watch - not quite as tedious as seeing the same news people saying pretty much the same thing over and over. At this point it sounds like this will stick around for a few more days - at least until Tuesday. This sure isn't great for the stores - people can't get out to shop - less money being put back into the economy. It is what it is, can't do anything about it.
I finished my shopping yesterday, and wrapped all of my presents. Today I made a batch of pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting - yummy! I have a big pot of chili simmering away on the stove - smells delicious. When it's done cooking, I'll freeze it and then get it back out again for Christmas Day dinner.
Christmas morning we'll have a whole crowd here for brunch - somewhere between 11 and 15 at last count. I'm going to make a caramel apple spiced french toast, fruit, juice and champagne. I think Kelley will be bringing a strata with sausage to go along with it. When brunch is finished and people who are leaving for other places have gone, we'll do our quick change trick. We'll whisk all of the decorations, dishes, glasses and food off of the table - along with the tablecloth and placemats. We'll pull out a clean tablecloth, new placemats, new decorations - and start all over again with new place settings. We'll be all set for the next group that will be arriving for dinner. By the time Christmas Day dinner rolls around, I think most everyone is pretty full - so dinner will be pretty simple and light. Chili, french bread, and maybe a salad. Of course we will also be serving beer, wine, champagne (my personal favorite)and soft drinks.
Two days after Christmas we will be doing the Larson Family Christmas at our house. It looks like we will be lucky enough to have everyone be able to make it this year. It's hard to get everyone together at the same time with so many committments during the holidays. Dinner that night will be lasagna, french bread, salads, and whatever people bring beyond that. I'm sure we won't go hungry - always much more food than we could ever eat - but it's all so delicious.
Time to go check the snow again and see how deep it's gotten since I last looked.
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