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[Duck on Wheels]

Yesterday--We had 12 people here, including us, to eat fresh Dungeness crab, steamer clams, salad, asparagus, mashed potatoes. We got four more inches of snow overnight, total in the last week about 16-17 inches, in a city whose government apparently is quite proud of its strategy not to clean the streets. Chris had to go pick up his 89 year old dad and 88 year old stepmom and 80-some year old auntie (he has a four wheel drive pick up truck). Then he had to go to a local big parking lot to pick up his brother, wife, mother in law, and three kids because they couldn't drive their van down our uncleared streets.

Just before he had to leave for the first trip, he dropped a can of Pepsi (NOT diet), and it exploded all over our pantry. YEE-ha! The pantry is where our bike stuff, cleaning stuff, boxes of garbage bags, and various other miscellany lives. The bathtub is full of the bike panniers, backpacks, hiking boots, and whatever else got splooshed with sticky soda, waiting to be rinsed. I am thinking of just emptying them of all their contents and then just stepping on into the shower and taking a shower with them all. On the theory that I'm gonna get wet anyway...

We had a great time, though. I made cheddar scones and gorgonzola scones and Dutch cookies. Our friend Neal made apple and lemon and pecan pies. We got our third, or maybe it's our fourth, oven mitt from my husband's aunt, for Christmas--I love her, although I don't use oven mitts much. Actually, I really like everyone in his family. Was glad to host our pie-baking friend as well, who is going through a very bad divorce and would have been alone at Christmas for the first time in 20 years. Glad he was with us instead.

Neither of Chris' presents arrived in time because of the snow, so we haven't done any present exchange yet.

I was snoozing on the couch by 8:30 pm and finally staggered off to bed before 9:30, which I never do.

It's thawing! Hurray.

Happy holidays, you all.

Here's a transport idea for those uncleared streets: Put a snowmobile chain on your back wheel and a ski up front, as demonstrated in this video taken on a ski path on the snowy side of town here (scroll down, the video is fairly low on the page).
http://www.adressa.no/tv/?id=8682&au...Nyheter&page=0

[salsabike]

Now THAT is cool, Duck. Love it. And that whole side of the family is Norwegian so they're quite intrepid. I can hear my father in law laughing now.

[Biciclista]

I am enjoying hearing the various christmas day stories!

[LBTC]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, I could have slept in sooooooooooo late.....

Christmas morning, after a late night visit in Kelowna on Christmas Eve, started at 8 a.m..... Our friend C and her sister couldn't get back to their mom's for the holiday, so they were coming over and spent the whole day with us. And, besides, DH was still wrapping presents for me!

I was glad I managed to get the dressing made the day before, and got it going in slowcooker fairly early.

We opened our stockings together, then I made our special egg breakfast, then we opened gifts. With four of us, taking turns and checking out what everyone got, it took a LONG time. A few hours later our friends C and P came over for a drink and a visit, then left in time to feed the 12 they had for dinner! We were supposed to have 3 more join us for dinner, but they called to say they were sick (poor kids!!), so it was just us four and I was not stressed at all. Yes, dinner for seven stresses me!

The turkey was perfect, the brussel sprouts the best ever, and the dressing was perfect. Even the crustless pumpkin pie turned out better than it has before. Very nice.

Then we all went over to visit C and P and their guests. We left there after 10 p.m. and were up again this morning at 8. I am really ready for an early night and a sleep in. Anytime now. In fact, I think I'm about to have a nap.....

Happy holidays!
~T~

[Biciclista]

Dinner for 7 stresses me too. Good thing Raleighdon almost always is doing the lion's share of the cooking.

You didn't mention the snow. You had a white christmas, right?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I think DH and I had the quietest most peaceful Christmas I can ever remember....no kids around, no traveling, no guests, no xmas dinner. It was very low key but pleasant. A few presents, a long walk together, calling the children, eating chocolates, watching movies in bed with kitties purring....

[LBTC]

Yes, we have SNOW! Lots of it! It is snowing now, and we are expecting another 30 centimeters tonight. We usually get at least some snow every year, but this is way more than usual! It's very white!

[crazycanuck]

We're still in enzed & are now thinking about our trip back to Perth. We're pondering the idea of driving to Coober Pedy, South Australia. Should you be bored, have a look on a map where it is..

Let's just say there's not a single petrol station, road house etc for 500km between Port Augusta & Coober Pedy. Why are we thinking of going there you ask?
1-Why not
2-The houses are underground because it's normally over 40C in the summer
3-It's not a place everyone drives to on thier way back home..

The weather here in enzed has been quite nice!

[Pax]

Oooh CC, sounds like an adventure, have fun!

[Selkie]

I think DH and I had the quietest most peaceful Christmas I can ever remember....no kids around, no traveling, no guests, no xmas dinner. It was very low key but pleasant. A few presents, a long walk together, calling the children, eating chocolates, watching movies in bed with kitties purring....

Ruby must have behaved herself. Maybe the solstice temporarily zeroed out her evil powers.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Ruby must have behaved herself. Maybe the solstice temporarily zeroed out her evil powers.

She's been keeping occupied trying to learn the Uto-Aztecan language.

[Selkie]

She's been keeping occupied trying to learn the Uto-Aztecan language.

Thank God for that!

[Biciclista]

I don't know, it's kind of scary, what's she going to do with that, start a spy network?

[redrhodie]

Does she already know Navajo?

[Xrayted]

So we got our share of snow here in PDX over the past 2 weeks. I think we must have ended up with over a foot, easily. Not normally a problem for the two of us since I'm from PA and Kit is from WI. The big thing was all of the people who know nothing about driving in this stuff and the fact that they still haven't plowed at all. Nothing. Our poor Subaru did great though. We never missed a day of work or were even late. The ruts in the ice that have been created are horrendous though. We keep checking the bottom of the car when we park to make sure all the parts are still there.

Woke up today and realized it stayed warmer all night (35+) and it rained the whole time. Most of the snow is gone. I have no idea how the roads are but I'm suspecting flooding. Since they never plowed, the storm grates are covered with a foot of hard packed ice and the water can't go anywhere.

Couldn't find a snow shovel to buy anywhere, all sold out. And yet... I have not see any evidence of anyone actually using a shovel on anything. They haven't even attempted to dig out. They have no idea or don't care. We kept our stuff cleaned off anyway. That's what I get though for moving here to get away from the snow and leave my shovels and snowblower behind in PA.

Major extremes of people that I work with. One guy lives 65miles away and made it to work everyday and early to boot. One guy who lives 2 miles away and didn't make it in once. Never even called on most days. When we called him to see what was up, he just answered "what, you expect me to come in?" I've had a coworker with a bad cold try to take the streetcar in, ended up walking the last 2+miles in on snowshoes cuz a bus got stuck across the tracks in front of them. She looked like hell so I left her stay at the clinic where it would be quiet that day and I rode the aerial tram up to the trauma hospital and helped out. One guy who walked 6+miles in to do a 16hr shift and then slept overnight in our fluoro room and worked the next day and then walked back home. (no car, only a motorcycle and bicycles)

We have one of the best mass transit setups anywhere in America and most of us choose to use it, but not plowing created a massive problem. I'm shocked how bad they let it get here in Portland and basically did nothing. Didn't even try to get trucks from outside. Shameful.