What weird weather we're having #7

That sucks! I think being without water is worse than being without power as long as you have someway to heat and cook.

What saves me is my creek, olden days haul the water, just wish I had a donkey LOL
We will be find, been there, done that. Not the first time, and will most likly never be the last. LOL
Still coming down at 6" new. Not going to work in AM. No Way>>>

Pretty much a toss up, which is worse to be without. Sorry all of you are having such an awful time, hope it gets better soon.

zhinu...how cool about the fire department wanting your picture.

When DH had his heart attack, I did CPR until they got there, then at the hospital, the crew came to check on him everytime they were in the area. Later they asked for permission to use our case as a teaching tool...."This how it's supposed to go." Of course we agreed. That's why we have this sort of bond with them.

Stay warm everyone.

Don't blame you at all Tilly, going to settle down with a nice fire or my electric lap robe (or both) a cup of cocoa and stay right here till the streets are clear.

Hi all -

I just hiked 1/2 mile down the road in the dark and the wind after having had a nice dinner, wine and movie with the neighbors. We still have power, but may not for long.

The wind picked up a few hours ago and it looks like it's sleeting, but the snow is really powdery dry. it doesn't feel as cold as it has been, but maybe it was just those couple of Southern Comforts I had. LOL I had the flashlight on, and then the sky lit up bright blue, just as I was nearing my driveway. I called the neighbors to let them know I had gotten home and they said they thought a transformer had blown.

So we have at least another 5 and it's still coming down. The drifts are amazing - my pants are all wet from pushing through the snow. And there's not, of course, a car on the road. I have my battery-powered radio out and my flashlight at the ready.

Mary, the picture was my neighbor's big truck. I went off the road in the Outback. And I was all the way off the road and facing forward. It was dark, though, so I didn't get a picture. I'm hoping to tag along with a neighbor tomorrow to get some chains . . .

Sally, what an incredible story. I can't imagine how scary that must have been for you, but it's wonderful that the story ended so well. Firefighters are amazing people, imo.

Glad you are all home safely - sounds like maybe RC doesn't have any power . . .

Amazing, yes. They are such a nice bunch of guys, besides being very good at their jobs. Very scary, then 3 days in a coma (induced) possibilty of brain damage etc. Miracle that he survived with only the damage to his heart and he can still function. That's why it was so special to them (and us).

katie....no more trips til it's better outside. O.K.?

Sounds like a good day for all of you to settle in.

It is indeed a good day to settle in and stay home. I just came in from walking Koka and everything is covered with about 8" of snow and on top of that a 1/2" sheet of ice. It is 21 degrees and this crazy dog was zooming back & forth having a great time. She was skidding out at every turn and was quite comical to watch. Walking is pretty difficult! The trees are covered in a coating of ice - it looks beautiful but I hope we don't lose any.

Sally how nice the firemen keep in contact. That shows how much they care about their work and about the people they help, like your husband. They should give you commendation for knowing CPR and remaining calm enough to help your DH.

Tilly hope you get water soon!

Hope all your family members get home safely. Most of my kids arrive on Wednesday so I hope the airport is ok by then.

Yesterday was just plain weird.
Home alone (so quiet!), and the dogs provided great company.
The wind never picked up here, although there were occasional strong gusts.
I was such a Girl Scout - had the generator ready, lots of wood/kindling stacked right outside the door, extra water in case the well pump went south, food, & a toasty fire.
Oh yes, and Ice wine. Just in case. It's very important to be prepared...=:0)

My son decided to stay put at his friend's house, and my husband is out of town.
I bundled up & went outside for a long time. It reminded me of when I was a child and had lots of time to enjoy the magic of snow. I really like how it reflects the light & dampens sound. It was good to reflect on those days - now I worry about the well pump & how to get around without 4WD. Simpler times & thoughts for a child; as it should be.

Why we were spared the effects of the wind is a curiousity, as we always lose power. It was strange to see what others were being subjected to, and have the understanding that comes from living through similar experiences. These are the types of events that cause me to stop & consider what truly matters, which is also a good thing!
I hope that all of you are warm, doing well, & resting.

Kathy - I am a big believer in the reliability of legs over wheels: might need a hand up after sliding/falling, but you definitely won't need a towtruck!

I see there is more snow expected today, so probably no work tomorrow! How often can I do that?

Portland.....calm, not at all, just kept telling myself "You can do this" over, & over. They were calling me 'the hero' at the hospital..... I just felt scared stiff. 911 operators are great people! Would love to see Koka running in the snow, such a beautiful dog.

Katye....you earned a merit badge yesterday. Sounds like wonderful walk you had. I also love the quiet in the snow, am fascinated by frozen spider webs and icicles in the strangest places. Glad you had your quiet time.

Tilly, Katie59,rc.......are you here? Hope you didn't lose power last night.

Portland...... Ahhhh you remembered. Ohhhh... that stupid and yet lovely plow. They came by yesterday morning at about 6 am I think. haven't been by since after that. hmmpfff. I called the neighbors last night before heading home to work to see if they thought that I could get up to the house and with or without chains. They though that I would be able to make it up without chains. They also thought that the plow had been by on the main rd. It hadn't. It took me an hour to get from eugene to Oakridge, that's normal. 2hrs. to get another 15mi. up the rd past there. lol. I was quite the site trying to put on chains, without a flashlight (had used it in the house that morning and forgot it.), in 1' of slushy snow. For some reason one of the chains kept coming off. never did figure out why. Finally, one of the now grown kids that I used to supervise pulled over behind me to help readjust the chains and he followed me up the hill, stopping with me every time that chain was a problem. Finally once up on the plateau, I didn't need that silly chain so much and just drove with it hanging. I always thought that kid was a great guy! When I got up to the house it was totally dark - no power.!! So, I went to use my cell phone for light around the house until I found the flashlight.... crap, come to find out the cell phone had fallen out of my pocket when I was putting on the chains. So, I found my digital camera, which the monitor produced enough light that I could find a phone with a cord and call the folks that live here. They are in Hawaii visiting relatives, which is a good thing because it was now after midnight our time. So, they directed me to flashlight. I felt much better. Although, I did tell them that Shadow would be coming down to my place tonight since I have to be at work on Monday morning. I've been missing several hours of work each day because I have to plow the driveway to get out. That really takes a chunk out of my paycheck. I can't do that with the new job on Monday. So, that's my speel, of course related to the plows!! There needs to be more of them! I'm also supposed to be feeding the birds while i'm up here and they are quite upset with me because their feeders are under snow!

I'm glad to hear that everyone is faring all right with all of this.

Sally, that's a great story about the firemen.

Trisha and Laura, I sure hope that you don't get all of that snow that they are predicting.

Sally, my power just came back on about 15 min. ago. I forgot to say that above. Thanks for looking after all of us! I'm still coming down to my place today though..... as soon as I plow the driveway again. :-/

here's a picture of chuck and I plowing (we use tractors) the driveway. Chuck is a neighbor to the folks that I'm house sitting for and he also used to be one of my high school teachers.

This is the neighbors mailbox, I went out to get the mail on the tractor..... why not!!

icicles

This was the main rd. yesterday as I was headed to work---two hours late.

I forgot this one, There poor japanese maple under there.

these I took at my house, I used it as a pit stop to take off the chains.

rc...that's incredible!! I love the picture in my head of you going after the mail on the tractor, LOL Certainly better than the car. How did they think you could make it without chains? I think they should give you credit for getting to work at all! Glad to hear you're safe and well.

When I saw the first picture, I was thinking 'she's going to get some incredible pics!' You did.^_^

cercis forest pansy trying to hold on to it's leaves.

lol, Thanks Sally! They neighbors thought that the plow had been up the main rd again that day, the rd that is in the fourth picture I just posted. But what they heard were probably folks going down the rd on snowmobiles or something like that. They meant well. I should have known better than to try it without chains!

The last pic, again of the forest pansy, If it weren't for the street signs across the river, it almost looks as the the leaves are the only thing that isn't black and white.


This message was edited Dec 21, 2008 11:30 AM

Beautiful!!

As usual Red, you find the opportunity to share with us the most gorgeous photos!!! Is that Cotoneaster berries? Love it.

At my house this AM. About 14" on the wall.

Funny looking pot tops.

The biggest icicle

Thanks Mauryhill. I guess that trying to find interesting photos of it all is my way of making much easier to laugh at it all later on :-p The berries are of ilex verticillata 'winter gold'. Probably my favorite holly because it is an Orange berry, different than all the reds that we see this time of year.

and the bottom half

A little Christmas cheer.

That's a really cool Icicle Willow!!! I'm not so sure that the plant likes it. But, it's neat. Did you build your wall? It's a really nice one. Where is Union, Wa. I've heard of it many times, but never really known that much about it.

My favorite

This is my new friend. His name is Thoughtnot.

We did build our wall. We built our whole house including cutting all the lumber on my dad's portable saw mill. Took us 2 1/2 years while living in a trailer. Union is on the south shore of Hood Canal. We are about 20 minutes north of Shelton and 45 minutes north of Olympia.

OK, that makes sense to me. That's a pretty area there.

What a project and a long time to live displaced! But, it looks as though it was definitely well worth it. Great craftsmanship from what I've seen!

Every mistake was just a bit more cottage charm^_^

Sally, you know what I laugh at the thought of the most, in those pictures up above? Although it's really not funny if someone did that. But, in the 4th picture, the one of the rd. that has the rd. sign in it that shows a speed limit of 40mph. on that corner. I don't think i've seen anyone go 40mph on that corner when it's in good shape.

Haha..... that is a great mantra Willow! I will have to remember that one!

Very pretty pic's all! Have we had enough cold weather yet? Not nearly as bad here..but woke up (5 am) with no power this morning. Of course I was supposed to start baking cookies early this morning. Well power came on around 9:30 so I started to pull the ingredients from the pantry! NO SUGAR!! The ground is very hard and icy..so I will need to wait until the thaw until I venture out to the store. Who doesn't have sugar in the pantry? I am such a dork!
Was able to make Russian Tea cakes as those call for powder sugar which I had..
Here is my poor little white birch tree bending over from the ice. Sure hope this ice does not kill all my trees and plants. Can't afford to landscape all over again! :(

Wow, sounds like you guys have been busy the last two days. I miss so much when I can't get online. Red you always seem to have time to take the best pictures, no matter how rough it is where you're staying. Glad you got in and out safe.

Tilly, hope you get water back. No fun without it - this is day 5 for us, I'd kill for a hot shower about now! Managed to insulate the pump house so the hallogens would heat it up enough that maybe we'd get the pump to work -NOT. Lost electricity somewhere around 2 am - kinda cold without heat here, outside temps were 22, not sure what they are now. Snowing again on top of freezing rain earlier - total now is about 16". Santa Claus could bring me some snowshoes.... getting around would be much easier. Big dogs are still loving the snow, little dogs disappear as they're only about 12" tall. Never thought I'd have to shovel a path and potty spot for the dogs here.

Cookies sound good. Might try that today if the power stays on. I think I'll start wishing now for an early spring. I totally was not prepared for this here - Hope everyone stays warm and safe.

Alls good I think!!!!!!!! Have not lost power, as yet. DH got the pump working, so now we have water. But the well only has 2" of water in it, they pulled the cap off to see. Still snowing here, call out from work. but have to go in, in AM. So now to dig the car out and the top of the drive where the plows have buried it.
No birdy gets bath outa that. LOL

Oh here, this was my yard about an hour ago.

and about the same view this summer and we're getting heavily right now.