Thanks for the prelude.

I have to debate whether to drive in to work tomorrow; unfortunately, most of the heavy stuff that would make the decision easy isn’t supposed to hit this side of the state until tomorrow after I would get to work.

I cannot remember. Is this your first winter back?

No. We moved back in November 2004, so this is technically the third. The last two winters were pretty light, so I guess we’re due for a real bugger this time.

Another upside of homeschooling, I guess: I don’t have to debate whether to drive to work/school tomorrow. Around here, the storm’s bad enough that most of the schools are closing early, and with snow expected tonight on top of the ice that’s still falling, well, I imagine most folks will be staying home.

I can’t wait ’til it gets here.

I have similar pictures from yesterday out here on the West Coast, and I suspect tonight will be equally ugly, what with record-low temperatures and whatnot.

Look on the bright side….making a chilled martini just got easier by one whole order of magnitude.

One hour later:

It’s worse than it looks thanks to last night’s rain which has now turned into a nice sheet of solid ice beneath the frozen rain.

WG, I’m out of vodka. Think Santa would deliver early?

Only if he’s taken to using FedEx.

That’s pretty….from here. I imagine it’s going to look much like that here tomorrow or Friday, however, since the weather guys are all pontificating about the Extremely Cold Weather Front and What It All Means. (god i hate 24-hour-news-cycles….)

Luckily, VH brought some home and announced that neither sleet, nor snow, nor ice nor PMS shall keep him from his appointed vodka-retrieval duties.

I love my husband. I truly do.

I know what you mean about the weather dudes, though. Had to switch from one channel that sent 7 different reporters to various parts of the Metro area to note, without exception, “It’s icy and cold.” Well, duh! Wound up switching to a news channel that’s actually covering… news.

I’ll trade you half a bottle of Most Wanted vodka for half a bottle of tequila!

We have to have you come over someday – or meet you guys at one of the local joints.

Yikes, it was Most Wanted that VH brought home! I do have a bottle of Pancho Villa tequilla (you know, the one that goes for $3/gallon).

And YES! We really do need to get together soon. I think about you every time I drive by your place.

oh, god – you have to think we are totally white trash!! our front yard – omg – it’s such a mess! My beloved has so many medical problems that he gets worn out about 30 minutes after he starts to do something. While me, well, I’ve been in a deep, deep depression for about 2 years, and I’m finally pulling myself out – so, I have a crazy kitchen – painted cherry cobbler red, (still have to do the cabinets some color!) and a new garden shed – but it’s messy.

If you see the Aztec in the driveway, and you are very, very brave, pull in and knock on the door and I’ll fix you some coffee or tea or a drink, depending on the time of day!

Now that’s a man with a clear sense of priorities. Myself, I’m wanting to attend the Northwest Winter Ale Festival in Portland again this year. The winter ales and stouts that the microbreweries in this area come up with every winter are outstanding, and between that and a glass of nice hot mead, it makes for happy times on a cold day.

I’ve only been in Kansas in August, and at the time I was highly homesick and missing my mountains…but I’ll tell you, I’ve never seen anything like the lightning storm I witnessed there. That was some show.

Beth, I would never, ever, EVER think that! Some time I’ll have to invite you over so you can see how little effort I’ve been putting into the house, much to the disappointment of my snooty neighbors. We truly screwed up buying the biggest, best house we could afford at the time.

Not only did we wind up living amid snobs, but now we can barely afford it since VH’s retirement pay got docked by half to repay a separation bonus he received during marriage #1. So my neighbors keep fixing up their homes, and we expect to be run out of the neighborhood any day for not having repainted this year. (Not to mention that, thanks to whatever illness I have, it’s kept me from trimming the roses, cutting back the summer’s perennials, etc.)

I’ll post a picture of my kitchen one day soon. It’s in dire need of a re-do… particularly to remove the rooster decor the house came with. Would love some opinions!

WG… mead? Yummmy! I miss mountains, too, but I miss my Midwesterners even more when I’m away. That’s why I go camping in Custer, SD every year: best of both worlds.

I personally consider where I live the best of both worlds….I can drive for an hour and a half in any direction and be, variously, at the beach, skiing, the largest city in Oregon, or so far from civilization that I can’t hear another living soul or even see city lights reflected on the clouds. I can see snowcapped mountains on a clear day in August, wetlands that support migratory birds from my front porch, and trees that are taller than most office buildings wherever I go.

One of these days I need to start a photoblog. lol

Geez, no kidding!

Check your mail.

Oh. My. How glorious those pictures are!