Yes, we (Rey & I) did make it to work, carpooled in by our 4-wheel buddy. Roads were covered, but not too bad, and fairly empty of traffic.
Tomorrow should be relatively clear until evening. Seems like the last possible day to Christmas shop with any certainty of getting around easily. After that storms return, supposedly stronger than the last.
It has been really nice having the kids home.
Looks like we might be trying the commute today. Carpooler is planning to go, so I should probably go to.
So – today the snow arrived.
Snowing 12-18-08
My carpooler showed up at around 7 AM, but by then I had decided not to participate in the commute. He, however, is leaving for Chicago on Sunday and did not have what he needed to work from home.
I stayed and am at home, at least for the moment.
Carl shoveled the sidewalk, and we will need to clear it again later.
It is still snowing, and the commuting may actually be worse this afternoon.
So – out to walk a few errands, and then back for more work.
Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and cold.
Winter in the northwest … this year it looks like we could get a White Christmas.
Still a little far in the future to predict, but …. I can dream.
When
The forecast calls for potentially frightful weather
Carpools are arranged
Schools are cancelled
Traffic is remarkably light
Work is done
Home again, home again – lickity split (no traffic)
Anybody miss something?
No weather!
Well, there was weather. It was coldish, and quite windy, and it spit bits of precipitation out of the sky.
And if you were outside of the circle that encompassed Seattle and nearby suburbs – you probably did have snow – at least some.
So the (1992) little golden book version of the Cornish folk tale, Jack and the Beanstalk, is rife with what I would consider inaccuracies. The giant doesn’t say his normal rhyme and doesn’t even include anything about making bread from bones. That’s the rhyme that everyone knows from that story. Fee, Fi, Fo Fum I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he live or be he dead I’ll grind your bones to make my bread. Who wants to read the story with this dumbed down giant. Also the moral ambiguity is ripped out of the story on the last page when it turns out that the giant had originally stolen the harp and the goose from Jack’s father.
Yet Little Golden Books used to be far more interesting before they tried to protect children from fears of giants in the clouds baking bone bread. If you ever see The Taxi That Hurried be sure to read it. The taxi driver smokes, honks his horn, and acts generally abrasive to the world around him yet he is hailed as a hero for getting the mother and son in his taxi to the train on time. Because nicotine enhanced road rage gets the job done.
Anyway, Jack and the Beanstalk in its original form teaches children important lessons about the risks involved while meddling with magic, giants, and beans. Dumbing it down hurts all of us.
In case you didn’t notice the difference in delivery, this post has been guest written by a certain young man that recently returned to our town, and has been reading books to small children.
Rey is home.
Drive across 3 states was relatively nice by Rey’s account. Icy at the top of Lookout Pass, but pretty good roads elsewhere.
Nice to have a full set of kids in the house.
Here is Carl’s first effort of the season (or maybe the last of 2008)
12-13-08 Snow
Mr. Man was built after we returned from the Seattle Women’s Chorus. Great show. Ashlan and her friend, both just back from school, both had sinking spells during quiet parts of the show, but going on a few hours of sleep, and then hearing a beautiful version of Silent Night will do that to you. It continued to snow over night, light & dry.
Rey update – still in Montana – waiting for Monday when it is supposed to be flurries and partly sunny.
Canada trip update – forgot to add this into yesterday’s report. Between the Canadian border and Vancouver proper there is an area that is flat, mostly fields and wetlands. In both directions there were seagulls, various smaller birds, swans and bald eagles. 8 eagles counted on the drive north, 9 on the drive south. The first one I saw was fairly low and really caught my eye. Then they seemed to be everywhere. As I was watching one out the windsheild, a different sort of bird appeared over the top of the car. A red helicopter going up the freeway. I am sure this was a RCMP on a different sort of mount.
So – quick update, now that most of the day has transpired.
Jay travelled to and from Canada
Ashlan travelled from Canada
There was cold, some rain, some snow, about 1 minute at the border going up and about 45 minutes at the border coming down. The two vehicles in front of us coming down were both pulled to the side, the second one after quizzing them for about 10 minutes.
Rey – didn’t travel. A good decision I think
Carl – travelled around town doing errands. Recovered from his trip to Jay’s office Christmas party the night before. Driving wind and rain, closed roads, lost on the Plateau (but had Ashlan’s cell phone – finally a good use).
Carl, Jay & Ashlan travelled around Green Lake on foot, ~ 3 miles, for the luminnaire. Candles lit the path, cold but crowded and lots of groups singing.
In a few minutes we travel to see the Seattle Women’s Chorus.
We are sorry Rey is not joining us, but still, the right decision.
I agree that the news folks frequently overhype storms, especially the first storm of the season. And that is what is happening now, except it is a Canadian blast (they are more trustworthy to show up), and while the snow amounts are still in question, the cold air is not.
Tonight has predicted 1-2 feet in the mountain passes, and potential for up to 6 inches in the higher lowlands (like where I work) and a trace to a few inches in Seattle. Now, I am from Michigan, and lived in Colorado, and have driven in all kinds of snow. But snow in Seattle is really ice with icing. And if you hit the freeways during the storm event it is always an adventure.
I fully admit they have gotten much better at managing the mountain passes. They stop traffic earlier, clear and then have them go in single or double file all together, which removes much of the “I can go fast and not worry SUV” spinouts that really can mess up the highway for everyone else. But, still. Trepidation.
Tomorrow, still snow and wind and
1) Rey is scheduled to drive back from Montana – 3 mountain passes, plains and snow the entire way.
2) Jay is scheduled to go get Ashlan from Vancouver, with possible snow and cold temps. [This is much more of an unknown as far as the forecast goes.]
So the question is – who will be in Seattle Saturday night? Carl, Carl & Jay, Carl, Jay & Ashlan, or the whole kid & kaboodle.
I have given everyone permission to take their time, delay, stop and get a room, etc… But I am still a nervous Nellie.
One of the things that could happen, is that Rey gets partway home and wants to find out what the next pass (Snoqualmie most likely) is like. Since I may be on the road and Carl is not what we call “a friend of the computer” I am going to post a link to a great weather and traffic site. So if you get a call from Rey you will not have to hunt around. (I am giving out phone numbers too – if you know you are going to be home Saturday, feel free to e-mail me)
Snoqualmie Pass road report (other passes can be found as well)
http://wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/snoqualmie/default.aspx
NOAA Weather map – you can use the aerial map (right side a little way down) to move to different areas, and just click on the spot where you want the forecast. It is long, but set for Mullan, near Lookout Pass, the first pass to be crossed. If you just go to http://forecast.weather.gov you get the entire nation map, and then have to drill in. I thought the longer would be quicker.
Maybe this is old news in the Great Lake State, but it was new news to me – reading an engineering daily e-mail.
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