Snow Snow Snow!

About 2 months ago, a rock hit our windshield and created a little itty-bitty starburst down near the passenger side windshield wiper. After watching a late night infomercial on a giant hotel TV in D.C., I discovered the wonders of windshield repair. I sat, slack-jawed, watching the magic that took place and vowed to get our windshield fixed as soon as we returned home. Well, the holidays happened and I never got around to it. As it turns out, one of our headlights just burned out and we need an oil change, so my job this week was to focus on the car. I guess the Mazda decided that I wasn't really going to live up to my promises, so on Christmas Eve she got all uppity and decided to crack the windshield nearly in two as we were driving home from picking up some packages. I guess I shouldn't blame this entirely on the car, since it was about 18 degrees out and we were blasting the defroster at full speed. But come on? Really?

Yesterday, I spent a large portion of the morning on the phone with our auto insurance company and local glass shops because driving around with a cracked windshield is terrifying. Also, we were having a stretch of unusually dry weather, so I wanted to take care of the problem before we had a soggy interior to deal with as well. I was feeling a little gloomy about having to drop off the car, take the bus home, and then haul my butt over to the repair shop again in the afternoon to pick it up.

Around 2pm, Jesse sent me a text message -- It's Snowing! I didn't believe him, because while it's been bitterly cold (and dry) lately, when there is precipitation, it always comes in the form of rain. Lots and lots of rain. I was so delighted when I looked out the window to find big puffy snowflakes pouring down on 21st Avenue. I quickly put on my coat and walked down to the bus station so I could pick up the car. I lucked out and got home just in time -- the roads looked like this just after I parked the car. Over the next hour or so, they continued to get worse. Jesse rode his bike home and came back looking like an ice monster, coated from head to toe in wet, dripping snow.

We walked over to one of our favorite happy hour spots to get nachos with a friend and by 4pm there was probably about an inch on the ground. It was beautiful and white (with the sounds of spinning tires in the background). I don't think a lot of people were prepared for the rush hour storm and ended up abandoning cars on some of the main roads leading out of Portland. They're calling it the worst commute in 20 years. I'd like them to rethink that declaration, since I personally experienced the worst commute in the history of the world last Christmas, but I will concede that a 25-mile backup on I-5 is pretty harrowing.

Today, the snow is almost all melted and we have a 10-day forecast of steady rain. That's how Portland winter should be, but I'm always happy for a snowy afternoon to break up the monotony.