It's Winter, You Know the Drill

I woke up to another wintry scene here in Portland. J ran into the bedroom and whisked up the shades so I could see the giant, puffy flakes that were falling. As usual, there were cars driving around and one guy almost fishtailed onto the sidewalk. I just missed getting a video. Damn.

It's been pretty cold lately (so cold that the other morning I woke up shivering even after putting on sweatpants and a sweatshirt). Since we're at the height of cold and flu season, I somehow convinced myself that I had a fever. I even took my temperature, but found I was perfectly normal at 96.8 (yes, I normally run that cold, must be the ice that courses through my veins). Baffled, I walked out into the living room and J was all bundled up too. Apparently, he left the living room window open, which turned our apartment into a meat locker in just a few hours.

It did warm up a little today and by noon the snow was gone. Now it's just slushy and dirty again. It was pretty while it lasted, but is still totally bizarre that we're getting more of this white stuff (in the city that "never" gets snow) than we ever did in D.C. Thankfully, this time I didn't have any site visits to travel to or research to conduct. Instead, I hunkered down at my desk to figure out my updated version of Quicken that is for home and business. After 5 hours, I still haven't really figured exactly how I'm going to do my invoice for this recent project, but I do know a lot more about keeping books. And we're definitely all set with our 2009 budget. So, I'll guess I'll just charge today to admin. Ha.

Snow Again

We woke up to snow again this morning. Thankfully, it's not sticking. I imagine it will be gone by the afternoon, but it certainly is pretty right now.

Back to Normal

It feels good to sleep in my own bed. It also feels good to wake up, walk to the living room, sit in my chair, and check my email and various blogs over a glass of iced coffee. Jesse and I treated yesterday as a holiday, foregoing all of those new years resolutions that we spelled out for each other over the past week: eat healthier, exercise more (or in my case at all), hang pictures and artwork in the apartment, and establish a budget! He went for a run with Brian in the afternoon and then we picked up burritos for dinner. Afterward, we played Trivial Pursuit with Anna and Brian and a bunch of their friends for hours. I found out that Anna loves trivia games just as much as I do, so it was a treat playing on her team (even though we totally sucked for the first half of the game). It was awesome! Oh and we woke up to what looked like a blizzard last night around 1am. I thought it was a dream, but this morning the ground and roads were covered with white -- probably around 2 inches. Luckily, the sun is out and should melt it all away.

After marveling at the white roads and rooftops this morning, I sat in my chair and checked the news, blogs, etc. to the warm glow of my Christmas present from Jesse. When I came up short on ideas for things that I wanted/needed this year, he suggested that we splurge a little on a nice lamp for the living room instead of scouring Craigslist for the next two months. I thought that was an awesome idea and we set out on one of our snow days two weeks ago to browse in some of the really neat shops in the Pearl District. We found the perfect lamp in a furniture store about 8 blocks from our apartment. As an even sweeter deal, the store was having a 50% off sale, so I am now the happy owner of a pair of awesome lamps. The other is on my "desk" in the bedroom.

About halfway through my coffee, I decided to buckle down and start tackling one of the major resolutions -- starting a Portland budget. Fortunately, we planned on having our budget blown to smithereens during the move and saved accordingly. We both have done a pretty good job of being frugal with only a fraction of the monthly income that we had in D.C. However, it's a new year with new rules and if I'm ever going to get that house, yard, and dog, we're going to need to start building our savings again (rather than raiding it slowly each month to meet expenses).

Luckily, I did a lot of the legwork last January when Jesse and I decided to start budgeting for the first time to save for our move. I'm already very familiar with Quicken and I still have all of my budgeting spreadsheet templates with formulas and categories ready to go. Still, we're working with a vastly different income and like a lot of people this year, we are having to trim down a bit to stay within our means. I'm happy to find that based on my calculations for the next three or four months (that's really all I can plan for with my future employment situation still up in the air) we'll be able to meet a reasonable budget with a little left over for savings. However, our dining and discretionary budgets have taken quite the hit, so some days sticking to our limits will not be easy.

With the budget vetted by Jesse and our first cash purchases of the year recorded on our 2009 budget spreadsheet, I feel relieved to know that we are getting back on track after nearly five months of wandering. It took a lot longer than we planned, but that's okay. We're not just settling anymore. Portland really feels like home.

Christmas Eve

About 20 minutes after this post, I crawled in bed and passed out. I think it was a combination of the beer, stress, and constant squeezing of my butt cheeks for nearly eight hours on the drive down to Grants Pass. Even after we had cleared the snow and ice, I was still on the edge of my seat. I didn't have the strength to think about what we were going to do next. I just wanted sleep.

Then, at 3am I woke up and my brain started spinning. I thought about our ride the previous day and what we might have to go through again to get over the Siskiyou Pass. The thought of driving for another 4 hours in ice and snow terrified me. I woke up J (after rolling around) and told him that I didn't think I could do it. We agreed then and there that we wouldn't go through the pass unless it was relatively clear and realized that we might not make it to California after all. Then, I realized that I was starving (probably why I woke up in the first place), so we had snacks in bed and went back to sleep around 5am.

J woke up around 8am and went to get a new tires and to call his parents to tell them the bad news. The worst part of all was that we couldn't make it to California, but we also couldn't go back home to Portland because of another front that was dumping snow on the city again. The thought of spending Christmas in Grants Pass, Oregon made me cry, but the alternative (driving over the pass) made me cry even harder.

We had to check out at 11am, so we nibbled at breakfast, did a lot of sighing, and decided to drive around town a bit before making our final decision. While I was checking out, the lady at the front desk asked where we were headed and tears welled up in my eyes. (I'm sure I looked like death since I had only slept about 4 hours the night before and spent most of my morning in tears.) I told her our situation and she immediately started searching on the internet for alternate routes and weather conditions. She found that U.S. Route 199 was pretty clear and a little warmer and travels through the valley so was relatively flat. I thanked her profusely and ran out to the parking lot to tell J that we might have a chance.

He was on the phone with his mom and told her he had to go because we were going to try once again. We hopped in the car and were on the road again, this time heading west towards the coast. US 199 didn't feel unsafe at all and was quite a beautiful drive. The area had gotten snow overnight, but the temperatures were high enough to prevent it from sticking on the road.

Once we reached California, the snow vanished and we were feeling pretty good. I had never really seen giant Redwood trees before, so when we entered into the Redwood State Park I made J pull over. They probably come close to some of the most glorious things I have ever seen (or ever will see). Given our day with the snow, it was also amazing to finally see grass, and dirt, and pools of water! We took a brief moment to walk around and have a mini celebration for making it out of Grants Pass. At that point, I knew we would make it to Santa Cruz in time for Christmas, and even if we didn't, I was so glad that we wouldn't spend another night in the snow.

The rest of the drive was long and tedious. The sky dumped rain all the way from Eureka to Ukiah, which consisted of nearly all two-lane winding roads. Past Ukiah, the rain didn't really let up, but at least we hit the freeway and had a buffer from the oncoming traffic's lights. At least we didn't have to think once about having to use our "ice scraper" or the rest of the kitty litter in our back seat at any point on the second half of our journey. We arrived in Santa Cruz around 11:30pm on Christmas Eve, bringing our total driving time to around 17 hours over the course of two harrowing days. However, we were greeted by the whole family with smiles and a warm fire and delicious crab cakes made fresh for our hungry bellies.

Icy Hell

Today we decided to make a break for it. We had approximately one day of dry weather to get through Oregon before another snowstorm ruined the city again. Before leaving, we checked all of the necessary websites, walked over to the interstate, and talked over our options. We both agreed that the road looked a lot better than yesterday and if we could make it past Salem before dusk we'd be in the clear.

The 44 miles between Portland and Salem was a nightmare. We drove an average of 3 mph in ruts created by cars over the course of two days. In between the ruts were 6" mounds of ice and snow that were impassible unless you were driving a dump truck or a Hummer. Turning around was not really an option, given that we were stuck in the rut and the thought of driving in it again to get home made me want to die.

Literally 3 minutes south of Salem the roads were bone dry and there was not a spot of snow in sight. It was smooth sailing to Eugene where we stopped for dinner and picked up beer for a toast later -- a toast to making it through and to remember that we never want to do this again. We were feeling so good about the conditions that we decided to push ahead until Medford and make the Siskiyou Pass in the morning after sunrise. Perhaps our celebration was a little premature.

Exactly 3 miles north of Grants Pass we got a flat tire. We immediately called AAA, but J was able to put on our spare and we didn't need to be towed. Good thing too, because we would have waited at least 90 minutes for a truck. AAA was great and gave us the name of a tire shop in Grants Pass and a list of hotels just down the street. So now, we're kicking up our feet at a Comfort Inn with our beer. I'm glad to be on firm ground and the free wi-fi is a bonus.

Actually, I'm not really feeling like getting in a car ever again, so we might just live at the Comfort Inn until the March thaw. I mean, Grants Pass is not nearly as hip as Portland, but they have a McDonalds and a local motel/grill/bar. What more could a young couple want from a home? The hotel room has a mini-fridge and continental breakfast, so we're set. I'm sure I could learn to cook with the iron and hairdryer.

Too bad they don't serve sedatives in the morning with the stale bagels.

Monday: Buried Car Edition

This weekend it snowed like Portland is supposed to rain in the winter -- steadily and for days. We are just lucky to have gobs of the stuff because of the freakishly low temperatures. It hasn't gotten above 25 in three days. This morning I looked out our living room window and saw a lot of cars that have been partially buried from the the weather over the course of two days. In the case of Irving Street, this particular car has been covered by fallen snow, not snow pushed over from a plow. Plows have not touched the side streets.

As far as snow accumulation goes, we had 6 inches by Saturday and freezing rain dropped all night, so by Sunday there was about a 1/2 inch of ice on top of everything. Yesterday afternoon it snowed pretty hard, adding another 2 inches or so, and judging from the trees and our windowsills, I'd say we got another 2-3 inches last night. So that puts us in the neighborhood of 9-12 inches over the course of the weekend.

The snow crunches when you walk on it and shoots out giant icebergs wherever you step. Both Jesse and I were pretty tired of staring at each other yesterday afternoon and decided to go take a walk and check out the rest of the city. In my experience last week, our neighborhood tended to be a little worse (snow-wise) than the rest of the city. We stopped at the car first to ogle the accumulation and played around a bit with the giant sheets of ice.

I was wrong, the rest of the city looked pretty much like our neighborhood. However, we weren't the only ones walking around. The Pearl district had quite a few people out and about, shopping in the stores that decided to open in the afternoon. I think everyone was outside to witness this freak weather. Also, for many people, I think they woke up and thought "Oh Shit!" realizing that Christmas is a mere 3 days away. The snow falling was quite pretty on our walk.

Interstate-405, on the other hand, was very not pretty. It was caked with just about as much snow as the rest of the streets in town. Let's hope that they got some plows and salt trucks out there last night. There were definitely cars driving down the highway, but it was pretty slow going -- even for the giant 4-wheel drive trucks.

Last night we decided that if there was any hope of us getting out of here to drive down to Santa Cruz for Christmas that we'd have to clean off the car and shovel out the wheels. We borrowed a snow shovel from our apartment building and went to work after dinner. It took about an hour, but I feel pretty confident that it gave us a fighting chance of getting our car out of it's parking spot should a patch of good weather permit us to leave.

Saturday Snow Day

It snowed again today, but this time we at least have something to show for the hype -- six inches to be exact, as of 10pm this evening. It pretty much snowed steadily all day, which meant we stayed inside except to take a walk to the grocery store. J felt a little stir crazy and decided to take a run in the snow. I think photos best describe the afternoon:
















This was on our first walk of the afternoon. We stopped by the car to see the accumulation (only an inch or two at that point) and headed to Trader Joes for a few odds and ends to complete dinner.






































J brought our camera on his snow run up the hill. He was gone for about an hour and came back caked in ice. With icicles hanging off my eyebrows, I think I would have been miserable, but he seemed to love it.

















We took another walk around 10pm (after a round of Trivial Pursuit and a movie) to check up on the snow accumulation. I was pretty surprised at how much had actually fallen. It was well over my ankles standing on the sidewalk.

















Yep, six inches exactly.






























J (always the romantic) scribbled his and my name in the snow.

Friday Snow Day

Today's snow wasn't nearly as bad as earlier in the week, but we woke up again to white streets, covered trees, and big puffy flakes. The Oregon Historical Society was closed again for inclement weather and driving to Salem for research didn't seem like a very good idea. So, we both worked a little this morning, made a list of errands we needed to run, and headed downtown. We stopped by the library to drop off a few books and picked up another audiobook for our drive to Santa Cruz next week. George Pelecanos (writer of The Wire) has been a favorite so far, not only because he writes great stories, but also because they're mostly set in D.C. I also picked up a book on gift wrapping with fabric and can't wait to try out my skills with the Christmas presents we picked up yesterday.

After the library we both decided that we were starving. Luckily, we were right around the corner from Pioneer Square where there are at least a dozen food carts with just about any type of cuisine you could imagine. They have Vietnamese food, Russian, German, lots of Asian noodle places, taco/burrito carts, a Greek food place, etc. We have passed the carts several times since we moved here and they always smell really delicious. Apparently, there are food carts all over Portland with an even larger variety of food selection than what's found downtown. I'm pretty excited to sample them all!

Jesse initially thought he'd get a Vietnamese soup, but then saw the Euro Dish cart that is best described as Polish soul food. Today, I had my heart set on noodles and decided to try out Pad Thai from the cart next door. My Pad Thai was tasty, but not the best ever. However, I think I got about 4 pounds of food for $5 and it totally hit the noodles spot in my belly.

Jesse got the Kopytka plate, which is beef goulash with potato dumplings and two side salads. He also got a slice of Vienna-style chocolate cheese cake, which was fabulous. The goulash was incredibly tasty and it was one of those stick-to-your-ribs meals that are totally necessary on a cold, grey, snowy day. We're definitly going back to the food carts downtown, but next time we're going to order the Polish Plate with hunter's stew (Bigos), beef stuffed cabbage (Golabki), three pierogis, and a Kielbasa sausage. I also want to try the pork schnitzel sandwich and the Chicken Paprikash.

After lunch, we shopped around a bit for Christmas gifts and stopped home to kick up our feet. Now, with bellies full, we're off to purchase a set of tire chains (required when driving through most of Oregon during the winter), and a few groceries to get us through the weekend. I can hardly believe that December is almost over -- I think 2008 has been the quickest year ever.

Beating the Snow Day Blues

I wasn't the only one on 19th Avenue who was feeling a little blue yesterday. Jesse's meetings in Portland were all cancelled and he didn't have a lot of actual work to do either. Instead of moping around the house all day, we got dressed and decided to take a walk in the snow. In the late morning the snowflakes were giant and puffy and with the temperature just hovering at freezing, it wasn't nearly as cold as earlier this week. Our walk was really nice, especially since it's the most exercise we've gotten in quite a few days. Between travelling and the icy sidewalks around Portland, running has not been in the cards.

I also had an ulterior motive for our late-morning walk. This past weekend I finally finished that secret sewing project that involved many circles and a little bourbon. The mystery project was a baby quilt for our friends Anna and Brian who are expecting an addition to their household in February. I finished a bulk of the quilt when Jesse was in Florida for three days in November, but didn't get around to the binding until Sunday. As with every project that I complete, I have been itching to give it to them the moment it was completed. Yesterday was Anna's birthday, and unfortunately she had to spend the morning working at the coffee shop. So, we decided to stop by for a hot drink, a chat, and drop it off to her then.

While trying to come up with ideas for a design, I was initially going to do a patchwork quilt similar to the one I made for Ava. However, I decided that I wanted to do something a little different and this was the perfect excuse to start a mini test project. I have been excited about incorporating circles into future designs and wanted to see if a) I could handle curved piecing and b) whether they would turn out looking anything like circles. I have to say, I'm pretty happy -- it's not perfect, but really, no quilt ever is.

This is the fourth quilt that I've completed and I'm still not sure whether it's more fun accomplishing another design, or giving the final product away. It feels pretty darn good to take a step back and think about the quilt from the beginning pieces to that final stitch. However, since I've only kept one for myself, I suppose it's the latter.

Congratulations, Anna and Brian!

Snow Day Blues

When I was a kid, the prospect of a snow day was the best thing in the world. It was better than spring break and even better than fresh cookies after school. Why? I have no clue. I guess the prospect of getting to skip school was thrilling to me -- even though I knew very well that we'd have to make up the skipped days at the end of the year, thus cutting into my precious summer vacation. We didn't get very many snow days in Georgia or North Carolina, but in New Jersey there were snow days aplenty (especially around my birthday).

Sunday night we experienced our first winter storm in Portland. It was beautiful, but really cold (with the high this week not even reaching 30 degrees). I also learned on Sunday that Portland is not really prepared for snow, as they didn't really salt any of the streets until after they had turned into continuous sheets of ice. Most of the sidewalks are pretty treacherous too. Monday evening Jesse and I went out for a walk and were amazed at how many cars were zipping around town without chains on their tires and skidding and swerving whenever they tried to slow down.

(The video above is from a snowstorm last year, but is a pretty accurate depiction of how crazy people are in this city for driving on roads that are covered in a 1/4" of ice.)

As an adult, the prospect of a snow day should be even cooler. You get a day off from work, but don't have to make it up at the end of the year. Of course, the work you had to do on the snow day still has to be completed, but for one day you can kick back and enjoy the white fluffy stuff with a cup of hot tea and a good movie. That is, except when you are a part-time employee and time is precious. I would be absolutely thrilled about the snow if I didn't have so much work to do before Christmas! So far, the snow has prevented me from going to Salem for a much-needed site visit and all of the libraries that contain things that I need are closed again today. I'm ready to pull out my hair.

Jesse encouraged me to treat today as a "weekend" and take care of personal tasks before we head down to California for Christmas (like making a packing list and gathering together our presents and wrapping them). It's going to be difficult, but I have been pretty excited about the fabrics I purchased to wrap Christmas gifts this year. We're going to try and make it a "no disposable wrapping" holiday, so I have a few things to sew this week!

Ahh Home Again

Friday night, we all decorated gingerbread houses (we've been doing it for over 10 years) and it finally started to feel like Christmas. It's hard to feel festive when the weather is 60 degrees and sunny. This year, since my parents are in an apartment until their house is finished, they didn't get a Christmas tree, so the gingerbread houses were the only decoration.

We also picked up our dog, Coco, from the vet where she was boarded while we were in Charleston and Savannah. It was great to spend some time with her before we left. She's and old lady now, so all of the excitement of other dogs wore her out. She mostly slept and hung out on the sidelines on Friday and Saturday morning.

We travelled back to Portland on Saturday from my parent's place in Florida and breathed a huge sigh when we walked in the door. Although we had a wonderful vacation with my family, it was nice to come home and sit in my chair, sleep in our bed, and eat at our table. We also came home to an arctic blast that has caused the temperatures here in Portland to linger in the mid 20s -- I was pretty much assured by numerous people that it never gets this cold in Portland, and snow is a rarity. Yesterday, we were pleasantly surprised to wake up to big puffy flakes. Finally, it feels like the holidays.

We took a walk yesterday just before sunset to pick up some basic food items -- our milk went sour while we were gone, so I was forced to put ice cream in my coffee for breakfast Sunday morning. Our walk was cold and very, very icy. I was shocked that the streets hadn't been salted at all. This morning the roads look like a nightmare, all of the black that you see (that looks like melted snow) is really just a giant sheet of ice. It certainly is pretty, though.

I'm glad I made a giant pot of chili to keep us warm for the next couple of days. I think the cold will linger for a little while.