The Iceman continue to cometh... and I've had about enough

And once more, with feeling. Just when we thought things would return to some semblance of normality following last week's snow, another storm system dropped 1"-3" of snow in and around Seattle. Here's a shot of the hill where we've been parking.


Note the jack-knifed articulated bus. It was sanded and down to bare pavement late last night. But by this morning, ice had reformed just under the snow, making the commute a slow go. That sounds like a radio/TV traffic report, doesn't it? Old habits resurfacing, I guess. :-) The side streets to our house are still covered in ice, so this shot was taken right next to where I left my car on the main drag. After moving to a house with a carport, it's been a while since we've had to scrape our windshields. But like riding a bike, the muscle memory (and shoulder strain) came right back. :-) It helped that J., ever the romantic, bought matching "gifts" last night: a couple cans of de-icer with built-in scrapers for the two of us. :-)

So heading into a second week of snow and ice, (take note, because you will not likely hear this heat/sun lover say/type this again): I can't wait for the rain to return. Pains me even to type it, but it's true. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go heat up a beverage, put on some more fleece and turn the heat up a skosh: I like it warm enough to grow orchids under my bed when the dog and I curl up with a good book.

Snow pix

We hiked out to retrieve our abandoned cars today and got some pictures of the area around our house and the side streets, which are awful.

We managed to reverse our walks home last night without eating it on the ice. Thanks to sunny skies today and sanded main streets, we were able to get both cars moved within a couple blocks of the house for easy access tomorrow for work.

You may be thinking (Or not. But play along.), "Why not just take the bus?" Well, we live in a relatively hilly area with an "express" route bus that runs up and down the hill a couple blocks from our house every 20-30 minutes and takes 40-45 minutes to get to downtown on a good day. Downtown is 10 miles away. The snow route calls for that bus to run on another, flatter main roadway about a 15-20 minute walk from our house. Supposedly there are chained shuttles plying the rest of the route, but I didn't hear or see a one today.

So could I bundle up and hoof it down there and hope I time it right so that I don't have to wait in the frigid air for very long, while becoming cold and clammy from the sweat I worked up getting there? Oh sure. But I think I'll try my luck driving on the quickly clearing main roads. But one near-face plant on the ice on the way to my car may change my mind. :-)

Looking at the shot of our patio carpeted in snow, I so long for the warmth of summer, or heck, even fall, which is when Isis and I hung out on the patio for the picture below. Just five and a half months until summer. Tick tock...