SNOW!!!

Portland has not had more than an inch of snow on December 25th since 1884. It's currently the 24th and I have about 16" sitting on the ground outside my window. News reports say there is over a foot of snow downtown making this the biggest winter storm in Portland in 28 years. According to PGE, there are currently about 54,000 without power in their service area, they have already returned power to 200,000 homes. WHOA. It's awesome. I've never seen snow like this in the city, it looks like what the roads normally looks like as you drive by government camp up on Mt. Hood in the winter.

We have been without a meeting for about two weeks now if we don't count the bookstudy we managed to have in the first week. It's sad. Funny, though, our bookstudy conductor mentioned we can just imagine being under ban and onloy being able to meet in someone's home once every couple of weeks. :)

We are getting a bit stir crazy though. Alot of people are either working from home, or just not working. Alot of peopel I have talked to have been baking, cooking, cleaning and doing just about anything to keep busy. The roads are bad, but if you have chains on it's really fine. The snow and ice buildup is so high on the roads, that if you try to change lanes in some areas, your car will bottom out... that is IF you can get out of the ruts cut into the snowpack. I tried to get out of one yesterday and it was seriously like trying to drive up onto a curb.

Anyway, I have been one of those that have basically just been cooking. It serves two purposes, 1) for food, and 2) to heat my apartment which is about the same temperature as it is outside... sometimes colder in teh mornings (it is currently 28 outside, but it "feels" like 22 according to the weather channel). It's actually fun being all bundled up and wearing a scarf and a peat coat in here. I jsut imagine I'm an eskimo that dresses really light and I make fun of the other eskimos who need to wear their parkas for being sissy's.

Anyway, i was going to wait until the snow is gone to post this, but it doesn't seem like it is going to let out anytime soon, so here ya go. Updates will follow.

Outside my front door. The coloring always gets weird when I do these panoramas.. i don't know why...

Little bird tracks on my front step.

Bob and Sue's backyard in Hillsboro. Especially weird as hillsboro usually get's the least amount of snow in Portland.

really bad pics taken with my phone... but that is Khaden and Jonathan sledding

This is Jonathan sledding

It's all about original NES and Supaer Mario 3!

My car after the first snowfall.

Yes, that is just from one night.

With Pyper. He's wearing a diaper cuz he keeps marking his territory at Bob and Sue's house. He's realyl self-concious and embarassed about wearing it.

cooking breakfast

Snowshoeing in the ministry, good job Derek... now... did you really go out?

The drive up the hil to my apartment. You need a good running start... not that easy when you have little kids sledding down this hill and you almost kill them on your way up.

Those icicles are longer than 6'

My back balcony

snow, freezing rain, snow, freezing rain. created interesting layers of snow, then ice, then snow then ice. Here is jonathan throwing sheets of ice at things.

Downtown pics

Photobooth pics at the Ace Hotel