Snow!

For those of you living in the midwest or the east coast or the mountains, snow is no big deal. It snows several feet every year and you just deal with it and life goes on (I know--I grew up in Chicago). Your schools are in session, NBC actually airs regularly scheduled daytime television, and going to the grocery store isn't considered an "adventure." For those of us here in "the valley" in the Pacific Northwest, snow is a big deal. We're used to it on the mountain and you gear up when you're heading up to ski or snowboard, but when snow falls on our front yards, we kind of don't know what to do with ourselves. There are only a handful of snowplows in the city of Portland, so even a few inches can (and does) shut down the whole city. Plus our snow is almost always teetering on sleet or freezing rain, so the thin layer of ice below the snow is legitimately dangerous. So, our schools have not been in session for over a week, NBC has aired nothing but coverage of "Arctic Blast 2008" for the last seven days, and you stock your car for a trip to the grocery store "just in case."

But here's the great thing about snow being an anomoly: we never get over how beautiful it is. The whole world just seems quiet and peaceful, and we have watched with genuine amazement and delight as the big fat flakes have fallen and fallen. We have 8-10 inches out there right now, and the forecast doesn't show signs of letting up or warming up anytime soon. Portland may actually have a white Christmas this year, which is just fine with the Olmsted's. We're loving every minute of it :)