The rumors you’ve been hearing are true. A short week after coming home from Hawaii, snow came to Portland. And it stayed. And snowed a little more. And froze. And stayed. And snowed more.
It’s been over a week since my car’s made it out of the driveway and off our street. I finally got to live the “no car” life I’ve always supported and admired. Learned rather quickly that I’m too independent (aka lazy and bull headed) to rely on sporadic buses and hiking.
With all the hassle came the expected excitement and bonding with strangers. Life time residents couldn’t recall a time since 60s or 70s since Portland has seen so much snow. When I first heard about the snow, I stocked up at the grocery store. A measly 3 or 4 days later I flunked my end-of-the-world training. No reservoir of frozen goodies or canned goods left me eating freezer-burned edamame and odd concoctions over the past few days. Thank goodness for friends, as they lured me out of my snow cave for restaurant food and Christmas Eve festivities (which included home cooked goodness).
And the rationing paid off. I had exactly one can of Clam Chowder, potatoes, crab meat and 1/2 can of milk to prepare a traditional Christmas chowder for Kyle and myself. (Actually, my dad always made Oyster Stew but, like I said, I got an F on storm stock piling.)
Now I’m hooked on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and excited for tomorrow. Long walks to the post office, brunch downtown with friends, a walk in the park and time at the studio to work on New Year’s cards. A perfect day post-holiday to kill the stircrazy and burn off some cookies.
Thanks to everyone for their well wishes, messages and cards. I’m going to be doing my best to wrap up my holiday project in time for New Year’s or the Epiphany. So for now, Merry Christmas. Safe travels. Long laughs. And lots of love.
