Ok, I take it back…
In my last post, I complained that the snow was not a big deal, even though the city was making it so. I now admit this snow has been considerable, even by Minnesotan standards. For over a week it has continually snowed. Each day would bring a few more inches. We live at a lower elevation, and even we got about a foot of snow in total.
Amazingly, this city is still going strong. I figured everything would be shut down by now (if they hadn't already from Day 1), but a lot of the shops and restaurants seem to be open. I suspect it has something to do with it being so close to Christmas and the economy already being in the tank, but I'm not complaining - all the more reason to get out of the house! With so many of our usual activities cancelled, Zoe and I were suffering from complete cabin fever, so any excuse to walk over to the store was a good one. On Saturday, Mike slapped the chains onto the car (mandatory now, with a BIG fine if you get caught driving without them), and we headed downtown. The stores were, naturally, packed, but the streets were so unbelievably quiet. It was so peaceful, and Mike and I just took in the beauty of the snow and calm. And here we had thought we left white Christmases behind when we moved to Portland.
Now we just need PDX to be back in full swing so that Mom can fly in from Beijing on Wednesday...
Winter Storm Watch? Gimme a break…
I grew up in Minnesota, so snow was, well, snow. Here, snow is an event. It started a few days ago when the weather people announced snow would be imminent for the Portland metro area. People rushed to the tire centers to have studded tires put on their cars, and for days it sounded as though everyone had rocks stuck in their tires. As if that weren't annoying enough, the meteorologists were right; the snow began to fall (and actually stick to the ground) around 7 this morning. Newscasters announced road and highway closures and warned viewers to avoid driving. Chains are now mandatory if you do have to drive somewhere. But this isn't what irks me. What bothered me to no end was that we missed regular programming because all the broadcast stations felt it necessary to provide continued coverage of the snow. Winter Storm Watch 2008. Cue daunting music. So instead of our Sunday morning ritual of watching CBS Sunday Morning, followed by NBC's Meet the Press, we were subjected to the repeated images and reports of stuck and/or abandoned cars, snowy backdrops, and power crews. Ironically, we were relieved of the madness when our power went out shortly after 10...