Well, now we’ve done it. It’s Saturday morning and the snow god has raised his head inn Portland (PDX). The wind is howling, the trees are whipping around as if they are telling the birds not to land, the squirrels not to invade. Snow is swirling about, the flakes are big as marbles yet light as a feather. Our bright red Weber barbecue offers a splash of color that is shocking, everything else turning white.
I must say I’m impressed by the ferociousness of the scene. This feeling will diminish if the lights go out which is a distinct possibility, isn’t it? The neighborhood hardware store may see us today. We might need stuff. And it it continues, which it surely will if predictions hold weight, we may spend the day and night under down comforters as we worry about the tree in the neighbor’s yard falling down. You can actually see what way the wind blows.
Are we prepared? In a word, no. However, this too shall pass. If it gets too bad I.e. no power, we can find a hotel. And as I ponder the storm, why does PDX have a homeless problem? This is not a good place to live under an overpass.
One thing PDX and the state of Oregon have is water. On our way over the pass that separates the ocean from inland, we followed a river, full to its banks with water hellbent to reach the Pacific Ocean. It was quite lovely to see the difference between then and now, California v Oregon. Everything is green here because of the life-affirming rain and snow. Now rather than worrying about the cows in a field of stubble, the cows braving the heat in a field with not a tree for shade, I can worry about the lambs and the llamas freezing to death.
Speaking of lamb, there are three lamb shanks in the refrigerator that I will cook if the power stays on. So there is that.
Rayman just retrieved one of our wicker chairs. It got blown off the porch and onto the stairs leading up to the front door. Then he let Beau out in the backyard and Beau seemed mystified at first and then scrambled back in to the comfort of the house. Not sure how we are going to deal with the “walk”.
It suddenly strikes me life will not be ordinary here. And that is okay. I’m grateful for the opportunity. Tamara, our daughter-in-law came for dinner last night. Ryan, number one son, is in Utah having his own winter experience on the slopes, skiing down snow-clad mountains. He will have a hard time returning home with this weather. And then I remember the time we took him and a friend skiing in Utah and we stayed one night on the way in Elko, NV which was 37 degrees below zero. It was a trip for the ages.
Yesterday I spent time on the computer arranging DMV appointments, changing addresses, and all that comes with a change of venue. We emptied three suitcases, dusted out drawers, rearranged clothes. The one thing we really screwed up was losing track of our important papers. Where they are is a mystery. A mystery of moving. POD 1? POD 2? They clearly are not here and, of course, we need them. POD 1 arrives on the 15th at the kids house. Unloading in this weather will not happen if I have any say in the matter. Although I suppose one could argue that snow is better than rain for a cloth couch. We’ll see.
Rayman seems happy. “It is what it is”, he remarked when I asked him if he was happy. And who can forget our first RV trip? I’ll put in the info in case you did forget that debacle. It was a hoot.
Oh, and then there was this trip (just click the link) : snowed-in
More to come as Mother Nature does her thing.
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