{not yet} Six Feet Under

In three weeks, Spokane received a record five feet of snow for the month of December, and now I've seen enough distressed plowing trucks on the side of the road to turn my heart to the prowling, I mean plowing, yellow CATs. Prior to Christmas month I was ignorant, having only a mere appreciation for snow plows, but my feelings quickly matured and blossomed into love, yes, even before Spring - the season that brings about twitterpation. Just before snowfall reached two feet, I was leaving the house in the studded snow tire outfitted, four-wheel drive suburban when a knight in yellow armor came to clear the berm at end of the driveway. Oh, the savior of my hips, as I haven't yet managed to safely navigate the driveway on foot, and doing so while shoveling is even more a feat. My tribute to the city workers and volunteers that make my driving possible.

A funny thing has happened to me - acclimation. When I moved here I was sad that temperatures dipped into the 50s at night because that meant I couldn't convince too many people to go camping. However, now 50 degrees is quite a warm, unheard of, and uncomfortable winter day, not to mention the slush that would pour into the roads and sidewalks (though I am getting to experience the slushiness this week with temperatures in the 30s). Anyway, so going to D.C. for a week was like changing seasons with temperatures hardly going below freezing. So, I've come to like the cold weather which is good since this winter is filled with storms of late. Living in an area with a change of seasons is new to me and I quite like it. In fact, I think to have anything less breaks off a piece of my smile.
I like to count my life in terms of experiences and a new one for me today was snowshoeing. With snow shoes on in this type of snow [that I cannot describe or name because I have yet to be introduced to snow vocabulary other than the word berm], you do not stay completely atop. However, one benefit is that you do not sink all the way down and have to push your mid and/or upper body through the snow. Is this making any sense? Someone said it's like walking in the ocean, but somehow that was a lot easier for me... oh well, sandcastles - igloos. I enjoyed it though we hardly went any distance. It was more of "let's just try this because neither of us have gone" than to get a good workout or to go exploring.

In line with the weather yet again is my return to knitting. While visiting my parents, I retrieved my small stash of knitting materials and have since made a beanie that merits a generous B- and a coaster that gets an A. I feel ashamedly accomplished. My latest knitting adventures include wool socks!! Wool socks from a store are quite expensive, so knitting them is permitted within my budget. It falls under the areas of entertainment and necessities as my toes get quite cold tromping about. On a side note, the eldest of the boys I nanny has requested that I teach him to knit. As I am only an amateur this will be difficult for us both.




Some video from Christmas Holiday in Washington, D.C. with my parents, sister, and brother-in-law.

Brad and Julie thought they were taking a photograph.

More adventures at the bowling alley.