Snow Day!

As suspected, that balmy 51 degree evening was but a prelude to snow and ice. Not that I'm complaining mind you, just… noting. Never trust spring weather on winter nights!! Ellie and I left the church around 12:45 and it was starting to snow/rain, and I figured we would have plenty of time to go Ashland for some groceries real quick. By the time we reached Ashland, the snow was sticking. By the time we got out of the store, there was a substantial accumulation. By the time we got home, we couldn't even make it up the hill, make less the driveway. So, we got to hike through the snow in our church clothes, hauling groceries and water! Fortunately, there were warm pajamas and fuzzy socks when we reached the house, along with tomato soup with lots of cheese and bread. Rob came and got us several hours later and we went to the youth center to hang out, but first we went on a tour to see what had fallen where. Here's a picture of the church:

Rob and Co. dropped me off at the bottom of my hill around 9:30 and I got to trek through 4-5" of freezing and frozen snow. It was absolutely gorgeous. The city lights were reflecting off the clouds and the snow and there was none of the noise from the freeway that you can usually hear all the time. In fact, it was so quiet that when a plane took off later in the evening I nearly jumped out of my skin! This morning I didn't go in to work until 11. Here's what it looked like in the daylight:

That's down the driveway. Here are a couple other shots. Note the LOTS AND LOTS of snow on the SUV:

On my way home from Peter and Marie's house tonight, I could see the beginnings of the ice forming where the snow has melted across the road. It was kinda cool but a little scary to feel my car start to drift a little to the right without my permission. According to the National Weather Service, we're supposed to be getting another day or so of snow and then the rest of the week is going to be snow and rain. Can I get a "woot woot?" I'm really enjoying the change in my attitude towards driving in this nastiness (which is the worst in recent memory) from sweaty, shaking terror to slightly keyed up calm. Strangely enough, the snow and slush sliding doesn't bother me nearly as much as the ice. Maybe it's because my brain translates the snow to a potential barrier to keep me from just sliding off the road or down the hill.

Take care, all, and I hope your weeks are going well, strange weather and all (I've heard rumors about nastiness in CA as well)!