http://www.jameswashere.net "The internet is a place where absolutely nothing happens. You need to take advantage of that." ~Strong Bad http://www.jameswashere.net/index.php?id=382 http://www.jameswashere.net/index.php?id=382 James was...listening to a puppy complain about being kennel trained...when he wrote this The first test of navigating in the snow around our new home was a tough one: the maximum depth I measured during the past week was 12.5 inches. That includes a lot of settling, since mid-week I measured 11 inches, and about 6 more inches fell after that. It started falling Saturday evening, as we came back from taking a ferry to Port Townsend to visit one of Kerry’s aunts. The hill on our driveway was the biggest challenge, but we found if the snow was packed down and we hit it at 20 mph, we could just about coast to the top. Meanwhile, one of the neighbors found out 4-wheel drive and knobby tires aren’t a substitute for driving smartly. I don’t know how he unstuck himself, but there was ample evidence the next time I passed that he had stopped just short of sliding into the creek and had plenty of trouble getting back on the driveway. The main roads were generally sufficiently plowed and sanded, however, and most of the other drivers I encountered seemed competent. That was a pleasant surprise compared to living in Lynnwood. Last year, in the first 5 minutes on the road the first time it snowed, I avoided being hit once due to luck and a second time by getting out of the way of an out of control truck. During the second snowfall, my normal route to work was impassable; Six lanes of traffic and a bus stop were all blocked by three buses and who knows how many cars that had all attempted the same hill without chains. Interestingly, Tuesday, when the heaviest snowfall occurred, was the best commute I’ve ever had. Despite needing to drive a little slower, the lack of other drivers meant far fewer red lights and no boneheads to deal with. I think it was actually a couple minutes faster than normal, which really more than anything tells you how poorly programmed the traffic lights in Snohomish County are. Meanwhile, our new fireplace proved its worth. Our power went out yesterday while we were at work, and although we had very little dry firewood, it warmed the downstairs up nicely in lieu of the heat pump. Power was restored after a little over a day. Capping off a busy week, Kerry finally talked me into getting a dog. One of her clients found a family with a good litter of 8 week old yellow labs that had three females left. We named her Eliza Doolittle. That cat is dealing with it surprisingly well. http://www.jameswashere.net/gallery/ Clicking on the link will take you to the photo gallery. A new page showing all photos sorted by date is in the works