In between storms -

The sun came out this morning, not for long enough to melt all the ice off the streets and sidewalks, but certainly enough to be cheering. I went for a long walk, for exercise and errands, and was happy to catch a bus home. Walking carefully on icy slushy streets is very tiring.

We're snow wimps here. It's all those hills, and our usually mild climate - no need for snowplows and sanding trucks during winter rains. An inch or two of snow shuts down everything, especially when the temperature drops enough to freeze the not-quite-melted slush.

Z's office closed at noon yesterday, and did not reopen today. Nevertheless, the Messiah went on as planned (with a much-reduced chorale and orchestra, and a small but hardy audience well rewarded for its fortitude.) Four performances to go.

More snow is coming tomorrow and Sunday. Today an e-mail announced that church is entirely closed this Sunday - a wise decision, since the building sits at the top of a steep hill.

This is not a black-and-white photo...

Snow has fallen all day, and now that it's getting dark, and colder, the slush is going to freeze. Buses are running very late, if at all (also not going up or down hills) and freeway ramps are treacherous.

L. made it safely to the airport, but her plane was delayed, and she is now stuck in Las Vegas, trying to get home if she can't go on to Florida.

Choir rehearsals for tonight and Saturday afternoon canceled - as is the Sunday morning program. First time THAT has happened in my 30+ years in the choir (including a couple when we mushed through snow to get to church on time. But with the weather that's predicted for the weekend, it's the wisest decision.

Here's Sparky, checking out this morning's snow -



- and there she went!

Thunder! Snow!

Really! About 5:30 this morning we had two huge rolling reverberating thunderclaps, loud enough to send Sparky dashing for cover. Snow, which began falling around 4:30, was just beginning to accumulate.

Two weather systems colliding, says the meteorologist. Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

"Thundersnow also known as a winter thunderstorm or a thunder snowstorm is a rare thunderstorm with snow falling as the primary precipitation instead of rain. It commonly falls in regions of strong upward motion within the cold sector of extratropical cyclones between autumn and spring when surface temperatures are most likely to be near or below freezing. Variations exist, such as thundersleet, where the precipitation consists of sleet rather than snow."

L. left for the airport at 5:35, walking up the hill to meet her ride. I've checked airport sites for Seatac and her arrival airport - Seatac says her flight departure is delayed, the other airport still shows it as an on-time arrival.

Sparky went out on the deck about 6, and left a random pattern of footprints. Two hours later they were completely filled in.

And it's still snowing. Later I'll go out for a walk, to give my new boots a proper workout.

Snow!

Always cause for exclamation marks around here. So far it's only sticking on top of the plant pots, but the first flakes lasted long enough for Sparky to pounce as they hit the deck.

Weather is supposed to get colder, but the forecasters are hedging about the extent and duration of the snow, unable to give precise boundaries because of the many micro-climates in Puget Sound. Only occasionally do we get a convergence of weather that brings snow everywhere.

Decorated boats are parading toward the marinas at the end of the lake, after an evening cruise. Inside it's a good night to read - I'm nearly to the end of a dense, fascinating history by David Levering Lewis called God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570 - 1215. For a tangentially related article, check out the December 4 entry on this blog - the one called "Nobody expected this!"

What is Christmas without carols?

Tomorrow night I'm going to the Symphony Chorale's Holiday Singalong, for a chance to sing Christmas music (warbling carol fragments around the house doesn't always count.)

Ordinarily the church Christmas program takes care of my need to voice the season. This year our minister decided that because December 21 (the Sunday closest to Christmas) is also the beginning of Hanukkah, the choir should sing Hanukkah music.

"A minor Jewish holiday," said our alto soloist (who is Jewish.) Her other church job is as a cantor, so she is superbly equipped for this program. We're lucky.

It's all very Unitarian. We're singing some choruses from Handel's "Judas Maccabeus," and various traditional and modern Hanukkah pieces, accompanied by a better than average pickup orchestra. Singing with an orchestra is always a treat.

But it's not Christmas music. At the risk of sounding like an old fogey (oh why not?) I reserve the right to grumble.

Meanwhile, Sparky is purring in my lap, and the Charlie Brown Christmas special is on TV. Yesterday the Sousa Band played for a Christmas festival at a community center, and while we didn't deviate from the usual program of Sousa, Carl ("the march king") King and Henry Fillmore, our Sedentary Majorette handed out bells so the audience could play along with the "Liberty (Jingle) Bell March." It was all very good fun. (Here's a photo from last year's gig.)


Now I'm going to put on "John Denver and the Muppets," and sing along to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Nothing like a good grumble to improve one's outlook!

Pike Place, revisited

My first visit to the Pike Place Market came just a week after moving to Seattle, in 1965. In those days it was threatened with demolition (the grand plan was for ring roads all the way around downtown Seattle, with huge parking lots replacing the Market, Pioneer Square and other "eyesores.")

That was then. Now the Market is a beloved and famous treasure, and even in this time of economic jitters, we just passed a bond issue to fund needed repairs and upgrades.

Although I'd hesitate to visit the Market on a summer Saturday, it's a bit less crowded in December. Christmas is coming, so the craft booths offer every imaginable gift - hand-carved boxes, jewelry of all kinds, T-shirts, baby clothes, Peruvian sweaters, organic soaps and cosmetics.

And you can still buy vegetables, on the high stalls inside, and from the organic farmers outside. Guess which picture is which?

Island holiday

Several families gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving with L & D on Vashon. It's unusually warm weather for late November/early December, so an afternoon walk was a pleasure. Their nearest neighbor has turned much of his acreage into a park, where we were welcome to visit. An authentic Thai temple is one of the most interesting features.



Old millstones make wonderful steppingstones through a wetland.


Best description of the new house - "The three-car garage and caretaker's quarters for a five-bedroom mansion that never got built." But the main room accommodated 11 around a festive table.