I'm Alive!

Tonight I took my family out to dinner. When we came home and got the kids ready for bed, I read out loud to them. Then we said goodnight, put on some relaxing music, and lit a candle. A normal evening.

And this is important because its one of the few normal evenings I've had in the last few months. I'm at the very tail end of the project I've been working on for the last two years. Starting in January, things got a bit hectic. Like a large ball I've been pushing up a mountain suddenly cleared the summit and started rolling down the other side.

Eat, sleep, work, repeat. Layoffs, re-organizations, delays. And the project just rolled on, getting more and more frantic until last week, when the proofs came back of my gold CD-ROMs and everything is fine! Done! Fini! Just about. Breathe!

I've been almost about to finish this project now for a few weeks. I keep telling my family that the end is in sight, that we can start eating dinner together again on a regular basis, and that I won't be leaving for work at 6:30AM and getting home at 7pm. Starting next week I should have a normal work schedule again! From now throughout the rest of the summer!

Now comes cleaning out my email, upgrading my computer, learning new software. A new project, a different printer, awaits. But the best part is getting re-engaged with my life, my family, friends, and my hobbies. So stay tuned, because more family updates await!

The Day Before the Day Before Christmas Eve!

What a blizzard! You will not believe our weather if you don't see the photos to prove it!

Last Wednesday I wrote about our snow storm, and snow days. The entire week ended up being snow days, but as you could see in my last posting, we had the usual western Oregon dusting, where building a snowman reveals the grass and mud beneath the snow. Then there was some ice, and it was really cold, down to the low 20s and into the teens!

Then we got more snow, this Saturday. It was about 8 inches deep (powder) when the freezing rain blew in in the evening, coating everything with a thick crust of ice- 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick in some places! Blech! We thought our playing in the snow was over, because ice is so much less fun.

Sunday morning it started snowing again, and after snowing all day and all night long, we woke up to ANOTHER 10+ inches of snow on top of the ice! And it was still snowing! It didn't stop until about 3pm.

Check out the below photo album for evidence of our snow, sledding, and birdwatching from the last few days. Stay Warm!
Snow Photos. . .

Snow Days

Ok, here in the Willamette Valley, we don't often get snow in the valley floor. When we do, it's a big deal, because we're not equipped to deal with large volumes of frozen water. We get rain, and have all kinds of drainage solutions, but snowplows and gravel trucks are limited, and we do not salt our roads.

So here we are, getting ready for Christmas, and the snow storms that the weather people promised us actually arrived! It was amazing! On Monday we decorated the tree and played outside. On Tuesday I went to work, but the kids were still home. Today, Wednesday, I'm home too, and it's been snowing steadily all day. We have about 2 inches. It drifted in places because we also had some high winds along with the cold temperatures. Maybe we'll have a White Christmas! The last time that happened was in the late 1980's!

The scary thing is that it's been warming up, just enough that tonight we may have rain mixed with snow, falling on the ground that's been below 28 degrees for three days. This ends up being freezing rain, coating everything with ice and being really nasty and obnoxious.

So we are hoping that the snow continues and that it does not rain and get icy. Our street is already coated in ice, then has 3 inches of snow on top of that, so more ice would just be uncalled for, don't you think?

More Photos Here!