Brrrrrrrr!! Christmas might have to wait...

Okay, that's enough. No, really. I know I mentioned that I was going to miss snow in Portland, but I did not have THIS in mind! Yesterday we had five or six inches of lovely snow covered with at least 1/4 inch of ice. Quinn easily walked across the top of it, and we had to stomp to break through - it was incredibly slippery.

Now, just for the record, I grew up in the Chicago area. Those people know how to deal with snow. They plow, they salt, they have the equipment. Winters there are always nuts, with blizzards, below zero windchills, and drifting snow that we often made into snow forts with nothing more than our hands. All you had to do was dig into a snow drift behind your house. No one used chains there, no one had studded tires. They are snow hardy.

But this in a town that shuts down after a few flurries fly is crippling. Woke up this morning to another few inches on top of the ice and more snow coming down. And Erick discovered that he ran out of coffee. Yikes.

I pity those people who put off their xmas shopping thinking they'd do it this past weekend or after work this week. Ain't gonna happen. I think a lot of Portlanders will have to adjust their Christmas expectations this year, and just be mellow about it.

Check out the ice shards:

These tree branches are usually about 20 feet up...

This is a piece of ice stuck on my antenna. Interesting.

Quinn had to rescue his Lightning McQueen that he had left outside the day before. It took some digging. Good thing his little shovel marked where it was, or it might have been there until the thaw.

Here's Quinn demonstrating the kind of ice we had to play with. Notice the size. Blimey. Also, notice that look of intense joy. Kids and snow. Fun.

So all the state offices were closed today, so Erick is home. He did set out to the Safeway in search of coffee and he says there are lots of people out and about. Not I, said me. I am Here.

But we are all getting ready to head back out into the yard to shovel, throw snow and try and get a certain young child tuckered out. A nap for all would be a lovely Christmas gift...