Big Storm - Big Snow!

 It was forecast, but no one really expected to get the kind of storm that blew in!  Since it didn't arrive during the night, I think we were all lulled into thinking it wouldn't amount to much.  School was cancelled, but things were still quiet when Butch left for work.

Coming back from Council Bluffs~

By noon though, the snow had started & the wind was blowing.  Butch came home early & asked if I wanted to go to Council Bluffs for lunch & more paint.  I've been watching too many home improvement shows & decided I wanted an accent wall in the office.

Office accent walls~

Originally it was to be just one wall.  I liked it so much, we ended up doing the adjoining window wall too, which required more paint.  Our first time using Behr's matt finish.  Butch said it was too thick to roll & awful going on - but I love the finished look.  (We still have baseboard to do in this room.) 

Our weather vane pointing north~

We watched out the windows as the wind howled & snow came down non-stop.  It continued into the evening hours.  The wind blowing the snow into the windows sounded like they were being sandblasted.   With temperatures in the teens & the wind, the feels like temperature was in the single digits.

The Explorer is under there somewhere~

By this morning, the sun was out, but clouds were moving back in.  Omaha hadn't had this much snow in one day - for 45-years.  They were just shy twelve inches & I think our total was the same.  Butch had shoveled his way to the truck.  Eventually the City snow plow came by, moving all the snow off the street & piling it 3ft. high along the bottom of our driveway.  Then it froze of course.  I decided to go out & shovel...  I did a whole lot of that & hadn't made much progress as I saw a small skid steer coming up the street.  He stopped, dropped his blade & did most of our driveway!   

Driveway clear!

I was working on the strip next to the Explorer, where the wind had really drifted the snow, when I saw a little ATV Utility vehicle coming my way.  They pulled a snow blower out of the back & in no time, finished off the driveway next to the Explorer & even did the sidewalk out front!  Refusing payment - I told them I'd be more than happy to be put on their storm list & pay for the help next time.

Neighbor & his snow blower!

  By the time I came in, my toes were frozen, even through my warmest socks!  We have a chance of more snow tonight.  It's taken all day for the town to dig out, so I hope we've seen the end of the white stuff for a while!

It's My Birthday!

 I didn't expect to be flying on my birthday, but my flight was cancelled for Sat. & changed to Sunday.  Sunday, at home, we had a fresh couple inches of snow.  Washington is in the middle of it's snowiest February on record & we're not even through the first half of the month.

My "ride"~

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time, the highways were fine, but the roads in Omaha to Eppley were covered with slush. The TSA line was a little longer than usual, but I was on the plane with fifteen minutes to spare. Butch got the above photo of the plane after I'd boarded.

Deicing~

 The Captain told us that take-off would be delayed a few minutes, while the frost was removed from the wings.  It was really fun to watch from my seat in the 8th row.

Pressure wash!

Meanwhile, Butch had the view below.

Wings cleaned~

 We were finally off the ground about 25-min. late, but the Captain made up the time in the air.  Most of the trip we were above heavy cloud cover, with a glimpse of the west now & then.  When we dropped below the clouds & the view was stunning! 

I-90 Floating Bridge~

I recognized the first of the two floating bridges. I-90 at the south end of Lake Washington.

Huskey Stadium & the 520 Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, looking east~

Toward the north end, is the Evergreen Point floating bridge.  As we landed the Captain said; "I know, it looks like where we just came from, but it is indeed Seattle!" Dave & Cassidy were waiting in the cell phone lot when I arrived. The roads were just wet on the way back to Duvall.

Mason & Grammy~

Mason met me at the door with flowers!  The smell of a freshly baked chocolate cake swirled through the cold air!  We all went out for dinner in town & it was late by the time I made it out to my RV :-)

We woke this morning to a world of white!

The front yard~

 The little birds are everywhere, taking advantage of Courtney's feeder in the back yard!  One of the first visitors I saw was a Varied Thrush.

The Backyard from the deck~

 I told the kids that I did Not expect to come back to Washington to shovel more snow, but Courtney & I spent a couple hours this afternoon doing just that!  It was so beautiful, the snow continuing to come down.  We went in for lunch, then less than an hour later I went out to find another 3" covering all our hard work!

Whiteout~

Our View today~

 The light rains came later than forecast - then the winds started picking up a little after 2 a.m., when a gust woke me.  The much anticipated snow was falling soon after!  We woke to a world of white, swirling, dry flakes of snow...  So beautiful & so white!

Looks like winter~

As I write this we're at 13 degrees with 8-14 mph. winds.  

Back deck~

With the winds coming from about every direction, it makes no difference which way your house faces, everything is covered.

The Cottonwood~

When the gusts really pick up & the wind howls around the walnut outside our office window, it really sounds like we're in the middle of a blizzard.

Backyard, looking SW

I heard a story yesterday of a storm where there wasn't all that much snow accumulation, but the winds were so high, for so long, drifts covered the cars!  I guess that's why it was so busy at our little town grocery last evening.

Snow plow~

Now, the plows are coming by~

Truck 2 & 3~

They came in a row of three, sliding sideways - with the weight of the plow, as they came around the top corner.  The city truck is out too, they went by up on Sharp Street.  With the rain coming first, the city was unable to put down ice melt, so the streets are like skating rinks.  (Years ago, I used to plow condominium properties outside Denver, with my Dodge Ramcharger.  It was so much fun!)

School is closed, Butch went to the bus barn & did the mail route.  He's out now at the apt. building.  I could tell he was almost looking forward to using the snow blower :-)