Well, for the most part we survived December '08 - the snowiest ever, breaking the 1968 record (whoopee!). It also broke long-standing records for Christmas-day snowfall and snow-on-ground on Christmas day. Now I've truly had a white Christmas in Portland, and seeing our lack of snow-removal equipment it's clear that white Christmases in Portland are a bad thing. Sad, but true. My sister is now dealing with water seeping into their newly-renovated basement, and floods are becoming a problem as warm rain on old snow looks for a way to the Pacific.
I began 2009 with a high-quality head cold, with a bit of anti-fever (97°) thrown in. Despite my lethargy and stuffiness, we headed north to visit my in-laws - the trip we were supposed to take at Christmastime. ** We used all twelve days to get Christmas in this year, with a final gift swap occurring on January 5th, the true Epiphany day from my childhood. Beyond the visits and a few more bits of loot, my wife's cousin was married, so that added to the festivities. Our own anniversary is coming up next week, so I'd better stop typing & start planning :)
** While there, I added at least four more inches to my winter snowfall total.. in fact, the morning we left town Portland added another 1½" (after 2" of rain - that must have been quite a snowfall to stack nearly two inches of snow on standing water!!). At a rough guess I've now seen (12+2+5 =) 19 inches of snow, which must be a lifetime best as well. Rumors have reached me of another cold spell late in January, so we'll see where my final snowfall amount ends!
