Back on the Grid

Hello again! Been a while. That cute little snow flurry I was so excited about last week turned into a beastly winter fiasco. It snowed for about a week straight (unheard of here in the mild Pacific Northwest) accumulating about 12-16 inches of the stuff and to cap it off, we had an ice storm to really seal it all into place. And I do mean seal - there was a solid 1" sheet of ice on everything.

Everyone makes fun of Seattle for being so wimpy about the snow, but I'll tell you what. It really screws us up out here. The hill I live on was undrivable for a week. Trees were falling down left and right under the weight of the snow; people literally died because they were crushed by trees. Power lines collapsed leaving 14,000 people in my city without power, during one of the coldest storms of the year. I was stuck at home for well over a week and for 4 of those days I didn't have any power at all - no heat, no lights, nada. It was complete pandemonium.

On the bright side, I got some great photos, I got to know some of my neighbors better, I refamiliarized myself with my board games, practice my low-light cooking and basically do a lot of forced relaxation. A little chilly, but not a bad arrangement.

Eventually, things got a bit melty. A couple hours of heavy duty digging, and my car was free. I took refuge across the bridge where power lines remained unfractured. I don't think a warm shower and big cup of coffee ever felt so good!!

In any case, it's good to be back. I'll be pulling together some new leanout recipes with whatever ingredients didn't go bad in the refrigerator. Stay tuned!

Cheers,
Karla