Snow in the Northwest is just plain weird. It only snows a couple of times a year and it always seems to take everyone by surprise. A headline from the Sunday Seattle Times read: Get Out the Parka But Not The Snow Shovel.
The flakes started falling Monday morning. Our cute snow storm turned into a real storm as the afternoon wore on. And then the wind picked up. And then the power went out. Greg and I took a drive around this morning to see if there was power at the shop. No. Power anywhere on the island? Didn’t look like it. Safeway was running on generators and the gas stations had no power to run their pumps. Those locations are top priority so we knew we’d be waiting awhile for power to be restored. The challenge is guessing if ‘awhile’ is a few hours or a few days.
Greg bought a generator after our first frequent-power-outage-winter. It’s gas powered and plugs into a circuit in the garage that can run the hot water heater, furnace, refrigerator, kitchen lights and an outlet in the living room. One extension cord weaves up the stairs to the light on the gecko tank. The other cord goes into the kitchen where we take turns plugging different things into it. The coffee machine. The toaster. The radio. I thought the generator purchase was frivolous. Still eating crow on that one.
This evening the power popped back on while we sat around the island in the one room with lights. Noshing, reading and chatting. I appreciated the time to be unplugged even if it was just 24 hours. It will be business as usual tomorrow.
Oh Kathy, that is so pretty. I don’t get snow where I live, so would love to experience waking up to that. Not sure if I would be so keen on losing the power though!!
We were in Seattle for 4 days last week and missed the big storm. Good timing on our part as we took the train and were on foot around town. We got a bit of snow overnight last night here in Portland, but nothing like your storm. Still, it brings things to a standstill. NW snow IS weird!
Beautiful pics, both outside and inside! Such a cozy kitchen scene…8-] My family branch in Tacoma were quite taken by surprise by the storm. Their first “snow day” and my son was at home with his family(yea!), and his mother-in-law(boo!) lol
Oh it can be nice to have modern life away for a little but when it isn’t there you notice how much you rely on it. Very pretty snow but too cold for me, I just like to look : )
Wow, what a strange storm. Its nice to get that unplugged time! Thankfully we don’t lose power often here.
It always feels weird to be “unplugged”, but it’s also a great way to slow down and enjoy for a little while!
Some of my best memories from growing up were when we had snow that forced a change in routine (but that was Southern New England so it was always a possibility). There was one Christmas eve when the power went out, so friends who lived in a colonial home invited everyone over for a Christmas Eve dinner cooked in their fire place with fresh bread taken out of their hearth. I’ll never forget it.
Kathy, it’s great to see your family! How your girls have grown. :0) I think every winter about getting a generator, especially now that we’ve moved to St. Louis and the winters can be a little tougher than Oklahoma. We’ll see. Anyways, hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Ooo, I’m jealous! I’m ready for some snow – which we’ll probably get here in Upstate, NY.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you get electricity back for Thanksgiving. I’m baking my pumpkin pies today. Kathie L in Allentown
i can’t believe you got snow already! i’m dreading the winter up here in toronto, canada (as usual), you’d think i would have gotten used to it by now… happy thanksgiving to you!
How cute that the cat was in the photo with the family! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your sweet family! I was thinking this a.m. how busy a woman like you is the your blog, business, family, yourself, and now Chalk Talk! Thanks for being there for all of us!
we got snow too in Portland, OR but not nearly as much as you! it was lovely watching it float down from the sky and see it stick to everything. Still have a bit and it’s COLD as can be out there (in here too). moved here from Southern California last year and loving the changing of the seasons ~ I don’t even mind the cold!
We don’t get snow here often. Maybe once every two or three years and often, it does not even stick on the ground. However, once in a blue moon, we’ll get either a snow or ice storm that lingers. It’s been quite a few years since our last one. I guess we’re due for another and I’m not looking forward to it.
When I lived on Whidbey Island I remember the weather always took us by surprise. It seems though it is snowing more now than when I was there. I also always hated that it always shut things down right before major holidays. I guess as a reminder to slow down before you got hectic. But it always made me more hectic because I was never prepared and it made me more late and more stressed.
How did I not realize you were on Bainbridge Island??
Our family is relocating to Seattle as soon as we sell our house in central IL. Hubby has already been out there since June when he started a new job. I guess his IL driving experience paid off in Seattle this week! (Well, that and the fact that he has a Saab. Yay for Swedish engineering! lol)
I’m glad you have power again!
Wouldn’t it be great to “unplug” without the power actually going out. I love the family around the island – and the cat right their sitting with you all. Being in the NorthEast and on a farm a generator is mandatory and a way of life.
Everyone looks so cozy in the kitchen. I keep trying to have a pull the plug period of time here, but the hubs and son object strongly. I do it myself though, and it’s so peaceful. Happy Thanksgiving.
Greetings from Clatskanie, Oregon, where our power was out for only 3 hours but our snowy, icy driveway is keeping us housebound. I shopped for Thanksgiving on Saturday, so I’m absolutely content to stay here, tucked away and cozy.
Two years ago we were snowbound for over two weeks, and to get to our neighbor’s house for Christmas dinner we traipsed through a snowy field–snow as high as my hips, moonlight showing the way. We were enchanted by the romance of it all, and it remains our favorite holiday memory.
No electricity sure teaches us how much we rely on it and how inconvenient it is when we don’t have it huh? We went without for three days a while back and no fun!
Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Do you have a generator for the sewing machine?!?!?
Before I read that you guys had a power outage, I was thinking about how cozy your kitchen looks — love the island, the look, the girls. I had no idea the convivial noshing and chatting wasn’t completely voluntary. Everything in moderation though! We enjoy power outages for a little while, but more than a day gets difficult.
I mostly enjoy the power being out but I have to admit we have it easy where we live because we have natural gas so we can still cook and have hot water. We have also added a generator which was wonderful to keep the fridge and freezer going. We were able to run the furnace on it to take the chill off during the day. We shut everything down at night. Mid 50′s in the house both mornings. We had our power back around 11am on Wednesday. We celebrated for just a short time and then my husband went running into the laundry room to turn off the water. We had a pipe burst in our front room which is now bare of it’s furniture and carpet
I have been wanting to freshen up the paint so I guess this is my chance. I decided to look on the upside instead of being unhappy about something I can’t change. Luckily we were home and we had already delayed Thanksgiving until Saturday. Turkey at the cabin should be a treat!!
We’ve already had a deadly ice storm and a couple of messy snow storms, one of which gave us 6-8 inches of the white stuff. And we are supposed to get down to single digits in the next couple of days. But then, that’s Minnesota for you. I worry about my kids and husband out driving in the bad weather. But losing power can be a real experience. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Kathy, thank you for those pictures they speak volumes. Very cozy and comforting, the beautiuful snow picture of how quiet and calm everything looks. I lived in Alaska for 13 years and we had frequent brown outs, oil lanterns were the main stay if you did not have a generator. Having stayed in spots in the mountains where there is not electricity only generators makes one appreciate something we depend on so much. Using the gas wisely, not able to stay up and read all hours of the night unless by lantern. Having the power out for awhile makes us all think twice about how we take things for granted. I now live in New Jersey and we have 65 degree weather still, who knew?
sounds like a healthy break from way too busy lives. glad you got to enjoy it and didn’t have to worry too much about staying warm and safe.
Glad to hear your electricity is back on.. But how lovely, at the same time, to be without for a bit – as long as you stay clean and warm, that is!! We were snowed in one day last year – utter bliss, is what I remember..
Happy thanksgiving wishes fomr the UK!
hehehe….did you see the picture of the reader board at the kitsap event center? temp was minus 196 degrees….boy oh boy was it cold around here!! we were pretty lucky here in purdy, only a few hours w/o power.
We are in Silverdale and lost power for 2 days. Thankfully, we rescued most of our food by putting it in the fridge.
I’m glad you got power back too! We are heading to the BI tomorrow to look at the baby shops.
Weird in N. Seattle too. Crazy winds blowing powder around, how often do we get powder in Seattle? Not very. Nice change from the usual wet, heavy snow that usually shows up.
I’m from Georgia and always thought I’d love to live somewhere that had snow during the winter. After moving to Heidelberg, Germany and having snow EVERY winter for the seven years I was there, I changed my mind. Yes, it’s picturesque beautiful. Yes, it’s magical. But it’s always awful because I don’t know how to drive when the roads get slippery, I track all that junk in the house because I can’t get it all off my shoes, I have to shovel the driveway and sidewalk, and horror of horrors, every time I got in and out of the car, no matter how careful I was, I always seemed to drag the bottom of my coat along the door frame and got nasty dirty smears all along my coat. Snow? Nah, not for me any more. I’m glad to be back in Georgia. Where many times we can be outside washing the car barefoot with shorts on Christmas day.
Power outages are a way of life here in the Pacific Northwest where power lines are not generally buried. Every time they predict a storm we get out our candles and battery operated lanterns, and my husband readies our generator.
I like the occasional snows tho. Lifts my spirits.