First Day of Winter

At 4:04 am this morning, winter officially arrived. However, if you ask folks around here, winter's been here for the last week, with temps below freezing and snow storms on and off.

When I went outside this morning to get the newspaper, I discovered a layer of ice covering the snow that had piled up overnight.


After I finally broke through the ice, I found at least a half foot of snow underneath. The ice sheets weren't that thick, but everything was covered.
That's the newspaper sticking out of the snow.
Yesterday, the weather reports were stating that the snow would end today and the temps would warm up this afternoon. Not so. It turns out that more snow is on the way tomorrow, and now we won't break freezing temps until Wednesday. So, there will definitely be a lot of snow on the ground for the next couple of days.

The airport is also having challenges, with many flights cancelled. Late this afternoon, Alaska/Horizon and Southwest both cancelled any flights in and out of Portland for the rest of the day. There are lots of people stranded at the airport who may not be able to get out until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Something tells me that despite the white Christmas, it may not be a very merry Christmas for some.

David sent a photo of the snow view at his place...

I also had a little time to do a mini album for a gift. I won't post any photos of the project itself since I don't want the recipient to see it yet. It's funny how long it's been since I've used these supplies. It's like learning how to walk all over again, lol. I even had to go searching around the house for some of the tools since I haven't used them for months.

On Friday, I received this little surprise from Laura...thank you, Laura! It was so sweet of you! I haven't opened it yet--planning on doing so on Christmas Eve.

For you locals, hope you're staying safe and warm!