alpine skiing...in ravenna

As forecasted, a giant storm hit Seattle overnight and Adrienne and I woke up to more snow.  All the remaining snow from this weekend had melted, so this was 4" of all new powder.  And it is exactly what it was - powder!  In the PacNorWest, we're used to slushy, heavy, wet, bone-chilling, messy snow.  But today's was light, fluffy, and wonderful!

Nearly everything in town is shut - including UW and NOAA - so we had some of the day to play outside.  Below are some shots from our lunchtime outing.

View into the backyard when we woke up 

AJ suited up in front of the House, lookin all snow-bunny'ish.

Mav likes the snow too...

15th Ave bridge over Ravenna Park

Our neighborhood park - it was the exact same scene on all the hilly streets too

AJ skiing through Ravenna Park

AJ and JJ cut first tracks down this alley

AJ shows off her technique on the 61st Street double-black diamond

urban winter

Adrienne and I woke up to a snowy wonderland today, the first of this winter.  Below are a few shots of the 'hood when I went out for bagels.

View from the porch.  Our neighborhood has great hills that the kids (and adults) can sled down.

The Centenarian stands tall in the white stuff

20th Ave NE

The neighborhood pub

The Playground

Back at home

winter light

One of the things I love most about living in the PacNorWest is the light.  In the summer, dusk lingers forever and is a photographer's dream.  In the winter, the sun sometimes peeks below the clouds and gives off some super-vibrant colors.

This past week was spectacular, starting with that great afternoon glow on Mt. Rainier seen in the previous blogpost.  The following pics are just some I snapped while out and about.

Sunrise on another house on our block

Dusk outside my building on campus

This happens a lot around here - the sun will dip below the dark clouds and light everything up

View from our front porch in the afternoon

Wow, what a sunset!

the view from above

Today when I was on the roof taking down our Christmas lights, I looked south and was shocked at the amazing view we (apparently) have of Mt Rainier.  In the summer, the trees will essentially block it out...but for now, its pretty cool to know this view exists one flight up!

ode to the powerplant

Isn't this an awesome picture of the Powerplant?  It is my desktop screen saver right now.  I am thinking of getting it printed and having it professionally framed.

For those folks from Carlsbad, you understand the sentiment....for others, let me explain.

The Powerplant may seem like an abomination, an eyesore on an otherwise beautiful coastline, emblematic of all that is wrong with southern California.  It is a concrete box that belches smog and fire in the middle of the night, and it actually intakes so much sea water to cool its jets that once expelled, the heated water warms the Pacific Ocean for hundreds of yards along the shore.  This photo was taken on a beach fondly named Warm Waters.

But the Powerplant has been there forever (well, in human-years).  For us locals it acts as a beacon, shining a lighted pathway to our home.  It can be seen from Dana Point on a clear day - "There's the Powerplant!" one exclaims.  It can be seen from a whale watching boat far out at sea.  It can be seen from the sky, standing as a map marker signaling to the air traveler they are almost home.  When orienting visitors to my hometown, I always look for the Powerplant to illustrate where we are geographically - and through such visual lessons, Carlsbad's place in this world becomes clearer to them.

The Powerplant - sentinal, ambassador, cherished friend.

66 years and counting

My lovely grandparents celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary earlier this week.  Not only do they still like each other, but I can say with considerable certainty that they still LOVE each other.  

Remarkable indeed.  Congratulations Papa and Grandma!

socal christmas 2011

AJ and I just returned from good 'ol SoCal, where the days were warm, the ocean waves were curling, and the sun lingered in the sky a bit longer than we're used to in Seattle.  It was a great trip and it great fun to see the ever-expanding Meyer/Wiegand family scene - there were babies and little kids everywhere!  Made it feel like Christmas....

Christmas at 4318

4 generations

My buddy Ollie

the Self Realization Gardens in Encinitas

Grandmother and mom looking west

AJ at the sea

AJ, HM, and ME at the gardens

seastar at Carlsbad low tide

hermit crab - you can see its eyeballs if you look closely!

sunset over the Pacific