Starting about last Sunday, December 13, 2008, we've seen an unprecendented amount of snow here in the Portland area. I've lived here for about 10 years, and have never seen this much. It usually snows at least once a year here, but it never sticks around for more than a day or so. Since snowstorms are so infrequent here, there aren't enough snowplows, sanders, and other road equipment, and people aren't used to driving safely in the snow (go slow, easy on the brakes, etc.), so the roads get WAY more hazardous than a few inches of snow should make them. That means everything shuts down - school was cancelled all week. I worked from home (though I could have gone in if I want to - Intel never closes for weather). Church was cancelled. It's kind of crazy. :-) I finally got out today and snapped some pictures with my "big boy" camera (Nikon D40), instead of the lousy iPhone shots I've been posting to Flickr all week. You can see all of the photos in this set. Here are a few, to give you an idea of what's been keeping up cooped up inside for a week. :-) The beginning of the Snowpocalypse:

Meltpocalypse on Thursday 12/18 (my birthday!)

Our backyard on Sunday 12/21:

View from the front porch:

8 inches on the Garbage Can:

Our car was clear yesterday - we ventured out. This is 1 day's snow and ice accumulation:

We're safe and warm in our house, got lots of supplies, and enjoying the Christmas tree, etc. Our biggest problem is a little cabin fever, so we're pretty grateful. It's looking like we'll get a White Christmas this year. We're planning on traveling to southern Oregon after Christmas, so I hope this stuff melts eventually! :-)