Wintertime!

Mark and I drove to Salmon Arm last night. We beat the snowstorm that was predicted for the Pacific Northwest and today it's barely flaking on the ground, don't know how much is expected here, maybe a few centimeters.

In the mtns, lots of snow is anticipated as la nina is still expected to come on quite strong here at least through the end of February. If it's anything like last year it'll keep going through April/May. Alaska has been receiving it's heaviest snow fall on record and so some of that weather pattern needs to slide south if the NW is going to get it strong.

I'm trying to stay off the skiis for a little bit longer just so I don't reinjure the clavicle but it's going to be next to impossible when the snow starts flying. It's like asking a bird who loves to fly to stay grounded. I'm sure the bird would have a difficult time not sneaking off. We've got the doxies with us again and they are happily snuggling with us and it feels good to settle in with a good book and cosy up under a blanket. Hope to get some exercise as well, but I'll have to find my shoes as opposed to wearing the tevas I've been in since September.

Some things are different I've noticed since only being gone for a short period of time. You can now deposit checks over your cell phone by taking a picture of the check and it looks like the Mormons are advertising heavy in the Seattle area for the republican votes come next fall. I saw a billboard of mormons advertised. This is the only reason I can think for this, as it seems like the church has plenty of followers all over the world. I'm voting for Obama in 2012. He deserves a second term because he's been doing a great job dealing with the mess he's had to clean up in addition to having a Republican Senate that stymies all the good things that should be moved forward. The last thing I heard is that the Republican lawmakers have tacked on the keystone pipeline nonsense to the bill extending unemployment benefits. Nasty US politics.