It's wonderful to have Ruthann with me after 6 weeks on my own.  We have enjoyed relatively warmer weather since she arrived.  The Sunday before while talking on the phone with Mom I went outside to enjoy the sun on the snow (and to get better reception on my cell phone) and I had to run back inside to grab my camera.  

I am beginning to appreciate why Eskimos have so many words for snow. There are several things that I have not seen before where I lack the vocabulary to describe. One of the more spectacular (at least to me) is how snow accumulates in quantity and the effects that has on the scene.  I noticed the effect of plowed snow in creating what I call "glaciers" since the have such a harsh and tumbled texture ... and of course in my previous experience that would be the end of the snow since it would warm up and the pile would melt.  

But what happens when more snow falls, not just a little, and not just once but repeatedly?  With the sun adding it's effect, I call these "snow dunes."

The pristine and gentle slopes of fresh fallen snow with the sun highlighting the contours is really an unusual scene for those of us from more moderate climates.  And of course the variations in lighting and color are really interesting with the sun setting.

I especially liked the sun through the trees and the variations in color and texture of the snow in this shot

OK, so we are having one of the more snow filled winters than in some time.  Great time to move to New York!

View from my door - you can see my solitary footprints.

The big storm that cut across the north U.S. left us with about another foot of fresh snow.  As you can see by the shots around my temporary apartment it has been piling up.

Apartment front

Cleared sidewalk that shows the buildup of plowed snow
 

Great fun four-wheeling!

Snow in New York!

So by the end of my first week I had a number of exciting things happen:  it snowed, my first box arrived, my pickup was delivered and we sold our house!  Pretty eventful week.

Here is the view on Saturday morning of the apartments in the snow ...

New York

Well, so we don't have the pictures from the great time at Christmas in Washington where Grandma, Grandpa and Alyssa got to have Christmas morning with the Howells and then had the whole family together the following Sunday ... since the picture drive is in a box in transit ...

Speaking of transit ... I am now blogging from Saratoga Springs, New York!

The Saratoga Ward building

I arrived in the evening of New Year's day and then after a late night shopping and unpacking I spent my first Sunday at the Saratoga Ward.

Here are some shots from downtown Saratoga Springs on a bright and relatively warm (low 40's) January day.

And then the apartment complex where I am living temporarily - "The Paddocks" is nestled in the country just northeast of the town ...

View of "The Paddocks" from the entrance

The clubhouse

Building 13 where I have a upper story apartment

Kitchen / Dinette view from living room

Living room view from dinette

Master bedroom

It is quite a spacious 2 bedroom when I was expecting a small 1 bedroom.

Anyone want to come for a visit?  I've got the room! 

Pullman Trip - November 2010

We had a great time in Pullman the first week in November for an early celebration of Ben's 4th birthday!






We had an interview trip to New York that pre-empted our previous plans to join in the celebration the following week on his actual birthday (November 11th) but this gave him the opportunity to extend the birthday partying for over a week instead!



Grandpaparatzi had fun capturing the grandkids!

Aren't they adorable!

GC 2010 - Day 4

Day 4 was a much more subdued day with our usual morning breakfast routine and after a leisurely morning the girls enjoyed cookie making after lunch.

Lydia enjoyed helping scoop out the cookie dough onto the pan ...

While Ellie suffered with my favorite role - cleaning those nasty mixer tines.  (someone has to do it!)

They both had a good time frosting the centers.

Notice Lydia's new dragon skin cape ... she loves it!

After Alyssa came home in the afternoon we went to Rose City Ceramics to work on some ceramic projects.

Ellie finished her tile painting early and so she and Grandpa decided to walk to Pirate Park ahead of the others.  Only it was a warm afternoon and the walk (about a mile) was a bit longer than we thought.  The girls picked us up before we arrived at the park.  Ellie is quite the hiker!  I was nearly out of breath keeping up with her.

After hamburgers and corn on the cob we watched Princess Diaries 2 and found that another day at Grandma Camp 2010 had wound down (and so had we).

GC 2010 - Day 3

Yes, another bright and early morning with the standard omelet and french toast breakfasts ...




The day was sunny and bright yet still nice and cool, so we embarked on a bike ride to Pirate Park.

and then on to Great Grandma Schutz's where they consumed mass quantities of Root Beer ...

They were very thirsty after all.

Quite a ride for little legs. (7 miles to Great Grandmas via Pirate Park)

Ellie of course, peddled more than any of us.  While she was frustrated with Grandma and Lydia pulling away from she and Grandpa, Ellie kept pushing along and did a great job on a very grownup ride.







After peddling up the hill back to Grandma's house the girls were deserving of the cooling off that came from the Oak Hills pool.

We cooled down quite nicely and then enjoyed a relaxing indoor picnic upstairs in our home theatre watching the Princess Bride ...


and a relatively early bedtime to recover from a more physical day 3 at Grandma Camp 2010.