Countdown to Christmas

 

 

 

Simpler times, and by gosh, I'm old enough to remember gifts like that.  There was always a can of pipe tobacco under the tree for Dad. 

On this day in 1843 Charles Dickens published "A Christmas Carol."

The celebration of Christmas in Victorian times was still somewhat controversial. Puritans in England and America argued that Christmas was a holiday left over from the days when pagans celebrated the winter solstice (it was.) Many Christians felt that the extravagance of Christmas was an insult to Christ. 

But "A Christmas Carol" turned out to be a huge best-seller in both England and the United States and set the tone for Christmas as we know it today: a season of generosity, feasting, and merriment. 

There are dozens of "Christmas Carol" movies, but our family favorite is the 1970 "Scrooge" musical starring 34-year old dreamboat Albert Finney. Maybe tonight. 

This weekend is the final countdown before Christmas. On Sunday, the Winter Solstice, we're going downtown and see an exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum, called "Farm to Table: Art, Food and Identity in the Age of Impressionism." It's supposed to be excellent, then out to lunch somewhere and probably a walk through the crowded market. Our annual tradition...

Have a wonderful weekend. 

 

 

 

It worked

 

 

If you complain enough about the weather, it finally takes notice and improves (if only!) 

But whatever, yesterday the sun suddenly appeared and shined down on the soggy world. It has been a long haul of bad weather up here. Seattle largely escaped, but the floods caused a heartbreaking mess for many people. 

Without the Pineapple Express drenching us, it's suddenly much colder and finally snowing up in the mountains. Snow in the Methow Valley, too, so Tom can try out his new snow blower.

 

I put the amaryllis pot on my desk, the brightest window in the house (which isn't saying much) but enough light to pop open. 

Other than that, not much news. Been catching up with old friends this week and just tying to keep myself occupied on long, dreary afternoons without gaining 10 pounds. 

The Winter Solstice is fast approaching. Although it won't be noticeable for weeks, soon we turn the corner. 

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn."
- Hal Borland 

 

Under seige

 

Enough already with the weather. More rain we don't need, and a windstorm last night with gusts nearly 100 mph in places. Blizzard warnings are up in the mountain passes (the few that are still open) the silver lining being the moisture won't run right off into the rivers. A memorable "start" to winter in the Pacific Northwest. 

Patience

 

 

 

This amaryllis bulb I planted over a month ago is ready to pop open, just in time for Christmas. Stay tuned.

 

We're on final countdown and I've been baking cookies this week, also sampling too many along the way (tis the season.) 

 

Since John retired, I've scaled back somewhat on cookies. He always took them to their shop holiday pot luck. I feel like I've made a cookie for every employee at Boeing Field!

 

Those were the days...

 

 

Speaking of cookies, today is Pizzelle Day, a beloved Italian American wafer, flavored with anise (sometimes vanilla or lemon) and made using a special iron. Thin, crisp and good, especially when they're fresh. 

 

 

Each year, John's mother mailed us a big box of goodies (she loved baking) and it would always include a large oatmeal container filled with pizzelles. Oh, the things we once took for granted. 

 

 

John’s parents made them on a modern electric pizzelle iron, which still takes patience. But somewhere in the basement, we have their heavy old hand-held stove top iron. 

 

That's about all the news, other than:

 

 

Rain returns

 

 

Now that's the sort of thing you can't pass up at Costco. Anyway, like a jar of Spanish sunshine on the counter. I don't have words for this awful weekend of news. 

The rain is back with a vengeance this morning. This latest atmospheric river is the last of the year (or so they promise) because by mid-week the temperature drops and it starts snowing in the mountains-- by the foot. 

That finally turns off the fire hose gushing down into the western rivers. We are lucky in Seattle, but many have lost their homes, even people in communities not especially close to rivers. 

 

My friend Karen sent that picture of Methow River in Twisp near our house, looking like a typical spring flood. It will certainly rise up again today and tomorrow. How strange no snow on the ground in mid-December. But fortunately, that's about to change. 

 

The Methow River at Twisp

 

A dramatic bump in the USGS water flow graph yesterday!

 

 

To put it in perspective, yearly graph shows the flow was even higher than last spring's runoff. Not flood stage, but just remarkable in that it reached that level in a matter of hours instead of over several weeks. Never underestimate the power of a river.

 

And today, receding back almost as fast as it went up.

 

Unlike the Columbia River, which has numerous dams for flood control and hydropower, the Methow River does not have major flood control dams. Historically, levees were constructed to protect farmland and towns, but these confine the river to a channel and block fish. 

 

 

 

Methow Salmon Recovery is working with landowners (which can be a tough sell) to remove or modify these old levees. This allows the river to access its natural floodplain during high flows, which slows the water and reduces flood damage downstream, while benefiting salmon habitat. Makes sense, but only time will tell. 

 

Anyway, long story short we dodged a bullet. If the warm atmospheric river came in the spring on heavy mountain snow pack, it would be a different situation along the Methow and other eastern Washington rivers.

 

The weekend is here after a week of unrelenting rain and bad news. The Northwest is drying out for a few days and people can start to assess the damage. 

 

Have a good one-- Christmas is closing in fast.