are you kidding me?

once upon a time, we lived in northern california. there were two seasons. one was warmer and drier, the other cooler and wetter. snow was a once-in-a-decade phenomenon, the kind of thing that kids wished for at christmas, but never got to see.

then a few years ago, we moved to montreal, quebec -- our first home with four true seasons, including some brutally cold, snowy winters. there's a lot that we miss about montreal, but snow hasn't really been the main thing, at least for me. i love the appearance of snow; it makes everything look beautiful and clean. but with snow comes ice and other safety concerns. that's the part i haven't missed since we moved to the seattle area.

and then last night, it started to snow. and snow. and snow. because snow is more rare in this area (at least at our elevation), there really aren't provisions for snow removal or (God forbid) salting of the roads. usually, people just stay inside and wait for it to melt. when they don't, it's not very safe, as many aren't experienced at driving on icy roads. combine that with some steep hills (like the one we live on) and the results can be... unfortunate.

so we canceled the worship service of the bridge this morning due to snow. there's a part of me that still can't believe it. this amount of snow wouldn't elicit a grunt in montreal; they wouldn't even bother with snow removal. but then, they'd have so much salt on the roads that it would look like it had rained. the road would be moist, but without a hint of ice. and it'd be mostly flat. for reference, what montrealers call 'the mountain' is only a couple of hundred feet higher than the east hill of kent!

the thing that has me concerned is that the weather forecast is for highs below freezing all week. are we stuck up here for a week? we might want to replenish our food before then...