Seattle Pictures To Share

I've been in Seattle about a month now. It's taking me a while to adjust to living in a city. More than I thought it would. Maybe I'm not as much of a city girl as I thought, and I'm still trying to find where it is that I fit best.

Seattle has been fun and interesting, though. So, I have pictures to share that I hope you all enjoy.

First, for the Iowa readers, I found this bike humorously reminiscent of the cow girls on America's Dairyland. This was taken across the street from Pike's Place Market, a weekly shopping excursion for my produce.


In Seattle, I have found precious few quiet retreats. Quite a challenge for a girl who's realizing how much she relies on that to regroup, recollect, and continue with life's daily tasks. So, a place that somewhat meets the criteria (somewhat because you can still hear the traffic in the background) is Kubota Garden, a japanese garden.


And, finally, the weekends have been full of snow-packed adventures. Plenty of mountains to choose from in relatively short driving distances. So far, the sampling has included Crystal Mountain for a trial of downhill skiing (a lesson in the morning and some spectacular crashes in the afternoon) and Olympic National Park for snowshoeing at Hurricane Ridge. The picture below is taken at Hurricane Ridge.


A smattering of the pictures I have to share. I hope you enjoyed them.

Pink

I have a strong aversion to pink. I am not sure when it began. Maybe my mom can provide some input on that, but I know it became especially apparent living in Turkey. We had a 3 bedroom apartment, and I had to share a room with my sister. A Pepto-Bismol pink bedroom. It traumatized me. I hated all things pink.

I have worked hard on taming this beast, this somewhat irrational aversion to pink. I am getting better. Slowly. It has taken many years. I now have a hot pink fleece, a lilac vest and jacket, a pink scarf, and a couple of other random pink items. I even voluntarily bought pink flowers for myself the other day.

Today, I had a confrontation with this pink beast. I was shopping for soccer shoes. I knew exactly what I wanted. The same shoes I wore when I played in high school. They had them at the store, but not my size in the classic color which is black with white stripes. They did, however, have the same shoe for 30% off in another color combo. White with pink stripes.

Oh, boy. I bought them. They fit the same and cost 30% less. I just don't know if I can keep them. They're pink.

I called my mom. I told her the whole story. She alternated between laughing and saying "Oh, dear."

Do I keep the shoes?

Mayhem

Snow in Seattle turns the city into madness, mayhem, chaos. Choose the words, I'm sure they'd be appropriate. Please keep in mind that here in downtown Seattle there was less than an inch of snow.

I got home just fine last evening. Others did not. This morning, I went to work and heard the most unbelievable stories regarding coworkers daily commutes home. Truly astounding. Commutes that took 4 hours. People taking 2 hours to go 1.5 miles. People abandoning their cars and walking home. Literally walking miles.

This morning, there was snow on the grass and just a dusting on the sidewalks and roads. As I was walking to work, I saw a girl driving her car, complete with chains, up the hill, spinning her tires the entire way up the hill. I do believe that takes some talent. I was in awe. I must say, I was warned that snow shut down the city (yes, they closed the schools, and people did not make it in to work), but I was not prepared for how little snow it took to do that. Astonishing.

Just in case you don't believe all that I'm writing, the link for the Seattle Times...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003520634_webstalled11.html

Welcome Home

So, my hope did not come true. I did not wake to a winter wonderland and get to see Seattle's reaction to a trace to 2 inches of the fluffy white powder we call snow.

But, this afternoon, I did get to walk home in a wonderful combination of snow, sleet, and rain. And, I got the distinct pleasure of walking my dog in that wintry mix. Dear Finn loved it...

A reminder of the weather I'm more accustomed to during the winter. A strange welcome home.

Snow in Seattle

I started my new job this week and have been in orientation for the past couple of days. The talk of the 40-50 people in this group has been of the weather forecast. Namely, that we'll get snow this week. Honestly, I haven't thought too much of it. I've been adjusting to my new surroundings and trying to feel more settled. Today, the talk of snow picked up in a big way. People were asking how to get to work tomorrow, talking about alternate routes and transportation, all with an edge of panic in their voices. It made me start to wonder exactly what the weather forecast was.

This evening, I came home and checked the weather forecast...

Tonight
Partly cloudy with scattered showers. Snow showers expected late. Snow accumulations a trace to 1 inch. Lows 29 to 35. Southwest wind 10 to 20 mph.

Wednesday
Snow showers in the morning...then snow showers likely in the afternoon. A chance of thunderstorms. Snow accumulation a trace to 2 inches in the morning. Highs 33 to 38. Light wind becoming northwest around 10 mph in the afternoon.

People are in an uproar over a trace to possible 2 inches of snow??? Unbelievable. It makes me kinda hope that it does snow so that I can see the reaction.