Mukilteo Musings

Dreaming of a White Christmas----NOT!

Seattle had ten inches of snow. I was a little concerned about getting to my chemo yesterday but Dave got me there. And my regular nurse made it there, too. I didn't want my schedule to be off. Thank goodness Dave is such a good driver in the snow. His Montana upbringing along with an accident or two as a teen in the snow has served him well. The hills in our neighborhood are so steep that the main problem is driving up and out and back down again. Lucas actually slid off the street two blocks away and Dave had to get him out and on his way to work before we left for my chemo.

The paralysis in the Puget Sound area is astonishing. We have had snow on the ground without melting for well over a week and we cannot handle it. They have not picked up our garbage or recycling for two weeks and now they will not pick it up until after Christmas. We are overflowing with stinky crab and clam shells. If we leave it outside, I fear the eagles will dive bomb us. We actually recycle more than we throw away and we have no more room anywhere for paper and plastic and Christmas day will probably double it. We have not received our mail. We are not receiving one of our newspapers. I have not received the presents I ordered online for my family from UPS. The airport has been a mess. Lucas is taking Magali to the airport as I write this for her trip home to the French Alps to be with her family. For her sake, I hope it is all a go. Amtrack couldn't get going. Greyhound has had people sleeping in shelters and on the buses for three and four days. We are expecting more snow tomorrow. Hopefully, it will not interfere with detachment from my pump.

We did have a good laugh this morning at the lead article in the Seattle Times. Apparently, the powers that be have decided not to use salt on our roads because of increased pollution to Puget Sound. WHAT?? I mean, I get miffed at people who do not clean up after their dogs because canine fecal coliform is one of the biggest threats to the Sound. But salt? Puget Sound IS salt water. Dave, the scientist, could not believe this article. He said the additional percentage of salinity added to Puget Sound from using salt on our icy streets for a week is miniscule. But no. It is true. They are worried about the salt:

"If we were using salt, you'd see patches of bare road because salt is very effective," Wiggins said. "We decided not to utilize salt because it's not a healthy addition to Puget Sound."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008551284_snowcleanup23m.html

Kaley said the old hippies that run our city need to put their heads on straight. I agree. We try to be green with our living in this family but this is ridiculous. Dave said adding more salt to Puget Sound is like being worried about adding fresh water to it. Oh, ONLY IN SEATTLE!

Here are a couple of pictures. I like the snow. It is beautiful. But Seattle, city of seven big hills and a million smaller ones, cannot deal with more than one day of the white stuff.


Downtown Seattle by Mike Siegel/Seattle Times


Lucas and Magali's finishing touches! Vive la France!