bag blog

Early yesterday morning it snowed!

For the first time in many years, it was almost a White Christmas in Oregon’s Williamette Valley. I-5 was shut down, and there was snow, snow, snow — everywhere. I haven’t seen snow up close since my last visit to Alaska in 1998. I miss life there. Snow is definitely a part of the Alaskan Experience, and it brought back good memories to feel the crunch of fresh snow under foot.

The five-kinds-of-Apples Tree in Evelyn’s back yard was covered in snow; so was her front yard. I took a few pictures to preserve the occasion.

Today we did something you can (and should) only do while on vacation. I, Karen, her brother, his wife, and their son watched the first two Lord of the Rings movies in succession at their house. Then, we raced to the 7:30 p.m. showing of the last movie at a local movie theater. We started at about 11:00 in the morning, and when we were done it was 11:00 at night. That’s 12 hours of Lord of the Ringsy goodness! And, it was fabulous. There’s nothing like seeing the whole thing in context. So many more things seem significant! At the end, on the way home, we all agreed that it was great to do. Once. And thus, our one-day Fellowship concluded.

I’m in Salem, Oregon today. Karen is shopping with her mother, grandmother, and sister-in-law. I’m the chauffeur, and I’m doing what all chauffeurs do while they wait: sitting at Starbucks, drinking coffee while watching life go by. It’s cold and rainy, but I like it.