Sunday, December 14, 2008

Return to normalcy

When we were told this city shuts down when it snows... it was not an exaggeration. Portland experienced its first winter storm of the season yesterday, and life as we know it almost ceased to exist. We are getting some of the coldest air that we've had since the early 90s, I guess. In the downtown area, it probably only amounted to about 1.5 inches or so; however, the city will not use salt on roads. As a result, throughout the day all the packed down snow on roads turned to sheets of pure ice. By the time I got out of work, there were very few cars on the road or people on the streets - a little eerie actually. Stores, offices, and restaurants (although not VQ) all over the place shut down for the day because of the weather. What?!?! Even the bus system shut down. If you were to venture out by car, it was required to have snow chains on to drive on any highway in the metro area. Chains! Coming from a Michigan winter to this mass pandemonium is amusing to say the least. So, we were sequestered in our apartment for a night of movies and beer. Not the worst thing in the world, actually. :)

We did manage to get out on Saturday for a little fun though. We decided to hit The Benson Hotel downtown for some drinks and live jazz in their lobby. We had such a great time here. It felt like being transported to another era. The lobby is carved out of heavy, dark oak with these enormous dazzling chandeliers hanging above, deep red banquettes around the room, a grand staircase, roaring fireplace, jazz quartet tucked in the corner... I. love. it. We will definitely do this again.




Since I posted some photos of VQ in the autumn, I thought I'd share a few more recent shots too. These were taken yesterday when it started snowing. It made our tree look so darling.




We'll probably only see Portland look like this once a year...



Well we are T-minus one week until the family starts arriving! Cannot wait. I really hope it warms up before then...

Love,

Jenny

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