Taken from the bridge right above KJ. The Olympics were just amazing tonight. The sky is so much bigger when you’re living on the water.

Once again inspired by our blogmates at Waterlogged, I’ve created a little website for KJ – it’s over at www.mvkatherinejane.com. It’s very basic, as I’m no code poet, but I’ll be adding to it as I learn (I did manage to add a link on the sidebar here; one must celebrate the small victories). As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

As predicted, there’s more snow this morning & more on the way. We were awakened this morning by the most wonderful mechanic in the world. Jeff has been helping us through the whole heater episode & has been great about figuring out what’s been going on. Since we hadn’t spoken for a few days (a relatively long time given recent events ~ I have his cell number memorized), he actually stopped by just to make sure everything is running as it should be & that we’re warm. Talk about “caring for your customer!”

When we first got up, we noticed that there was a log boom across the river & wondered if it has broken loose and drifted. It actually took a while before we realized that there was a tugboat attached at the other end (to be fair, it was on the other side of the bridge). Evidently, the Hoo-Ha of Snow Travel on the land had delayed the bridge operators and the tug had been waiting quite a while ~ long enough to tie up and for the logboom to drift upstream of him on the incoming tide. Eventually the bridge staff showed up and got Quilceda underway again.

Debris in the river is much prettier with snow on top. There are ice floes drifting about and Greg has seen the tip of the Phantom Timber bobbing around as well.

Still snowing with an anticipated 2-6″ more tonight. I was scheduled to work tonight, so I headed on over to Snohomish around 5. NJ came with me, so that she and her brother could go sledding. It turned into some great educational opportunities (“How To Steer Into A Skid” being a particularly hands-on lesson, followed immediately by “How Not To Overcorrect” – those years of driving to the ski slopes certainly came in handy). We saw many cars skidded out on the side of the road. And we watched one huge truck actually slide off the highway, cruise down the ditch at high speed, and manage to power it back onto the road. Sporty.

Alas, I discovered that as much as I adore the BMW, it’s the worst dog of a car I’ve ever driven in snow. German engineering, pah! I was sorely disappointed with her performance out there. My Hyundai Excel did better than that. Hell, my mother’s 1974 Camaro did better than that! I became so stuck in a parking lot in Snohomish that I was forced to resort to my chains. Which, on the positive side, are significantly easier to put on than the ones we used on the aforementioned Camaro! (You remember, the kind where the excess chain would get loose & beat the heck out of your car??) These had three easy steps, a simple tightening system, and at no time was I crawling in the slush trying to reach around the back of the tire. Not at all like when Mom taught me how to put chains on the car – a lesson for which I am very grateful – no helpless damsel routine here! Voila! On the road again with no further drama. Now I’m home safe, we have extra food supplies, and there’s no need to leave the boat for days…