They Call It The Arctic Blast

One of the reasons enjoy living in such a wonderful part of the country is the moderate weather. Or what is generally moderate weather. We rarely get snow or freezing temperatures. Those are things about Wisconsin that I don't miss.

Well, the past 5 days have been an exception. We've had several feet of snow and winds up to 66 mph. Portland's saying it's the biggest storm in 40 years.

Rosco has been staying with us while his mom is visiting family in Pennsylvania. I'm glad at least one of the dogs gets excited about the snow. He like to "help" with the shovel and "fetch" sticks off the bushes. He's a blast. I'm not sure the cats would agree though.

Jimmy's Free

Jimmy (the Toyota Matrix) has been a bit neglected the past few days. But today, we decided he should be set free and have his chains put on.
The Interstate has been closed for 2 days now. I'm hoping that it will reopen tomorrow morning so I can go to work, and Jimmy and I will be ready.
Lance did most all of the shoveling while I walked the dogs. He's good at pushing cars out of the snow too!

Tubbing

Here's Lancer's favorite part of the snow. The hot tub has been in "sleep mode" this winter until the snow started. Then it took 2 days to warm up to 102. As he said, "The distance from the hot tub to the bedroom door is the longest 12 feet in The Gorge." I dread the 12 feet, so I stay inside. I like the tub inside with fizz balls when it's this cold out.

The Forgotten Councilman

This election was especially interesting for us. Lance decided to run for city council in the local election. He ran a campaign, writing articles and doing public speaking. Case and Kel helped him make yard signs and sent buttons for us to wear - "MASTERS FOR COUNCIL"
Well something worked, and he was voted in! I know he will do a great job.
You can read his blog at www.forgottencouncilman.blogspot.com.

This Has Been Approved By Casey

When you're running for city council, you might want to have your fiance's brother and his girlfriend stop by for a couple of weekends on their way to Montana for a wedding. They get to see what life is like in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge, and you get some free help making lawn signs for your campaign. You also learn about the joys of Busch Light beer (10 per day - no drunk). Your fiance's brother gets to order his girlfriend around while in Oregon and the roles reverse in Montana. Birch and Kel got five points each for spotting the jumping salmon north of Lyle, but Casey beat them both with 20 points for fixing the broken pellet stove. Written by Lance

Festival of Nations

Earlier this year Birch wrote a goal on a dry erase board. It said, " Soap." Now I know what she meant. Sept. 25th marked the 4th annual ceremonies of The Festival of Nations in Cascade Locks, Oregon. Terismo and Birch had a booth of jewelry and soap. Everyone loved it. Birch Soap was the highlight for everyone at the festival - except for the gail force winds that blew over everyone's booths later that evening. We felt sorry for the pewter salesmen. His booth blew into the river. The good news was that they found his canopy stuck in the fish ladder down river at Bonneville Dam. The bad news is there are now thousands of tiny pewter dragons at the bottom of the Columbia River. Our neighbors scored five points for trading three bottles of wine for a small bar of soap. But the groundskeeper got ten for busting us when we drove over the curb through the playground. Written by Lance Masters

Seahawks Game

"Gimme those garlic fries!!"

I've always wanted wider shoulders....

One of Lancer's Birthday gifts was tickets to a Seattle Seahawks vs. the Rams home game (in Seattle). Lots o fun and they actually won, which is great considering how they've played the last few games. They jersey he bought himself for the game has turned into my new favorite pajamas. Thanks honey.