Snowpocalypse

...is the term I heard someone on the radio use to refer to one day of actual snowing.

Geez...and I'm from Southern California.

I found this month-old post in my drafts and thought this might be as good a time as any to finally post it -- especially considering that it's 66 and sunny here in San Diego. Here it is:

Though it only snowed a little last Sunday and all Monday, it was in the low 20s on Tuesday and Wednesday. The snow had all disappeared by the end of Thanksgiving.

I was in heaven. I had only seen it snowing for a couple minutes when I was ten and we were driving to Julian. By the time I got out of the car, it had stopped. So this was a new and wonderful experience for me. What surprised me most was how gently it comes down. I was expecting snow to fall closer to the speed of rain. Another concept I can only describe as "depth of field" amazed me about snow -- it was so...3D. I tried to capture it in this video in vain:

Snow in Occidental Square

And in Ballard

I'd always wanted to make some maple candy like they did in Little House in the Big Woods, but the snow was so powdery that the maple syrup sank right through.

It was still delicious, though.

I showed up to work the next day to find that, even though it was sunny, it was a "snow day." It was so beautiful out that I didn't want to turn around and get back on a bus for an hour, so I walked through downtown in the sparkling, 22-degree weather, wishing I had a camera with me. A man under the viaduct who was working for a historical society did, though -- a 1920 camera, one of those accordion-shaped boxes on a tripod with a hood for the photographer. He was documenting life around the viaduct (in the midst of a current debate about its future). The photographer asked if he could take my picture just walking along under the road.

In Belltown, some people with a death wish were sledding down the hill right across a busy street.

The sculpture park by the water looked beautiful covered by a blanket of pristine snow.

I just kept walking and walking and eventually I had walked the eight miles home.

I love snow.

The end.

Artopia and Georgetown

Yesterday I took a two-hour bus ride to Georgetown to experience the much-touted Artopia art and music festival. Not worth it; especially when I waited an hour for the bus coming back. They had power-tool derby races, some garage bands, and a couple booths selling things. The coolest thing there was ARTOPIA painted in blue letters on the ground. At first it looked like this:



But then the letters became uniform when you stood at a certain point:


Georgetown itself was interesting. Lots of crumbly brick factories and hairy hippies.

Low Tide at Golden Gardens

I made a headband!

Anthropologie's: $42
My cost: $2

This morning I went to the Ballard farmer's market and bought some radishes, apples, lettuce, and snap peas. I love the music they have there - both times I've gone it's some combination of fiddlers, banjo players, harmonica, and other supercool instruments. I couldn't help stopping and watching a couple of fiddle players with a group of toddlers dancing in front of them.

Later on, Linnea (my roommate) and I drove the short distance to Fremont to visit our other roommate Andrea at work at Starbucks.

Wouldn't you like to walk into a Starbucks and see this smile?

Today was the Fremont street fair, so afterward we walked around part of the HUGE fair, perusing the wares, sampling, and even participating in an open-to-anyone painting project (walk up, grab a brush, and get to work). That was the highlight of my day. I was inspired by all the foxgloves around the neighborhood: