I don't care about the Cascades, I'm not on that side of the state. But I am on the coast and I will be coming home on Wednesday, about the time all of the magic of weather predictions was to coalesce into whatever it was going to be.
Part of the irony of this situation is that I had just been discussing my annual debate of "Snow tires?" or "No snow tires." I was, again, on the side of no snow tires because, you know, they're tough on the roads. Chains can be very awkward for me because of where we live and where a lot of my work happens. We live out far enough toward the east that there many be some snowy or icy conditions which make it difficult to get out of the neighborhood, if the stuff manifests at all. So if I put on chains so I can get out of the neighborhood, then by the time I get towards the river to cross over into downtown, often the roads are clear. And I have to take the chains off. then I get outside of downtown on the other side and there is a steepish hill which is heavily traveled I have to go up and often that, due to the trees which protect much of the road from sun and warming/drying scientific processes, it stays slippery and needing traction devices. So must put them back on.
So, studded/snow tires are better. I know they won't be helpful in the big stuff if we get any.
So - here I am at the coast and the passes may be snowed over or iced over and there is a Les Schwab up the highway a bit in Tillamook. I called them when I first woke up (which would not have been the time I would get up other than a trip to the bathroom, you know) a little before 8 am (remember, I probably got to bed around 3 am) and asked if they had studs in stock for my car. She said yes, and they were already in a three hour queue. Ack! She offered to put me "in line" if I was going "into town" by 11 am. I hadn't planned to do that, but I said yes since she couldn't schedule and appointment or put me in line for anything other than the three hour wait they were already on.
So I did get a little more sleep (about 90 minutes), got up, showered, went "into town" and purchased the tires and got them mounted.
I wrote while I was there, waiting, which was a mere 45 minutes. Then went to a local cafe where the locals seemed to go for lunch. After which went for a long walk on the beach, where I discovered that the key to the place where I'm staying had disappeared from my keychain.
Eeek! What to do? Don't panic. And all was well, it had slipped off from the carabiner somehow and was waiting for me on the floor mat on the driver's side in my car.
Back to the cabin with the gorgeous view. Writing. More writing. Dinner and conversation. Writing. And it is now past midnight.
The weather report now is not giving me the little alerts with the red and white triangles with an exclamation mark in the middle. There are still some warnings about potential of wintery weather and roads but there is no more predicted rain and cold snap conditions like there were yesterday. So maybe I won't need the special tires but I have them if I do.
And I am now ahead on my word count, despite all of this. I hope to be very close to the 50,000 word goal by the time I leave on Wednesday. I think I will be. Right now my word count is:
40, 317
Happy me!
