Water Bottles

I don't want to appear ungrateful when we get a free gift at work, but does it really have to be another fricking water bottle?  I'm looking in my cupboard and I've got 6 of them now, all freebies.  And I think I've got another 2 at work.  Don't get me wrong, some of them are very high quality bottles.  But of the 8, I think I've maybe only ever used 1.  So if you'd like a water bottle for a Christmas present, just give me a shout... 

Icescape

This is the condition of the road at the end of my driveway:

The photo probably doesn't do justice to how steep it is, not to say you cannot see the steepness of my still snow-covered driveway, but it is absolutely undriveable.  I am absolutely appalled at the local district for not doing anything about it - despite my road, according to their own website, being a primary anti-icing treatment route.  There ain't any anti-ice on that road.  So, to get out in my car today - I had to use my neighbor/landlord's driveway.  Unfortunately, there is a big hump I need to get over to reach it, and on its own my car couldn't make it, it didn't have the traction on the ice/snow - I had to get a push from my neighbor/landlord's sons!  And once I negotiated their icy driveway - which at least is flat - and then the icy neighborhood streets, once I get to the main roads then the driving conditions get so much better.  It just seems that our neighborhood has been totally neglected when it comes to snow and ice response.  Disappointing.  But at least I was able to get some ice melter today - plus a few food supplies.  Tomorrow I'm planning to go into work briefly, but it might be my last chance to get out for a while - since we're going to be hit Friday/Saturday by what is forecast to be even more snow than before.  This is not usual for our area, and not welcome at all.         

Winter Has Come

It didn't get above freezing all day - so all the snow and ice is hanging around.  So yet another day of not getting out much - I'm certainly not driving anywhere.  I did take a stroll to the local corner shop - but even that was tough going with all the ice on the pavements.  It looks like we're going to have this cold weather for the next 2 weeks - so things could turn into an absolute nightmare with temperatures around freezing during the day and plunging well below freezing overnight for a prolonged time.  I don't think I'm going to be heading into work anytime soon, but I need to do some food shopping at some point...  Really unimpressed that none of my local roads appear to have been treated with anything, even though the cold conditions and ice/snow was forecast in plenty of time.  After some extremely mild weather in January, February has more than made up for it so far. 

Winter Storm Lucian

This is what I woke up to this morning.

It's no polar vortex, but it may be the largest amount of snow I've experienced since moving here - maybe close to 6 inches.  And it hasn't got above freezing all day, so it is hanging around.  I checked my local streets and it doesn't look as though they've been treated, so I may be snowed in for several more days - temperatures are plummeting overnight, so the roads are going to get really icy and treacherous.  Not to say my steep and narrow driveway is going to be a nightmare.  I haven't tried clearing it of snow yet - if the temperature gets above freezing tomorrow afternoon I may try then.  It's a good job I did some food shopping over the weekend, so I am prepared to stick it out for as long as I have to!  I hope that isn't for long, I HATE working from home.     

A Bad Sports Day

Damn it, the Patriots won the Superbowl.  Yet again.  Disappointing - their fans are going to be even more unbearable than they already are for yet another year.  This is a team with a reputation for cheating, and who have a quarterback, coach and owner who actually support Trump.  No wonder everyone hates them.  And nothing to do with the fact that they've won 6 Superbowls now in the last 15 years or whatever it is.  Cannot say I watched any of the game - it was inevitable that the Patriots would win, and I am not going to waste my time watching that.  By all accounts, it was a terrible game anyway (3 points in the first half) so I don't think I missed anything.  Unfortunately, I couldn't go out anywhere because it started snowing here about 1 pm and it hasn't stopped yet.  So instead I watched The (American) Office reruns on telly, plus some of my DVR recordings (Phantom Thread wasn't nearly as boring as I thought it might be).  With the plunging temperatures and more snow in the forecast, doesn't look as though I'll be getting out much tomorrow either (my company has already sent out an inclement weather text to all Seattle staff - that hasn't happened for a while).

A Good Sports Day

An important and much-needed win for Palace, against a team below us and to keep that small gap between us and the relegation zone.  As long as we have more points than games played, we should be alright.  And then watched a terrific and bruising victory for England against Ireland in the Six Nations.  Best game of rugby I've seen for ages.  It hasn't always been easy for me to watch these games in the US, but this year should be good - and the same network has also got the Rugby World Cup later in the year, so that's a bonus.  Fortunately I don't care about cricket, so I can ignore England's pathetic performance in the West Indies.

Tax Season

It’s tax season, and so there are all these adverts currently airing with people celebrating and spending their tax refunds.  Only problem, not everyone gets a refund.  I think there is about a 99.9% chance that I will end up owing money once I do my taxes – no matter what kind of tax cuts that Trump has instigated for the year.  And I’ll probably end up owing quite a lot – we are talking thousands of dollars – such is my income and lack of expenditure.  Which is disappointing.  At least Washington state doesn’t have state income tax, so I only have to pay federal tax rather than federal and state tax.  But if the government shuts down again – something perfectly possible – then who knows what will happen with the deadlines for submitting our tax returns this year, if there is no one working in the IRS (the US equivalent of the Inland Revenue) to handle the returns.  I’ve used the same software in all my time in the US to complete and submit my returns – but I said last year that I would try different software this year, so I’ve also got that to deal with.  The joys and idiosyncrasies of earning money in the US – still, it’s a lot more than I would ever have earned if I’d stayed in the UK!