Western Washington peeps

[Michelle67]

Bet you wish you were still in Florida!!

As an aside, my husband sent me a link to your blog a few weeks ago about Totem Lake - I remember when it was "more" and shopping there, barely. Not to mention the always exciting Bellevue K-Mart.

Ok, the end is coming, our Directv just went out. We're done!

I keep waiting for the satellite dish to poop out, but it hasn't yet. I'm prepared, though. My husband taped an extra broom handle onto an old broom so we can reach the dish to sweep it out.

It's barely snowing here right now. Looks like we've topped out at 11 inches for today. The tree limbs are really dragging down. I'm waiting for them to start snapping.

 

[Vexorg]

Bet you wish you were still in Florida!!

As an aside, my husband sent me a link to your blog a few weeks ago about Totem Lake - I remember when it was "more" and shopping there, barely. Not to mention the always exciting Bellevue K-Mart.

Ok, the end is coming, our Directv just went out. We're done!

You mean someone actually reads that stuff? I have no idea exactly how I ended up dealing with empty malls (I've always had an interest in local history though,) but for some reason that one Totem Lake Mall post seems to account for close to 20% of the hits on my Blog. I really need to keep working on some of these projects though, particularly Crossroads.

As for the snow, I'd guess there's probably been about another inch or two since this afternoon up here. My cable is still working though...

 

[jordansmomma]

I am in the snowy wonderland. The neighborhood kids are riding behind a 4 wheeler on sleds!! hmm..sounds like fun..if I even liked the snow or cold.
I cannot believe how much it has snowed.

 

[bumbershoot]

We're in Tacoma, just outside of downtown. We are so glad we're right where we are, because not only can we walk to just about everything we need, but hubby was able to get to work every day last week! He was the only one in his dept to do so...the others worked from home, but his dept doesn't put much trust in working from home, and no one can take phone calls from home at this time so he was one of the only ones taking calls. He already got a free coffee-drink out of it, LOL.

But unless it goes tropical in the middle of the night, he's going to be working from home tomorrow, as getting down to the Link would take an age, and if the Link and the Sounder are running, it would take ages most likely, then getting to his office from the train station would be treacherous. Half his day would be done by the time he did all that! But hey, it could suddenly all melt and NOT refreeze, and then he'd go in.

On the other hand, I was the one who fell THREE times yesterday while walking around with DS. We went up to the store, then stopped at a restaurant, and after we got home we went back out meet hubby. The third time, I was holding DS's hand b/c we were walking across the street (which is closed for construction anyway, but they have the sign in the wrong place so people keep driving up in hopes they can get through without going up a hill) and down I went, taking poor kiddo with me. Youch.


Sure is pretty though, since we're not even stepping foot in the car!

 

[Caropooh]

We have probably about 9 inches now and it's still coming. Haven't seen a snow plow all day. I had to go up to Walgreen's to get some cat litter, came out and had a flat tire. Called AAA, but they are just handling emergency calls, like stalled cars on main roads, in our area. (Federal Way) Guess we'll have to take care of it tomorrow, hopefully. Luckily, someone who works in the same building as me (Boeing) lives up the street and I'm getting a ride with her tomorrow.
Friday can't come soon enough. We're off to WDW!!!!

 

[Michelle67]

Molly do you live in the Stadium district?

Snow plow? What is this "snow plow?" Kitsap county has them, but sadly they stop about half a mile from my house. I don't think I saw more than two or three cars go down my road all day long. They did sand the S curves at the top of my road at least yesterday, but I have no idea what it looks like out there now. I couldn't get out of my driveway if I tried. The snow is deeper than the underside of my car.

It's just barely snowing here right now. Those little tiny icy flakes again.

On a funny note...I had the garage door open earlier today and my cat Boo tentatively went out just as far as she could and still be on bare concrete, and was contemplating the snow. She's an outdoor cat but she sleeps in the garage at night, and she's hardly gone outside in a week. Anyhow...I startled her on accident and she jumped and landed in deep snow. Her eyes got as big as saucers and she leaped up in the air and came down a foot or so away...in deep snow. She freaked and was trying to run, but the snow was almost over her head. Poor thing...I know it's not funny but it was like something out of a cartoon. She dove under my van (it's dry under there) and wouldn't come out for awhile. I finally coaxed her out with kitty treats after I made a clear spot for her to walk out from under the van (snow is up to the bumper) and make it to the door of the garage. She was under there just GLARING at me. Poor thing. I really didn't mean to scare her, I promise.

 

[BelleBoo&AmisMum]

You mean someone actually reads that stuff? I have no idea exactly how I ended up dealing with empty malls (I've always had an interest in local history though,) but for some reason that one Totem Lake Mall post seems to account for close to 20% of the hits on my Blog. I really need to keep working on some of these projects though, particularly Crossroads.

As for the snow, I'd guess there's probably been about another inch or two since this afternoon up here. My cable is still working though...

I read the whole thing one afternoon, I think all the kids were at school which would explain my free time! DH doesn't remember how he got there, he was reading a thing from a Brit and got on to dead malls and found you, then he sent it on to me since I'm a PNW native and mall person.

I remember Crossroads back when. We lived up in Mukilteo but my mom worked at the Ben Franklin bank on 148th (now the Sleep Country) so we spent a lot of time down in Overlake/Crossroads. Then again I remember when Everett Mall was crap and sleeping outside the Macy's for tickets to a concert for a group that will not be named. On a very exciting weekend we got to go to Alderwood God I feel old now.

We have 4" more inches of snow from this afternoon and it's still coming down. We've lost local channels on the directv and I'm resorting to playing the Wii while DH watches the French news online. The police are out playing in the snow, I think they're trying to see who can slide the best, or they're being dorks again, I'm not sure which.

 

[sameyeyam]

Hi! I'm in Woodland, about 30 miles north of Portland, right off of I-5 (the now 1 lane road) . We are around 900 feet elevation up on a hill. It's been snowing here for about a week and we currently have over 2' of snow. We have a few drifts that are about 3' deep on our property. This is just totally crazy and we're getting to the point of it actually getting scary. At what point do we need to start shoveling it off the roof? I'm already shoveling it off the trampoline about twice a day and I'm running out of room to put it. Our forecast here is for snow every day until next Saturday. Well if the polar icecaps are disappearing, at least we know where they are going to.

 

[Vexorg]

I remember Crossroads back when. We lived up in Mukilteo but my mom worked at the Ben Franklin bank on 148th (now the Sleep Country) so we spent a lot of time down in Overlake/Crossroads.

I was actually wondering about that place . It's been a Sleep Country for as long as I've lived here (I moved into the area in roughly 1995) but for quite a few years they kept the time and temperature signs, which are usually a good indication of a former bank. They got removed a couple of years ago though (I'd have to guess they just got to the point where they stopped working.) Approximately when was it that your Mom worked at the bank?

One of the posts I've been meaning to write as soon as I can do some more research on it is the history of the Overlake Fred Meyer store (which is surprisingly complicated, and ties in with the history of the Everett Mall.) I've got so much of this stuff to work on that I have no idea when I'm ever going to get to all of it. Once the local newspaper archives make it to Google, it should make things a lot easier though.

As for the snow, I went out with a measuring tape, and it looks like there's a total of about 8" on the ground here, with about 2 1/2" of that since this afternoon. I'd ask why the heck I ever left Disney World, but given the horrendous mess that's apparently at Sea-Tac right now, I'm really glad I made it back before it got too bad...

 

[noodles]

I just read on komo's website that the tent over Bellevues Ice Skating rink has collapsed. 10 people were inside and one little girl was taken to the hospital. I hope everyone will be ok.

We now have 11" in Bothell.

 

[BelleBoo&AmisMum]

I was actually wondering about that place . It's been a Sleep Country for as long as I've lived here (I moved into the area in roughly 1995) but for quite a few years they kept the time and temperature signs, which are usually a good indication of a former bank. They got removed a couple of years ago though (I'd have to guess they just got to the point where they stopped working.) Approximately when was it that your Mom worked at the bank?

One of the posts I've been meaning to write as soon as I can do some more research on it is the history of the Overlake Fred Meyer store (which is surprisingly complicated, and ties in with the history of the Everett Mall.) I've got so much of this stuff to work on that I have no idea when I'm ever going to get to all of it. Once the local newspaper archives make it to Google, it should make things a lot easier though.

As for the snow, I went out with a measuring tape, and it looks like there's a total of about 8" on the ground here, with about 2 1/2" of that since this afternoon. I'd ask why the heck I ever left Disney World, but given the horrendous mess that's apparently at Sea-Tac right now, I'm really glad I made it back before it got too bad...

She stopped working at the bank in 85 or so, Ben Franklin went under in 1990 it looks like, then it was a SeaFirst before switching over to BoA. I think the Sleep Country opened right around 95.

This snow has me wondering if any roofs will collapse again, I remember the Fred Meyers caving in and the Toys R Us in downtown Bellevue too.

It's still snowing like crazy out here, my husband who is usually happy to sit at home and never leave is starting to get a little cranky about it.

I just read on komo's website that the tent over Bellevues Ice Skating rink has collapsed. 10 people were inside and one little girl was taken to the hospital. I hope everyone will be ok.

We now have 11" in Bothell.

That is so scary!

I thought about taking the yard stick out there to measure the spot we've been leaving alone since this all started but then I decided it would just depress me so I haven't done it.

 

[Michelle67]

I just read on komo's website that the tent over Bellevues Ice Skating rink has collapsed. 10 people were inside and one little girl was taken to the hospital. I hope everyone will be ok.

We now have 11" in Bothell.

Oh no! I hope everyone will be okay too.

 

[Vexorg]

This snow has me wondering if any roofs will collapse again, I remember the Fred Meyers caving in and the Toys R Us in downtown Bellevue too.

Apparently the tent that houses Bellevue's temporary ice rink did in fact collapse earlier. Fortunately, only 1 person got injured by that one. Roof collapses don't generally happen unless there's a decent accumulation of snow followed by heavy rain which gets trapped in the snow and makes it much heavier (this is what happened frequently in the '95 storm, if I recall correctly.)

 

[barkley]

our interior pipes (in our very well insulated garage) froze today luckily none burst, so borrowing a neighbor's space heater warmed them up enuf to get the water going again. (mental note-buy a space heater at buymart tomorrow).

saw the weather report tonite and happy that tuesday looks clear-we're taking the munchkins to triple play after we stop off in the valley to grab the honey baked ham and hit cabellas for some snow clothes. planning on doing the lake cordie christmas boat light tour with a final stop at tito macaroni's for their gut busting goodies. then it's back to the ameritel for the nite (we are not driving back even though it's only around an hour max) and back home for christmas eve then (so long as the water and the electricy hold out) it can snow as much as it wants (so long as we can break free for the hockey game that saturday nite ).

keep warm everyone-i'm heading off to town tomorrow to return the long overdue videos and library books and to grab a few papa murphy's pizzas (they cook up just fine on the propane grill if the need occurs).

 

[jordansmomma]

Molly~ I hope you are ok after your fall. OUCH!!

I hope the person that was hurt in Bellvue is doing fine. That's so scary!

Barkley~ I love triple play!! That place is so fun. I like Cabellas also. Who are the Cheifs playing on Saturday? Becareful right now George Mopin said there are quite a few spin offs just after the Cheney exit.

 

[BelleBoo&AmisMum]

Apparently the tent that houses Bellevue's temporary ice rink did in fact collapse earlier. Fortunately, only 1 person got injured by that one. Roof collapses don't generally happen unless there's a decent accumulation of snow followed by heavy rain which gets trapped in the snow and makes it much heavier (this is what happened frequently in the '95 storm, if I recall correctly.)

The storm in 96 caused the roof of a shucks to collapse and blew the walls out on the building, I remember seeing it a few days later when we finally got out. The Toys R Us collapse led to the first of several needed remodels.

They're saying a building in Marysville just collapsed.

our interior pipes (in our very well insulated garage) froze today luckily none burst, so borrowing a neighbor's space heater warmed them up enuf to get the water going again. (mental note-buy a space heater at buymart tomorrow).

That's my worst nightmare right there! We've had our faucets dripping every night at bed, but eek.

Six more inches last night, is this crap over yet?!?! I'd give my left foot for a big rain storm - I'd even take flooding!

 

[Vexorg]

The frozen/burst pipes bit has happened at least once in my parents' garage. Fortunately, my Dad had the plumbing stuff around to deal with it, and was able to take care of it before it turned into a major disaster. There's extra insulation on the pipes now (the rest of the garage is uninsulated though.)

 

[BelleBoo&AmisMum]

We ventured out today, won't be making that mistake again! We got to the grocery store without problem but coming home was a mess, we slid sideways down our hill, missed the driveway, had to go all the way to the bottom and start over. I managed to get in the driveway and then had a nervous breakdown!

DH doesn't drive in snow either, he's from the flat section of France.

 

[Nicolepa]

I was actually wondering about that place . It's been a Sleep Country for as long as I've lived here (I moved into the area in roughly 1995) but for quite a few years they kept the time and temperature signs, which are usually a good indication of a former bank. They got removed a couple of years ago though (I'd have to guess they just got to the point where they stopped working.) Approximately when was it that your Mom worked at the bank?

One of the posts I've been meaning to write as soon as I can do some more research on it is the history of the Overlake Fred Meyer store (which is surprisingly complicated, and ties in with the history of the Everett Mall.) I've got so much of this stuff to work on that I have no idea when I'm ever going to get to all of it. Once the local newspaper archives make it to Google, it should make things a lot easier though.

I don't ever remember it being a bank. We moved to that area when I was 12. It was January, 1985. So it's possible that I just didn't pay attention back then! My dad still lives there. Take 24th towards the lake to the bottom of Bennet hill and there you are. I know before it was the sleep country is was a record store. Before that it was a sporting goods store. I clearly remember all their ski's were upstairs.

I remember when that Fred Meyer used to be more like a mini strip Mall. You had the grocery store, the department store area and then you had a Hallmark, a cafe, and a few other small stores in there that I can't recall anymore. It was really quite odd.

I also remember Crossroads before they remodeled. It was not a place you really wanted to be after dark!

 

[Michelle67]

We ventured out today, won't be making that mistake again! We got to the grocery store without problem but coming home was a mess, we slid sideways down our hill, missed the driveway, had to go all the way to the bottom and start over. I managed to get in the driveway and then had a nervous breakdown!

DH doesn't drive in snow either, he's from the flat section of France.

Yikes! Glad you made it home safely, and that you waited until you were parked to have your nervous breakdown.

I couldn't go out if I wanted to. The snow in my driveway is deeper than the underside of my car, and there's no way on earth I'll be shoveling the driveway...since it's over 200 feet long.

We made a nice Snow Santa today. It has two faces; one facing the house and one facing the road. Here he is, and also a couple of artsy fartsy shots of my roses and raspberries. LOL