It snowed here yesterday and I awoke to a beautiful white world. BUT, I had to open Sisters this morning, so it meant walking down the back alley (with the taxi sitting at the bottom waiting for me) which is steep and it makes me nervous as my balance is not always the best. However, got down with no problems and discovered to my pleasure that it was REAL snow. And what is REAL snow you ask? It's the light and fluffy stuff that you can kick up as you walk through it. Usually snow on the coast is wet and heavy and the moment you step on it, it turns to ice. Locally, we call it west coast cement. Terrible stuff.

By the time I came home at 2 p.m. it was a different story. It had warmed up slightly and there had been a couple of vehicles up the alley and it was packed and slippery. I will give the taxi driver credit though - at least he TRIED to get to the top but just couldn't make it. It was nerve wracking, but thanks to my cleats and my walking pole, I was fine.

The Apparition

When by thy scorn, O murderess, I am dead,
And that thou think'st thee free
From all solicitation from me,
Then shall my ghost come to thy bed,
And thee, feigned vestal, in worse arms shall see;
Then thy sick taper will begin to wink,
And he, whose thou art then, being tired before,
Will, if thou stir, or pinch to wake him, think
Thou call'st for more,
And in false sleep will from thee shrink,
And then, poor aspen wretch, neglected thou
Bathed in a cold quicksilver sweat wilt lie
A verier ghost than I;
What I will say, I will not tell thee now,
Lest that preserve thee; and since my love is spent,
I had rather thou shouldst painfully repent,
Than by my threatenings rest still innocent.

John Donne
1572 - 1631