SNOW

Can you believe it? When is the last time it snowed before Christmas in Portland???? And actually stuck to the ground? I had heard brief news reports that it might snow, but being a native Oregonian completely dismissed the idea as a remote possibility. Sure enough Sunday morning it started to snow... surely it won't stick though. A few hours later we had a light blanket covering our yard. Well this is going to ruin my plans I thought! I had been so looking forward to the baby shower that was scheduled for that afternoon. I could hardly wait to see friends and family and I know that my friends had worked very hard to organize everything. Ken and I drove over to the shower a few minutes early. I figured it might just be the four of us (the hostess and her husband and Ken and I). I was delighted when there was a knock on the door... 4 people were able to make it! They were all non-oregonians and used to driving in snowy conditions. We had a fun time even with a small crowd.

The snow has continued for 3 days now! I feel like I've been a bit home bound. Maybe that's a good thing though. We have lots of "projects" to do around the house. The sun came out today for a bit and the roads were completely melted so I ventured out to run a few errands. On my way home it was starting to feel like it was freezing again.

It's nice to be home, but I'll admit I have thought much about our friends in Israel. What time is it there? What are they up to? When I was shopping for produce today I thought about the market in Haifa and the wonderful tomatoes I would get for 3 shekels or the mouthwatering fruit we could get there. We have some terrific memories of the last 6 months. We both agree it was a good experience and glad we had the opportunity to learn so much about a different culture and about ourselves.