So I had the bright idea to soak in our wood-fired Snorkel hot tub last evening.  The forecast was for snow beginning at 5PM.  But the soft fluffy snow started earlier so while the Huskies were sucking on TV in the second half, Tom built a fire and got our hot tub ready.  I made a prime rib dinner.  The snow continued through this time.  Then we ate the dinner, but Rowdy’s prime rib was tough.  We went outside for our tubbing, and it had started to rain at 33 degrees and there were bitter cold wind gusts.  We got in the hot tub anyway.  We wore rain hats and dipped further down in the hot water when the wind picked up.  I managed to get one candle lit despite the wind.  I was sipping on Caraway Aquavit, and Tom was drinking Oliver’s Scrumpy cider.  Then the ice pellets started beating down on us.  We toughed it out for a while, covering our cups but then gave up and headed for the house.  After we got in the house, the fluffy snow started up again.

This seems like an appropriate end to 2016.  The year seemed to be filled with celebrity deaths (the worst for me was Prince), shootings (the worst for me were the Orlando massacre, the Burlington Macy’s shootings and the recent shooting of a Mount Vernon cop) and an ugly election (with a dangerous man winning the presidency).  But I have to remember 2016 was not all bad. There were bright spots like the listeners saving KNKX and the Cubs winning the World Series.

snowy-hot-tub

2017 is starting out promisingly.  We had a pretty snow fall overnight coating everything in white.  It is peaceful here with a decrease in traffic.  Here are the wintry views:

snowy-backyard

snowy-oregano

snowy-garden

snowy-garden-shed

snowy-sheep-and-barns

snowy-orchard

There is prime rib stew cooking in the Instant Pot and the Seahawks are about to annihilate the 49ers.  Plus I finished my Seahawks Cowichan sweater.  2017 is looking up (or at least we will make the best of it!).

GO HAWKS!