Well, THAT was an ordeal!

Woke up this morning to snow, in spite of all my fervent hopes it would wait until after Crafty Wonderland. We really didn't want to risk driving in it, we being unskilled ice drivers and all, so we decided to intrepidly brave Tri-Met, the Portland bus system which is reputed to rock. And it does. It was easy. We reached the thrumming halls of crafty goodness in no time. And shopped.

These are the adorable paintings of Johanna Wright. I loOoOoOove them.
And I also love her music, some of which you can hear HERE.

Some plushies from crafty goddess friends Jenn and Jenny at Robot Candy:

Look at this: tutus, pantaloons, and slips in every color of silk imaginable:

And don't you just want to eat this yarn?
Okay, maybe it's just me. The eating part.

Cool jewels from Handmade Julz:

So much more good stuff. I am shy about taking pictures of people's art, so I don't have that many. I'm afraid of getting scolded.

So far, so good. Inside, out of the wind and snow. Crafties and chocolate and color everywhere. But we were getting hungry. So we walked about six blocks in the chill to a fabulous Lebanese restaurant where the fresh pita bread was very enormous:
(That's Chary, Rachel, Ben, and Jim, by the way.) Looking bundled:

Welll. . . after the eating and some more shopping, it was time to make our way back across the frozen city. Here's the thing about West Coast cities: they aren't exactly used to snow. So, well, the system was a bit taxed. No one was picking up the phone at the cab companies. Busy signal or ring ring ring. So we took the street car, but the "switches were frozen" and I don't even know what that means, but the upshot was loooong delays between stops. And anyway, the streetcar doesn't go near our house. So we got off in a familiar part of town and looked for the bus. But. . . there was no bus. And no bus. And no bus. And it was about 20 degrees, and snowing sideways. And dark. Halleluja, we finally spied a taxi making its way through the Taco Bell drive-thru and got a ride the last few miles home. Sheesh! An adventure! And now we'll be staying snugly in indoors for the next few days. We love getting snowed in.

And I know we wouldn't love it if we lived somewhere that it happened a lot, but here it's been two years since we had a decent snow, maybe another four before that? So, when it's rare, it's fun. It's the wind we could do without. Still, today was fun, and I'm very glad we didn't miss Crafty Wonderland, though I am thinking about the vendors having to get themselves home in the next hour or so, the roads slick, the wind howling. Poor artists. We were supposed to go hear a friend's band tonight, but that is not happening. I am already in my pajamas. The polka-dotted fleece has been unveiled -- ta da! -- because it is warmest. And silliest.

Some random shots of our Christmas tree: