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Subject: Postcard from Portland
Dear Family and Friends, Soggy December greetings! October started the damp season, but November picked up the pace considerably - it is suddenly sodden (as you can see from the climatological summary included at the end of this PfP). But hey, that's typical for the Pacific Northwet - although we're already far above average for rainfall (thus the new .sig, too ;-). Last month we wrote you that we had made some progress in our house hunt and promised to fill you in this month. And fill we will - we are now the proud owners of a plot of dirt which, if all goes according to plan, will be enhanced by a new home in five months!! After doing further research, we decided to purchase a new home - chiefly because (1) over 80% of the used homes have Louisiana Pacific siding (which is prone to rot and has resulted in thousands of law suits), (2) we wouldn't have to compromise on features we really wanted, and (3) we could afford it ;-) When we first started looking in earnest, we were impressed by the homes being built by Don Morissette Homes. They offer more floor space and features for the money than anything else in the area. He's been building homes in Portland for 18 years and came highly recommended. Liz and I settled on the same floor plan that we had seen in their model. It's a 2660 square feet two story home. Upstairs are 4 bedrooms, 2 baths (master and guest), a huge bonus room w/clerestory window (14'6"x13'8" - plenty of room for our desks and exercise equipment), and the laundry room. The master bedroom is quite large (14'6"x18'6"). It has bay windows and (I can hear Liz's heart pounding) a huge walk in closet (around 8'x10'). We've also opted for (more cardiovascular crescendos) a garden tub. The first floor is fitted out with a formal living room (14'8"x19'6"); dining room (11'6"x14'6"); spacious kitchen with a large center island, plenty of cabinet space and a nook w/bay windows overlooking the backyard. Off of and open to the kitchroom is a family room (16'x16'4") w/fireplace - which we've chosen to move to the corner of the room to make better use of the wall space. A door from the family room leads to the two car garage (19'4"x21'6"). There's also a half bath on the first floor. The front entry to the house is graced by a foyer that's open to the second floor. The location on which the house will stand is a corner lot in the interior of the development (36 sites in all) and measures 6430 square feet. It will afford us a Westerly view of the valley and Cascades from the living room, master bedroom and bonus room. Across the adjacent street (South side of the house) are huge lots that back to a conservation area populated by 80' fir trees. We had dreamed of having a view of Mount Hood, but houses that enjoy that luxury were a bit out of our price range. As it is, we were able to qualify for this home solely on my ADP salary! I don't think we could have afforded this much house in California on our combined income (and remember that I took a 20% cut when we moved here). We put down earnest money on the house on 11/2. On the 7th, we met with the loan officer and submitted our application. We received conditional approval on the spot! It was difficult to believe that our dream (one of them at least ;-) was coming true so quickly and easily. We're still sore from pinching ourselves. We had our construction meeting on the 20th and today we went out to look at our 'dirt'. The lot is graded and staked. We expect that they'll start pouring the foundation this week. The house across the street from us (the first one in this tract to have started) is already framed on the first floor. I asked the workmen when they had started the framing and they answered, "This morning"! It takes them only three days to frame from foundation to the roof! I want to get photographs of the work in progress for a scrap book - and to put up in my web space for you all to see. It looks like I'll have to visit the site daily. Liz and I flew down to California from the 12th through the 17th to spend time with her parents. Her dad is recovering from the two operations he had more slowly than any of us would like. But he is improving, which is one of the many things for which we could be thankful over the Thanksgiving holiday. While we were in California, we took advantage of the opportunity to see Jonathon Michael Denney for the first time!! We can't believe the little tyke is already over a year old. We had a delightful evening playing with him and sharing a wonderful dinner and catching up on old times with Colleen Hildebrand; her two daughters, Calisa and Kaela; and John and Linda Denney. As requested, I brought with me my fifes so that Calisa, John and I could make some music. As is always the case when we visit the Hildes & Denneys, the evening sped by far too quickly. Unfortunately, Garrett was out of town at a computer conference. I really wish he could have joined us - hopefully I can convince them to journey to Portland. I apologize to those of you who we did not see during our stay in California. The purpose of our trip was to spend time with Liz's parents. We wrangled one free evening, and it would have been a zoo trying to see everyone we would have liked to. The next time we get down to the southland we'll see some of the people we missed this last go around. In the meantime, if you can ford the rivers - come see us! Oh, one aside... on one of the walks we took for exercise during our visit with the Wolz's, Liz heard an unusual bird call. We looked around and spotted the source of the sound perched on a wire. It was an escaped cockatiel! He was soon joined by another (his mate?) - and they performed for us a dazzling display of aerial acrobatics. On the 19th we got our first taste of snow this season - around two inches. It was enough to frustrate motorists whose vehicles were not up to the challenge - and for me to find out that "Babe" could breeze right past them! Liz and I both worked Thanksgiving (and the weekend following <SIGH>), but thanks to Trader Joe's we nonetheless sat down to a traditional turkey dinner. Although we would have much preferred being able to be with family, we were thankful to be with each other and mindful of our numerous blessings. The length of the days is rapidly diminishing as we race towards the Winter Solstice. On that day we will wring out less than 8 hours and 44 minutes of daylight at this latitude (if, in fact, we get to see the sun at all). And soon thereafter will come the Yuletide and before we know it we'll be ringing out 1996 for good. Time seems to be not so much a constant as a variable which is a function of season, latitude, age and countless other influences. The fact that it is not a renewable resource makes it one of the more precious commodities we use. We are thankful for the moments we do get to spend with each other - and with you, in person or in cyberspace. Liz and I would like to extend to all of you our warmest wishes for a Happy Chanukah/Merry Christmas/Joyous Kwanza/[etc.] and a New Year filled with good health, love and time well spent. Until 1997's first Pfp... we love you all, Sandy & Liz
Portland Daily Climatological Summary
313 AM PST SUN DEC 01 1996
...TEMPERATURE...
HIGH YESTERDAY... 56
LOW YESTERDAY... 44
MEAN TEMP........ 50 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL... 7
NORMAL HIGH FOR TODAY... 48
NORMAL LOW FOR TODAY... 37
RECORD HIGH FOR TODAY... 62 SET IN 1958
RECORD LOW FOR TODAY... 20 SET IN 1985
...PRECIPITATION...
YESTERDAY............. 0.20
TOTAL FOR THE MONTH... 9.73
NORMAL MONTH TO DATE.. 5.34
TOTAL FOR THE YEAR.... 50.21 TOTAL SINCE OCT 1... 15.11
NORMAL YEAR TO DATE... 30.17 NORMAL FROM OCT 1... 8.01
SNOWFALL YESTERDAY...
SNOWFALL THIS MONTH.. 0
SNOW FOR THE SEASON.. T
...ASTRONOMICAL DATA...
SUNRISE TODAY...730 AM PST
SUNSET TODAY...429 PM PST
SUNRISE TOMORROW...732 AM PST
SUNSET TOMORROW...429 PM PST
Will We Have A White Christmas?
It's an age-old question that occurs to almost everyone around Christmas time. The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) has computed the probability of at least 1 inch of snow on Christmas morning, as well as the probabilities for a depth of at least 5 inches and 10 inches. Only locations with "first order" weather stations and at least 25 years of data were used for this study and the 1961-'90 period was chosen to coincide with the standard period for computing climatological normals.
Here are the probabilities:
1" 5" 10"
OREGON:
ASTORIA 3% 0% 0%
EUGENE 7% 0% 0%
ASTORIA 3% 0% 0%
EUGENE 7% 0% 0%
MEDFORD 3% 0% 0%
NORTH BEND 0% 0% 0%
PENDLETON 13% 7% 0%
PORTLAND 0% 0% 0%
REDMOND 20% 7% 0%
SALEM 3% 0% 0%
SEXTON SUMMIT 44% 33% 7%
WASHINGTON:
BELLINGHAM 10% 7% 0%
OLYMPIA 3% 0% 0%
QUILLAYUTE 0% 0% 0%
SEATTLE 7% 0% 0%
SPOKANE 70% 30% 3%
STAMPEDE PASS 100% 100% 96%
WALLA WALLA 17% 3% 0%
WENATCHEE 67% 43% 17%
WHIDBEY ISLAND 7% 0% 0%
--
Sandy & Liz Herring Portland Peck of Pickled Pisces
webfeet@herring.org Oregon http://www.herring.org/
And that's the news from Portland
where everything is green, rolling stones gather moss,
and the rainfall is always above average.
Most Recent Update: Thursday, 14-Oct-2004 17:16:34 PDT
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