We had a bit of snow overnight. Not too much, but it had rained all afternoon and the temperature dropped to 22 degrees overnight, so the roads turned to a sheet of ice. This is very common in Oregon.
In January.
Not sure what is going on with this weather in November, as (you probably know) we are usually in Palm Springs by now.
This was our deck at 10 o'clock last evening. Temperatures were in the 20s already.
This was our deck at 7 o'clock this morning. No more snow - and the snow we did receive was evaporating in the dry cold air. You folks dealing with feet of snow will laugh at our predicament, but this is huge stuff in Oregon. The television news was 24/7/365 about the "snow storm of the century"...Needless to say, we did not leave the house all day. Stranded. In the country. Four miles from a grocer. Luckily we are well-supplied (meaning we have a wine cellar and a treadmill).
Our marriage survived the "snow storm of the century".
I spent the afternoon polishing silver. Apparently half of America is also polishing silver today in preparation for Thanksgiving.
As long as I was home... I made a reduction for a filet mignon. One cup chicken stock, one cup red wine, a big glug of balsamic, several cloves of chopped garlic, a quarter of a large yellow onion, a handful of thyme leaves, a handful of parsley leaves, ten peppercorns and a little Kosher salt... which I boiled down til it was reduced by half. Then I strained the solids out of the mixture and reduced the broth until it was about 1/4 cup. No kidding. It was as thick as molasses and absolutely divine.
A filet mignon, seared in the pan, finished in the oven and drizzled with the fabulous reduction - with sauteed Brussels Sprouts. Perfect for a snowy day.On a personal note: remember our friend, and my occasional driver, Captain Jim? Jim, and his lovely wife, Mary, have a new granddaughter!
Please welcome, Haley - a future Duck - to the world! Isn't she just adorable? Class of 2032! Congratulations Mary & Jim!!!Until my next update, I remain, your snowed-in correspondent.