Hi All! It's a beautiful, sunny, and warm (50 degrees) day in Portland. I'm sitting in my home office wishing I was out jogging around the golf course! It is a far cry from last week as we had snow, ice and freezing temperatures here for a couple of weeks. I was so happy that Mom and Dad are in Arizona and missing this cold weather up here, (Spokane isn't thawing out yet. High today of 32 degrees with 5 inches of snow on the ground! Brrrr!) I spoke to them yesterday. They're in Phoenix (Mesa) at Kaye's it isn't that warm yet. Mom said Dad was missing his fireplace because he can't stay warm enough. If they head home now they'll just get home by the time it warms up in Arizona and they'll wish they were south again. I hope they decide to stick it out and wait for the temperature climb up. They so love the heat!

Here's a picture of my little house in the snow! I decided to call the Christmas lights "winter lights" since they are still up on the house in January. They are so pretty in the snow! I guess I'll have to take them down now that it's almost spring. We don't get snow here in Portland very often so it's a big event. There was lots of ice and Portland has lots of hills so chains were required. Growing up in Spokane I feel confident driving in the snow, but the city was requiring chains so I had to crawl around on the floor in the garage and get them on before heading to work for a graveyard shift. (At least when you head to the mountain to go skiing you can enjoy the fun at the end of putting on the chains. No fun just doing it to get ready for work.) With teeth rattling and my rearview mirror jumping around I bounced my way into work at a whopping speed of 25 mph. Honestly! I made it safely and spent the next 12 hours selling lots of power to California, Idaho and Montana because of the same cold snap. Good times.

Mom and Denise and I on Christmas Eve.

I'm getting ready to trade my skis in for snorkeling gear. In February I get to go to Guadeloupe, an island in the French West Indies. (Did you hear me say "Carribean"?) My best buddy Denise is from there and left a week ago with her husband and two small boys. Her father passed away after a long illness and so she went "home" to be with her family. She has asked me to come an join her there when her husband has to return to Portland for work. I'll be helping with the boys and whatever I can do to help her mom get back on her feet. It won't be all work, of course. Those tropical temperatures and white sandy beaches will require some attention from this tourist while I'm not being Auntie. All in all, I am honored to be able to be there for my friend. I'm sure I'll be posting more on that after I get back.

Hmmm...not a lot of other news from me! Glenn and I are scheduled for dinner for his birthday this week. His birthday was the 9th, but I have been sick with a cold, so we put it off until this week. He has recently got me addicted to sushi so we are sushi buddies now. Not sure what movie we'll see, he's a sci-fi kinda guy and I'm the drama or romantic comedy type. I guess I'll let him pick because it's his birthday afterall.

Tyson is keeping me informed on football. Two weeks until the superbowl. I'm not sure I want to root for Chicago because they are the team that eliminated the Seahawks, but I'm thinking Aunt Rose and Shirley will be rooting for them so I might just have to get over it and join the party. (I was rooting for New Orleans yesterday after Hurricane Katrina, can you blame me?)

Tammy is busy as the legislative session is in full swing while she also works on finishing her master's degree. (Don't you think that should be capilized!? Master's Degree!) So, we have a Portland shopping weekend planned for when she resufaces in the summer. A woman can never have too many pairs of shoes, right?

Aunt Sue is in our prayers as she undergoes the latest round of treatments. Thank you for posting some of the details so we know how to pray and are aware of what is happening. I wish I was there to give you a hug and spend the day with you.

Hope you all are doing well and getting excited for the summer family event at the lake. I am looking forward to it.

Stay warm there in the coldest part of the country! If I worked there, I'd make certain Uncle Joe's power was on long before now! (If I could...) You're all welcome to come to my house until the spring!

Love you,

Sandi