Portland is on its third day of snow. We are a city ill-suited to snow. Most people don’t know how to drive in it. We have lots of hills that are quite steep and can get slippery, we have bridges that get icy, and we have snow so seldom, there is no huge fleet of snow removal equipment nor deep knowledge of living with snow. I hunker down and so does my best friend, and we are both from snow country. She’s from Buffalo, I am from the Northwoods of Minnesota. We know snow.

I remember the first snowfall after I moved to Oregon. I was living way up in the Cascades, in a river valley, closed in my mountains, a deep canyon that ranged from 1/4 to a few miles wide. There were places where the road was carved into the canyon cliffs, with a fall down into the river below and there were wider valleys that made room for truck farming, but life centered on logging. It was rural, so I was surprised when I got a call saying school was closed and there was just a dusting of snow, barely two inches. I thought it was a prank and went to school anyway, discovering it was closed. Deciding to take advantage of a weekday off, I decided to drive to the State Capitol and take a tour.

It was then I discovered why they closed school for a light snowfall. Driving up one of the big hills, the traffic was so slow the cars lacked the speed that would keep them from sliding backwards, pulled by gravity on the slick highway. It was quite frightening, more frightening than anything that had ever happened to me in a car before. I managed to avoid them as I chugged up the hill, but it was nerve-wracking. I am sure they thought I was a speedster, but really, I just understood the laws of physics.

Sadly, the Capitol was closed for snow, so was the shopping mall. So, I drove several miles for a burger and coffee. And an introduction to the rules of snow in places that get little snow. It’s not the snow, it’s the other drivers. It’s not the snow, it’s the lack of preparation. It’s not the snow, it’s the lack of equipment. And it makes sense. It’s far cheaper to just shut down for a few days every few years than to invest in fleets of snow equipment. As to the drivers, they need practice and they don’t get it. So in spite of years of driving experience on snow and ice that are never seen in this part of the state, those of us who come from snow country hunker down just as homebound as those who were born here. Experience and expertise are of little importance when the rest of the road is full of novices.

But today I am perching on a stump, enjoying the sun and putting out some oats for the deer. Sitting on a stump for a short rest before going in to bake some bread. My hoodie is a bit under-dressed for the cold, but you heat up when you’re hauling buckets and don’t want to dress too warm. The hair and hoodie are a combination from TRUTH/ALT and with color change HUDS are full of options. The candy cane leggings are a free gift from AlaskMetro – at On9 – and so much fun.

I like shoes NYU boots on icy sidewalks. For trudging through deep snow, suede is trouble because you have to condition and brush them if they get wet, but I had a pair very like these, without the lace. The stiletto helps keep you from slipping where a stack heel would be more slippery. Of course, you really want shitkickers, but they are not very stylish and are worn to go put out the flag for the snowplow and take hay out to the pasture, not for perching elegantly on a stump.

Lelutka will soon be releasing Simone 2.0 – a bento head. I have been adjusting and editing and playing and like it quite a lot. It’s been fun to have that control restored. I was really struggling until Gogo from Juicybomb reminded me that the eyebrows are edited with the hair, not the shape. Out of practice!!! I will write more about the head, but want to alert you that if you already have the non-bento Simone head, you can wear it when making your purchase and get L2500 back. Remember, it’s not enough to have it in your inventory, you must wear it. That’s a great bonus because really, this is not an update of Simone, it is an entirely new head weighted to all the new bones in our Bento avatars. Glam Affair released two skins already designed for Simone 2.0, a perfect fit. I am wearing Sammy.

Well, here’s hoping the sun shines, warms up, and Portland comes back to life soon.

****SHOPPING LIST******
Clothing: TRUTH Brighton Hoodie [Maitreya] [ALL]
Shoes: NYU – Laced-Top Leather Boots, Scarlet
Skin: Glam Affair America
Hair: TRUTH HAIR Brighton [For Hoodie]
Poses: oOo Studio
Appliers: Glam Affair Sammy America
AlaskaMetro Nail applier Gala Gacha at on9
alaskametro<3 “Candi” leggings – candycane – Maitreya HUD *WEAR Gift at On9
Eyes: [PXL] REFLEX Eyes (M) ~ GreenGold
Mesh Attachments: .LeLutka.Head.Simone 2.0
.LeLutka.Teeth.Simone 2.0
Maitreya Mesh Body – Lara V3.5
Slink Avatar Enhancement Feet Deluxe V1.2.5
Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands V2.1 – L
HUDS: .LeLutka.Simone 2.0.HUD
AnyPose Expression HUD v1.0 – Wear Me
Location:
Mon Cheri Nisse Greta & Hans Red Rare @ Arcade
Ariskea Winter in Canada Tree Stump, Exterior Light @ Arcade
Kalopsia Metal Deer, Snowballs Basket @ Arcade
Ariskea Winter in Canada Cabin@ Arcade
Fawny – Winter Wonderland Deer, Frisky, Relaxing, Standing
KittyCats
Rustica Charles Browne Xmas Tree
Pilot Snow Pots Snowy Mailbox