Snowpocalypse after all, plus tamales!

Yesterday, aside from finishing up some holiday shopping, I hied myself over to the abode of mrdorbin and southplains for the annual tamale-making party. A group of us set ourselves up assembly-line style; my job was adding one of the several fillings as the corn husks were passed along. I'm certain we made at least 100 tamales if not more, and we had a wonderful time. We made sweet tamales, bean tamales, chicken tamales, and pork tamales, with or without cheese as circumstances or team preferences dictated. At the end of it all, after tamale feasting, we each went home with a bag to freeze for later consumption. My preferences were for the sweet (which I originally wasn't too sure of as it contains anise, but the anise is subtle and really makes the flavor) and chicken with cheese--just delicious! I expect to have some tonight, probably for dinner, and then freeze the rest.

There was also a long session of "Rock Band," which I'd never played before. It was almost enough to make me want an Xbox...almost, mostly for the drum kit. I had a blast playing the game.

When ironymaiden and I finally left our hosts nearly seven hours after arrival, we emerged into light-falling snow. We strolled down to Broadway for a shopping stop at Bliss Soaps, then had a light, fun dinner at the Deluxe. By the time dinner was over, the snow was falling in a serious way, accumulating on cars but not the street.

Our original plan had been to hit Dilettante at its new location, but we decided to indulge in dessert a little closer to home, given the weather. We ended up at the Hi-Life in Ballard for a Venetian gondola (three kinds of sorbet with chocolate syrup, pound cake and hazelnuts--yum!) and chatter, then parted company. The snow had lightened up a bit by then, but I admit that as I drove home I became concerned about my plans for today.

I've probably mentioned this before, but when it snows in Seattle, there is excitement and trepidation. Excitement arises out of, well, SNOW! Pretty, pretty snow! And it's fairly rare here, usually a once-a-winter occurrence. Trepidation arises from the fact that said snow will often turn to ice, and on the city's steep and hilly streets, even half-an-inch can become dangerous.

So this morning, as I gaze out onto the sugar-frosted vista outside my window, I am both delighted and sobered. I have plans today that I was really looking forward to; now, with the snow and possible ice, I'm wondering if it makes sense to pursue them anyway. ::grumble:: Darn snow. Well, I guess we'll see how tings progress.