Tokbox - video conferencing

This Christmas, the Johnson clan was in three cities.

Tualatin, Oregon
Fridley, Minnesota
Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin

We still got together for some fun on Tokbox - www.tokbox.com


Since it was Christmas - I'm sure every other Tokbox member was meeting up as well. The video/audio lag was sometimes near 30 seconds. That made for some funny moments...

Video calls have been around for a few years - but now they are closer than every to actual working reality. Welcome to the future.

Snowed in

The Portland area is still being dumped on...with no end in sight.

Well - I'm sure there is an end, but I really wished I had bought a shovel two weeks ago... We could chain up the Explorer and drive to True Value of Home Depot...but if they are open, I'm sure there are no shovels left in stock.

No shovel here!

Arctic Blast 2008

You want photos? We've got your photos right here.

The Pacific Northwest has been having some cold weather this week - and the moisture came along for the party, too. So - five snow days started the winter break early this year.

We've had fun in the snow - enjoy the show!

Here is the link to the Picasa Web Album to see them in their full glory.

You want to see the cars on the hill? Click here for tips on what not to do in Portland snow events.

White Christmas....not looking good

We've been having a week of cold and snow here in Portland.  I haven't gotten a blog post about it as it happens - but I'm sure I'll get some photos and commentary up soon.  Also - we went to Hood River last weekend to ride The Polar Express.  Gotta get that adventure posted, too!

In the mean time - the Tigard-Tualatin School District now has five snow days in the bag.  How do you like that?  Now comes two weeks of winter break.  Gotta love being a kid when weather like this happens!

Anyway, as we are in the midst of this 'Arctic Blast' - as the TV stations keep saying ( KGW - KOIN - KATU - KPTV ) - I looked ahead to Christmas at the Pacifc Northwest NWS forecast website.  The graphic below (click on it for the full version) shows Dec 24-25th.  The snow we have on the ground right now just might not hold up to this much rain...though this coming weekend is looking to be the worst weather we have experienced this week.

White Christmas?  Maybe Not!

 

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas...

It was a really nice day today...high temperature was about 61°. Cloudy in the morning, but sunny in the afternoon. A perfect day to get the Christmas lights up.

I even got the wreath hung in our large window

Lights strung along the fence

Hope all your after Thanksgiving shoppings went well. We had a relaxed day yesterday - no 5am standing in lines. But we did manage to buy enough socks for a football team or two at Fred Meyer...yikes!

At Target we found a few things - and when I got the receipt, it came with another 'receipt-like' thing. At first I thought it was a survey type deal - "Have a chance at winning $5,000 - call and answer our survey about your visit". It wasn't - it was a coupon for a free bag of Hershey's candy - price limit of $3.62. So - because Target wasn't that busy (it was about 3pm) - I decided to go get it right away. It took a little searching to find the exact type listed on the coupon - and when I did it cost $3.69. When I brought it back to the checkout - I didn't have any problems - I thought I would have to pay 7¢. Funny how that worked out...but anyway, we got free candy for some reason.

Yahoo!

The Elves are at it again

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...and the Elves are back at OfficeMax. This time it is integrated with JibJab. Fun stuff, eh?

These are two different Elf dances, though they look the same. Enjoy!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

2007 Christmas Tree Hunt

Last Saturday (12/08/07) we headed off on our annual Christmas Tree Hunt. Every year, usually on the Sunday after Thanksgiving - we head off to the Mt. Hood National Forest to search for the perfect Christmas Tree. We go with Mick's family and some other people also come along for the fun. This year - due to the lack of snow after Thanksgiving, family members on vacation in Hawaii (!), and Uncle Marty's work schedule changing - we went on a Saturday a few weekends later.

The fun of the adventure is multifaceted. Of course - it would be great to find a Christmas tree. We stop at the Zig-Zag Ranger Station, located on Hwy 26, to purchase the $5 tree tags. We used to stop at the Mt. Hood Information center, but in the past few years they stopped selling the tags. We still stopped to answer the call of nature, but this year the center was closed. Not sure why - but the port-o-potties at the ranger station had to suffice.

So - after buying the tags (thanks Papa!) - we heard off up Lolo Pass Road. This road goes up the west side of Mt. Hood, generally following the power lines coming from Hood River. We hit snow at maybe 4 miles up the road, and following the twists and turns - our Explorer was soon switched to 4x4. After a couple of more miles - we had some trouble, due to the depth of the snow, the hardness and ice covering...and the Explorer's low transmission clearance. Uncle Dan in his Yukon Suburban, and Papa driving Uncle Dan's large diesel pickup didn't have any trouble. But - we continued and reached the 'top' - which is about 10 miles from the starting point at Hwy 26.

We got settled in, suited up in snow clothes, and had fun! The Bares found their tree almost immediately, Papa got one after a long hike up a hill and over deep snow, Uncle Marty got one a little later...and we came up empty. But - we are looking for a more 'traditional' looking tree - a Douglas Fir. The area we are looking in is a great place for Nobel Firs. It is a little difficult to find a perfect tree - as many trees grow clumped together and the easy pickings are no longer there. It is quite a hunt.

However, the day was perfect. Temperatures in the 20's, blue sky with no clouds, and Mt. Hood shining in glory! We sledded, at lunch, played some more - and then headed down the mountain. It would have been great to stay and watch the sunset on Mt. Hood - but no one wanted to go down Lolo Pass in the dark. There are no guard rails on the road, it was snow covered by at least 2 feet of snow...and the road is only wide enough for one vehicle in places. You don't want to meet another vehicle at some curves...

So - check out the photos of the day. We've posted them on our Picassa account.

Brian & Mick Picassa Web Album
2007 Christmas Tree Hunt

We've been Elf'd!

We got an email from Aunt Paula - there is an Office Depot website where you can upload photos of yourself (and 3 more people) - and you become a singing elf group. You can even call a toll-free number and record a greeting. The message is available within seconds of hanging up the phone.

Here are the two elf groups we spent some time creating. Enjoy!


http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9582111846

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9586601784

Putting up the lights

Yesterday was a great day to put up the Christmas lights. We usually wait until after Thanksgiving, and by then it is usually raining. We had a nice sunny day, blue sky, and probably temps in the 40s-50s.

I did have some helpers...

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Mick put up the lights on the front yard fence, and I hung the icicle lights on the house. Still can't quite get up to hang any from the top story of the house...the ladder just isn't strong enough, and a little bit short to get up there safely.

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The lights did have a few burned out bulbs - so I replaced them before I hung the light strings....

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Maybe this wasn't the best method to get the lights out...or I should have unplugged them first.