Item #1: Snow
News from Washington: Closed for the winter.
The WA DOT page for this route is Route 20. North Cascades Highway. 
There is current information, and a little history.
The map to the right doesn’t show the build-up of snow in the avalanche chutes where the highway crosses that bright pink area in northern Washington. A mid-November closure is typical for this reason.
It’s rumored (OK, projected) that our area will be a bit colder and snowier than normal. This is because the Pacific Ocean along the Equator, west of South American, has been cooling.
La Niña is looming.
We’ll see.
Item #2: Coffee Art
This appeared labeled as a cat setting off a nuclear explosion. I guess paying $5 for a cup of coffee is worth the price if it gives one the opportunity to photograph it and find a place on the web to post it.
My thought turned toward “animal familiars”
[link here: Familiar ], so I saw something else in the central swirl. I saw a person-like thing with scrawny shoulders, a long narrow neck, facing left with a big head of hair.
Also, the “cat” could be an Owl.
Item #3: Up your game 
Or provide your favorite game player with a Christmas surprise.
Moose poo dice
These have a nice texture, density, aroma, firmness, and visual appeal.
Item #4: Odd things
We’ve been driving Subarus for some years now, so when this photo appeared the thought occurred that is was from the famous Australian Outback.
There is a Subaru Outback pulling an Outback in front of an Outback, in the Outback.
Nancy uses a Forester and I use the small blue Crosstrek. Neither have been used much this year because she has not been doing music things, and I haven’t been doing trail work. I likely won’t be doing trails next year; maybe a few. Seems the elder care and rehab facilities will need to be re-built before the community groups are invited back. Just a guess.
What do you drive, and where?
Item #5: Buy me a pie 
This story is from the Ravenna area just northeast of the University of Washington.
Photos
Click on the right side for more info. Looks like the pie shown here might cost $75.
This link should work: Feedfeed
If you are interested in food and cooking, ‘Feedfeed’ might be a site you want to explore.
I’m not interested in $75 pies.
And that, for this week, is the not so nasty news.
John