They call it "showers" on the weather report...

So, I received more than a few comments from fellow Seattleites concerning my feelings about our rain. I feel there are a few things I must clear up. I here commence my rebuttal.

A certain someone, who shall henceforth remain nameless (let’s just call her the notoriously crazy commenting grandmother, or, grandma for short), suggested that I might be exaggerating about the conditions of our fair city. Here I site evidence #1; a second opinion.

From a local city website (for tourists, no less):

“Seattle has a well-deserved wet and rainy reputation, perpetuated not least by the self-depreciating humor of its citizens. It is a pertinent point that the 36 inches of annual rainfall received by Seattle each year is less than the annual rainfall of places like New York. It is just that the rain comes down over a longer period--often precipitating as a slow drizzle, begrudgingly deposited by low lying clouds that seem to hang around far longer than necessary to get the job done.
The waters throughout the Puget landscape can but reflect the gray skies, resulting in somewhat monochromatic views. Mysterious, if that's your cup of latte, depressing if it's not. Yet these mists and rain keep Seattle cleaner and greener than most cities of a similar size. It takes only a day of sunshine to shake the winter blues. The city sparkles, the land lies green and beckoning across the bays, rivers and waterways as the landscape is transformed from gray monotones into the glittering hues that earn the "Emerald City" its nickname.
Perhaps those winter months have fostered the production of artifacts by which Seattle has made its presence felt. On the face of it, the cultural icons of grunge-rock, espresso coffee and software may seem an odd combination. Could it be, however that one is the expression of the winter blues, one the antidote to the winter blues, and one the productive use of short, rainy days?”

I may I just review again the pertinent part about “a day of sunshine”? Ya, cuz that’s about all you're gonna get.

And well, perhaps I might do more research about the subject, quoting number of rainy days, etc, if I wasn’t so depressed from the dreary grey day and needing to crawl into bed forthright. Grandma, don’t tell me I’m exaggerating the amount of rain and then with the next breath state how much good the excess of it does to keep our city green (please see previous comments at “and it rains, and rains, and rains”).

And perhaps it should be noted that yes, I do enjoy the fall season. Why, not a few posts down I talk about how much I love fall activities—it’s my favorite season! I do enjoy the color changes, the crispness in the air, the pumpkins, the holidays, lattes, and fires. But, I enjoy the cold, crisp, SUNNY days of fall, where I can actually shuffle and kick the leaves about instead kicking up a pile of moldy, mossy, wet leaf sludge that leaves my toes soaked and the backs of my jeans crawling with puddle.

And, well, perhaps I’m just bitter that my leg warmers)are in the dirty laundry and I am still crying about that whole ice princess thing. Stupid rain.