And it just keeps coming…

I called the office yesterday and told them I wasn’t coming in – the roads were just too dangerous and the sidewalks weren’t much better, what with the crazy drivers sliding all over the place. I am so thankful I park off the street! The final tally from yesterday:

Maybe another half inch fell before it stopped for the night. The freezing rain started yesterday about 4 PM and now there’s a 1/2″ crust of ice over everything. Fun times!

Revy is not at all bothered by the snow, being an inside cat. In fact, I think he rather enjoys the fact that it’s so light outside, even at night. He spends hours in his perch looking out the back window:

The ducks are still around, although they aren’t walking to and fro as usual. The pond has a layer of ice on it but isn’t frozen like it was during the last Arctic Episode:

It’s been a very quiet weekend. I made spaghetti sauce and cup after cup of tea while watching “Bones” on Netflix. How did I not know about this show? Haven’t gotten to the vacuuming yet, but have been working on a knitting project. The sound of icicles falling off the trailer is a little startling still.

Sabu is having a terrible day. She LOVES the snow but this ice thing is just not her idea of a good time. She’s heavy enough that she falls through the crust and she refuses to poop on top of the snow/ice. Finally found a sheltered spot under a tree and now she’s napping. This was the scene yesterday:

I took her outside while I shoveled snow off the patio and this was her reaction to me telling her it was time to come back inside. A light snow was falling, she had ice balls in her feet and lower legs, but she wanted to stay outside anyway. Silly dog. Felt like shit making her come inside, but what could I do?

All is well, warmer temps are on the way and this will all be gone by Monday, I’m sure.

How’s your weekend going? Have any weather-related tales to tell?

 

Snow Day :-)

The weathertards have been predicting today’s “weather event” for almost a week. Everyone with any sort of connection to the outside world knew that frigid temps with moisture would be moving into the area the latter part of this week, most likely Thursday. The news has been blasted on radio, TV, social media and a million other online sources.

Right this moment a local “news” reporter is interviewing a Darwin award contender who is wearing a thin coat and has no gloves or hat, shivering at a very crowded bus stop while waiting for his ride home. Dude is clueless. Really? The reporter asked him if he expected “this” when he left home this morning. Dude says, “No. Not at all…” Srsly? At least he’s not driving!

Even if you spent the last week in a media blackout, not speaking to anyone at all, away from all places where people gather, one step outside should have warned you that something was afoot. The freezing of your nose hairs, the lowering steel gray sky, the absence of heavy traffic where once there was a jam, the lack of birds in the sky, something!

The snow had started and a scant inch was on the ground when I left for work this morning. The difference between me and That Guy? I knew my work day would be cut short and I went prepared for pretty much anything.

I would have stayed home but The Boss got back from his Hawaiian vacation today and I knew it would be a good idea to check in with him and make sure my projects were running smoothly. All is well and I joked with him at about 0800, asking how much snow had to be on the ground before he sent us all home. “Whenever you feel uncomfortable about staying…” was his answer. Okie-dokie! I am Miss Dedication today! He called the game by 1115 🙂 Even if he hadn’t, I could have abandoned my car to the tweakers and walked home.

Note to my co-worker who should know better: Dude. Get some chains for your car or stay home.

Being of above average intelligence (obviously) I went to the grocery store last night, before the snow started to fly, and stocked up on perishables so I wouldn’t need to leave Towanda at all should staying in become necessary. I’ve got rum, pepsi, chocolate and assorted other foodstuffs that are healthier. Let it snow! I’m ready.

If the office is closed tomorrow I will stay home and cook up a pot of spaghetti sauce and finally get the vacuuming done. Mo told me Wednesday she will not be opening the yarn shop Friday or Saturday so there’s no good reason for me to go over to the Studio. She lives quite a ways out of town and at a higher elevation – her alpacas will need her if their water freezes up.

Sabu is over the moon with all the white stuff, capering about like a puppy, getting snowballs in her feet and refusing to shake off the flakes until she gets inside. No matter – the dehumidifier is running and all is well.

The outside temp is 20* F at the  moment and falling. A light snow is falling from a surprisingly light sky. The one thing I love about a good snowfall is how it lights up everything, even at night. It’s quite pretty, actually. I may change my mind about the beauty if the water pipes freeze up, however. The furnace is set at 60* (Awana just shivered 🙂 Being from Mississippi she does not handle this kind of cold well) and it’s warm enough inside, sitting on the couch under the newest quilt with a cup of tea, waiting for Under the Gunn to come on. Life is good!

Be warm and be well, everyone!

 

Dry, Frozen Wasteland

Pretty, no?

Here we are at Monday again. The pond at the park is frozen over. The ducks have moved elsewhere. The squirrels are capering about like maniacs, making any walking with Sabu a tug-of-war adventure. All doors but the front passenger door on my car are frozen shut.

Friday I did not leave the water dripping when I went to work. I would only be gone 5 hours or so and I was worried that the drain would freeze and I’d come home to water all over the floor. Big mistake. The water line to the kitchen froze, but it was fine as there was still water to the bath sink and toilet. Not HOT water because the hot water tank is up by the kitchen sink, but it was water.

I awoke Saturday morning because I was cold. Had Mr. Right Toasty deserted me? Were we to have only three nights of blissful slumber before he failed? Do I still have the receipt to return him to the store? I was sorely disappointed because I thought it was True Love between us – he would get plugged in at bedtime and keep me warm and happy all night long and in return I would care for him, carefully folding him and storing his cord in a safe place until it was time for him to do his job again.

Before I started to cry at the injustice of it all, I realized my nose was cold. Ears, too. Mr. Right Toasty doesn’t warm those parts, and now that I thought about it, the furnace wasn’t coming on. Shit! Ran out of propane. Sigh.

No worries – the nearest place to purchase propane is less than half a mile away and even if my car wouldn’t start, I could load a tank onto my hand truck and walk that far. It wouldn’t be fun, but it could be done. Checked the outside temp. 17* F. Inside temp? 42* F. Not good. I’m really, really, OVER Winter already!

There was some drama after filling the propane tanks, but it all turned out well in the end.

The water situation, however, remains dire. It’s a long story that I posted over on Travels with Towanda.

The Crazy Knitting Project continues, although the going is slower than I had hoped. I don’t think I’ll make the deadline. All this Winter Crap is just exhausting.

Work is slow today, for which I am thankful as I spent the night only half sleeping, listening to the furnace cycle on and off and the various creaks and moans of the trailer as it slowly turns into a block of ice. If everything thaws without incident it will be a miracle. As it is, there are some areas that will have to be attended to ASAP because I think I have a couple of leaks. Sigh. I wanted adventure, right? I tell ya, I did not plan on freezing my ass off this Winter, wondering when the floor was finally going to fall through the forward slide.

Fun times!

 

Why I hate Winter…

This –

Is one of the many reasons I hate Winter. That’s my car with chains on the front. We have ~6″ of packed snow on the roads. For whatever reason said roads are not being plowed. Oh, sure, they’ve scattered a bit of gravel about, but the roads look more like mashed potatoes with pepper than well-sanded car avenues.

That’s all well and fine. Maybe plowing isn’t in the budget. Whatever. No, my complaint is about the assholes that should not be on the roads. My Mama didn’t raise a fool – if the log trucks AND the UPS trucks are chained up, you better get home or put on chains yourself because those suicide jockeys don’t waste time putting chains on until the situation is dire.

I chained up in the Bi-Mart parking lot Friday afternoon. I had to go buy new boots because I noticed on Thursday night the rubber had finally cracked on the old ones, negating their waterproof qualities. Believe me, I didn’t want to be out driving in the snow!

Two cars almost hit me as I was putting on the fancy “European Hoop Style” tire chains. Really? There’s 4 inches of snow on the ground and you’re driving like it’s a bright Summer day, blasting out from between cars to get that much closer to the door? I guess the 3 cans for a buck chili deal was too hot to refuse.

Whatever. I took the back road home as there should have been fewer people on it, but no. They were passing me! And giving me rude gestures! Srsly? WTF is wrong with people? What is the rush all about?

Since then I’ve had to go out twice and both times people were driving way too fast. The roads are now packed snow and ice. Plenty slippery. I drive a really small car. I don’t want some asshole in a SUV to push me off the road because he thinks 4WD means Can Go Anywhere at Any Speed. Gaaaahhhhh!

Just fucking go home and let me creep along in peace.

To top it all off, the water is frozen. It’s a long story that I’ll post tomorrow. Here’s a cute picture of a cat enjoying Mr. Right Toasty –

Revy loooooves Mr. Right Toasty!

 

 

First Snow of the year

Someone was thrilled when I opened the door this morning and the steps were covered in 2″ of snow:

Snow! Forgot how wonderful SNOW is!!!!!!!!!

She almost yanked me out the door when she bounded out, skipping the steps entirely, but I was braced against her joy. 26* F and three inches of snow on the ground at 0630 with more falling. There’s about 4″ out there now and Sabu is out of her mind.

“Let’s chase ducks! What’s that over there?!? Here comes a car – what joy!!!!!”

She was capering about like a puppy, trying to make me drop the leash so she could get a good lead for a chase across the neighborhood. Hopefully we’ll be able to get to the dog park this afternoon – she needs to run off some of her exuberance.

 

And the angels sang

All has not been peaceful at night here in the land of Towanda. The weather has been crazy cold and yours truly is cheap Scotch frugal enough to feel the need to conserve resources whenever possible. This means the furnace gets turned down to 60* at night, which frankly only means nothing is frozen in the trailer in the morning, not that the air is actually 60*. The damned thing still wakes me up coming on way too often. (Yes, I also use oil-filled electric space heaters.)

I’d been waking up with aching teeth, which I was terrified meant I could put off a mountain of dental work no longer, but upon reflection I decided it could be because I was sleeping cold enough to grind my teeth all night but not cold enough to wake up fully, and I piled on every blanket in the place in an effort to find some lasting warmth. Let me tell you, 50 pounds of quilts + 50 pounds of dog on top of a person does not a good night’s sleep make. Add a wool hat and a kitten who insists that 0200 is the perfect time to play King of the Mountain, and I was waking up exhausted and miserable.

I stopped at a nearby Bed Bath & Beyond on Sunday and purchased $100 worth of fancy pillows to find some relief. Monday morning found me waking with no kink in my neck for the first time in weeks. At last – a step in the right direction! I was still being crushed and sleeping in a wool hat, though.

And then I saw Vagina’s post yesterday, an ode to her dead heated blanket. A lightbulb went on!

WTF didn’t I think of that? Silly question, really – the narc didn’t believe in leaving the heat on at night and he would never have considered “wasting” all that electricity with a heated blanket just so we could sleep, fer cryin’ out loud. Whatever his other faults, the man slept like a blast furnace and I was never cold. He was a big fan of “acclimating” which is narc-speak for gritting one’s teeth and freezing all Winter because “the  natives from this area didn’t even have clothes – they wore bear grease and woven reeds – and we are weak white people who need to toughen up” and other such nonsense.

I found my new best friend at the local Bi-Mart. $45 is a lot to spend on a thin blanket, but I was desperate. I have to admit the thought ran through my head that if I could just tough it out long enough to get the next quilt project finished up I would save all that money, but the desire for a full night’s sleep won out and I ponied up the cash.

Back at the Manse, I put off going to bed as long as I could in the hope that fatigue would send me over the edge into sleep more easily. I made up the bed, putting the heated blanket between two thin quilts, one to protect me, one to keep the heat in, provided the thing even worked right. I’ll admit I was skeptical, even after Vagina’s glowing endorsement of heated blankets. It all sounded too good to be true and I was prepared to be disappointed.

I optimistically set the heat dial at ‘4’ (it ranges from 1 to 10) and crawled into bed, Sons of Anarchy on the tube, waiting for the magic to start.

OMG. Magic doesn’t begin to describe it. Slowly, slowly, the heat began to build until it settled at the Perfect Temperature, just like it knew what I needed. Not too hot, but toasty warm from shoulders to (amazing!) toes. The warmth enveloped me, pulling my eyes closed as surely as if it was a drug. Dog and cat hopped onto the bed and for once did not settle against my legs, pushing me off the side of the bed, letting in cold air with every movement – they could feel the magic, too.

I fell asleep like I’d had two Margaritas and mind-blowing sex. I fell like a rock into a soothing warm abyss.

I woke in the middle of the night, not sure what was wrong. I lay there for a minute, assessing the situation. I realized the unthinkable had happened – my feet were too warm! I actually had to take my wool socks off in the middle of the night! In December! It’s unheard of. I mean, my naked feet don’t feel sheets until some time in late April or early May!

The ringing of the alarm was most unwelcome this morning. I hit snooze four times. I didn’t want to leave the comforting embrace of my wonderful blanket. Duty called, however, and I unplugged him, carefully folded him and tucked him away for tonight.

The outside temp this morning was 25*F. The driver’s side door of my car was frozen shut. The window scraper has gone missing – not really a big loss as it had some broken teeth, but still. I crawled over the passenger seat to start the car and get it heating up before work. Crawled back out to walk Sabu (she looked at me like I’d lost my mind.) Still frozen after 10 minutes of blasting heat. Crawled back in and drove to work. Crawled out at work, thankful no one was in the parking lot to see. God, I hate Winter!

All I can think about is how wonderful it will be to join my lovely warm friend in bed again tonight. He totally gets me. He knows just what I need – currents of warmth all night long, wrapping me in peaceful slumber.

He needs a name – nothing too fancy as he’s 100% polyester, after all, and a creamy-beige color. Suggestions?

 

Whew!

We’re getting some wild weather here in the PNW. Damn near lost my awning an hour ago. Thank goodness neighbor Wayne was home to help me hold ‘er down while I got her ready to roll up. I ran over there, knocked on the door and he came right over to lend a hand.

“I just need an extra pair of hands to hold her down while I untie this side…Don’t want her to take off with the next gust.”

Judging by his expression, he was surprised that I even knew what I was doing. I ran back and forth, casting off the tie-downs, hooking the legs back to the trailer and loosening the rails while he held the canopy down. One smooth pull and she was up. Whew! I refrained from telling him this ain’t my first rodeo 🙂

Thank goodness I noticed a change in the rhythm of the flapping and went outside to see why – the forward most two feet of awning had come unattached from the trailer. It’s too dark to see exactly why, but it looks like the mountings have come undone. It’s directly on the weather side, so no surprise. So far, Royce Byron’s tie-down system has held up admirably, but nothing can be done if the thing is coming off the trailer. So glad I was home to take care of it!

Otherwise, it’s been a wonderful Holiday weekend. More on the craft fair and crazy knitting project tomorrow.