Reply
Tue 18 Feb, 2003 11:14 am
The winter of your discontent?
It started snowing here on Friday evening. Saturday afternoon, the maintenance man came in just to clean the sidewalks. After he went by with the snow-blower, i took a broom and swept the snow off my stoop, and then went out to the jeep, and swept the snow from around Ol' Bessie. I got in, started her up, and let her run for awhile, to warm up the oil, and to melt the snow from the roof (i'd cleaned off the rest). Overnight, more snow arrived. Sunday afternoon, i swept the stoop, and the sidewalk to the parking lot (no snow-blower on Sunday), and then cleaned off and cranked up Ol' Bessie, and let her run for awhile. Monday morning, early (but not bright, before dawn, actually), i went out to Bessie, and cleaned her up, and the maintenance man being nearby, he ran the snow-blower around her. I then cranked her up and let her run, while i went in to shower and dress. I came out to find about four feet of packed snow in front of the jeep. The contract snowplow man was nowhere in sight. I found the maintenance man, who said he'd get me a shovel (i live in an apartment, and don't keep one myself). My employer and more than half the employees were marooned, being in counties with a "level 3" alert, meaning emergency vehicles only on the road. I waited. The maintenance man did not show. I called the office, and was told she'd page him with my number. I waited-no one called. I walked to the office, but no one answered my knock, and it was dark. I walked to the resident manager's apartment-no one answered my knock. I walked all around the complex, and found no maintenance man. We'd gotten half the snow now on the ground overnight from Sunday. Finally, i went out with a dust pan and dug out the jeep. It took me about forty minutes to drive to the shop (normally, this is a 13 minute drive). I checked the voice mail, and printed some checks which would need to be sent today, then drove home again.
When i got there, i found a neighbor in trouble. She lives in the building across the parking lot, and usually parks next to Bessie. Apparently, she cleaned off the driver's door, and part of the windshield, and then tried to drive away. She pulled out through the space where Bessie had been parked, but apparently lost it, and ended up on the opposite side of the parking lot, diagonally in a parking space, and just missed ramming the piled-up, packed snow left there by the plow (which would have crushed the plastic bumper on her little rice-burner). So, i helped her clean off her car (we'd gotten 12-14" by then, and you could measure it by the snow on top of her car). Then, using a flimsy snow shovel she had, i cleared that parking space for her, and she thanked me profusely and pulled into the space.
This morning, i went out and cleaned off Bessie, and cranked her up, then went inside to shower and dress. An ominous sign-the neighbor lady had pulled back into her customary spot, driving over the piled up snow, since she couldn't pull through Bessie's spot this time. When i came out, she was there by her car, almost in tears. She hadn't been able to back out and when i advised she try to "rock it," she quickly buried it more deeply-so i stopped her (automatics are such useless transmissions in these situations). So, i got her flimsy shovel, and, being careful not to snap the handle, i dug her out once more. When i gave her back the shovel, i advised her to park either there, or in the other spot i?'d cleared, because i was not going to dig her out again. Naturally, i was late getting to the shop. My arthritis was just killing me last night, and i?'m sure it will again tonight.
What are your winter horror stories? Are you a Canajun or a Yankee, used to this? Are you a "transplant" like me, and have learned to cope? Feel free to elaborate.
Maintenance man? What's that? Mr. Jespah and I do the shovelling and, truth be told, Mr. Jespah does the vast majority of it. The snow is so deep that the snow blower will only keep clogging. So it's time for old-fashioned shovelling.
The local stores are out of rock salt and now we almost are, too - but the back half of the driveway and the turnaround in the back aren't done yet. The front piles are about 6 feet tall at their highest. In the back, it'll probably pile up higher. Hubby was out for over 4 hours this morning ....
PS Feel better. We are downing soup by the canful and I am making more tonight. Argh.
I stocked in lots of good soups, broth-based, because i've been ill. Good thing, too . . .
My winter horror story? Well, it's raining and my feet got muddy when I had to go out and feed the yard cats.
suffer suffer suffer
You must live at low altitude, Roger. My sister used to live outside Espagnola, at about the 8000 foot level. It can be a scorcher in the day time, but you better have a fire lit before it gets dark. I've seen patches of snow beneath the pines in the Bandolier Forest outside Los Alamos in June--and at higher elevations, it's easy to get buried in the snow in winter. Sorry 'bout your hardships, hope the cats are able to endure.
blaaah!
After a little bit of rain, it's been so hot and humid here that everything sticks to you, and you get out of the shower and can't get dry. Bleeeaaaahh!
Snow - yeecccchhhh! Sounds a horrific time over there!
I reckon that much snow would give Jack Frost a severe rectal pain.
Snow? Precipitation? H2O falling from sky? We ar ehaving the worst drought on record...can we have some of your snow? We will send you enough hot air in return to melt anything you like...
Hang on in there boys and goils....but, hey, amidst all the misery, sometimes you DON'T GOTTA GO TO WORK??!!!!
(Hope you are feeling better, Setanta - virtual eucalyptus oil for your cold, if that is what you have,,,)
About 5300' in Farmington. We have had real winters, but it's been a few years.
I was lucky to have a bro-in-law this am, he shoveled the sidewalks and driveway. All I had to do was dig out my car. That was just before we discovered that the washing machine was flooding the basement. Seems the drain to the city pipes is blocked up and now the washing machine is full of grey water and sewage (cringe). That discovery came before my shower and while my housemate was taking one. She had to stop mid-way. So, I'd waded around in sewage and then I couldn't take a shower. I came through the nasty, snowy streets of Cambridge to work and took one here (thank gawd!). Bro-in-law is still schlepping down in the basement with the plumber trying to fix it. Yech! So. We have no use of the toilet, the sink, the shower.... until it's fixed. And, btw, the dryer doesn't work either, suddenly.
But apart from that, yer havin' a wonderful day, n'est-ce pas, Boss?
Poooooooooor Little k!!!!! I hope things are soon fixed!
I feel very fortunate compared to you folks - my heart goes out to you!
Sunday afternoon I went out to run a few errands, and was amazed by the lines at the gas stations, and the traffic jam in the local shopping center, where people were driving like maniacs to make the light and so they wouldn't have to let anyone else in front of them. Being clueless as to the weather prediction, I wondered, had there been another duct tape and plastic alert? Are we in another color code? What?
By the time36 hours and 2 feet of snow happened, I understood. That human instinct to get milk, movies and other survival requirements in case, who knows? The stores may never open again!!!! just takes over and people have to do what they have to do.
I have to admit I enjoy a good few feet of snow because the schools close and I don't have to work. It's wearing thin just now though because the snow's too deep to play in, my daughter's at home with friends running wild in the house, noisy with too much energy but no motivation to go out and try again to walk 2 steps without falling and becoming buried in the snow.
I'm trying to be patient, that's why I'm on the computer, to get some space from them, but who knows how long I can keep it up?
Hmmmm, Dream, kinda makes me feel like i've got it good here ('cept fer the arthritis part . . . ).
Ah, it's not so bad, now that I've calmed down in front of the computer. the kids are in the basement so I can't hear them, the sun's come out finally, and the Advil has kicked in.
Have you ever tried glucosomine with chondroitin for your arthritis? Some people say it really helps, but I guess that depends how bad you have it. Cold weather definately doesn't help.
Awwwww Yeeccchhhh!!!
{{{{{Lil K}}}}}
Margo, is that red stuff you type your posts in,, raspberry ice cream, jumbuck blood or lipstick ?
The plumbers were in the basement with the bro-in-law for about 10 hours yesterday. We fed them dinner. They came back before 8 a.m. today..... don't know the status. We haven't been able to use our water - more specifically, our drains for over 24 hours. More than one of us has peed in the back yard (remember folks - over 2 feet of snow). They say that they have to dig a new hole for a new sump pump, they need to dig into the cement of the basement (with a JACKHAMMER!). B-in-L had to clean out and take apart his work bench so that they could take down the wall he had built it against.....
At times like these I'm really glad I work in a household.
Thanks for the good wishes and hugs....
ok, all. In the game of bridge, the winners tell jokes and the losers say"Deal!"
It is perfectly beautiful here in Florida. We did have some cold snaps, but no horror stories.
When I was teaching in Virginia, I could tell you about some cliff hangers driving to work on ice. Faint, very faint in my memory.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace