Category: Misc

A friend sent me this email. I’ve seen versions of it before and it’s obvious where it’s going. None the less, I had tears in my eyes from laughing.

Enjoy.

August 15 – Moved to our new home in Connecticut . It’s so beautiful here. The lake to the north looks so majestic. I can hardly wait to see it snow covered. I’m going to love it here!

October 14 – Connecticut is definitely the most beautiful place on earth. The leaves have turned all the colors and shades of red and orange. Went for a ride through the park and saw some deer. They are so graceful. Certainly they are the most wonderful animals on earth. This must be paradise, I

LOVE IT HERE!!

October 25 – Deer season will start soon. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to kill such a gorgeous animal. Hope it will snow soon. I love it here. Those red and orange leaves have covered my yard. Looks like a magnificent multi-colored carpet. HOW BEAUTIFUL. Raking and cleaning up the yard will be an opportunity for invigorating exercise in the cool crisp air.

November 1 – Ah, more leaves and more exercise.

November 8 – Wow, still more leaves. Guess it’s best to wait until they’ve all fallen before I rake again.

November 15 – Finally, all of the trees lost their leaves and with today’s final raking it’s over for this season. Chiropractor suggested I use a lawn maintenance service next year. Only four blisters became infected. Should probably remember to use gloves.

November 30 – What the freak? Where did all of those leaves come from? Had a little wind last night and the lawn is covered again. Oh well, they’ll just have to wait until spring.

December 12 – It snowed last night, FINALLY. Woke up to find everything blanketed in white. It looks like a postcard.

We went outside and cleaned the snow off the steps and shoveled the driveway. Had a snowball fight (I won) and when the snowplow came by we had to shovel the end of the driveway again. What a beautiful place. I Love Connecticut !

December 14 – More snow last night, I love it. The snow plow did his trick to the driveway again. I Love it here.

December 19 – More snow again last night. Can’t get out of the driveway. Can’t get to work. I’m exhausted from shoveling. Freaking snowplow snow!

December 22 – More of that white s–t fell again last night. As if dealing with the leaves weren’t bad enough, now I’ve got blisters all over my hands from shoveling, must remember to wear gloves. I think the snowplow hides around the corner and waits until I’m finished shoveling the driveway. The a–hole.

December 25 – Merry Freaking Christmas. More frigging snow. If I ever get my hands on that son-of-a-b—h who drives the snowplow, I swear I’ll kill the b—ard. Don’t know why they don’t use more salt on the roads to melt the freaking ice.

December 27 – More white s–t last night. Have been inside for three days except for shoveling out the driveway after that plow goes through every time. Freaking gloves got wet and then froze on my hands. Doctor said it was just a mild case of frost bite, disfiguration is probably only temporary. Can’t go anywhere, car is stuck in a mountain of white s–t. The weatherman says to expect another 10 inches of the s–it tonight. Do you know how many shovels full of snow 10 inches is?

December 28 – The freaking weatherman was wrong. We got 34 inches of that white s–it. At this rate it won’t melt ’till summer. The plow got stuck up the road and the b—tard came to the door and asked to borrow a shovel. After I told him I’d already broken six of them shoveling all the s–it he pushed into the driveway, I broke my last one on his f–king head.

January 4 – Finally got out of the house today. Went to the store to get food and on the way back I hit a damned deer that ran in front of my car. Did about $3000 damage. Freaking beasts should be killed. Wish the hunters had killed them all last November.

January 21 – Took the car to the garage in town. The thing is rusting out from all the freaking salt they put all over the roads.

January 24, 2011 Plane Ticket purchased for move to Melbourne, Florida . I can’t imagine why anyone in their right mind would ever live in that God forsaken state of Connecticut .

February 1, 2011….Biggest storm in the history of New England hits…. ? What’s next?

I’ve had these LL Bean 3-in-1 Gore-Tex mittens for 3 years now. I use them for anything except handling firewood when outside. They have a lighter glove liner that come out of the mitten and is sufficient for just throwing snowballs or general light use. For snow plowing and shoveling I wear the liner and the mitten and my hands do not feel any cold at all. Also, though the glove will get wet from melting snow, it does not penetrate the glove at all. The wrist strap is nice to make sure the mittens don’t slide off my hands and the long gauntlet easily stretches down over my wrists and keep snow from getting inside the mitten. Aside from making sure that they don’t get lost between seasons, I don’t treat them particularly kindly- though I don’t abuse them either. They are pricey, but assuming I don’t lose them they will be the last mitten I ever wear.

I was never a fan of Georgia Boot because I thought they looked like snazzy, mass produced work boots and I, therefore, assumed they were completely non-functional and cheap. I purchased a pair similar to these this summer last (my G8182 model doesn’t appear to be made anymore). I decided to give them a try on the recommendation of the shop owner whom said this particular boot was extremely popular. Plus, it was all they had in a size 15.

They have proven my assumptions regarding Georgia Boot completely wrong.

First, the boot is the most comfortable I’ve ever owned. I’ve been living in them this Winter and my feet do not hurt or feel tired even after wearing them for 12+ hours straight. Second, the boot is extremely rugged. The leather is very thick and I’ve worn them in snow, while stacking and chopping firewood, for mowing the lawn, taking hikes in the woods and pretty much any other kind of work around the house. Other than the usual “breaking in,” they’ve absorbed all the use without a problem. Third, the boot is warm. My feet haven’t felt cold while snow shoveling or playing with the kids in the snow. That includes trudging through 3-foot deep snow as well. Further, water does not penetrate the boot, even at the tongue which is webbed all the way up to the top of the boot. Fourth, the tread is very aggressive so the boot affords plenty of traction.

I can’t say these will be the last pair of boots I own because I know even these will eventually succumb. That said, I suspect it will be a long while before they do so and when they do finally go, I’ll be going right back to Georgia Boot for whatever their closest model to these are.

Basically, I have nothing negative to say about either of these items. Both have been put through their paces, especially this Winter, and both have easily been up to the task.

For those of you in more temperate climates, “roof raking” is when one pulls several feet of snow off the edge of their roof. Contrary to your first hunch, the reason for roof raking has little to do with removing weight from the roof. Though that can be a secondary benefit if the rake is long enough.

The primary benefit is in the prevention of “ice dams.” Because heat escapes the house through the roof, even a well insulated house, the first several inches of snow right on the roof melt. Mostly during the day when there’s some additional help from the Sun. Even during the night, with enough snow and its insulating properties it is possible for snow to melt given enough heat in a house.

What then happens is exposed melting snow freezes and forms a dam either right at the gutter or at the edge of the roof line (some houses up here don’t have gutters). Once it freezes, it expands and in the worst case, the snow continues to melt further up the roof and feeds the dam. As the damn continues to form, the ice expands up under the shingles and eventually gets to the sheathing. Left alone long enough, the roof can be damaged to the point that it requires resheathing and reshingling. It’s also possible for gutters to collapse due the weight from the ice.

Those sorts of repairs are expensive, in case you’re wondering.

However, for a mere $40 a homeowner can obtain a roof rake. The rake is basically a “plow” style snow shovel reversed (so it plows when pulled instead of pushed) and attached to an expandable handle. Then, raking a roof is as simple as dropping the rake into the snow on the roof and pulling. Rinse, repeat. All the way down the roof line. Both sides. Times several hours, depending on how deep the snow up there is.

And sore shoulder muscles.

Very, sore, shoulder muscles.

I’m still enjoying this Winter, but roof raking is no fun. Did I mention that all that snow from the roof then has to go somewhere? Yep. That batch of snow gets moved twice. And it’s a lot heavier than the stuff already on the ground.

I’d rather rake leaves.

My Mother gave me a pair of StabilIcers as a gift this Winter. She didn’t want me slipping and falling on my head anymore.

When I first got them, my initial impression was they’d be too much of a hassle. I was incorrect. They are simple to put on. Further, they stay on without slipping or moving and they also come off with ease. I’ve worn them on hardpacked snow, ice and other frozen sorts of terrain thus far and they have performed splendidly. I used them today while shoveling and plowing and had no issues. In fact, once on I really don’t even notice them unless I walk on concrete or some such surface. They are also proving to be durable- neither the straps nor the rubber sole is showing any sort of wear thus far. And I’m not particularly kind to them.

Anyone looking for a good solution for Winter traction will be pleasantly surprised by these.

I’m pretty much exhausted. The muscles in my back, shoulders, arms and legs all hurt from shoveling the snow. It took me about 3 hours to clear our driveway this morning and another 2 or so to clear parts of our deck and a path to our woodpile.

But it’s the most awesome Winter I can remember. I have vague recollections of the Blizzard of ’78. I also have other vague recollections of Winters with multiple big snow storms. But I was just a kid then. For all I know, big was 6″ of snow.

We have piles of snow that are at my eye level. Walking out into the pristine landscape, I easily sink in up to my knees. The dogs go out and have to bound through the snow. It is as high as their backs. Some of the piles are so high that they won’t even bother trying to go over.

I told the kids to enjoy this Winter as much as they can because they may never have another Winter like this one. But it was obvious that they didn’t comprehend my meaning. They’re still young, and the have so many Winters yet to go through. This is what Winter is for all they know.

They should be so lucky.

I’ve got a bunch of pictures to post, but that won’t be until later tonight. For now, I’m just reveling in our Winter wonderland.

It’s snowing.

Film at 11.

Oh- and it’s supposed to snow tomorrow. More film at 11.

On the plus side- at least temperatures are above 0.

Brilliant sun today along with some impressive cold. The snow finally stopped yesterday evening around 7PM or so. The kids spent the entire afternoon outside working on their snow fort. Right now, it’s more tunnel than fort, but they want to work on hollowing it out some more today, possibly making it big enough to sit upright in there.

While watching a little TV and doing nothing for awhile, the Wife and I noticed that the kid’s school popped up on a “closings” list. There was some initial confusion- we were surprised to see the decision to close school for today made so quickly. Personally, I was figuring on a delayed opening. But we were able to confirm it a little later. So the boy and the lass will have plenty of opportunity to perfect their snow fort.

I’m not as sore as I thought I’d end up after all the shoveling. Score one for me. I am tired though, so I’ll have to call it a “push” overall. The kids are no worse for the wear. No surprise there. Likewise, the Wife is fine.

So that wraps up the Winter Weather blogging. At least for now. It is only January after all. There’s still plenty of time for Mother Nature to throw some more at us.

We’re still here. The kids are outside building a fort in the pile of snow I shoveled off the deck. It’s roughly eight feet high and 10 or 11 feet across. The boy and the lass could make a living room out of it, complete with plumbing if they wanted.

I started shoveling and plowing at 9 o’clock. I finished at 1 o’clock. The driveway is partially protected by tree cover and was 8 inches at it’s lowest. Further down where it’s open to the sky it was 13″ when I started. The hardest part was how quickly I ran out of places to put the snow. Because of how I plowed, I left a portion unfinished while I plowed the up near the road. By the time I returned, the snow was over 16″.

The snow on the deck was ridiculous. Easily 20″. I think the disparity is because we’re kind of in a hollow- at the bottom of a hill with only our backyard (where the deck is) open to the sky. As a result snow tends to kind of get captured and settles in.

Anyway, I’m pretty much exhausted. I’ve got some pictures but I’ll post them a bit later. It’s still snowing- I’d say another 2.5″ has fallen on the portions of the deck that I cleared.

Despite my exhaustion, I’ll say that the snow is simply magnificent. I told the kids this is possibly a once in a lifetime sort of snow and they should enjoy it. So far, they are.

They were predicting 5-8″ overnight. As of now, there’s 12″ and the snow is still falling. Now they are calling for an additional 8-12″ and looking at the radar, it’s entirely possible.

This isn’t a “blizzard” in the technical sense, but I think it lives up to the spirit of the term better than the last one did. I’ll post pics later.

The South is supposed to get as much as 12 inches of snow today and tomorrow. This might not be such a big deal if by South I meant Antarctica. But we’re talking about the snowy peaks of Birmingham, Alabama.

Last year, when the Northeast was pasted with feet of snow, we were told that this was in line with global warming predictions because it showed an increase in precipitation. So, even though temperatures haven’t increased enough yet for it all to be rain, the storms were consistent with “Global Warming Theory.”

So now, we’ve got a cold front that stretches all the way down into the deep South of the US. And, as we all know, the South is known for receiving gobs of snow with great skiing and snowboarding. So the “increased precipitation” in the South that is resulting in all the snow is still certainly consistent with “Global Warming Theory.” Don’t pay any attention to the cold temperatures.

Incidentally, after the snow is done falling, it’s supposed to get really cold. Don’t worry, I’m sure the cold snap is still consistent with “Global Warming Theory.”

Happy New Year!

Check out the timestamp. Numbers are cool!

The real payoff will come in November on the 11th…

OH! The alliteration!

I figured I should at least mark the Blizzard of 2010 with some kind of note. Truthfully, it ended up fairly un-noteworthy in these here parts. We were told 12 to 18 with the strong implication they were low-balling that estimate. In the end, I’ll say we got about 8 and I think I’m being a bit generous.

Last year’s big December “Winter Storm” dumped about 14″ or so on us, but the “Blizzard” dumped considerably less. I will say that it seemed to live up to it’s billing as a technical blizzard- we had the high winds and minimal visibility associated with the term. But, at least here, it didn’t live up to the spirit of the term. It certainly was no Blizzard of ’78. Seems like further South and West got the more impressive amounts. Go figure.

My favorite lines from A Christmas Story, in no particular order:

1. Ralphie’s Dad: You used all the glue- ON PURPOSE!!
   (I know I said no order, but this one is hands down my favorite.)

2. Ralphie as an Adult: Randy lay there like a slug; it was his only defense.

3. Ralphie as an Adult: Only I didn’t say “fudge,” I said The Word; the Queen Mother of all dirty words; the ‘F’, dash, dash, dash word.

4. Ralphie as an Adult: When Scott Farkus said anything to you, it made you feel warm and good inside. Normally, he just punched you in the mouth.

5. Ralphie’s Dad: NOTTA FINGAH!!!

6. Ralphie’s Dad: FRA-JEE-LAY…Oh- must be Italian.
   Ralphie’s Mom: That says “FRAGILE” Frank.
   Ralphie’s Dad: Oh yeah, right.
   (Alright, it’s not a “line.” But it makes me laugh just thinking it.)

7. Schwartz created a slight breach of etiquette by skipping the triple-dare and going straight for the throat!

8. Waiters at Chinese Restaurant: FA-RA-RA-RA-RA, RA-RA, RA, RA!

9. Ralphie’s Dad: It’s, um, smiling at me.
   (This line isn’t funny by itself, but followed by the head chef chopping the goose’s head off right there on the table… Well, let’s just say it strains bladder control.)

10. Ralphie as an Adult: Adults love to say things like that but kids knew better. We knew darn well it was always better not to get caught.

11. Ralphie’s Dad: He looks like a deranged Easter Bunny.
    Ralphie’s Mom: He does not!
    Ralphie’s Dad: He does TOO! He looks like a pink nightmare!

12. Ralphie’s Brother: I can’t put my arms down!
    Ralphie’s Mom: You can put your arms down when you get to school.

Not exhaustive. I’ve deliberately left out setting descriptions because they are all etched into my memory. If you can’t remember them, then you clearly haven’t watched the movie enough yet!