After the Storm

Today was a pretty nice day. The sun was out intermittently and the temperature was above the freezing mark. 


It appears we had about 8 to 10 inches hit the ground over the last two days. This mornings paper said it was a record snowfall for January 19th...tying the six inches that fell on the same date in 1950. 


At present, the TV weather persons are predicting another storm as early as tomorrow night.


I did some work on sprucing up the sidewalks and driveway. Susan worked on the hallway and then got a call to work the Hockey game tonight.


My big project of the day was to get up on the roof and get the heat wire plugged in to prevent damage to the roof and the dining room. You can get the back story by looking at my entries back on November 30th, 2010 and a couple entries beyond that. 


Anyway, the icicle was back and I had to get it down and get the heat cord plugged in before the aforementioned damage occurred in the dining room.


Here are a bunch of pictures showing the roof area I had to navigate and the great view I had once the navigation was over.

I forgot to take a picture of the icicle before I knocked it down but I did manage to snap a picture of its lifeless body as it died in the snow.

I put my glove next to it for some perspective. I hope this graphic depiction was not too graphically depicted for the more squeamish.

I am pleased that we have made it through this first snow storm of the season and I find that at my advanced age of 54, I am hoping it's the last snow storm of the season.

To Snow or Not to Snow

There has been major media hype going on in the media from which the hype has been coming the last few days, anticipating a snow storm of gigantic, nay, epic proportions. At least, gigantic, nay, epic in relation to all the other snow storms we have had this season, which has been none.

I find it amazing that the National Weather Service says nine inches of snow has fallen this season. That can't possibly be right. It seems as if there hasn't been any snowfall this year.

As I said, the TV weather people have had their panties all in a bunch since Sunday telling us of the prodigous winter weather that is soon to be coming to our doorstep...well, it's coming to a doorstep...at the very least, it's coming to a doorstep in our neighborhood, perhaps the city...or the state.....oh Hell! We don't know!

It is snowing as I write this. It started on my way to work this morning. It now remains to be seen how much we will get. I've heard five to eight inches. Now that the storm is here, they are scaling that back. It's not coming down very hard but I am reminded of the old Indian saying which I have repeated here many time.

Big Snow, Little Snow. Little Snow, Big Snow.

11:02 AM: It's still snowing. It's sticking and the wind is blowing about. Looks like this could be the big one.

2:27 PM: It continues to snow and it is piling up. Little Snow, Big Snow is proving itself true. Small snow flakes indicate a lot of snow to fall.

I went out during lunch and while it is still easy to get around, that does not take into account the stupid drivers who proliferate the roadways. Here is something I would like. If you're driving down the road in the left lane, and you notice that someone is behind you...perhaps even riding your ass, why don't you move over. Huh?
WHY DON'T YOU MOVE THE HELL OVER!

Okay, I got that out of my system.

4:08 PM: The snowfall has passed for now. I would estimate we got three or four inches. It's hard to tell because it's blowing around a lot. I'll get an accurate measurement when I get home.

8:29 PM: It is official. We have had a snowfall. I know this because I used the snow blower tonight. I did my normal routine of blowing off the driveway, the alley and the sidewalks up and down the block.

So...as of january18th, Winter has arrived.

Back to Work

We have decided that enough lolly-gagging has gone on and it is time to return to work on the house. 


The current project that we have been ignoring is the downstairs hallway. We are into the last section. We started at the entryway. Then we moved on down to the section next to the stairs. Next we did the alcove area by the kitchen. And now we are working on the last section, by the bathroom and leading into the TV room. 


Our first task today was to put up a piece of drywall on the ceiling. 

That seemed much easier than messing with all the holes and cracks that are there now. The space to fill measures 66.25" x 36.625". I have plenty of drywall out in the carriage house but I have horrible access to it. I have stacked a bunch of stuff in front of it. In the course of removing a sheet, I broke it. 

Fortunately, it broke in such a way as to effect only a small corner of what I needed. Above shows my cut piece of drywall with a little missing corner.


We hauled it in and after working out the logistics, got it up...only to discover it was a little tight. A quick quarter inch shave prove just the right fix and it went into place nicely. 


Next came the screwing of drywall screws to affix it board to the ceiling. Generally, putting a piece of drywall up on the ceiling is precarious work due to the effects of gravity. But, this all went fairly smoothly. 

I'm not terribly happy with the unprofessional irregular pattern of screws but the thing is up and it's not going anywhere.


That was all for me for the day as I have other things to attend to, (like Blogging) so Susan went to work with the sander.

That will probably be all the progress we make today but, to quote a famous Chinese proverb, "the journey of a thousand remodels begins with a single hole in the wall."

Annual Cat Health Care Day

We rose early today to prepare for our yearly excursion to the vet. We take all four cats at the same time as it saves a small amount of money. Not much because after the whole affair was over, we were $265.00 lighter. Well, Susan was lighter. I have to pay her back.


When it came time to load the cats up, the two most reluctant kitties were already hiding under the bed. Somehow, they knew something was up and whatever that something was, they were not going to like it.


We got Oscar and Scout boxed up and then had to chase down T.J. and Willie. They weren't quite as bad but it is generally an ungraceful ballet to place large flailing cat in small box.


Then there is the ride to the Vet's office which is loud with angry, upset cat noises. 


Susan and I went together so it was a little easier to manage them but not by much.  We have to get them weighed which is an ordeal in itself. The only good part of it is now they don't mind going back in the box. Below are Willie, Oscar, Scout and T.J. waiting for the Doc. 

They were not that excited to come out of the boxes once we were in the examining room. They got a rabies booster and a bunch of other pokes and prods and probes. 


T.J. is going to have to go back on Friday for some dental work. Other than that, they are good for another year. 


We have determined they are all about 12 to13 years old. The Doctor thought that was impressive for cats who go outside. I guess we live in a cat friendly neighborhood.


They were much quieter on the trip home. I guess they knew the worst was behind them. 


So now we have a lazy Saturday to while the time away. I do enjoy that but I think I need to find another part time job again. I don't seem to have any money. It's a bummer when you have time to while away but no beer to while with.


Fortunately, I know how to manage my beer so I can always find something.

Back to the Grind

It's the final day of what seems like a never ending vacation. Susan went back to work for two days and I did half a day on Friday but it still seems like we have not been involved in the creation of productive pursuits for a while. And in fact, it has been two weeks.

We drove out to the Little Spokane River today and did a very short paddle. It turns out that we are not in shape for a long paddle. Whew! It was brutal. It's a good thing we had beer with us.

We have been doing a bunch of straightening up around the house and removing Christmas decoration...which is a chore unto itself. So it was nice to go out to the river and commune with nature. We also communed with 17 turkeys that were walking around out there. 

They were a rather vocal bunch. They did not seem interested in our chocolate chips that we brought for the peacocks.

New Years Eve was uneventful as we went to a friends house for a little while and then made it back home by eleven. We opened a bottle of champagne and listened to the fireworks going off all around us from the front porch.

I did some wine work yesterday. I racked the tempernillo into a clean carbouy and then added some medium toast oak wood chips to add a medium toast oaky woodeness to the wine. The sour after taste that we have experienced is fading.

So now it is time to continue ion with life and make something of ourselves. Carpe Diem!

Another New Year on This Side of the Dirt

I had to get a post in today to start the year off properly. And so, here it is.


You're welcome!