Whiteness in the Pacific Northwest

It's the first snow fall of the year. 

We awoke to only a couple of inches and it is still coming down as I write, but very lightly.

It didn't feel like it was enough snow to break out the snowblower this morning, so I didn't. Besides, I am expecting it will all be gone by this afternoon. That is usually how we roll this early in the snow season. 

Having said that, watch this snow hang around and build and make the whole rest of my snow blowing season a nightmare because I didn't blow on the first day.

Damage Assessment

I walked around the yard today and picked up a lot of branches. I also picked up a lot of shingles. 

The odd thing was that I was not able to readily see any problems with the roof.

I was out in the street talking to my neighbor Lou when I looked up at the house and saw the area of de-shinglization. I had not noticed it earlier because the light and the angle I was viewing from made it look like a shadow.

As you can see, that is not okay.

By the same token, it's not an impending disaster. There are still shingles up there and I am not finding any evidence that we have a leak. It is still too early to be sure so I will be keeping an eye on it.

Spoiled by Lectrik

Our power came on just in time. It was 18 degrees when I left the house this morning. Susan is still unable to go to work because there is no 'lectricity at her office. So she is again enjoying a day off but, today she can enjoy it in the comfort of a house with 'lectricity. That's new!

However, if the power had not come back on, it would have been a very long, cold miserable night. We were okay with the fireplace going but we have to assess what we need for the next time this happens.

Thinking about our future kitchen remodel, I have been vacillating between whether our cook-top for the kitchen should be an infrared electric set up or gas. This little crisis solved that problem for me very quickly. Gas still works when the power is out.

I also think we need to get a generator. It doesn't need to be fancy or elaborate. But it does need to be quality. I would only use it to run the fan for the fireplace and a light or two. It would also be nice to be able to power the fridge or freezer...at least part time.

Other than that, I think we weathered the situation pretty well. Everything in the freezer seems to be okay. I ate eggs out of the fridge this morning and I'm not feeling sick...yet!

I will be checking out the house more thoroughly this weekend for damage. There are a lot of shingles that got blown off the house and we will probably have to re-roof within a few years.

I Love being the owner of a money pit!

Fi-Fitty-Sis

The power was restored at 5:56 this evening. I was filling a travel shampoo bottle to take over to Mom's so we could take a shower. I was suddenly wondering what light Susan was bringing upstairs that was so bright. That's when I realized the hall light was on. 

Susan and I both let out a Whoo Hoo at about the same time. We then proceeded to go around the house and turn on every light, appliance and electrical device we had.

It is great to have it back and I will not take it for granted for at least the next few hours.

Good job, Avista Crews!

Blackout Day Two

It was the second evening of no power and we are getting along fine. I must say that I would prefer having electricity but we'll be okay until it is back. In the meantime, we have been enjoying the fireplace and sleeping in the living room.

Concern is starting to build over stuff in the freezer. It all has to be thawing and the latest info from Washington Water Power (Avista) is we could be out for 3 to 5 days. We opened the freezer in the kitchen once to get the ice out. We have not opened the big freezer in the basement and that is where a lot of meat is. I'm hoping the insulation will keep it cold for another day or so, but beyond that, I think we're in trouble.

Avista is saying this is the worst storm damage they have ever had to deal with in 126 years.

We sat in the living room in front of the fire, drinking beer and wine and listening to an audio book. (The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt) It's a very good story but it is long. We started listening to it when we drove to Iowa this past summer and we still have a good ten hours of listening to get through. I'm hoping this power outage doesn't last long enough for us to finish the book.

Wind Storm 2015

It is amazing what you can take for granted. Something that is so much a part of your everyday life can be absolutely paralyzing when it's gone. I'm speaking of our old friend, electricity!

The forecasters have been in a tizzy the last day or so reporting that the wind is coming. I awoke yesterday to moderate winds and a little rain. By mid day, the wind was howling and the rain was coming in fits and starts.

We ended up closing the office a little early and I made my way up to visit Mom. My car kept wanting to change lanes on the freeway because the wind was blowing so hard. It took a while to get to Mom's because most of the power on the south hill was out. The traffic light at 17th and Ray was out and traffic backed up all the way down the hill.

When I got up to Rockwood Manor, the wind was really blowing and the new tower they are building for apartments was echoing the loudest, eeriest noise I ever heard. The wind was blowing through the open structure of the building and it was very loud. It was almost as if the wind was resonating off the bare steel girders like a reed in a clarinet.

Mom's area was without power but they had backup generators running lights in the corridors and main areas.

We were supposed to have a meeting at church but that got canceled. As I drove home, most of the south hill was dark. Downtown was lit up like a roman candle and then it got dark again just past Boone Avenue.

I arrived home to a very dark neighborhood. Susan was already home and had the place lit up with all the candles, flashlights and lanterns should could find.

I got the fire going in the fireplace and we inflated a mattress we use for camping and settled down in the living room. We drank beer and listened to an audio book for a while. I think we crawled into bed around 9.

I had to get up several times during the night to keep the fire stoked and it was pretty much out when I got up a 6 this morning.

Susan's office is still without power this morning, as is our neighborhood. But the lights are on at my office so, here I am...with my hot cup of coffee and some instant oat meal.

Power is out everywhere so I'm not expecting to see lights on at the house anytime soon. It would be nice, but I know the Washington Water Power crews are very busy. So I shall sit tight and hope the fridge and freezer don't completely thaw.

The Joy of Home Ownership

Another weekend in the books where we did not work on the bathroom. We need to get the tile ordered so we can proceed to the next step of getting the tile in place. 

I also have just a little more work to do in the dry walling department. Actually, the cement boarding department.

We did do some work around the house this weekend. Susan ran the vacuum most of Saturday. She worked it so hard she wore one of the wheels right off the power brush unit. I worked last night to re-attach the wheel with some JB Weld (the Handyman's friend) but to no avail. The knob that holds the wheel in place does not have a clean break. It will not fit back onto the structure from which it broke away. This Hoover vacuum is about four years old and it really has been a piece of shit.

I finally got all the leaves off the ground. At least, all the leaves that I'm going to worry about before the snow flies. 

I got them packed into garbage bags that I will be adding to my garbage can over the next several weeks. I think I filled eight or nine bags. I don't think I'll be adding anything this week because I already emptied the grass catcher from the mower...from about a month ago.

The next project I need to get moving on is putting the rain barrels away for the winter. I know I don't want them attached to the down spout all winter. I'm sure they would crack if they freeze. 

I tried to get to them yesterday but just couldn't make it happen. Perhaps it's because I'm too lazy. Perhaps it's because I just wasn't motivated enough.  Or perhaps you should just mind your own business!

1,642

I am finally getting around to posting the results of Halloween.

The count was 1,642, which is ten less than last year. It seems we have peaked.

The earliest Trick or Treater came at 2:41. That was a record. The mom had to work that night so she wanted to get him out early before she went to work. We didn't even have any candy ready.

The crowds started coming about 4:30 which is earlier than past years, but it was a Saturday and I think people were hoping to beat the rain. By the way, the rain never showed up during the peak Trick or Treating hours.

Here are some pictures:

We closed everything down about 8:45 and then enjoyed our little after party with chili, and chicken wings and sliders.

The amazing thing was getting everything cleaned up the next day. Mark came over to help us and we were a tight, efficient team and got it all cleaned up.

We also had a successful Punkin Toss except for the part where people were unable to hit the target...or anywhere near it.