Year in Review 2022

It's the last day of the year so I have to get in some kind of post. Even if it isn't very informational or interesting.....the way the rest of this year has been.

So, to start off, we got up. I hopped into the hot tub which we have not been using very much. The problem for me with the hot tub is that I come out of it very very relaxed. Almost to the point of comatose.

Plus, I have a sweaty forehead for the next hour after I'm out. I attribute these effects to my excellent health, which is to say, sarcasm. 

We are having Randy, Karen and Mark over tonight. We will be having Susan's traditional New Years meal, Hoppin John. Karen and Randy are bringing some smoked salmon. It should all be fabulous.

We're going to a movie to see "The Fableman's". I'll elaborate after.

Then we will return to the house to play cards until we tucker out...about 12:01.

End of Night Recap: Karen was down with a severe cough she couldn't shake so it was just Randy and Mark and ussuns.

We ate, we saw the movie which was okay, and we played baseball while we rang in the New Year. I think it got to bed about 1:30. That's pretty impressive for me.    

Still Warm

 I managed to get in a ski day yesterday. It was not one of the better days on the mountain. Very foggy right up to the time that we left.

There was a slight skiff of snow over night but it has been warm all day and now it’s just sloppy out there.

My snow stake is down to se7en inches.

Susan did some repair work in the Dining Room and has pretty much fixed the wall problems and the ceiling problems. Now we have to hope that the musty smell goes away.

The damage to the side of the armoire where we keep the stereo is not repairable. The water got under the veneer and made it bubble in a few spots.

The Big Warm

The weather service says we received over an inch of rain yesterday. It’s gone from sub zero temperatures to 40° in a week. My snow depth meter has gone from 13 inches of snow to 8 1/2 inches since Monday. 

It’s quite sloppy out there but it has cleaned up my sidewalks and driveway. I allowed them to get in a horrible state after the last snowfall. We got about 3 inches last Friday after getting about 5 inches. I snow blowed the five but left the three.

It was bad news for the sidewalks but my shame has been washed away.

I’m expecting someone to show up today from the construction company that did our roof. I’m hoping they will have some suggestions for solving my ice dam problem. I think the solution is heat cable. I hope they will help me install it.

The only other thing on todays’ agenda is a basketball game betwixt the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Eastern Oregon Fighting Mormons. (I don’t think that is really their mascot but I’m too lazy to confirm it.)

6:15PM: The roof guys showed up about 1:30 today. When I showed them what was going on, they jumped into action and actually went up on the roof and tackled the problem.

Here is a picture of the flat spot between the two peaks. That black tarpaper area is where the water builds up and pools when the icicle forms a dam on the eve. There are plenty of seams there for the water to get under and then flow into the house.

They repositioned my heat cable to cover that whole area which will warm up the water as it rolls of the roof. That should be the end of the icicle.

Christmas and the Day After

It is the day after Christmas 2022, but we are only getting to it today.

We got up yesterday morning and went to church. Susan was the Worship Leader, which meant she did the introduction, opening prayer and so on. For the last several years, she has read a Christmas story on Christmas Eve that is accompanied with pictures on the big screen from the book. The first time she did it, she read “Christmas Day in the Morning” by Pearl S. Buck.

This year she read "A Christmas Candle” by Richard Paul Evens.

When church was over, it was back to the house to prepare Christmas dinner. My son, Scott was coming from Northport with his girlfriend, Erica and her daughter Janey.

We told them to come at 1:30 which gave us enough time to get everything prepared.

Just as they arrived, we discovered  a major problem in the Dining Room.

Water was dripping from the ceiling at a pretty good rate. This picture doesn’t really show it.

This picture shows the aftermath, after the water had stopped.

We originally ran into this problem several years ago and it is chronicled in this blog. I found a post from November 30th, 2010 where I explained laying out some heat cable on the roof to mitigate this giant icicle and ice dam that forms to cause the leaks into the Dining Room.
This picture shows a few little drops coming down. I suppose I should post the video I took.

We solved the problem by having Scott climb up to the edge of the roof and break the icicle away. Then I used some heat cable I have wrapped around an outdoor faucet and we threw that up into this little valley where the roofs come together and cause the problem.

I had heat cable up there for many years but it was removed when the new roof was installed. I was told that the new flashing and tar paper they put up would fix the problem but that is not the case. Heat cable will be returning to that portion of the roof as soon as the weather permits to get up there...like August. In the meantime, I think we have patched it. Now Susan will go to work on whatever repair is required for the walls and the ceiling panels.

 Anyway, the leaking had stopped so that is our Christmas Miracle.

Here is the picture of the destruction for today. We finally got around to opening our gifts. 

We done good! I got some new flannel shirts, a belt and a device that helps me put on my socks. It's not something I need but Susan saw it at the Church Rummage Sale and thought it was hilarious.

Christmas Cookies

 Today is pretty much over which means there are only two days left for Christmas Shopping. I think I’m done with my shopping but it seems like I always come up with some last minute ideas.

It is currently 4° out there. It is cold! It was below zero this morning. We are supposed to be warming up in the next few days.

In the meantime, tonight is Christmas Cookie Decorating Night. A night that Susan loves and I tolerate. Pictures to follow.

9:00PM: It’s time for Christmas cookies!

Sub Zero Solstice

Now is the time of year when I consider cleaning out the freezer. It is cold enough to put everything in a cooler long enough to defrost the freezer.

The temperature has been around 7° all day. Currently, it is -1°. The skies are clear and it is cold. I would take a picture but the camera would just freeze.  

Next Round of Snow

While snow blowing this morning, I happened to check my makeshift snow stake and saw that it measured 12 inches. We got about 3 inches overnight and 2 to 3 inches are expected today.

As I look out the window on the back yard, it looks like the next round of snow may have started.

I’m glad I got ahead of the snow by getting out there early.

Along with the snow, we are expecting some pretty chilly temperatures. It is currently 18° out there but it’s expected to go as low as 6° tonight.

Another Snowy Day.

8:01AM: The snow was forecasted to start falling around 3:00AM. It was coming down strong at 6 and continues now just after 8:00. My weather app says it’s going to turn to rain soon. That means I need to get out there and get my area blown before the snow gets too heavy. The question is how long do I wait.

I don’t an exact number yet but I think we have over a foot of snow on the ground. I’ll get an accurate reading off my Weather Table some time today.

As I look outside now, it seems that the snow is turning to rain. I guess the time is NOW!

8:17AM: I have my official snow depth report.

You can see I have a yardstick placed in the middle of the snow in the Weather Table. It measures 11 1/2 inches. Okay, time to blow!

10:25AM: The snow blowing is complete. I did it at just the right time. It was snowing when I started but had turned to rain about half way through. I’m glad I have kept on top of it.

11:13PM: It rained off and on all the rest of the day. I'm glad I got my snow blowing out of the way because we were engaged in many activities pretty much the whole day after.

We went downtown with Randy and Karen to see the Christmas Tree Elegance show at the Davenport. It's a fund raiser for the Spokane Symphony that has become a tradition for us. We purchase tickets and deposit them into bins associated with a tree display. One was giving away a motorcycle. Others included gifts and cash. 

I've never known anyone who won one of these drawings but I'm hoping we will be so drawn upon. Note: We did not win.

The drawings are tomorrow.

After that, we spent the afternoon at V du V Winery. It's owned by a friend and he has hired us to help out in the tasting room when he is out of town, which he is. Today, we sold three bottles of wine. We're making John rich!

Festivous!

 

Snow Blowing with a Real Blower

I did some actual snow blowing today.

We woke up to a light dusting of snow that started falling last night. I would guess there is about a half an inch on the ground. Not enough to breakout the snow blower for but just right for a snow blower in the form of a leaf blower.

It worked quite well for the small fluffy amount we got and cleaned everything up quite nicely without all that back breaking shoveling and scooping and bending.

We’re heading out to Northtown for our morning walk and then I have to finish reassembling my Traeger Grill.