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Post by stepper on Feb 11, 2016 22:12:14 GMT -6
I believe I experienced minus 1 or 2 once, a very long time ago; it was probably apparent temperature. What I can say now is that I haven't been in temps that low, even with wind chill factors, since I became an adult. (When that happened is a matter of interpretation and opinion. And opinions vary rather dramatically.) No wonder they pay attention to reasons for school closure. What the heck kind of learning environment is that? "What'd ya learn in skool 't-day?" "Rabbit furs are warmer than wool, unless the wool is still attached 'ta the sheeps. Den dey is warmerer." That's too bad, but I understand. It'd be better if she was completely unprepared. Watch out for your Christmas presents from her though. He is, and it's your job to provide the proper number of treats to compensate for all he must endure.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 12, 2016 7:21:03 GMT -6
I can't say for certain, but I imagine they would have to take the wind chill into account when deciding to close the schools, due to the kids who walk to school, or stand out at bus stops. A person just can't stay out in those types of temperature for long without running the risk of frostbite. I can only remember school being closed here once due to extreme cold, but can't remember how cold it actually was.
I was wrong. BP corrected me yesterday afternoon when she told me her third hour teacher had to move the class to the library because kids were getting sick from the smell of the propane heater in the classroom! (I'm thinking she had to mean a kerosene heater - can a propane heater even be used indoors?) The rooms right next to the construction - the ones with the plastic sheeting and insulation blankets are empty; it's the rooms right next to them that are so cold. Still, if it's cold enough to have to use a propane(?)/kerosene(?) heater, it's not a good learning environment.
I am guessing I'll be in store for some kind of pay-back. Said something about 'it's a good thing she appreciates my dark sense of humor' when she called to thank me for the Valentine's gift last night.
Of course!
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Post by stepper on Feb 12, 2016 18:34:48 GMT -6
My step mother is a bus driver for a school district in NJ. Until a few years ago she had a route that went into the country side - and it seemed that every year she had another story about some poor kid standing in one of those rickety three sided buildings, in freezing temps, and a short sleeved hand-me-down shirt. She couldn't help herself. Between runs she'd pick up a decent jacket and give it to the kid on the way home. The kids on those runs were almost always younger.
We had an open flame kerosene heater in Turkey and it worked pretty well, except we had to keep a pan of water on top of it since it also dried all the moisture out of everything, including us.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 13, 2016 8:26:44 GMT -6
What a compassionate thing to do; I'm sure those kids very much appreciated her kindness. I pick BP up from school during the winter - it's only a little less than a mile walk, but I figure since I'm off work, it's not a big deal for me to get her rather than have her freeze her behind off walking home. While waiting for her to come out of the school, I'm always surprised at the number of kids who leave the building not wearing coats. I've always thought it was just teenage carelessness, not thinking these kids might not even own coats. Your step-mother's story though, makes me think that at least a few of them don't - there are a lot of poor families from the rural areas around here also, as well as some from low-income sections of town.
Kinda makes you think twice about all we take for granted.
Hubs has a kerosene heater out in the garage. The thing looks like a jet engine, and sounds like one too. Whenever I hear it running, I have to loudly bang on the door before going in because more than once, I've just walked in and scared the cr@p out of him when he turns around, and "suddenly" sees somebody standing in the garage.
Speaking of scaring the cr@p out of someone...
LX stopped by to visit for a few hours on her way down to Indiana yesterday afternoon (Valentine's Weekend, you know). She told me she threw Creepy Ass across the room.....when she took the package out of the box I used to mail it, the doll started giggling, even before it was unwrapped.
Now I wish I would have asked Niki to video her reaction. It would have been priceless.
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Post by stepper on Feb 13, 2016 11:29:09 GMT -6
They did. The kids were known to get a bit rowdy and some of the drivers had problems with them, but that didn't happen on her routes. She got Christmas cards and Valentine's Day cards and hugs. I think it may be part of the reason that she still drives. She really does care about all the kids on her routes. I wouldn't be surprised if most of it is, but I also wouldn't be surprised if some of it was because those kids don't have coats. Ours looked like a pot belly stove and didn't make a sound. BOLL! Oh man! Can't you just picture that? Opening a giggling beheaded doll? And you know it worked because she chucked it across the room. Congratulations! And be careful for the rest of your life.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 14, 2016 10:01:34 GMT -6
LX had a bus driver she really liked, and who she gave presents and cards to on holidays. By the time BP got around to taking the bus, that driver had retired and a "mean bus driver" had take over the route. It's no wonder that some bus drivers are considered mean - they have to be just to keep their sanity while keeping the kids under control; BP hated taking the bus because she'd get headaches from it being so loud and long of a bus ride. It's two miles from here to the middle school - it's about a five minute drive. With the all the stops, and the actual route the bus took, BP spent more than an hour on the bus each way. And still, the poor bus driver wasn't done.
I have to admit after LX left, I did a quick once over through the house, paying special attention to the places a Creepy Ass Baby Doll might mysteriously turn up....like under the covers on my side of the bed, for example. I didn't find anything....yet.
After a few days of snow, wind, and winter storm warnings, this morning is perfectly calm, sunny, and noisy with chirping birds. The bitter cold hasn't left though - it's currently 8 degrees. At least it looks pretty.
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Post by stepper on Feb 14, 2016 18:25:15 GMT -6
I never had the pleasure. I lived within what was considered walking distance - temperature, rain, snow - nothing mattered. I walked until I bought a VW Bug.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 15, 2016 9:36:21 GMT -6
We walked to school too until driving age, and then one of my friends who had a car picked me up. I didn't have a car until graduation...and it's not that I got a car for graduation. It's because I ruined the Oldsmobile by painting it before graduation, and my Dad charged me a nominal fee to buy it from him, because he refused to drive it with big red lips painted around the grill and "Maneater" written across the hood. Yep, the sun baked the washable paint my friends and I used, and it wouldn't come off. My brother paid half because he wanted a car too, and we shared it. He got the better part of the deal, because I left for the Army at the end of summer. Or did he? For two more years, he drove that car with its big red lips.
The high-school and middle school were exactly a mile from our house; the elementary school though, was right at the end of our street. All those winters walking to school, and I can only remember being picked up once due to snow (I'm sure there were other times, but I specifically remember this one). It was when we were in elementary school - it literally would not have taken us more than 10 minutes to walk. It was a blizzard though; Dad's work had let out earlier than the schools did, even though they cancelled school mid-way through the day. He picked us and a couple of other neighborhood kids up in his two-door Scout; there was no back seat. It was so cold, the passenger side door wouldn't open, and the handle snapped in Dad's hand, spitting his palm open. We all piled in the driver's side, with Dad dripping blood all over the place. Somehow, we all found this to be a great adventure, which is probably why I remember it.
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Post by stepper on Feb 15, 2016 14:05:46 GMT -6
I had a paper route from the time I was nine - although I didn't "own" it until I was twelve. You had to be twelve to actually own a route. Anyway, I saved up a little over the years and after I turned 17 mom found a Bug that was reasonably priced. It was a vehicle, and it ran, and it was mine. At the time, to me, it was way cool. Of course something flashy wasn't in the offing, but it didn't matter.
Really? You painted red lips on your dad's car? And his reaction was that he refused to drive it? Okay, it's killing me. What possessed you? Why would you paint lips on a car?
I've been trying to remember, but I don't recall ever being let out of school early because of snow. It happened a couple times due to heat, but I can't say we got out early for snow. And never just because it was cold. Speaking of which...it must have stayed up there and gone east.
Our lowest predicted temp is 47 and that's only one day. The rest of the week is supposed to have lows in the 50s and highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s. It may not sound like it but it's a complaint. We need enough of a freeze to knock down the bugs, and to make the roses go dormant. It didn't happen. I have three bell pepper plants from last season that aren't yielding fruit, but they are clearly healthy. (No sign of freeze or frost damage at all.) The red maple in the front yard lost the last of its leaves only a few weeks ago and it's already solidly budding out. And if being this warm already is any kind of sign, it's going to be an overly hot summer. Again.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 16, 2016 0:25:03 GMT -6
Hubs' first car was a VW Bug; he was about the same age as you were, and the car sounds similar to yours - it ran, and it was his. A typical beater, it had a bolt for the clutch.
The car, an Olds Delta 88, had well over 150,000 miles on it, and was due to be traded in for a newer model, so it's not like I ruined a new car. We always had an Oldsmobile, and a Suburban. Dad would not let me paint the Suburban, although it was what I drove most of the time - it's also what he drove to work, and was no way going to drive into Detroit in a vehicle covered in graffiti. The Olds was the family car, and my brother and I each paid $250 (my half was earned by my swim instructor jobs and my KFC job - I think by then my brother had a job other than his paper route). I think Dad just made us pay to teach us that you have to work for what you have, instead of just giving us a car that was near to reaching beater status.
Why, you ask? Tradition. It was a HUGE tradition for the seniors in the area (there were four rival high-schools in our district, in addition to those from neighboring districts) to paint their cars the week before graduation. Painting parties were customary pre-graduation activities. Cruising was a typical Friday and Saturday night thing - you had to be seen, and even if you had no particular destination in mind, you always ended up somewhere. OMG, we used to have so much fun.
The lips around the grill (there were white teeth painted on the grill also) was part of the theme - my friends and I were all on the swim team; the car was painted like a shark, with gills and fins painted on the side, and various swimming references on it like "Life in the Fast Lane", "Eat My Wake", and some suggestive ones which somehow escaped Dad's scrutinizing eye. Showing school spirit was also customary - we were the Eisenhower Eagles, and so of course "Ikeatraz Breakout '82" was plastered across the rear windshield and trunk, and "Fly Like an Eagle" across a door panel. We seemed to use a lot of song references. Though the suggestive swim slogans got passed Dad (maybe he didn't get them - maneater, for example, of course had a double-meaning), but he in no way was letting us keep any painted on drug references - there was a wildly popular song that I can't remember the name of, or who sang it, but it contained the line "where were you in '69? Smoking dope and drinking wine" that we changed to 'where were you in '82. Smoking dope and drinking booze'. That we had to wash off, as well as "Sex, Drugs, and Rock-n-Roll", because back then it was all about the sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll, baby - whether you partook or not, it was almost a mandatory reference. We tried to explain to him that it was just lyrics, but he was having none of it. At the time I thought he was being totally unreasonable, but looking back, I realize he was being extremely reasonable to let us paint the car in the first place.
Everything washed off in the end, except for the lips and "Maneater" - it was only the red paint that baked into the light green metallic paint of the Oldsmobile.
Fun trip down memory lane just now. I've still got a picture of the car; the girls have seen it, and of course, think it was cool..so cool that LX wanted to start the tradition here when she graduated high-school. HA! No way was I letting her paint my car....I am not nearly as reasonable as my Dad was.
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Post by stepper on Feb 16, 2016 19:32:47 GMT -6
Mine was a little more solid than that when I got it. When I sold it 1st gear was shot, but the buyer didn't care because he worked at a nursery and didn't want to sully his good car. (This one was a bit back off the beaten path from what he said.) Maybe he figured he could fix it - I was up front about any problems so I wasn't worried about it. Surprisingly, it sold quickly too. I put it in the front yard with a for sale sign, which I'm sure mom was not overly happy about, but it wasn't there more than a couple days and then it was gone.
The next one was a light blue Ford Mustang with a four on the floor and it looked good, but it only had a slant (or straight line) 6 cylinder 200. Still, it was a decent ride and probably kept me from getting into too much trouble. Just enough get up and go but not so much that I was foolish enough to challenge anyone.
I simply cannot imagine why he'd object to having his daughter driving around town with the word "maneater" painted on the vehicle, along with a set of red lips and teeth in the grill.
Okay, that made me laugh! And thanks for sharing.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 18, 2016 7:26:37 GMT -6
I don't know what all that four-on-the-floor/slant/straight line stuff is, my one of my friends had an older model Mustang in high-school - it was somewhere between aged and beater, but it sure was fun to drive around in.
Did one of my funnest winter activity car things yesterday - kick the road buddies from the wheel wells. Yes, I'm easily assumed, but it's so satisfying when the temperature is just warm enough to be able to kick them off whole, but not so warm that they're slushy.
Something else car-related that I did yesterday - sign up BP for driver's education this spring. ACK!!!
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Post by stepper on Feb 18, 2016 18:30:50 GMT -6
Really? You're not having me on with this? It means four speed standard transmission - a stick shift with four forward gears. A slant 6 means the engine has six cylinders, they are arranged in a straight line, and instead of straight up and down they are angled. This distinguishes the engine from a V6 or a V8 where the cylinders are opposite of each other and angled down like \ / <= that. I was the second owner, and it's previous (and only) owner(s) was an older couple who mom knew because of church. It certainly wasn't only used for Sunday drives, but it was in pretty good condition. And like the one you knew about, it was also fun to drive. You're safe, that's something I wouldn't do. Just keep telling yourself that except for grandchildren (which will happen sooner than you expect - it'll seem like only a few days) this is the last time you have to sweat children driving on your insurance - in your car - chasing boys. Just go back to when you were young and remember how safe you were. BTW: how did you learn to do doughnuts?
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Post by Phalon on Feb 19, 2016 7:25:28 GMT -6
Nope. I've never driven a vehicle with standard transmission.
Ohhhhh. I get it now. I knew that 6 or 8 referred to the number of cylinders, but never knew what the "V" stood for, (and never thought to ask). I just assumed it meant velocity or something.
You got me. I had to read what you quoted and your response twice to understand it - I knew what I wrote, but didn't realize what I actually wrote.
Mom used to say she never knew what fear and anxiety were until the first day I got my drivers license (she said this about all three of us).
She also used to say, "Just wait until you have kids".
Now I get it. Completely.
It was bad enough when LX got her license, but she waited until well after she turned 16 to take driver's ed. BP is only 14! That seems way too young.
I grew up in Michigan. You learn to do doughnuts. You just do.
I said that exact same thing to someone once. When I was in Germany, where I worked was about a 45 minute drive from the base where I was stationed, most of it was through very hilly - almost mountainous - countryside dotted with a few houses here and there. It was an absolutely gorgeous drive that I didn't mind doing alone in the big pick-up I was assigned; it was a one-person office. Once a quarter though, my captain would come out just to touch base, and see how things were going first hand. Of course, I had to drive him.
One of these drives with him in the truck took place on a very snowy, icy morning. I had just driven through a section of very windy road, and coming out of the final curve was a car coming in the opposite direction swerving all over the icy road. I swerved to avoid it, did a complete 360, and continued straight down the road like nothing happened.
My captain's face was completely drained of all color, and he was hanging on to the dash for dear life.
"How'd you learn to drive like that?"
"I grew up in Michigan. You learn to do doughnuts. You just do."
He, btw, was from Texas.
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Post by stepper on Feb 19, 2016 21:11:04 GMT -6
You're missing more than half the fun. And part of the safety. We "had" to learn on a stick shift because there was the thought that it was possible to be in a situation where ONLY a stick shift was available. I didn't think it would happen, but we didn't take our truck to Turkey (mom had it) and it turned out that we needed a vehicle even when we moved on base. We ended up purchasing a vehicle (a Datsun - I think it was a 240z) belonging to another AF person who was getting ready to head back stateside, and it was a stick. I taught Steppet to drive the stick while we were there - she picked it up, no problem. The point being that at some time you may really need to drive a stick and you'll need to know how through experience. Maybe.
I've done the same thing - I knew what I meant to type but what I actually typed ( or what it was auto-corrected to) wasn't what I meant at all.
The VW was my first vehicle. Now that I think about it, I believe mom wanted me to have the VW so that I wouldn't want to drive her car. Anyway, first we got a learner's permit which required a licensed driver be with you. I don't know if you remember, but on the passenger side of a Bug there was a hand bar on the dash right above the glove compartment. First time mom was going with me so I could drive.... she sits down in the passenger seat. I started the car, and she did a panic grab of the hand bar and inhaled like a little kid would do when they are about to go over the highest spot on the biggest roller coaster in the world. Shear, unadulterated, fear. I didn't have the heart to do it, and in fact I was more than a little bit put off. I turned the car off and said I'd wait until someone else was available.
Remember that when LX comes home talking about doughnuts. And she's not talking about food, and it's summertime.
So you did an accidental 360 and got away with it - in a military truck no less. Cool! Wouldn't surprise me if your Captain needed to change his shorts too.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 21, 2016 7:40:33 GMT -6
I don't remember the hand bar although one of my high-school buddies had a Bug, and though none of the cars I've driven had a bar near the glove compartment, it didn't stop Mom - she'd grab the dash and do with sharp inhale when us kids were driving with such frequency that it became a family joke.
Personally, I hang onto the bar on the passenger's side door when I inhale sharply, much to the annoyance of LX.
Everything looks different from the passenger's seat when your child is driving.
It was so pretty here yesterday - warm and sunny, and darn it, I didn't have a chance to get out and enjoy it at all.
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Post by stepper on Feb 21, 2016 12:21:46 GMT -6
OMG!! Even after as long as she's been driving? Did she have some horrible accident where she totaled your car or something? She's grown up - she's in college - she drove herself to Indiana and back with no problems. Unless you do this with Hubs too, it's time to relax! Enjoy the scenery and the fact that she really is growing up.
Especially when you are hopped up on espresso!
Here too.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 25, 2016 8:36:06 GMT -6
It's a Mom-Thing. Trust me.
Know what else is a Mom-Thing? Worrying when your 14-year old daughter gets her first real boyfriend.
I wonder why now that I wanted daughters. Sons, I think, would be so much less worrisome.
It's pretty much the opposite. Caffeine drinkers - whether it's coffee, tea, or soda - develop a tolerance, and it's when they don't get it, that they feel jittery, or even fatigued.
Had a double-espresso latte yesterday (plain, no sugar or flavoring), and felt nothing but the joy of drinking something so steamy hot and delicious on a cold, snowy day.
I think it's done snowing now. It is a wet, wet, wet, heavy snow - the kind that you can't wait for it to finish before you get out and shovel because you'd never be able to move it all at once; and you have to shovel, because it's so wet it'll clog the chutes of snowblowers.
Yesterday evening we had a snow-shoveling extravaganza - Computer guy and wife were shoveling, we were shoveling, and eccentric old lady across the street was shoveling. Hubs, I, and Computer Guy Wife knocked out our driveway and theirs, while Computer Guy helped Eccentric Lady with hers, then started in on the driveway of Old Man Who Lives Next To Eccentric Lady, which was where we all finished.
Fun, but we were all completely drenched through and through by the time we were done. This is the wettest snow I can remember.
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Post by stepper on Feb 25, 2016 20:01:02 GMT -6
I do. But you're introspective enough that you could have self-analyzed the situation and being prepared, you wouldn't overreact. That's the thought anyway.
Sounds like a good time to all go to one house and socialize over coffee. It was nice of you to help out 'old man'.
I sort of did the same thing yesterday - but it was old lady next door whose husband died last summer. Putting the wood floor cleaner together was only a matter of minutes, but putting in the hallway doggie door (think inside child gate except this one is meant to restrain a dog) took longer than expected. She talked the entire time I was there; sadly, she's alone now and has set up a corner in the front room that's a virtual shrine to her husband. She said that many nights she just sits there and cries. I know her husband wouldn't want her to do that, but she's stuck in her grief and isn't overly interested in getting past it.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 27, 2016 9:02:14 GMT -6
I am going out on a limb here, but I'd venture to say you've never been a mom, Step. Self-analysis is over-analysis when it comes Mom-Things, and has nothing to do with over-reacting. It just is, and I am far from being alone in this. It's not even the same as being a father - it's probably some unshakable primeval maternal instinct we've been cursed with since the dawn of time. Yanno what else is a Mom-Thing? If your kid is sick, chances are as soon as they get better, you're going to come down with whatever it was that they breathed all over you with their hot, feverish sick breath. Blah. We had to do the whole thing over again the following morning. I was so thankful for the help - it would have taken me hours to get through the heavy slop the plows left behind. It's very nice of you to help her out, and I'm sure she appreciates it. Eccentric Lady was the same way when her son died a few years ago. I don't think though, that it means that your neighbor isn't 'overly interested in getting past her grief' - last summer isn't all that long ago to have lost one's spouse. If she doesn't get out much, maybe inviting her out to dinner, or over to your house when you grill would help.
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Post by stepper on Feb 27, 2016 12:38:59 GMT -6
I don't know if you reached this startling thought as the result of inductive or deductive reasoning, but your conclusion is bang on.
It has to do with how you/we react emotionally to various personal stimuli - which is not to say guys don't have emotions, but we react differently. Venus and Mars you know.
It's a good thing you had the help - shoveling really wet heavy snow causes all kinds of strains, sprains, and even fatal heart attacks. Don't they make an affordable heavy duty snow blower? Or are they so expensive it's just not worth it?
I'm sure she does - I mow and help fix things up, and I'm a sounding board when she needs to work something out. And I'm support - I'm always 'on her side' no matter what's bothering her.
Oh I agree - that she talks about it openly, and you can hear the regret in her voice, confirms to me that you are correct. She wants to get past her grief, but she was completely committed to his care. Even when it would have been better for him to be institutionalized, she insisted he remain at home because that's what he said (while he was still lucid) - and to make it happen she quit her job and pretty much stayed at home, his sole support since the kids were not in the area (with one exception).
More because of finances than anything else, she got her old job back which gets her out of the house and back with old friends. And she goes to play bingo. It's not enough though. She talked one daughter - single mother - into moving back in. This daughter plans on moving to Houston in about a year and I expect that she'll do it, but for now, she'll be in the house and she'll be company. I think being alone in the house is the biggest impediment to moving on emotionally. She's able to wallow in her grief when she's alone - having a daughter and grandson in the house will distract her from that. I hope.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 5, 2016 9:24:00 GMT -6
That's what they call it - the kind of heavy, wet snow we had is commonly referred to as "heart-attack snow".
I don't know about snow-blowers being able to move that kind of snow. I'm not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but that stuff at the end of the driveway is between 2 to 3 feet of heavy, slushy, icy slop. The teenage neighbor girl and I actually had to heave the clods to the side, some of them so heavy it took both of us to lift them, while the guys shoveled the slushier stuff. We've all got snowblowers - Computer Guy and Old Man have big new fancy ones. We've got two - an old one-stage for lighter snow, and a 3-stage for heavier snow. It's not a matter of getting through the depth, it's that the heavy, wet kind of snow clogs the chutes; it's pointless if you can't throw the snow the blades are churning up. I personally, prefer shoveling anyway.
We had the same type of snow Tuesday, with the exception that I shoveled our drive myself, and it took me every bit of two hours to do it, one shovelful at a time. Wednesday's snow though was heavenly sugar-snow - very light and grainy, and I was done in less than 20 minutes.
It might be time to put away the shovels though; it's supposed to get near 60 degrees this upcoming week.
I think you're probably right. And you'll have someone to tag along when you mow, and "help" you fix things!
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Post by stepper on Mar 5, 2016 13:24:41 GMT -6
In NJ mom had a snow blower (after I joined the AF), but when we all left that wasn't useful unless Bro-1 was going to run it for her, which he did often. When he wasn't available mom had a friend who had a plow that mounted on the front of his jeep. (I used to ask her where that person was when I was younger and my only option was a snow shovel.)
I remember once that a plow went by very early in the morning while we were asleep, and we had the kind of snow you’re talking about. When I woke up the stuff at the end of the driveway had frozen solid and I couldn't shift it even with an axe or crowbar. Mom called dad who by this time was working for the city in the streets and roads department. (Even though they were divorced, somehow, their relationship was still amicable and dad wasn't about to tell her he couldn't use city resources to move snow/ice from the end of a driveway.) About 15 minutes later a large grader went down our street and shifted the ice out of the way. I still had to do the driveway, but that was nothing compared to the iceberg.
Is it common for you to have a warming spell and then have a last shot of snow? When I was younger we'd have a couple of nice days followed by really cold days; a reverse Indian Summer if you will. But, the worst and heaviest snows always seemed to happen in March.
To quote a friend, "HA!" When he was little we got along famously, and it's not that we don't get along now, but he's at an age where the old man next door is not nearly as interesting as climbing the tree in the front yard, and computer games are simply too interesting.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 8, 2016 7:58:00 GMT -6
Our heaviest snow months are January and February, but March and even into April, it's always so iffy. The snow in the picture was a two-day event - school was cancelled both days. Although it wasn't that bad in town, all that slushy snow turned to ice over night making the rural roads quite dangerous. It got into the 50s that weekend though, and everything had melted before it started all over again on Monday - it continued throughout the rest of the week, snowing every day.
It's gone now except the the piles on the side of driveways and roads. It's been up to 60 degrees these last couple of days. I can't imagine it staying this warm for the rest of March - this is more like late April/early May weather.
Oh! You two can build a tree-house together! What kid doesn't want a tree-house? Or what adult for that matter? Have you ever seen that tree-house builder television show. Yep. I'd definitely be loving one of those.
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Post by stepper on Mar 8, 2016 22:42:27 GMT -6
Yes I have and some of those things are great! Like the one way up in the redwoods or the one with the recording studio! I have tastes that far exceed my wallet though. I'd want one that is like a mini house for sure. I'd want the heater and kitchen and bedroom and large screen TV and balcony - and two or three of those views. I can just imagine fall in some of those things he's built.
Storms coming - gotta go.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 10, 2016 8:27:54 GMT -6
I've only seen bits and pieces of a few of the episodes, but from what little I've seen, they're all like mini houses! They're absolutely gorgeous! Mine wouldn't be as elaborate as yours - I wouldn't need a big screen or any other T.V., and not a full sized kitchen either, though a kitchenette and a bathroom would be a must. A bedroom too, and a nice sized-sitting area, lots of windows, and a wrap-around porch. It's fun to imagine, but I could never afford it. My front porch will have to do.
I was sitting out there with my last cup of coffee a few minutes ago, and watched a big fat gray squirrel "bury" a walnut right in front of me, so close I could have touched its fluffy tail. He climbed to the top of the azalea right off the porch, and wedged the nut tightly between a couple of branches. Satisfied he's hidden his stash in plain view, he hopped away to find something else to bury probably in a place just as obvious. I gotta wonder what they're thinking when they do the squirrel stuff squirrels do.
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Post by stepper on Mar 10, 2016 20:39:25 GMT -6
I don’t need a full sized kitchen, but a small fridge is a must. What would you prefer – an oven or a microwave? Or both? And at 2AM I’m not trekking all the way back from a warm bed to the house to take a quick dump – some kind of accommodations are required.
What is a tree house on that level about? It’s not a toy – on that level (and for that much money) there’s a serious goal happening. Pretty much all of them have the element of being an escape from something, and nearly all of them have a darned fine view. After that, they fill some kind of void. That’s why I want mine to be a mini house. Solitude, peace, but with the ability to peripherally connect to the “outside” if I want it. So yes, I’d need a decent computer too.
I’m not wired in a way that allows me to be a full time recluse – sooner or later I’d need company - so a little extra space.
{quote] and watched a big fat gray squirrel "bury" a walnut right in front of me [/quote] I remember reading someplace that they remember only about 75 to 80 percent of the locations of buried nuts, and that they are prone to theft if they see another squirrel bury a nut, so they pretend do bury some in an effort to confuse potential thieves. So what they’re thinking is survival and skullduggery.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 13, 2016 9:19:32 GMT -6
It depends on where it's located. On the few episodes I've seen, the tree houses have been on the owner's property along with their house. In that case, I'd just want a small fridge, maybe a microwave, sink, and oh! definitely a coffee pot! I think it'd be ultimately cool though, to own a piece of property and instead of having a cabin in the woods, have a tree house out there as a weekend getaway. That of course, would need to have a fully equipped kitchen.
And for me, whether it's in my backyard, or a family vacation home, it'd definitely be a toy.
Pfft. You must be talking about squirrels in other parts of the country. Saying that the ones here remember even 50 percent of the location of buried nuts is giving them far too much credit. I should take pictures of the dozens and dozens of holes in my yard where they've dug trying to find something they may or may not have buried. Xena Sis and I were sitting on her front porch earlier this week, and watched them do the same in her yard - there were four or five of them, and not a single stash was found. They're entertaining to watch though.
The crows were pretty entertaining to watch yesterday morning also. It's known that they do things just to entertain themselves, and I wondered what kind of game they were playing. In fact, I asked them "WTF kind of crow game is this?!" Two of them were in the smoke tree, taking turns biting off branches. Once one crow got one, it would bob its head and caw at the other, who then would take a turn, and do the same head-bob/caw after it had a branch. It's not as if they were collecting branches for a nest; they just dropped them to the ground. This went on for 15 minutes, and all the while the third crow, who was in the maple, cheered them on. When they were finally tired of whatever it was they were doing and flew away, I went out to look under the smoke tree - are are probably 50ish small branches laying under it. You'd think at least they could clean up after they're done playing!
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Post by stepper on Mar 13, 2016 20:38:47 GMT -6
Most of them are near the person's home, but they've had a couple where someone had property someplace else and it was a get-away spot.
That wouldn't work for me. I don't think I'd give it the attention it deserves if I thought of it as a 'toy'. He makes really fantastic treehouses and I'm sure I'd want to spend a lot of time there.
LOL! My neighbor kept finding holes with peanuts in his garden.
I'll have to take your word for that. As strange as it sounds, we don't have crows here, or at least I haven't heard one. No "caw" noises.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 15, 2016 6:12:58 GMT -6
That does seem pretty unusual. I thought American crows lived just about everywhere in North America except the very northern regions of Canada. If they were around though, they'd be hard to miss - for one thing, they are HUGE, and very vocal. We were talking in the other thread about mocking birds mimicking the sounds of other animals and mechanical noises; crows do the same thing, although probably not to the same extent.
They are amazing birds and are probably my favorite. I love watching all the birds in my yard, but they pretty much do the same thing: flit around the trees and bushes, going back and forth to the feeders, and such. The crows don't usually eat in the yard, but they stop by nearly every day to do some kind of weird crow activity.
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