Snowy day

Friday, 4:02 pm

By Kate

Dec

19

2008

A week has scampered past since my last post, eh? Time does seem to fly. It has been a rather active week in this household.

On Monday, I drove down to Pennsylvania to pick up the lad. It’s a long trip, but I like to drive. There was a lot of traffic—way more than on the a weekend when I usually make the trip. As a result, I was able to drive much more slowly than usual. No one was in a particular hurry. I was curious to see how much fuel I’d save with the reduced speeds. Just curiosity. Turns out...quite a lot. Usually it takes 3/4 of a tank of gas to drive one way. This time, it took 2/3 of a tank. Driving there, anyway. Coming back, there was less traffic and speeds were a lot faster. Even in the slow lane, I had a few people ride my bumper flashing their high beams. New Jersey, naturally. So, I had to pick it up to around 70 mph, which was still slower than most everyone else. Going the speed limit or slightly less in the slow lane is simply not tolerated down there unless the traffic zeitgeist says so. Nevertheless, the round trip only used a total of a tank and a half of gas (my gas tank is 10 gallons). Quite gratifying. Anyone who suggests that driving more slowly doesn’t use less gasoline is misinformed.

In any event, we didn’t arrive home until just a few minutes before 3AM on Tuesday morning.

Ever since my kitchen has been a flurry of activity. The lad has been cooking his heart out. I am in severe danger of calorie overload. I’ve informed him that for every tasty and rich dish he prepares, that’s one extra mile we have to walk each day. He’s agreeable. I must say, however, that having someone cook for me is divine, gobs of butter notwithstanding.

This afternoon we’re snugged in while the weather rages outside. I’ve been treated to a concoction of bananas in some kind of decadent sauce, wrapped in a pastry and baked until bubbly. The wood stove is fired up and toasting us gently. The wood racks are overflowing. I believe the lad is doing something computer related in his room and here I am. Pretty soon I should start a hearty soup/stew on the stove, but I am so not hungry. The thought of food doesn’t appeal to me at all. I can’t even work up any enthusiasm for preparing something against the time that I am hungry. I’m not sure I’ll be hungry for the rest of the day. Or tomorrow, for that matter. I’ve been fed much too well this week. I need a day of fasting.

The snowstorm started about two hours ago and has accelerated to sideways snow and near-zero visibility. At some point, I suppose we will have to start shoveling to make room for the next snow storm on Sunday. By the end of today, we may have a foot or more of snow on the ground. It also sounds as if there is another storm in the works for Christmas Eve. There doesn’t seem to be any doubt that we will have a white Christmas this year.

I’m curious to see when the first snow plows will make the rounds. We still have rush hour coming up. The local powers-that-be have already stated that snow removal will be less frequent this year. And, on weekends, fergeddit. There are slim pickings in the coffers this year and it sounds as if we will learn to cope with a lot more snow on the roads than in years past. I’m not enthusiastic about that, given the way people drive around here. And I am supposed to drive the lad down to his Dad’s house tomorrow. Not sure if I will yet. The weather forecast suggests snow into tomorrow with another snow storm on Sunday. It seems like a lousy weekend for travel, especially with the plows parked in their garages.

Meanwhile, the little birds outside are on the deck, scratching in the snow trying to find the seeds I tossed out this morning. They’re brave little souls. I’m surprised that they are out—the wind roughs them up and knocks them around pretty thoroughly. But they are determined to have that last snack before bedtime. I wish that I had a protected/sheltered place for them to eat. Will have to think about that a little bit and devise something for them. My two little indoor birds would like to tell them that it’s quite lovely on the inside with food and water provided daily, heated perches, fun toys, and temperatures warm enough for luxurious and exuberant baths. On a day like this, I don’t imagine it’s very enjoyable being a wild bird.

Fine February Day

Wednesday, 7:02 pm

By Kate

Nov

19

2008

Today, the 19th of November, was a fine February day. My outdoor thermometer never rose above 28°. And it is heading toward 23° at a pretty brisk clip, even as I type. By the time I post this, we might have already reached it. I must say, that’s rather cold for the middle of November, during which our normal daytime temperatures are still usually in the upper 40s.

I know that most people around here aren’t too crazy about it. I can practically hear all the neighbors keening as their furnaces labor away at mid-winter frequency. The white billows of steam pouring out of their chimneys is deep winter picture postcard pretty, except for the absence of snow. Not that I’m asking for trouble by saying that or anything.... It’s not that we don’t like to share, but you folks in Canada can hang on to your cold weather for a little longer without offending us in the least.

I’m curious how some of these folks are managing. Especially the woman who was determined not to turn the heat on until December 1st. Someone might want to go check on her to make sure she and her family haven’t turned into solid blocks of ice. I suspect all the good resolve went right out the window last night, if not sooner. It has been an uncharacteristically cold autumn this year.

My earmarked November wood supply is rapidly depleting. I don’t think it’s going to last until the end of November at this rate. I’ve been trying to take it a little easy, but when I get up in the morning to a 54° house, my resolve disintegrates pretty quickly.  Here’s hoping for an extended December and January thaw to make up for this nonsense.

Weather Weirdness

Saturday, 10:01 pm

By Kate

Nov

15

2008

I turned the radio on a little while ago and I just heard the announcer say that it was 68° in Boston. At least, that’s what I thought he said. I had to get up and check my outdoor thermometer. It said 67.6°. At nearly 10PM on November 15th in the northeast. That’s unusual. When was the last time I opened my doors and windows at 10PM in the middle of November to warm my house up? It’s 3 degrees cooler in my house than it is outside. Free heat! 

Uh...no!

Monday, 9:18 pm

By Kate

Oct

20

2008

There is still time for the weather man to change his mind....

He’s just funnin’ with us. Right?

Right??!

This

is

notgoingtohappen!

!!!!

Ike

Thursday, 6:20 pm

By Kate

Sep

11

2008

This is Hurricane Ike. What a massive storm.

Consider that the Gulf of Mexico is about 800 miles across and Ike is taking up most of it...and still growing. Ike is now larger than Katrina, though not yet quite as strong. At least in terms of wind. (It will probably intensify tonight now that it’s going over some very warm water again.) However, the storm surge is already kicking up from Florida to Texas. I heard recent reports that Mobile, Alabama is flooding, the coastal parishes in Louisiana are under mandatory evacuation orders, and Galveston, Texas is also experiencing surge related flooding already. Some of the electricity infrastructure repairs in southeastern Louisiana, from Gustav, have been blown down again today. If this thing hits the Galveston/Houston area, I wonder how much will be left when the storm is past. This is an astonishing storm. Scary astonishing. The storm surge, anywhere between 15 and 20 feet, is like a wall of water the height of an average house bearing down on the coastal areas. Kind of like a tsunami. If I saw that coming at me, I’m pretty sure I’d die of fright before anything else. I hope the people in the coastal areas are packing up and heading as far inland as possible. My thoughts and best wishes are certainly with them.

This is what the National Weather Service says about the Galveston/Houston area:

Life threatening inundation likely!

All neighborhoods… and possibly entire coastal communities…
will be inundated during the period of peak storm tide. Persons
not heeding evacuation orders in single family one or two story
homes will face certain death. Many residences of average
construction directly on the coast will be destroyed. Widespread
and devastating personal property damage is likely elsewhere.
Vehicles left behind will likely be swept away. Numerous roads
will be swamped… some may be washed away by the water. Entire
flood prone coastal communities will be cutoff. Water levels may
exceed 9 feet for more than a mile inland. Coastal residents in
multi-story facilities risk being cutoff. Conditions will be
worsened by battering waves. Such waves will exacerbate property
damage… with massive destruction of homes… including those of
block construction. Damage from beach erosion could take years to
repair.

Meanwhile, hope you have a full gas tank at yesterday’s prices. Looks as if the price of gasoline in the southern portion of the US has already skyrocked and the rest of us will probably feel it to some degree or another for a while. Almost all the refineries are shut down, some have been since Gustav blew through. Remains to be seen how many will remain out of operation after this storm. No refineries in operation and closed ports equals no gasoline. Looks as if this is going to be a brutal September.

Hanna

Friday, 4:27 pm

By Kate

Sep

05

2008

In the midst of the most fascinating political mayhem I’ve ever seen, one must take time out for practical considerations. I think we’re getting Tropical Storm Hanna tonight. Or the first rain bands, at least. Tomorrow the main deluge is scheduled along with quite brisk winds (50 mph gusts). I think the only real difference between this and a walloping good nor’easter is the name. I’d hope that the flashing around the chimney is up to the job, having had it recently repaired after it leaked during the last nor’easter. And then there are a few wood piles to protect.

I went out and covered them up a while ago. I wasn’t prepared for a storm like this yet, so had to use what I had on hand. I could have gone out to hunt down some new tarps, but I have other things to do and prepare for this evening and I didn’t want to spend the time crawling through Wally-World looking for tarps today. What I have is a thin sheet of plastic. Or thin vinyl...or something. I think it was supposed to be a paint drop cloth, but it was so darned slippery (and huge) that it was useless. It’s sturdy enough, but not ideal for the longer term. In any case, I tossed it over the woodpiles and secured it as well as possible with heavy logs, with the long tail end of the plastic wadded up and weighted down on the ground at the north-northwest end of the woodpiles.

This is the first time I’ve stacked wood in that location. It’s pretty protected—on the southwest side of the house with a stockade fence protecting the entire south side. The wind and wind-driven rain should come from the north, so the bulk of wind should miss the broad sides of the wood piles. Guess we shall see. This is a good test run for winter. Once this storm is past, I’ll know what I need and what needs the most protection. If my wood gets wet, well...no disaster. I still have the rest of September and October to dry it out again.

But still. Could live without a tropical storm. Wind-driven rain (sideways rain) really makes life miserable and ALWAYS finds a way into the house somewhere.