Two Hours, Cold Wet Feet, and 15 Bucks/Hour

I’m cold, wet, and tired. Two hours on the handle of a snow shovel is not my idea of fun. The dig, traipse across the street, dump, repeat ritual behind the aught-one Saturn, combined with some Midwest-learned knowledge of “rocking” a car broke it free, and I was able to head around the corner for beers and smokes`supplies. MLB tidied up my parking spot while I was out.

My back has survived fine, my arm is sore, and I was not-too-eagerly contemplating the prospect of another two hours to extricate MLB’s car Galumping through knee-deep snow means cold, wet feet, which are more bothersome to me than any physical aches and pains.

On my arrival back from the store, MLB informed me that an enterprising neighbor had ventured out to a local temp employment agency 7-11 and had engaged the services of a couple of workers, who for the entirely reasonable sum of $15/hour (cash preferred), will slick out the remainder of our snow, scoop out a path to the neighbor’s front door, and clean out the neighbor’s vacant parking spot before they return tomorrow. What a bargain! Several other neighbors have engaged the services of these gentlemen, and are now presumably comfortably warm and in front of the teevee.

-k-

Still and Clear

As in still snowing, and clear up to your ass.

Lucky me, I get to scoop a path across the deck seen in the picture a few posts back. The satellite dish is atop the shed; we’ve lost the signal. Being snowbound and teevee-less is an intolerable combination. A light brooming off of the dish should restore service. Yet another reason we didn’t roof-mount the dish. If it were there, we’d have teevee reception back about spring thaw time, if it were up to me to tend to it.

-k-

I Think There’s a Saturn in There


Your forbearance is humbly requested, while I post yet another snow photo. This is a view out tbbs WorldHQ’s front door, which reveals my covered ’01 Saturn. We think MLB’s ’08 is under the pile mid-photo, and our neighbor’s VW is visible on the right.

There’s evidence there that a neighbourhood Good Samaritan, who presumably is equipped with a snow blower, has cleared some of the sidewalk out front. I’ll make it a point to treat this person to a few beers, or better yet, a shot of good single-barrel bourbon, if I can ascertain their identity.

The Big Dig starts tomorrow; the sidewalk leading to our front door is at the top of the list. Then the stretch of walk in front of our place. Then a path to the cars; there’s a grass strip between the curb and sidewalk. I never mind those parts too much. With snow of this depth, scooping paths on the driver’s side of the cars is necessary. And that’s the part that I don’t like; I have to traipse across the street to empty the shovel, the yard being full after the sidewalk scooping. Scoop, traipse, dump, repeat. Then, pushing the snow off the cars leaves another passel to be relocated across the street.

Our next door neighbors are off on a cruise and are due back on Monday, so I’m duty-bound to scoop the walks leading to their house, so they will have a clear path. They are good neighbors, quiet, attentive without nosiness, just like I like. So we help each other out.

So, all in all, tomorrow promises to be a day of more physical exertion than befits a confirmed couch potato. I have the single-barrel bourbon and Ben Gay to look forward to at the end of the efforts. Is that inspiration, or what?

-k-

A Minor Nit

I’ve inherited my Mom’s intolerance of clocks that aren’t right. I just now noticed that the timestamp on my last three posts is wrong; it’s the EDT, not EST, time.

So, I made a little adjustment to the time-stamping, after seeing this in WP settings for timezone:

Unfortunately, you have to manually update this for Daylight Savings Time. Lame, we know, but will be fixed in the future.

Roger the lame part.

-k-

UPDATE: After posting this, it originally appeared below the three chronologically previous posts. So, I had to manually update several timestamps. All’s right with the world. Lameness, however, is approaching unacceptability, as far as timestamps are concerned.

Snowbound and Upgraded

I spent part of Snow Day today upgrading this old blog to WordPress 2.9.

I’ve never been able to get the automatic WP upgrade to work; it seems to download the upgrade, it says “Done” in the dashboard status bar, but then nothing happens. Perhaps I’m either impatient, do not understand the process, or both.

So, I reverted to my tried and true manual update process, which worked flawlessly again. And that process is quick in its own right. So, I really spent a small part of the Snow Day upgrading.

The WordPress banner files on a taller pole today, the better to be seen above the snow.

Thanks, WordPress!
-k-

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And the Radio still works..


When life sends you snow, you blog about it. With pictures. This one reveals our outside Sirius Satellite Radio antenna. This is needed to get any kind of reliable signal at all; here in the underbelly of our three-level townhouse, the indoor antenna just doesn’t cut it.

I think it looks like a little Christmas tree. The snow accumulation on top of the fence rail is gettin’ right up there as well.

And, in the interest of complete reporting, I just fired up the Sirius receiver, and it still gets a signal, and plays all those great country tunes I love to hear.

For now, though, we’re back to watching Texas basketball, the Kansas Jayhawks already having dispatched Michigan in the previous game.

I really don’t mind being snowed in; the thoughts of the Big Dig which inevitably ensue detract from the comfort of being comfortably ensconced with MLB and our faithful cat here at tbbs WorldHQ.

For now, I’ll revel in the comfortable ensconcement, which probably isn’t a word. But you understand my meaning.

-k-

White Brinkmanns and Webers


The view of the deck, taken just a few minutes ago. That white conical device is our Brinkmann Smoker, under a fresh blanket of the white stuff. To the right is the black Weber Kettle grill, sporting the latest in white hattery. We’re expecting 10-18″ before this storm moves on up the coast, and we’re currently under a blizzard warning; winds are supposed to get gusty as the front moves on.

I’m reevaluating all the I Love Four Seasons1 statements that I’ve ever made. In some sense, I stand by that statement. The real reevaluation starts tomorrow, when I take shovel in hand to begin the Big Dig.

-k-


1 The weather kind, not the singing kind.