It just won't stop!

I'm guessing we have 2 feet of snow on the ground by now.  It's just snowing and snowing and snowing.  Snowed all night, off & on during the day, still spitting snow now.  Man oh man this is a lot for November.  We won't be seeing bare ground for a long long time.

It's warm, 32 out there now, which will make my shoveling harder in some ways but at least not unpleasant.  I already shoveled the steps once but you'd never guess that.  I think we got 6 more inches last night AFTER my driveway was plowed.  It could use some tidying up but that's not going to happen I'm sure.

Went to Plattsburgh this morning, the roads were good on the way in but were worse on the way home.  Side roads are a problem but nothing dangerous or scary.

My house warms up quickly when I stoke that fire.  The spray foam insulation has made a huge difference and is really a great thing.  I used to lose a ton of heat to the upstairs but the insulation has cut way down on that (no draft coming up from under the house through the floor).  It seems very strange to have such a warm house!

And wait for it...it's coming again

Another storm is predicted for tonight and tomorrow.  A foot, maybe more.   maybe less.  Do they ever really know?

I'm home today from my Thanksgiving trip to Rhode Island.  I had a good time, Thanksgiving was nice.  Started with a beach walk with the dogs, a very abbreviated walk because it was 10 degrees and very windy, so windy that I cut it short.  I didn't take my winter clothes to RI because you never need those at Thanksgiving.   WRONG.  Anyway we had another, nicer and longer beach walk later on and the dogs had a great time.  They don't get to run free at my mother's house, there's a pen for them but that's all they get for exercise.  And it's a small pen.  Mark and I try to get them to the beach at least twice a week when I'm there.

My drive down was fine, I went through Worcester and it was a shorter trip but too many miles spent on the Mass Pike to suit me.  I went on Tuesday.  Wednesday, of course we went to town, just a quick trip.  Thanksgiving was fine with a 10.5 pound turkey.  Mark did a lot of the cooking and the food was all great.

Friday we went to town of course, several stops including the grocery store for my mother to do her weekly shopping.  It was cold here at home, -10 reported to me, -21 in Saranac Lake I think.  I worried and fretted about my house.  I had left all my baseboard heaters as high as they would go but sill I worried.  For naught.

Anyway on Saturday my niece, her daughter (4 years old) and her husband came for the afternoon and evening.  In the morning Mark & I went to the seafood store for lobsters and clams, yummy delicious small littlenecks and lobsters from cold water.  We all had a good visit, such a nice time with my family.  The little girl is a wonder and is just as sweet as a child can be.  Who's one of her best friends?  TREASURE!  They left after lobsters, went to Mystic Aquarium on Sunday before they headed home for Potsdam.  A lot of driving.

We had a quiet Sunday, mostly read, visited, I struggled for hours with the Sunday crossword puzzle.  Did I finish it?  Only with help from an atlas and Wicktionary, and even then there were 4 empty spaces.  Oh my.  

It warmed up considerably.  My friend came to check on my house on Thanksgiving and reported that it was warm and fine, then she returned this morning and reported that the living room temp was 79.  Well OK so I spent a fortune needlessly heating my house but my pipes did NOT freeze so that was swell.  My friend laid a fire for me and brought in mail and delivered packages.  How lucky I am to have a kind, generous and considerate friend. 

Now the temp outside is 32, the living room is 69 and I just lit the fire.  I've turned off all the heaters.  Man oh man am I glad I had the insulation sprayed under the house!

The dogs were so very very happy to be home.  Bear whined nearly the whole way from Albany to the house.  I thought he was desperate to pee so stopped at a rest area but oh no, he didn't HAVE to, he just sniffed a lot and peed a little.  What a pig.   I assume he was sick of being in the car.  Well hells bells so was I!

So we're supposed to have this storm tonight (it's raining right now) and tomorrow.  I'm supposed to go to Keene Valley to work in the morning, let's wait and see what the conditions are.  It feels as if I've been gone for a very long time but of course it's just about a week.  I'll be going back to RI for Christmas and will spend almost a week there then.  What will I set the heat at?  Oh such a good question.

Oh no! not again!

Predictions for a big storm tonight and tomorrow!   Run for cover!   Their best guess is that we might get a foot of snow.  It's cold so it should be fine, drier snow.  Right now the temp is 4, I think it's supposed to get up to 20 today.  Makes me think of my friends in Georgia and chuckle--don't they wish they were here today?!

Life has been good and without incident.  The car is still clean, my wood stove works well, the insulation I had sprayed under the house is working admirably.  It's true that the living room is cold at 59 but it will warm up and there's not the draftiness of the past.  The upstairs is much cooler, yay for that, not losing as much heat from the downstairs.  That's what the sprayers predicted, there's not the big draft coming through the downstairs with all that cold air being blocked.  I'm so happy!

Although I was convinced it was Saturday when I got up this morning at 5:30, it's really Thursday.  A work day.  I'll head out around 8 or so, be home by 1 if I come straight home.  No anticipated stops today.  So what will I do this afternoon?  I have glassware for the thrift store that needs to be washed--I brought a box home weeks ago to wash before selling it but then my well ran dry so it's been sitting in my mudroom all this time.  I'm so cocky about my water supply that I'm doing laundry right now, just a smallish load but I don't feel like going to the neighbors' to do it.  Oh I'm living close to the edge all right.

Hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week.  I'm leaving on Tuesday but packing is no big deal.  I have a LIST, a long list.  At the top of the list is TURKEY, don't forget the turkey.  Then we have dog bowls and dog food, don't ever forget those!

It's 0 in Saranac Lake right now, we're so much better off than they are.

SNOW! But just a little bit

We didn't get as much snow as I expected, only ended up with a couple of inches.  Of course it's still here, didn't melt...

I had a good weekend, worked at the thrift store for a couple of hours on Saturday morning.  They needed me in books so I didn't work in receiving, books are much easier to deal with and a lot less tiring.

Went to the dump Saturday afternoon.  It was really windy and snowy a bit.  Some friends were here to take out their dock, they got that done without my help (yay) and we went out for dinner that night in Saranac Lake at the Hotel.  My friends spent the night there instead of their unheated, waterless cabin in the cold.  We had a good dinner and nice visit.  I had a long dark ride home in blowing snow but it wasn't a problem.  I have a good car (Crosstrek) with snow tires.  And a CLEAN Crosstrek too!

Sunday was quiet, I walked with my friend in the morning but the dogs took off on the way home.  BAD DOGS!  My friend found them on her way home, down the hardtop more than a mile away.  We walked the bog again today but I put Treasure on a leash on the way out.  Boy was Bear sad about that.  He doesn't seem to take off from our walks unless she tempts him.

Today is Veterans Day--no mail.  I wrote a letter to my dear niece who is now a Doctor, doing research in Bozeman.  Talked to my mother for a long time, she was very very chatty.  I went to a farm stand, got delicious Fuji apples, carrots, got cider at another stop and picked up a few low-point and pointless vegetables.  Man, Weight Watchers is killing me.  I have so much trouble staying within my daily points!  Tonight's dinner will be scrambled eggs=zero points.

It's 36 degrees outside and there was some sunshine so my living room is HOT, too hot at 73.  I do not like it that hot.  It's much like winter here now, snowy ground and dark afternoons.  Well what do I expect?

SNOW!!!! Heavy snow!

It's snowing hard and adding up.  Predictions had it starting at 3:00 and guess what time it started snowing?  Just before 3.  How do they do that?

I was up during the night, decided to be productive as long as I was up so did 2 loads of laundry at my friends' house, bringing them home to dry here.  Did dishes.  Brought in firewood.  Dumped some deck pots (those that weren't frozen) and brought the rest inside to thaw.  Cleared the deck.  YAY cleared the deck.  I walked with friends at 7:30, that was nice at 30 degrees.  I like 30 degrees, it's not too cold for me.

We ended up meeting in Lake Placid for lunch, that was really nice.  I ran some errands, did some shopping (hello dog food and dog biscuits) and met up with my friends at the Pub.  Nice time, very nice time. 

Now I'm home in front of a nice fire in the stove, watching it snow knowing I'll have to go out for more wood even though I have plenty in right now.  I'll go out for more when I go out for the mail in an hour or so.  Predictions are for us to get 3-6 inches.  I'll take 3, thank you.  But I have new snow tires on my car and I don't really HAVE to go anywhere tomorrow.  I feel I should show up at the thrift store tomorrow so will try to get there if the roads aren't bad.

Now I've put away the laundry, oh I love clean clothes.  I have to take apart the bookcase in the bedroom and replace it with the new one I bought but that just doesn't sound like fun right now.  Instead I'll watch dumb TV and maybe go to sleep.

Busy busy busy

I worked THREE mornings this week, last week as well.  OMG that's almost like working full-time (not, so much not).  We finished up the project with the schoolkids and it turned out well, the kids were excited and interested and engaged so it was a success.  I can't take credit, I just furnished the materials, the ideas and follow-through were done by others. 

I finally FINALLY got my car detailed.  What a disgusting mess it was, but now it's nice and sparkling clean.  Cost a fortune but had to be done.  Now I have to put on the seat covers and take better care of the poor car.  I really like the Crosstrek, I've been driving my friend's Impreza for the last 2 days--my previous car was an Impreza and I didn't like it much but it was fun to drive a car closer to the ground, I felt very sporty.  But boy am I happy to have my car back.

I have a long list of tasks to accomplish both indoors and outdoors.  Too many things to get done in just one day.  or two.  I'm not good at accomplishing tasks, mostly.  I still haven't emptied the deck but I did get a start on it.  It's supposed to snow this weekend, starting tomorrow night I think.  Many inches are expected in higher elevations, which usually includes us.  But wait, maybe it will turn to rain.  or sleet.  So I'm guessing we don't really know what will happen.

I have friends coming to their camp for the weekend to take out their dock.  Man that sounds like a miserable job but I offered to help.  I'm working at the thrift store Sat. morning but may help them in the afternoon (or not).

I haven't been walking, my walking partner has been busy with other things (she still works full-time).  We are planning a walk tomorrow morning and that will be good.  I did walk half a mile to the hardtop this afternoon to meet the friend who took me to Plattsburgh to retrieve my car.  Not much but something.

Rain and more rain (good for the well)

We're in the middle of a rainy spell, seems to rain every day and all night.   That is OK with me, water from the sky makes its way to my well eventually (or so I like to think).  No, not really, I know the water in my well comes from the vein underground.  This year was the year of spray foam insulation, I'm hoping next year will be the year of the well.  We'll see how things go.  It's the one thing everyone nags me about ("You should have a well drilled"), but who has thousands of dollars handy?  (Oh I know there are people who do, I'm just not one of them)

It's another middle-of-the-night postings.  I got some good sound sleep for a few hours but woke up at 1 with 2 antsy dogs and decided to get up.  Yes, the dogs get a snack and then get to go outside in the rain but then they collapse into a deep sleep, lucky buggers.  I'll no doubt be asleep soon.  I don't have to be at the thrift store until 9 so I'll get some more sleep.  I'm looking forward to earlier sunrise after tomorrow, I like having light in the early morning.  I used to stay in bed until the last possible minute when I worked, now I get up at least an hour earlier than I need to be anywhere.  I like having a quiet time.  as quiet as it can be with 2 bouncy black dogs.

I got new shoes for my car, snow shoes!  I spent much of yesterday in Plattsburgh--got the tires and had them installed while I waited, then ran a few errands before coming home.  Next week it's back to Plattsburgh to have the poor car detailed and ionized.  When my friend and I have our morning coffee at Stewarts we look at the displays--aspirin, candy, condoms and of course air fresheners in a number of scents.  We were intrigued by the "Black Ice" scent so when I bought my car my friend gave me a Black Ice dangler for my new car.  It finally came in handy this week--VERY handy and is pretty good at masking the Odoban/dog poop smell that has saturated the seats. 

It' supposed to be ("supposed to be") sunny and 40 tomorrow and I have high hopes for finishing my outdoor chores.  Have to get these things done!   Put the mower in the shed, empty the flower pots and put away the deck furniture then finish the boat house closing. 

The birds are eating a feederful every day, mostly chickadees but nuthatches and a few finches as well.  Woodpeckers are chowing down on the suet, blue jays are trying to grab anything they can.  Red squirrels gnaw on the suet but they don't seem to really enjoy eating fat.  Who can blame them?