Winter......it sucks

....and it's just getting started.

We had some unexpected snow squalls come through and dump about 4 or 5 inches in two hours.  Unfortunately for me, it was the same two hours that I was out on the road.

 I really wanted a ice capp from Tim Horton's but it required two left hand turns and the traffic was bumper to bumper, so that wasn't going to happen.  So second best was to stop at Panera and use the drive thru to get a iced green tea.

I sure hope that this isn't an indicator of the type of winter we are going to have this year.  I don't mind snow as long as it snows and then stops for a week or so and then snows again.  This snowing every day or every other day is tiresome.

FYI for those wondering about my average fuel economy.  It's lower than I like but this vehicle is a AWD (all wheel drive) so I have power going to 4 wheels indeed of 2. This is a 4 cylinder engine so being a mid size SUV (heavier) it is really having to work.  Highway gets me 29 or 30 if I use a light touch on the accelerator and coast instead of breaking. It works great in the snow and I was able to stop and start without any problems.

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Snow plowing, Shingles, and Vehicle Floor Mats

We are currently in the middle of our first significant snowfall.  Yesterday we received about two inches which is really nothing but since it was the first snowfall the payment was without any salt residue.  That two inches was pounded into the pavement by vehicles and turned it to ice.

There were multi vehicle accidents all over town and large multi vehicle accidents on the expressway.  They expect the snow to end tonight so they are waiting to salt and plow until the early morning.  

Yesterday we were still dealing with winterizing the yard.  So much to put away.  Hoses, bird baths emptied, leaves removed, perennials cut back, and out door spigots shut off and drained. The shingle install is at a stand still until we have thaw or a very sunny day with no wind. 

The cats wanted out today. But two minutes later they were at the door saying "let me in".  Then they saw us doing something outside and wanted out again.  The girls were satisfied to sit in front of the door and watch but the boys were afraid of missing out on a treat or seeing a bird land on the feeder.

Today I stayed inside while R plowed the driveway.  There is always laundry to do.  My laundry basket is never empty.

I recently ordered Weather Tek floor mats and a cargo liner for my GMC Terrain and I love them.  They are a perfect fit and I can see how they will contain a lot of melted snow.  In the past I have always had floor mats that were rubber backed but had carpet on the top.  By the end of the winter the mats would smell horrible and the light color mats were easily stained.

http://www.weathertech.com/

The mats are kind of pricey but if you live in a area that gets a lot of snow or tends to have muddy seasons, then you should really consider these mats and cargo liners to protect your vehicle's carpet.  I was going to forego the cargo liner but then I thought back to all the trips I make to the nursery for flowers, veggie plants, and bags of potting soil and realized my cargo area could stay a lot cleaner if I could just slide out the cargo liner, spray it with a hose, and put it back in place.

You order the mats and liners according to the model year, brand, and model of the your vehicle.  You can chose a color to either match your carpet (I did this) or contrast.

I also purchased a vintage cook book.  It was published by the Detroit Times in 1936.  

This book was well loved and is filled with additional pieces of papers with favorite recipes like 'mother's devil food cake' and notations on whether a a recipe was good or not.

I'm looking forward to trying a few of these recipes and will let you know if they are a success or not.

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A few more shingles

We went to our 10:30am meeting and then afterward we had our individual 'to do' lists to take care of before we could hang more shingles.  We met back at the house around 1:30pm and worked until 4:10pm.  

Rain is forecast for the afternoon and in the morning R is buying a truck with a snowplow.  The current plow truck belongs to his doctor and R would like to be able to plow our son's and a few of our friends' houses.  We didn't feel like we could use someone else's truck for that.  So it is not looking good for much progress to be made on Tuesday.

The snow has melted but I thought this sums up my feeling about snow.

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We got this far and then...

.....it started to snow.

In the next two or three days we should be able to finish putting up shingles on the south exterior wall of the game room. 

 Next on the agenda is to hire a professional to get rid of the flat roof.  I have a few ideas but I would like to hear what a professional would suggest.  

We still have a few items to put away for the winter like the umbrella in the photo above.  I emptied 3 concrete bird baths today and turned them over so the bowl cannot fill with rain water and then freeze.  There is one more that is very large and holds a lot of water.  We empty the bowl by blowing out the water with a leaf blower and then we cover the top with a tarp and fasten down with bungee cords.

Tomorrow we have an early appointment that we both must go to. Then I have other errands to run by myself.  R needs to store away the two mowers that just came back from the repair shop.  Then he has to ready the two snow blowers and fix a tire on the snow plow.  The weather forecast is to have light snow until January and then it will snow as normal.  What's normal?  Who knows.  I know one thing and that is that my snow loving days are far behind me.

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We are trying our best....

...but it keeps on raining.

Here is where we are at right now with the lights and shingles before it started raining at 2PM.

 Elvis heading for the door because it started raining again.

We cut the shingle to match the shape of the light fixture.  Some people install blocks of wood, attach the fixture to the wood, and shingle around the block but we have decided that we like the looks of this better on our house.  Neither way is wrong, it is just a preference.

That patio door cannot be replaced fast enough.  It is by far the ugliest patio door on the planet.  I half expect it to just fall out of the opening one day.

A good solid day of shingling and we could finish this up for the winter.  But we just can't get an entire day of work.  Earlier this week R took in both our zero steer and our regular lawn tractor for repair.  The zero steer needed new blades, carb adjustment (difficult to start when cold), oil change, etc.  The lawn tractor had a blown head gasket and needed new blades and fluids.  They both do not fit on the utility trailer at the same time so R took one in and two days later took the other one in and brought the first one home.  By the time he loads them and drives to the tractor shop, unloads, reloads, and drives home it is a three hour deal.  Tractor shop opens at 10am so he doesn't get back until 1pm and the sun sets at 430pm.  

So I have been consoling myself with late night binge watching of Poldark and Outlander on SimplyJune.org.  Seriously I do not know which show I like better but both are filled with fabulous location scenary and historically correct sets and costumes.  Cause you know I am only watching them for the scenary....LOL 

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