January 29, 2019

• Surviving Chillageddon

  Snowpocaplypse 2019 hasn’t been quite as bad as predicted… so far. Well, yes, the entire county shut down and there was a snow emergency and the sheriff said to stay off the roads, but that was this morning. I didn’t get to sleep until after 5 AM, so I slept through most of that. By the time I was up and ready to start the day, the snow had stopped and the plows had caught up. Dump trucks were lumbering down my street to drop their loads of snow in the field, then back up another street to meet up with the front end loader and get another load.

  I put on my Bogs boots and parka, hat, scarf and gloves and went out to shovel the back porch and reshovel the loop in the backyard for the dogs. They’re small, so I try to keep a path that they can access without going through deep snow to do their business. This also saves me from dealing with wet dogs all day. What did I get for all my hard work? One ungrateful dog that wouldn’t leave the porch, and one that bounded off the path and bounced like a bunny through the deep snow. At least he got some exercise.

  

  2 ungrateful dogs

   

  I didn’t shovel a path to the van, or clear the snow off the van, or shovel around the van because I wasn’t planning to go anywhere because ZOMG SNOWPOCALYPSE!!! But as I said, the snow had stopped and the streets were navigable, and since I was already wearing my Bogs, I walked to the post office… where I had two bulky packages. I took the unexpected box with me and left the expected package at the post office. The one I brought home was from a friend in Hawaii (my daughter’s kindergarten teacher). She sent a Hawaiian breakfast; Hawaiian resort brand pancake mix, egg mixes and syrup. Also pistachios and macadamia nuts. She is such a sweet woman! My daughter will be 34 soon, so it’s been awhile since she was in Mrs. Chiba’s kindergarten class, but I send her a Christmas card and a letter every year and she always responds and remembers Krysten fondly, even occasionally mentioning what’s happening with some of her classmates from 29 years ago. The school was in a military neighborhood; I think all of the kids there were from military – mostly Navy – families, so she has kept up a correspondence with many of her students, probably from her entire teaching career.

  After opening and looking through the contents of the box, I decided that maybe I’d better run to the vet to grab the dogs’ dental treats which I ran out of last night. We still have Chillageddon 2019 to get through this week and there’s no freaking way I’m going out in minus forty degree wind chill to buy dog treats! So guess what I had to do? Yep, shovel a path to the van, clear snow off the van, shovel around the van… Sigh. I did all that, loaded the dogs because they were getting a bit hysterical about me leaving AGAIN!!! I mean that one block walk to the post office and back took an ETERNITY!!! They weren’t happy that I left them in the van while I ran in to pick up the dental treats, but I left the van running with the heat on and the CCR playlist going, and I’d called ahead so they had the treats waiting for me at the check-in desk. It’s just as well I didn’t drag them in because in the short time I was there, two people brought in their cats.

  So now we’re all home and warm. Snowpocalypse 2: The Lake Effect has begun. The dogs are snoozing on the furniture and I’m thinking of ways to keep warm during Chillageddon. I’ve seen warnings that home heating systems are not designed to handle 48 hours of sub-zero temperatures and that the temperature in the house will probably drop down into the low to mid 60s. Here’s what I’ve got so far…

  • Dress warmly with many layers.
  • Cook a Hawaiian breakfast.
  • Keep a large pot of water simmering on the stove to add heat and moisture to the air.
  • Do laundry and maybe even ironing. Activity and heat from the dryer will add warmth.
  • Bake dog treats, cookies, or something else useful.
  • The day has finally arrived to self-clean the oven. I think the temperature gets up to around 800 degrees when it’s in the cleaning cycle.
  • If it gets too cold with all of that, retreat upstairs and crank up the baseboard heaters.
  • Pray the electricity doesn’t go out.
  • In case of power failure, pray a neighbor can get the generator started and hooked up because I’m weak and clueless.

  How are you surviving winter?

  • 12:03 am
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