I’m tired. I’m about as tired as I ever remember being. When I trudge up these stairs at the end of the day I am ready to sink into that new bed of ours and stay there for a week.
This bout of weather, the storms, the sheer amount of snow we have on the ground and on the roof, has been out-of-the-ordinary and almost impossible to deal with on my own. I feel like all I have been doing is shoveling, chipping away at the ice, digging to free downspouts, salting and then doing the same thing the next day. And the next.
I’ll be honest. I’ve cried on the phone to Don more than a couple of times. He is frustrated because he can’t help. I seem to be able to say only one thing, “I wish you were here.”
Anyway, it’s snowing. Again. Yes, on top of everything already on the ground, we’re getting more today. To be perfectly honest, the thought of staying here for several more winters is losing its appeal. I hate to focus on age, but I’m getting too old for this. But then again, I think everyone around here, regardless of age, feels tired and sore and achy and sick to death of winter.
With mounds of snow everywhere, this property feels like a walled compound.
In Antarctica.
My newest wall pocket has been moved up to the sewing table where it is holding my scissors and invisible markers. The question now is do I actually hang it on the wall or leave it sitting on the table? The jury is still out on that one.
I finished Sycamore Row by John Grisham. Finally. It’s a good book, but the pace is too slow and I figured out the plot twist at the end long before it actually happened. That’s not good. But I finished it, as I vowed to do, and I’m on to the next book.
I’ve been watching the Olympics like everyone else; not all the time, but here and there. I find I enjoy watching events in real time during the day much more than the primetime coverage, which seems to be carefully crafted to hype certain events and ‘rivalries.’ Why oh why does NBC need to keep doing that? Just show us the competition. Ah, well. I suppose it’s the nature of primetime programming, but I try to avoid it.
I think I love Ice Dancing the most. And short track speed skating, which is thrilling. Yesterday’s Ice Dancing final was simply superb with every team skating so skillfully and beautifully. I could watch it again and again. The American gold medal winners skated to music from Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov, one of my favorite pieces. I’ve listened to it since I was a young girl. I have it on CD and I’m going to play it on this snowy day – the perfect piece to take me to another place, another world. The perfect escape.
Thank you for your comments yesterday. On a day when I was so tired that I wanted to cry, your lovely words brought a big smile to my face. Thank you, thank you.
Happy Tuesday.
Good Morning Claudia, Here in Ct we are having snow now. The mounds are getting big and we don’t know where to put the new snow. Today I plan on getting to my quilt project and try to forget about the cold and more snow coming our way. I Hope you have a better day. Doris
Good plan, Doris. I’m going to read and watch Netflix. I am not going to shovel. I can shovel tomorrow!
Claudia, I think you feel more tired from being so cooped up this winter. It sure has weighed on my nerves. Yesterday, I felt like I wanted to bury my head and say to heck with it all. Let happen what may !! I feel this snow has made our homes a job ! We have shovel for the paper carrier and the mail person, the trash dude , if he ever shows up. We shovel and it snows some more…a nasty little cycle. When it gets nice enough, maybe you could have a lunch with a friend for some cheering. I know you miss you loving strong man. Be strong, thinking of you. xoxo,Susie
Oh, you’re not kidding! I feel very cooped up and trapped here at the cottage.
Cannot wait until spring!
I too am sick and tired of winter and we don’t have near the snow you have but 21″ for where I live is excessive too. However, spring is on it’s way with beautiful blooms and sunny days ! It won’t be long now!
Blessings
Linda
Crossing my fingers, Linda!
Hang in there Claudia..Winter is short Well, in time anyway..I know you would be happier if Don were there but be thankful for him here or there..(I know you are)..Guess I’m feeling a little sorry for myself today…This winter has been just plain tough on everyone,,,Enjoy this day!!
It doesn’t seem particularly short this year, Missy!
If it’s any consolation….30 days til Spring!!
I feel your pain on the snow the shoveling….more snow more shoveling. It’s beyond ridiculous!
My enjoyment however comes from reading your Blog daily. Thank you!
You are welcome, Marsha.
Claudia, I wish I could help! I wish I could go get you and Scout and whisk you off to Florida and the sun. I am so sorry it continues to snow. I can’t even imagine. Years ago, I had the most wonderful carpenter from Vermont. After one particularly bad winter, he and his wife, both Vermont natives, packed up their kids and eveything they owned and moved to Florida. That one year’s snow nearly killed him, and he was young at the time. I would be totally lost.
On a happier note, I love ice dancing, too, and that classical piece and composer are favorites of mine as well.
Oh, and there is a man who walks a dog on the street behind us, and his dog could be Scout’s sister! Twice I have tried to get my camera out to take a picture, but they are too fast for me!
Sending love and warm hugs and thoughts across the miles to you.
xo
Sheila
Thanks so much, Sheila.
Courage, Claudia. Lets try to do something fun this weekend! I found something in Hartford for Dame Scout as befits her elevated position. Tina and Noble
Ah, thank you, Tina & Noble! Dame Scout is being rather nudgy at the moment!
My sweet friend, I can feel your exhaustion! It’ s not just physical but also emotionally having to deal with it all while Don is away. Praying the snow stops soon! I too have been watching the Olympics during the day. Less ‘junk’ more sport. I too think the Ice Dancing is my favorite event. All that I love about Figure Skating, great music, lovely lines and choreography and so not about jump after jump after jump. More artistry! Still I do enjoy all the Figure Skating events and also the speed skating. Hang in there and enjoy some gorgeous music today! Big Hugs, Linda
Yes to more artistry, Linda – I’m with you all the way!
We got dumped on again yesterday, too. I shoveled the porch and sidewalk, but was so thankful that Brian got home from work to shovel the driveway. Like you, the older I get, the more I think, “What are we doing here?” I especially wonder what I’d do if Brian passes away before me (morbid, I know, but my mind does go there). I suppose I’d move into a condo or townhouse where they do the maintenance. Well, it is sunny today and actually going up to 39 degrees, so hopefully that will at least melt some of the snow and ice on the walkways. And Thursday it’s supposed to rain which really concerns everyone because of the chance of flooding (rain + tons of melting snow = not good).
I think the same thing – yes, it’s a touch morbid, but you can’t help thinking those things! We’re getting rain and warmer temps – there will be flooding for sure. I live by 2 rivers.
It’s just plumb crazy! We usually have at least a foot or two on the ground at this time of year. And our yard is bare. We have only had about 10 inches all winter and it practically melts as fast as it falls. It’s crazy I tell you! I’m really sorry this has been such a difficult winter for you and the entire eastern U.S. But spring will come. That’s How I survive our normally difficult winters. The hope of spring.
Blessings,
Betsy
We have so much more snow than usual and we normally get quite a bit!
I agree with your idea of just letting it go today and wait until tomorrow. Sadly, it isn’t going anywhere. In our village (and most places within about a 50 mile radius) we are having horrible water pipe problems. Everyone is now mandated to run a pencil thin stream of water 24×7. They say it will probably be until sometime in March that we must do this. The frost is down almost 6 feet. Each time it gets “warmer” outside, it makes the frost line heave a bit. The villages are answering pipe bursting calls all day and all night. And, of course, so many of our water mains were put in many decades ago. This winter is certainly one to remember, and HOPEFULLY not one which will be duplicated any time soon. Take care, kiddo. Enjoy Scheherazade today. It is a haunting story, isn’t it?
I’ve heard that. It’s also happening in Michigan, Chris. We have a well but we still drip our water or have it running in a thin stream because we don’t want our pipes to freeze.
Claudia, I did not have a chance to comment yesterday, so here goes: I love your blog. Pure and simple. It is a highlight of my day; a bright and shining jewel. Your photographs are sublime. Your dollhouse is enchanting. I love your sweet dog, but you must know that, and, like almost everyone else here, I have a little crush on your adorable husband.
The snow and ice will pass. Eventually. At least the days are longer and the sun’s rays are stronger. Before this last heavy snowfall, I noticed the sweet little green noses of daffodils emerging through dormant grass on a south-facing bank. Keep the faith. xo
Oh, thank you so much, Nancy!
I’m trying to hang in there.
Claudia, I think all of us who live in cold snowy regions have wanted to hang it up and move away. I think about it almost every time it snows. But, then I think OK where? Arizona with it’s impossible heat? Not for me. Florida with the hurricanes and unbelievably high humidity? Not for me. California? Earthquakes. I’ll pass.Texas. Just plain no. So I stay in Minnesota. And most of the time I love where I am. Cabin fever is hard to deal with, and I do believe that is partly what is wrong with you. My advice? Get in the car and go out for the day. Try Trader Joe’s, or you new and fabulous antique store.
P.S. Just so none of your readers get mad at me I thought I better add that those states I mentioned are beautiful, but they just aren’t for me.
Can’t get out today, Trudy. It’s snowing too much and the roads are slippery!
Claudia, I know 18-year olds who are saying “I’m sick of Winter…” THIS year! You are completely entitled, and completely normal, for thinking it too. This Winter has been more than any one person could ever handle. Thinking about making a change is normal too, especially when there’s always a possibility you’ll be on your own for part of the Winter. There’s a lot to be said about living where there’s a Snow Crew. Where I live, we heart our snowblower kids! :>)
Don and I are reconsidering whether either of us should be away in the depths of winter – it’s too hard here without both of us on site.
Claudia, I”m sure you read the quote from Albert Camus ““In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”
That summer is laying dormant in your heart…but the merest feathery touch of spring will awaken it. Hang on, and know that this will turn, you just have to have patience.
This has been a challenging winter for so many communities that normally don’t encounter this harsh kind of weather. And oddly enough those of us that normally get harsher weather are not encountering it. I have no explanation, no reason…all I can say, is winter will end one day, and hopefully soon.
Jen
Dreaming of spring, Jen. Though it’s going to be a muddy one.
I feel for your body pain and weariness. This has been a winter to try us. We in Northern Illinois got 6 inches or more yesterday. There must be 20 to30 inches on the ground. On the other hand our temperatures were not bitter, and I love getting out and playing in the snow, as I call it. Feeding the birds and dealing with the mounds make me feel so like a pioneer. Ofcourse my husband is here and the snow blower works super well. We are at nearly 70 inches for the season, with only one or two thaws to melt the mounds. Our average is around 37 inches. Getting out is the key for me. The Y is nearby and just exercising with others is fun. Also, we have gotten many sunny days this month and the snow scenes are so beautiful in our Fox River Valley. Just about every day we see eagles. Winter is almost over. My hope is to see some snowdrops by the end of the month!
Too hard to get out today, Sue. It’s snowing again!
I feel for you, the snow is never ending here too. I am lucky to have a roof line that doesn’t need shoveling and a 4X4 so I don’t have to plow. I do think everyone is over it, and would like to move on to a muddy spring.
And it will be very muddy!
I’m so sorry for you and everyone who has had that quantity of snow dumped on them. I cannot even imagine it, safely down here in sunny Texas. I met the winning ice dancers and their moms back in 2003, when National’s were here in Dallas. I was a volunteer and met “the moms” in a hospitality suite. They introduced us to their talented teenagers and I’ve been following their career all these years. I must admit I cried when they won Gold yesterday. It’s so nice when genuinely good people persevere and achieve their goals. Keep after that snow, Claudia. Winter can’t last forever, right?
How wonderful that you got a chance to meet them. There are simply superb!
I’m so spoiled by our California weather, there’s just no way I could live in cold country again. All of you fighting the horrible winters are my heroes. It would be so much easier if Don were home to help you out, but duty calls, right? Would you ever consider moving back to the San Diego area? The thing I’m missing w/the Olympics is seeing them getting their medals! I guess it’s being broadcast but out here it’s after 12 pm or so, and I’m not waiting up to see that. The ice skating has been fantastic, but oh my, the snowboarding events are so exciting!
We’ve thought about it, but there’s really nothing there for us but a long commute to Los Angeles! If we moved back at all it would be to the Los Angeles area and we’re not really keen on that.
No wise words of wisdom here, Claudia. I would have cried too.
Karen
At least I’m not the only one!
Dear Claudia, I think I can help.
(29 Days til SPRING!)
Much Love and Empathy for your current situation! -Judy A-
I have a feeling it will be 29+ days around here, Judy.
You need a good book, not one that you had to push yourself to finish. I just finished Annie Dunne by Sebastian Barry.. Someone suggested it–Was it you?–and I am so grateful. It’s one of those books that drops you immediately into the protagonist’s milieu. That milieu is important to the unfolding of the questions the book asks as you identify with the 60-something main character, Annie Dunne.
It wasn’t me, Linda.
I have to read a book that I am to review on Friday!
We also got at least another foot of snow last night. I walked to my mailbox, (before the driveway was plowed) and felt like I’d just finished a major workout! Our weatherman said that because of some “pattern” going on, we can expect this type of winter for the next 20 years. It’s in some kind of holding pattern. We used to have snow like this when I was little. I can remember my parents shoveling just to get out of the house, with snow almost totally covering windows and doors. Here it’s going up to 50 degrees so I expect a lot of this will melt….then it will get cold again and we’ll probably do this all over again. At least the sun is out and the sky is blue!
I hope your weatherman is incorrect, Cheryl. And they’ve been known to be!
I, too, remember winters like this when I was little…but all I had to do then was play in the snow!
Oh Claudia I hope this weather lets up for you and for so many others! I just cant imagine, the closest thing i have as a comparison is the EXTREME HEAT of summer. we have to stay inside and do everything to stay cool. Keep the animals, kiddos and our selves hydrated.. get up with sun while the temps are bear able to do outside chores. That is the only comparison and I don’t try to make your situation any less extreme– I would be crying too if TH weren’t here.
Please hang in there… I’m praying for you!
Pat
Thank you, my friend. This is a winter for the record books, for sure!
Have thought of you everyday for over a week. Just watching what’s happened and is continuing to happen in the NE is not the same as reading what you are going through. I am in San Antonio and have experienced more winter weather here than any other winter of my life. (over 60 yrs) I keep telling myself the earth will turn then I can complain about the heat. But it is doing it at such a slow pace. I am sure this Spring will be glorious because of the hard winter. I look forward to reading about your spring to come and I am sure you know you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Thank you so much, Susan. I just have to try and stay positive but it’s been very hard of late.
Oh Claudia…I do feel for you! I so wish we lived closer…then we could help. We got more snow yesterday…as if any of us need anymore. Remember those days at the beginning of the season when you get that first snowfall? I’m so over that! Did you know, that evidently they are using liquid cheese brine on the roads in northern Wisconsin? Well, they are! Go figure…cheese is not just for eating anymore! And, that’s your laugh for today! ;)
I’m really over that! I remember a few short months ago wishing for the snow. I alway know I’ll feel differently after the first of the year, but this year I really detest winter. Love the cheese brine. It’s hard to imagine, but if it works, so be it!
Hello Claudia, I’m with you on this whole winter thing and I have not shoveled snow since around Christmas. I just got home from spending another week at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and so will not share any of snow removal responsibility for at least the rest of this year but I am aware of the perils of having it to do, especially when you are alone in the effort. I know you are so grateful for Don’s job away from home, I know you love your home and take awesome care of it and I know we are getting older. What I am trying to say is, “I understand and I care”.
Kelly, you just take care of yourself and rest. The last thing you need to do or worry about is snow removal. Sending you healing energy and prayers, my friend.
I am not looking out the windows today..I refuse..I am snuggling up in our big cozy chair with a warm quilt and a warm cat on either side of me..I will read a magazine or start a stitchery pillow top..I will also make a nice hot pot full of homemade beef vegetable soup to warm everyone up inside..but I will not look out the windows!!!! Take care girlfriend..
Good for you. That’s what I should have done, but this house is all windows, so it’s sort of hard to ignore what’s going on outside!
Charlie and Meryl were so incredibly beautiful …. they made their dance look entirely effortless and so romantic. I agree with you about the NBC programming and the hype. I’ll be up early tomorrow to watch USA men’s hockey and root them on in real time.
I wish I could send you some of our warm sunny Arkansas weather. You and Scout take care.
They looked flawless, at least to my eyes.
I’m so, so sorry! I know that this time is hard on you, Don AND Scout! I so wish many times I could be there to help you shovel, chip, and do it all again! My Mom always used to say, ‘This too shall pass’. I know that is not much help for you, especially at the end of the day, but it’s a LITTLE something. Please keep thinking Spring and each day that passes brings Spring, and Don coming home, even closer!
Thanks so much, Melanie!
I, too, love watching the Olympics, Claudia, and would enjoy it much more without the constant interference/editing by the host network. You should have heard me during the opening ceremonies, screaming at the television set and beseeching them to be QUIET and stop their incessant commentary to explain what was so obvious to the average viewer. Their constant voice-over really spoiled it for me, and much of the time you couldn’t hear that lovely Russian language, or the beautiful music for all their jabbering and interjections, But oh, the skating, the curling, the ski jumps, and the speed skating are all so riveting to watch, (I know, I know…. curling to some is like watching paint dry, but as someone who appreciates the art of billiards and angles, I find it fascinating that people can do it with what is essentially a huge rock!? hahahaha) Are you getting more snow today? Good lord, I can’t bear it …. we’re being buried. Again. xxxx
Yes, more snow today! Enough, already!
I know everyone is so tired of this weather, BUT, you have certainly had more than your share and all by yourself. I know it is killing Don to be away during this time.
Stay warm and be careful doing all of that stuff.
Judy
I’m bundled up in my afghan right now, Judy!
Oh, I’ve just found your blog and I don’t even ‘know’ you yet bu I feel so badly for you in all that winter mess. I was just reading a headline on the web about it being possibly the worst winter EVER back there. Like I said in another post, I know nothing about snow and have no experience with it (I’m a native Californian) but when I see your beautiful, snowy images, I sort of crave being able to ever know what it’s like to be in a ‘real’ winter climate but maybe that’s to experience it rather than LIVE in it full-time. Of course, my husband looks at me llike I’m nuts. He left the Midwest, having been raised there and living there til the age of about 30, never having one single regret for leaving nor one bit of nostalgia about it. He says winters are brutal and they do indeed get harder on a person as the years go by. He has informed me emphatically that we are NEVER leaving California as a couple; hint, I can go but he will never return East. I do think that you would be getting thru this winter, right now, much easier if you had your significant other. I have been separated from my husband due to work many times…as often as seven or eight months…and it’s hell. I hated having to be responsible for everything and, at that time, we had a large 4-bedroom home. From bigs things and little things, if you have someone with whom you live where it’s loving and compatible, and I don’t think that necessarily has to be husband and wife, it’s “twice the joy and half the pain.” The amount of snow and frigid cold you’re in is very worrisome when it comes to your safety and health, that of your dog’s and also the maintenance/security of your structure/home. I can’t imagine the amount of work you’re having to do, climbing around, trudging thru snow; it’s hard, physical labor. You were mentioning a delivery of oil from a truck for heating, and…see…I don’t even know what you are talking about. Out here, when we even use heating…certainly not for a long time now due to drought, even though it’s February…it’s forced-air furnace heat with natural gas/electrical ignition. What is the oil? I know my husband had said when he was growing up in Nebraska in the 1950s, they would get deliveries of coal. It all sounds like another planet to me. And I guess that doesn’t even begin to address the protection of pipes/plumbing. You will be fine, and you have good neighbors; I wish you didn’t have to tough out another storm but I think I did hear the sun is coming. I bet that means slush and mud when the snow melts. But then you’ll start seeing spring green here and there, the little blossoms, the little blades of grass. Just get thru the next few weeks and it will no doubt start to change. Hang in there, dear. I had you on my mind. You seem to have a lot of bloggers who just adore you. Think of all of us when you feel alone; get it out, write it down here; hug Scout!
Houses out east use heating oil to run their furnaces and oil burners. Not all of them, but a lot of them. In my neck of the woods, everyone has an oil tank and you have to have it filled by a delivery company. It’s not cheap, unfortunately! Thanks for the support!
Claudia, I think of you each time I see the national weather, and I wonder how you cope with this! I wish Don was home with you, too! Enough of this, already – we need spring. Well, just know I’m thinking about you.
Mary
We really do need spring – desperately! Thanks, Mary.
Even in spite of your misery, you brought some cheeriness of the cottage through the pictures to us today. I’m glad you blog every day. I value your chattiness through good times and hard times. Wishing a break for you soon and endurance and I’ll be bold and say, “I wish you joy, soon.”
Thank you, Beth!
Good thing you’re tough enough to handle this, but I think it’s time for Mother Nature and Old Man Winter to get together and say, “Enough already!” Hang in there, girl.
I agree, Marianne!
I empathize, my hubby is also away for a few days and we were once again buried last night here in NW Pa. The only solace at the moment is that the temps are double digits. The winter has been tough. We lost our 13+ year old greyhound at the end of January. His arthritis was becoming too hard and, I believe, the cold was a last straw for him. Hang in there, Spring is hopefully within reach. Mary Ann
I’m so sorry about the loss of your beloved greyhound.
This cold, cold winter has been very hard for Scout, too. She also has arthritis. I’m trying to find ways to keep her warmer but she often insists on being on the floor rather than on the comfy sofas. She also doesn’t like dog beds. Sigh.
My shepherd is the same way. We try to cover her with a blanket, she will not get in a dog bed and she’ll inevitably jump off the human bed and lay on the cold floor all night. My husband loses sleep worrying about her, truly he does. She’ll stay up on the sofa for a little while. Thankfully, we don’t have your severe winter but our older mid-century house isn’t airtight.
I’m the one who had a question about heating oil. My husband said coal was cheap in the Midwest and plentiful but thru the years more homeowners went to natural gas. He figured your oil might be propane when I tried to detail your post to him but he did say he wasn’t sure what they do in the East, that the oil is a East coast thing. He said when he was a kid, the coal would go into a shute which went directly down into the basement where the coal furnace was and you had to stoke it a couple of times a day, then deal with the ash which went into a can outside. All of this has been curious for me because being a Californian, weather is something we don’t think much about, although we do have other dramas like earthquakes and, of course, completely opposite to the East, we are in severe drought and there’s talk of seawater conversion again…
It’s not propane. Propane is gas. We use heating oil (just like gasoline is oil) and when gasoline prices go up, so does the price of heating oil.
All that snow would really be daunting! I love the ice dancing best, too (It’s been my favorite ever since I saw Torvil and Dean all those years ago.) I honestly don’t know how the judges were able to pick the best one. Canada and USA were both superb!!!
I still watch Torvill and Dean dance to Bolero – simply stunning.
Sometimes it’s not easy being a wife. You feel like half of yourself is missing when your husband is away. Too much work and no one to talk too. It was easier when he was home sleeping while I was still doing all the work. Just having him in the house was a plus. When he is reading the paper and you are cooking, cleaning and doing yard work still seems like it’s much easier. But when you get help, what a trip! Take care.
Tana
Thank you, Tana.