This says it all. We had a heck of a snowstorm yesterday, with wind and lots of snow. I guesstimate it at 8 inches. It fell all day long and we couldn’t get out to shovel until around 3:30. The snowblower was hauled out of the shed and while my newest batch of linzer cookies was cooling, I grabbed a shovel.
We were out there for a long time.
And today, our aches and pains attest to it. Thank goodness, the snow wasn’t the heavy, wet variety. That certainly helped. Now we have to contend with high winds and dangerous wind chills for the next two days, with the nighttime temps going down to well below zero.
Winter officially came on December 21st, but here at the cottage it feels like it’s been going on for months. I’m over it.
But, speaking of ‘over it’ I shared a little story on Instagram yesterday. For those of you who don’t do IG, let me share it again.
I was expecting a package from UPS, but since the snow was falling heavily and the visibility was bad, I expected it would arrive today instead. I was in a not-very-great mood, having had my fill of subzero temps and snow. I was sitting in the den when I heard the UPS truck stop on the street with a little tap of the horn. I couldn’t believe they were actually delivering! So I threw on my jacket (I was still in my flannel pjs) and went out on the porch to meet the driver. He jumped over the culvert, ran up the lawn to the porch and greeted me with a smile.
I said, “I can’t believe you’re out in this!”
And he said, with another big grin, “Oh, it’s okay! I’m having an adventure!”
He was so cheery and so positive that my mood changed instantly. What did I have to complain about, right? If he could be positive, so could I. The universe sends you teachers when you need them.
See that great smile! He’d also grabbed a ride with a snowplow at some point during his day so he could get back to his truck after having parked on a hill. He was having an adventure.
I moved this lamp, which, for some reason, had been stashed on my bookcase in the bedroom, down to this little table/stool by the sofa. I think I thought there was trouble with the cord, but when I changed the light bulb, it worked. I love these lamps and Don needed a little bit more light by his preferred daytime seating. Plus…the shade!!
Part of my “Riley Plant.”
I have three new leaves coming on the rubber plant.
And this new growth on the larger of my two ZZ plants.
Happy Friday.
I agree…OVER WINTER! I live in Coastal Virginia, where snow plows are rare and snow tires are non-existent. Sigh. Stuck in the house. But this too will pass. And, thank you for your post. It cheered up my morning! P.S. Love the jammies!
Thank you! I love my flannel PJs!
It is finally above zero here! Wind chill, of course, is still brutal at times. It is winter in Indiana after all. Still, -30 wind chill is not the norm!
That UPS driver is a hoot! I hope his employer knows what a valuable guy he is.
I have come to the conclusion you talk to your plants! They have so much new growth! They are a true breathe of Spring!
Stay warm, be careful shoveling/snow blowing today.
Wind chill is horrendous here, as well. Enough!!
I hashtagged UPS on my IG post and I had a like from UPS. So they know!
We do get those ‘lessons’ sometimes just when we need them!! You have really had the snow. I do love the lamp and that shade! I’m taking Mom to a new dentist today and I hope it goes well. She has not been happy with her dentures and is going to try one more time to get some she can wear and enjoy eating again. It’s cold but the sun is out so no complaints! Hugs!
I hope this helps your mom. That was an ongoing problem with my Dad’s dentures, as well. Are you feeling better?
Love your lamp, Claudia. I have a banker style lamp but for fitting over a headboard. The shade is the same type. Almost like heavy paper? It belonged to my grandma.
I have a cold so I’m not a happy camper. I’m glad it doesn’t snow here! Slight fever that went down to 99 when I took to bed last night. We checked out from the library and watched From Time to Time, starring Maggie Smith and Alex Etel (Water-horse). It was a good premise but clumsily edited so there was a flow problem. It’s based on a book The Chimneys of Green Knowe but I’m not sure yet if I’m interested enough to read it. There is a series of 6 books about Green Knowe, published in the mid- 50’s-70’s.
Yes, like heavy parchment paper!
I’m sorry you’re not feeling well. Sending hugs.
Claudia it has been in the 30’s here in Central Florida this week and I’m ready for it to warm up. The snow is beautiful but having to stay indoors must start bothering you after a while. If I wasn’t babysitting I’d be real tempted to stay in my pajamas when it’s so cold. Have a beautiful day!
It does. I’m going out to the bookstore today simply because I HAVE to get out of the house!
You got quite a bit of snow there! We have the nicest UPS man too…they just keep on smiling. Life lessons for us all. Your plants are doing extremely well, considering it’s the dead of winter. Must be all that sunlight…and it will be multiplied with all the reflection from that snow! Rest your weary muscles and stay warm! ;)
I think the sun helps a great deal. The contrast between extremely cold days and bright sun shining is a strange thing. But the plants like it!
Yes…I know what you mean. My plants are doing really well this winter, too. At least the sun brings a smile to my face! ;)
xo
I’m glad I didn’t get what you got for snow. At my house I got between 4 & 5 inches and it was pretty but not fun. I have 4 feral cats (because of past neighbors’ negligence and drop offs, because I live out in the country) and I felt so bad for them. They didn’t want to step in the snow at all, and their water kept freezing up. I had to keep taking up their bowls of water and replacing them with new bowls so that they had water to drink. We are just not used to this kind of weather in the south.
Poor babies! Where do they stay in bad weather, Kathy?
Either under my shed or under my truck (my second vehicle). I also have an old dog house that they use sometimes.
Kathy, if you’re interested, I recently saw a video at my favorite cat video YouTube channel “Cole & Marmalade” with instructions how to build little sleeping boxes for feral cats for wintertime. Like you, I hate to think of those poor little things out in THIS kind of weather – arrggghh!
Here’s the Cole & Marmalade link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpW69fNzcjc
If you’re looking to make more substantial shelters, there are many different options to be found here: http://www.alleycat.org/ShelterGallery
Have a good weekend & stay warm!
Thanks, Janet! Last winter I put boxes with towels inside on my porch for them and they would have nothing to do with them! Very frustrating. I guess they do what comes naturally to them. The other day when it snowed I put towels and blankets down on the porch and they didn’t use them. Until last night. Minnie actually used one ‘nest’ I had made for them, and TT curled up in front of the door on the rug.
They are funny creatures. I have 4 ferals. Two are sisters, Minnie & Queekie, that were born here under my shed ramp with 4 other siblings that are no longer alive. I had them all fixed when they were young. TT, who is a male, showed up one day last spring when he was just a kitten. I suspect someone dropped him off. Minnie and TT will let me pet them and pick them up. Queekie will let me pet her occasionally when the mood strikes her. The most elusive is the Old Man, who is a beautiful Sealpoint that is deaf and almost blind. If he sees movement or smells me he is gone like a flash. I hadn’t seen him in a couple of weeks until the night of the snow when he came for food. I was worried about him and glad that he came to eat.
Yes, that’s what I’ve heard too – about a lot of attempts to help feral cats in the Winter. That many are so skittish of humans – or just so accustomed to living in the wild – that they don’t go near the boxes. Those boxes looked really easy to make & of materials a lot of people have around & unused. It looked like it might be of some use. “Cole & Marmalade” is one of my favorite websites & YouTube channels – and the only cat one I subscribe to [if I subscribed to all the ones that look appealing, I’d never do anything but look at the web all day – LOL]. If you haven’t seen it, you might like it. Chris [Cole & Marm’s dad] is absolutely great at making videos and & a genuine cat-lover. As is his wife Jess. They’re great proponents of adoption vs purchase, trap-neuter-release etc. Check them out sometime & have a good one! 🐱
Oh good. They have a place to go. Bless you for taking care of them.
Of course I’m not usually in any kind of severe weather in SoCalif, so it’s a big diff, but I have put out every cat shelter outside imaginable for my ferals and they simply won’t go in them, even when I have an entry/exit door (2 doors) so that they have an escape hatch. These are the true ferals, born in and of the bush. But I’ve had more than one outside cat over the years (do now) who clearly at one point belonged to someone or knew humans as a kitten – they’ll actually meow at me, even from a distance – and they WILL get in a shelter when desperate enough (as in rain; we used to get rain here!).
Yes, there are several online sites that instruct how to make an outside cat shelter with sometimes pretty much what you might even have on hand in the house when anything is better than nothing, and you care (as Kathy does; her own safety has to come first, though, as in even being out in that weather herself). Just google ‘how to build an outside cat shelter’; put it in your search line and see what comes up; the rescues like Humane Society all offer suggestions. Yes, a box, an old picnic igloo/ice chest, a plastic storage tub.
I’ve considered/worried over these horrible, low temps and snow in states I’m reading about that never usually suffer THIS amount of cold and there are of course dogs who don’t get put inside and there are SO many homeless cats in the world; terribly hard on them and many won’t make it in such a harsh and unforgiving outdoor environment; if they survive, it takes years off their lives I’m sure. One time when I lived in the Southeast and we had an unusual (brief) period of cold to where it got down to 18 degrees one day, my neighbor who never had their dog inside or even would put the dog’s uninsulated dog house up against the family house for a bit more shelter, lost the pet; it had a heart condition and should never have been out in that cold. I had to be the one to look over the fence and see the dog dead, then try to contact the people about it, and I found out later that the vet they took the dog to (too late) had a lot to say to them about it because it was a young German Shep who didn’t have to die if he’d just been safe and warm in any kind of better shelter, like even a garage.
They were saying on the evening news tonight in my West Coast edition that a human will get frostbite in under 30 mins with these sub-zero temps in the Northeast et al. Just because animals have fur and hair doesn’t mean they’re invincible. It gets to their ears first; the little ear tips.
Best of luck; thanks for being concerned for the kitties; I obsess about my outdoor cats constantly; never sought them out; they just appear and it’s hard to gain any real control when they’ve become or always have been hesitant around humans; they need us but don’t know how to ask and straddle two worlds.
I feel so concerned for all of you suffering this frigid weather; it sounds (and looks) so dangerous and forbidding. I hope it ends soon for everyone. People and animals both. Be so careful out in it; you don’t want to slip and fall, or find yourself locked out of the house or be in any kind of vulnerable situation. Scares me. I would never know how to survive in that kind of cold; I just am clueless about it, thin-skinned Calif girl. I did find myself driving on black ice once; again clueless. Lucky I didn’t lose my life or hurt somebody else. Would never have been out in it but I had a ridiculous boss who was adamant that I drive into work. Back then, I was too obedient. Needed my job. Nothing we did at my employment was going to save the world; wasn’t worth it.
xo
I love your jammies too!!
Gotta love those everyday heroes, the UPS Guy and the Snow Removal Guy—not to mention the Gal who brings plants back to life and captures sunshine for the rest of us. And in her jammies, too!
If I could live in my jammies, I would!
It truly has been miserable, and it seems to just go on and on. I saw the pictures of Boston and how they had the storm surge into their streets. I just don’t remember things like that in winter storms. They said this one was really big. I know you had said you were only to get about 3-5 inches, but sounds like it was more. But even 3-5 inches, if there are heavy winds, can make awful drifts to have to plow through and shovel.
I think you and I have “chatted” a bit about our empathy for the Pioneer women who lived usually pretty far from neighbors, and had chores and tasks to do daily which we now simply push buttons to accomplish. When the cold and the snow goes on and on, at least we have phones and TVs and music and face-time, etc. They were pretty much isolated and I totally understand how some felt they were going mad as they tried to survive. Winter in those days didn’t mean ski trips and snowmobiling and going to see a movie or to simply go shopping for an afternoon to escape the boredom. It certainly doesn’t make these days any easier for us, but it does make me stand in awe of how they did it! I love to re-read The Long Winter in the Little House series and think of those challenges they had.
Hang in there, kiddo. This too shall (someday) pass. We can do it!!
I don’t remember that happening once in the five years I lived in Boston.
I agree with you about pioneer women. We complain, but we have no idea how it must have been for them! I should re-read the Little House books again, especially The Long Winter. xo
Thanks for the cheery post! I needed it. Still in my flannel pajamas — just too cold for my jeans! Also love your houseplants. Stay warm!
I’m trying but the wind is brutal! I could feel the temperature drop here in the den when the sun went down – drastically!
Chris K’s interesting comment above.
I’ve thought about that isolation, too. I repeat the story from my husband’s side of the family from deep in the center of the U.S./Midwest, so much snow in the 1800s that it was nearly impossible to get from house to barn without a rope line and also encountering something called snow blindness. I don’t know how they kept people AND farm animals warm in those severe winters on the Plains where a house would become nearly buried.
My dad spent part of his youth (1930s) on the flat, snowy prairie of North Texas and, oh boy, did he never want to return to that once in Los Angeles as a teen. He said he hated his ‘job’ of having to be the first one up to light the stove(s) for the family (in the dark & cold), and go get the cow, I guess for milking(?). I don’t think I ever stopped to think what that meant, like why didn’t he go to the cow in a barn; hope it didn’t mean the cow was in a frigid open pasture. (I know nothing of rural farm life. Dad would remind us, whenever we might whine about going to school over anything, that HE had to trudge through big drifts of snow while trying to walk to the 2-room schoolhouse and then feel frozen by the time he was sitting in front of a chalkboard. In other words, don’t be a wimp.)
But, yes, how did pioneer women cope, with sick kids and probably never/rarely a doctor, maybe her own physical health issues, scarcity of cloth & food, childbirth and death. So much hard work, yet a lot of monotony as well; and probably always a lot of worry. Some families were so distanced from others that there wasn’t even church or school, of course. They’d often have to rely on a circuit rider who was I guess a traveling preacher (baptisms, marrying people or whatever) but also who I think would ‘officially’ record someone’s passing for a county/territory ; maybe a census taker, too? Not an exact science on America’s sparsely-settled frontier and those guys also had not just a lonely life themselves, but their work was downright dangerous, alone out there/vulnerable for weeks on end, one guy and a horse in ALL kinds of weather, with just what they could carry in terms of supplies for themselves. And what if those supplies ran low between settlers/visits? Nobody around to know if you’d been thrown from a horse and were injured, or if the horse became lame and you were miles on foot, if you’d encountered hostile people or a wild animal in the night. At least that’s how it was told to me (family lore). It’s not like you were on a schedule and were expected at a certain time & date. Such a diff era; I should read up on the subject of circuit riders, come to think of it.
Claudia, my husband says that shoveling snow is SO hard; feeling for you; gosh. I was over at Susan Branch and she said they didn’t even get snow on Martha’s Vineyard; just that it’s very, very cold – and I think she said windy, too.
I’m sure the delivery-truck drivers have a lot of pressure on them to deliver. Gracious(!) – he’s not even wearing a parka! You’d think his hands and face would get so cold although I know those guys are moving/active. The trucks in SoCalif have no doors that I could ever see; the drivers just hop in and out, and most all of them wear short pants. Let’s hope your guy wears the long underwear/ski wear under his uniform.
All this talk of snow is making me shiver. Not to rub it in, but I’m going outside now, where it’s 75 degrees and sunny. Remember though, that you wouldn’t want to live where I am, as California’s just gonna apparently heat up to where it’s eventually not live-able and it seems it could still happen in my/our lifetime; climate change will just cause more drought, lack of water… and wildfire. The weeks will start flying for you soon, with Don off to NYC and you going back & forth … and isn’t NYC supposed to be beautiful in the Spring? Much to look forward to, and it’ll get warmer before you know it, Claudia! Hang in there. Don’t get sick; keep toasty. I’ve been enjoying so many recipes posts online for delicious, warm-you-up, snow-day casseroles and healing soups; put Stella to work and nourish well!
I imagine we all have some ancestors who lived in tough winters and didn’t have the advantages we have today. I know my grandmother lived on a farm in Ontario, where the winters could be brutal. I never really talked to her about her chores or anything like that. Now, I wish I had. It would have been interesting to hear just what they were up against in the winter.
Shoveling snow is very hard. I am honestly worried that if the winter keeps on this way and Don is in NY, I won’t be able to keep up with the shoveling. The snowblower is very heavy and Don thinks I might not be able to maneuver it. We’re going to try a run with it next time it snows, so I know whether I can do it or not. I’m hoping that maybe the worst of the winter might be early on and, fingers crosse, I might get a break as we move into February.
Now you are worrying ME. I almost feel like you should just go and live with Don at the NY apartment and not try to deal with being in ‘the country’. Maybe you could temporarily put a hold on your newspapers and have your mail forwarded to the apartment and just don’t go back til the environment is more hospitable back home. Would it be possible? Even if you don’t want to do it, could you? I’ve said it a dozen times, but I have never forgotten that winter you were alone with Scout and Don was in some place like Boston(?) for weeks on end, and you struggled mightily at the cottage, with it all on your shoulders, the hard physical work of the snow and the responsibility of all of it; your readers were worried for you; it was getting to you. You’re such a capable person but I could sense you were nearly overwhelmed and feeling defeated, trying to work with snow & ice, living in a continual gray/bleak world, trying to do the things you needed to do. I’d just wanted to reach in and pull you out of there, give you a hug. Share a big bowl of hot soup. Let you cry it out. You had a lot of frustration; it was all just…HARD. I don’t want to see you go through anything like that again!
I mean, think about it, what if you were on an out-of-area, long-term work assignment like Don and you both were gone. You’ve got an alarm on the house; you’d have to pack up and leave it for weeks at a time. You could prep for it, couldn’t you? Same as if you were both on an extended vacay, like in Europe. Wouldn’t you just leave the faucets on a slow drip and be okay? Your plants just sort of go dormant? Would you be too worried about snow-weight on the roof or something; those darn gutters you used to try to scoop out? I say get the heck outta there if this awful weather persists, Claudia. Go with Don. It would be more fun to be with him in NYC anyway, no? Take advantage of an alternative place to stay for a little while.
The main reason we don’t go away together in the winter is precisely because the house needs so much care at that time of year. If it snows a lot while I’m gone, how will I get my car back up the driveway? Will I end up having to shovel several inches of, by that point, hard crusty snow? The pipes can freeze if you’re not here to keep an eye on them. Just leaving a drip doesn’t ensure anything. It’s okay. I’ll keep an eye on the weather forecast and determine when I’ll go in and out of the city based on that.
Need to keep track of the pipes and make sure they don’t freeze or burst, which would cause a lot of damage. The plants need to be taken care of. Luckily, I can go in and out of the city with an eye on the forecast.
Well, maybe you’ll be able to handle that monster machine of a snow-blower, too. I’ll hope you have a good test run with it. You seem to have a lot of physical strength; I mean, I never know how you do all that mowing and yard work and raking at other times of the year!
I have strength but my arm strength isn’t all that great. I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it. We’ll see!
Your UPS guy is terrific! I bet he really is having an adventure in this extreme weather – the Fedex man visited me today and if I’d been thinking ahead, I would have sent him on his way with a thermos full of hot chocolate & some brownies. Rachel Maddow ended her show last night with an admonition to anyone who’s ordering pizza or takeout delivery to bump those tips up to a MINIMUM of 50% in this weather – and I thoroughly agree with her!! Was great of her to say it – I hope a lot of people actually followed her advice. I always tip pretty big when I do order in during bad weather but am also glad to stay I think I’ve only done that a couple of times. You guys stay warm & cozy. And keep on baking – Stella must be loving the opportunity to get warm too! Peace & have a good weekend!
#Resist
#Protect Mueller
I should have offered something myself, but I think he would have said no. He was ‘on the move!’
Amazing! Sometimes I think of Don and you as “showbiz” celebrities with so much excitement in your lives and just forget you are real people that shovel your own snow!! I love reading about your life with all of its ups and downs! Thanks so much for sharing! It really is a treasure to read!
Yep, we do everything ourselves! “Mr. Broadway” gets cold and his beard gets icy when he’s running the snow blower – nothing glamorous about that! Thanks so much for your kind words, Ellen!
Glad you received your package. We were out a few hours shoveling. That wind was awful. Fortunately, two of our neighbors did use their snow blowers which helped a lot. We are so lucky to be blessed with great and helpful neighbors. I love your flannel pajamas. i am in my pajamas as I write this to you.
Marilyn
Good for you! I just might put mine on, as well. Stay warm, Marilyn. We just have to get through Saturday and Sunday will be a bit warmer!
I’m late again as usual…it is midnight here and the temp is 6 degrees with a wind chill of -15…so cold that I barely feel warm in the house….I feel like I just can’t take it anymore…Love the picture of Don and the snowplow although I feel sorry for him being out in this….I said on Instagram that that UPS young man should have a good future with his attitude!…I’m off to my bedroom now to get under some blankets to feel warmer…
The only place to feel really warm is under our blankets – thats for sure!
I can’t believe what all of you are going through on the East Coast! It looks like a horror show. You all are in my thoughts and prayers. Hope you get mild temps very, very soon. Stay warm.
It’s terrible. But it will warm up next week. We just have to hang in there through tomorrow. Thanks, Tana.
Isn’t it sad reading about the ‘cold-stunned’ wildlife in Florida – the turtles, the iguanas. Poor things. So glad humans are trying to help them; warm them up somehow.
Yes it’s so sad! The whole thing makes me sad. Dogs freezing, goats freezing. What are people thinking? Would they do that to a human being?