An eagle eye spotted something in yesterday's post. Can you believe I wrote, "continue to CLUTTER," not declutter!!! I've since corrected that little error! Thanks for the note!!
I learned something interesting about my neighbors yesterday. Remember how I complain about those who do NOT shovel their sidewalks? Guess why? Because they ONLY use a snow blower, and if there's not enough snow, they don't bother. Those lazy so-and-sos!!!!!! As the street was digging itself out yesterday, EVERY HOUSE that never shovels had their snow blower out. I should have walked to all of them and said, if there isn't enough snow to warrant using your snow blower, you still have to clear the sidewalk. Sigh........... And does it surprise you that ALL of them were men?
Yesterday was an interesting day. I spent almost four hours shoveling the driveway. I thought I would be dead this morning, but I feel great—other than being tired and hungry when I woke up. The only sore spot is my right wrist, which doesn't hurt—it just feels tired. How did that happen? I'm in decent shape but thought my shoulders would be sore. Not so.
I jokingly told DH that I shoveled tons of snow yesterday. Then I did a little math, which is entirely arbitrary, as snow can weigh anywhere from 7 to 50 pounds per cubic foot. We definitely had a foot of snow in the driveway. I have no idea how big my driveway is, but let's say it's 24 feet wide and about 30 feet long. Assuming 20 pounds per cubic foot, that's a lot of snow—and several tons, so I wasn't wrong! What the human body can do with the right mindset and breaking a massive task into bits or shovelfuls is impressive.
This picture of the driveway in the morning is the same as yesterday.
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The view at 6 AM |
I wanted to shovel the front step and a path to the end of the driveway before walking the girls. I confess that when I opened the garage door and saw the snow, I wanted to close the door and go back to bed. It was overwhelming. Where and how should I begin? So I did what all productive people do: I took the first shovel, the next, and so on. I went out four different times as I needed a break.
After I shoveled a path to the street, there was still about 20 - 30 feet of deep snow before I hit the tire tracks. It was NOT a pleasant walk with the girls as things had been plowed, but still loads of snow on the ground. We didn't go too far, but they were happy. I laughed at Murphy because she was bounding down my path, and when we got to the end, she stopped and looked at me. Mom? Now, where do I go?
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The path to the end of the driveway |
When we returned, they had fun lying in the snow and protecting their space.
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MOM - snow bathing is so refreshing! |
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Mom - I'm a Husky, and we love snow! |
Just as I returned from walking Lexi, my very kind neighbor had just passed with the snowblower and cleared the sidewalk! THANK YOU. I sent them a text because I was very appreciative of that gesture. I laugh as he goes up a good part of the street with the snow blower, even when there isn't much snow. He always stops one house to my left because those people NEVER do anything, and I don't blame him for not helping a non-friendly neighbor. They've lived there for 2½ years and barely said hello.
Looking at the end of the driveway, you can see how far I had to walk with the dogs through the deep snow to reach the tire tracks!! Our street was plowed late in the afternoon—more on that in a moment.
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The driveway is clear at last |
Here's another fun fact about snow removal. If you use a snow blower, you can't totally clear the pavement, so snow remains in the driveway or on the sidewalk. If you shovel by hand, like me, you can get down to the pavement very quickly, and with the sun's power yesterday, my driveway is bare and dry. It was still wet when I took this picture, but it's dry now. I even shoveled the bits left by the snow blower on the sidewalk, and it's dry as well.
So this senior lady shovels the driveway by herself while all the men are out there with their snow blowers. A couple used shovels to clear the steps, but they did not clean up the leftover snow in the driveway. I have to say that I am pretty proud of my shoveling efforts. As a reward, I canceled my gym appointment this morning. I didn't think I needed more weight training after that episode!
The other thing is anticipating what the city will leave when they plow the street. They use a big excavator to do that, and we often get hammered with a huge windrow at the bottom. It wasn't too bad, but still, another five feet across the entire width of the driveway had to be shoveled. I managed to get half of it done before I had to start my Zoom call. It will be tough to remove today, but I want to get it out. We have MORE snow coming, and I'm unsure I can lift it enough to get over the current banks.
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Half the windrow left to remove |
We live on a curve, so the fronts of the two houses beside me are small, and there is little space for them to put their snow. They usually get bigger windrows than I do. Unfortunately, they push a lot into the street, so the next time the plow comes around, some goes into my drive! I don't push it into the street - I pick it up on a shovel and walk it to a place to get rid of it. I clocked MANY km yesterday, most of them in my driveway. I did NOT go for a walk.
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The windrows in my neighbor's drives |
You can see what I was left with at the end of my driveway. I've seen much worse, but instead of texting, could that driver not have dropped his blade and just scooped that out of my driveway? Perhaps if I went out waving a $100 bill - would that have helped?
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Don't just sit there - remove that snow for me! |
Well, it's Valentine's Day. Since I'm on my own, I decided to treat myself and purchased a container of cookies the other day. Oh dear—these are deadly to eat, and I won't repurchase them for a long time. They are the best cookies around, and I have a couple left for later today.
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Valentine's cookies |
I made a little heart block for my demo last night - piecing in the hoop.
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A heart block |
And there is Murphy with a rose! How thoughtful!
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MOM - Happy Valentine's Day from Lexi and Murphy! |
I found this in those boxes of stuff upstairs and decided to take the photo. The rose will be donated! It's like a plush thing.
I have one more presentation today for the day job and five more on the weekend. I have been doing small things to organize them, but I need to put the pedal to the metal today. The snow shoveling took a considerable toll on my available time yesterday, but that's OK. It was nice outside, and I didn't mind it once I started.
I will have to stop listening to the radio station in the morning. They are becoming very pessimistic. They always state how bitterly cold it is outside when it's not cold at all. If you continue to tell people it's cold, they will believe you! Dress for it, and you'll be fine. Then they talk about how stressed people are and say that January and February, March and April are brutal months. Good grief --- if we live our lives that way, of course, we will be stressed.
Yes - life sucks at times, but if we don't put our positive thinking hats on, we are doomed. With all the challenges facing us in the next few years, we better have a positive attitude or - well, I won't get into that. Think about what you say and how you say it because negativity from multiple sources in a day will pull you down.
People get caught up in the little details and aim for perfection. Guess what? Perfection does NOT exist in our world. Screw up, make mistakes, who cares if your kid is running around in mismatched socks or clothes that don't match. Who CARES? If a bit of dirt, mud, and snow come into the house - big deal - clean it up! We just need to focus on the fun and happy things instead of living in a world of doom and gloom.
Imagine conversing with someone concerned about things they can't change, always aiming for perfection, and just a general malaise in the tone. I hate talking to people like that -- it's depressing, and I don't want someone like that to suck the life out of me! I wonder if they realize just how negative they sound?
On a very happy note, there is minimal snow shoveling today. I just want to clear the remainder at the bottom of the driveway. Then, I can sew for part of the day as I prepare for my presentations. I can sew for myself if there is time, but I doubt that.
And don't forget the virtual retreat this weekend. Here are the links:
Saturday, February 15 - starts at 6:6:00 pmST
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82693702241?pwd=QpQkm8Ppppy1XwCPOqva1bcgJCWKdP.1
Meeting ID: 826 9370 2241
Passcode: 795071
Sunday, February 16 - starts at Noon - EST
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81073536036?pwd=uxRqMnK1aSKrmrcSO78w8QQs5g44eA.1
Meeting ID: 810 7353 6036
Passcode: 596838
And on that happy note, I'm out of here!!!
Have a super day!!!
Ciao!!!