Monthly Archives: February 2008

Snow aftermath

Posted on February 7, 2008 | Leave a comment

It’s mostly stopped snowing – just a few pretty flurries daintily floating to the ground – and the winds are dying down.

A couple hours ago, I tried to shovel. After forcing open the back door, I trudged my way to the garage to retrieve the necessary tool. There’s about a foot of snow, though in places it has drifted much higher and spilled over the tops of my boots.

I made it to the garage (an attached garage would be nice, but rare in older homes) and discovered that the snow had drifted so high against it, that the lock was frozen solid. I chipped away at it, tried to open it and grumbled in the quiet night. After a bit of chipping, I was able to get the key in and very gingerly turn it, but the handle itself is frozen in position, and I’m assuming the door itself is frozen to the ground. (I’m very, very careful with that lock because a couple months back, Don broke the spare key in that lock, and I haven’t found a hardware store capable of cutting a replacement for the small, strangely shaped key.)

Yes, there is a side door to the garage, but Don happens to have both copies of that key in his possession. Oops.

Oh, well. It’s a sign that I’m supposed to stay in and enjoy this snowy evening. And besides, Don is always volunteering to help shovel. Well, at this point…

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Stop the Rattling!

Posted on February 6, 2008 | Leave a comment

It’s still snowing. When I woke up (and decided to go back to sleep for two hours before working from home), there was snow mixed with sleet. The sleet slapped itself against the side of the house, pinging the aluminum siding. I looked out, saw cars sliding their way down the hill, and decided to stay put.

So I’ve been working in my home office all day. It’s a pleasant corner room – lots of daylight, cozy armchair for the cat, three big bookcases overflowing with books. It has two tall windows on separate walls. One had a fitting storm window. The other does not.

When I moved in, the taller of the two windows was sheathed in plastic. It kind of made sense, as I bought in April and the house was still winterized to an extent. One of my first activities (other than removing the baseball wallpaper from the master bedroom) was playing the great screen-window match game. They’ve replaced windows over the years, but apparently never thrown out any of the old storm windows or screens that don’t quite fit any window. I spent a long Saturday running up and down stairs, back and forth to the garage, trying to find the best fits. I went through the reverse process my first fall in the house house, searching for the right storm windows. This past spring, when making the switch again, I had the foresight to write the rooms on some windows (ie, “Guest room” or “upstairs bath”), but found I had nothing labeled for the taller office window.

As a result, despite my best efforts, I didn’t find one that fit very well. Sure, it blocks some of the wind, especially when coupled by the awesome removable caulk I used to seal it up. But today, as the wind howls, it rattles. Loudly. And often. I want to tape it into place to stop the rattling, but don’t want to break my perfect caulk seal. Nor can I really reach it from outside, not without a ladder, which isn’t happening in the driving snow.

My vow for next winter: don’t bother with a storm window. Caulk, shrinkwrap and call it a day.

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The Cable Conundrum

Posted on February 6, 2008 | 1 comment

Ah, Super Tuesday. The polisci geek’s Super Bowl.

But part of my decision to buy my house meant a very conscious and strict budget. And kicking out the slacker boyfriend shortly after moving in meant that money got even tighter. By my calculations, I have a disposable income of about $11 a month.

I’ve never paid for cable – my most recent apartment was possibly the last surviving incidence of native RCN in the city of Chicago – and am somewhat proud of that silly distinction. Sure, I could argue that I have better things to do than watch TV. That’s especially true in the summer, when I spend hours on my bike or puttering in the yard, but this time of year, mindless, easy TV calls me. And sometimes, I miss HGTV or the Colbert Report or the plethora of reruns.

And tonight, as the slush plops down and I follow election returns online, man, I wish I had cable.

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Four Letters, Starts with S…

Posted on February 6, 2008 | Leave a comment

Sheesh, I’m tired of writing about snow. I’m tired of the dirty piles of used up, half-melted snow that turn to concrete when rain is added. I’m anxiously checking my basement every hour to make sure no more water seeps in as the saturated ground tries to absorb more moisture.

But all day today, talk of the Big One has grown to grade-school snow day proportions. They’re currently calling for 10-14 inches by mid-day tomorrow. And it’s the wet stuff that takes Paul Bunyon’s strength and the back of Babe the Blue Ox to shovel.

Though you’d never know it right now. At the moment, and as I walked up the hill from the train, slush was falling from the skies. Not snow, not rain, not sleet – slush. There was just enough ice content to make things potentially dangerous, and my YakTrax were happily drying themselves in my back hallway.

Once it turns to snow, I’m sure it will be pretty. I’m well stocked in cabernet and still have a pot of leftover chili. I’ll be fine, and the prospect of another adult snow day – with the sleeping in and possibility of pilates – is prettier than the grey slush currently plopping from the heavens.

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Slushy Beer

Posted on February 5, 2008 | 1 comment

Thursday night’s snow left me with a solid 10 inches of the wet, heavy stuff. In some places, it was drifted to 16-18 inches. Fun, achy back times.

Being the bright ray of sunshine I am, I found the positive. It was pretty and peaceful. There was enough to justify “working from home” on Friday, along with the extra hour of sleep that entails. And it covered the three empty beer bottles I’d been locked in a staring contest with. All that was left was three subtle, soft, snow-covered lumps.

But Saturday morning, while brushing my teeth, I noticed a travesty on the pristine blanket of snow. A new empty beer bottle.

I grumbled and debated, but while debating, Don took matters into his own hands and tossed all four back over the fence.

Maybe we’ll have a six pack by spring.

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More snow. Sigh.

Posted on February 1, 2008 | Leave a comment

This has been one of the snowiest Chicago winters on record. I trudged up the hill from the train through about three or four new inches of snow, and it is still coming down, with no sign of stopping! I guess that means another snow shoveling hour tomorrow.

All in all, I am pretty lucky – there is no need to dig out my driveway to make it to work. I just have to slide down the hill (which has become even easier, thanks to my fabulous new YakTrax) and to the train. There have been times when I was able to let the snow melt before ever really needing to dig it out.

But for now, I’ll just sip my tea and watch it snow. Again.

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