Weird Weather of '09!! ....... #1

Katye, glad you and the kids are safe.

I second that....please be careful. I would have had to go for a change of clothes.

Portland...I keep saying I haven't really retired, I just changed jobs. I don't know how I ever had time to work. But then I didn't have a sick husband or my mom to look after, just a husband and 3 kids. LOL But I love being able to do things when I want, not trying to meet someone else's schedule. I had a high stress job (loved it, but stressed all the same) and I don't miss that part at all. I have way more fun now. ^_^

One of the "boys" is husband!
They were fine - I was watching us spin closer to the pumps.
In my mind: 3". In reality 6'.
Fun & games in the winter with frozen H2O, LOL...

Why is it, when we got stuck on the icy freeway (because of an accident) with hardly any gas, my DH calls it a little excitement. We were there an hour and a half. I was NOT excited. We had to shut the car off and it was COLD. The "boys" always think it's fun.

I recieved this poem from a fun group I belong to thought you might like it too.

Oh, how I love Washington
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave Washington
`Cause I'm frozen to the ground!

Here is a picture of My yard from my front Porch
Happy New Year and a successful 2009

Here is a picture of my sons

love the pictures Marcia. Your sons don't seem to happy with the snow either! But, you made me think of a joke that I haven't read in a while.

has anyone or everyone here read that joke that's called the "diary of a mad snow man?"

Red that is so unfair to tease us with a joke and then make us wait to hear it!!! Get back here and tell it!!! :-]
Sally I do not miss the high stress level of my job either, although I did love what I was doing. I didn't realize how much stress and pressure it was until I quit. I felt like a ton of stone was lifted off my shoulders - I'm betting you felt the same way. I feel very lucky to be able to slow down my life. I know not everyone can do that these days. Your husband & Mom are fortunate to have your help and time.
It rained last night and today the snow is gone. I wish the snow would remain a little longer but not on the roads. It is pretty. All you snowy Washington people be safe!

Portland, I'm glad that the retired life is suiting you well. It doesn't always work so well for everyone. I didn't mean to leave everyone unbalanced with no joke :-p I just didn't want to post it if everyone had heard it already! But, it is one of my favorite winter jokes. so.... happy reading! It's well worth it.

I tried to edit the bad words, but I might have missed one or two.



The Diary of a Snow Shoveler
December 8
6:00 PM. It started to snow. The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses Print. So romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow!

December 9
We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the Whole World? Moving here was the best idea I've ever had. Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life.

December 12
The sun has melted all our lovely snow. Such a disappointment. My neighbor tells me not to worry, we'll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow on Christmas would be awful! Bob says we'll have so much snow by the end of winter, that I'll never want to see snow again. I don't think that's possible. Bob is such a nice man, I'm glad he's our neighbor.

December 14
Snow lovely snow! 8" last night. The temperature dropped to -20. The cold makes everything sparkle so. The wind took my breath away, but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the life!

The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried everything again. I didn't realize I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I'll certainly get back in shape this way.

December 15
20 inches forecast. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for the wife's car and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer.

The wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out. I think that's silly. We aren't in Alaska, after all.

December 16
Ice storm this morning. Fell on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurt like heck. The wife laughed for one hour, which I think was very cruel.

December 17
Still way below freezing. Roads are too icy to go anywhere.

Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her. Guess I should've bought a wood stove, but won't admit it to her. I hate it when she's right. I can't believe I'm freezing to death in my own living room.

December 20
Electricity's back on, but had another 14" of the stuff last night. More shoveling. Took all day. Darn snowplow came by twice.

Tried to find a neighbor kid to shovel, but they said they're too busy playing hockey. I think they're lying. Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower and they're out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they're lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying.

December 22
Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inches of the white crap fell today, and it's so cold it probably won't melt till August. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to poop. By the time I got undressed, pooped and dressed again, I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the winter; but he says he's too busy. I think the jerk is lying.

December 23
Only 2" of snow today. And it warmed up to 0. The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning. What is she nuts!!! Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago? She says she did but I think she's lying.

December 24
6". Snow packed so hard by snowplow, I broke the shovel. Thought I was having a heart attack. If I ever catch the man who drives that snowplow I'll drag him through the snow by his nose and beat him to death with my broken shovel. I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I've just been!

Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was too busy watching for the snowplow.

December 25
Merry Christmas! 20 more inches of the slop tonight. Snowed in. The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. I hate the snow! Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel. The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's an idiot. If I have to watch "It's A Wonderful Life" one more time, I'm going to stuff her into the microwave.

December 26
Still snowed in. Why the heck did I ever move here? It was all HER idea. She's really getting on my nerves.

December 27
Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze, plumber came after 14 hours of waiting for him, he only charged me $1400 to replace all my pipes.

December 28
Warmed up to above -20. Still snowed in. THE WITCH is driving me crazy!!!

December 29
10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in. That's the silliest thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think I am?

December 30
Roof caved in. I beat up the snow plow driver he is now suing me for a million dollars The wife went home to her mother. 9" predicted.

December 31
I set fire to what's left of the house. No more shoveling.

January 8
Feel so good. I just love those little white pills they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed?

Love it.

So true!

That was the funniest story I ever heard.

I'm glad that folks are finding it as funny as I do :-p

That is a pretty funny story! Thanks for taking the time to type it in for us. It was worth the wait!
I don't know about the rest of you but I am not feeling very motivated to accomplish anything! Today I managed to buy a shelving unit for the basement and get all the pieces out of the car and onto the front porch but I really don't have the energy to put the blasted thing together.
just want to sit and drink tea. At least the Christmas tree is down and the ornaments put away, but the outside lights are still up. I unplugged them so no one will notice how lazy I am! I get so lazy after each holiday.
I just sloshed tea on my laptop

O No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Red, thanks for starting a new thread, I haven't been on much over my "vacation".

Thanks Red - great story/joke, and how very true...
I went outside last night & yelled at the sky, as if someone would just turn it off.

If I don't need to be anywhere, then all is copascetic. My commute was a bit slidy early this morning. I HATE driving in snow (have 4 wheel spin car), and take a guess who shovels the driveway?
How lovely to see & feel pavement this afternoon...

Katye...that sounds like improvement. Maybe your yelling got someone's attention. Be careful.

Portland?? Are you still there? Tree down and ornaments away sounds good. I did mine the opposite, my outside things are down, mostly put away or drying out, but the inside is still waiting. I have to get it put up, I need the space to empty the kitchen cupboards.

We made a pellet run today, we've used more than we thought we would. So I got to off load 50 bags. WoooHooo
I can still do it. Had to use a dolly for the 50 lb bag of thistle, 40 lb is my limit to carry and that not very far.

It was warmer here today, up to 51 last time I looked, so of course we have a flood watch alert for tomorrow.

Careful out there everyone. It's got to end soon, right.

zhinu......♪♪ Happy Birthday To You ♪♪

Yes, I don't think I will make it until midnight so Happy Birthday Laura!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





Bird watching................

A favorite passtime at our house...I love the chatter that goes with it.

Looks (and sounds) like the wind is kicking up out there.

Yes Happy Birthday Laura! For once I'm early to something :-p But, only by about an hour. Anytime on the threads, you should get a vacation every now and then! :-p

Sally, I'm glad that all that loading and unloading went all right for you. I think that I would be sore the next day. At least we are starting with the river at a little lower than with the last flood watch.

Katye, I'm so happy to hear that you're getting through all of this with just a few, very lucky, spins! I love that comment.....'4 wheel spin' car. That's perfect!

Portland, hope that you're more caught up on your decorations. How is the laptop after it tried to share your tea with you?

Oh no, I was hoping that this storm would either hit earlier in the day or pass by without much ado. I sooo don't want to be stopped by a tree across the highway at 4:30 tomorrow morning.

Is it just small gusty stuff or speedy enough to actually do something? I realize that things will likely pick up.

The problem I have is the cat chatters at the birds, then the dog starts barking at the cat....poor cat can't have any fun without the dog getting on her case......so it is mostly early morning when the dog is still asleep on my bed.

Where there's a will there's a way!! Chatter when the d.o.g. is sleeping.

Wind died down again. Sprinkling some, nothing serious on my end. I only off loaded, nice young man at the feed store loaded them. We made two trips, DH went back for the second load and the guy couldn't believe I'd unloaded them already. Geeez, when you back the van into the garage, you just pick up and turn around. Would have been hard if I had to carry them far. These young-uns don't think oldsters can do anything.

Good, I'm glad that's all it was then Sally! I woke up at aabout 2 to hear some gusts, but after that all was quiet and the power never went out. So, hopefully an uneventful commute into town!

Tricia, you have a circus with the pets at your place sometimes.

Portland, just for kicks.... I am up for the day! :-p

Thank you for the birthday wishes!

Red, it was a vacation in that I only had Sage for 2 weeks, on the other hand I had Sage all day for 2 weeks. What I wouldn't give to have 24 hours where I'm not responsible for anyone else and didn't have to do something.

Happy Birthday, Laura! Enjoy something special today.

Happy Birthday Laura!^_^
Portland, are you there?
Katye, aren't you the one that has parents that live here? If so, did you ever come down over the summer? I got so busy gardening and playing with the pups that I didn't even turn the computer on for days.
redchic, I loved the story!
Trisha, poor kitty, you need to get the dog some earplugs! LOL!
Sally, I know how you feel. I used to have an Animal Health and Feed store here at the house and I always off loaded the feed (all 50# bags). I would always buy enough to almost fill the back of our 3/4 ton PU. It was usually about a ton (40 bags). The guys at the feed store where I would purchase the feed were in their 20's and would ask me, is there anyone that can unload that for you? I'd tell them no just me and they would ask me how long it would take and I'd say, oh about 20 min to half an hr depending on how energetic I was and their mouths would drop. I'd just smile, thank them and be on my way. I was in my early 40's then. After I went out of business I worked at a feed store and LOADED the feed. I had one customer that got 15 bags of grain. I had him loaded in about 10 mins as I had to go back in the store for the last 7 bags and that took a little time to stack them on the hand truck. His son was generous enough to offer to load the last bag, I looked at him and said, no I don't want you to hurt yourself. He didn't say a word. He was about 25 and I was 48. I don't claim to be Wonderwoman, but some of the guys these days are just TOO soft. Until my total hip replacement surgery 3 yrs ago, I used to help DH with off loading the hay bales. He won't even let me on the trailer anymore since you can't see if there's any holes in between the bales. So I just supervise, he's happy with that.
I hope everyone is high and dry!
Susan

Well..I have had enough of winter. Woke to more casualities this morning. My stacking pots got blown over last nite..Winds must have been very strong... Able to salvage the plants into other pots..
but a mess to clean up...

To top it off this upside down pot bit the dust last night also. It landed below on one of my fairy gardens. One fairy was crushed and I must say, may she RIP. I will save the awful details of her injuries..but it was to late for medical intervention!! :(

The wind must have blown the pot into the iron shepards hook.
Bummer.. How many more weeks until spring?

BeaHive, Sorry to hear about your casualties. Poor little fairy, may she rest in peace. Her little garden looks delightful (was). Do you have a picture of it in better times? And pictures of your pots? By upside down pots, do you mean you were storing them like that, or is it a way cool pot?

Lynn.. Looking for pictures of these in better times. Here were the stacking pots in much better times this summer. I had replaced the petunias with tulips and violets for spring... :(

My laptop is still alive! I turned it off, propped it up on it's side, and let it dry out and it is just fine. This is my first Mac since I have always used pcs when working - you need a pc for autocad & revit - and I have not been convinced that I like Macs better but after this tea incident I think I do! I think the caffeine is helping it to run faster... :)
Happy Birthday Laura! Have a really wonderful day.
Red I would never be able to function on your schedule. I woke up at 8:30 today, walked the dog for an hour, then got back in bed with the computer and the news on tv. Later I will put together the shelving unit for the basement and get it all organized and hopefully manage to get the outdoor lights down.
Beahive if the fairy casualty is the one lying face down in the dirt have you considered that maybe it was not the wind? Perhaps she had a party that got out of hand and had a few too many cocktails. Regardless, my condolences.

Beahive those pots are great - beautiful blooms. Your garden looks very well tended!

My faries are latte drinkers..don't touch the hard stuff and are not wild party girls & boys !! It was the wind and having about 10 lbs of clay pot and soil fall on you... not much chance to survive such a calamity. I try to have a nice tended yard..it is horrible at the moment. Looking forward to warmer weather to get outdoors and clean up the winters mess..
The down under pots are nice . Can't seem to find the picture from last summer with all the pink petunias below. Here is the link for these pots so you can see what they look like in one piece.
http://www.kinsmangarden.com/prodinfo.asp?number=R74
I think I will order a replacement as it was a gift from my cousin.

BeaHive, I'm sorry to hear about your pots' and fairy's mishaps.
Portland, happy to see your laptop survived the tea.
Susan

Your yard is very pretty. If you find a picture of the pink petunias in the upside down down pot, I would love to see it. Thanks for the link, I bookmarked it to look at it again later (with credit card available).
Did you grow all of your petunias from seeds, or are they from the nursery? What kinds? They are stunning, I cannot get enough petunias.

I tried to save your picture, but it went to downloads and I could not figure out how to get it to my pictures. I showed the pix to DH, I would like him to make me the stacking pots. It looks like they are held together with a rod, is that correct? Would the cheap styrofoam pots work as well, or would they look cheap?

Lynn.. I got the idea for these from another DGer last may. I was looking for the link but can't seem to find it. I do have a hard copy of the instructions. If you will d-mail me your address I would be happy to mail you a copy.
As for the petunias. I grew some from seed and purchased others. I had great germination rates, but these little starts took forever to get big enough for transplanting. I get impatient and ended up buying some too. Horrible with remembering names of plants and my markers seem to disapear. ( the garden faries..I think snatch them!)
I made another stacking pots for my vegetable garden using "styrofoam pots" to keep my herbs. They are nice looking pots, but the whole display kinda tipped over and is now leaning against the fence. I do not think the pots are heavy enough to stay put. Will unstack it in the spring and try to support it better. It did still work and had nice herbs..but it looked not so nice.