Dec 22 2008
’snow joke!
Wow has it been a cold weekend! Frigid temperatures accompanied by powdery snowfall complemented by blustery winds which then blow the snow about, creating white-outs and snow drifts galore - fun!
Here’s an indication of just how the winter weather affected us this weekend:
 AMA-20081222-1-toothlessscraper Originally uploaded by azlynne1972 |
Firstly, yesterday our ice scraper - already missing one “tooth” - ended up losing oh so many more of its tines… why? Because the ice, while not inches thick, was certainly thick enough to resist all but the most forceful of scraping actions. By the time we were finished scraping the ice off, I didn’t need my jacket anymore, LoL!
The drive itself was not too bad, until we hit the smaller country roads that had not seen a snow plow in a while… Kosh didn’t dare move faster than 40 mph with all that slippery snow on the roads….
Then, arriving at the in-laws, the car got stuck in the very snowy driveway. We left it there overnight, it wasn’t blocking the road, and we figured we’d have someone help pull it out when we needed to leave.
We had a bonus treat that night: witnessed a car try unsuccessfully go up a rather steep hill. Oh, remember the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result? Yeah, that was that driver. Seriously. If it had been me, after the first unsuccessful attempt, I would have stopped and asked for help or something. These guys ended up backsliding off the road and hitting a tree. Thankfully no one was hurt. My brother in-law, after having had his fill of laughing at the idiots, went out to help, using his truck to pull the car out, back on the road, and up the hill. I don’t know what they would have done without his help!
So that was Saturday.
Sunday, we are getting ready to leave. Kosh tries to start the car. It was so cold (and the battery’s not exactly in prime condition) that it refused to even turn over. So Kosh and the brother-in-law spent quite a while getting that settled, in sub-zero (in F!) temperatures.
Then they freed the car from the clutches of the snowy driveway. Kosh then drove around for a good ten minutes to get some juice back into the car battery. Negotiated to get the car parked in the folks’ (heated) garage so that there would be a better chance for the car to start later when we needed to leave.
Getting out involved flooring the gas pedal to make it out of the long driveway without once again getting caught in the snowy driveway. We made it, though, yay!
 AMA-20081222-2-frozenpumps Originally uploaded by azlynne1972 |
The country roads were better than the day before in terms of having been cleared of snow.. however, because of the powdery snow that had fallen, and because of the strong winds blowing, at times we could hardly see anything in front of us as the snow swirled around the car. This continued even when on the larger roads and interstate highways.
Here’s an indication of just how badly anything exposed to the elements this weekend fared. Look at the accumulated snow at the base… and the ice and snow on the pumps… Scary, huh?
I don’t know if winter weather like this is common in Europe; I doubt it. I suspect a major reason for such weather in the USA is the wide open plains that allow arctic winds to blow south almost unimpeded through Canada and most of the USA. Brrrrr!
… and winter only officially started yesterday!
On days like this I have a much rosier picture of Malaysia and her year-round tropical climate … let’s just not think about the humidity!
Hi Lynne,
Enjoyed ur “snow joke” - saw it on CNN that it’s pretty bad in the northern parts of USA. I supposed there’s no escaping it every year ?
In Europe, places like Russia, Scandinavia, Swiss n Italian Alps, to name a few - yep, they hv plenty of snow. The skiing season has just began n they need lots of snow for that
I suppose u could ski for free with all that snow right up ur front door ?
Hi Dutchie, thanks for dropping by!
I was talking about the *extreme* cold conditions that Canada & USA experience, by “virtue” of the great wide open plains here… I know of the legendary Siberian winters, and there’s no doubt Europe gets its fair share of cold and snow… but in general, I doubt Europe plunges to -30C as often, or as easily, as North America.
I wish I could ski right at the doorstep… Chicago is FLAT… the closest ski area is up in Wisconsin, about 5 hours away!
Am curious abt the extreme cold in ur town. Does it mean that the heating would cost a bomb ?
In NL, we r constantly reminded to conserve energy. In fact, the energy company sends us a list of ways to achieve that. So far the festive lightings (at my neigbours)r on all day bec the days r grey n misty. I am glad that the winter is mild so far .. I would hv less to worry abt the energy bills !
oh yeah, the heat definitely costs a lot. Right now we are living in an apartment complex that “distributes” the cost of utilities including heating: unfortunately that means even if we are reasonable with our heat settings, we end up subsidising morons who insist on keeping their apartments in sauna-like conditions!
Everyone kept telling me Chicago winters are brutal, but the past two that I went through were no big deal, only one really bad week of real cold. This time around, I understand what they have been talking about. Sigh. Can’t wait to hear the news that we are moving away… if only..!!
btw: do you have a blog I can visit?
Hm .. u r like the 10th person to ask me abt my blog ! Sorry I don’t hv one (yet ?) Am chasing the illusive time every day if u know what I mean. Can’t get hubby domesticated to help out with the endless chores (is ur hubby a willing participant ? maybe u can write a
blog abt it *wink*), so I hv to content with reading blogs written by many devoted bloggers.
Regarding the communal heating system - yes, there will always be inconsiderate people who waste away precious energy .. much like office buildings - can’t regulate the stifling heat n colleagues who secretly smoked in corners n stink up a closed (windows) environment - arrgh … there’s no end to the headaches I hv to endure !
Tom: LoL you’re halfway across the world and paying more attention to Chicago’s sports than I am
Dutchie: Well, you sound like someone who would have an excellent blog… if ever you start one up, do let me know, ok?