It is cold. Everything is iced over. Gordon and I had to rent a moving truck, because the movers mysteriously left behind my chair and a couple of other things, including Gordon’s comic collection, and yesterday we had to drive it from Cedar Park to San Marcos. As an aside, I am a hoarder. Also our house is filthy. Sorry, I’m traumatized by this move. You never know just how much dust is under the furniture, until you empty the room.
Filthy hoarder.
Anyway, so today we had to unload the truck in the sleet. It was basically freezing rain and it immediately stuck to the ground. I was stepping out of the truck onto one of those little steps they have built in on the side. The step had frozen over, resulting in me going one way, and my feet the other. I had wisely grabbed the handle, so I ended up dramatically swinging around the truck like George of the Jungle.
Then we had to drive the truck back over the bridge that completely iced over, with skid marks going in all directions.
Everything is closed. U-Haul place was closed. We had a plumber appointment – they cancelled. It is freezing. We had both fireplaces going today.
Brrrr.
It doesn’t make it better but I finally (FINALLY) turned my husband onto your books. He’s most of the way through the audio version of Kate #1. I’m rereading them all in anticipation of the final book in Kate’s series and he’s listening for the first time. Thanks for creating worlds we can live in and characters who I talk about like weird friends my spouse has never met.
I’ve done the same with my husband! Started him on Innkeeper and now he wants all the books ever written. Silly spouse should have been reading along the whole time…
I have to explain to my husband every time I laugh or gasp, it gets very annoying. However, I also enjoy reading scenes to him, so I put up with it. =) I still wish he’d read the danged books himself. =)
I’m glad you are now safe and warm. Perhaps now cosy in your chair? Gordon re-reading comics from years past?
I feel your pain. Mississippi is closed now. The threat of snow closed down the school where I work. So, I’ll be home tomorrow.
Just the threat of snow? Man I want to move back down south. I’ve lived in Alaska for the past ten years and can only remember 3 ice days.
I guess people in Alaska have the right equipment and knowledge to handle snow and ice? Appropriate clothing, snow tyres, know how to drive in snow and ice?
I’m in Australia, and while where I live has hot summers (39C/102F maximum forecast for Friday) and cold winters (-8C/17F overnight, up to 12C/53F during the day) we don’t have snow. It might fall once a year, but not settle on the ground. I have all the warm clothes, but I know I have no idea how to drive in snow and ice conditions. I’d stay home in those conditions for my safety and those around me.
Here in my bit of Australia it’s hot, hot hot right now. The forecast for tomorrow is 38C which is way too hot for comfort!
??
Can’t help it. Did Gordon get a picture?
Sorry. Glad you weren’t hurt
Damn
Katy, TX is also cold. Much commiseration! Glad you weren’t hurt during the truck hijinx.
Hi from another Ilona fan in Katy!
Cold is no fun, I have pee for blood and Philly is no joke this year with temps..last week walking to a cat sitting after we had the freezing rain and icy crap 2days before..well the previous day it ended up melting then refreezing and of course my butt didn’t see the slickness and went flying hard onto my knees while at same time pouring the entire cup of coffee on me…..bonus I had two of the neighbors watching this and they literally didn’t say anything about it???♀️ So embarrassing
Have you emptied your ouside water pipes? In cold weather, you need to turn off your outside water and drain it to prevent burst pipes. If the pipes freeze and burst, the water can rain inside your home.
Sorry to hear about the rest, but glad your move is done and no one was injured.
You probably should never move again. At least not without an assistant to hire the contractors to get the new place set, hire the moving company, supervise them packing, and watch them unload. And make sure you never move in December.
I moved in December once, and only once. Lost every single coddled, blanket wrapped house plant. The next winter move, my husband stayed in training quarters while the kids and I lived with my parents for three months. Glad nothing was injured, but your shoulders are going to ache!
December in Texas is usually pretty good moving weather. Ilona and Gordon just hit one of those “Oh my God, what else can go wrong days?” (I am hibernating in Houston as I write this.)
My worst move was in August. The front doors were open for hours in 95 degrees F / 90% humidity weather and me five months pregnant. (My house plants fried.)
We never moved in summer again…
Moving and ice??? That sounds like my version of He!!… Arkansas is going through it, too. The low tonight is 9°. I am going to have to leave my faucets on a slow drip so the pipes don’t freeze. I hate winter…
I hope you guys stay warm.
Hah, my parents live in Arkansas. My father loves to harass me about how warm it is down there while I am freezing up here in South Dakota. He isn’t laughing today. He was at 12 and I was at 3. Not a whole lot of difference. 🙂
Be safe. I am in Aiken, SC (right across the river from Augusta, GA) and our schools announced a two hour delayed start for tomorrow. What is stupid is that if the weather follows the projections, that will be at the height of the snow. Do I need to remind you that we Southerners can’t drive in the snow? I am supposed to see eye doctor for follow up from eye surgery. If he doesn’t cancel, I will. This is one crazy winter. Last week we had the air conditioning still running and the week before the daily highs were in the teens.
Katy, I am in Lexington, SC! Maybe we need to have a favorite author party (when it warms up)! I am supposed to have radiation therapy tomorrow & am on the net trying to find out how I will know of lateness or cancellation for the oncology center for the morning. Not seeing if there’s a place on their website for this announcement. Sigh. Guess I’ll just get up extra early tomorrow. Ilona & Gordon – hope you never have to move again. This will be funny in 2 years. Enjoy your new home!
My husband and I call moving “spring cleaning”. We’ve been married almost 16 years and have moved 9 times in that. Every time we start a move we get rid of things and pledge that the next house we will not fill with stuff. Also that the next house we will keep things clean in and under furniture and appliances.
Thankfully we have 4 kids and so we blame it mostly on them. But eventually they will grow up enough we can’t blame them.
But it’s OK; we’ll just move.
*giggle chuckle snort giggle*
Put sand down when you have freezing rain. It makes the ground gritty. I keep a bucketful in my shed. It does make a mess when the ice melts, but it is better than a broken back
If you let it dry, you can sweep it up and put it back in the bucket.
That it does. In Michigan’s UP, they use something called “stamp sand”, which is black, crushed remnants of copper extraction. Black rims in road edges and lawns after melt-off.
If you don’ t have sand kitty litter will work in a pinch or a bag of sugar
My father-in-law always used fertilizer. It didn’t kill the grass when the runoff soaked the yard.
The expected snow/sleet totally missed Dallas, thank god, but we got the cold. I am surprised they didn’t close the city. No one here can drive in the cold. ?
My husband is working in Fort Worth. He went down there expecting to miss the Idaho cold and instead took it with him. His work had everyone come in 2 hours late because of the cold.
We just moved right before Christmas & yes on the filthiness! I used to think my house was clean (ish), until they moved my furniture. ?
It’s also cold here in New Mexico, but where we live that’s fairly common. I’m from Dallas so not used to it. Brr.
I’ve been on a cleaning kick lately with two main goals: organize the hidden spaces and eradicate dust. The organization is the easy part. The war on dust has taken longer. I run the vacuum multiple times a day, aiming for that time when the canister stays empty. Still haven’t gotten there yet. Today I bought an expensive Dyson air purifier. I WILL PREVAIL!!!!
Moving sucks. I feel your pain.
Our schools were closed today, not from ice or snow, but from -25 or colder wind chills. Anything under -20 and the schools just don’t want the kids standing out waiting for buses. So I had a bored, frustrated 16-year-old who couldn’t play her favorite, World of Warcraft, because it was Patch 7.3.5 day, which meant extended maintenance until 5pm our time, which was then extended to 7pm our time. It was a good thing we were busy packing up the kitchen today or we would have heard more complaining than we did… =)
Yeah, I was in Sioux Falls, SD a few years ago and they cancelled school for a week due to -30 temps, not wind chill, for that week.
It started hailing where we live in the UK last night. I’m a fairly light sleeper and barely slept because every time I was dropping off the hail would start up again. I gave up trying in the end. The hail settled and everything was white this morning then it snowed some more on and off in bits all day and again tonight. I am not looking forwards to taking the dog for a walk tomorrow.
It must be such an affront to get this kind of weather at your latitudes! Up here in Canada where I am we just expect this crap for four or five (or six) months of the year. Difference is, we’ve got the equipment and skills to handle it. My husband bought me a pretty, shiny new red snow blower for Valentine day one year; I was thrilled! Even so, lots of us who can afford it at all try to escape, normally, to your area of the world to get out of it for a while. Not so much this year! I feel your pain.
Ah, Texas ice storms. I remember them not so fondly.
I did the swing stepping out of an excavator during the rain this summer. I was proud that I caught the oh shit bar on my way down, grateful that none of the guys saw my swing and subsequent scramble for footing and stubborn enough that I wouldn’t admit that my shoulder was sore and I had a big bruise on my leg from my end of swing ricochet. A learning experience.
Freezing rain is the absolute worst weather. It’s was worse than snow. We have about 4 inches of snow on the ground in Chicago today & it’s currently 17 degrees.
Meanwhile on the other side of the planet, we’ve had day after day of temp passing the 30 C / 89s F mark. Way too hot for me and not typical for our summer.
Deep breaths. Nothing broken, including you, and your hubs got to laugh at you. Spring will arrive. I say this from AS where its 75 but I do feel for you
I live in Canada,,, I like winter,,, too old to change now.
Hope you’re OK!!!
So you’re saying this water stuff freezes? On its own? Really? Do you have to add something to it first?
Huh. Imagine that.
*ducks and runs to the other side of my Northern California house to avoid the snowballs lobbed from all over the country*
Some snowballs just for you ….
Now if you just had enough snow in the mountains to keep the state from catching fire…
(I say as a native Washingtonian, WA having been developing many of the same issues.)
I’m sorry you are cold and the east coast is buried under snow. I live in the Lake Tahoe Basin which is currently suffering from a high pressure system which is sending all our beautiful artic weather and snow east. We really want, need it back. Yes I hate to shovel but the merchants and ski resorts livelihood depend on snow. We have the info structure in place to deal with snow. I would really rather deal with a blizzard than earthquakes, hurricanes and tornados. Last winter our power was out for 8 days but we can live with it easier than cities cause we have wood burning stoves, lanterns and generators-gotta keep my kindle charged!
We haven’t had a lot of snow up in SD this winter yet either. We keep getting little warm spells as well. Like tomorrow it is supposed to warm up again and be up in the 40’s by the end of the week.
I am not complaining, 40 is a whole heck of a lot better than -30 and 2 feet of snow, but it is kinda odd.
I live in Colorado but spent 50 years in Texas. Makes a huge difference living in a state that is used to dealing with freezing stuff. By the way… you can send my snow back. ?
We finally found a man to fix our furnace. 7 days without heat in Maine in January. I sympathize with anyone not used to the cold.
Winifred, I am aghast – no heat in Maine in freakin January! Isn’t there a law or something. You are practically in Canada!!!!
Holy crud! Just got my HVAC reattached to the other side of mobile home so heat is on bedroom side too. But at least it only got down to low 40’s.
Have my sympathy.
You do realize you knit right? Right there is how you became a hoarder. . It’s ok ..I am too.. plus yeah. Comics!!!
My hubby had to pack and move the last 2 rooms. (Pack rat syndrome) You would not believe the stuff that did not make it to the new house… 🙁
Thank you for letting us know you all are okay, despite having to get out in the mess. I was worrying since you are in ice storm territory. Ugh.
Glad you are okay. Sleet is the worst – everything gets wet and cold so quickly and because the temperature is in between it freezes / refreezes constantly. Cuddle up in your new home, get a cuppa tea and stay warm 🙂
Everybody has dust bunnies under / behind their furniture. Life is too short to worry about such things.
Feeling your pain in Katy!
Oh, this is good!
Heh. Mine was going to Whataburger.
Fabulous.
Those of us in Central Texas do not understand sleet and snow! My sister called today and said “my snow is funny, it’s like tiny dots!” She’s not familiar with sleet!?
I am so sorry ?. I absolutely hate cold, winter, snow, sleet and anything that happens during this time of year. Now I am sad about leaving my tiny island where it never gets colder than 50 F. Sending warm vibes and hope you didn’t get hurt during your little swing.
Down here in Webster, TX , I sympathize. Currently 24F and expecting down to 22 in the morning. Windchills are 8 or 9. Glad work and all else closed. When my cat wanted to go out this morning, she stepped out and right back in. This evening she really went out but was ready to come in to a warm lap within minutes. Off again Wednesday and will try to organize/toss part of a room between reading books.
Awful. Moving is always awful. I hope it gets better for you.
Stay warm George.
-another filthy hoarder
(Moved in June and could have made a coat from the dust behind my bookshelves)
Congrats on the RT nomination.
I’m from the upper lower peninsula of Michigan, so I know snow and cold. We rarely got snow days. The nearest large town did, but I think that was more fear of the number of school buses they had on the road.
Anyway, about 20 years ago I moved to the Baltimore area to work at one of the TV stations on “TV hill”. So named because 3 TV stations shared a tower that was located outside our door. When we got freezing rain, they put up signs that said to beware of ice falling off the tower. Remember that picture Ilona took of the ice cycles on their fountain? Now picture one 5 feet long and a foot wide. That’s what fell off the tower. Somewhere there’s great footage of a couple cars in the parking lot being taken out by falling ice.
Just be glad you don’t live beneath a TV tower after an ice storm.
Another example of “it could be worse”… https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/01/16/in-the-coldest-village-on-earth-eyelashes-freeze-dinner-is-frozen-and-temperatures-sink-to-88f/?hpid=hp_rhp-moretopstories2_coldest-place-1114pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.a20171d63fd9
In central California we get super dense thick fog created in the ground from water filled with agricultural chemicals. It’s typically twice or three times more unhealthy than regular air quality. So it’s freezing cold you can’t see your hand in front of your face and breathing is like acid with gravel in it. We shall all deeply appreciate the perfection of heaven. Sigh.
When we lived in London, there were a couple of mornings when there was “freezing fog”. Wherever it condensed, it froze right away. Black ice all over the place. The trees were beautiful, but the multi-vehicle motorway pile-ups were not…
I moved to Chicago in a blizzard once. They tied a rope from the truck to the front door so we didn’t lose anybody. Fun times.
I’m glad you got your stuff, and hope you don’t hurt too badly from your near miss.
Gotta say, I totally heard “filthy hobbit-zes” in my head at your “filthy hoarder.” So thanks for the unintended giggle. 🙂
You are not a filthy hoarder you are a busy woman
Ssshhhh,
My latest strategy, is to stock up just as the storm is blowing in and then not go out again till its all melted. I’m trying to covince myself its not that bad.
You do crafts, of course you’re a hoarder!
Epsom soak, mentholatum rub, and gentle stretching for that slip & twist or the vengeful crampus will get you.
And you know the urge to use a thing or make a thing will not spring fully form from you psyche until you have given up, away, or out that piece you’ve held onto for . . .
Have some coffee, chocolate or tea (with additives) after your rub
I’m really glad you were holding on! Hope you’re not too sore! Glad you got everything though!!
I found a place to rent so I won’t be homeless in a February, yay! Got the keys on the 15th and gradually packing and moving. I was sick in December so couldn’t pack much. Most of my furniture going to the junk people who recycle and reuse what they can. Hard thing will be finding a good computer desk. They are either cheap wood or minimalist looking metal things with ugly glass tops. Careful in the roads. Hopefully that is the last of your move. I have 15 days left and forecast is rain everyday for 2 weeks.
Feel free to make a stop in Hawaii on a book tour. It’s quite sunny with blue skies. Gets to about 75 degrees and that’s considered “cold.” 🙂
Stay warm!
I don’t know what I hate more, snow or moving.
In Valencia (Spain, next to the Mediterranean Sea) the winter sun shines and we have 17ºC … Move here
MJ
I just spent 6 hours driving from Philadelphia in blizzard. A drive that should have taken 4 hours took 6+. Glad you are warm and also alive. And I do not know if you are a hoarder, a friend of mine mother moved to ecuador and took a giant container with her, and then the old house got robbed and it still looked like nothing has taken. Hug!
Hope you’re feeling ok. Stay warm.
Title of news articles I have seen recently:
– The Northeast is colder than Antarctica right now
– Parts of Massachusetts are colder than Mars
I am looking forward to April and some warmer breezes.
I do have to say the first one is true! I just came back from Antarctica and I am colder here in NY than I was down there! At least I can still use the gear from down there!
We are not pleased here in Anchorage that all the snow is melting.
I know it is 40 degrees and it is only Jan
I finally congratulated my mother last week that they finally are warmer than Alaska, but it didn’t last long. They are colder again.
My mom lives in Deep East Texas & I’m in Western New York. It was one degree warmer in NY than it was at her house yesterday! Stay warm & stay safe!
So sorry you still have to deal with moving stuff, i also whished your weather would be nicer 🙁 I hope you will be setteled soon and isnt texas normally warmer? Or is this an example for the “non existing clima change (by Trump)”.
Anyway i hope you have it a bit easier soon. Time to breathe and relax, Do not get sick please. Please!
Ack! Stay safe! Stay warm!
I am in Ohio. I have never been this cold in all my life. I hate winter.
I managed to be out of state for the worst of it*, but I’ve been back for a bit over a week, and… oh, yeah, damn. I barely can be bothered to go outdoors, and usually I like being outdoors in weather. I’m not even biking. (I’ve really gone soft – my first few years out here, I did all my training outdoors, so there were a lot of sword forms in the snow and wind. Now that I have the zendo, the thought seems just awful, though I still have the good gloves.) At least in Cleveland, it’s supposed to break freezing tomorrow, and be over fifty on Monday.
* I checked the weather report every day, and was so glad my vacation fell when it did. (And we’re talking Seattle, not Hawaii or anything, though OMG, I stayed with my sister, and Shifu caught up for lost time, and I spent time with my Shaolin sibs and it was great!)
You should have picked Florida….71 yesterday, played golf. 80 next week. On a side note, I am an expert hoarder, been collecting craft supplies for 40 years. Pretty sure I could open a store in my house. Keep those fingers warm!
Glad you were holding on to something when stepping out of the truck. It will get warmer. On my local weather station, I noticed North Texas is going to hit 70 degrees on Saturday. Hopefully San Marcos will be that warm or warmer. 🙂
It’s too cold for where I live too.
You are close to a Tex-Mex place I really like. El Roble, off the interstate in Kyle.
Stay warm, temps going back up this weekend!
Gracia’s in Kyle is awesome also.
I used to live in Kyle, TX, and a friend of mine who’s still there posted a video yesterday of her kids sliding down their driveway on trays and basically whatever they could find. She said schools are on a delay today.
Up here in WI, unless it snows more than 6″ at once, or it’s colder than -25, they won’t even think of cancelling. And they don’t do delays because of the inconvenience to the parents. Needless to say, my kids haven’t had a snow day since 2013. My husband just makes me park closest to the door, and make sure to salt the driveway. I’ve been voted most likely to have my own George of the Jungle moment otherwise.
Glad y’all weren’t hurt in all the ins and outs of moving on ice. Hang in there! Maybe not so dramatically as the door-swinging incident. The weather craziness will swing back to heat-and-humidity before you know it.
I have a plug-in heated throw. I have to wrestle it away from my cats, snuggle under it and get “set up” then make myself into a comfortable cat perch. When I get up to get more tea, or take care of the results of lots of tea, there is much complaining. And kitty dirty looks. Wash, rinse, repeat. It was 9 degrees when I got out of bed this morning.
My throw doesn’t plug in, but otherwise it sounds like my house. As far as my cats are concerned, I should sit in my chair with my nice warm throw and read all day long, then get in bed and snuggle with kitties all night long. Which does sound like the perfect life, if only it paid the bills! 🙂
I just checked, 30s today, up to 20 mph breeze, and around an inch of snow expected and I’m delivering today. Two shirts and jeans with cuddle duds in my future. I hope the idiots slow down, turn their headlights on, and take their lunch to work with them so I can stay off the roads. Not likely but I can dream. This to shall pass.
stay safe and off the roads if you can. I much prefer snow to ice – with it you if you drive carefully and at least have a chance of being safe. Ice, not so much. I do, however, envy the fireplaces. It has been so cold here the walls are radiating cold rather than keeping it out.
LOL
Minus 3 in Iowa this AM.
We are hoping to get above the freezing point sometime this week ….
Having said that … I HATE ice.
Something to do with slipping while shoveling the sidewalk, missing the snow banks on each side, hitting the concrete and finding out my right arm no longer seemed to work (I’m right handed, of course). Full rotator cuff tear. Followed by surgery and a year of PT.
Watch out for that ice !!!!
Having slipped and done major damage, I feel your pain. In my case it was a tibial plateau fracture, which my orthopedic surgeon had only seen 3 cases in a 5 year period. One of which occurred a week after mine.
Yuck, especially to having to rent a Uhaul and move things yourself after paying movers to do so. Having to move these things in freezing rain is even worse.
On the plus side, you and your household are snug in your amazing new EuroDisney house, that has TWO fireplaces to snuggle in front of. I’m so dang happy for you guys–your hard work and mad writing skillz have paid off enough for you to have a a fabulous home that can house everyone that you love. You deserve comfort and joy!
Well said. Yes, this!
Perfectly stated. Ditto!
I always feel guilty in the morning, snuggling in my warm sweater because it is 50 degrees and will get to 77 today. Sorry, Southern California never seems to get the memo that it is winter! I hope you are not sore from your slip and almost fall. Be warm and safe!!
Yep, brrr! Here in balmy Mobile Alabama it is a chill 20 degrees, with light snow on the ground and frozen roadways. Gotta love freezing in the South! 🙂 I hope you stay safe and warm.
It’s cold in the UK as well but that is nothing new. Two inches of snow and everything comes to a standstill. Good excuse to stay inside though and think warm thoughts 🙂
So sorry to hear that it’s so cold over there! Sending you some virtual warmth from the Philippines.
You can’t leave the story with a hole. Why didn’t the moving company make arrangements to go get the stuff they left behind?
Moving sucks.
I too am a filthy hoarder. I am also amazing at finding places for all my things. If you open any of my closets or cabinets, you can hear the air rush in:)
As for the slip on the ice: Ouch, poor you! And I’m glad you weren’t injured.
My “slip” story: I opened the screen door with my left hand & held the door frame with my right. I put my left foot out and then somehow ended up wedged partly under the bottom of the screen door.
So I live in North County San Diego, and whenever you say San Marcos I think of the town just east of us, which is called……wait for it…… yeah, San Marcos. It was about 80 degrees there yesterday. But, the average cost for a house there is about $600,000. As we say in San Diego, the weather is great, but we pay for it. lol
So sorry to hear about everyone’s weather problems, hope they change soon. My bad weather is coming according to the weather people.
It is amazing how much crap comes out when move or remodel. As for hoarding, good luck with that as it is a battle I fight with anything that has some life or a purpose or I liked when I did that craft. I always have good intentions to keep up with stuff but it doesn’t always work that way. ?
In NYC this morning we had rain/snow I almost went down twice going to work. Most of our snow gone,suppose to get to 50 over the weekend.
As for hoarding, I was clearing out some of my mom’s stuff I found her tax returns from 1951. And she never threw out any of her ATM receipts. found stacks in pretty floral boxes very neatly stacked . And I have way too many scarfs and socks I am a sock addict . Stay save , and warm. I envy your fireplaces , hard to find in NYC apartments.
I went to Florida. It was freezing. On a good note, I did get a lot of cheap plants. What I considered frost touched and easily trimmed, sellers thought was dead. They look VERY nice. 🙂
Ha ha. I’m in Pinellas county Florida. We told you to move to Florida. I know, nobody likes an I told you so.
I am also in San Diego (hi Lisa!), but I grew up in New England. I do NOT like the cold, nor do I like snow (except when viewed from a distance on snowy mountain peaks that I do not have to drive to!). I really feel for you driving in freezing rain – I can remember some near mishaps from my days in RI, and later in Virginia. San Diego may be pricey, but it DOESN’T SNOW HERE!!! This I love. I’ve lived here since 1983, and really never want to leave. Unfortunately, my daughter and son-in-law live in northern CA, and want me to move up there when I retire. Tough decision, which I haven’t committed to yet. We’ll see.
We had a little 2-4″ of a slushy mess of snow, ice and 20 degree temps in RI today. Can you guess which town didn’t have school today ?.
We snowmobile, so I like a lot of snow. We go north to NH or ME for good riding trails.
I moved to Florida from Northern Canada. I have friends from up North pointing out that it is warmer there then here. We have a hard frost warning for tonight. Supposed to drop down into the 20s. In central Florida. WTF. It’s giving me flashbacks. Makes me glad for my electric fireplace in the livingroom though. May seem silly when it is in the 90s in the summer, but it’s wonderful now!
On Friday, temperatures here in central Ohio went from 51°F to 23°F in less than 8 hrs. Also went from rain to sleet, then snow in the same time period.
I’m more than ready for spring!!!???
I’m so glad you are okay! My move in October was traumatic as well. Here I thought I lived in a pet-free house. Instead I had about a dozen dust bunnies! Who knew!
I’m from Southern California. In July 1993 we moved to New Jersey because of my husband’s job. He wanted snow for Christmas and, boy, did he get it. I lost count after 13 consecutive snow and ice storms. I think he said it was something like 19 storms. I told him the next time he prayed for snow to be sure to state an end date.
I learned not only to drive in snow but on icy roads and bridges because the weather never warmed up above freezing. Wait. There was one time. It went from -25 to 40 degrees. I remember because the whole neighborhood was dressed in shorts and t-shirts that day.
By the time we moved back to California, I had expert skills in snow shoveling–at all hours, living with the thermostat never above 63 degrees because of all the snow and ice as I wanted to make sure we had enough heating oil to last between deliveries. Learned to drive with no heat in the car so I had an entire windshield to look out of instead of a narrow band. And learned when driving uphill on ice, not to stop unless I wanted to watch my tachometer nearly red line as the wheels spun on the ice. And was very grateful that we had front wheel drive vehicles as we watched rear wheel drive vehicles slide mindless all over the road–mostly downhill–backwards. But none of those skills was going to add to my resume.
I remember standing in the front yard in the middle of May watching it snow. Then it went immediately from winter to summer so we had grass and tree pollen simultaneously and wheezed for the first time in my life as if I had asthma.
I also recall not complaining when my husband said we were returning to California.
So my complete empathy to all of those out there (including my son in San Antonio and my sister in Austin area) who are dealing with the extreme weather.
Stay safe everyone.
I live in Wales and it is not really cold here at all. I do wrap up warm but next week the temperature is going to be 11 degrees Celsius. That is almost summer weather. Wish I lived in a place that snowed every year even most of the year. My dog wouldn’t catch fleas from outside then.
OMG. Be careful! Please. 12 years ago we moved cross country from New Jersey to California– in December. We got stuck in Texas for 4 days because of an ice situation exactly like you are describing and one thing was immediately clear: Texans are unprepared for iced out conditions. No one had any salt to put down. The roads were awful and lunatics were still driving like it’s summer. And everything was closed. We managed to find the last hotel room in Amarillo at a Best Western, the windows leaked like a sieve. I got pneumonia. And we had three unhappy cats with us. The only places that were open so we could eat were Walmart and Hooters. And it was a special form of suicide to walk across the iced over parking lots of both.
I discovered when I moved where all the lids to my bottles of water were. I knew I had tossed them one by one to the cats, I just didn’t realize how many! There they were, all under the couch snuggled up to an entire herd of dust bunnies. I didn’t look under anything else…just load and go people!
If Ilona is a “filthy hoarder”, what’s Gordon?
Also, if one is a “clean hoarder”, what does that make him (or her)?
I’m thinking a librarian. If hoarding books,obviously.
New Zealand – one of the hottest summers on record, but our winters don’t get as bad as you’ve described
The only good thing about Hurricane Irma in Florida, lots if firewood for this winter. Green wood but….
Last time it snowed in Savannah Georgia was 1989. Last time it lasted more than 24 hours was 1918. Tonight, two weeks later, it’s 25° with a wind chill of 18°. It has NEVER been this cold here, this long EVER. So y’all have my sympathy and heartfelt commiseration.
That picture is REALLY cool.
Wish I could send you half of the expected 40 degrees celsius we’re set to get tomorrow.
We (central Nebraska) are currently 33 and raining. We are in a blizzard warning until 3pm tomorrow (Monday). 11-14 inches expected and 45mph winds. School has already been cancelled, and I caught a virus at the funeral I went to Friday.
So all around suck.
Also my husband’s family contains many hoarders. Most don’t realize that boxes to the ceiling isn’t normal.