Leprechaun Vibes

St. Patty's Day is over but I'm still feeling leprechaun vibes. Not only am I vertically challenged but so is my car! Still cannot see over piles of snow at most intersections.

And this icicle at work? It might be as tall as me by the time it's fully formed. If it doesn't fall to it's melting death first.

Roads were better on way home but any city side streets are just slushy messes. The temps are supposed the rise the next few days. I was ambitious thinking that when I got home tonight I could shovel out our turnaround area before the melting created Lake Austin.

This little area here is the concrete area I usually back into when pulling out of the garage. I was wrongly thinking that since the snow was fluffier to shovel Monday that today would be same. But no. Warmer temps added moisture and I realized right away my aging back ain't made for this. So I quit that almost as soon as I started!

My leprechaun car is small enough I can back up, make a few tries at a Y turn and eventually get out the driveway hood-first without any problem. So I will deal another day with this First World problem!

Be careful out there!

Need to Preheat

Woke up to a sunny but cold and blustery day. You know the type. Temps struggling to get out of the teens. Words like "wind chill" being bantered about. Not my scene.

Remembering that snow removal is my responsibility, I got out the shovel and cleared the driveway. I was so proud of myself for getting it done by midmorning while hubby was in town. Then I look out 10 minutes later and it's snowing. 

And there's no evidence I toiled for 45 minutes moments before. Thankfully it was light and there's an easy way to remove it.

With a leaf blower! And one operated by a helpful neighbor instead of me. Everybody wins. Or just me.

I'm more of an indoor sport type person in the winter. And by sport, I mean baking. Also known as heating the house.

In advance of next weekend's family Christmas cookie exchange, I made Crown Royal Sugar Crisp cookies.

Only because I smash the dough balls with the bottom of the lovely Crown Royal glass I found at Goodwill a few years ago. Makes for a nice look. 

For the finishing touch, I dipped them halfway into melted chocolate almond bark and added some sprinkles. They're pretty tasty. I've heard.

I'm sure this Betty Crocker level of excitement has nothing on blaze orange hunting stories from today. But you do your sport and I'll do mine. For the record, my oven mitt is orange if that counts for anything.

Be careful out there!

94 and Sunny and S-s-s-slithery

CONTENT WARNING: YOU WILL NOT WANT TO LOOK AT THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT LIKED MY PREVIOUS F WORDS, ER FRIENDS WITH F NAMES!

The massive heat wave hovering over much of the country hit us today with full force. I believe it got up to 94 here. Not a record, but I think I have now set a record for seeing a certain reptile this summer. 

Because you know who else doesn't like the heat? That's right. Snakes!

I WARNED YOU!

Just a bit ago, Jim says, "Look at that, there's a snake going across our driveway right now!" And sure enough, I could see a blackish string inching across the concrete toward my front rock garden. Which I have neglected so far this summer and will continue to do so now, for sure! 

Anyway, I said, "Let's take a look." I'm brave and willing to look at them if it's on MY terms. I was just coming down the deck steps and walking in front of my swing and holy mother of God. There was a big snake right next to the driveway. I say big. I'll let you be the judge. I screamed and ran forward and realized I was between two snakes. And I think my heart stopped. Or worked triple time!

The next-door neighbor heard me and knew I saw a snake. So he and his dogs come over and the dogs are super curious about the snake closest to the house – since the other one disappeared into my rock garden. They start barking at it and I got brave and said I need to get my good camera with a zoom lens. So I ran into the house.

LAST WARNING! TURN BACK NOW!

This is before the zoom lens. Just with my phone. They just kept barking.

My first shot with the zoom. Shaky hands much?

Winston and Murphy trying to be brave. And stupid.

Tongue slithering and I am lightly screaming as I keep snapping photos.

He's annoyed with the dogs and starting to get fatter and hood up (or whatever you call it). I call it freaking scary!

Oh Murphy, he doesn't like you!

Doesn't that look like a cobra ready to strike! Holy crap! Seriously!

And he just smiles at me. Honestly, now you see when cartoon snakes have the smile on the side. Good grief.

Anyway, s-s-s-sweet dreams tonight!

Here's a pretty kitty to help you forget what you saw. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Be careful out there!

Wood County Choppers

If you are wondering why we actually prefer snow in Wisconsin to, say, mixed precipitation, this photo illustration should give you a clue.

Had we gotten 8 or 10 or even 12 inches of snow a week ago instead of one measly inch of ice, it would be gone by now. No matter what the temperature, it would have at least been removed from the driveways, sidewalks and roadways and placed somewhere else.

Instead, over the course of the week, more rain and drizzle and sleet added to the base layer and all outdoor surfaces became ice skating rinks.

So even though I showed you a picture of the driveway partially clear the other day, it has been a slow process to clear the rest. All of us able-bodied adults in the house have taken turns with the ice scraper chopper thing. It's not as fun or easy as it looks.

Yesterday, since the temps were mild, I took a swing at it. First I had gone out for a run since the main roads were finally clear enough. But, due to the lake-like driveway and road, it took me 5-6 minutes to shuffle out of the subdivision and onto Deer Road. When I got back home, I figured I might as well take a turn since I was already warmed up and sweating.

After chopping and then shoveling the heavy, wet ice after chopping, I was convinced that scraper thing must weigh 20 pounds. (Tony says I'm exaggerating.) I could feel it in my triceps, though. And, I got 10,000 steps yesterday with most of those coming from my arm movements, I think!

All that work and hubby didn't notice. Ha. I made sure to point it out.

Today, I could see he hacked away at some. When I got home from kickboxing, I chopped a little but mostly took the shovel to the whole driveway to clear off the top layer of slush. Yes, slush can be heavy. I thought it would only take 20 minutes but it was twice that. I don't know if I'll be capable of lifting my arm and hitting the snooze in the morning!

Hopefully, with 3 more days of temps predicted to be above freezing, we can chop the rest of this mess away.

Just in time for the next blizzard probably.

Who loves winter? Raise your hand! (If you are physically able, that is.)

A Sticky Situation

Those 3 words that can mean so much... No. Not "I love you," but rather "Winter Weather Advisory."

It amuses me because living in the Midwest, isn't every day between now and May "winter weather"?

To be honest, I wasn't paying much attention to the weather. Just wanted to get to family Christmas and back. Never even looked at the forecast for today. Did not know I would wake up to a winter wonderland. Granted, it IS December so I shouldn't be surprised.

What did surprise me was how slippery it was to drive in and how much we got. Probably got the 3 inches they predicted but it seemed like a lot more. If you measured by weight, a LOT more.

Went out to shovel the driveway because I wanted the privilege of being the first to do so on our smooth new driveway. Well that privilege got old real fast. The snow was so wet, so sticky, so heavy. Uff da. I got quite the workout.

Of course, the timing of this weather wasn't that ideal after all. Sure we were done traveling for Christmas but Carter still had to get back to Platteville today. The plan was that he was riding back with the girl who gave him a ride up on Friday. However, due to the weather, she changed her mind at the last minute and said she planned to wait until tomorrow instead. I can't blame her but Carter did need to get back.

Besides homework and papers due in classes tomorrow, he had his official induction tonight into the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity. Yup, we got a frat boy on our hands. Actually, after 8 weeks of meetings and volunteering and fun, no doubt, he's pretty excited about it and proud. Too bad they couldn't have wrapped this up on a dry, sunny day!

Needless to say, since I am not the confident winter driver, Jim took Carter down to Platteville and just got home. God bless him! Between our trip to Minnesota and back and now this, he has spent 14-plus hours of his weekend driving.

He definitely deserves some recliner time!

I myself managed to break in my recliner today and watched 2 of the Hallmark movies I'd DRV'd. Still quite a few in the queue for those other "winter weather" days!

Overdue Overhaul

Too bad Carter isn't 15 years younger. Our front yard has resembled the set of Bob the Builder the month of July.

First, when we had our septic system pumped (for you non-country home owners, they do that every 3 years), we learned our drain field is "saturated" and we'd need a new one. So a new drain field requires digging. A lot. And installing. And adding more dirt. And it ain't dirt cheap. They said they'd show up the week of July 4th and do it.

Meanwhile, back in October we had our driveway measured for an upgrade from cracked, eroding blacktop to concrete. We were "on the list" for 2016. By coincidence, they could finally start work the week of July 4th.

Get out the checkbook and, of course, the camera for the BEFORE pictures!

View from front deck. We're keeping the "turn-around" area.

Getting rid of all that cracked concrete sloping up to garage, too.

And the rotting, wooded walkway along with – thank goodness – those darn juniper shrubs. And we were so thankful they were going to dig them out for us. Whoo-hoo!

Not exactly a short driveway so this could take awhile.

I also took a before of the part of the front yard where the drain field was going to go. The current one is located, obviously, where the rectangle of really green grass is. In the distance you can see where they measured and dug a bit of dirt to determine where the new one was going.

Now the after...

Yup, that's gonna need some grass seed or something. Was not expecting the mess.

It was literally the next day when the gang showed up to dig the driveway, remove old asphalt and crud. They work fast! You can skip over this part but the progress was fascinating. Efficient, accurate work in a certain order for the best results. I hadn't seen this in person before. A little each day just to whet our appetite!

Front yard is a truck parking lot! But they were getting more done before I left for work each day than I got done all day.

 So close!

 Last section!

Looking good! Instead of "keep off the grass" we had to "keep off the concrete"... for nearly a week. Best to let it cure or whatever so it's done right.

Front looks so pretty without that old walkway and shrubs. And Carter keeps his parking spot!

Had to remove my rock garden bricks on one side and will have to redo that, but totally worth it.

Today, finally, the caution tape came down and we got to drive on it!!

To christen the driveway, Jim and I went out to eat at El Mezcal. Good food – and cheap, which might be the operative word for awhile.

Totally, totally worth the wait.