Saturday Augers

Snow Starting to Fly Yesterday From Inside the Globe

My wife and I had planned to travel up to New Hampshire yesterday to spend some time in my hometown.  That plan was submarined by a changed weather report.  A forecast 2 inches of snow was updated to more than eight inches.  That more than put the kibosh on our travel plans.  It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy my snowy trip of December 26^th but there were things to be taken care of back home.  We also had to take delivery of some coats from my sister, bravely delivered by my brother in law through the teeth of the storm (I may be exaggerating that a tad but I really like him).

This is something I’ve been thinking about more and more.  It seems like snow carries a lot more impact on travel plans than they did when I was young.  I can remember numbers of family trips taken even though we had lots of snow.  I have to think our technology in terms of traction and road clearing are superior to the 1960s but it still seems everybody doesn’t want to challenge a winter storm anymore.  It might be the storm of 1978 where cars were trapped on interstates in Massachusetts and people even died stuck in those cars.  I think it has more to do with there are a lot more people around nowadays and that increases the number of idiots on the road in a situation which it only takes one to snarl traffic. 

One of the big things I had to take care of at home was repairing the auger belt on my snow blower.  I wasn’t going to try and take any chances with having to shovel the driveway again.  I know nothing about mechanical repairs but I can read repair manuals, even if they’re authored by Sears.  I figured it out and had it working again before the first snow flew.

My wife had a favorite lamp that she was broken.  She said she was going to get the husband of one of her friends to repair it.  This of course challenged my male ego and I brazenly declared that I would take a crack at it (probably her plan all along).  As stated above, I have an abysmal level of mechanical expertise. We were each surprised when I successfully assembled a new light switch and socket.  Our surprise continued when it turned on and did not explode when I plugged it in. 

I completed my lucky repair streak by finishing the repairs on the plant stand that I destroyed in my kick save against Buddy in the pre-Christmas neighbor party.  My life with Buddy has required that I become something of an artiste with super glue.  My wife claims that she doesn’t own a single item on the ground floor that hasn’t been put back together with super glue.  I claim that she is grossly overstating the situation (a little bit). 

Not wanting to push my mechanical proficiency luck I decided to spend the rest of the day watching movies as the snow flew in earnest outside.  It started early in the afternoon and was still coming hard when I went to bed around midnight.  I have a great room to watch a snow storm in.  Our family room is surrounded on three sides by windows; it’s like sitting in the middle of a snow globe (my sister’s description).  I watched as our Christmas decorations outside slowly became covered by the drifting snow.  God, I hope the snow blower works or I’m screwed.

Snow Blower Repaired and Ready For Action (I Hope)

Lamp Repair Project Using my Wife's Hot Pink Tools

It Turned On!  Photoed from a Safe Distance

Plant Stand Before

Super Glue Artiste - Indeed!!

My Wife Spent the Day Cleaning Cupboards With Buddy's Assistance

Near Midnight - Hard to See but the Light is Actually Under the Snow