SNOW?

We have had mild weather this winter - especially the last month or so. Normal temperature is in the 40 degrees Fahrenheit and we have been that or warmer - some days in the upper 60s or even once in the 70s - something to lull everyone into thinking winter was gone.

We have spent much of the last week preparing for a huge snow storm which was to hit here yesterday (Tuesday).  Since the area was hit by 2 major hurricanes - Irene and Sandy - a year apart each of which caused us to lose electricity for about a week, and Sandy was followed by a nor’easter just after we had our electricity restored,which put out our electricity again, my husband has become what he calls weather phobic.  Every time we have a storm threatening our area which has a decent chance of putting out our electricity, he gets terrified. Plus when it is a snow storm, we have to clear the snow from our driveway and we are getting old.       

So as reports of this storm heading towards us got worse and worse he became more and more afraid of it.  The storm was not only to have huge amounts of snow, but also blizzard conditions with winds and gusts up to 60 miles per hour.  I kept reassuring him that it would not be as bad as we were being told.  At the point this storm was first mentioned one storm was on the west coast and the other somewhere around the Gulf of Mexico and they were expected to meet up near us (in the northeast U.S.)  for us to have a huge storm. 

Now understand, the day before the storm was to hit us one part was still in the midwest and the other part off of Florida.  How it could be predicted where or if the two would meet up, I have no idea.  Depending on the weather report we listened to and when we listened to it we were told -

We would get        6-10 inches of snow    12-18 inches of snow        6-18 inches of snow
Storm would start     midnight Monday    2 am Tuesday            3 am Tuesday
Storm would end    Wednesday morning    Tuesday night        early Wednesday am (2 am)
Storm would be worse    north and west of NYC    south and east of NYC

Sometimes the differences would be in the same report.  One reporter told us that we would 6 inches of snow, and when he summarized what he had said at the end of his report he said that we would get 12-18 inches.   

All of this was making him worse and worse.  We went out last weekend and bought emergency supplies - canned soup and such.  We went out again on Monday and bought enough cold cuts for 4 days (if we ate lightly) so that if we lost electricity we could put it outside (temperature expected by all reports to be in the lower 30 degrees Fahrenheit) in plastic boxes to keep it cold and safe and have it to eat without cooking. 

I paid all the bills and dealt with all the other mail in the house which needed to go out this week and it all went out on Monday. Monday we also plugged in my laptops, our cell phones, and his tablet computers to charge.  Also the rechargeable unit of a Coleman electric lantern (we bought it to use in the RV, but bring it in for storms) and he found a device which charges two units and each can recharge a cell phone, so these were all plugged in and charging also.  These are all left plugged in until we know that we will not need any of them.

I overrode the turn downs of the temperature on our thermostat so the heat would stay on.  This would keep the house warm longer if we did lose electricity and due to same.  I did the opposite with the refrigerator.  I set the freezer to maximum cold.  I set the refrigerator colder, but not to maximum as we have insulin we have to keep in a certain range of temperature.   

We brought in the hanging solar lamps to the porch and put the garbage can where it would not blow around or away. We also took away our front door mat and put it in our porch.  Last time when I tried to shovel snow off the front steps it was in the way - this made it much easier to push the snow off the sides of the steps.



I also cleared the middle of the living room - everything back against the edges - and around the dining table so that we could walk through either room without needing light and not walk into anything.  This is a idea from earlier periods called “putting the room to rest”.  The room would have the items needed for something moved to the center of the room for use.  When what one was doing was finished - everything would be moved back against the wall.  It allowed one to easily use rooms for multiple reasons and also to walk through the room with little or no light - candles were expensive.

As you can see - we have been through this before.

As we got closer the reports got better - then worse - then better.

When we woke up the next day after the storm we found out that we were lucky.  The storms met up further west than they thought they would.  This was still to the south of where we are  - not terribly far away, but enough to give us a good deal of rain and sleet which kept the amount of snow that fell down (and dissolved part of it) and the worst of the storm to the north and west.  The storm was just about gone by 1 pm (maybe earlier, I slept in).   When we went out to clear what was there it was wet heavy snow as it had so much rain and sleet mixed in, but only maybe 5 or 6 inches at most.  Where my mom lives - to the southwest of us and closer to the water - they had mostly rain and sleet.  To the north of us - there was more snow - but in this general area east of NYC it was not too bad.  To the north of NYC and the west, as well as a good part of New England - they got the brunt of the storm.  It dropped up to 30 or so inches in some areas.  We were lucky.

We cleared the snow - he used the snow blower and I used a broom to get the snow off the car - we have learned to do this before clearing the snow on the ground around the car - and a shovel to clear what could not be blown, mostly due to location.

So, we have reversed most of our preparations - the lamps are back outside, we have unplugged things, etc.  Tonight I will fix the thermostat settings.  The rest will be done soon.

I have kept up with basic house chores - the laundry was done (always before a storm so we know we have clothes, etc.).  The dishes washed when used - you really don’t want dirty dishes when you have no electricity to deal with them.  And so on.  I did cheat on the bedding.  I normally strip the bed Tuesday morning and remake it Tuesday night before going to sleep - I only changed the pillow cases.  The rest can be used another week. 

And now we are eating the cold cuts.  We don’t normally buy same as they expensive and not the healthiest thing to eat.  We buy them when there is a reason we won’t be able to cook or need to carry a lunch with us somewhere.  So we had ham sandwiches for lunch.  Deli turkey for dinner.  Tomorrow we will have turkey sandwiches for lunch and the ham for dinner.

We went out today to the post office.  We have a mail box there and wanted to check what had come in.  I had to walk in the busy street from where we were parked to where there was a cut through the snow to the cleared sidewalk (about half way between the car and post office.  Just about no mail, but we went out and had some are.  Temperatures continue in the 30's Fahrenheit and will continue to be so.  We had a problem starting on the driveway - the car had frozen to the ground!  Once we got started we had no problem. 

See, we worried for nothing - well almost nothing.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -

Just because something is free does not mean you have to take it.

No, really - you don’t. 

Some decades ago I was opening a new bank account for us.  There was a choice of gifts when one did so at the bank where the account was being opened.  The employee who was opening the account, as the finish to the process of opening it, took me to a table and told me to pick which item I wanted.  I looked at the small airline type bag and the other assorted items with the name of the bank on them and said “Thank you.  I appreciate it, but I don’t want anything.”  She was shocked.  “But it’s free!”  I went on to thank her again and explain that there was nothing there we had a use for and therefore I was not going to take anything.  For sometime after I was known at the bank branch as “she’s the one who didn’t take a gift”.
                               
I go to trade shows and do not take the free bags, etc. - I don’t need them. 

It is okay to consider what the item(s) offered is and whether it is of any value to you.  You do not have to take something just because it is free.  Free things just pile up in the house and make more clutter.  I don’t know how many bags we have gotten because they are free and husband says “but we might need it and  - it’s free”.  Almost all of them have now been donated to get rid of them.                 

These applies to food samples also.  There are many times I walk around in Costco and do not take any of the free samples.  When I do take a sample it is something I like (or might like if I try it) and something which is not something I should not eat due to medical conditions.  If I take a sample I take one - not every sample on the tray (yes, people do that).  While the food samples will not pile up in my house - they will pile up in me.

One can also make a contribution to a charity without accepting the gift that is being given for make the contribution. 

Think about how many free items have piled up in your house. 

Next time you are offered something for free - think about what you will do it with it - do you need it?  Do you like it?  Or are you just taking it because it is FREE?