I sent kids to school today!

This is the view out my office window when I am standing. This is what I can see when I am sitting at my desk. Nice insulators?

Fortunately the sun is peeking through today and temperatures have been in the forties yesterday and today. The plow came again yesterday morning around 4:00. I was planning on leaving for swim class at 5:00. I did my warm up round with the shovel first, for the third time in as many weeks. Then I drove to the community college, which was open yesterday, for my swim class. Today we can see our roads, everything is dripping and melting, and soon we will be ready for the next round of snow. I am thrilled that the kids are back in school after five extra days off. Now Mario is all mine.

Is there such a thing as enough snow?

Today the radio suggested that the usual snowfall total to date is 16 inches for the season. As of this morning we were over 70 inches. I am happy I can still navigate my driveway and my street. I am also happy that some stores are still open. They are the ones with the foresight to shovel out their flat roofs before others started collapsing. I ordered something for store pickup for my boy this morning, only to find the store closed due to snow removal from the roof. I stopped by an open grocery store to refill the pantry while we were out.

This afternoon, I stepped into my skis to travel more lightly on the snow. It seems this signal only offers pedestrian crossing privileges to mice and squirrels.My first stop was liquid water. I have always said I prefer my water wet, and this is the closest place to home to find it. They were closed yesterday, as was the school I usually frequent for swimming laps.I think they need a taller sign.My next stop was the county library to return a book.My son has had his eye on a particular game for the new game machine. This store's website said they had one this morning, but the store was closed. When I returned, long after the promised opening, they were still shut. This time there was a gas leak. I was not too concerned, as all the employees were out front smoking when I skied up. I figure they were just testing the air for me.
When they opened, shortly after I arrived, they had the game, but not the desired accessory to make play fun for a second player.I meandered down the strip mall to this joint in pursuit of the item. They were lacking the item as well. He said something about supply trucks having a difficult time getting to the store. I did locate another game that had a different steering wheel in it and did not cost too much more than the spare wheel. My boy is now racing up in front of the telly. He may let the rest of us play soon too.
Really, I like to sit out here and keep an eye on the yard. Occasionally, I turn around and check to see if you are still there too.
The latest news from the school district is that I am keeping my children home again tomorrow. Will Christmas Vacation ever end?

Speed Racer

The first racer you see is not my boy. I tell you when I can see him at the top of the hill. Something happened to the other guy and he never finished.

Ski racing again

My favorite ski racer. I can say that, because I only have one this year. The skis look the same this year, but they are new bigger ones. I climbed on my cross country skis to search for the race course. There was a view from here this time, unlike last time.

It looks like I found a race course.

I think I can see the same lake from here too.

I only think I have skied a long way back to the lodge to arrive at this point. I have a few more kilometers to go.

Happy New Year

I have been too busy living life to report on all of it. I have enough to do with my life without adding Twitter to the mix. I think Facebook is out for the moment as well. Somewhere I have a MySpace page that I have ignored for a long time. I removed Skype from my computer after it hijacked every phone number on every website I visited. I use the internet to find phone numbers, and I could not see them or get Skype to leave them alone. If I find a fix for that, I may reinstall the program. For the moment, I still check my email and answer my cell phone when I have service. I even reply to text messages on occasion.

I am not sure everyone needs to know about each shovelful of snow I move. Off the street. Over my head. Onto the pile. Thanks for asking. According to the local paper, at least 28 roofs have collapsed. Many of the local "Big Box" stores have closed temporarily for snow removal from the roof, including my favorite Walmart and Costco. No home roofs have fallen yet. We have left our snow alone, because it keeps dripping off the edge to lighten the load.

I have been spending lots of time sitting in the ski lodge, watching kids ski, and wandering around on the ski hill to see how they are doing.Snow load is an issue for more than just buildings. The gap between the snow on top of this one and the snow on the ground is the bottom of the windows. I could actually see through it.I am not sure what the load capacity is for these, but my vehicle suggests no more than 200 pounds be carried on the roof. The local estimate is about 20PSF of snow, and I am guessing the roof on this little one is more than 10 square feet. We will see what comes out of cold storage in the spring.We took a walk in the snow through the forest on New Year's Day. Two nice people with snowshoes made a decent trail to follow. It is probably full of snow again.My Shadow joined us on our walk. She is sitting on a sidewalk here.
I also walk from one lodge to the other and back for exercise. Today the lift line was long here, because one of the other lifts was not working. There usually is no line for this lift.My girl hard at work on her new job by the other lodge. The job comes with the spiffy jacket, which she will return at the end of the season.Inside out boy.Not really snowing, just a few flakes on the car.I drive by these guys on my way home from the ski hill, which is about their dinner time every day.