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By Cathie Shaffer
A very long time ago, I decided to abandon the cold lands of my birth - northwest Ohio - in search of someplace with a change of seasons but not the harsh winters I hated. My family tried western Kentucky before moving east and settling here. This last week or so did a great job of reminding me why we left
I hate winter. Hate the snow, the cold, the need for layer of clothing just to the store ... you get the idea. So the ice and snow dumped on us over the past 10 days has been beyond depressing.
I was already not so happy before the power went out. As a kid, I was used to that. My dad would bring the propane heater from his workshop into the house, fill one of those old, big milk cans with water and we could tough it out. I was so not prepared living in the city as I do. The one saving grace was my gas stove. y daughter came over from next door (poor thing; she has an electric range) and we made coffee. Then we set a kettle of water simmering while I started a pot of beans on another burner.
The kitchen was tolerable. The rest of the house was downright cold. I went to bed at eight p.m. with all the blankets I could find piled on me plus the dog. She is a little furnace in her own right and I didn't object when she snuggled under the blankets with me. Body heat is good.
I abandoned the dog and cat to their own device plus a pile of blankets when I came to the office the next day. I couldn't even find flower pots to do that clay pot and candles heating trick so I reconciled myself to another cold night when I walked in the house. The joy that filled me when the power suddenly came on was nearly indescrible. Within a half hour, I was warm enough to take off my stocking cap and gloves. While the upstairs bathroom was still too chilly for a shower, the bedroom was tolerable and most of the extras blankets could come off.
The second challenge was caused by my own failure to predict. I should have covered my windshield before the ice came but of course, I didn't. Nor did I think to pop the wipers up. So when I wanted to get out on Tuesday, it took running the car on and off for an hour to just clear the glass. Getting the ice off from around the wipers was a team effort. I chopped and whacked for a while. My daughter helped after getting her van's wipers free. And my grandgirl's boyfriend, he of superior strength and a better ice scraper, finished the job.
Have I mentioned I hate winter? Well, I do. And these past few days have reminded me of how cheap flights to Florida are and how, with a little planning, I could have been sitting on the beach instead of a 45-degree house.
I hate winter. Hate the snow, the cold, the need for layer of clothing just to the store ... you get the idea. So the ice and snow dumped on us over the past 10 days has been beyond depressing.
I was already not so happy before the power went out. As a kid, I was used to that. My dad would bring the propane heater from his workshop into the house, fill one of those old, big milk cans with water and we could tough it out. I was so not prepared living in the city as I do. The one saving grace was my gas stove. y daughter came over from next door (poor thing; she has an electric range) and we made coffee. Then we set a kettle of water simmering while I started a pot of beans on another burner.
The kitchen was tolerable. The rest of the house was downright cold. I went to bed at eight p.m. with all the blankets I could find piled on me plus the dog. She is a little furnace in her own right and I didn't object when she snuggled under the blankets with me. Body heat is good.
I abandoned the dog and cat to their own device plus a pile of blankets when I came to the office the next day. I couldn't even find flower pots to do that clay pot and candles heating trick so I reconciled myself to another cold night when I walked in the house. The joy that filled me when the power suddenly came on was nearly indescrible. Within a half hour, I was warm enough to take off my stocking cap and gloves. While the upstairs bathroom was still too chilly for a shower, the bedroom was tolerable and most of the extras blankets could come off.
The second challenge was caused by my own failure to predict. I should have covered my windshield before the ice came but of course, I didn't. Nor did I think to pop the wipers up. So when I wanted to get out on Tuesday, it took running the car on and off for an hour to just clear the glass. Getting the ice off from around the wipers was a team effort. I chopped and whacked for a while. My daughter helped after getting her van's wipers free. And my grandgirl's boyfriend, he of superior strength and a better ice scraper, finished the job.
Have I mentioned I hate winter? Well, I do. And these past few days have reminded me of how cheap flights to Florida are and how, with a little planning, I could have been sitting on the beach instead of a 45-degree house.