Snowblowing quandary…..and tv snow camp breaks up… February 11, 2010

My Uggs, pillow and Vera Bradley, packed to go home.....

Well, that great old gang of mine is breaking up….probably just in the nick of time. It’s been fun , and a lot of work…but honestly people are just a little fatigued, and I suspect our tolerance for each other’s company might, ummmm… be wearing  just  a smidge thin? You know what I’m saying. No doubt many of you are harboring the same dark feelings  about family members….”If you ask what’s for lunch one more time…”…yeah.   

OK, since everyone is trying to dig out today, here’s a timely question for you, and I ‘m not sure what the answer is either….this is Bob’s philosophical snowblowing quandary: 

 ” Donna, about this neighbor helping neighbors I have a question. I have a snow blower that I paid nearly $1k (wow, Bob, look at you shellin’ out the big bucks!) for a few years ago. The reason I bought it was because as I am getting older it has become harder for me to clear my driveway with a shovel. Of course after I bought it we didn’t get much snow until this year. From sitting around the belts went bad so I had to pay to have them replaced. I live in a development and have many neighbors many who drive better cars then me and whose houses are much nicer then my little rancher. I always have made an effort to help our across the street neighbors with snow removal even back in the shovel days. I never ask for anything in return but they always bring something over. Last week she brought a case of Coors Light over which is probably enough beer to last me until this summer. These neighbors are the only ones that I help. Not because I don’t like my neighbors but because I am limited by my ability to do much more. When I finish my property and my neighbor I am totally wiped. So does that make me a bad neighbor to the rest? Where do you stop if you go to the next house to help? I can’t do the whole development and no one ever offers to help me because even with a snow blower there is some shoveling required. So please give me your opinion how do us that have snow blowers determine who we help and where do we stop? “ 

Bob, I have a neighbor who is probably in the same situation….who do you help and where do you stop? (That reminds me I REALLY need to pick up a case of beer for him!!) My feeling…If you’re wiped after you do those two properties, then you’ve done enough. And if your neighbors don’t come out and help shovel, no matter how nice their cars or houses are, then unfortunately they may be the kind of people who would look out and see the snow blown away and just think, “Great!! Just what we needed!”, and never think about who did it or at what cost.  Snowblowers run on gasoline and sweat equity. I say do you’re doing and forget about it….you’re already a nominee for sainthood. Maybe other will feel differently. Readers? 

 

I love the boots!!

Oh and this is the coolest snow outfit I’ve seen today…love the olive and check out the boots!! 

Snow weekend wrapup…shovels, bread pudding and cats…. February 8, 2010

A lonely, but lovely drive home....the big storm had just begun...

This is what my drive home Friday night looked like….kinda lonely. Most people were off the roads, thank goodness, by 6:30 Friday evening. But this morning coming to work? OMG…cars parked in the street, people walking in the street, drivers who SHOULD NOT BE DRIVING IN THE SNOW BECAUSE THEY DON’T KNOW HOW, and miles of snow and ice alleys, made for ummmmmm…a breathtaking commute. But I made it…I made it. Now we just get ready for another 6 inches, right?

It was an “interesting ” weekend in my neighborhood, as I’m sure it was in yours. A couple neighbors own fairly sizeable snow blowers, and Mike, who lives two doors up from me, is so generous with his time and snow-blowing ability. He helped all of us get our cars ready for a Monday commute…he must have been exhausted.  But not everyone has that kind of neighbor. A guy here at work who lives in Federal Hill, says he has a neighbor who also has a snowblower, and isn’t so generous…..he did his little area around his own car….and ok, I’m finished. Thanks pal. Good neighbor time!!

And a Humvee ambulance got stuck in our hood(as did a snowplow…for 24 hours) and a neighbor’s Mother was inside on her way to the hospital. So 25 or so people came out from their warm houses and dug the Humvee out. The snowplow had to be pulled out by something even bigger than it was.

I do love bread pudding....even when it's squishy...

Sunday, I did make the croissant bread pudding, and while it was good…the croissants were just too soft for my taste, even though I toasted them first. Day old French bread would have had more body…but it still tasted good(come on..croissants with cream butter sugar and eggs?), and made a killer caramel sauce to go with it , by boiling a stick of butter with a half cup of heavy cream and a half cup each brown sugar and regular sugar, and a dash of salt. Yummy.

Oh, and an update on my daughter’s new rescue cat Spencer…he’s even more chillaxed, if that’s possible.

Spencer is extremely worried about unplowed streets....not.

He now realizes that he has fallen into a pot of honey, and has decided to make the best of it. He refused to eat until we bought him some of the super-expensive fancy little tiny cans of cat food(the ones that are $.89 per teeny can!)…and he’s slowly being weaned on to more affordable stuff. Lucky kitty-cat. Hope all of you had a safe, if digging-out weekend. And keep that snow shovel handy….sounds like you’ll need it soon.

Sometimes you just need some caveman…. February 5, 2010

This is how I'm rolling tomorrow...note the superwinch...

Ok, this isn’t to pile on Toyota a little more….but there are have been a few rare times in the perfectly nice relationship between me and my hybrid, that it looks a little…well…wimpy. Most of the time I feel pretty cool in it(I’m sorry, but it’s true)…but there are times when a sensitive car for the new millenium won’t cut it…when you need some caveman.  A guy who works here(and wears shorts to work no matter what the weather) has the biggest monster truck you’ve ever seen(have no idea what brand it is, but it ain’t no hybrid)…with what sounds like  a gazillion horse power. Seriously, I would hate to see his Exxon bill. But it must be said, there is no car I’d rather be coming to work in on Saturday(and yes, I will be here)…than his car. Love it!! He is picking up both Mindy Basara and myself….and hauling us to and from work. We heart you John!! ♥

I hope her family appreciates the expensive chili.....

Made a last minute trip to the grocery store….I know, what a fool….and it was just the madness and empty shelves you would expect. The woman behind me in line with packs of meat(in the picture) said, “This will be the world’s most expensive chili…but that’s the only ground meat they had on the shelves…all the regular hamburger was gone.” Ah yes….procrastinaters can’t be choosers.

My haul this morning....croissant bread pudding, anyone?

And I was kinda in the same boat. I decided (last minute of course) to make a New Orleans bread pudding for a NOLA Superbowl gathering I’m going to Sunday( and yes, I can walk there)…but was there a loaf of French bread in the market? Was there?? Why no there was not…but I figured you can make a pretty mean bread pudding with croissants, right?

mmmm...nutella and cookies...I'm going to his house!

So I grabbed a couple of packs of those, some kitty litter(can you ever have too much?), some carrots(just because), milk(I’m almost out), half and half(for the bread pudding)…..and that was about it. No salad bar was set up( waah!) because it was all hands on deck at checkout! Wasn’t too bad really. Except now I’m wondering if I have any actual sugar at home….plenty of fake stuff, but any real sugar? I honestly don’t know. So perhaps I’ll see you at the grocery store, clawing for that last small sack of sugar!