Pangaea Point of View

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Day 6...

Still a one lane goat path down the middle of our road. No plows in sight. 10"-17" of snow predicted for tomorrow. This is going to get interesting! I'm glad to be born and bred New Englander!

I wish we lived on a hill because our road would be an amazing luge run!

Note how far back the mailboxes are from the snow line. We predict June to be the next time we receive mail.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

In Blizzard Juno, we got at least two feet of snow. It blew so hard for so long that it's hard to tell where the snow in the 3, 4, 5 foot drifts would have ended up without the wind. We were completely blocked in the house except for one door from the kitchen that Mother Nature kept clear with a raging wind tunnel.

By the time the wind settled down and the snow stopped falling, it was Wednesday morning - almost 36 hours of storming!

A had had to work all day Tuesday and it took him almost three hours to get home on a drive that usually takes him about 35 minutes. A few miles from our house, a woman in a sedan, a car with NO business being on the road, high-centered in a drift near the airport and because crews had only managed to keep one lane sort of open, the 15-20 vehicles behind her were stuck with no option of turning around. After an hour or so, the town's front end loader came and cleared the way and A picked his way home only to get high-centered at the end of our driveway in his truck. It was DEEP! We shoveled him in so he could get off the road.

The view of him trying to get in the driveway.

Wednesday morning arrived bright and clear so he headed out with a shovel to get started. About 20 minutes into shoveling, our neighbor told him he had an extra snowblower that just needed a shear pin and we were welcome to use it if we could find a pin. A quick (considering the roads) trip to the store and we were in business!

We spent the next five hours clearing our driveway, a path in the yard for the dogs, a path to our wood shed, finishing off cleaning up a friend's driveway down the street, and then clearing the driveway of an older couple two doors down. I had walked by their house a few times and saw that they were attempting to shovel the whole thing by hand and by the time we knocked on the door, they had given up for the day. At first they refused the offer (we've only met these neighbors once in the 7 years we've lived here so they didn't recognize me) but when I insisted on at least getting some of the driveway open for them, he relented. In the end, we did the whole driveway and they were SO grateful. We know he's got a bad back from years as a stone mason and she weighs about 84lbs (but is pretty feisty!) so we were happy to help!

As we were doing that, the neighbor we borrowed the machine from cleared some of the road and all around the fire hydrant. We had already had a visit from the fire department during the peak of the storm due to a carbon monoxide issue at another neighbor's house.

Many people are complaining that their roads haven't been plowed but this was a HUGE storm to handle so we did what we could to take care of ourselves and our neighbors.

This was a low spot they could get around in.

The best part, as far as the dogs were concerned that with no vehicles coming or going, the road was theirs to romps on! One of my neighbors can't seem to sit still at home so he went out a couple of times during the storm which at least put down some tracks for the dogs to run in. Otherwise the snow was over their shoulders and hard to play or do business in!

Not outdoor shower season!

Approaching the front door.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Makeover day...

I didn't INTEND for it to be "makeover day" for me. I had hoped at best to get my insanely out of control hair somewhat tamed. The rest just happened.

I'm on a clandestine weekend with one of my besties and once the hair was done, I mentioned wanting to learn how to apply a little makeup. I just want the ability and knowledge to put on a little something for special events... Certainly nothing garish and certainly NOT every day!

So my dear friend helped me play with some of her makeup before we headed off to Ulta to buy some of my own.

Poor Cory. Cory is the male manager who got stuck with me and my dry, sensitive, chemical-free, organic-only skin plus my cheapskate budget. He patiently helped me with a couple of options and then when I gasped at the price of a tiny tube of foundation (which I didn't really want because it makes me feel smothered), he politely (and I suspect, fictitiously) excused himself to help an employee with a question. But he didn't scoot away before strongly suggesting that I get my eyebrows waxed. Game point, Cory.

I wasn't opposed to getting them waxed. I now (after today's searing, painful reminder) do remember at least one other home-waxing-gone-wrong of my eyebrows but I was willing to give a professional a shot at it.

One question scrolled through my mind during the whole experience (which is done at a booth in the middle of the sales floor - presumably so I can screech with each yank!)... "HOW ON EARTH does ANYONE allow a person with hot wax and the rip strips ANYwhere south of their chin?!?!?!?!?!?!"

Anyway... With my new items and my new, sleeker and slightly uneven eyebrows, we came back to the hotel where I tried to employ my new skills. B says it looked great. A says he liked it but NOT for every day, just special occasions. (I love that man!) The jury is still out for me as it's SUCH a foreign concept and look for me in the mirror.

I did snap this picture that I liked but it's because I finally see clearly why people have thought that my niece Anna is my daughter. It's a grand compliment when they say that because she is so beautiful!

So... It was a fun day. I learned some new things. And B and I had fun running around in the snow with our silly little errands and no rush to be anywhere and just generally enjoying each other's company.

The other upside is that the salon where I got my hair cut is also a beautiful Moroccan spa and will be a perfect place to go with the girls during our March getaway!