I'm down for the count with a cold. Daughter Megan is getting over hers, and Pam hasn't come down with it (yet). But there are things that we need to do before we head for Florida. Jeremiah the Horse and his trailer are safe at a stable, and so that means that I don't need to plow Judi and Earl's driveway anymore. Bessie the Tractor was parked in front of Earl's garage door, and the flatbed trailer was stuck on ice in the driveway. I needed to move them. So I took a Dayquill, waited about a half an hour, and then hied myself over there to move things.
I also brought along a chainsaw, a vodka bottle full of gasoline for it, bar oil, a tape measure, and a walkie talkie for project number two. The first group of items was to cut supports to shore up the roof of Todd the Trailer. The walkie talkie was to call for help if I dropped anything on my head.
I drove over and parked the Buick at the head of the driveway. I walked in, carrying a lighter to thaw out the ignition key, which was frozen solid. After doing so, Bessie started up without too much fuss. I backed her up to the flatbed trailer, hooked up a chain, started to tow it out, and Bessie died. Out of gas. I only had about 20 more feet to go. I went to the Buick, filled up the chainsaw with gas from the vodka bottle, and poured the rest in Bessie's tank. She fired right up again, and I towed the trailer where it would be out of the way. I covered it with a tarp, and then hiked back to the Buick.
I fetched the chainsaw, bar oil, empty vodka bottle of gas, tape measure, and walkie talkie, and hiked into our property next door to Judi and Earl's. I could see Pam's footprints in the driveway. She retrieved two yellow jerry jugs to put kerosene in and would do so before coming back up the mountain. I got to Todd the Trailer and went to our secret key location... no keys. So I put all of my stuff in the dumptruck where it would be out of the weather, hiked back to the Buick, drove back to the Unabomber Cabin, and celebrated with a victory beer.
Later, Pamela and Megan arrived with groceries, laundry, and kerosene in preparation for the nasty weather that's forecast for the next 36 hours. This is yesterday's Intellecast forecast;
"I took the keys. Someone might see my footprints in the snow and find the keys"
"But we're going to get a foot of snow, maybe more, starting in a few hours."
"I've got them in my pocket."
"Yeah, but that's not the key place, and we might lose them."
"No we won't."
Famous last words.
Now our next challenge is firewood. We're almost out. We had plenty, but our departure was delayed, and the temps bitter cold, so we burn more. Phone calls to the local firewood suppliers show that they all work for local DPW crews, and they're going to be pretty busy for the next few days. We have enough wood to last until maybe Saturday.
I also brought along a chainsaw, a vodka bottle full of gasoline for it, bar oil, a tape measure, and a walkie talkie for project number two. The first group of items was to cut supports to shore up the roof of Todd the Trailer. The walkie talkie was to call for help if I dropped anything on my head.
I drove over and parked the Buick at the head of the driveway. I walked in, carrying a lighter to thaw out the ignition key, which was frozen solid. After doing so, Bessie started up without too much fuss. I backed her up to the flatbed trailer, hooked up a chain, started to tow it out, and Bessie died. Out of gas. I only had about 20 more feet to go. I went to the Buick, filled up the chainsaw with gas from the vodka bottle, and poured the rest in Bessie's tank. She fired right up again, and I towed the trailer where it would be out of the way. I covered it with a tarp, and then hiked back to the Buick.
I fetched the chainsaw, bar oil, empty vodka bottle of gas, tape measure, and walkie talkie, and hiked into our property next door to Judi and Earl's. I could see Pam's footprints in the driveway. She retrieved two yellow jerry jugs to put kerosene in and would do so before coming back up the mountain. I got to Todd the Trailer and went to our secret key location... no keys. So I put all of my stuff in the dumptruck where it would be out of the weather, hiked back to the Buick, drove back to the Unabomber Cabin, and celebrated with a victory beer.
Later, Pamela and Megan arrived with groceries, laundry, and kerosene in preparation for the nasty weather that's forecast for the next 36 hours. This is yesterday's Intellecast forecast;
5-Day Forecast for Bleecker, New York Today: Mostly Cloudy, High: 18 F, Low: 6 F Tomorrow: Snow, High: 9 F, Low: -5 F Friday: AM Snow Showers, High: 0 F, Low: -15 F Saturday: Partly Cloudy, High: 16 F, Low: 10 F Sunday: Cloudy, High: 31 F, Low: 29 F
Forecast Details ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today: Mainly cloudy. A few peeks of sunshine possible. High 18F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight: Cloudy with snow showers becoming a steady accumulating snow later on. Low 6F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches. Tomorrow: Snow likely. Very cold. High 9F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Snow accumulating 4 to 6 inches.
I told Pam about going to the trailer and not finding the keys. I knew exactly what her response would be.
"I took the keys. Someone might see my footprints in the snow and find the keys"
"But we're going to get a foot of snow, maybe more, starting in a few hours."
"I've got them in my pocket."
"Yeah, but that's not the key place, and we might lose them."
"No we won't."
Famous last words.
Now our next challenge is firewood. We're almost out. We had plenty, but our departure was delayed, and the temps bitter cold, so we burn more. Phone calls to the local firewood suppliers show that they all work for local DPW crews, and they're going to be pretty busy for the next few days. We have enough wood to last until maybe Saturday.
Hey Dave & Pam, I think I'm going to get to Florida before you do. I finally decided to take the first step into livingaboardness though it will probably be 3-5 years before I get to it. HOWEVER, I'm going to Miami in February to Strictly Sail and The Miami Boat Show. Can't wait. You don't have a spare $50-100K laying around do you????
ReplyDeleteStay warm and safe!!!