The Storms of February, 2010

We thought we were pretty lucky this winter. We had some snowfalls of 6 to 8 inches, one time a foot of snow was recorded, but Philadelphia and Washington, DC, etc. always seemed to get it worse. We were almost through February and it would be a downhill slide into the warmth of Spring. Stupid Groundhog! I had a feeling when Punxitawny Phil saw his shadow that there would be trouble. We got socked the last week of February, setting snowfall records for our area, as well as Scranton and Wilkes Barre. Yes, I know - Philadelphia set new records for the season. We set new records for largest one day amounts in February, as well as records for most accumulations for February - all in one week.

The good news is my car is in the garage - the bad news is my car is probably going to stay in the garage for about another two weeks. Five foot drifts would test the will of anyone going anywhere if they do not have to. We have my husband's car, which we parked down by the end of the driveway before the snow hit - wise move. After the snowfall, getting to the car was another matter. Neat foot path - we may drive the car up to the house in a couple of weeks too.

I am thinking more about Spring than I normally do, but what I am really looking forward to this year is painting our living room. It has taken us 4 years to figure out what color we would like and it is - beige! A cop-out to be sure, but we have paneling all through this house and, as I have said before, we are afraid to pull it down for fear of what is behind it. For example, if there is no drywall, then we have to put that up first, then paint or whatever. So the idea of what color to paint, or wallpaper over the paneling becomes a major conundrum. So we are going the easy way out with a pale beige so at least this tired paneling is covered and if we have to paint again, we are not trying to cover a bolder color. Four years - cannot rush these things.

We also need some other things looked after around the house. After all this snow - oh, yes, the total is about 3 feet and it is snowing as I type this - I am sure there will be many surprises awaiting us under this white covering. I would like to have some electrical problems resolved, as well as some steps added to the walk behind our house. And the garden again - this year we hope to grow more than squash, or at least I hope to grow other produce. There is always hope...

First Snow

So we had our first snow for the season this week. We received 3 to 4 inches, no biggy, and it was 'fairy tale' snow - it only gathered on the trees and the grass and melted on the roads. No hard freeze that night, so we have a Camelot situation. Pretty good. Now, the bad news - our beautiful fall foliage was still on the trees, so the heavy, wet snow caused some damage and power outages. And we all complained, boy, did we complain. Nothing cheerful about getting snow on October 15. Especially with all the foliage tours and Oktoberfests planned for this weekend.

In the scheme of things, it was not as bad as the first snow last year on October 28. This was predicted, unlike that one, where a few flurries turned into approximately two feet! I noticed many people had a more resigned aura about them. It is going to happen, we will complain, and life goes on. Are we prepared? The stores rushed the snow blowers and salts out front, moving aside the Christmas decorations. (Halloween, Thanksgiving - that stuff is in the back marked down already. One town has their Halloween parade today - not like Halloween is on a Saturday this year - just get it over with!) But I think most people figured this would melt and we would be okay, depending on how many snows they have seen. Now the one that was predicted for tonight into tomorrow is another matter. This one may cause a little panic, as it is associated with a "classic Nor'easter" - batten down the hatches, matey!

On another issue, the flu (scream here). My husband got his flu shot last week - not the H1N1 - and the vaccine was administered into his arm and shot right back out! The pharmacist giving the shot had never seen that happen before - neither had my husband, of course. The two men just sat there and looked at each other for a while, after the original exclamation of "huh?" "What now?" The pharmacist examined the needle - nothing wrong - he examined the arm - nothing wrong - he harrumphed and mumbled and my husband is asking "Well?" No bone was hit, and no offense to my hubby, but his muscles are not that pumped. So, we have to go back in 1 month for another flu shot, for free, because we are not sure if any vaccine got in at all. Weird. Can hardly wait for whatever the H1N1 vaccine brings.

More Introspection

I have been reflecting a lot these days - maybe it is a part of cabin fever. For you weather watchers, we are expecting a foot of snow in the next 24 hours, at least in the higher elevations, so that means here.

Anyway, introspectively, we have crossed a bridge in our country that I honestly never thought I would live to see. I remember the 'race riots' of the 1960's and the animosity that festered then. I also remember my father and oldest brother being the two biggest racists that I will ever know, my brother being the worst. If they were alive now, they would be sure the world is doomed.

My father was an "Archie Bunker" from All In The Family - they could have modeled the character after him. And yet, that was one of his favorite TV shows. I do not think he understood the main character was flawed; I think he thought he was right. My father hated certain ethnic groups - actually, I think he hated all ethnic groups - but he had an interesting array of friends. One of his best friends was actually a black man who was 'passin' - pretending to be Italian. My father never put that together, even when the daughter was very dark and had very curly hair. My mother told me about the guy having to do what was best for his family and I should not tell my father. The daughter was one of my friends in grade school and we never discussed the issue, as that was how it was done then.

We lived for a time near the Garden State Parkway, and during the riots in Asbury Park a gentleman's car broke down, so he came to our house to use the phone for help. He was very nervous, as he was an African American man entering into a white family's home, pretty far from other houses and in the middle of the night, amidst all the racial tension. My mother answered the door, let him in and gave him a cup of coffee and a couple of aspirin. After he took the aspirin, he panicked and was obviously afraid that my mother had poisoned him. It took a lot to reassure him that there was nothing wrong. I remember pondering how he was as frightened of us as we had been taught to be frightened of him. My father was asleep upstairs during all this. Being deaf, he did not hear anything, and as usual, my mother said I should never tell my father about the incident. But it made me realize that this was a person, not the stereotype that my father, and later my brother, preached about.

My father gave me a lecture once on who to marry. By the time he was done, there was pretty much nobody left! No Catholics, no Jews, no Blacks, no Orientals, etc. I took it all to mean that nobody was good enough for his little girl, but he was serious and threatened dis-ownment if I crossed any of the lines. I will say here, the lines were crossed...

My brother was so prejudiced that he would quit jobs if he were forced to work with someone outside his beliefs. And yet his first marriage was to a woman from a foreign country! Hard to figure, but I am sure he would threaten to move to Canada if he were alive today.

I am sure there are people still like my father and brother today. I hope they are more open to a dialogue to resolve their issues. Or they at least stay quiet.

A Trip to IKEA

We have many places to shop up here, but we do not have any place like IKEA. I am a big fan of that store; it amazes me how the furniture and home goods are designed for limited incomes and space. After all, I am frugal (frugal=cheap), and my husband and I have gotten some pretty good deals in the things we need over the years, especially at their original Plymouth Meeting store. This time, we needed a new mattress.

We have purchased IKEA mattresses before; they are usually well suited for our body frames and the cost is affordable. The nearest IKEA is Elizabeth, NJ, so we planned a day trip on a weekday to avoid the crowds. I looked up the directions on their website, thinking they may have insight into a shorter/faster route. I really should know better! After a tour of the Ironbound section of Newark, NJ - following the directions as written - we arrived at the store in time for lunch. Of course, the weekend crowds had depleted the menu items available in the restaurant, so we had some of what was available. Swedish meatballs are always good, right?

Anyone who has purchased a mattress knows you have to do a lot of laying down, and try each type available. After choosing the mattress, we had to load it into the car. Did I mention we have a Toyota? It has flip down rear seats, but this was a queen-size mattress. It would have fit, too, since the mattress is sold rolled and shrink-wrapped - if the car did not have this area behind the seats that frames in the opening to the trunk - if that were not there, we would have simply slipped it into the car. A friendly IKEA employee offered to help, so there were three of us trying to get this inner-spring mattress into a Toyota trunk, yelling at the top of our lungs at each other. The yelling was because the Elizabeth IKEA is next to Newark airport and it was prime-time in jet landing land! At one point my husband pulled the poor employee off his feet (he was a little guy) when he did not hear that my husband planned to spin the mattress around. I was thinking by this time, 'if I see this on one of those hidden camera shows...'

Tying the mattress to the top of the car is not a good idea - we did that once years ago and drove around the Washington, DC Beltway with my husband holding the thing on when a truck sent an updraft and almost sent our mattress (and car) into the next state. We learned then, and several times again with other items, that there always has to be a better way than tying anything on top of the car.

We came home a more tried and true way, but of course now we hit the real rush hour for people coming home from work. So we are in heavy traffic almost all the way home with a mattress sticking out of the trunk of the car. When we reached home, we were so exhausted from the noise, traffic, general stress, that we went to bed like a school night. After all, the next day, we were expecting more snow!

By the way, we did not get snow - we got freezing rain and ice. Much worse for driving. However, I got up last night around 4 am to see the moon coming in our west-facing window and reflecting off the ice covered trees. Sparkling ice crystals and brilliant white snow - Hollywood could not have created a more beautiful scene.

Second Thoughts

When I started this blog, my intentions (always good intentions!) were to post at least once a week. As shown by the dates of the postings, that went well! It is not that we do not have things happen to us, or that there is nothing to write about; it is just the usual inertia that occurs in everyday life.

We started this adventure in the Poconos knowing many of the difficulties, problems, anxieties that would occur as a result. Still, I must admit that the things happening lately have made us start second guessing our original motives. Of course, there is the economy - this area in the Northern Poconos was a little depressed to begin with. The commerce of this region relies heavily on tourism and, fortunately, gas prices made the area a very attractive place to vacation this summer. Now the whole national economy seems to be tanking and history shows that tourism is one of the first things to be affected. Jobs are being cut everywhere, and this area is no different.

Then there is the weather this year. It has affected us a lot, first with power outages and 16 inches in October, then 10 inches last week, followed by freezing rain making roads very treacherous. My husband had a bang up with our car scraping a guide rail to avoid a deer - again! And our other vehicle has somehow 'lost' its Drive and Reverse - it now only goes forward in 1 or 2 (automatic transmission), but if you rev it up, you can shift to Drive. Just do not get caught where you have to back up. However, now that the Christmas holiday is over, we should be able to take it to a 'guy' - he seems to feel it is an easy fix. Hope it is not too expensive.

As a result of these incidents, we are becoming very cautious driving with any type of inclement weather. I hate living in fear that the next incident could be really bad... I am beginning to think Delaware - near the ocean and not that many storms. Could buy a foreclosed house, but then there is selling this one and after what we went through with selling the house in NJ, I don't think we want to go through that again soon.

Then we see the beautiful sunsets, or how the snow sparkles on a clear sunny day. We remember that we do not get the summer heat. We see an eagle fly over our property, and we remember that we have property and rarely see or hear our neighbors. Utility costs and property taxes are relatively low and the people we meet are, by and large, friendly and helpful. Just last week, a guy with a tractor saw my husband digging the car out and asked if he could help. He plowed our driveway, and drove off before we could offer him any sort of remuneration! We have to find him and thank him somehow, even though I know he does not expect it.

I just have to remember the good parts.

Surprise!

The end of October, when people are preparing for Halloween, Election Day and SNOW? On October 28th we had the surprise of our lives with a Nor'easter that dumped over a foot of snow on our little mountain top. The weather forecasters (as my husband says, people who never get fired for getting it wrong) predicted 1 to 4 inches with a slight possibility of more 'in higher elevations.' Where are we - Mt Everest? We are only a little higher than Scranton, but we got creamed when they received only a dusting to 2 inches. Of course, we are on the weather line, but people in the next town over did not get even 3 inches of snow.

Okay, so the snow is one thing, but we also lost the cable/Internet connection first, then all power for over 24 hours. My husband and I were so unprepared. We should have drawn water, gotten lanterns/flashlights/candles ready. We should have had wood for the fireplace. We should have had food. We should have parked the car at the end of the driveway. We should have had our winter clothes unpacked, including boots...

For a total of two days we were stuck at the top of our hill, one car in a snow bank, the other buried and without snow tires. We had no heat, as the new boiler furnace was to be installed on October 30 (there is timing gone wrong) and with no electric we could not run space heaters. We had no water, because we have a well with a pump, so we got our old charcoal grill out and melted snow to flush the toilets ("a hobo fire") - fortunately we had just bought bottled water for drinking. It was cold, dark, and we were just getting to the point of calling a taxi, mushing through the snow to the road - which was clear - and staying at a motel when the power came back.

So why didn't we leave and stay somewhere else sooner? Well, experience tells us that power does not stay off that long and we wanted to stay here for our pets and in case anything else happened - like pipes bursting, or whatever.

Things work out eventually. We have power, we have our new heater, and we got one car out to make it to the store. The other car is still stuck in a snow bank, (that happened when we tried to drive it out of its parking place and skidded down another hill on our property) but we are expecting a spate of 60 degree days, so it should be melted out soon. Then again, can we trust what the weather people say??? I think we will be buying a large, gas powered snow thrower soon - our current model is electric and a lot of good that did us.

Pocono People

This past winter gave us a true idea about the people who live in the mountains year around. Because the winters can be rough, a self-sufficiency is developed. We have one neighbor who will drive to the store on his tractor when the roads get too covered. Pretty inventive, especially when he is wearing his bright yellow rain suit over his winter clothes - on his bright blue tractor. At least he is visible and he is not going to let a little snow keep him home! I see that this is where a four-wheel drive vehicles were developed to be used.

The common point of conversation becomes "How about that snowfall?' or "How did you make out driving in that weather?" or "Any damage to your (choose one or more) house, car, boat, shed, truck, etc?" We wanted to get inventive this year and use our old Volvo, which could not pass inspection and should not be driven on the road, to plow our driveway. We had a large sheet of heavy aluminum left out by our barn, so we thought we could tie it to the front of the vehicle and plow - right! That so did not work the first time, so my husband went to the local hardware store to get something stronger to tie the metal to the car. Two hours later he came back from the hardware store with so many ideas he did not know which to try first. The concept intrigued the salespeople and most of the customers in the store - it became a real brain storming session! For months afterward, anytime my husband went into the store, he was asked if the concept worked at all (it didn't) or did we try another way (we did). We ended up selling the Volvo - we still see it being driven by a guy who was willing to put in the time to get the thing to pass inspection - or something like that.

A little thing can become a big event, especially during a dull winter. My car was totaled after sliding on ice and banging into a rock and a tree on my husband's ride back from the closing on our old house in NJ; he was just three miles from the new house. Fortunately, someone was riding by the accident when my husband was getting out of the car and stopped to help.

This was a strange phone call for me to receive:

"Hello, your husband just had an accident with your car and he asked us to call you to come get him."
Excuse me?
"Your husband asked us to call you to tell you to come get him."
Why didn't he call me?
"No cell phone signal where he was, so we rode down the road so we could call you."
Thank you and I guess he is okay?
"Oh he is fine, but he is afraid of how you will react."
Right...

I never got the woman's name who called, but thank goodness she did. By the time I got to the scene, there were (no exaggeration) 8 cars of first aid and fire volunteers, 5 cars of looky-loos and a state police cruiser. It was like everybody came look at the excitement of a car wreck on a Tuesday night! And I show up - in my nightgown with a winter coat thrown over top! But really, everyone was so kind and concerned.

Finding a Home

When do most people look for new homes? Spring, right? Possibly Summer or Fall, but not Winter. Well, we started in Winter - January, in fact. Fortunately, the realtor we used was young and willing (read, hungry) to go through the cold and snow and show us all the houses - many, many houses - that we wanted to see. Many of the houses, because it was off-season, were not heated, driveways not plowed, in some cases entire screen rooms and windows boarded up. Required some imagination to determine a potential in some of the properties!

We discussed our needs with the realtor, set our budget, reviewed the Pike/Wayne Realtors' website and off we went. There are many roads that do not get plowed in winter and we found most of them! And no, we did not have the requisite four wheel drive vehicle that appears to be pervasive up here; we soon found out why everyone seems to have them. Good thing my husband and our realtor had good upper body strength. But it was only a small car we had to keep pushing out of snow drifts, off ice, etc - only called AAA twice. (Did you know they do towing out of drifts?)

The Houses

Many homes in the area are in communities that provide trash collection, plowing, possibly a pool, sometimes security. After realizing many communities are iffy in the plowing department and consider themselves more seasonal second homes, we determined that a home outside a community would be better. That limited the search a lot. To keep things straight, each place acquired a nickname.

We wanted a view- lake, mountain, forest, but something to look at besides another house - and on a limited budget! One house we called the garage house, had a view that went on for years, with mountains, river, etc., but small - when we say small, the garage was bigger (hence that nickname). Imagine, tiny house, huge garage. And the living room was taken up by a huge stone fireplace, so there was room for maybe two chairs. The kitchen was a 'step saver' - if you took one step, you were no longer in the kitchen! But we seriously considered it - that view!

Another house we were greeted by the owner watching her granddaughter who had the 'croup.' Could we get out any faster? The house was okay, but who noticed after that? So, the "Croup House" was eliminated.

Then we looked at one we called the 'ice house.' We actually had to form a human chain to get down the hill over the ice to look at the house. This one had everything - a view, open concept, ability to add on if we wanted to, but only one bathroom and some strange right-of-way through someone else's yard from the road. But once there it was 5 acres overlooking a greenway preserve. So we put in an offer. The owner wanted to make his fortune on this house, as he was unwilling to budge on anything - wanted to sell strictly as is, at the listed price, no concessions. Amazing, since the house had been on the market for almost a year, empty. Disappointed, we had to walk away - too many 'ifs.'

Another serious consideration was the first one we looked at, which we called "three rivers" because it had 10 acres of property next to where several creeks met to make one river. (I didn't say the nicknames always made sense to everyone, just us.) It had its own pond, two bedrooms, two baths in a manufactured home, some say a trailer, but a big trailer. Some people had built huge luxury homes nearby, but this property was 'rustic.' It also included a small travel trailer near the river, which my husband immediately had envisioned as a music studio. So what was wrong with this place? Nothing, really, I just did not feel at home. Maybe because the owner was very ill in a nursing home, I don't know, but we looked at it three times to be sure. And this is why our realtor deserves his commission - we were not easy people to please, I guess. Still, he considered it all an adventure and we are still friends.