Thursday, January 31, 2019

January Went By Fast


Christmas came and went this year at breakneck speed.  This was our first year with a fake tree and I have to admit the change wasn't all bad.  The tree was a tiny little thing that Ann's daughter replaced with a larger one.  I liked the fact the tree fit in the corner and needles weren't falling off every time I sneezed.  




I didn't put up much for decorations outside for a change, so taking them back down again the first week in January wasn't more than a half hour ordeal, compared to 2017 when I went a bit overboard.
 



 When we finished the tufa tower last fall, we placed a lantern we'd bought at an antique store on top.  Not wanting to run power to the lantern (because we always seem to change the landscaping around here) I rolled up a coil of outdoor solar lights in the middle and on sunny days the lantern stays lit for several hours at night, even during our short daylight hours.  I guess calling the lantern an 'antique' is stretching it a bit, though the newspaper which was stuffed inside to prevent breakage was from 1971.  
We're just coming out of a polar vortex event, at least I guess that's what the weather people are calling it.  We were down to -30F with nasty -50? windchills this week and it hasn't been a whole lot of fun.  We had a big snowstorm on Sunday night going into Monday and then the temperatures plummeted with a brisk west wind.  It's been a strain for everyone but thankfully, it's coming to an end.  

The 574 decided it wanted to sit this storm out and left us to warm ourselves by doing snow removal the old-fashioned way, with a shovel.  The tractor was not running well on Monday night and I called our good friend Adam to come take a look at it on Wednesday.  By Wednesday, the temperature had dropped all the way down to -27F, and the engine would barely turn over.  After pulling the dipstick and seeing the oil was the consistency of caramel, we decided to let snow blowing go until the temperature rises to a less ridiculous number.  There's no sense in ruining an engine if it is not necessary.

Adam dropped me off at home and I set to re-shoveling out the driveway that had drifted back shut since 5AM when Carl and Joel had dug out Carl's car.  
 I only did half the driveway since I was not intending to go anywhere anyway.  We haven't had garbage pickup this week and no mail or schools open for the last three days.  Even by Wisconsin standards, this was a Big Deal.  

Carl's car kept stalling (luckily, it would start again) but he was only able to get it up to 25mph.  We're not sure what was causing that problem, probably gas line freeze up, despite the fact Joel bought some Heet to add to the gas of all of our vehicles.  Thankfully, Carl was able to limp the car to and from work, just at a lot slower speed.

It's a good thing Carl added the hanging frames to the tree grates, at least when it snows and the drifts pile up, we'll know where the driveway is.
 Backing out of the driveway is much easier, you just have to be between the grates.  Of course, now that our driveway is a ridiculously wide 40' wide span, we shouldn't have a problem backing out of it.  (The tree grate pictures were taken in early January when we had very little snow.)
Speaking of the driveway and the new culvert, it was a good thing we finally did get that project out of the way as we are set to embark on a whopper of a new project in mid-June.......finally, at long last, the remodeling of this old hut.

Is this a good idea, especially when we are one of the host gardens for the American Hosta Society National Convention tour this June?  

We all know the answer to that question.  NO!!!

But guess who decided we'd go ahead with this anyway?  

Us.  

The day after the convention (if nothing else prevents it) we're tearing the roof off this place.  

Oh boy..........






8 comments:

Alison said...

Glad to hear you are so far surviving the polar vortex. It used to get pretty cold when we lived in Massachusetts, but never -30. Smart to stay in as much as possible.

outlawgardener said...

Happy that the polar vortex will be ending soon and hopefully things will return to normal for you. Love the picture of your Christmas tree behind the beveled panel. Is that part of a handrail on your stairs? Gorgeous! Keep warm and stay safe. You work so hard and I'm not surprised that you're taking on another huge project in June. You're such an inspiration.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Glad to read you are surviving the frigid temperatures.

May your house renovations go smoothly.

Love, hugs & prayers for you and Carl ~ FlowerLady

P.S. I love my little rose-in-hearts stained glass window. It brightens my living room with love and sweet memories of my life with my dear husband. Thank you again for your kindness. You made and sent this to me soon after Mark left, and I enjoy it in my south facing living room window every single day I am blessed with.

Karen said...

Alison, yes, it was a tad cold here. We were lucky though, the geothermal furnace kept up and we had no power outages either, so besides the snow issues and cars acting up, we did ok.

Karen said...

outlawgardener, thank you, and yes, the window is part of the upstairs railings that Carl welded up, but for some reason of the five windows we built for the railings, we only installed one. Even I don't know why we never finished it, but now that we're going to remodel, I'm leaning toward replacing the railings with wood, but if Carl has his way, that won't happen. :-)

Karen said...

Rainey, thank you for your best wishes on this house remodeling project. I am so glad that the little window brings you joy, you are so dear to my heart. Sending love and hugs to you in sunny Florida!

Indie said...

Oh that is so very cold, especially to be shoveling in! I love your tufa tower with the lantern. I didn't decorate nearly as much this year either, with my mom being sick, but that did make for very easy clean-up at least.

chavliness said...

I kept thinking of you whenever the polar vortex business was mentioned on the news. I never experienced such cold temperatures; I start sniveling at the first site of a snow flake :-)
I'm glad you posted an update and it's good to know you keep your wits about AND your sense of humor. Thank goodness for the tree grates, not only are they beautiful but also functional as they help locate the driveway.