Woke up yesterday morning ready for action! Got up at about 7:00 and rode the bike trainer for about an hour to get warmed up. Meanwhile, Sarah went outside and got a jump on the shoveling. I love that woman but it was 17 degrees or something and I decided to cool down after the ride and make a pot of coffee. While that was brewing, I was the recipient of a blast of inspiration and decided to make some beignets – we were rooting for the Saints! Cooking the beignets took a little bit of time. The first ones were wayyy to thick and the batter in the middle wasn’t cooking. Took some experimentation to get it right.
I called Sarah back in when the beignets were ready and we ate breakfast together. Then we went out to dig out our cars. After that, we dug out our neighbors car. Felt pretty good when I finished that as they always let the dog out when we go out of town so I was glad to help. I suppose that’s what neighbors do in any event. At that point, I felt pretty good. The back was loose, the hammies were ok and the shoulders were ready for a little more. We were just getting ready to attack the balance of the parking area when my other neighbor hired a guy with a bobcat! Thanks again Marine.
So, we went to a Super Bowl party, had some great Gumbo and watched a great game. Who DAT! I was tired but comfortable: I had struggled but vanquished 2 feet of snow, the team I was rooting for won and I had a great time with some good friends.
Woke up at about 3:00am and my back was screaming. Just the lower back. Agony. Took an Advil and laid in bed until I drifted off. Woke up at about 7:00 (a shade late perhaps) and went downstairs – looking forward to a great cup of coffee. I sat down on the couch, turned on CNBC and heard a dripping sound. It wasn’t the coffee pot. Went over to the window and bloody hell! there was water running down the wall. ICE DAMS. I was very bitter. I knew we had to get the snow off the roof for the gutters to thaw but I wasn’t about to stand on a pitched roof with 2 feet of snow and shovel. I’ll do crazy things but there’s a line.
Sarah ran over to the Depot and got a hoe-looking thing called a “roof shovel”. I cleared the eaves of the bulk of the snow and the water running down the window and the wall started to slow. I’ve been back at it a couple of times – the last was about 5:00 (missed the Council meeting) and enough of the ice has melted that the water is now simply running over the gutter instead of behind it.
Of course, it’s supposed to snow a foot tomorrow so I’ll be out there tomorrow afternoon…
February 9, 2010 at 8:57 am
As one chronic back pain sufferer to another, do you wear one of those waist-back support things when shoveling or other heavy load like that? I have just the standard waist one, although there are ones with suspendors. Does a great job and reduces the back screaming at me a bit 🙂
February 9, 2010 at 3:27 pm
Well darn, Andy. Sorry that you and your
family are having to deal with those
issues. Let me know If I can be of any help.
On city snow challenges, last
night we learned:
– According to Larry, we have already spent
close to 1M on clearing roads- our original
budget, of course, was around 200K.
– The Fire Marshal advised us that
his office closed Mayfield until the roof
structure could be examined by engineers.
The building has been ruled unsafe
for use until that time.
(“Snow” has become a real four-letter
word in Manassas for 2009-10 and
it apparently isn’t over yet.)
February 9, 2010 at 5:15 pm
My sympathies. Holly Morris did a segment on ice dams on Fox 5 –
http://www.myfoxdc.com/subindex/mornings/holly_live
February 9, 2010 at 7:02 pm
The bigest challenge now is figuring an orderly way of schooling the Mayfield kids in an alternate facility or facilities. This is a real logistical challenge for those having to deal with it. A good time for cool heads to prevail.
February 10, 2010 at 8:24 am
Wonder why our newest school might not be holding up, yet our older ones seem to be holding up just fine. Not jumping to conclusions, just a bit surprised.
February 10, 2010 at 8:49 am
Copied my post from another blog because it’s worth noting here:
Mayfield’s principal is Jeff Abt, who worked out of a trailer on the construction site for a whole year before the physical site was completed in 2006.
I have no doubt this 2009 graduate of Leadership Prince William will take the temporary loss of his physical site is as a challenge and lead appropriately.
I hope he gets the support he needs from the Mayfield family of staff, students and parents — and anyone else who’s willing to volunteer. A great opportunity to rally.
And thank God for whoever caught the point of stress on the roof.