Brief Reprieve

The weather actually cooperated today and did not snow or rain for the first time in days. I took advantage of that fact and left the house. However, that required putting chains on the car.

All I can say about snow chains is that whoever wrote the instructions on the ones I bought ought to be shot. They were NOT self-explanatory as the jolly man at Les Schwab said on Saturday. Luckily, there were pictures, so I was able to figure out some of what I was supposed to do. The first set of chains on the passenger side front went on okay, after I figured out what had to go where. The second chains on the driver side...not so good. I had them partially on, then realized that the chains weren't going completely around and had to start over. If it was this hard for me to do in the garage, how the heck do people put these on out on the highway when the snow is coming down???

I had a little trouble getting out of the driveway because of all the snow that was piled in the driveway, but finally made it out. Once on the streets, it wasn't too bad, although it was a bit slippery. I can't believe how fast some people were going. I was limited to 30 mph or less with the chains. Anyway, I made it to the grocery store, bought some stamps, and was able to get some food from Baja Fresh. I even stopped a few times to take photos. It truly was like one of those winter wonderland postcard scenes.

Once back at my house, I had a little trouble getting back into the driveway and stalled the car three times before I could finally get into the garage. My neighbor about three or four houses west of me was out trying to unload his SUV and was watching me after the first stall. I think he was waiting to see if he needed to help push my car into the driveway. Luckily, even with the snow flying as I gunned the motor, I actually gained some momentum to get up into the driveway. I never realized that there was a little dip between the street and the driveway before...

I also shoveled my driveway this evening about 7 pm. Kind of a weird hour, but I was waiting for Laura's friend (whose father lived less than half a mile away) to deliver the snow shovel. Once it arrived, a little after 6 pm, I went ahead and shoveled out the driveway since there is another storm anticipated for early tomorrow morning. We are supposed to see another 3-6 inches of snow. Thank you, Laura, for having Morgan and Doug get in touch with me!

Anyway, it was my first time ever to shovel snow, despite living in the Chicago area for a couple of years. It was definitely a lot harder than it looked. Snow, when it is even slightly packed down and when it has a layer of ice in the middle, is HEAVY. I know my arms and shoulders are going to be crying out tomorrow! But, I think I did a pretty good job, despite not really knowing where to put the snow once I shoveled it. I ended up dumping it on my front lawn and also piled it at the foot of the driveway since I didn't want to dump it in my neighbor's yard--well not the nice neighbor to the west of me, that is.

I think I'm pretty much set now (and even prepared!) to be here for the holiday, after doing a little bit of grocery shopping. I was definitely appreciative of having even a brief reprieve from this crazy weather!