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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Hey! Who You Callin' A Drip?


Lots of snow here.
Maybe lots of snow where you are, too.


Snow on the grass, the driveway, the patio
and piled up against the sunroom.


Yup.  That's Dylan and Anne, below.
Yup.  That's a lot of snow.
(They are in front of a six foot fence.)

Howard, trying to keep up with clearing
snow from paths, so the dogs can get about their business!

Eventually, even when it is still below freezing,
the Sun begins to melt the vintage snow.

And replace that snow with . . . ice and water.
So far, our sunroom windows are managing to fend off
the efforts of the melting ice to storm the barricades,
and sneak into the house.

As for another part of the house,
the ice is being more clever.
Walls are not supposed to look like this:

This is the small wall to the left of my desk, in a little windowed
"bump out" that juts from our study out onto the front porch.

Lots of ice on the flat porch roof is damming up
the melting ice, and the water is snaking its way into the house.

Walls are weeping and paint is peeling.
The ceiling is beginning to look a little . . . umm . . . dampish.
The window frame was running with water a day ago.
What nerve.

When you own a house, especially a house as
old as That Old House, there's always something.

Hey. No point in fretting. It's all fix-able.
As my Mom used to say, 
"If it doesn't bleed, don't worry about it!"
Amen, Mom.

(We -- if by "we" I mean "Anne" -- went up to the 2nd floor window that overlooks the
ice dam, leaned out, and shoved a lot of the ice and snow away.
This has slowed down the drips.  Not counting the ones that dripped all over Anne.)

Stay warm and dry, my friends!  -- Cass

Friday, February 14, 2014

Valentine's Day -- Snow, An Orchid, Spaniels, and ... More Snow


February 14th: Saint Valentine's Day.
Thank you, dear Howard, for the orchid.  It's warming up in the sunroom.
The Fed Ex man braved our snowy landscape to deliver it on time.  :-)

I haven't seen my husband since Wednesday morning, 
when he left for work in New York City, ahead of the big snowstorm.  
It was a stay-in-the-city type of storm, and so he did.  
He'll be home tonight.  
How fitting . . . home for Valentine's Day.  :-)  Or, night.

Nothing says Love like cardboard cut-outs and
a chain of flocked hearts, from Dollar Tree.
I win the cheesy holiday decorating award!
I spent a total of $4 for my decor.
How romantic is that?  For most husbands . . . very.
**********************
So, we have some snow.

You probably do,too.
If you live in the Northeast USA.
Or parts of the South!

The morning was glorious, with ice-coated trees just glistening
in the sunshine.  Those sparkly hills in the distance, below,
are several miles away; I could not stop looking at them!

Glitter! 

And then, there are our dogs, Dylan and Gilda.
Life has become rather restricted for them since the snow!

(If you follow on email, and no video shows up in this space,
you can go to the blog itself for our dogs frolicking in fresh snow.)

If you, like we, have more than two feet of snow from
two weeks' worth of snowfall . . . good luck and stay warm!

Happy Valentine's Day!
Eat some chocolate.  -- Cass