Winter Archives - TechyDad

Mother Nature Is Just Messing With Us Now

February 23, 2015 TechyDad Snow, Winter

After weeks of frigid cold, of ice dams forming on our roofs, of high winds that cut right through you, and of piles upon piles of snow, we finally got some relief. That’s right, we went above freezing. True, it still was in the low 30’s, but the temperature and sun were a good combination. I was actually able to walk outside without a hat and gloves. The ice dams on the roof began to melt. They are still there, but they’ve diminished somewhat. I was also able to go onto our slippery ice rink of a driveway and chop off a good portion of the ice. A few more days of this and we should be recovered nicely.

Oh, wait. Tomorrow’s high is in single digits again.

At this point, I’m convinced that Mother Nature isn’t a kindly lady. She’s a real b… er, piece of work. She’s tormented us all winter long with piles of snow and frigid cold. We’ve almost gotten used to it so she gave us one day to help us to remember what warmth is. Just one day. Then she’s yanking it away to give us more bitter cold.

I keep looking in the long term forecast and seeing 30’s and 40’s just one week ahead. It seems close, but just out of reach. Still, it gives me hope that we’ll warm up soon. Then, as the days pass, those warm temperatures get replaced by much colder ones.

At this point, I’ll take any sign that spring is on it’s way.

Wait, the Passover aisles are being stocked in the supermarkets already?!!! Any sign but that one!

Sick Of Winter

February 10, 2015 TechyDad Winter

We’ve had two snowstorms in two weeks totaling around 30 inches. We have ice dams across both roofs with possible water coming in the house. When it isn’t snowing, it’s freezing cold. Actually, check that last one because it’s freezing cold when it’s snowing also. Oh, and there might be more snowstorms headed our way.

I’m sick of shoveling.

I’m sick of only seeing white when I look down the block.

I’m sick of the ice dams.

I’m sick of worrying about water backing up into the house because of ice dams.

I’m sick of only seeing white when I enter my car in the morning.

I’m sick of having to brush off a ton of snow (and then having to shovel it).

And, yes, the icicles might be pretty…

… but then they drip all over my driveway and make us nearly break our necks trying to go to our cars.

In short, I’m sick of winter. I can’t wait for it to be over with. I want the warmth and green of spring. I want to be able to leave the house without using coats, hats, gloves, boots, and STILL being cold.

How long until spring again?

38 days?

So close and yet so far away.

Are you sick of winter yet?

Gold Medal For Lost Teeth At The Sled Olympics

February 19, 2014 TechyDad Fun, Outside, Snow, Winter

The Winter Olympics might be in full swing in Sochi, but back here we are having some winter events of our own. There’s the meter deep snow drift shovel, the icy driveway skate, and the ever popular car figure skating (aka maneuvering your car out of a snowed in driveway into a snow-narrowed street without hitting the snow banks or parked cars).

To find some actual fun in the snow, we went to a local park that has a giant hill. During the spring and summer, the boys love running up and down this hill. I figured this would be the perfect place to sled down. JSL immediately began to get fearful. He’s afraid of heights (or so he claims) and this was definitely high up. NHL took the first sled ride and loved it – shouting with joy the whole way down. JSL decided to brave a trip and shouted as well, but more out of fear than enjoyment.

Of course, I had to have my go and – always thinking social media – filmed a first-person view going down.

Hard sled + bounces + my not-so-young anymore body = OUCH! I definitely envied another family that was there with inflatable sledding devices. I could have used some of that cushioning power.

We kept at it for awhile and I even came up with a solution for JSL. I positioned the sled halfway up the hill and stood in front of it to keep it in place as he got on. When he was ready, I stepped aside and he went down. This gave him enough height to make for a fun ride, but not so much to trigger fear. Of course, this meant less opportunity for me to take photos of JSL in any pose except for his apparently traditional post-sled snow angel.

NHL, for his part, tended to gravitate to the more dangerous sections. Some people had fashioned sled jumps and NHL wanted to try them out. I let him and he had a blast.

One jump he caught just right and wound up with some serious air. I was at the top of the hill at the time so when it was his turn next, I had him wait until I got into position so I could snap this photo.

Unfortunately, right after I took the photo, NHL got up from where he landed and yelled that he had hurt his nose and glasses. I looked him over and he was fine – if a bit snow covered, but then he realized something else was wrong.

He had lost a tooth!

Yes, it was a wiggly tooth that was due to come out. (Insert sigh of relief from me here.) However, it wasn’t with him. It was somewhere near where he landed. Finding a small white tooth on a patch of white snow was going to be nearly impossible so I let NHL know that we’d look but we probably wouldn’t find it. Two minutes in, I was about to call off the search when NHL proclaimed that he found it. Sure enough, he plucked something small off of the ground and had his tooth back.

I took it and firmly held onto it until we got home. The tooth fairy visited him that night and gave him his own gold medals… I mean coins.

Too Much Snow

February 17, 2014 TechyDad Snow, Winter

On Friday, I posted about how sick I am of snow. I really didn’t want to make another post so soon about it, but the levels of snow we have just seem to warrant it. On Friday, the official total seems to be (as near as I can tell), 15 inches of snow. However, when I measured our snow amounts, I got closer to 20 inches. This tremendous snow fall meant cancelling plans to see family that we were really looking forward to. (The roads just weren’t safe to travel on and I’d rather survive the trip.)

Friday, we mostly spent a lot of time shoveling and roof raking (to prevent ice dams on our roof). The snow banks at the end of our driveway are about as tall as I am now. Getting in and out of our driveway is a very tricky affair with my little sedan. We haven’t even *tried* getting B’s car out. I don’t think it’s possible the way the snow is.

Of course, the ton of snow meant that the boys had fun playing. Our next door neighbor’s daughter dug a snow tunnel for them and JSL pretended to hibernate.

Ah, if only I could go to sleep and wake up when it was spring.

A couple of days later, we decided to take the boys sledding. The only problem was that we only had one sled. We looked around, but the stores don’t stock sleds in February. I need new boots too and those are gone as well. Instead, they have flip-flops, lawn care products, and other spring merchandise out now. You would think they would retain some stock to sell to people who will still need winter products for the next two months. Instead, retailers seem to perpetually live three months in the future.

Given that we only had one sled (and that we weren’t sure how snow pant would work in my car, we opted to sled at home. I piled some snow up and made a ramp. The boys had fun helping me make the ramp and then going down it.

Next, they wanted to build a snow fort. I grabbed my shovel and began piling snow in a big circle around JSL while NHL helped strengthen the walls. Eventually, they had a nice, defensible fort.

Of course, there’s one part about playing outside that seems to be their favorite. Warming up inside with a nice video game! (In this case, Lego Marvel Super Heroes – which I plan to review soon.)

The forecast calls for warmer weather soon. I’m half looking forward to it and half dreading the slushy, flood-prone mess that will result when all this water melts at once.

(By the way, head on over to B’s blog for – among other things – a video of what happened when I decided to use the snow as a comfy chair.)

I’m Sick Of All The Snow, Man

February 14, 2014 TechyDad Disney, Snow, Winter

The snow has been coming down heavy all day. We’ve gone from predictions of 6 to 8 inches, to 8 to 12 inches, and finally (as I write this) 12 to 20 inches. We’re getting buried and are breaking our backs trying to shovel our way out of it. Meanwhile, the boys are having a blast.

As much as I love the Disney movie Frozen, I definitely DON’T want to build a snow man. Instead, I’m dreaming of warmer weather and am sick of the snow. As I shoveled, I became inspired and had to sing.

I didn’t say I sang well… Just that I sang. And now you know why the song parodies I come up with aren’t videos of me singing them.

So here’s a parody of the first part of "Do You Wanna Build A Snowman".

*Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock*
I’m sick of all this snow, man!
I want it to go away
There’s white stuff piling by the door
Boots on the floor
Just make it go away
We used to walk around the block
Without a coat
My fingers are going numb!
I’m sick of all this snow, man!
Don’t wanna keep shoveling snow, man.

Just say, bye…

1 2 3 »