Archive for December, 2008
Saturday, December 20th, 2008
After I got in from clearing off the driveway this morning, I thought it would be a great idea to pull out the old snowboard to see if she is up for this season’s abuse. I went downstairs to inform Laura of my plan and to ask if she would be the camera woman for the occasion. She replied, “Just make sure the car is ready for when I have to take you to the hospital.” Obviously, she has never seen me carve up the mountain.
We have this hill in front of the house that goes up to the road. It’s a nice steep hill that is ideal for snowboarding, or sledding, if you have a sled. We don’t. All we have is a snowboard. The hill continues, but flattens out as you continue on towards the back. I figured that I could get in about 100 feet or so, before I had to end the ride.
I made about 5 different trips down the hill. We got some shots of all of them, but some were better than others. I kept the good ones and pasted them together in sequential order. You can tell they aren’t all from the same run, so you are going to need to use your imagination.
Here we go…
Me, analyzing the hill.
Getting ready for the ride.
Boy, this is steeper than I thought.
Confidence is back. Carving it up.
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Man, that was fun. I even sat on the board to use it as a sled. I think we need to go out and buy a nice sled though. It really is the perfect hill.
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Saturday, December 20th, 2008
I guess it really isn’t the morning after the snow, because it’s still snowing. I think it’s supposed to stop today, but I heard last night that we can expect 4-6 more inches tomorrow. Holly, the Norwegian Elkhound (snow dog), just loves it.
Norwegian Elkhound
The minute she feels snow under the pads of her feet, she rolls around like crazy, giving those weird snorts that dogs give.
Typically, I would be a little upset at the whole situation. I was hoping to avoid any snow at all this year. But truthfully, I am having a blast. I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s because I don’t have to scrape anything off the cars and try to shovel around them. That was always a miserable task. Also, I don’t have to shovel the end of the driveway. I used to really hate that part of the ordeal.
Remember when I was telling you about how I thought we could shovel the entire driveway instead of buying a snowblower? Yeah, I must have been on crack. There is no way in the world I would have been physically able to shovel this driveway. No way at all. Even if I had a team of my best friends on the job, half of them would have quit.
By this point, I don’t have to tell you that the snowblower is da bomb. I was so proud of it this morning, I asked Laura to come outside and take some action shots of me. She took a whole bunch, but these are my more fashionable.
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Clearing the first area of snow with the snowblower.
Jay, pulling the snowblower out of the garage.
Sure beats a shovel.
Snowblower eating the snow for breakfast.
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I did learn a few things while clearing the driveway this morning. First, blow the snow in the same direction as the wind. I nearly froze half my face by going against the wind once. Second, self propelled snowblowers are awesome. I loved watching those snow tires grab that pavement. No slip, no slide, no nothing.
That’s all I learned.
Go enjoy the snow. I’m outty.
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Friday, December 19th, 2008
I guess I couldn’t leave it alone. I had to go back outside with the camera. It didn’t help that I just got an email from my mother asking me to take some photos of the pretty snow.
Here they are…
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Friday, December 19th, 2008
They said it was coming. At noon, I didn’t quite believe them, but sitting here right now with wet pants on, I’ll take their word for it.
I just got in from using the new snowblower. What a trip. We have about three inches of snow right now and I swear it took me about 23 minutes to clear off the whole driveway. What was I thinking at the last house? Oh wait, I know what I was thinking; we had a gravel driveway. Oh yeah.
Of course I really didn’t need to go outside today to start clearing the driveway, especially since the snow is coming down very heavily. I could have waited until the morning. I just wanted to get dirty and see how the snowblower held up. I never used a real snowblower before and I admit, I am very pleased (those old electric ones don’t count). This one is a monster.
I thought it would be a nice idea to take a few pictures of the snow coming down, every two hours. I got three and then realized that anything further would be like taking the same shot over and over again. Tomorrow, I am going to get some pictures of me in action, clearing off the driveway. Oooo, yeah.
12PM - no snow
2PM - snow coming down
4PM - about 3 inches
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Thursday, December 18th, 2008
I really didn’t want to make the call this morning, but the predicted snow for tomorrow is steadily creeping up on me.
If you remember back a few months, I told you that I had only one more thing to buy…a snowblower. I planned for it and expected to get it in October. Then, I started thinking about how I might be able to get away with using a shovel on the very long driveway. Laura and I even talked about it; she would use one shovel and I would use the other. This, of course, was a conversation that was had when it was 60 degrees outside.
The day before the snow storm (today), the conversation changed. It went something like this:
ME: I bought a snowblower.
HER: Oh really?
That was about it.
Why did I get it? I’ll tell you why. It’s because of that dreaded end of the driveway snow. Last night while lying in bed, I had terrible flashbacks of that deep pile of snow the road plows leave at the end of the driveway. That snow is the absolute worst to shovel. There is no way I want to go through that again. I did it all last year and it really stunk.
One time, at the old house, my neighbor graciously came over and used his snowblower on the end part of our driveway. Man, that thing kicked some serious a$$. I stood there like a fool watching him. That proved there was a better way to get rid of the snow than using that green plastic shovel I was clutching in my hand.
So what did I do? This morning, I got on the horn and called my good friend Matt down at D.H. Marvin & Son, Inc. in Colchester. This is the equipment dealer I bought the John Deere tractor from. I told him that I wasn’t pleased to be speaking to him, because I was about to give him my debit card numbers again. He gave me a chuckle.
About 2 hours later, Matt showed up in the driveway with this…
Ariens snow thrower
Ariens snow thrower
Ariens snow thrower
Home Depot sells the same model, for the same price. I don’t know why I would buy it from Home Depot if I could get the additional support from a local dealer at no extra cost.
This is a nice snowblower. It is 24 inches wide and even has electric start. I am going to use the pull start, but if I needed the electric, it’s there.
I started it up and drove it around a little bit. It’s fairly simple to use. I am now hoping that it snows tomorrow, because if it doesn’t, I am going to be kind of mad that I just spent all this money on another garage ornament.
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Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
I am absolutely terrible at recognizing milestones. It’s a wonder I remember anything. If it wasn’t for technology, I would be lost. Wait a second, technology is the reason I need to remember everything…hmmm. That’s sort of like an oxymoron. Maybe more like an enigma wrapped in a riddle. I’ll stop now.
I wanted to announce the fact that my new car passed the 1,000 mile mark. Well, that should have happened a few weeks ago, because there is something like 1,300 miles on it now. Okay, that one is gone.
Here is the real milestone that I missed. I actually wanted to have a party. My blog…this blog, now has 1,011 posts!!! Yay. I am sure that broadcasting this would have been a heck of a lot more exciting if I was announcing a nice round number like 1,000, but I guess 1,011 will have to do.
So, what do you think about that? I’m kind of psyched (that’s an 80s word for excited).
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Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
There are a few things in life no one wants to talk about.
Of course I am not going to mention what they are here, because they will only depress me and will probably do the same to you. Included in the list, but really shouldn’t be, is one thing that I don’t think is depressing at all. It’s the topic of having a will.
You might think it’s strange that I bring this up and wonder why I’m talking about it at all, but the reason will become obvious after the next sentence. Just the other day, Laura and I met with the attorney to create two wills.
I know, I know…I debated for days about whether or not I was even going to bring this up, but I decided to talk about it tonight because I began recalling all the “will” conversations I have had in the past ten years. I think that just about everyone I spoke to about it said something like, “Oh yeah, I have to do that” or “Ummm, I really need to update mine.” There wasn’t anyone who said, “Yup, all done. Nice and tidy.”
I guess the reason why many people don’t have a will at all is probably the same reason I never went about getting one. As I put it to the lawyer, “This has been sitting on my to-do list for about a year now and I am just getting around to it.” It’s really not one of those “must do” things in life. It’s more of one of the “should do” things. I think a bit of organization here and there is much more appealing than total chaos at the wrong time.
We learned a few things while sitting at that big table earlier this week. We learned about the state laws and what would happen if we didn’t have a will at all. We learned what would happen now that we did. We also learned all about another type of will, called the “living will.”
If you remember the Terri Schiavo case, I am sure you will begin to understand the importance of having a living will. This, in some ways, is more important than a traditional will. Basically, this piece of paper gives the authority to one person to make a very important decision for you. You can click the “living will” link to learn more about it.
There is a really big area that so many people forget to address while making a will (or updating your existing one). It’s funny, because we actually reminded the attorney to update his own. This area has to do with pets.
Laura used to work in the animal industry. She told me that most animals that are put in shelters are put there because someone died and there were no instructions on what to do with the pet once the time for that decision to be made. Many family members aren’t too keen on taking on someone’s cat or dog, so these pets usually end up in the local animal shelter. Really, all it takes is one line in someone’s will to specify a friend or “pet friendly” family member that the pets should go to. It’s not like an order, but more like informing the people who usually read a will later on. “Oh, would you look at that. I had no idea that Daisy down the road wanted those cats.”
So, there you have it. I think I got through that with some definite skill. It’s sort of like navigating a landmine, but I realized that talking about these things can be helpful and a reminder for all of those people who might now say, “Let’s go get it done.”
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Monday, December 15th, 2008
I just got off the phone with the Mayflower Inn in Washington, CT. You really should see this place. It has to be one of the nicest we’ve been to.
I did notice that their prices have risen and their menu has shrunken. I actually had the fellow I spoke with over the phone email me the Christmas menu. I want to make sure there are enough “meatless” items to choose from. I just received it and from what I am seeing, we need to talk.
One year, a long time ago, I took Laura to the Old Drovers Inn in Dover Plains, NY (please see comments below) for New Years dinner. It’s a very nice restaurant and while I was making the reservation, I was assured that the chef was very accommodating to vegetarians. Well, I must confess, we sat there for much of the evening staring at very large plates with a few small items on them. Their definition of “accommodating” was, “Sure, we’ll slide the steak off the plate and leave the pea.” Of course I am exaggerating…well, actually I’m not. To me, “accommodating” means making butternut squash soup with vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. That’s accommodating. If they are offering bacon vinegarette, offer me another dressing without the bacon.
I am quite excited about this dinner. I do love the Mayflower Inn and really like the various rooms one can hide in after eating. This year, I am going to carry a nice glass of scotch into the library, turn off the lights, sit down and look out the window. With any luck, we’ll have some snow.
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Sunday, December 14th, 2008
Today was the day to get in the car to go for a drive up north. We have been planning for this drive ever since we came back from Thanksgiving dinner. We are basically looking for someplace to have a nice Christmas dinner.
The original plan was to drive up to Woodstock, CT to visit and eat at the Inn At Woodstock Hill, but we arrived kind of early. Dinner service started at 5PM and we were standing in the lobby at about 2:30PM. I knew we were early, but we wanted to check it out anyway.
We took a quick look around and decided to we would get back into the car to drive around for a bit. Since dinner didn’t start for a good long while, we had the time. Unfortunately, my stomach was growling. I was very hungry.
We headed back south a bit and stopped by the Mansion At Bald Hill, thinking they offered dinner service a little earlier. I liked the mansion’s website and thought it looked like a great place to visit. This time, we didn’t even see another car in the parking lot. Okay, moving on.
We continued to drive and ended up at the Harvest Restaurant in Pomfret, CT. We walked in and asked what time dinner service started and were pleased to hear that they began serving at 4PM. By this time, it was already 3:30PM. That was good enough for us. We sat in the waiting area, just bickering away.
Finally, the time came to be seated and to start eating.
We ordered our traditional Guinness and browsed the menu. I really hadn’t expected the restaurant to be so charming (how often do I use that word?), but it really is. They sat us next to the fireplace and were very attentive.
Harvest Restaurant fireplace
We ordered and then talked a bit. The food came out of the kitchen fairly fast and was really good. Towards the end of dinner, I was telling Laura that I had a very nice time. I expressed that I was happy, because we didn’t have to do any work. People just kept coming by asking us questions about what we wanted. It was refreshing.
I took some photos of the restaurant. They are the best I could do without getting caught. Yeah, I’m the guy with the camera.
Harvest Restaurant, Pomfret, CT
Harvest Restaurant, Pomfret, CT
Harvest Restaurant wine rack
Harvest Restaurant Christmas tree
Harvest Restaurant, Pomfret, CT
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, I think I am going to give the Mayflower Inn a call for Christmas dinner. If they have the room, we’ll go over there. If not, we better get up and boogy to see if we can eat at the Mansion At Bald Hill before Christmas. I like to see what I am getting into before we go somewhere for a big occasion.
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Sunday, December 14th, 2008
I hate to use the word “later” when it gets dark a few minutes after you get up in the morning, but later it is. Yes, it’s true, starting December 14 (or a few days before), the sun will be setting later than the time it set the day before.
Oh, I can here it now. “No Jay, you are wrong. Very handsome, but wrong. December 21 is the Winter solstice and therefore the shortest day of the year.”
Boy, you are smart, but listen to this; true the Winter solstice is still a few days off and also true, it is the shortest day of the year, but as I said, it is getting darker later right now.
Today, the sun set at 4:20PM in Hartford, CT (take a look). Tomorrow, the sun will set at 4:21PM in Hartford, CT. That’s good news. What’s happening? I guess the sun is still rising later and later in the morning, but starting a few days ago, the sun is starting to set a bit later too. The days are still getting shorter, but…oh, you get the idea.
So, go enjoy all that new daylight. Go swimming or something.
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