2.4.2015

Jim got an early morning phone call from Lowe's - they want to postpone delivery of the door until next week.  They said they are very behind in their deliveries because of the snow.  I know Jim is anxious to get the door and get it installed, but there's no huge rush so next week will be fine. 

After lunch, Jim headed out to the land.  This is how much snow was on top of the deck!

As Jim started shoveling, he took time to take a picture of the thick blanket of snow covering the land and all of the equipment.

At least this time, there wasn't the thick layer of ice underneath the snow that Jim faced the last time he shoveled.  Still a lot of work moving all that snow and dumping it 10 feet below!  He got about a section and a half done - but this is the one section that had a little bit thinner gauge decking, so this was the important one to get done.

 

High 29/Low 15

 

2.3.2015

The morning started extra early for Jim.  We got a call before 9:00 from the landlord to move the cars so that he could plow.  If you looked at the picture of my car from the snowfall yesterday, you could see that wasn't going to be an easy task.  And it was frigid...-17 when we got up!  Jim had to get all bundled up and then go out and shovel the cars out.  He ended up not moving them - just shoveled all the snow off and around them into an area that the guy could plow it.  But he spent over an hour outside working on it.  They definitely don't have a good system for removing snow in the parking lot here - they expect you to be available at their whim, which can be quite frustrating. 

After lunch today, Jim headed out to the property to get the driveway plowed out so that he could be ready for the door delivery.  He said there was probably 18" on the ground - made for a very difficult walk up the hill (he didn't even try to take the 4Runner up).

Once he made it up the hill, this is the winter wonderland that appeared!  If you look at the top of the deck, those pieces of rebar are 18" - so the snow is deeper than that!



The snow is really filling up all of our trenches now.  Look at all that snow!  What's very cool is that the snow is pristine - besides Jim's going to the building, there isn't a footprint in sight the rest of the area.  Not even too many animal tracks - a few brave bunnies and every once in awhile a deer at the edges of the woods.  Gorgeous.



When Jim was done checking things out, he tried to get the Bobcat going.  Seeing as how it had gotten to -17 degrees this morning, the poor Bobcat's battery wouldn't start.  This required Jim to crawl under the box truck, take out its battery, and jump the Bobcat with it.  Not easy to do with all the snow and freezing temps!  But he got it running.

In order to plow the driveway, Jim had to get the forks off the Bobcat and put the bucket on.  But the bucket was totally buried in snow!  You can see the little corner of it in the middle of this picture - Jim had to dig it out and then clean everything off in order for everything to mate correctly.

 

 

He got the driveway all plowed and everything locked up for the night.  Things should be ready for the door delivery tomorrow.  We even went for a long walk when we got home - there was a beautiful full moon out and the sky was so clear.  It's been very cold here - Jim saw that we had 12 days in January with the low below zero and the average low was just 4 degrees! - but it doesn't feel as cold as Ohio - Jim said that it was a more humid cold there.

High 25/Low -17!  Brr...

 

2.2.2015 - Happy Groundhog's Day!

Well, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today...six more weeks of winter! 

And his prediction was definitely true today - we got quite a bit of snow overnight and during the day!  My little car is pretty much buried.

We still went out for our walk today in the snowstorm - it was just a little more slow going.  They do a great job here of clearing the sidewalks, but today it was coming faster than they could keep up with it.

 

Jim will probably head to the property tomorrow and see if he can get the Bobcat started, clear the driveway a bit (our door may be delivered Wednesday) and then see about shoveling some of this snow off the deck.

 

High 9/Low -7 with lots of snow!  Brr...

 

1.30.2015

Hard to believe the month of January is just about over - spring is getting closer and closer! 

Jim continues to work on things and we are back in our routine of alternating long walks around the village with going to the gym.  Last year at this time, Jim was having trouble with his knee.  It's so wonderful that he has no pain and is able to get back to running.

Our custom steel door and all of our siding came in to Lowe's this week - exciting!  And more exciting is that our rep is storing all of the siding until we need it.  We have to get on the delivery schedule for the door - we are hoping for Wednesday but if not, it may be Monday of the next week.

One of the things that Jim has been working on is scaffolding - he'll use it now to build shoring for the concrete deck pour.  However, it's not as easy as just ordering scaffolding - all the new parts and pieces have to fit with our old scaffolding.  You would think everything would just work but that's not the case.  He had to have a sample shipped first of some connections to make sure they would mate. 

So today was the scheduled delivery day.  As these things always go, we had a messy snowfall overnight into this morning.  I had a doctor appointment at 11:30 and Jim really didn't want me driving in by myself if I didn't have to.  But the scaffolding was coming on a big semi truck and they were supposed to call an hour before - but last time they didn't.  Anyway, we finally got them to give us a window of time - Jim dropped me off at the doctor and headed to the property to get the forks on the Bobcat and get the Bobcat down the hill.

Patiently waiting for the truck to come!

Timing actually worked out really well - Jim didn't have to wait at the bottom of the hill too long before the truck came.

The forks work great - took him no time to get the scaffolding off the back of the truck.  Then he just had to get back up the hill.

 

We went back up after lunch to unload the scaffolding and put it inside the carriage house.  I hadn't been up in awhile so it was good to visit!  Everything looks great inside.  It's supposed to get bitter cold tonight - there is a wind chill advisory out tonight and the actual temperature will be well below zero - so it's always scary worrying about the building.

 

It's also amazing that Jim is able to get both the truck and the Bobcat up the hill.  Underneath all this beautiful fluffy snow is still an incredibly thick layer of smooth ice!

 

High 28/Low -4

 

1.19.2015

It's been cold here in upstate New York - not really getting much snow, but the snow stays on the ground nice and white since the temps stay cold.  That's the way Jim & I like it - much better than the freeze/thaw cycles that leave you with slushy puddles, gray and dirty snow.

Jim spent a couple hours yesterday and a couple more today working on installing the power steering assembly back into the box truck.  That required laying under the truck in the snow but things went together well and he said it is now working better than it ever has - so it was all worth it!

Not the best truck repair conditions!

Jim continues to research, order and plan.  In his spare time, he's been reading all about Pex tubing.  He'll use that for the radiant floor heating in the concrete slabs for the carriage house.  I love all the new techniques and products we are using - makes things exciting.

We keep checking in with Lowe's, giving our rep there more products to research.  We are still waiting for the steel door to come in.  The date keeps being shoved back and she said hopefully next week.  I know Jim is anxious to get that up temporarily.  She's also looking into a masonry gypsum board to use in the shop - like drywall except masonry.  It's much more rugged and impervious to moisture and mold.  All good things for shops.

Everyone stay warm!

 

1.11.2015

Winter settles in...

Happy New Year 2015!

I'm definitely behind on posting anything but needed to take a moment to wish everyone a Happy, Healthy New Year!  Hope that everyone had a very blessed Christmas with family and friends!

We had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed Kyle & Julia's visit immensely!  We're already looking forward to seeing them when they come up for Chowder Fest at the end of the month.

Jim continues to work on project management while winter sets in here in upstate New York.  He and Kyle worked a little bit on some metal shoring projects over Christmas.  Jim continues to find suppliers, track down supplies, and work on plans while we wait for spring.

Here we are continuing the tradition of the Saratoga Peppermint Pig - taking time to be thankful for all of the many blessings of the last year.

Our special pouch and hammer for the breaking of the pig is in some box in some location so we had to improvise!  But our thanks were sincere!