1. When you don't own a snow shovel, as I imagine most Portlanders don't, the best way to shovel a driveway/deck/walkway/sidewalk (though people in the Suburbs don't shovel sidewalks, see below) is a dustpan. Yep. I used a dustpan to shovel the majority of our deck and over half our driveway. We have a flat tipped shovel, but it was killing my back. So, I squatted and started scooping. Worked like a charm. My legs were killing me and it reminded me of being in the Philippines. Weird, I know. When I lived in the Philippines I watched many a maid squatting in the yard cutting the grass with scissors. I also learned by watching these women the best way to squat in a knee length skirt. But, these are completely different topics.
2. Most people in the suburbs do not shovel their own sidewalks. In Portland, and in most other areas, it is the homeowners responsibility to maintain the sidewalk in front of their house during inclement weather. Now, Bill and I do not have a sidewalk in front of our house, but I feel very strongly that if we did, we would be shoveling it. (Probably with a dustpan, but we would shovel it!) I believe this because we use sidewalks and understand the importance of the need for safety for pedestrians. It is NOT safe to have sidewalks covered in ice and snow and it is also NOT safe to have pedestrians walking in the middle of the street during snowstorms (see below). Now I don't know if suburbanites don't shovel walks because they don't own shovels, like us, or if they don't think it is their responsibility (likeliest choice) or if they are just lazy, but our trip to the grocery store on foot today would have been much easier if sidewalks had been maintained. Not a single one was.
2. Some people get really rude when it gets snowy. Bill and I were walking last night and the safest place to walk in our neighborhood was the middle of the street (see above). This is because there are either no sidewalks or they are covered in 14 inches of snow and ice. At least the snow on the streets has been packed down some by cars. Anyway, we were walking and a car was about 50 yards behind us. I hadn't heard it yet but became very aware when the driver yelled out of his window "GET OUT OF THE ROAD!" Not very friendly.
3. It will take a very long time to run out of food if you really couldn't leave your house, but when you feel like you can't leave, you become convinced that there is "nothing" in your cupboards. Made me feel very fortunate to have what I have and very aware that there are people who actually have empty cupboards year-round.
4. What looks like a few groceries in a shopping cart becomes incredibly heavy when you stuff if all in a backpack. Even with both our backpacks we had a pretty heavy load on the way home today.
5. Snow stresses out pets and makes it difficult for them to relieve themselves. (See Teddy's lament on this topic.) We tried very hard to keep the deck cleared so he could go outside and also shoveled a space in the yard for him. He would get really stressed out, run around the yard (covered in 14 inches of snow), bounding around, until finally he would give in and do his business. Note: He never once used the area of the yard we shoveled. Weirdo.
6. Even if you only wear sweats for a solid week, you will still have exactly the same amount of laundry at the end of the week. This is a phenomenon I don't understand.
7. Some people are morons when it gets snowy. A couple of said morons were out on their quads yesterday and today. One missed my garbage can by about a foot and another was pulling a kid behind him on a sled. No one, including the kid, was wearing helmets. I asked Bill how you could be on a quad without a helmet when it is illegal to be on a motorcycle without a helmet. Bill reminded me that quads are not street legal so the legality of wearing a helmet or not is really irrelevant. Good point. Either way, you would think the numerous deaths as a result of similar sledding accidents would deter you from extremely unsafe behavior.
8. Regardless of how many times you check the weather online, watch the weather report on TV (should be easy to find some coverage, see previous post on this topic), read the paper, or try to guess when the snow will stop, you just have to wait for it to stop. The reason that Bill and I are such good traveling partners (other than the fact that we are just plain awesome partners!) is that we both believe that there are things you can't change, regardless of how annoyed you are or how much you want it to change. We show up at the airport WAY too early (on purpose) and buy coffee, read a book, shop, whatever. The waiting is part of traveling, so we don't get annoyed by it. So, when the weather turns, we accept that our plans may change (we didn't get to go down south to see his family for Christmas), we go with the flow, and we try not to predict when things will be different.
9. If you have to be snowed in, it is one million times better if you have:
- lots of cocoa
- a laptop with wireless connection
- a big TV
- a snuggly puppy who acts like an angel despite 9 days without a proper walk
- a wonderful partner who you enjoy being around
- a good book you don't mind rereading (The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger)
- good wine (our favorite)
- a dustpan
No comments:
Post a Comment