Coffee 4-2-11

The coffee's hot, come in! Sausage & pancakes are cooking. Mmmm, smell's good.

Well, what a nasty April Fool's trick played by Old Man Winter. The news last night said the official was 13.5" of snow for us, but we got another 3 or 4 inches over night. On top of that, it is the heaviest snow ever! I snow-blowed the first 6" during the storm. Usually I can blow 6" in second and sometimes third gear. This stuff was first gear all the way! Oh man, it snowed over 2" an hour for a while. The first time the road plow came by wasn't too bad, but the second time he left a bank over three feet deep of packed chunks, near impossible to move. I need to go right now & snow-blow a third time. Enough already! Yet, no, not enough....they are talking maybe more come this Tue.

Thursday morning my wife left for work. I assumed she went to work but at 8AM I got a call from the bank. It appears she somehow got to England and was having a buying spree using my credit card! OK.... new card on it's way. New wife too? Naaa, somehow she covered her butt with perfect excuses.

Hope you all have a fine weekend!

Sound like you need a big carb heavy breakfast. You've been too busy with that wet snow and shoping with euros I'll wip it up in a few....

• Ok, most of it' ready, just a few more minutes to get the sausage patties off the grill - that's right the grill Snow never ammounted to much down here - melted away in a few hours.
• I've got some hotcakes in the oven staying warm but I'm low on maple syrup so you'll have to blen it in with my honey - it's better than that reduced tree sap anyway

Pancakes and sausage. I got the griddle empty now so can do eggs to order if anyone is interested. Gritts if you like them, hot with melted butter, salt and pepper. Got some coffe ready too. Have at it everone!

I certainly need that big carb breakfast. Opening day of fishing season is just 1.5 hrs from now. So I need to get it in gear. I'll be wading around the Lehigh River & Lizard Creek till least noon. And its quite cold this morning. Enjoy the w/e everyone.

"Three feet of "Packed Chunks" ",Huh ? Geez Fred,that's a helluva bad mental picture. I'm thinkin' that after the beating you and the Mrs. have taken this week,you'd both better let us take the reins for a while. Nice angle on the U.K. Credit Card experience,also ! Blimey,Mate! The Vig seems to have things well under control,and I'm sure 'Ol Freetown Fred can hitch up some horses and make deliveries to your snow-bound neck of the woods ! As for me,I'm in position to pour several "mean" cups of coffee and offer conversations in what the guys at work call "Bob-Bonics" ! Ask Ugly Squirrel about that one ! He and Fred have been exposed to my style of speech and/or posting.......It 'aint easy.Bretherens' and Bretherenettes !

Good morning Freddy! I want to invite you over here for breakfast this morning. I am in Hamilton, Ontario Canada eh!! There is not a cloud in the sky nor a piece of snow on the ground!!! Come on over, I'll order up some Bacon and eggs with some fried potatoes for you. You definitely sound like you need some eh! They don't call it Canadian bacon up here, just bacon eh. The weather is nice a balmy 2 degrees C. with a high of 10 today!!! The only two problems I see here, there is no coal anywhere. and everything is so f#$%&G expensive!!! Smitty hold on to your beer and sit down, I ordered a domestic Molson M with dinner last evening, it cost 7.50!!! And I didn't even get to see any naked girls dancing on a stage!!!!! I feel for you folks having to shovel all that snow. Sabeth said that we got some freezing rain yesterday. I'd rather take snow at least you can see snow and less chance of falling down. Come on over Freddy, I'll pour you another cup of coffee eh! Have a nice day, and God bless! Rich

I've been flying all night, and as we approached the east coast,, I said to my first officer,, : Is that SNOW !!?? I thought all that crap was over for this season !! But I was looking at Bedford Ma.. just west of Boston, and the airfield was all white but for the plowed runways.

I'm beat, and can hear the pillow in my hotel bed whispering my name.. so I'm off to sleep, maybe I'll stop in later this afternoon for some well cooked coffee.. YUM !!

Greg L

Morning all. The 41st Marathon Maple Fest is under way. By GOD, the sun is shining I'm back on the hill to feed the critters & then back to Town. Freddy, coffee on the run & as usual,you da man Bob-bonics,oh yea, something nobody should miss--borders on enlightenment Later guys & gals---trout season ain't it??

Dunkin Donuts and BOX-O-COFFEE here.
Stop on by and watch the excavators and engineers design our new septic system. Perk tests consisted of four 10foot deep (down to SOLID shale), 5' x 10' holes in my yard and woods. "Soil Analysis" was the answer I got as to why the perks were so deep. 35 years ago, the original perks were 3 to 4 feet deep. But now the rules have chenged here in this state! Yesterday, they dumped 1000 gals of water in a hole to see how long it would drain out. Now imagine if you put water on top of a big rock, how long would it take for that water to soak thru the rock???? Luckily for me, the shale ledge was fractured, and the water ran out of that hole in no time, even had a whirlpool toilet-like spin to the water in the bottom of the hole. Lord knows where THAT water went....
No wonder I was told a new field was going to cost $30k!!! So stop on by, and see the 'fun'. Our top soil is darn near 6ft deep, so this is going to be fun watching the 80,000# trucks deliver "Select fill" behind the house. Last time a truck tried to drive over our lawn, they sunk in, and had to get dug out.
All I see is the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ flying away......
Oh yeah, we had a little snow yesterday. Almost all gone already...

Morning everyone,

Jimmeny! I've been busier then a one armed paper hanger in a storm. It it's not one thing it's another. First the refrigerator went out; fortunately we have two but that meant moving everything to the second one in the garage and getting a repair man in. According to him my 6 or 7 year old 'fridge had reached it's life span due to the circuitry in it. The choice was a new compressor or a new "fridge. We went with the new 'fridge. The old one was GE anyway and I'm glad to see that go. Then the 17 year old clothes dryer stopped working while my coat was in the washer. Good thing I had the coal stove going; we put some drying racks in front of it and lickety split everything was dry. So now I'm spending my time shopping for those appliances - thank heavens for the internet - and jumping through hoops with the state to get my son's driver's license. In VA home schoolers have a lot more red tape to get through to document your driver's ed and behind the wheel training. Then in the Metropolitan Northern Va counties both the parent and youth have to attend a special 90 min class that spells out the dangers of driving in N VA. and drives home the point that parents are the final authority over the youth's license - like I need to be reminded that. After that class I got to spend 2 hours waiting in the DMV for him to take his road test - he passed. Then there have been many routine and specialized doctor appointments for various family members. I feel like a hamster on the tread mill. Thankfully, it's a 3 day weekend for me due to a teacher work day on Monday; maybe I can actually take a breath and relax. Nay, I have to pick up the new "fridge - we got our tax refund and can actually get one now. Despite everything we have been blessed.

The rest of today is going to be spent taking the old Maytag stackables apart so we can move them out and installing the new dryer. Long about 4 I'll find time to watch the Final Four - Go VCU!

I hope your lives are a little slower then mine has been lately. Be safe and take care, Lisa

More breakfast than a man can eat! Yummmm.

lowfog01 wrote: I have to pick up the new "fridge - we got our tax refund

That proves the old adage "Expenditures will rise to meet the income". Hang in there Lisa....

DVC500 at last wrote: I was told a new field was going to cost $30k!!!

YOWZA!! That's sheer craziness! A ten foot deep test hole? I sure hope it ends up a bunch less than thirty grand for you. I have two stories. The first is when we built this place. I was supposed to have a three foot deep hole (maybe four?) ready for the soil scientist to peer into. He arrived. I grabbed a shovel & said "This way". As he started to follow he said "You don't have the hole dug? I can't stand around while you hand dig a hole!". I said "Calm down, follow me". When we got the where the system was going to go, I stuffed the shovel into the ground four times to cut a square in the turf. I removed said square, looked at him & said "You see that 5" of top soil?" He said "Yup". I said "You see that 4" of pure clay? I guarantee that clay goes down another 4 feet, any questions?" He said "I guess not". The second story was in 2009. We put a system in on a pond in northern Maine. I was going to do the work myself. I had figured almost $3,000 for just the parts. I bumped into a fellow from that area that wrote me a quote of $3,600 to do the complete system. He came with licenses, references and did all the legal paperwork. I told the wife "Write that man a check". He did beautiful work. Still don't know why he works so cheap!

Morning everyone. Been a rough week here. I have been sick with severe broncitus with the beginings of pnuemonia since last Saturday. Been feelin a bit better the last day or two though. Was down to about a 2 day supply of rice as of yesterday but wanted to let the bin run down so I could vac out the fines. Picked up 2160 lbs. yesterday and got about 1/2 of it shoveled in before I called it quits. Don't want to over do it yet. Already had to burn 5 days of my flex time, don't want to use it all. I'll finish the rest today. Currently sitting at 40' heading to almost 50' today, most of the snow is gone and I'm sure glad.

The boy started his spring break as of school getting out Friday and was supposed to be off until 4/11 but that was cut short due to using all of their snow days and then some. Their spring break was cut short and now have to return on 4/7.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Hello,
Yesterday the snow here was a small amount, but so heavy! I thought there was a herd of crazed squirrels on the flat roof. I was only convinced otherwise when blobs of wet snow hit me on the head as I was sweeping off the car. Things are status quo around here, better not complain too much. I finished putting in a larger bona-fide sump pit for my customer two days ago, and his landscaper buddy approved my work. O lucky me, he's the guy that caused all the drainage problems in the first place. I have to try and be diplomatic since both these guys are V.I.P, towny's. Not easy for me since I have the emotional make-up of a 14 yr. old, and usually cut off my nose to spite my face faster than I can throw out the baby with the bath water. As a handyman, and spring in the air, the demands for favors are pouring in faster than flourescent light bulbs from China. "Fix my vacuum cleaner?" "Help me renovate my mom's basement?"

Chris, sounds like a drag with the extensive perk work, like they extort you if you want to sell your house in NJ.
Lisa, NJ pretty much got their act together with the DMV, I think it's privatized. I took my driver's test in 1974, in a borrowed Buick Riviera! I failed because the car was too long to make the K-turn test! Second try, I passed , in a VW Beetle!
Fred, wish I could check out the Marathon Maple Fest, gotta favor my hip tho can't sit too long. Plus, $20 barely moved the needle on my Ranger gas guage the other day...

ceccil,
I had the same lung mung in February. I was off work for a week. I haven't
missed that much work in forty years. It took about three weeks after the
antibiotics did their thing to really get back to normal. Good luck

No snow for us, the sun was out all day and the wind is blowing. We got a dusting from the big storm, but it melted as fast as it fell. After the last 25" we got, I was sure glad this storm missed us. I spent most of today drilling holes and pulling wire. I mounted some new lights, and installed some additional outlets in our bar room. If all goes according to plan, I will move our computers into the new office tomorrow and reclaim a bedroom.

The neighbor was cutting wood today and dropped a tree on the 5,000 volt line feeding the
neighborhood. Made it a good day to clean out the boiler and Pioneer. On the boiler I pulled
the burner and cleaned under the grate and sucked the fines out of the carpet area. Not as
much crud as I expected. While the burner was out I knocked all the fly ash and accumulations off
the inside. When the power came back on I vacuumed out the flue pipe and ash area. After
that I went and thanked him for the opportunity to get the boiler cleaned.

Getting 6 1/2 tons delivered Monday. The boiler is ready.