Winter Doldrums

Having wandered around the blogosphere, (maybe more than my fair share) I know that there is no shortage of posts dealing with this extraordinary winter which just seems to keep on giving and giving.  In fact, big puffy flakes are falling as I type.  I hope that my readers will humor me as I add one more.

As always here in Rhode Island, we had a snow-less December.  The one day of the year I can be fully accepting of mother nature's winter blanket (Christmas) past with cold showers of rain and the sickening browns of dead foliage.  And then, without even so much as a few dustings to acclimate ourselves, we were welcomed to winter with the snowstorm of "historic proportions" in late January.  Since then, it's been a series of lesser storms, one or two per week, sometimes every other day, just to refresh any snow that may have melted in between.

I'm sure that I am not alone, but my house sits on a corner lot that even during the best of weather, seems impossibly small.  I am fortunate enough to have a large driveway, but also sidewalks on two sides of the property.  And so, every morning when I awake to a "winter wonderland", I have to do at least enough shoveling to get myself to work and our children to the bus stop.  At lunch, I often spend more time further cleaning up, and sometimes even more time at night.   It's a common occurrence to have to move snow banks as the storms progress.  My tiny yard struggles to accommodate the snow from the driveway and two sidewalks.  No big deal, I just work until I'm tired, take a break, and pick up where I left off.  But this year has been special.  This year, my wife hasn't driven since her injury in November.  And being the way of things, I allowed temptation to get the better of me.  I allowed the snow to build up on and around her car.  Oh yes, I've seen the warning signs.  Steadily her hand has regained function.  She has started doing things around the house that she had been unable to for quite some time.  Somehow, I managed to ignore the signs until they practically slapped me in the face.  Last week, my beautiful, wonderful wife took my car and went for a drive.  I savored the moment of victory for all of a few moments, before my gaze turned to the window, and the sight of the humongous snow bank that was, at one time, her car.  And so, fellow inmates of this horrendous winter, I picked up my shovel and went to work.  It didn't take me long to realize the cost of my lethargy.  Several storms and several freeze and thaw cycles had made my work all that much harder.  Now, I am relegated to removing the top layer and praying that the sun will loosen the next layer.  It seems to me a perverse form of archaeology.  With luck, by spring, I will be able to reclaim a past civilization from the grips of ice and snow.

Phase one of digging out complete.

And that is my first excuse for being absent from this blog for so long.  My second, is actually the opposite (yes, i know...I'm difficult to please).  This past weekend and earlier this week, the mercury in the thermometer stirred to a point slightly above freezing (although the difference was imperceptible in my frigid shop) and we had several days of bright, almost springlike sun.  And while all of that made my digging out far easier, it also presented a new problem.

The bench side of the shop, adjacent to the driveway, and the ever growing pond.

The far side of the shop, where the onslaught of melting snow has just begun.

I knew when I first toured the house that the basement was damp and probably had some water issues during heavy rains and spring thaws.  The furnace, water heater and storage being placed on blocks was a dead giveaway.  And in fact, I have gotten used to small puddles throughout the basement on occasion.  But never like this.  It's actually gotten me to thinking.  If I turn my basement into a reservoir, at least I could cut the city water bill.  As tempting as that might seem, I've decided that I'd really rather not sacrifice my shop for the cause.

And so, when I am not digging out the car, or pumping out the pond, I am willing myself to the task of moving snow away from the foundation of the house, and hoping the melting snow will find its way to the harbor, without a side trip to my shop.   At the very least, perhaps someone else's basement? (I know this is terrible, and I'm very sorry for the thought.)

I have, however, found the time for some mundane cleaning and repair tasks in the shop.  Most notable is the cabinet I am now using for my miter saw.

A photo from an earlier post.

I was able to find the time to remove all of the detritus that had found it's way into the cabinet over the last decade.  And I'm happy to report that I even managed to properly store, or throw away all of it (as opposed to my usual practice of piling for a later date).  I also was able to cut the back and secure it to the cabinet.  Lastly, I was able to rehab the slightly warped right side door and get it into place, although the effort was slightly greater than what it took to make it in the first place (in fairness, it was made with power tools, all of this work was done by hand, and my current mood may have played a role).

The cabinet is finished and ready to store a variety of saw accessories.

 

And life continues here in Rhode Island.  Certainly, it is not always as planned, but tomorrow will come.  It may even be a better day, with more time in the shop and hopefully here at the blog as well. 

Thank you for visiting, and I hope that wherever you are, spring is just around the corner for all of us. Please be safe and well as we "patiently" wait out the winter doldrums.