Snow, Snow, Go Away!

Welp. That didn’t go as planned. Now that I have that pesky first post of the year under my belt, I’d fully intended to keep posting once a week, if not more. And maybe start posting on my writing blog as well. However . . .

I would first like to rescind my birthday wish for snow. Don’t get me wrong, if it’s winter there should be snow. It makes the cold bearable and everything seems brighter. But that’s only if I don’t have to shovel the darned stuff! We’ve already had more snow in January that we’ve had the last five winters combined!

Last Thursday, when I had to drive the hubby to Belleville (at 5 in the freaking a.m.), 45 minutes to the east of us, there was a tiny bit of snow. However, as I was waiting at the hospital, the daughter started texting me about how bad the snow was at home, and how highway 401 (the major, 4-lane highway) was closed at Cobourg. I looked out the window and didn’t worry – the snow was no worse than what we’d driven up in. Clearly the daughter was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Fast forward several hours to 12:30 when I was finally allowed to see the hubby. He was in good spirits and told me I should hit the road because he heard it was storming. I have to admit, it was snowing a little heavier when I went out, but I made a pit stop at the mall anyway because I wasn’t going to get another chance to shop until after the granddaughter’s birthday and I wanted to get her something nice, if not unique.

It was snowing a little heavier when I got to the mall, so I didn’t linger. I hadn’t had lunch yet, but I didn’t want to take the time to go to the food court, so I grabbed a bag of cheese popcorn from the Kernels kiosk to eat in the car.

In the city the snow wasn’t too bad. But once I got on the highway it was really, really bad. And the first thing I saw was one of those electronic signs that warned: Highway 401 closed in 58 kilometers. Be prepared to stop. Guess the daughter wasn't crazy after all.

Visibility was crap, the wind was strong, and the highway was snow covered, but I made it home – 2 ½ hours for what is normally a 45 minute drive. And what did I get to do once I got home? I got to shovel the darn stuff. And not just the driveway and sidewalk, but I had to shovel all the way to the back gate, through the gate and up the steps of the deck because I was bringing the hubby home the next day and he’d be using a walker.

Just an FYI, if you’re the slightest bit mobility challenged and you come to my house, you have to go through the back gate and come in through the deck. This has been a sore point for many years, but it’s a rant for another day. 😊

The next morning, at 5 a.m., I heard the sound every snow shoveller dreads – the sound of the snow plough. Those sadistic bastards that love to bury freshly shoveled driveways. However, I have the nicest neighbor in existence, and he cleared the end for me before I had to leave to pick up the hubby. Honestly? I’d planned to just back out over it. LOL

The snow we got Monday night was very pretty snow – big, fluffy flakes that drifted gently down. But it did accumulate, to the point where I had to shovel. I actually enjoyed it though. It was after dark and super cold, but the world was quiet and I more or less just had to push the snow with the shovel. It was almost relaxing.

The snow we got yesterday, however, was definitely not relaxing to shovel. We got over a foot of snow and I got to shovel it all at once (instead of clearing it a couple of times while the snowfall was in progress) because I spent my afternoon at the daughter’s sitting with the granddaughter, who not only had a snow day but an upset stomach as well.

And you know why we’re getting this excess of snow (which is actually what it used to be normally)? It’s because I’m the one who has to shovel, not the hubby. I guarantee you that next year, when he’s mobile again, we won’t get any snow at all.

Be Careful What You Wish For

There’s been a lot of storm activity going on around us, but thus far we’ve been safe from the major winter storms that have been burying towns and causing states of emergency. So for my birthday, which was yesterday, I flippantly said it would be nice to have snow. Well . . . I got my wish.

It was beautiful. Until I realized that I’m the one who was going to have to shovel it, and in a timely fashion because the hubby coaches youth bowling on Saturday mornings. He can’t shovel snow because a) he has really bad arthritis and b) he has a really bad hip. These days he can barely walk (with the aid of a cane) let alone shovel.

So despite the fact the plough hadn’t been around yet, I was out there in the dark shoveling. At least it was light snow, not the heart attack kind. I just tell myself it’s good cardio. LOL The hubby left for bowling and I was halfway through my first cup of coffee when a road grader came by to plough the road and bury driveways.

But I don’t think he was one of the town plough boys because he didn’t do the whole crescent, just straight down to the circle, then around the circle (we live at the top of the circle). So I finished my coffee and pulled my outdoor gear on again, and went to unbury the driveway. He was up at the top of the street by then, and when he saw me he drove back and asked if I’d like some help. I said sure, and stood back while he swiped the end of the driveway clear. And the other reason I don’t think he was from the town is because he had a little boy on his lap inside the cab. Unless maybe he was called in at the last minute and couldn’t find a babysitter. But I still think the town would have frowned on it.

Anyway, it was like a birthday bonus to not have to do all that extra shoveling. And later I heard the sound of a snowblower and watched some guy come down the crescent with a his snowblower to clear the driveway of the little old lady just up the circle. He did the end of the driveway of the guy just across the street from her too, probably because that family helps out the old lady a lot (his driveway was already done). Kindness is a great way to start the day, don’t you think?

The picture below is only half the driveway, and the bare spot is where my car is usually parked. The hubby took it instead of his because mine’s an SUV while his is a little sporty car and I did not clean his off or unbury it, although I did shovel all the way to the back gate. 😊

The hubby been waiting for a hip replacement (his second one) since the fall and his mobility has been steadily declining. When he talked to his surgeon’s office in November he was told that the hospital his surgeon works out of wasn’t taking any more surgical bookings until the new year, and when they started booking again they’d be starting with the patients the surgeon saw in May. The hubby saw him in September. So we figured late spring, early summer for his date.

However, Tuesday the surgeon’s office called and said they had a cancellation and asked if he’d be interested. The date? January 16 – Thursday. It says something about the pain he’s in for the hubby to answer with a resounding yes to such short notice.

So he started a list of all the things we needed to get and all the arrangements we need to make before Thursday. We need boosters with handle bars for both toilets, thank goodness we got the renovation on the bathroom done so we have a walk in shower now, he needed an extra cushion for his chair, he still had the device that helps him with his socks, but he gave his grabbers away so he needed a couple of them, too (one for upstairs and one for downstairs).

Still to be arranged are the walkers he’ll need to get around with for the first couple of weeks. Again, one for upstairs and one for downstairs so he doesn’t have to struggle with them on the stairs.

And here’s the part that ticks me off. When he had his first hip done, they kept him in the hospital for a couple of days to make sure he could handle the stairs. Then, when he was sent home, he had a nurse come to change his dressing, and a physiotherapist come to our house for his therapy. This time? He gets to stay in the hospital overnight, and not only is no one coming to change his dressing for him, we have to buy our own medical supplies to do it. And despite not being supposed to even ride in a car for two weeks after the first hip was done, this time he has to go to the physiotherapist, the physiotherapist doesn’t come to him. I don’t know what’s happening to our medical care system, but it’s not good.

My posts on this blog are probably going to be random for a while, but I am going to try and post at least once a week. I don’t know whether I’ll do a recap of everything I did on my year off from blogging – I don’t know if anyone will be interested – I might just keep on keeping on.

See ya next time.