That's A LOT of Snow

So sending the Princess out to measure the snow with my 18" ruler wasn't so smart.

How was I supposed to know the snow was so deep, 

the ruler would get lost and take 3 people to find it?

With all the snow we've gotten in Denver lately, I can't imagine being stuck without cable. The kids have been on fall break all week, making alcohol drugs cable a necessity. (The only reason I'm not in jail at this point.) Even with cable, they were getting a little stir crazy (and making me flat crazy) after the second full day of being in the house. Our homeowner's association hires a crew that shovels our sidewalks and plows our streets - but it usually takes them forever to get here to do it. The snow was so wet and heavy this week, they were even later than usual. In an attempt to stop the fighting (and protect my very last fragment atom of sanity), I sent them over to shovel the sidewalk of an elderly neighbor. She asked them to knock the wet, heavy snow off her satellite dish - the snow knocked out her satellite connection, meaning she couldn't watch television. Neither of us had a ladder big enough to reach the dish, so the poor woman was out of luck for about 72 hours. We have cable - and had it gone out, I would have frantically pounded on every door in the state - taking hostages until I acquired enough chemicals to be comfortably numb. Then I would have checked myself inot the loony bin.

Oh wait.

 
My house = loony bin. Insane asylum. Circus town. Mental institution. Nut house. Sanitarium. Funny farm. Madhouse. Zoo. Padded cell. Sanatorium. Rubber room. Booby hatch.

We got about 3 1/2 feet of snow with really deep drifts. It was miserable. The 'beasts even got tired of being stuck in the house - they love playing in the snow, but the wind was blowing so hard that the snow came down sideways most of the time. Since the snow was literally blinding, the 'beasts were forced to come up with inventive ways to spend their time - without doing anything illegal...which included an assortment of...umm...things.


For example, our indoor cat Princess, loves to go outside...even though she's not supposed to. Lately, we've been letting her out for short periods of time so she can sun herself on our small front stoop and the sidewalk. Since we've been letting her out, she hasn't gone far - and she comes right back in when you call her.


Princess is not an outdoor cat, though. She likes being warm and comfortable. She's basically my a lap cat. So when it snows, she stays inside...no desire to go outside. She'll sit at the storm door and look out - but that's it. Well, that's it...when the kids aren't on fall break.


Middle son thought it would be fun to have her experience drop her in the snow - and watch her reaction. I could have told you before they even did this that her reaction would not be positive. That she would not find a dunk in the snow enjoyable. However, no one asked me before they did it...and I wasn't aware of the "plan" prior to it happening. I'm in the kitchen piddling around when I hear the front door open. No big deal - the kids had been in and out all morning. No big deal until I see the cat in middle son's arms. I didn't have time to yell "STOP!" - I only got my mouth open...where it stayed, while they proceeded to hold her out straight...and drop her.


One minute there was a kitty. The next there was nothing but a hole in the snow. Make that a moving hole. I'd never seen snow move quite that way. And as I'm open mouthed gaping looking out the window, wondering where the cat is - but knowing she's in the snow, but not believing it - I see it happen.


Princess pulls off the seemingly impossible. She jumps straight up. Horizontally. No vertical definition whatsoever. Totally perpendicular to where the ground would be if it wasn't covered in snow. And not only did she accomplish that, she actually began moving toward the front door...in one very swift movement. Think of the cartoon Scooby Doo and the way Shaggy and Scooby run when a ghost is after them. That's exactly how Princess moved. Home girl shot straight up and toward the safety of the front door. The kids laughed hysterically - and Princess gave them the evil eye for the next two days. She still won't let them touch her.

Doing things like that is what entertained them. I had no idea how many things like that there are to do around here!



We got so much snow. How much snow did you get? We got so much, I almost lost the Princess. 

The Princess is almost 5' tall. She is standing at the end of our street, on the snow that's accumulated on the grass - right behind one of the drifts we have around here.

 

 She had a horrible time getting behind the drift - she had to find a point where the snow wasn't as deep so she could walk through it without sinking into it. It came up to her hips - and who can walk in hip-deep snow? Then again, who wants to??

Just in case you're worried, don't be. The snow didn't get her.

This time.

At one point I sent the Princess out to measure the snow. I gave her an 18" ruler since one of the 'beasts apparently ate the yardstick. See the first set of three pictures to see how well that went.


All-in-all, over three days of constant snow, we got a total of about 40" of snow. The drifts got much deeper than that. Most of the local schools closed all three days - which is basically unheard of. DIA averaged a three-and-a-half hour delay. Businesses closed. I know because there was a constant crawl on the bottom of the tv screen. Twenty-four hours a day. They broke into regularly-scheduled programming. Once they were sure this wasn't the end of it all, they took over commercial breaks in the programming. (I'm sure the advertisers really appreciated that.)


I did get a little vengeance, tho. They spent some of the time highly annoyed. Since they were on fall break, they didn't have school. However, the school districts all around us were out for three days. They miss a lot of snow days - because they are already out of school for some other reason. For example, they return to school Monday...and they're out next Friday for parent-teacher conferences.

Yeah, my heart really aches for them.

And today? Today it's going to be 57. The snow on the streets is now melted. They'll have to walk around huge snow piles while they trick or treat...but it's Colorado, so they're used to it.

I think I'll be adding just a bit of Bailey's to my hot cocoa.

Happy Halloween.


xx,

 

UPrinting.com Sticker Winner

Remember the UPrinting.com sticker giveaway I held? My giveaway entries are still suffering. What have I done to all of you that you don't want free stuff?? Geez. I've never had so much trouble giving away free things!

The three people who took the time to enter deserve some link love. All three write great blogs that I highly recommend.

 

The drawing became all about these three great ladies - and I'm really glad I didn't have to choose! The Princess picked the winner - and the winner is...

I have emailed Ann and she has graciously responded - so the only thing left is to notify UPrinting.com.

Thank you ladies - and UPrinting.com - for the chance to run this contest! Keep your eyes open for the next giveaway...and next time, ENTER! You can't win unless you do...and it's easy to win. Just ask Ann.

xx,

Happy Halloween Trick Bowl

 

 This is one of my favorite times of year...the anticipation of Halloween, the crisp - ok, downright cold - fall air, the childebeasts out for fall break. In order not to upset anyone, and to be politically correct, the school district here always holds fall break the last week of October. Each year we (usually) have several days leading up to Halloween to get costumes and decorations together. This year has been no exception!

I made a Creepy Halloween Bowl to scare all the little ghosts and goblins that come looking for tricks and treats. It's really easy, didn't take any time at all, and can be made for practically nothing. Make one, then give all the witches and zombies in your neighborhood a ghoulish surprise!

TIME: 30 minutes (after gathering supplies)

COST: Under $5.00

 

SUPPLIES:

** Most of these supplies are optional. I listed the items I used (and links to examples) - but experiment...be creative! And as always, if you get stuck or need help, click the "Contact" button. I'm glad to help! **

~ Large plastic bowl (around 11") from Halloween section of grocery store (I got mine at King Soopers, $2.99 - before they all went on sale)

~ Dremel too with 1/8" multipurpose cutter, or high speed cutter, etc, and saw bits - or drill with similar bits

~ Glue dots (this is the kind I had on hand - using large, flat Glue Dots would probably work better)

~ Brads with a square/larger, flat head (here's an example - or these candy corn brads would be cute)

~ Yellow latex dish washing glove - 1  (These are just an example - don't you dare pay this much!)

~ Scissors

~ Large rhinestone gems (I used oval and diamond shapes)

~ Glue (something like E-6000 or 2 part epoxy works well - something that will adhere plastics) Do NOT use glue like the Elmer's Craft Glue pictured - it doesn't work!! (I learned this)

~ Black Memories stamp pad (StazOn would work well also)

~ Halloween stamps (small images work best) OR black permanent marker to draw Halloween images (I got mine at Michael's in their dollar bins...you get 2 small stamps for $1, available year-round)

~ Awl (optional)

~ Lighter (optional) Use a long handled lighter - like one for candles, bar-b-ques, or fireplaces, please. Do NOT use a small regular lighter.

Using your Dremel or drill and the saw blade bit (or a sharp knife - carefully!), cut a hole in the bottom of the bowl. Make hole just big enough to slide your hand through. You can sand the edges a little if necessary.

 

Put your hand inside rubber glove and slide rubber glove through hole. Decide how far you want your hand to stick up in the bowl. Add 3" and cut glove. You can eyeball this measurement - doesn't need to be perfect.*Pay attention to which hand you'll use to hand out the candy so you use the correct glove!*

 

Cut slits into the sides of the glove long enough to stretch the bottom of the glove around the hole. Use Glue Dots to secure the glove around the hole. Using multipurpose or high speed 1/8" bit and Dremel or drill, drill holes through the glove and plastic bowl at even intervals. You need this part to be really secure - so you should use about 20 +/- brads. You may find it easier to drill 2 holes directly across from each other, insert the brads, then do 2 more...working in a 12 to 6 o'clock, 3 to 9 o'clock, etc pattern.

I had a hard time using the Dremel for this - the glove kept wanting to wind up in the bit. (It was most likely operator error, not Dremel error.) I found that heating my awl - to very hot - and poking it through the glove and bowl - was much easier. This method requires heating the awl for several seconds, many times - which is why you need a long handled lighter and not a typical cigarette lighter.

 

  Open/flatten brad tongs inside bowl. It's important to use brads with a head bigger than the hole so the brads don't slip through. I think the brads I used are about 1/2" square. I just used some I had laying around, but it's important they are flat so they aren't seen. Halloween themed brads would be cute, but definitely not necessary.

After inserting the brads, the glove should be secure. If not, add more brads.

 

Using black ink and Halloween stamps, stamp the outside of the bowl randomly with small Halloween images.

If you don't have Halloween stamps or a black ink pad, use a permanent marker to draw some Halloween doodles.

Adhere the rhinestone gems around the lip of the bowl. Once the adhesive dries you're ready to go out and give a little trick with your treats! I promise the kids will be talking about your house for a long, looong time.

I thought this was an easy, quick project...but poor Noodles had to take a cat nap when we were finished. I say "we" because I was finished with the bowl...and he was finished trying to chew on the glove, eat the rhinestones, knock the rubber stamps off the bed, walk through the stamp pad...

No wonder Noodles was tired. He was a lot busier than I was!