shoveling

Not quite the day I planned

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The plan for the day was to give the truck a test by heading into town this morning, then if all went well, to visit my mother in the afternoon.

Well, one out of three got done.

This morning, after taking care of the outside cats, I did a bit of shoveling around the house and the truck, which is parked in the yard until my brother can move his truck out of the garage into a spot I’m not even going to try and get it into, with all the snow. The snow in the yard wasn’t too bad, though.

Then I decided to check the end of the driveway.

It was drifted over.

The road didn’t need to be plowed, but there was enough snow drifted across between the gate and the road that it had to be cleared before I could go anywhere.

So did the rest of the driveway.

I could have gotten through, I’m sure, but 1) I didn’t want to push the truck when I’m not even convinced the replaced differential was the cause of all the problems I was having, 2) I would have been slip sliding the whole way and 3) our forecasts are no longer showing temperatures above freezing coming up in the 10 day forecast, but they are showing more snow before then.

I did the end of the driveway, first. The snow was still light and fluffy, so it was an easy job. It still took almost an hour. I stopped after that to head in, have breakfast, hydrate and take some painkillers.

Before coming in, though, I checked on little Spewie.

The auger still won’t turn. Which means it wasn’t just something frozen in the works somewhere. It’s actually broken. Nothing is visibly broken, though. I’d have to dismantle it to find the problem.

Not going to happen any time soon.

It did mean the driveway had to be done the old fashioned way.

That took about two more hours.

I didn’t even do all of it. I did part of the turning radius to get into the garage when coming in from the road, but not where I would be turning in from the inner yard. I did clear around my brother’s truck, though.

Then I had to head in and take a rest brake. I really, really didn’t want to go anywhere, but I wanted to test the truck again before my dental appointment, tomorrow, and refill a couple of our water bottles in the process. I am also not counting on being able to get into the city on Saturday, and had some stuff I wanted to get, just in case, while at the grocery store. Things just keep happening and changing my plans!

I had just finished with the shoveling, gotten inside and was starting to take my coat off when the phone rang. I didn’t even try go get to it before the answering machine picked up.

It was the pharmacy delivery driver, letting us know he was almost at our place.

So I put my coat back on and headed out to meet him at the gate.

Oh, gosh. I just realized, as I write this. It’s still open.

*sigh*

After taking a break – and more painkillers – I grabbed the water jugs and headed out.

Happily, I did not get stuck getting out of the yard.

As for the drive in, the truck seemed to be working fine, but the road is in such bad shape, plus it now has the remains of drifts and ice along the way, that it was really hard to judge what I was feeling. Was that the truck shuddering, or was it the road making it shudder?

Along the way, I saw three back hoes, busily clearing the ditches of snow – two of them in our own municipality, including one right in our little hamlet. They’ve gotten a lot of progress in the past couple of days. It’s going to make a big difference, once the snow finally starts to melt.

I got a few things “extra” to take advantage of some sales, along with refilling the water jugs. Blocks of cheese were on sale, so I ended up getting four different kinds. I was able to get a decent amount of meat this time, including stewing beef. Rye bread, as always, plus some Naan that was on sale. Stuff like that.

I saw some 7.5kg kibble on sale and got a bag for the outside cats, just in case. In the end, even with the sale prices, it came out to $200, but I used some of my points and got $30 off.

By the time I was done, I knew there was no way I was going to visit my mother. I was in just too much pain. Instead, I headed straight home, without even stopping for more gas ($1.729/L still) or the post office. I can do that tomorrow, when I go in for my dental appointment.

I’ll call my mother later on, instead.

Once I got home, I drove up to the house and my daughter helped me unload everything but the kibble. I took that through the sun room and added it to the bin right away, then did the evening cat feeding, so no one would have to go out again, later.

I was supposed to close the gate again before going back in. I’m thinking it should be safe to leave open for the night. Our vandal doesn’t seem to do as much stupid stuff in the winter.

*sigh*

I think today is a good day to go to bed early – after I call my mother.

And take more pain killers.

*sigh*

It’s a good thing I actually enjoy shoveling so much.

The Re-Farmer

Ouch

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Well, I did get out to work on some shoveling. I needed to focus on the inner yard so that we could drive the truck up to the house.

It was a beautiful day for it and I did get a decent amount done, but I wasn’t able to finish it. My right elbow gave out, first. It became simply too painful to bend it after a while.

Once inside and settling in, I paused to take some painkillers. I keep a bottle by my nightstand, so I sat on the edge of my bed to reach it.

With my right arm.

I could barely pick up the bottle.

Then I tried to get up to get a water bottle from my mini-fridge.

That’s when my left hip gave out.

I actually had to get my husband – the one with the back injury that has left him disabled for almost 15 years – to get the water bottle out for me, so I could take my painkillers! Thankfully, I keep a cane with feet standing by my bedside; I use it to help me stand up out of bed. It’s on my right, but I had to move it so I could use my left arm to get myself standing, because I couldn’t put any weight on my right arm.

Being broken sucks.

I’ll have to make sure to take my anti-inflammatories soon, but I’ll need to take those with a full meal.

Ouch.

Meanwhile…

I sent a text to the garage. Obviously, we weren’t going to be getting the truck back today, and I acknowledged that I could see that. I brought up that, with all the weird things going on with the truck, we need to talk pre-financing to find out what we can trade it in for. Plus, about selling my mother’s car on consignment. I was hoping to wait until after the snow was gone, at least, before trading the truck in, and getting a few more payments against it, but we just can’t hold off anymore.

I got a response, just before they closed for the day. The part had not arrived yet. He said he would phone to find out where it is, and agreed about talking pre-financing. Since he has the truck there, they have access to all the information they need to look up the trade in value, etc.

It is highly unlikely we’ll be able to get another truck. Ideally, a minivan would be the alternative, but their resale prices tend to be even higher than trucks, apparently. SUVs, on the other hand, tend to be more reasonable. In the end, beggars can’t be choosers! We’ll take what we can get, as long as it’s something my husband can get in and out of without too much pain, and there’s room for his walker.

*sigh*

The Re-Farmer

Digging out… and waiting for word

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I woke up to a message from the cat rescue group, asking about the truck. I told them I hadn’t had any word yet. The person asking me then said that she would drive to our place to deliver the donated kibble on Saturday!!! (today is Thursday)

What a sweet thing to start the day!

Then she asked what my address was.

Bahahahahaha!!!

I gave directions. She will message me when she heads out. Hopefully, we’ll know what’s going on with the truck before then.

I had texted the garage yesterday afternoon but didn’t hear back before they closed. I texted again this morning, asking if there was any news. I needed to know if I had to arrange for a ride to get groceries. I got an response and an apology. With all the snow we’ve been having (they got a lot more of it in town at the lake than we did here!), they were swamped. He promised to get back to me soon.

With today and tomorrow being so much warmer, but then a steep drop in temperature after that (though not as steep are predicted earlier), the first thing I wanted to get done was clearing the end of the driveway. I did take the time to help run the hose out the door’s window so my daughter could start on the many loads of laundry we’ve all got waiting, then shovel some of the paths around the house, first.

Then it was off to the gate.

I remembered to grab some of the outdoor solar powered lights I got a box of not long ago. I grabbed three of them last night and was going to prep them with double sided mounting tape under the tops, where the solar panel is, but found that wasn’t going to work. These are designed to be mounted onto wood with provided screws. The way the casing is designed, under the solar panels isn’t flat. There’s a slightly recessed area. I would need foam core mounting tape to fill the gap. Which I didn’t have. So I used what I had under the light portion, where it was flat. Hopefully, it will be enough to hold them in place.

I put the lights on the gate first – one on the slide bar, positioned to it would light up the lock and chain below, plus two others above the middles of each side of the gate. I forgot I meant to have the other two facing the other way, though. That’s okay. If these work out, I can add two more, facing the other way, in between the three already there.

Then it was time to push the gates open through the drifts under them and start digging.

Thankfully, the plow ridge wasn’t too hard packed, though using the ice scraper to break up packed snow was still needed in some areas. There were two areas that I needed to focus on. The plow ridge and the drifting under the gate itself. In between wasn’t too bad. The rest of the driveway could use a run with the snow blower, but I don’t think I’ll bother. Not worth dragging around a couple hundred feed of extension cord. It’s not that bad, and we’re going to be warming up more consistently, soon. Friday night through Saturday night are supposed to be cold, but there is no new snow expected. After that, things are supposed to warm right up again, we should even see some melting in some areas.

I had to force myself to slow down and take many little breaks while shoveling. I enjoy it so much that, when I get started, I’m working like I’m 27 instead of 57, and this was going to be a big job! I started at the plow ridge and then worked my way down far enough to clear the swing zones of the gate.

While working, I did see a bit of traffic. Much less than usual for our surprisingly busy road. While I was clearing the second side of the gate, I started hearing another vehicle coming that sounded… off, somehow. Looking up, I saw our vandal driving by veeeeeerrrrryyyyy slowly. Thankfully, he didn’t stop to yell and wave his colostomy bag at me again. 🫤

At one point, I thought I would take a break by sitting on the wall of snow along one side of the driveway. Silly me! It wasn’t as hard packed as I thought, so I sank down. Which wouldn’t have been a problem, if my knees weren’t shot! I couldn’t just stand back up again. In the end, I had to get down on one knee – the left knee, since I still can’t put weight on my right knee – and use the shovel as a brace to stand up again.

Being broken sucks.

Last of all, I dug a path to the trail cam, which I haven’t been able to get to for some time. That path needed some serious chopping up with the ice scraper! It was so snow and ice packed at the bottom, I only did one part of the path. I was just too tired to try and dig out the path running at another angle. It was completely filled with snow and would have been just as packed with ice and snow under the much softer top layer.

In the end, I was out there for two hours.

Still no word on the truck when I got in, but I did tell him I was going to be shoveling and might not be able to hear a message come in. I’ve since let them know I’m inside again.

My daughter, sweetheart that she is, had a not lunch and a pot of tea ready for me when I came in. 💕

It was so nice out there today that I was actually overheating somewhat while shoveling. We’re definitely going to have to get a new snow shovel, though. I really like the one I’ve been using, with the blade width and ergonomic handle. Unfortunately, it started to crack a few years ago. Today, while pushing snow, it got hung up on a chuck of something, hitting it hard enough that I heard a cracking sound. The old crack is now much larger. Amazingly, it still held as I finished the job! Unfortunately, a really good snow shovel like this one is not cheap. They also tend to not be in stock when the end of season clearance sales happen. Still, when I finally make it into the city, I’m going to have to look for a replacement. We do have other snow shovels, but they are not as good.

For now, I’m going to just get some rest until it’s time to head out and do the second cat feeding outside. I really ought to take more pain killers. Or my anti-inflammatories. I haven’t been needing those every day, lately, but today is a day I should take them!

If I can just haul my stiffening body out of my chair to walk across the room to get them.

Okay. Maybe I over did it a bit today…

😄😂

It sure felt good, though!

The Re-Farmer