Score Another One For That Stupid Groundhog

Quite a week, huh? Y'all don't need me to elaborate on the details. Most of you were there, at one level or another.

Relax, it's fake

Today, I am taking down all the snowman decor in my house. Well, almost all of it. Leaving one item out; you know, like you keep one maternity outfit, so you don't tempt the muses to make you get pregnant.

Ten things of thankful:

1. School was canceled Monday through Thursday. Snow days are always tremendously welcome!

2. We did not lose power.

3. Our downstairs furnace continues to chug along. It's not completely well, but it's still doing its job. We will get it serviced when the cold weather subsides and the repair people aren't dealing with true heat emergencies OR when it conks out. Let's hope for the former.

4. My in-laws recommended a plumber to us when we found the pipes under the downstairs bathroom froze, in spite of leaving water running. It was limited to the toilet fill line and an outside spigot, both of which the plumber was able to thaw (toilet fill line) and thaw and repair break (spigot).

5. We now have a plumber. You're really a grown up when you have a plumber.

6. Our sewer line was also frozen. It is open(ish) now. You don't want to know the ugly details of why it is open, but suffice it to say our plumber will be coming back to work under the house when he is done with the emergencies of this week....

7. On Thursday, my husband and I knocked the snow off the car (for the second time this week - we got about 10" total) and shoveled the end of the driveway out to the street, then I also chipped a little bit of snow away down to the pavement, as THE SUN WAS SHINING and I needed a clear place if I had any hope of pulling out the next morning and making it up our hill. Half an hour later, our neighbor came out with his little tractor and scoop and SCOOPED THE ENTIRE HILL TO THE PAVEMENT! It was especially kind, since our driveway is the only one that comes out halfway up the hill; the other drives are either at the top of the hill where it is flat or at the bottom of the hill where it is flat, He was rewarded with a big bag of caramel popcorn.

8. The car battery was dead, but my MIL gave us a battery charger a couple of years ago that is able to start a car, and start it, it did! Figuring a battery replacement was inevitable, my husband and I decided to make our way to the nearest place we could get a new battery while getting a sense of how bad the streets in the neighborhood were (answer: nearly impassable). We drove a few blocks, very slowly, sliding and nearly getting stuck, and came right back home.

9. Since the test run was a failure, which in turn prevented us from getting a new battery, and since the university made us go back to work on Friday when all the other area schools remained closed, my boss offered to pick me up Friday morning. She had to use her 4 wheel drive to get through my neighborhood, but once we got to the main roads, they were clear.

10. Saturday, the temperature reached 45 degrees. The sun was bright and shiny, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We jumped the car, headed to Sam's Club for a new battery that starts the car like a champ, and are now hoping that one snowman tchotchke on a shelf will ward off any future winter weather. 

A fine ending to a week that was not always so fine. You can link YOUR thankfuls below, and I'm sure hoping you will.

Oh, hey, a little PSA: The American Red Cross is in desperate need for blood donations, as the extreme winter weather has impacted blood collections, which in turn has impacted the amount of blood available for patients who need it. Please consider donating! I am a Power Red donor and will be making my donation tomorrow afternoon. You can download the American Red Cross blood donor app to easily find a donation center or event near you! Thanks!

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