Thursday, January 16, 2014

Winter's Still With Us

Snow started yesterday afternoon and hung around after dark.


Before dusk Papa Pea brought a couple of wheelbarrows full of wood up to the back porch where we stacked it in the wood box.

This morning we found about 8" of new snow making everything a fresh, clean winter wonderland.

During the day we've had a little more snow and lots of wind picking up the snow on the ground and sending it flying off to new locations.

Around noon time we had to drive out to our mechanic's garage about twenty miles down the highway to pick up my Toyota that had had some work done on it.  Although we saw three county snowplows on the road, it was snow covered and slippery, the temperature in the low 20s at that time.  We drove out in our Suburban and planned to drive it and the Toyota home. 

About three miles from the garage, the battery light came on in the Suburban, then went off, then on again.  Suddenly very bad grinding noises started emitting from under the hood.  We literally coasted into our mechanic's yard.  The general consensus after a quick look seems to be that the alternator went kaputz.  So we ended up leaving the Suburban there and both coming home in the Toyota.  I teased Papa Pea that he really didn't need me to go on that little jaunt.  He could have accomplished it on his own.

But talk about someone watching over us.  We took this same Suburban to the big city and back exactly one week ago, and believe me, there are many, many deserted stretches of road between here and there where we could have gotten stranded if the alternator had gone out then.  We are, indeed, lucky duckies.


Snow is still coming down accompanied by those pesky winds.  I do love the way the snow looks blown up against the living room windows tonight.  Great time to be snuggled down on the couch in front of the open fire.  And that's right where I'm going now.

Good night, all!

16 comments:

Sunnybrook Farm said...

That was real good that it broke when it did. Still cold here but we somehow missed the snow, it seemed to stop at the county line.

Sparkless said...

Talk about perfect timing for a break down. I think I must live in the only area not getting the snow, wind and extreme cold. We can now see most of our grass. It feels like spring out there! This is not a good thing at all because without the snow pack in the mountains it's going to be a very dry spring and summer which means forest fires. Hopefully the snow will come back or at least some rain.

Wendy said...

Such pretty white stuff! It is cold here for us in the south tonight...in the 20's, but no white goodness...hope you keep warm...

Anonymous said...

Drats on the Suburban, but so glad you were close to help. Hope you get it back soon, I think you are going to need it with all that snow.

http://caffeinatedhomestead.weebly.com/blog.html

Candy C. said...

A breakdown is never good but at least you were able to make it to the garage! The snow is very pretty but I'm sure ya'll could do without that wind.

odiie said...

What a blessing that you got your Suburban into the mechanic ASAP!
We were out on the streets of Duluth last night, and while it was slick, we didn't slide into the lake.

Mama Pea said...

Sunnybrook Farm - It's curious the way the snowfall can sometimes seem to just stop and there's a sharp delineation between snow . . . and no snow. That's the way it's been for us the past several winters. It all stopped south of us. But not this year!

Mama Pea said...

Sparkless - It is strange you've escaped the cold weather. And the lack of snow and/or rain, as you say, isn't good for spring and summer. Hope you get some soon!

Mama Pea said...

Wendy - In the 20s! That IS cold for you. Maybe we should be telling YOU to keep warm! :o}

Mama Pea said...

Stephanie - Hubby has wanted to get a couple of check up/maintenance type things done on the vehicles but was waiting for spring until the roads were better, but now he's thinking he'd best get on it NOW.

Mama Pea said...

Candy C. - We both laid awake last night listening to the winds that picked up. (I dreamed of snapped off trees in the yard!) Apparently another cold front blew in because our temp this morning is just a couple of degrees above zero. Brrrr! Again.

Mama Pea said...

odiie - If the weather there was anything like it was here . . . what were you doing out last night??! We've got clearing of snow to do again this morning because of all the drifting last night. Oh well, it's winter time!

Lisa said...

How fortuitous (isn't that a great word?!) your Suburban decided to die right outside the mechanics?! How lucky can you get?! I have to say I love the photo of your lamp by the window. Makes your home look and feel so warm, inviting and cozy. After reading your comment to Candy C. - and I thought 'in the 40s' was cold?! You've got a whole new definition of 'cold' going on up there. Stay warm by your fire and enjoy reading, knitting or working on one of your quilting projects!!

Unknown said...

Good timing and nice shot of the window!

Mama Pea said...

Lisa - Fortuitous is right!

We got up into the low 20s today so it felt balmy again. But, drat and darn, the forecast is for highs near 0° for most of next week. Ugh.

Mama Pea said...

Little Homestead in Boise - Good timing, indeed. The scary thing is we had absolutely no warning anything was going wrong. Eeeep.

Thanks for the nice words regarding the window shot. The snow against the panes is gone today, but I have a feeling may return yet again this winter!