Sissy stuff to keep warm with during the "VORTEX"?

[Betty]

A little chilly this morning inside, but I'm not turning up the heat anymore. I've probably already used more heating energy than I can afford. They say it will get up to 30 outside today, so it should get a little warmer inside too. Cooking up some soup & coffee soon should heat up the place a bit too.

DO NOT Shovel or blow snow if you're over 60!!!

Get a friend, neighbor, or family member to do it. If they can't get there right away, just wait. What's your hurry? It's not worth your life!

Every storm, including this one, I read about people needlessly dieing clearing snow. If you have a snow blower, will you have to lift the machine off or out of it's storage area when it weighs more than you do? Will it be easily manageable in deep snow, up a hill, or breaking up a snow bank?  The effort to pull the pull-starter a dozen times to get it going in the wind, cold, & heavy clothes can kill you.

May I suggest those lightweight small electric blowers. They really do a good job for a small machine, & will probably outlast the gasoline one. They're a lot cheaper too, & you won't have to run out for more gas. No noise either. Don't worry about running over the cord, you get used to the wire very quickly. We're not reading about anybody dieing by running over a blower cord or trying to get an electric started. Most are equipped with an unbreakable nylon impeller blade, so even if you do run over the cord, it usually won't damage it.

If you can't find anyone to do the snow, call your local church, community center, or community aid service for help or advice.

On the news today:

Three of those who died while shoveling were New Yorkers — men aged 67, 78 and 80 — in Queens and Staten Island, the authorities said. Two more were on Long Island, a 61-year-old man in West Hempstead and a 94-year-old man in Smithtown whose body was found next to a snow blower, the authorities said. A sixth shoveling death occurred in Maryland, where a 60-year-old man died of a heart attack on Saturday.

And please drive carefully. One mistake by you or another driver can turn you into a pile of smashed up mush.

[Angela M...]

Hey Betty, I have an electric start but the machine is so big and cumbersome that even with power assist drive and steering you get tired after a short while. I have been trying to find a willing teen in my area that I could teach to use it but so far no luck. We do have a city program for seniors that will pair you up with a teen but I never had any luck last year and did not call them this year. I have a new neighbour who looks to be in his forties so I may make a deal with him to use my snow-blower to clean both our drives and walks. I have not really met him yet as he seems to work out of town and is gone by 6 AM and home by 6 or 7 PM so he doesn't have much time for snow clearing. I did read about all the deaths due to the snow and so I do take it easy when I do it myself.

[Betty]

Toro Powercurve 1800 all electric blower.

I bought mine in 1997 & it still runs great after dealing with many severe winters. No snow is too deep after you learn a few tricks with it. But a tall solid snowbank across your driveway made by the city plows, may have to be chopped & broken up with a shovel a little for the blower to blow it. It will not chop or blow large blocks of ice, but as long as you don't force it too hard to do so, hitting a big chunk of ice, or even a bottle or can buried in the snow won't break it. It will also blow most garbage, leaves, & small twigs hidden in the snow.

Don't be fooled by its small size. It does great work.

I used mine in commercially to clear the place I worked at for 16 years. Almost a city block of clearing snow, including a parking lot & patio, plus used it every place I lived until I moved in this new place.

I had to replace the impeller blade around 2007. It was easy to replace myself, & only cost a little under $10. The metal plates on the sides of the chutes, & the screws holding them on started showing rust after about 10 years. So I cleaned them up, repainted them with Rustolium paint, & bought new screws from the hardware store for about $2.

Every spring I would clean it off, & every fall I coat the metal plates with WD-40 to rust protect it.

I paid $199 for mine in 1997. Best snowblower I ever used.  I can lift it with 1 hand. With a 120 foot cord, I just plug it in anywhere, & I'm ready to go.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Toro-Power-Curve-18-in-Electric-Snow-Blower-38381/202218973
http://www.amazon.com/Toro-38381-18-Inch-Electric-Blower/dp/B003FIQKYO
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4480136
http://www.truevalue.com/product/Electric-Snow-Blower-18-In-1800-Power-Curve/25059.uts

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiUz7TVBmGg" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiUz7TVBmGg</a>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiUz7TVBmGg

Similar:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YYPR9F6
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W8YAVXM
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B008FHF91A

I had a friend who bought a newer model a few years ago that had a problem with the handle switch. It was easily fixed, but it comes with a full warranty & can be exchanged at the store for one without the defect. I've read the bug in the handle has been corrected on new models.

I had a problem with the cord falling out of the receptacle on the handle. So I tied the cord to the handle so I don't accidentally knock it out. I also wrapped duct tape around it to keep it in solidly. When I roll up the cord, I keep it attached. I place it on top of the blower, & keep it stored with the blower. 120 foot cords are pretty cheap these days.

With no outdoor outlet, I used to run the cord right out the window, & lightly close the window on it. The small window gap for a short time didn't loose too much heat inside. I used to tie the cord to a chair or table leg inside to it don't get yanked out of the outlet.

[Betty]

I'm actually surprised the east coast is so crippled by only 17-29 inches of snow, with places or schools closing, driving bans, lots of people having accidents & some dieing. Around here we would consider 24-30" of snow a quite ordinary day, & nothing would close down for it. I guess it depends what you're used to.

[Betty]

Amish horses tow big truck out of snow.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlyDkpYHR70" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlyDkpYHR70</a>

[Angela M...]

Sometimes the old ways are the best. We have a lot of Amish on farms just north of where I live. When taking drives in the country we often see them tilling the land with horse and plow and riding in their buggy's to Church. Quite often we will see the children dressed just like Little House, out playing in their gardens or at their roadside stands selling fruit,vegetables and cut flowers. One of our favourite places to eat is a Menonite restaurant north of Kitchener, that serves family style meals and wonderful soups and baked goods to make a person drool, (well me at least). I can never go there just for just a meal, I always come home with fresh bread and a pie or two. Their prices are very reasonable and the portions are very large. You can choose two kinds of meat from a long list and then you get fresh baked rolls and a big bowl of veggies and mashed potatoes and a large jug of gravy just like a family style Sunday dinner. (Sorry if I made people hungry)

[Betty]

Many privately or family owned rural restaurants (not truck stops) have the best home style or old fashioned food. Their recipes date back before everyone was afraid of salt, butter, MSG, or gluten, & nobody heard of cholesterol. My dad loved that stuff. He died of his first heart attack at 55 after shoveling just 2" of snow off his front step a day before Thanksgiving many years ago. That was back in the days when we didn't know that eating a shitload of bacon was bad for you.

The snow on the video doesn't look that deep. But I see the horses slipping, so there's gotta be a sheet of ice on the road. No salt trucks in most rural areas, so that guy probably towed people out before. He may even be the town's official tow company.

In full screen at 0:21 at the bottom of the screen, you see a totally surprised & confused mouse narrowly escaping being crushed as the horse probably just smashed it's underground nest beside the road. We evolved from something like that, hiding underground during that asteroid impact. He stops after crossing the road to look back. Normally a mouse would have kept running, unless they had a spouse or family member left behind. It's clearly checking back to see if it's mate, kids, or family made it out.

38F, rainy, with no wind here. Was 43F at 11pm. Was sunny all day. Highs at almost or above 30F with lows in the 20s expected the rest of the week. Sure a lot nicer than the teens, or lower & windy. Maybe it won't snow in April again.

[Angela M...]

Hey Betty, I remember looking at the Toro electric snow blowers a few years ago but did not think it would handle all the snow we usually got around here. Needless to say the snowfalls have not been that bad in the last year or two so it would have been good and light to handle also. I would be used to the cord as I used an electric lawn mower at my mothers for years and never hit the cord once. She had a very large yard and I had a system for keeping the cord on one side of me at all times. The weather here is pretty mild today and I was going to wash the car but then it started raining about 9 AM so I put it off. The wind picked up later in the day and it started to get colder but was still 35F at supper time and I was hoping the streets and walks would not freeze over due to the rain. I don't mind driving in snow but hate Black Ice as you don't see it until you are on top of it and sliding sideways.

[Betty]

A sheet of ice just under thin snow is the worst, even when walking. Once you get over 50 or 60 your bones get brittle, so a simple slip on ice could mean broken bones.

Got up to 45F (7C) Tuesday morning. It's 33F (0.5C) now. They're expecting light snow the rest of the week.

Our hottest visitor is 99F (37C) at Alice Springs, our coldest visitor is 20F (-7C) in Minneapolis. London is 55F (13C), NYC is 45F (7C) as they're getting the weather front we just got.

[Angela M...]

Yeh I hear you about the broken bones, my doctor told me I am an easy candidate for broken hips if I take up skating again. I just had a bone density test before Christmas and am now taking extra calcium and Vitamin D supplements along with other meds to slow the degeneration down a bit. My Arthritis is getting the better of me in my old age. Sure wish we could relive our youth for a little while but I guess we have the memories. Growing up in the 60's was quite a time for us and I remember hanging out in Yorkville in Toronto with the Flower children. You would have been in Canada back then were you not? With all the people I hung out with and all the drugs around then, I am surprised I did not touch any of it. I never started to smoke either but I did drink a bit too much sometimes. My cousin and I would go to all the parties and scan the chicks and most of the time we could score with the nicest ones as most of the guys were wasted. Oh well that was then and this is now. I must get my old photo's unpacked and go through all the ones I took back then. My cousin sent me a short video of the Toronto of the 60's and it is in fast motion up until the present day. Lots of changes to the skyline now and many of the places we hung out at are long gone.