A Record Low And Non-Record Snow

Some weather related info here.  Yeah you're probably getting sick of all the posts about snow and cold and whatnot, but either propose some other topics (and they'll be taken under advisement) or deal with it.

It turns out that Blizzard Alvin, our Christmas Day gift from the weather gods, while a tremendous blizzard in its own right, was not a record.  The Grand Forks Herald did a thorough search of the historical record and found a larger snowstorm in 1966, and another in 1996 that preceded the huge floods in Grand Forks.  Why it took several days to discover something that happened in 1996 is beyond me, but we won't focus on that.  The other snowstorms were something like 31 and 27 inches respectively, so Blizzard Alvin likely ranks a solid third in "biggest snow events in Grand Forks history".

In other weather news.  Last night was a record low for this date, -35 degrees at the airport, breaking the old record of -27 degrees.  Now mind you, this is just the air temperature, no wind chill is factored in.  It was -35 degrees overnight and I can tell you that it was darn cold.  By the time we got up in the morning and took this picture (around 8:30 am), it had warmed to about -26 (see photo below).

Even though it's sunny, the thermometer says that it's a bit chilly outside.

So what does one do when it gets chilly outside?  You find a comfy chair, get a nice warm dog on your lap, cover up with a flannel shirt, and hunker down for a nice nap. 

New Reader Shout Outs

As you may well know, our policy here is to gratefully acknowledge each individual who subscribes to this wonderful blog with their own personalized shout out.  Due to the tremendous interest generated by the Family Holiday newsletter, we were able to increase our subscriber base by a whopping 40%!!!  This would normally be amazing until you realize that we merely added two new subscribers to the five we had previously.

So let's give a warm welcome to Yonni and Emma who became new subscribers to our lovely blog, possibly as some sort of New Years Resolution to take pity on me and increase my readership.

I've known Yonni since the first days of Junior High School, almost 20 years now, which is just a baffling amount of time.  And though he has forsaken the Stars and Stripes for the proud Maple Leaf of Canada, we don't hold that against him, unless of course he actually knows the lyrics to O' Canada, in which case he's dead to me.

Emma is a part of our Pacific Northwest contingent and is in the Top 5 of my "People You Need To Have Along When Venturing Forth For An Adult Beverage or Two" list.  Hopefully the homestead will eventually end up in Oregon and we can hang out with her and her doting beau Geoff more often.

Welcome to both of you.  May your presence enlighten us and your clicking generate thousands of dollars of ad revenue.

More Pictures

I gotta give my audience what they want.  And what do they want?  More than anything else they want pictures of Professor Alycia teaching her class "Snowblower Operation 101" and cute puppy pictures.  I'm more than happy to oblige.....

Vroom Vrooom, look at her go.

Look at that snow fly!!!

Sorry about this picture, it's a bit X-rated, naked dog and all.  Shaak Ti had a bath and then sat and stared at her post-bath biscuit treat.  Alycia thinks nothing of letting the dogs scamper around naked for hours after their bath.  I think it's terribly inappropriate and always admonish Alycia for her laissez faire attitude towards canine clothedness.  Special thanks to Auntie Alma for the delicious Christmas biscuits.  

Baths always make her sleepy....and that's just fine.

Happy Last Day of 2009

Best wishes on New Years Eve to all my faithful readers.  May the next year bring you happiness, fuzzy socks, quiet solitude, sloppy puppy kisses, and the comfort of family and friends. 

Here at the homestead we'll be celebrating New Years Eve by staying at home, watching a movie, and perhaps popping open a bottle of fine champagne that Alycia's friend Andy gave her as a going away present when we left San Diego.  We also have an appointment at 1:00 to watch the mighty Stanford Cardinal in the Sun Bowl, their first bowl appearance in many years. 

This morning, as always, we checked the thermometer outside the dining room window to determine how bundled up we should get for our morning walk.  As we checked the thermometer we noticed a few bad signs; 1) the thermometer needle was below zero and 2) the entire thermometer itself was wiggling due to the wind.  I deduced from these two signs that it was chilly outside and girded myself up appropriately, which is to say, I made coffee as Alycia walked the dogs. 

That I stayed inside while Alycia walked the pooches may sound cruel, but the reality is that only Shaak Ti went out.  Tito ventured to the back gate, speedily relieved himself and then scampered back inside, so really Alycia only had to walk one dog.  It gets better though.  The forecast for tomorrow - "bitterly cold".  Literally that's what the forecast says.  Sigh...

May your New Years celebrations be warmer and more festive than ours and Happy New Year to all. 

More Snow Pictures

As promised, here are some more snow pictures.  

The front of our house before we dug a path to the front door. 

John using the snowblower near the back gate.  The picture was taken by Alycia, who was tasked with being the official event photographer, from the balcony as she was clearing snow.  It took quite a while just to create enough space to maneuver the snowblower around and get out of the backyard through the gate. 

Alycia took a turn with the snowblower helping to clear the driveway.  Doesn't she look cute in her pink jacket?  I think so.  The bright pink color also makes it harder for her to get lost in the snow or should there be whiteout conditions.

The veteran members of our crack snow removal team take a break. 

"That snow's really high.  Where am I supposed to potty?"  One of our first priorities was clearing a path through the yard for Shaak Ti and Tito to conduct their doggy eliminations in the yard.  Shaak Ti did manage to initially misjudge the back step and floundered in a snow bank for a bit, but I quickly rescued her. She's still learning. 

Blizzard Alvin

Sorry it's been quiet on the blog front recently.  I'd like to blame it all on Christmas and being busy playing with my new toys, but the truth is much more sinister, we've spent the last few days digging out from the big blizzard, first at Alycia's parents place in Cavalier on Saturday, and then Sunday at our place in Grand Forks.

First, more information about the storm.  Yes, it was blizzard Alvin that struck us.  For some reason the local newspaper (the Grand Forks Herald) recently started naming all the blizzards that strike the area.  This particular blizzard was named after the rambunctious singing Christmas chipmunk crooner.  Why Alvin?  I have absolutely no idea.  Perhaps there is much credence granted to cartoon singing rodents here.

The newspaper has stated that it will take a few days to review the historical records to see if they can find a bigger snowstorm, but no one can remember a bigger one, not even a few "old-timers" they interviewed.  So for now, this is the biggest snowstorm to hit Grand Forks ever.  Ever.  Not biggest storm on this day, or biggest snow storm in December, but of all time, and we were lucky enough to be here to see it.

So without further ado, here are some pictures of all that snow.

This was the scene that greeted us, the driveway and garage under about two feet of snow, drifts were slightly less in some spots and definitely more - waist high and above, in others.  That little lump is the GrandmaMobile that we park in the driveway and use if we need another vehicle.

Another shot of the garage and driveway from the street to the right of the driveway.  The plows came along and made a huge berm or densely packed, icy snow that took a while to get through.

I stood near the snow pile on the corner to give you an idea how tall it is, probably 7-8 feet, though it's hard to see that from this angle.  Notice my cool hat.  More on my new hat in another posting....

In order to get in the house I waded through the driveway, used my foot to clear enough snow to get the gate wedged open, waded through the backyard to the back door, opened it, and then opened up the front door for Alycia and her parents to get through. 

The sidewalk in front of the house.  One of our neighbors has a small tractor with a snow plow attachment and was nice enough to clear the sidewalk for the whole block, including in front of our house, so that was the easiest route to get from car to house.  From there we dug out the path to the front door with shovels, and people and pups were able to make it inside the house.  Alycia and her Mom set out to haul items from the cars into the house while her Dad and I got started snowblowing the driveway. 

Alycia and her Mom takcled the upstairs balcony and shoveled the snow down to the backyard below.  As you can see the snow was easily waist deep on the balcony.

After five hours or so of snowblowing and shoveling, we retired for the day in front of a warm crackling fire, exhausted but victorious over the snow.  We were treated to a lovely sunset, the last high wispy clouds of the storm made the sky colors abound.

I'll post more photos soon, I promise, including a photo of Alycia using the snowblower!!!

Our First Blizzard

It's our first blizzard of the season for the family unit, and first blizzard ever for me.  Blizzard warnings are up Thursday evening and through Saturday morning.  We traveled up to Cavalier Wednesday afternoon as conditions were set to deteriorate rapidly.  We've already had about 6 to 12 inches of snow here in Cavalier and another 10 to 14 are on the way.  But down Grand Forks way they're projecting up to two feet total or more.  That's a heck of a lot of snow.  We're going to have some digging out to do, that's for sure.

Travel has been deemed virtually impossible and the main interstate (I-29) is closed down completely.  Outside the snow is coming down thick and fierce, and the wind is howling at 25 to 30 mph, with gusts even higher, making the snow mostly horizontal.

Taking the dogs outside for potty time is becoming problematic.  Tito has no problem, once you get him outside.  You actually have to pick him up and underhand-heave him out the door, but once he's out, he'll quickly go and then come back in.  Shaak Ti is a bit more difficult as the snow is above her head in most places.  There are a few sheltered places (near the garage) that aren't under a foot or more, and we're trying to get to those locations, but getting there is tough.

Speaking of which, I gotta go take her out now....

North Dakota Job Search

Even though I'm totally happy with my life as a consultant, traveling back to San Diego on occasion is probably the best job-related hazard you could dream up, I thought I would periodically see what employment opportunities were in my new neighborhood. I keep my eye on the local classified ads and when something seems up my alley, I fire over a resume, not actually to try and find a full time job (it just sounds terrible - working every day), but more to make a few connections, learn about the local economy, and show Alycia that I'm making some kind of token effort to find a job here. And to amuse myself.

With that in mind I saw a job with the City of Grand Forks a month or so ago, and realizing that a cake job with the city might be the only thing that could lure me out of my current state of psuedo-employment, I applied. The position was for a staff accountant, something that based on the job description and my experience, I figured I was fully over qualified for. Since I hadn't had much success hearing back from my previous exploratory e-mails (I'd sent out a handful over the past few months and never gotten a response), I didn't expect to hear back about this job at all, even though I filled out the four page application and attached my resume.

Little did I know that not only would I hear back from the City of Grand Forks, but that I was actually totally unqualified for a position I thought I was overqualified for. Thankfully the City of Grand Forks sent me a letter explaining to me not how or why I was unqualified, but with a score that ennumerated precisely how unqualifed I was, 7.5 points. See attached letter for more information.