Saturday, November 24, 2007

Boring update

Here's the view out my office window this morning. It looks like January out there. That's the big news this week. The rest of it has been work, work, work. I'm in the home stretch as all the contracts I teach conclude prior to Christmas. Then I'll have a good month to putter about before the next slew of contracts come in at the end of January.

Today I'm going to try out our new little snow blower that I picked up yesterday. An $80 gadget (regularly $160) to save on the back stress of shoveling. I hope it works well. It's going to be tough because the snow we have was mixed with sleet and freezing rain, so it's more like "fluffy ice" than snow. We tried with the regular snow shovel and couldn't do anything with it.

The brazilians upstairs called me this week to complain about the lack of heat in the kitchen. I sent Serge up to fix it. We figured it was probably just a breaker. Nope. The problem was that the tenants didn't know what a thermostat was. "We thought it was a thermometer," is what they said. I don't suppose they needed much heat in the tropics, so this was a new thing for them. Cute, in a super lame kind of way.

18 comments:

CoffeeDog said...

It's cold here, no snow, but cold. We'd welcome snow, what with the severe drought we've had.

My weekend has been boring too. Taken the dog for several walks, later today we'll do a movie.

Here's to boring weekends and married life!

Anonymous said...

so funny the Brazilians not knowing how to turn up their heat. Now, they will keep it at 98 F because that is what they are used too. I hope they are paying their own Utilities.
VP Cheney went into the Oval Office last month and said to Bush, "Six Brazilians were killed in Iraq last month." Bush looked sad and replied, "That is so very awful I can't believe it." He then looked up at Cheney with tears in his eyes and said, "Just how many people is a Brazilian any way?"

Patricia said...

it does look like january, doesn't it? i'm not ready for 4 months of crappy cold weather. but i don't suppose it matters if i'm ready.

we lightly salt sidewalks before a big storm if there's notice, and it makes the snowblower work a little easier because the bottom layer doesn't completely become one with the sidewalk.

Polt said...

Heehhehehe, brazilians make me laugh. Good deal on the snowblower, my mom has had one for the last 4 years, she LOVES it.

HUGS...

Cooper said...

I saw those gadgets in Canadian Tire the other day ... kind of electric shovels. I thought about it, but didn't get one. I already have a Snow Blower, so it would be overkill, although I usually only use it after big storms when the snow is deep.

That's cute about the Brazilians. I'm surprised they only complained about the kitchen being cold. They'll probably keep it at a constant 25 now!

Anonymous said...

Don't you just love it though, when what could've been a problem (broken heater) turns out to be nothing?

And there's no cost involved?

Yeah, I love that.

I was quite proud of myself that I lit the pilot light in the heater myself this year.

It's the little things.

Rox said...

I am also a lover of the snowblower. Ours was recalled this summer. Something about catching on fire or something. We just took it in to have the part changed and have it serviced. Between that and the quad with the blade, snow removal will seem more like a game this year.

So funny about the Brazillians! Ed's joke was funny too!

Anonymous said...

The tedious tendencies of tenants can be overwhelming... luckily it was a cheap, quick fix!

Wish we had some of the snow down this way to ease our drought.

-C

Java said...

Kinda funny about the Brazilians; both the joke and the tenants.
I'd like to move further north to get away from the heat here, but I'm looking at these pix, reading the snow-blower comments, and I think I'll not move THAT far north! I've never owned a snow shovel. Doubt I've ever touched one. I've seen pictures, but I don't think I've seen one in real life.

GayProf said...

Your post reminds me that it is colder elsewhere. Lately, MFT has seemed way too chilly.

I am actually really curious about your rating of the $80 gadget. Since I am renting a house, I will need to clear sidewalks and would prefer a labor-saving device.

Patrick said...

L love time to putter. That's one of the things about teaching I envy (both my dad and sister are teachers). Do you find yourself ready to go back when it's time in January, or does it feel daunting at first? I certainly get plenty of free time, but since I usually don't know when it will end, I often can't enjoy it as puttering time.

Jess said...

Yeah, I agree... super lame. Well, at least nothing was broken.

bardelf said...

Funny about the Brazilians not knowing what a thermostat is. In Newfoundland, none of our neighbors had ever seen a garbage disposal until we installed one. You would think we had found the Holy Grail.

Anonymous said...

Wait until you tell the Brazilians that people plug their cars in...

dawn said...

The Brazilians are probably wondering what's wrong with the thermometer in the whole friggin country. Poor things.

Get a video of the snow blower, I feel like it might be entertaining...

A Lewis said...

Yup, and it's going to look just like that for many, many months to come. Come on down for a visit in the rain and gray skies.

dpaste said...

The shady lady from Braziiiiiiiiiiil!

Anonymous said...

I'll have to remember the heat story as one of those illustrations of the differences in cultures and expectations.