So on Friday it was like 55-60. On Saturday it was 90. On Sunday it was around 100.
I'm not blogging as much because it is so damn hot, I'm spending quality time huddled around my little window unit. We usually get a few hot days in New England, but this is probably the hottest it has been since we moved here from Chicago - a city known for brutally hot summers.
Mostly I sweat, then I take a shower, then I sweat some more. It's pretty glamorous. I'm hoping not to bake to death on my commute to work. That's my goal for the day.
I've made peace with my sweatiness. I can only hope others will make peace with it as well. And I'll have a ponytail until September. That's just how I roll.
Me: I'm putting the snow boots away. Deeps: Really? Me: Yeah. I'm really going to do it. Deeps: But it isn't June yet. Me: I'm saying I think the snow is over. Deeps: It's still cold. Me: I know. But I'm betting against snow. Deeps: As long as you don't put away the warm coats. Me: Are you crazy? It isn't June yet.
Last night we ran a few errands for the newly reorganized home office. Basically, we cleared out a bunch of stuff - I tossed old PC video games I bought my senior year of college. Let's just say I bought them in the early years of the Clinton administration.
Anyway, as we unloaded the car we met up with our neighbor. We chatted a bit and as I started to head into the house I wished him well and said he should enjoy the nice weather until it snows tomorrow.
Neighbor: Is it really supposed to snow this week? Me: I guess we might get snow and sleet on Wednesday. Neighbor: Well, I'm done shoveling. Sleet is fine, as long as I don't have to shovel. Me: I hear ya.
Deeps nudged me as we walked into the house. "You said I was nuts when I wanted to stop shoveling," he said.
"That's because you made that declaration on February 2," I replied.
I have a ground hog who lives under the shed in my backyard. He enjoys eating my hostas and taking one dainty bite from each of my tomatoes.
At least he did when I last saw his round body splayed out in the grass. He was casually napping in the sun in September. I haven't really seen him since then. But I'm sure he's still in the back yard, huddled up for a long winter's slumber.
Deeps did not care what the ground hog - mine or the famous one - said on Saturday. He had his own proclamation - the sun was out, it was a little warmer and he wanted to enjoy the day.
"I am psychologically over winter," he announced. "I will not shovel anymore. I'm finished."
"Look," I replied. "We're barely into February. This is still winter. February in the northern hemisphere is winter. Nobody disputes that."
Deeps grumbled that he was not going to shovel anymore. "We'll power out of the driveway instead. Isn't that what all-wheel-drive is for?"
I think somebody needs a little warm-weather getaway. I can swing that, as long as he doesn't dislodge our transmission before then.
I walked to work yesterday - taking a winding path from the T to the office. It's about a mile, according to my pedometer.
Now, I do this walk every day but yesterday was the first incredibly cold day. I'd say it was about 6 or 7 degrees F when I exited the train and started the journey. A few minutes into my walk I noticed that my eyelashes were freezing. Little ice crystals clung to them as I made my way down the street.
The sun would catch the crystals and sparkle. I was nearly blinded.
So sorry to the people I may have bumped into on Charles Street. A poet might have paused to take in the wonders, but I kept moving. I may not be a poet but I'm also not a popsicle.
So I live in Massachusetts. Just an hour to our north is New Hampshire. Yesterday someone mentioned that on the news there was a lot of coverage about the snow in NH.
"Apparently cold weather in winter is news," the person snarked.
"I think it has more to do with the fact that it has been snowing a lot and people are worried it might depress the turnout for the primary next week," I said.
"Is that finally happening?" the person replied. "They've been campaigning forever."
Since some Boston-area television stations air in New Hampshire we are also blessed with a load of campaign commercials. They're clearly aimed at New Hampshireites - but we Massachusetts folks are part of the "acceptable casualties."
I guess I should be thankful that all those pleas for votes have knocked those creepy Enzyte ads off the air. I assume that all ends after next week.
Today I was walking to the T, waiting at the intersection I think of as a cluster*&^% and wondering if people will ever obey the signal and let me cross.
A pretty woman tapped by on the shoulder.
She and her partner smiled at me and she asked if I was local. She's from Australia.
"I guess I'm local enough," I confessed. When you're a tourist you'll take directions and advice from anyone who has been in the city longer than you - even a few hours.
Don't ask my neighbors if I'm a local. As far as they know, I'm an interloper not to be trusted.
"Is this bad weather for around here?" she asked.
I nodded as the snow continued to fall at a decent clip.
"It's not as bad as it could be, but it's a mess on top of what we already had." I noted it snowed more last week than it did last winter. "It's not that bad if you're just walking. Driving is a different story."
She seemed relieve by that information.
I opted not to share how it could be worse. It could be incredibly cold instead of hovering around 32 degrees.
Maybe I'm filled with the holiday spirit. I didn't feel like raining on that lady's parade. I can't say the same for the snow.
So we got a huge storm on Sunday that dropped another 8-10 inches of snow on us followed by rain. The temperatures dropped and everything turned into a frosty tundra.
Until now, we've been a two shovel family - but after this latest storm, I have declared we will own a snowblower. I don't care if I have to keep it in the living room and put a lamp on it when I'm not using it. We're getting one.
After a few hours of hard shoveling, the snow got weighed down by the rain, we were exhausted and a low-level throb rumbled through my body. I may have exceeded the suggested dosage of Advil.
By Monday we were stiff but functional. We chipped away at some of the ice floes and I salted where I thought it might make a tiny difference. I hope nobody died in front of my house.
Our street looks like it was in some kind of freakish iceberg wreck and little flecks of blue and gray adorn the bergy tops. It's garbage day.
So I'd say we got about a foot of snow in roughly eight hours. Not the end of the world, but that time period was from about 12:30 to 8:30 - and people were stuck in horrible traffic for hours and hours.
I was lucky because I anticipated all the points of failure on my commute home. I walked to the train as usual, skipping the dreaded Green Line. Then hoofed it home from the train station which was a long but quiet walk home.
Deeps left the office about the time the snow started, which in hindsight was a very good idea. He was shoveling when I got home.
My iPod and a delicious piece of Orbit gum (Wintermint) kept me going for the 45 minute walk. No wipe outs. No crashes. I lived.
Yesterday the weather guys were saying 1-3 inches of snow for today.
This morning it's up to 8-12 inches of snow. I could make a crass joke, but I'll skip it. What this means for me is that I'm going to have to shovel. Deeps usually let's me skip shovel duty if we get a very light snow.
But once we get into half a foot territory it is all hands on deck. We shovel as a team, I think he sneaked it into the marriage vows.
I'll take pictures. We'll make cocoa. I'll need to take about three hours to get home from work. Hooray! Winter.
Looks like Noel is kind of moving our way. Doesn't look like a direct hit or anything dangerous, just a very rainy weekend.
That's too bad, the leaves are starting to turn here in Boston and some of the trees in our backyard show no sign of change. Nothing like a good storm to take the leaves off the trees. But that's the way of nature.
So let's remember the pretty stuff.
And wait for the wind to blow the leaves into your neighbor's yard.
We're having a little heat wave here in Beantown. Yesterday I think it was about 90, same for today.
Last week we were discussing how cold it was and whether or not we'd have to turn on the heat.
Thanks, weather! I realized it's fall because the laundry hamper seems a little extra heavy with all these layers you peel off during the course of the day. And then of course there's the entry to the house. We have a little bench with hooks above it. The hooks are jam packed with various and sundry jackets we've pulled out in desperation over the past few weeks.
The only downside to the heat is that we're running the AC while watching the new fall line-ups. Last night I think Deeps and I might have been yelling over the TV and the AC to be heard. Sorry neighbors.
I don't mind the heat because it gives me one more excuse to see a man about some frogurt. Is 7 AM too early to think about frogurt?
Colleague: Did you get your hair cut? Me: No. Colleague: Did you do something different with it? Me: No. Colleague: It looks different. Me: Hmm. Well, I am wearing it down for the first time in like two months. Colleague: Oh - that's it. Me: Sometimes you forget that the hair doesn't just grow out as a sloppy, sweaty pony tail.
It has been pretty hot for a few days. Hot for New England - a place where public AC is spotty at best.
I'm always surprised at how many places don't have AC or have very poor AC. In Chicago most people don't have AC at home - maybe a window unit for the bedroom - but most restaurants and stores and public spaces have good AC. So you can escape somewhat easily if you're able to get out of the house.
Around here, we debate about where we'll hang out on hot days. Our new favorite place is the Whole Foods. They have an astonishingly cool store - plus they have gelato.
Tonight I think we might visit our friends with the new baby. He's only a couple of weeks old so he needs to have some AC. That's what I keep telling his parents. So I bet their place is nice and cool.
I can sweeten the deal by offering to change some diapers. I'll even throw in some gelato.
The heat makes drivers enraged and pedestrians lethargic - everyone is making bad decisions. So hide in a cool, dry place and wait for the heat to break. I might also suggest listening to a podcast while drinking a delicious Corona.
And look, I have just such a podcast. I don't want to say it is our best podcast every but it's in the top...three? Yeah. Top three best podcasts ever. I can't name the other two.
Attention fans of the Big Red Podcast, we'll be recording and (if all goes well) posting our podcast tonight. Huzzah!
If you're not a fan of the Big Red Podcast, but you're a reader of the blog you might want to give us a listen. Every week I lure over unsuspecting guests (the promise of fresh pancakes and sausage is too much to resist) and we chat about pop culture for about 30 minutes. I like to think it's a good time.
Subscribe to the podcast with iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Don't forget to leave us some iTunes feedback.
In other news, we might get some rain which would be good for my exploding tomato plants. We're not having a hardcore drought like parts of the South and Midwest, but everything is pretty brown around here.
I was chatting with my neighbor last night as it started to drizzle. He'd hoped for some serious rain, but we just got this little faint misty stuff.
I don't really care for grass. It requires a lot of resources. But, when I have it - I feel like it should be green and not brown. In the fall, I'm planting clover.
We're in the early part of a long thunderstorm - so I'm not sure if that means fireworks are a wash or not. Regardless, it's cool and stormy this 4th of July.
Last night we went to a big Independence day barbecue complete with oceanfront fireworks. We ate hot dogs, drank beer and oohed and ahhed like champs. Today we are reflective and relaxed. Some members of the family might have napped while others lounged on the front porch.
Tonight we'll watch some stuff for the podcast and hope for clear skies for fireworks. The cat is hoping for rain - not a fan of loud noises.
Looking for something to help you through the rest of the week? Hit the podcast page and check out the giant library of 37 episodes. Better still, subscribe to the podcast with iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Don't forget to leave us some iTunes feedback.
Earlier today I wrote that despite the heat I'd been lucky in getting a) a relatively cool car on the T b) avoiding the hideous body odor of strangers and c) not really seeing anything too weird.
I got it all in one long commute today.
Frankly, I wasn't especially surprised that the T was both hot and crowded. This is the time of year when I get a little paranoid climbing around in Park St. station - I fear someone won't being paying attention and will knock me down into the tracks. Irrational fear? Possibly.
The smells were almost awe-inspiring. If I were some kind of stinkologist I'd have had a field day.
And lastly, the weird stuff. Look - I've seen some tube tops, some short-shorts and flip flops. It's not the end of the world. But then this morning I spotted a rather hirsute gentleman walking towards me on Commonwealth Avenue. He was wearing very nice trousers and carried a small gym bag. Draped over the bag was his shirt.
That's how I knew he was hairy - no freakin' shirt!
Look, I'm willing to over look the shirtless look for many, but a middle-aged businessman walking from his gorgeous brownstone to his fancy car (honestly) was a little too much.
Maybe I'm just being classist. The wealthy sweat too.
The weather people are all excited because it's going to be wicked hot today. I should note that last Friday it poured and we had a high of about 45. I believe I briefly turned the heat on to boost the interior house temperature to 63 degrees.
Today - just a week later - we're supposed to climb into the mid 90s. And me without my air conditioners installed.
Gah.
The humidity is already adversely affecting my brain - and my hair. I got a little sunburn yesterday too. I'm not ready yet! So remember people - summer is here and you need to stay sun screened and hydrated.
Spring showed up on Friday. By Saturday afternoon Summer was upon us.
I was having a delightful walk down Charles street on Friday. People were smiling and making eye contact. Everyone was in a good mood.
I stopped to pick up some coffee and ran into an impressive group of mommies and multiples - twins mostly. The kids were playing happily and the moms were chatting away. The coffee was very exquisite.
The heat kept right on through the weekend - we did a lot of work for the in-laws in New Jersey. Today Boston set a new record of 86 degrees.
The first flush of spring makes people do weird things.
I saw a perfectly normal looking woman chasing a squirrel up a tree. Later a French tourist strode forward so confidently that she walked into traffic and her friend pulled her back onto the sidewalk, just in time.
People tripped, they wore totally inappropriate clothing (tube tops are never okay!) and they all had a fantastic day.
Today I got my first flush of spring (or summer) too - I need to kick up the SPF in my moisturizer. After a few minutes in the sun I turned a little pink.
And the rain is keeping me from doing fun stuff outside. So rather than complain about the rain again, I'll offer up this week's podcast - in case you missed it.
It's been raining since Sunday morning and I don't think it's going to end until tomorrow.
No floods for me, thankfully, but the lack of sunlight is starting to make me a little cranky. Did I mention the gale force winds?
The nice thing about the rain is that my lawn is finally starting to green up (a bit). And the rain means less pedestrians out and about as I walk to work.
The wind is another issue - it makes for harrowing navigation as trash cans roll around on sidewalks and in the streets.
I've seen the skeletons of several destroyed umbrellas peeking out of garbage barrels. The lagoon in the Public Garden was just refilled last week, but started to flood yesterday. This weather is best enjoyed by dogs and ducks.
We only got about eight inches of snow. But then we got a couple inches of rain. Fluffy snow - easy to clear and remove - turned hideous in a few hours.
Now I have my own person icebergs!
So to recap, on Wednesday it was almost 70. On Friday we got a classic Nor'easter that only ended a few hours ago (Saturday). And I think it will be 60 on Thursday.
March really takes that whole in like a lion business seriously.
The gentle scrape, scrape sound woke us up around 7:50 this morning. I had a suspicion it would be my very diligent neighbor, cleaning his sidewalk.
I tried to ignore the sound, but then the cat started howling and I couldn’t hide much longer. Deeps headed for the bathroom.
“Hey, since you are up can you go feed the cat?” I asked from under a pile of warm blankets.
“So’s your face,” he replied.
I laughed really hard.
We both got up and got dressed in warm gear and pulled out extra pants and socks to wear when we were done digging out.
Since it was barely 8 in the morning I suggested, in the name of decency, that we wait until 9 before shoveling - so that we could have some breakfast and see when the storm might end.
Deeps looked out the window and spotted the neighbors who were scraping; he motioned me over. It wasn’t the guy we suspected. It was the pair of old ladies who live down the street. They were out in matching winter gear – one all in sea foam green and the other resplendent in dusky pink. They both sported those rain bonnets I’ve never seen on a woman under 75 years old.
I sighed heavily.
“Now we have to go,” I said. “Look at them. They’re already down to bare asphalt.”
Deeps nodded and handed me my boots. I thought this was brave, considering what happened to him after the last snow storm.
About ten minutes later I was making the gentle scraping sounds on the sidewalk while Deeps tackled the giant snow bank at the foot of the driveway. The old lady team was almost done with their clearing.
I noticed other neighbors had rolled out of bed early to start shoveling as well.
The old ladies are really doing a service for the neighborhood. They shame us all into action – with matching winter wear no less – before 9 o’clock in the morning.
I walked home yesterday through the Boston Public Garden. It was pretty deserted, but I did spot a few fellow lunatics. We opted to bypass the green line and hike up to the red line at Park Street.
And of course, there were lots of shooters out.
The snow was coming down pretty hard, the wind was blowing and I kept my head down a bit. It only took two hours for me to travel seven miles from work to home.
I spent another two hours shoveling with Deeps this morning. It's a wonder I have any strength left to type.
I'm sure a lot of married people play the game of who can hold out the longest before doing some chore around the house like laundry or the dishes.
We don't have that problem. We do play chicken - with grocery shopping.
I can't think of any single chore that we hate more. So we're supposed to get a snow storm or something tomorrow, that means someone had to blink.
Me: It's supposed to snow a lot tomorrow. Deeps: Yeah, I heard it was only a few inches. Me: Ah. Well, either way, we should be ready. Deeps: I know well the shovels are. Me: Yeah, I've been tripping over them for three months. Deeps: I just like to be ready. Me: But we don't have any food. Deeps: Oh. Me: Have you looked in the fridge? Deeps: We have food. Me: You can hear an echo in there. Deeps: We have butter. Me: What meal can I make with butter? Deeps: Sandwiches? Me: We'd need bread. Deeps: Fine. We'll go to the grocery store. Me: As a team. Deeps: As a team. Me: You never leave a man behind.
We got to the grocery store just in time, before the screaming hordes came blazing in buy up all the good stuff. I'm happy to report that we got milk, bread and eggs. Plus two kinds of sausage for brunch!
Deeps and I spent some quality breaking ice when the temperature climbed above freezing on Saturday.
I’ve never been on a chain gang, breaking rocks – but I’d imagine that breaking ice is probably a little bit like it. Your arms are like jelly after a few minutes.
We couldn’t find any more ice breaking tools, so I figured my semi-hoe thingey would work. It has a fork on one side and a flat hoe on the other.
I’m enjoying using the word hoe.
Anyway, Deeps was using our snow shovel which wasn’t doing the trick. The hoe and I went to town, ice chips were flying and I was making enough noise to alarm an elderly woman down the street. I think she thought I was cursing.
But the ice was thick, maybe five or six inches near the front steps, and my hoe was not quite strong enough. I gave up after about 15 minutes of fruitless efforts – the fork prongs were bent.
I paused for a few moments and spread salt. But not just any salt – table salt because everywhere in town is sold out of sidewalk salt. I figured salt was salt. It isn’t cost effective by the pound, but I spent four bucks and got enough to at least make my steps less deadly.
Deeps took the hoe to the sidewalk while I shoveled up giant pieces of ice. A few minutes later he called to me, looking rather contrite.
“I think the hoe is dead,” he said. And he was right – we’d knocked it off the handle.
“It was a good hoe and it died a noble death,” I said. I hung my head in silence.
“We have some ice left,” Deeps said.
“I’ll be in the house, I’m mourning the loss of my favorite garden tool,” I replied.
Deeps sighed, “I guess I’m going to break up the rest of the ice.”
I heard a terrible banging at the back door about an hour ago.
Deeps had gone out to break up some of the ice that has formed on the steps. It's several inches thick.
I figured he was locked out.
Instead he was hunched over and bleeding.
He fell on the ice and somehow smacked himself in the nose causing a massive nose bleed. He's okay now, but there's blood all over the driveway and the steps and the back of the house. It looks a little bit like a horror movie.
I pulled him out of his bloody, winter clothes and parked him on a chair while handing wet paper towels. We patched him up in a few minutes, and then I convinced him to throw a little ice pack on his face.
I handed him a package of peas.
Deeps: Peas? Me: Yeah, they're easy to move around so you can form it to your face. Deeps: Fine. Me: Are you okay? Did you hit your head? Deeps: No, I just fell on my side. Me: Why were on you the driveway? I told you it was deadly! Deeps: I was trying to get to the ice in front and didn't want to track snow through the house. Me: So you're tracking blood through instead. Deeps: I didn't say it was a perfect plan.
And that is why my husband has had peas pressed against his face for the past twenty minutes. We have a real ice pack, but I find the peas to be more comedic.
So we got a little snow, but we've gotten lots and lots of sleet and freezing rain.
Earlier today it sounded a lot like a giant was hurdling a million little pebbles at the house. Upstairs, the roof sounds like it might be made of tin, the noise is so loud.
Meanwhile, we've shoveled. And by we, I mean Deeps. I've been working.
And I made lunch.
And breakfast.
Things are icing up. We watched our neighbor struggle for a while trying to get his car into a relatively flat driveway. He couldn't get enough traction to get up over the curb.
People are sliding around but we're warm and safe inside. And if I'm not mistake I hear the familiar pinging of my husband stirring hot chocolate on the stove.
People are scrambling: milk, bread, eggs - the usual.
I was chatting with a colleague yesterday when she confessed that she'd gotten rid of her old snow boots and hadn't replaced them this year. Whoops. I'm hooking her up.
I don't think my office will close, but I have the option to work at home. Deeps can't work at home but I strongly suggested (demanded, threatened, yelled) that he stay home tomorrow especially if ice is in play. He can snuggle up with a book, I'll snuggle up with the laptop and we're good to go.
Except for one thing.
Me: Uh oh, I'm going to have to run to the grocery store. Deeps: We just went on Sunday. Me: Yeah, but I'm almost out of Splenda. Deeps: So? Me: Look, I need my coffee in the morning and I need Splenda for it. That's just how I roll. Deeps: Sounds like you could have a problem. Me: Oh, it won't be just my problem. Deeps: Ah, man.
The idea of being snowed in without coffee is more than I can bear.
Hey, snow isn't just for Oswego, New York anymore!
We're supposed to get something on Valentine's Day. Yesterday they said "blizzard" and today they're saying "plowable snow event." I have no idea what that means.
I assume that is somewhere between 1 and 100 inches of snow.
Sounds like we might get a lot of ice around here, so I've confirmed we have water and batteries and food. The big blanket is ready, I'm planning to work from home if the weather is bad and our Valentine plans are unchanged: eat soup and watch LOST.
We bought some furniture - finally - and we had a very slow, relaxing day. From what I could tell, every single person in the great metro area was out and about today.
Sometime around 2 PM the thermometer in our car read 70. In January. Just a few scant miles from Boston, Massachusetts. Not to be confused with say Boston, Florida.
Our neighbor was in shorts running down the street. Kids on bikes and no jackets were popping wheelies. The bulbs I planted in late October, have sprouted and grown nearly a foot. Here I was worried that I might have planted them too late and they might not grow. Guess that won't be a problem any longer.
I turned the heat off a few days ago. Windows are open, birds are not just chirping - I heard a songbird this morning. The cat stared intently out the screen door since I'd opened up the back door.
My grass is green and lush. I don't think it looked this good in June. If we hadn't winterized the mower already I'd consider cutting the grass.
But it won't last. At least that's what the weather guy says - we should drop into the 40s tomorrow. If this is winter, I can't imagine what summer will be like.
I love and hate when daylight savings is over and we get that extra hour. I like to sleep. This weekend, we ended up using that extra hour in the massive basement reorganization. I can live with that – but I really had planned on using that extra hour for a nap.
Anyway, what’s important here is that Deeps has expanded his storage options for his massive CD collections. Men and CDs go together like peanut butter and jelly. You can’t stop them for amassing more CDs. I’ve even suggested that he might want to go all digital. He wasn’t interested.
As long as he’s happy, I’m happy. And when I’m happy, he’s happy. I’m happy – he’s happy. Maybe I’ll get to squeeze in that nap sometime later.
Today was one of those Spring days in Chicago that gives you a taste of the future -- a taste of the warmth and sunshine to come. Just, not right now. I think these days happen so that in February and March you don't just stick your head in your oven.
So I've enjoyed my little taste of Spring while I'm ever mindful that it will go away any second. Seriously, that' s how it is around here. One day, 61 degrees -- the next it's freezing rain and sleet and damaging gale-force winds.
Roger who? And what does this all have to do with Roger Ebert? Nothing. I'm done worrying about him. I still hate that Roeper guy.
Ugh.
What has he ever done to me? Nothing personally but he's smarmy, stupid and vile and takes every chance he can to plug that nauseating film "Notting Hill" as a fine and smart romantic comedy. It was dreadful and it's the only film that I can recall ever heckling openly with my parents. My parents -- that's really saying something if they don't like a big-budget star vehicle for Julia Roberts.
