Weathering Heights

The snow in my driveway exceeds the height of my Subaru Forrester.

I am on the edge of nowhere. I am running out of room to throw the snow. And yet, this is only January.

I can only hope for an early spring to end my misery. And perhaps, some withering heights.

Cookie Monster

Ethan and Grammy made some Gingerbread men. From the looks of the floor, it appears that they also make gingerbread ants. Whatever time it takes to make, it takes double that time to clean.

The gingerbread men were a great success and I really enjoyed them.

Varoom

Parking garages are very popular with little boys. It is funny to hear children imitate the sounds of cars. It sounds like the Indy 500 with the racing engines, burning tires and squealing brakes.

I had fun just watching Eric having fun.

The Wiggles

Eric introduced me to a new show. It was The Wiggles. Before the show came on, he was sitting on my lap.

But when the music came on, Eric got "wiggly"! Childrens shows have improved since I was a boy. Back then, childrens shows taught us how to save the west, but now we can get wiggly! I prefer the fun of today over the violence of my youth.

One Hundred Days

One hundred days from now, Obama will have completed his first 100 days in office. The snow will be melting. Birds will be singing. There will be blades of green grass where there once was snow.

Beneath this snowy canopy, is a fairway, sand bunkers, and yes, there is also a green.

And One Hundred Days from now, they will be accepting Tee times on the golf course.

Snowshoes

I am frequently asked how much I use my snowshoes. I use them 4 to 5 times a week during the winter.

When you have a high maintenance dog, that requires a lot of exercise, you have to exercise him every day of the year, no matter what the weather conditions.

Buddy has no fat on him. He has an amazing amount of body strength and muscle.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of me.

To The End And Back

This is the end of my driveway. The shovel is standing straight up and is not leaning on the snow.

It is not a question of where do you put it, but how high can you put it!

Over the years, I have developed and refined, my snow throwing skills. I am now a human snow throwing machine.

These are skills that would serve me well if I had lived back in the Middle Ages. I would have been a master of the catapult.

9 Inch Nails

Nine more inches of snow and it is still falling.

I throw it into my neighbors yard and they throw it into mine.

That's how we recycle up here.

Life In The Freezer

There are many famous battles in history. There is Waterloo, the Battle of the Bulge, and then there is the greatest battle of them all, the Battle of the Driveway!

Whenever it snows, the Plow driver shoves the entire contents of the street, up the wazoo of my driveway. Whatever amount of snow has fallen, it is three times that amount in the ten feet of driveway near the street.

I am no match for the superior weapons of the plow driver.

A House Is Not A Home

The difference between a house and a home is children.

Kitchen tables are transformed into art studios. Letters and shapes are created upon cutting boards. Cookie cutters are used to make shapes out of play doh. Grammy provides the voice over to make the shapes come to life so that they can interact with Ethan.

Children make a house a home.

Dogs 'n Blankets

It is amazing what a dog will do to make himself comfortable. When he reclines on the sofa, his noble head must rest upon a pillow.

If there isn't a pillow around, he will grab a childs blanket, bunch it up, and then rest his weary head upon it.

What a life!!

Grampy and the Glob

It was a hot Italian roll. I cut it up into eight parts and placed butter on each of the parts. I thought that the heat from the roll would melt the butter, so I didn't spread it. I gave it to Ethan and turned my attention to my food.

That's when I felt something oozing and sliding down the right side of my face. In a moment of confusion, and a terrible error on my part, I tipped my head down.

That's when the glob slid off of my face and onto my pants. Then I watched in horror as a glacier of butter moved slowly across my right pant leg. The butter glacier left a yellow trail in it's wake, as it slid slowly on it's base of melted butter.

I turned to look at Ethan. He was waving an Italian roll at me with his left hand, smiling and saying "Grampy"!

Talk To The Tail

How much does a dog love the snow? At 7 am, it was minus 10 degrees. It is now a warm 8 degrees.

It doesn't matter what the temperature is, as long as there is snow to catch!

Classic Literature

It was bedtime and we were reading bedtime stories. After reading stories involving the Wonder Pets, it was Grampy's turn to pick out a book. Grampy reached for the classic tale of Peter Rabbit.

The great illustrations by Beatrix Potter had the power to grab the attention of a little boy and make the story come alive.

Classics that stand the test of time and can even appeal to children of today..Timeless!

Wind Chill Factor

For 7 am Friday, the projected wind chill temperature is between 10 to 25 below zero!

In these conditions you need to make sure that none of your skin is exposed to the elements.

Here is the proper way to dress so that you are invisible to the elements.

The SnowBlower and the Winds of Change

Some people recall with fondness, how old they were when they learned how to ride a bike.  Up here in New England, we don't have time to wait that long!  As I introduced Ethan to all of the controls on the snowblower, I learned that there can never be too many controls.  Every control and every explanation of their purpose was meant with large eyes and screams of "WOW"!

 

Then, I let Ethan pull the start rope and when the engine came to life, he was in heaven.  Then, when he squeezed the handle to throw the snow, well he was overcome with excitement!  I let him walk with me a short distance.  As the snow was being thrown 20 yards in the air, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. 

 

Then the Winds of Change came upon us!  A strong gust of wind blew all of the snow that was being thrown back into our faces. And in the twinkling of an eye, we were both changed into snowmen.

Manhood Rituals in New England

In some societies, young men arm themselves with only a spear and go out into the wilderness to slay a wild beast to prove their manhood.

 

In the modern age, young men arm themselves with flimsy shovels and go out into the driveway to slay the savage winter.

 

The winters are rough, so you have to start them young!

Man Food

Ethan slept over last night. We all went to bed at 9 pm. We all got up at 7 am. Man food needed to be made quickly. Ethan got to see Grampy's secret recipe for making pancakes using King Arthur whole wheat flour.

There are several reliable non verbal signs to tell when a young man is full. The exhaling of large amounts of air means you are full. Leaving your fork on your plate and taking your hands off of the table. These are all signs that your appetite has been satisfied.

Even the dog knows that you are finished and moves in to see what you have dropped on the floor.

Bubble Blowing Techniques

Take a glass of chocolate milk. Add a straw and then blow. If you blow hard, the bubbles appear quickly and disappear quickly.

But if you blow gently, then you can create endless amounts of bubbles that will spill over the edge of the cup.

Straws and blowing bubbles just go together. If I did this as a kid, I would have been smacked. If my kids did this, I would eventually tell them to stop. But when grandchildren blow bubbles, you share in their fun. Because you know that there aren't that many opportunities in life that allow you to engage and interact with a child.

Live, learn and enjoy!

Fashions In Spaghetti

Some people eat their spaghetti by twirling it around their fork.

Then there are those like Janelle who like to twirl themselves around the spaghetti.

Platform Committee

My mother recently had back surgery. While recovering, she found the height of her reclining rocker to be to low to the ground.

Some wonderful and well meaning friends placed a platform under the chair to make it higher.

Unfortunately, the laws of physics for a reclining rocker that is fully extended on an elevated platform will "tip", in favor of the floor.

The Origin of Finger Foods

We were graced with the presence of royalty at breakfast this morning.

Janelle delicately selects the piece of toast that she wants. She then picks it up and squeezes it in the fist of her hand. Then with the toast oozing from between her fingers, she eats her toast.

This is the true origin of the phrase "Finger Foods".

She eats with one hand and rules with her scepter in the other hand. She is the Princess and I am her servant.

The Girl With The Hat

Janelle looks very stylish in the hat that Darcy made for her.

My creativity ended with a fan I made from Popsicle sticks.

I Want To Grow Bigger Bigger Fast

Ethan was eating yogurt when Buddy stood up and grabbed his hat and glove from the middle of the kitchen table.

Ethan was amazed at how big Buddy is when he stands up.

Ethan laughed as Buddy picked up his hat and gloves and said "I want to grow bigger, bigger, fast"!

Phooey on Ptooey

When dogs walk in the snow, the snow accumulates between the padding of their feet. Their body heat will turn the snow to slush and the cold external temperature can turn that slush into ice.

When Buddy returns to the house you can hear the sound of him spitting out the balls of ice that are in his paws.

It is a nasty sight to see a big dog spit an ice ball at you. He looks like a camel when it is spitting.

I've told him repeatedly that spitting is prohibited inside the house.

Iditarod with Buddy

Temperatures are below zero. I have to wear snow shoes to walk through the woods. It is so cold that it is impossible to work up a sweat.

But, dogs absolutely love snow. You know how excited a little kid gets over snow? How they know that school will be cancelled and they can play in the snow! A dog has that same amount of enthusiasim towards snow.

There can never be too much snow for a dog.