Travel, hallways, and winter continues...

I tend to write a blog when I feel inspired, or when I've done enough to fill up a page or so. Of course, there are times when I am busy, but whatever I'm doing is just not worthy of interest. It is also somewhat embarrassing how little actual progress I make at times, so there is that too. For today's blog, I think I have enough to write about, and I think I'm inspired enough to make it interesting. We shall see.

Back in 2007, standing on a ridge in the Sierra mountains
with a not so active fire behind me. I got out in time. 

I spent last week out in Idaho, Boise specifically, for an Incident Meteorologist refresher. For those that do not know, I am an IMET (Incident Meteorologist) and get dispatched, primarily to wildfires in the western U.S., to provide specific weather forecasts for the incident. These forecasts are used to help plan the command staff direct operations against the fire in a safe manner. It's a great conference with intensive training and good people. One of the final things we must practice is deploying and getting into a fire shelter in a matter of seconds, always entertaining and interesting as I try to stuff this old, 6' 3" frame into what is essentially a large Zip-Lock bag. I have no doubt that if I were actually about to be overrun by a wildfire, I'd get into that thing amazingly fast.

Boise itself is a beautiful city. Up and coming, active, young and very western. Trendy restaurants seem to be popping up everywhere as the state capital and college town blend with old west sensibility. Fresh air and open spaces make the place invigorating. Keep in mind though, I was there in March, with average highs in the 50's and even a passing shower from time to time. In summer, 100 degrees is not uncommon as the desert-like nature of the place takes over. The natural vegetation, outside of the watered areas, is dead grass and rocks, until you get into the nearby mountains, where cooler air and additional precipitation allows for beautiful evergreens.

Just another March snowstorm.

While I was in Boise, it snowed at home, of course, leaving Cindy to deal with it. March is generally a snowy month in upstate NY, which is really quite cruel. The increased sunlight from the longer days gives you hope, only to have those hopes dashed in yet another storm. The problem is that Canada is still bitter cold, while the southern U.S. begins to warm. This creates a strong temperature gradient on which storms love to build. They also love to track up along the mid Atlantic and northeast coast, which puts Binghamton in a very favorable spot for snow, and lots of it. Luckily for Cindy, that strong March sun helps melt the snow, so she decided not to shovel and allow nature to take it's course. I'd be happy to teach my bride how to operate the snowblower, but the chance of her actually using it are about as low as the chance for a snow free March.

The repaired wall. Still needs a bit of fine sanding and
some primer. 

On the home improvement and remodel front, I've been mainly working in the upstairs hallway, The wall repair job that I wrote extensively about is pretty much done. Just some finishing sanding and the wall will be ready to paint. First of course, will be the ceiling, which is ready to go after repairs and other prep. I've also been working in the bathroom, repairing and painting the window frame and door. The bathroom door had a huge mirror, which I removed months ago. It left behind drill holes, but even worse was that the door had never been painted beneath the mirror. Four coats of thinly applied pair were needed to cover up the ugliness.

We've been using the alarm system I installed after Christmas, with only one false alarm. Cindy accidentally set off the alarm while leaving for work one morning, unfortunately while I was in the shower, This resulted in a sleepy person in California calling and asking for our safe word, and me tracking and dripping water all the way downstairs to turn off the alarm At least we know everything is working. We have three faulty sensors which I need to track down and get advice on from SimpliSafe but the door sensors are working perfectly, which is the main thing.

That's about all I have for now. Hopefully the next blog will document progress in the hallway, and a quick getaway trip to one of our favorite spots.

Cold

We finally got some snow to go with the cold.

It's been really cold lately, record cold in fact, and it reminds me of the kind of cold we had back in the late 1970's. Back then, we had several days in a row below zero, pipes burst, and the old cars we drove in those days didn't start real well. I was just a teenager without responsibilities and enjoyed the brutal cold. Now, I own an old house, for which I am responsible to heat and maintain. Our old house, has been doing just fine, having endured cold winters for a 100 years, except for a poorly conceived addition, in which they built a half bath in an old porch. The plumbing for the bath runs through an unheated crawl space. Not good, especially if the temperatures fall below zero. When we moved in, the pipes were damaged from previous freezes and needed repairs. After they were repaired, I did my best to insulate the pipes and the floor. Last winter was relatively mild, and we had no problems. Over the Holidays, in anticipation of the cold, I shut off the water to the room and sure enough, the pipes froze. Of course, this was just before a big Holiday dinner we were having, and I was at work, so First Brother In Law Randy came to the rescue, and with the help of brother Ed, got the water running. No pipes had burst. If anything, it's gotten colder since and I have the water off. I hope we have no burst pipes. A summer time job will be to wedge myself into that crawl space and properly insulate those pipes and wall.

Katia enjoys the fire.

With the cold, we're close to halfway through our full cord of wood. Almost everyday, if we are home, we build a fire in the fireplace. If I leave Cindy keeps it going, including trips to the garage to stock up on wood. As inefficient as it is, it really does make a difference in keeping the downstairs warm, and it's great to look at. Katia has finally learned to lay on the rug next to the fire to warm up. Tiny little Natasha looks at the fire with interest, but generally wanders away and sleeps the day through up in our chilly bedroom.

We haven't had much snow, but much of what we've had came in two recent storms. A nasty rain, to ice, to snow storm left about half a foot and with some trepidation I went out to start the snow blower. I had started it in the fall, but figured with several below zero nights, it would be difficult. Much to my surprise, it started on the first pull. Off I went to clearing the driveway and walk, along with several of the neighbors sidewalks. One of them returned the favor as I slept off my graveyard shift and cleared mine after additional snow fell. We are lucky to be in a great neighborhood.

On the home improvement front, I installed the home security system we got from SimpliSafe. It was actually quite easy, with the hardware pretty much stick on. The package we got includes motion sensors, glass break sensors, panic button, and door and window alarms, along with two entry keypads and key fobs. I need to purchase a smoke alarm and CO detector. After you install it, the hard part begins. Thanks to living in New York, The Empire State, otherwise known as the Rules & Regulations State, the system has to registered and licensed, which means paperwork and questions. So, while the system is functional, it's turned off until I can get the blessing from the local 911 center.