"Slicker than snot," is the expression my husband used to describe our courtyard one day. I must be living under a rock that I've never heard that expression before, but it cracked me up. The worst thing was that it was totally true.
Since the new year, it's been all about ice here. Driving is challenging; walking is even worse. The temperature has been hovering near 0 C/32 F, so the snow is melting. Some days it melts quickly, and the ice is covered with water. Other days it doesn't melt much at all, and the water covering the ice refreezes. Every now and then, it snows a little to add some fresh slush to the situation.
The slush covered ice track is a lot of fun. In our case, this usually happens where there are walls of snow on either side, so driving is like riding a bobsled down a slush filled track. The tires get caught in the ruts, so steering isn't an option as one bounces back and forth between the snow walls.
The dirt roads are solid ice. With a coating of snow, they're not too bad to drive on, but when it melts and refreezes, it's almost totally impossible. Thank goodness the Jeep has 4 wheel drive with the right kind of differential and really good winter tires. One night we came home to find a small car blocking the dirt road. It had not made it up the little hill with the S-curve, and it slid backwards so that it completely blocked the road. Erik tried to help, but even with his rubber-soled shoes, he had difficulty standing still without sliding down the hill. He was not able to get the car unstuck, but he did straighten it out enough that we could get by. (We wouldn't have left her if she hadn't insisted that it was ok--her husband was on his way with a truck.)
The asphalt roads may or may not be better than the dirt ones. The larger roads usually get enough traffic and salt that they stay relatively clear as long as it's not snowing or blowing too much. The smaller asphalt roads can be trickier. Around here, a lot of the smaller roads have been three-track roads where the center track is shared by traffic in both directions. This works fine until there's oncoming traffic, then somebody will have to move. I feel like everyone's playing chicken all the time because nobody wants to take their chances on the ice. Since I'm the one driving the car that is almost always the one better able to handle the uncertainty of the ice or deeper snow, I'm the one who yields. Sometimes the snow and ice is soft and slushy (hard to steer), and sometimes it's solid (think catching an edge on skis). So far I haven't had any problems, but when Erik met a full sized truck on a very small road, he pulled too far to the side and discovered that the road had been plowed over a ditch. The truck stopped and pulled him out of the ditch in only a couple of minutes, but I'm so glad it wasn't me.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
The white Christmas continues
The days between Christmas and New Years were all about snow and whether or not one was snowed in. There were a couple of times that snow drifts blocked the front door, so we had to send Lina out the window to go around and shovel the snow from the door. Unfortunately the snow was very heavy and she couldn't quite manage, so Erik had to jump out the window and help her.
Snow drifts also blocked the satellite dish which is mounted on the roof of the barn. We had to clear a lot of snow before the dish had a clear line of sight again. Quite a few buildings in the area had problems with roofs collapsing under the weight of the snow. Fortunately we have sturdy old fashioned construction with steep roofs, so it wasn't a problem for us.
My mother in law was supposed to come celebrate Christmas with us on Tuesday, but by the time she was done packing, she was no longer feeling up to it. She tried to come on Wednesday, but then her car died. We ended up bringing Christmas to her on Thursday.
We were all invited to a friend's house on New Year's Eve. We were there last year also, and I remember it being so cold out that the champagne froze in people's glasses as they made their toasts. This year, we must have run out of cold. The snow was melting and dripping off the roof, and the ground was covered in a good layer of ice with a good layer of water on top. It was also super windy, so drifts of heavy, wet snow blocked the roads. I baked a chocolate layer cake and a sherry bunt cake for the party. I also made some jello shooters. Our hosts are big fans of jello, but I don't think the other guests were so impressed. We shot off some fireworks at midnight, but fireworks really don't do so well when it's that windy. The rockets blew over the house and exploded lower than usual. Instead of cascading down, the sparks seemed to be blown out almost immediately. The wind chill also made it very cold, so most of us didn't mind the quicker than usual fireworks display.
January first was spent cleaning. January second was our annual neighborhood gift exchange party. Only four people came this year which I found quite disappointing. However, that meant there were lots of yummy things left over from my holiday baking.As they say in Swedish, "Good continuation!" (of the holiday season).
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Snow, snow, and more snow
Erik finally got home from his two week speaking engagement in Beijing, Tokyo, and Seoul on December 20. There were a lot of things to do and not much time to do them. One of the things we skipped this year was the Christmas tree. I was afraid my daughter would be crushed, but she took it quite well.
December has been all about the snow. On December 23, we had a full on blizzard. We heard that even major roads were closed not too far from here, but we have a 4 wheel drive jeep, and my husband was determined to get out. After the neighbor came by with the plow, we were able to make it to a friend's house to celebrate his 40th birthday. He had been prepared for a lot of guests, but we were pretty much the only ones who made it. That must have been so disappointing.
On the 24th we were to visit friends in Denmark. We budgeted an extra hour for driving time, but that was nowhere near enough. It took my husband 3.5 hours with the backhoe to dig 100 meters to the neighbor's mailbox. We then tried driving out but promptly got stuck about 1 car length beyond where he had dug. While he was pulling the car out of a drift with the backhoe, the neighbor came with his big loader and started digging out the road from the other end. The drifts were far too deep and heavy to plow, so he had to take the snow one scoop at a time. It took about half an hour before both my husband and neighbor got that last stretch of road cleared, but then we were off. The neighbor recommended which route was likely the clearest, and while the road was at best one lane wide, we made it the 20 km into town. From there, it was like there was no snow problem at all. The roads heading west were nearly clear. (East was another story entirely, but fortunately not our problem.)
We arrived three hours late, but our friends were understanding and happy to see us. The weather conditions in this part of Sweden had even made the news in Denmark. They had saved some home made rice porridge for our lunch. Yum! We played a board game before dinner. The kids chose Monopoly, so we put a time limit on it.
Dinner featured roast duck, caramelized potatoes, boiled potatoes, gravy, red cabbage (both mine and the kind from a jar that her husband likes), and the fruit that had been stuffed in the duck. I am a huge fan of Danish caramelized potatoes, but I've always found it a bit odd that potato chips are served as part of the holiday meal. Dessert was rice pudding with almonds and cherry sauce. As usual, amongst all the coarsely chopped almonds was one whole one. The person who got the whole almond got a special present.
After dinner, we sang Christmas carols and danced around the Christmas tree. I'm always impressed that our friends have real candles on the tree. This year, they had electric lights for the first time as well, but the electric lights were not used until after the dancing was over and the candles extinguished. Next we opened presents, and finally we ate the cookies that I'd brought (pecan butterballs, spritz cookies, peppermint meringues, caramel popcorn, and fudge) with coffee and tea.
On the 25th, we took it easy, played with our presents, and enjoyed each others company. I think this has become as important a tradition for us as the meal and the presents. We ate leftovers and soup. We went for a walk, we played Monopoly again, and we did a puzzle.
It was so nice to relax after all the holiday preparations and stress. We'd originally planned on going home in the evening, but after calling the neighbor to check on the road conditions, we decided to stay an extra night. We drove home on the morning of the 26th, and by then the neighbor had plowed so it was no problem. We were a little concerned about how the cats had handled being left alone, but they did just fine. The only damage was that Lina's gingerbread house was a bit nibbled.
December has been all about the snow. On December 23, we had a full on blizzard. We heard that even major roads were closed not too far from here, but we have a 4 wheel drive jeep, and my husband was determined to get out. After the neighbor came by with the plow, we were able to make it to a friend's house to celebrate his 40th birthday. He had been prepared for a lot of guests, but we were pretty much the only ones who made it. That must have been so disappointing.
On the 24th we were to visit friends in Denmark. We budgeted an extra hour for driving time, but that was nowhere near enough. It took my husband 3.5 hours with the backhoe to dig 100 meters to the neighbor's mailbox. We then tried driving out but promptly got stuck about 1 car length beyond where he had dug. While he was pulling the car out of a drift with the backhoe, the neighbor came with his big loader and started digging out the road from the other end. The drifts were far too deep and heavy to plow, so he had to take the snow one scoop at a time. It took about half an hour before both my husband and neighbor got that last stretch of road cleared, but then we were off. The neighbor recommended which route was likely the clearest, and while the road was at best one lane wide, we made it the 20 km into town. From there, it was like there was no snow problem at all. The roads heading west were nearly clear. (East was another story entirely, but fortunately not our problem.)
We arrived three hours late, but our friends were understanding and happy to see us. The weather conditions in this part of Sweden had even made the news in Denmark. They had saved some home made rice porridge for our lunch. Yum! We played a board game before dinner. The kids chose Monopoly, so we put a time limit on it.
Dinner featured roast duck, caramelized potatoes, boiled potatoes, gravy, red cabbage (both mine and the kind from a jar that her husband likes), and the fruit that had been stuffed in the duck. I am a huge fan of Danish caramelized potatoes, but I've always found it a bit odd that potato chips are served as part of the holiday meal. Dessert was rice pudding with almonds and cherry sauce. As usual, amongst all the coarsely chopped almonds was one whole one. The person who got the whole almond got a special present.
After dinner, we sang Christmas carols and danced around the Christmas tree. I'm always impressed that our friends have real candles on the tree. This year, they had electric lights for the first time as well, but the electric lights were not used until after the dancing was over and the candles extinguished. Next we opened presents, and finally we ate the cookies that I'd brought (pecan butterballs, spritz cookies, peppermint meringues, caramel popcorn, and fudge) with coffee and tea.
On the 25th, we took it easy, played with our presents, and enjoyed each others company. I think this has become as important a tradition for us as the meal and the presents. We ate leftovers and soup. We went for a walk, we played Monopoly again, and we did a puzzle.
It was so nice to relax after all the holiday preparations and stress. We'd originally planned on going home in the evening, but after calling the neighbor to check on the road conditions, we decided to stay an extra night. We drove home on the morning of the 26th, and by then the neighbor had plowed so it was no problem. We were a little concerned about how the cats had handled being left alone, but they did just fine. The only damage was that Lina's gingerbread house was a bit nibbled.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
