Saturday, December 20, 2008

Shoveling

I have so many posts swirling around my head! Serious things, funny things...but I am too busy to write down any of them. I hope that really soon I will get some daily posts going because I miss it.

But today the only thing on my mind is snow. The beautiful flakes that fell so peacefully this morning. And then they started ramping up. And the home appraiser got into a car accident on the way to our house. And my shopping didn't get done. And I couldn't get up my driveway. And the flakes were not falling anymore. Instead they were starting to get pushed and pulled in all directions by the bitter wind. And now it is all swirling together, much like the thoughts in my head.

Hmmm....that didn't sound quite like me did it?

How's this:

We don't own a snowblower. We shovel. I don't mind shoveling. I have my own little system. Only it is not really a system. I shovel whichever way I feel like it on that particular day. SOmetimes I divide it into sections. Sometimes I start at the top and go down. Sometimes at the bottom and go up. Sometimes the left side and then the right. Sometimes I zigzag. It all depends on the character of the snow, really.

I betcha that some of you have really strict snowshoveling rules. What are they? Do you shovel well with others? Or are you one of those bossy snow shovelers? Thankfully, Noah lets me do whatever I want to the driveway. In the end it is clean.

By the way, thanks for all the shoe advice. My delightful neighbor who has had the privilage of seeing my shoes thinks I need to get rid of most of them. But you know what? I think I am going to pass on the new shoes at this time. In the grand scheme of things, it is just not that important. You know what is important? Finding out your snow shoveling habits. So start commenting!

9 comments:

Rachel said...

With a 450 foot long gravel driveway, we don't shovel. We use the four-wheeler (the handiest vehicle for country living) with a plow on front. And if the snow is really bad, we pull out the tractor (1/2 ours, 1/2 the bank's). It's a Kubota, Paul would proudly quote it's statistics, but all I can tell is it's bright orange. As for shoveling the sidewalk up to the house, I do it different ways depending on the consistency of the snow.

I bet Karla's loving this!

Anonymous said...

We live in a townhome and if we wait, the people the association has hired will come and plow. Sometimes for the exercise, I will shovel. Usually I shovel from the driveway into the yard, but sometimes I just move it down to where the plow runs down the center of the driveway between the townhomes.
Your post reminds me of the time we were going through "the rules" at the beginning of the 4 & 5 year old Sunday School class. We were getting the usual responses - keep your hands to yourself, keep your eyes on the teacher, don't play with your Velcro - when one of the girls raised her hand. When called on, she said, "Shovel the sidewalk when it snows." A very good rule - but for Sunday School?!?!?

Anonymous said...

One more thing; coming to Minnesota from Iowa, sometimes instead of shoveling the snow I will scoop it. Yep! We have both a snow shovel and a grain scoop.

Unknown said...

I do different things....but I am pretty sure none of them are very good...I am not a great planner when it comes to figuring out the best way to shovel. Rachel I am loving the snow...went sledding with the boys today...actually they went down the hill and then I had to run down and carry up the sleds.(:

Matt said...

My shoveling tactics usually involve starting at one end, and working evenly, methodically, and obsessive-compulsively through until I've reached the finish (similar to how I was taught to sweep a garage). I always make sure that the wind is blowing with the direction I'm throwing the snow, so there isn't a chance that it just gets blown back over what I've already done (that's the *really* important part - it's like learning not to spit into the wind :-)

Billi Jo said...

In our house power tools rule and Josh operates all power tools, in this case an overpowered snow blower, so I opt to just stay out of the way. Sometimes just to feel useful I will following behind with a shovel just to scrap the little piles that make funny warning tread if left behind too long. Josh snow blows with the wind, from bottom to top after making the trip from the garage to the road. If by chance, I get the “privilege” to clear the driveway, I typically pull out the snow blower, (a) just to prove I can do, and (b) it is just plain fun. I do and will shovel by hand enjoying the “workout”.

Heather of the EO said...

I start in the middle of the drive. Walk a straight line to the road, right down the middle. Then I start from that middle line and fling to each edge, back to the middle over and over, walking to the edge until it's done. I DON'T insist on doing this alone, but I insist that the husband understand the technique. Which he does. So I suppose that's why our marriage lasts through winters in MN.

Anonymous said...

If there is less than 3 inches of snow, I shovel. One pass down the middle and then work down the right side, then back up the left side ending at the garage door to prevent any wasted motion. If there is more than 3 inches I'll use the snow blower. Which leads me to...When my wife and I bought our first house,19 years ago, we bought a used snowblower from a neighbor's garage sale. I repaired it and it was terrific. Ten years ago, in our second house, I got a snowblower for free. It was a little bigger but also needed repair. Again my repairs held up for quite a while. Last year at the end of winter, it ran but wouldn't blow. I put off fixing it till this fall. A loose belt was the problem. However, I never checked to see if it still ran...So Saturday afternoon after several dozen attempts to pull the starting rope, I got out the shovel. I seem to be a solitary shoveler. If my daughters do come out to help, they usually just push the snow around so it makes more work for me. After a few minutes of them trying to "help" I send them off to play in the snow. Maybe they plan it that way....

New Adventures said...

We do not own a snow blower. I've spent my whole life shoveling by hand so I can't really justify spending that kind of money on a snow blower when I can do it myself. I will shovel differently, depending how I feel that day, the way the wind is blowing, etc. With the snow we got on saturday it made me wish we had some Yooper Scoopers (remember those Heather A?) We'd be able to get done shoveling (and out of the cold) so much faster if we had them. Growing up we had three (the papa size, the mama size, and the baby size). If you have no idea what I'm talking about I've added a website where you can see it.

http://www.yooperscooper.com/