Friday, December 17, 2021

Snow on December 16, 2021

It snowed pretty much all day yesterday.  It wasn't a hard snow, but it was steady.  Temperatures did not rise above 29F degrees, so it was able to stick.  Based on what we saw on the local news last night, Spokane drivers are not much better than Seattle drivers when it snows.  They go too fast, tail gate and in general are stupid idiots.  The last time it snowed, we were going up a slight grade to leave the neighborhood, there is a round about on the way.  A UPS truck, with chains, had slid into the curb, unable to negotiate the round about.  So we stopped to give him room to back up and recover.  An idiot in a 4 wheel drive truck started to pass us.  Where did he think he would go?  After UPS cleared the intersection, we went and noticed in the mirrors that the truck hit the curb and slid down the icy street below.  Schadenfreude at its finest.

Yesterday the snow let up about 4pm.  All of the neighbors popped out of their houses to remove the snow.  The one on the left lives there by herself.  I've watched her shovel before, she can lift a shovel of snow as high as her head.  Yesterday it was time for the blower.  The one on the right lives up the street, he did part of the sidewalks and then came over to help her with the driveway.


Here is Jim, wearing his new fuzzy boots.  I really wanted a pair like that, but my feet hate them.


Here they are up close.  They're really good, the bottom black part is waterproof, and the laces start fairly high on your foot.


Last night the local weather heads were saying we would wake up to ice fog.



Clearly they were mistaken.

Something walks through the yard at night.  We have not determined what it is.

Could be deer, there are moose here, so who knows?

We cooked today, we made stoup.  It's browned chicken, carrots and sweet potatoes.  Stoup is a portmanteau Rachel Ray used to describe meals that are thicker than soup, but not as thick as stew.  Anyway, the question for me is how much liquid do I need.  Refer to the next picture.  The arrow is pointing at the level of liquid, about 14 ounces of wine and stock.  It's just below the vegetable layer.


I chickened out, added more stock.  Too much!  It will be fine, but one of these days I'm going to get a thicker consistency.  Please make a note of this, 14 ounces is plenty and I should stop there.

During the cooking, Jim's new bread pot arrived.  It is so cuuuuuuute.  It's a Lodge 4 quart.  It was really nicely packed, box within box.  The lid, which you can't see had two layers of cardboard.  The two Lodges will be so attractive lined up on a pantry shelf.


The furnace guy came out this morning to have a look.  It's good, it should work all winter.  Later the glass guys came out and installed the new shower enclosure door.  It fits, there are no scratches and we are done.  Happy we are about that.  They weren't wearing masks and one wonders if they are vaccinated.  The labels on the glass are telling us how to care for the inside of the enclosure.  It's treated with a compound that prevents build up of crud as long as you squeegee after each shower.  Abrasive cleaners are forbidden.


So, that's what's shaking in Spokane.  It's currently 23F. 


5 comments:

  1. From on beautiful extreme to another. Snow is a lot of work but I have read that freezing to death is quite pleasant. I think you decision to move fronm the desert was a good one. But then I am a northerner.
    Your Stoup looks delish!

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  2. Snow is magical (for a day or two) but I would prefer no lowland snow. No one can drive in ice very well although smart drivers go slowly, try to avoid braking and if possible, stay off the roads entirely. I'm a fairly decent snow driver, hate the ice and am terrified if I have to negotiate it. I drive an AWD Subaru with expensive studless snow tires and also have auto socks. :) Overkill? Yay for a finished shower! It's beautiful.

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  3. Your snow photos are very pretty, but as much as I used to anticipate it when it meant a snow day (from school and later from work), now that I'm retired, I have no use for it. It just means difficult walks and even more difficulty taking Paisley out for her business and many pees per day in her dotage. So far we have been lucky and have not seen a flake here in NC this season. Hoping that will last.

    Interesting about the Lodge pot, as Barry is baking bread in a very similar (also blue) enameled cast-iron pot that my mother gave us just the other day, as it was far too heavy for her to manage. It is 5.5 quarts so is going to make a HUGE loaf. We have a 3.5 qt Le Crueset, but it is packed away somewhere at the moment. Your Stoup looks wonderful and perfect for your weather!

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  4. Colder there than here! You could get a game camera to see what's wandering through your garden (like the one we use to made videos of the foxes). I bet it's deer.

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  5. I have a similar pot, but have never thought of using it to bake bread. Hmmm. It does make great soup and I'm sure stoup too.

    Enjoy the snow for now. And I would say, even though we have snow from November through to April and sometimes May, the drivers here in Saskatchewan are no brighter than the 4 wheel driver. Our only saving grace here on the flat prairie is the limited number of inclines.

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