[Maitland]

Went to bed last night with about 7 inches of compacted snow on the ground. At about 10.30pm it started to snow heavily. Here we are nearly 9 hours later and it is still snowing heavily. Haven't checked but by the looks of it we have over a foot of snow and it is still coming down. We now have a forecast to say that it will continue through the day with a break overnight and then on Monday another 8 - 10 inches of snow.

The children aren't up yet but when they do we will be playing some board games. Given the fact that we live next to woods means that the trees are so heavily laden with snow that there is now no TV signal, they will be pleased.

M...

[Mike]

We picked up about 1/2 inch of snow last evening. And that's more snow than I ever want to see again in my life, so I do feel for you.

22° / -6° this morning and that is pretty much where the temperature is expected to remain throughout the day.

Why is snow on trees affecting your television? I can't sort that one out.

[Maitland]

Mike, on 27 December 2009 - 06:05 AM, said:

Why is snow on trees affecting your television? I can't sort that one out.

The Sky dish points towards the woods at the back of the house. Due to the amount of trees and height we cannot get an analouge signal here so have to have digital over the last ten years. If there is any wind or snow then the trees block the signal and therefore no picture and there is nothing they can do about it other than chop all the trees down. The signal is back as the temperature has risen above freezing for the first time in two weeks and a lot of the snow has come of the trees.

In about 3 hours it will all freeze again. Doesn't really matter thougn as the Main road (A9) is shut in both directions so nobody is going anywhere.

M...

[Mike]

Do you suffer a degraded satellite signal when the foliage is on the trees? If the snow in the trees is getting you, the leaves should be doing the same thing in the summer months. Errr, excuse me, I meant summer hours.

And you should officially feel sorry for me. We have approximately 3" of snow on the ground. And only 29° / -2° to boot! The windchill figure is 16° / -9°, so it is nippy out there.

[Maitland]

Not too bad in the summer but if we get a high wind or heavy rain the TV picture pixilates badly and we can lose the signal again.

No further snow today thankfully. I was out with Alexander clearing the neighbours drive so that they could get their car in the drive on their return from England, hopefully it will stay clear. We are currently -10 at the minute. We had some cloud that kept the temperature up for a few hours but it has now cleared and we have clear sky so I suspect it may drop a few more degrees before the sun comes up about 8.30 in the morning.

The forecast is for it to get colder by the end of the week with more snow. It started to thaw very briefly last night but then refroze. The snow on the roof melted for a bit but we now have some very pleasant icicles hanging from the gutters. Unfortunately some of the water landed on the step at the front of the house and froze overnight. I walked out the house this morning and ended up in a heap on the snow. Fortunately I didn't do any further damage to my knee but have a large bruise on the left forearm. I think Mrs Maitland did some damage to her sides with the incessent laughing !!

M...

This post has been edited by Maitland: 28 December 2009 - 05:56 PM

[Maitland]

Still -14 this morning with a clear Sky. Didn't get any warmer than -8 yesterday. I am hoping for a gradual thaw, a quick thaw will bring its own problems with the amount of water locked up in the ice and snow. The snow has been lying now for nearly two weeks and I am sick of the site of it.

M...

[Mike]

Sorry to hear about your tumble. I always manage to strain my back, trying to keep my feet under me.

It's 10° / -12° here this morning. And I'm with you, I don't care to ever see snow again in my life. I have it on pretty good authority that Starringashrslf really enjoys taking long drives in the snow, but not me.

[Maitland]

My cousin is selling his house on the Gold Coast in Australia for the princely sum of $650,000 Australian Dollars, hmm, now would I like to live in temperatures that practically never drop below freezing, no snow and a lovely outdoor pool? Heck no, that would mean leaving Scotland and as much as I hate the snow and freezing temperatures I love my country too much to leave but then again if we get anymore snow ask me that question again !!

Starringashrslf likes long drives in the snow: Is it a fetish sort of thing?

M...

This post has been edited by Maitland: 29 December 2009 - 06:17 AM

[starringashrslf]

Maitland, on 29 December 2009 - 06:17 AM, said:

Starringashrslf likes long drives in the snow: Is it a fetish sort of thing?

M...

Hahaha Maitland! No, my fetishes definitely do not involve snow!!

My parents live a little over 2 hours north of me. Lots of driving during the holidays. I am heading back there tomorrow. I am hoping the weather cooperates. The drive home last Sunday took over 4 hours. I would appreciate not having to go through that again!

[Maitland]

Oh for **** sake it is snowing again. Have I mentioned that I hate the snow !! I just hope it isn't on for any length of time. It wasn't forecast here but when I checked the thermostat it was reading -2 and that is hotter than it has been for days and that meant only one thing, cloud and blo*dy snow !!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHH

M....

[Maitland]

Well thankfully the snow amounted to very little, just a slight covering on the snow already there. There is more snow forecast today and tomorrow but I woke to the lovely sound of drip drip drip as the thaw started. Here is hoping that the temperatures stay up for a couple of days and we can get rid of more snow than we accumulate.

M...

[Maitland]

So far this morning we have had, winds, hail, snow and now currently experiencing a blizzard. Temperatures are at 0 degrees (Balmy compared to the last couple of weeks). I am currently cleaning the house even although I have man flu while Mrs Maitland sits on her posterior at work blethering to the other girl she works with, where is the justice in life.

Currently listening to Susan Boyle (Christmas CD) and about to have a wee break from my husbandly (is that a real word?) chores. You women have it sooooo easy, isn't that right Mike ?

M...

This post has been edited by Maitland: 30 December 2009 - 06:13 AM
Reason for edit:: typo

[Maitland]

Well the rapid thaw has taken its toll. I went into the garage to get something out the freezer when I heard running water. Nothing unusual in that given that the washine machine is in the garage, I just thought Mrs Maitland had managed to get it working now that the temperatures had risen. Eh no !! The water pipes had thawed out coming into the garage but the pipes within the washing machine were still frozen so something in the machine had to give. I don't think the water has been running too long but long enough to create a mini loch in the garage. I don't know whether the washing machine is now dead and won't know until all the pipes defrost but I don't hold out much hope.

Ach well, things could be a lot worse !

M...

[Mike]

Mags, we're meant to get another 1" of snow tonight. With more snow predicted for tomorrow. Temps are heading up into the 32° / 0° range, so you know we're going to get something from it.

Are you off tomorrow? Must be nice.

Maitland, whatever is the washing machine doing in the garage? Get it inside the house, where it belongs.

[Karen]

Mike, I love to watch HGTV... Househunters International. I see many homes over seas have washers and dryers in kitchens over there.

Well my 13 month old laptop is on the blink. I have a great big burn in on my monitor. Looks like someone threw a bucket of white and black paint on the screen. When it is turned off you can see the pattern in black. DELL SUCKS. I do have a three year warranty on it. They has better come to the house to fix it. I do have stored passwords on it. I KNOW.. I KNOW ... HOW STUPID!

Can someone shed light, as to why people put their washers and dyers in the kitchen? I find this odd, but could it be space?

This post has been edited by Karen: 30 December 2009 - 02:26 PM

[Maitland]

It was in the house, however these houses are wood with a brick facia. All internal walls are plasterboard. When the washing machine went into spin you couldn't hear yourself think so we took the decision to plumb in water to the garage and connect a washing machine. It works fine every day apart from the odd day in winter when it freezes. This year we haven't got above freezing (other than today) for two weeks and it has taken its toll on an old second hand machine.

I am hoping that it is frozen internally and it just needs to thaw out properly but I would suggest that one of the pipes has cracked or a seal has burst.

I refuse to go out and pay hundreds for a new machine so I am trying to secure one from the recycle site (Freegle) or buy one from the auctions (second hand) on January 7th in the neighbouring village.

To bring it back into the house would mean I would have to place it on an external wall in the house and that would mean rearranging a whole kitchen for the sake of a washing machine and that is something I would like to avoid until such times as I decide to put in a new kitchen.

Temperatures are dropping back again and that is going to create some serious problems tonight given that there has been a bit of a thaw. Black ice is going to be a real problem.

M...

[Maitland]

Well there is no let up in this weather sometime soon. We had further snow last night but thankfully it didn't amount to much. Temperatures stayed above freezing for an hour or so and then dropped back so we have serious problems with ice this morning. Snow forecast for parts of Scotland today and tomorrow with temperatures staying below freezing during the day as well as at night. It looks as though we may have another week of this before things change. We generally don't get much snow at time of the year with February the usual for it. I am just hoping that this weather hasn't set in for the duration.

As a child I remember the snow lying for weeks at a time but that hasn't been the usual the last few years, I think those days have returned.

My other neighbour has been abroad and is due back on the 8th Jan. I was hoping that the thaw would take care of his drive but it looks as though it may be down to me to clear it, yahoo !!!

M...

[Mike]

I can remember having snow on the ground at Thanksgiving every year. (4th Thursday of November for those outwith the US) Not that I am missing that kind of weather, mind you.
It's 34° / 1° here this morning and I hear water dripping on the window ledges. That means were melting snow here!

Karen, I had a couple of pals there in Scotland and the washer/dryer (note I didn't say washer and dryer, it was all one unit) in their homes were under the kitchen counters, much like a dishwasher here. Only my dishwasher is about 50% again as wide as their washer/dryer units. When I first saw the unit, I thought it was the tiniest dishwasher I had ever seen.

My washer and dryer are just off one end of my kitchen, behind bi-fold doors. The condo is built on a great room concept, so the kitchen, dining are and living area are all one common room. And they don't make enough noise to be a bother to anyone watching television or talking on the telephone. Now the dishwasher? It is loud enough to wake the dead. It gets run when I am here in the office or at work.

 condo11.jpg (65.74K)
Number of downloads: 7

There, I found a floor plan for the condo. Click for the larger view. The deck is located at the wrong side,as it actually lets out on the other side of the fireplace and is outside bedroom 3. I use the 2nd bedroom as the office. Where the door is shown in the lower-right is the top of the steps down to the garage, so there isn't a door there.

[Maitland]

The washing machine has totally packed up. I am going to get the second hand one for the moment but am considering taking out the dishwasher and replacing it with a new washing machine. That way I don't have to re arrange the kitchen. Temps just above freezing with the steady drip of water, however we are having frequent snow showers and once the sun goes down at about 3.30pm temps will drop and it will freeze again. The road outside the house is like a sheet of ice.

Roll on the spring.

M...

[Karen]

I too remember snow at Thanksgiving. Snow was up to my knees some years. Ahhh, let me think, yep it was back in the sixties. Lawdy, where has time gone? It seems only a few years ago.

Nice layout Mike.

When we built this house back in 92, I told the builder, no washer and dyer in the basement. I had a room built off the kitchen and garage for the washer and dryer with a large sink on one side and cabinets above the washer and dryer. I keep the litter box in there too. Just didn't know what to do with a litter box. I use the scoopable litter and Gabby gets it all over the room. Have you ever stepped in loose cat litter barefooted?

Hubby and I will be flying to the Hawaiian Islands in February. I'm a little nervous as to the pit stop in Denver. SNOW!

This post has been edited by Karen: 31 December 2009 - 10:55 AM