The existence of snow is enough to defeat me this year. On a day when it does NOT snow, and when the previous snow has been handled/melted/dried to the point that the roads/driveways are clear and dry, I can just barely make myself do the absolutely required tasks of my life: I can shower and dress, I can go for groceries, I can take the children to their appointments, I can keep us in clean laundry. I can’t unpack any more boxes, but that genuinely can wait, and also I tell myself that with every week that goes by without needing the contents of those boxes, I am another week closer to knowing if I can get rid of that stuff entirely. (This does not work when, for example, I buy another box of envelopes because I can’t face digging out the stationery/office box. But it works for SOME things.)
But the snow! It’s a giant mess that just DROPS on us! Just drops EVERYWHERE! And we have to go outside and CLEAN IT ALL UP. And we CAN’T really clean it all up, so then we have dirty slush everywhere, and we track it everywhere, and it falls off the bottom of our cars into our nice clean garages, and our terrible children walk across our nice clean floors without taking their shoes off and then say “Oh whoops” like it’s not the end of the world!
And when it snows, it makes a mess of SCHEDULES, too. Appointments that are now difficult and dangerous to get to! Errands that need to be delayed until we can shovel out! Driveways that MUST be shoveled by 8:00 a.m. because someone is coming to clean/deliver! Trips to the grocery store that have to be done earlier than planned (along with half the town) or else later (when the milk/eggs/bread/cheese situation is getting dire, and slush gets tracked inside with every load).
Moving during winter was a terrible idea. We have this new giant steep depressing driveway that I already hated before shoveling was a factor, plus we have to keep going over to the old house to shovel THAT driveway TOO. And we discovered something new for me to resent about the new house: the roof is set up so that it dumps snow directly in front of the two doors. The last time it snowed, I carefully shoveled that whole entire area (walking a distance with each shovelful, because there’s nowhere to PUT the snow)—and a couple of hours later, it was as if I hadn’t been out there at all: over a foot of snow, blocking the doors, with a nice clear clean roof shining in the sun. We shoveled it again, and soon there was an ice slick there instead: the dripping from the roof made what was basically an icicle puddle. There were ice stalagmites that explain why the threshold of one doorway is chipped weirdly so that it lets in drafts: the ice forms in lumps so that the door won’t open, so then you have to hack at it with a shovel, and damage occurs. And that area gets no sun, so even with salt and sand and time, there is still a nice little welcome mat of ice to menace anyone who comes to the house.
Paul says helpfully that there are “things that can be done,” but it is not clear to me that that is the case. There’s already something built into the roof over each door, something that looks as if it’s supposed to divert snow/rain, but does not manage to do that at all: when it rains, rain pours down off the roof directly where you’re standing as you struggle to unlock the door; when snow is melting, it drips right in front of the door to make ice RIGHT THERE. Paul said something vague about a canopy, but I don’t know; the problem seems bigger than that to me. It’s a Total Design issue: the driveway was built to go right up to the house, and to go all along one side of the house, and the snow from the roof is GOING to fall off right there; if it doesn’t fall directly in front of the door, it will fall directly to the left of the door and still need to be shoveled, and we’ll still have to walk a distance to find a place to put each shovelful. It’s a bad design, and now it’s our responsibility.
I try to be optimistic: spring is coming! Just because the daffodil stems I bought at the grocery store earlier this week dried up without opening, that’s not an omen! There can only be so much more snow, and tomorrow is March! MARCH! But winter will come back next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, and the year after that. “And this is just our lives now,” said Elizabeth while helping me shovel an area we had shoveled earlier, capturing my exact sentiment. At this point I have to think bigger picture: Just think what a relief it will be when we move out of this house someday in the distant future!
I think the first thing you need to buy when you sell the house is a snow thrower. I also think you should look around for someone who contracts to plow driveways, and get on their list.
I’m wondering if those heater units for a roof would help; I think that was what Paul was alluding to.
It’s March tomorrow. You have done the hard thing by slogging through a terrible February. Please give yourself some sort of reward, because you have earned it. Tuesday is Mardi Gras. Plan some festivity or have something decadent to eat.
I was also going to suggest a snow thrower, though I did not know that was what they are called and I was going to say “one of those things that hoovers up the snow and flings it to the side.” If you live in such a snowy area, these should be readily available used. Although, the Northwest has had an exceptionally/unusually snowy winter and having grown up there, I can say that NO ONE there owns any such thing. I never saw a snowplow until I went to college in the Midwest.
I live in Spokane and three people in my neighborhood have snowblowers. One person has a personal guy with a truck who comes to plow her driveway. We just shovel but small engines are pretty common here.
But the more I think about it, I believe you just need to talk to a contractor about the ice problem at the front door. Hazards aside, that’s a problem that isn’t good for the house.
And I am just so sorry you have had to shovel out at the old house, too. I hope your realtor can get rid of it very soon so this can all just be a bad memory.
I’ve been poking around, and I don’t think you want a canopy, or even an overhang. I think you want a portico.
We put snow dogs on the roof of our house because our front door would get blocked by avalanches, but I don’t know if that would help or you’d just get more icicles.
Would any of this stuff help?
https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ideas/products-safe-stepping-icy-walkways
Also, I am MAD at your daffodils. You had one job, guys.
Swistle, next to our housecleaner, the best thing we EVER spent money on was someone to plow the driveway and mow the lawn (I know they are very different tasks, but our company does both). It is not as expensive as it seems like it SHOULD be, and it provides VERY WELCOME peace of mind.
This doesn’t help with the shoveling issue though. Or the roof. Both of which sound untenable. But I am certain Paul is going to spend the entire summer figuring out how to fix the roof situation BEFORE next winter. Right, Paul? RIGHT?
Favorite bit: “a nice little welcome mat of ice to menace anyone who comes to the house”
I’m not sure what part of the country you are in, but this winter has just had so much snow for Maryland. We have a long, lovely tree-lined driveway that is great when it is not snowing and terrible when it is. It doesn’t get enough sun to melt, it takes forever to clear and is generally just miserable. And it is really steep too, so if we get enough snow/ice, we’re stuck here. Now they are saying it might snow again tomorrow and my husband is muttering darkly about moving to Florida. And I am just so ready for spring. It’s definitely time for some emergency daffodils from the grocery store.
That doesn’t solve your problem, but I do sympathize so very much.
I’m sorry the weather is so discouraging. I am in despair about it, too.
I live well south of you, so our winter weather is (objectively) less oppressive, but we do get some and our school district does its best to make what snow we have more miserable by cancelling whenever there’s a flake AND not including enough snow days in the school calendar so this is as disruptive as possible.
It’s the last day of February and we’ve not only used all our built-in snow days but the two painless makeup days that could be added in June. And it’s supposed to snow tonight and maybe again next week. This could be the week spring break dies. Or the county could apply for a waiver of the 180-day school year, which also depresses me. I work at home and feel entitled to those 180 school days. It’s a no-win situation, unless the storm fails to materialize.
Aaargh, the snow days!!! I fantasize about picketing the superintendent’s house when there’s a snow day. No, I fantasize about dropping my kid at her door whenever there’s a snow day. “Good luck!”
Here in western Montana we are getting hit pretty hard with more snow than usual too. It seems forever and a day since I’ve seen the sun….I’ve kept track of sunlight hours since the first of December….I need to add them up (OR NOT!!!) Most likely would make me even grumpier!! Here’s to spring and daffodils who bloom!
I have no idea where you live, but I’m in Iowa. And since January 15th, it has been just a constant crap show. We’ve gotten something like 45 inches of snow. It’s supposed to be -9 on Sunday. Some schools have missed 14 days, which has never happened.
I’m in Iowa too, and it is just wearying. I’ve quit looking at the weather because it is depressing.
Oh the snow. It has been ridiculous this year. We can’t actually park in our garage, and ONE day last week I went out and did NOT have to shovel snow or scrape snow or frost off of my car and I think I had like 20 extra minutes.
And the last two days it has been warm and melting and my child literally came home with boots full of water. And soaking wet snow pants and gloves. So now instead of tons of snow, we deal with tons of water and I keep checking the basement for leaking.
Sigh.
I like snow, but hate dealing with snow removal. Until this year, we lived in a place with a lot of snow and which, like your place, had conditions that made snow removal difficult. It’s miserable. Spring is a small consolation. Also hiring someone for snow removal.
Condolences from Alberta, Canada.
We have had the coldest February since they started keeping records in 1953. You have my full empathy.
I’ve seen the comments from others re. school closures. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for our kids, our schools never seem to close. My son is in Grade 6 and has NEVER had a snow day (from Kindergarten to the present!). From a kid’s perspective, our city is regrettably good at snow removal.
I am going to take your advice re. the cheering capability of daffodils and hope mine end up opening (how depressing when they don’t!).
Hang in there.
When you mentioned having to shovel TWO driveways, I gave an involuntary gasp. I can’t even imagine.
You’re right, shoveling is so much more tedious because there isn’t anywhere to put it. All the extra walking to throw it somewhere that isn’t a 7-foot-high mound is exhausting. On the plus side, my arms and shoulders are buff AF. :)
On the news last night (paraphrased but accurate), a reporter said: “All this snow means it’s more likely for your house or garage roof to collapse. Have a good night!” What exactly am I supposed to do with that information?
I am honestly going to teach myself small engine repair so I can fix our snow blower and never have to suffer through shoveling another winter like this again.
I kind of like snowblowing! You really feel like you’ve accomplished something!
I also have an ice skating rink at the base of my front stoop. It sounds as if you might have a south facing door, and so everything melts gorgeously, but then it’s on your entry.
I wonder if a concrete/foundation team could look at the situation and reconfigure the slope of the surfaces, if indeed there is concrete stoops or stone stoops or sidewalks involved. Our old house has sidewalks along the foundation that tilt toward the house, and we need to replace them to be level or at a slight camber away from our foundation. Big snow melts seem to dump right into our basement. Big concrete jobs can be expensive, but it might re-engineer some of the water that flows off your warm, drippy roof.
We had a similar issue w/concrete slope at the base of some stairs – there was a drain at the bottom, but the slope of the concrete did not encourage water to head toward the drain, so it would pool next to the door and flood our basement. Granted it was a small area (like 3’x3′) but it was NOT very expensive to have someone come and re-grade that – certainly not in the Grand Scheme Of Things and especially vs the havoc it was going to continue wreaking w/flooding when there was only like 2″ of water. All of which is an unnecessarily long way of saying: if grading the walkway to encourage water to run AWAY from pooling directly in front of your door is an option, I recommend it!
WORD.
I have absolutely no suggestions for the ice conundrum, but I was at Trader Joe today and thought of you specifically as I made an impulse purchase of an item (one for me, one for a friend). It was a hyacinth balalanced over a glass jar, with the roots in the glass jar filled with water. It is amazing. I got pink for me and for my friend too, but they had an abundance of colors. They were $2.99!!!!!!!! All I can think is that a plethora of these in your home might help with Ice Forgetfulness. I haven’t commented in ages, so HI! And know that I’ve never missed a post despite my lack of comments. And also remember your apartments? I won’t say more but LOVED those. LOVED.
OMG I bought one as well, it bloomed beautifully and smelled SO. GOOD. And now I have a sweet little glass vase to reuse. Highly recommend this purchase.
I’m over the snow and cold, too. Enough that we’re discussing a cross country move from one of the snowiest cities in the continental United States to southern Arizona. I can’t spend the rest of my life dealing with the freezing cold and snow removal tasks.
I’ve decided to live near Chip and Joanna Gaines so we can design my dream home together! ;)
As someone who moved from Massachusetts/Rhode Island to Phoenix in 2001, I support this move. It’s fabulous not having to shovel. And, if you really want to experience snow, just drive two hours north. Flagstaff has gotten something like 140 inches of snow this winter.
And now we know why everyone retires in sunny spots.
I am struck by the fact that you seem to not have eavestroughs or a snow blower, and your family seems accustomed to wearing their shoes in the house (not to mention the fact they’re wearing shoes in February instead of winter boots). So I’m guessing you live in warmer climes than where I live (Ottawa, Canada)?
For what it’s worth, it’s been a weird winter all over it seems. Oddly, what’s wreaking havoc here is not the cold days (though there have been plenty), and not even really the snow days (ditto), but the fact that it’s doing this crazy freeze/thaw cycle. We get a dumping of snow (often during weather that has traditionally been thought of as too cold to snow – like a full-on snowstorm at minus 25 Celsius), then a few days later it goes above freezing so the snow starts to melt and the water starts to stream across our driveways and sidewalks from the pile of snow on our lawns, and then the temperature plunges and freezes all that water. My entire driveway is under a layer of ice – slick, slippery ice – about three inches thick. Stores are running out of salt, to the point that people are giving tips on where it’s in stock on local Facebook groups.
I always hate winter, but this one started earlier than usual (many of us didn’t even get a chance to rake up fall leaves in late October before they got buried with snow that never went away again). I appreciate the warm days but man, the ice everywhere just sucks! People are falling A LOT! A good friend slipped and broke a rib, and I’m sure everyone knows someone who took a similarly spectacular fall.
I quite like winter, but I have to admit that by the end of February, I have had enough. Indiana is gray, gray, gray skies…like we don’t see the sun for three months straight. It’s a little depressing, especially for people like my husband who are depressed anyway. I got him a Happy Lamp for Christmas, but either he’s not using it enough (possibly ) or it’s just a load of crap (probably), because the mood in our house is dark. Come on, March!
We actually moved from Seattle to Colorado to get away from the rainy/grey winters and into the snow/sunny winters. Love it here! But like a poster above, I learned about snow plows, snow blowers, ice dams and heaters you put on your roof to melt the snow (never knew about any of those things before), and rules about shoveling your walkways. And the one thing we don’t get (maybe 2 in the last ten years) are snow days.
Snow I love, but ice…you can have it. I have a pair of yak tracks (you put them on over your shoes and they grip the ice), that I totally can’t live without, but this year they are getting quite a work out.
I am SO FEELING this post!
We still have snow and it snowed a tiny bit again last night. THREE WEEKS. This isn’t what we’re used to here!
Our refrigerator was finally delivered after being delayed because SNOW but now the floors/carpet are a mess because SNOW.
I love Elizabeth’s “This is our life now.” That is perfection.
I’m trying to shiny-side this for you but I got nothin’ but commiseration.. :)
No snow here – but I know how the weather can affect you. We’ve had exactly ONE day of full day of sunshine during the entire month of February. It’s rained every day except for 10 of those days but those days were gray, cloudy and utterly depressing. I think it’s safe to say, we are ALL tired of winter.
I am with you! Here in Minnesota we have had three cold days- temps/windchill below -30. And two snow days. We have 40 inches of snow on the ground. We all have ice dams, nowhere to put the snow….the only thing that has saved me is my neighbor that has snowblowed my driveway. I am newly separated/divorced and he takes pity on me and my 11 year old son. My question- how do I repay someone who has cleared my driveway 10 times this winter? I have verbally thanked him every time I can. He is retired and does other driveways on our block, but I really feel I owe him. Flowers/hanging basket if it is ever spring? Gift card- I worry he will reject that. He also brought his riding mower to help mulch my leaves this fall. An angel!
My go-to for an older man would be food (cookies, cupcakes) or, if you know him well enough to know it would be welcome: booze. But booze is obviously riskier. But if you KNEW he liked a beer from time to time, then beer is the perfect reward for manual labor. And if you don’t know about booze, then cookies takes the place. I might also start dabbling in ideas such as “wool mittens” and “wool socks.”
I agree-baked goods! What a nice guy!
Great ideas! He is married- and they do daycare for their 4 year old grandson. I think of my dad- married, 70 and does snowblow if for his neighbors. He would like wine. But, probably feel weird about a gift card. Thanks!
(My parents live 30 minutes away and have done lots- cleaning gutters, putting up and taking down Christmas lights)
Since I live in Alaska, snow is something that is just a part of life. BUT…this year I think we have had warmer weather and less snow than many places in the lower 48. We also are able to have studded tires, which makes a huge difference in driving places. No matter how much snow we get, things stay open and there is never any kind of run on the grocery store.
I second everyone who recommended getting someone to plow your drive. Even if you get a snowblower, with that hill? I think it would be worth paying someone to do it.
Whenever I go to someone’s home, it is automatic we take off our shoes. Even in the summer! It is just a given up here, unless someone says “don’t bother”-which is rare. I moved up here in 1991, and I learned to always wear good socks!
I love this time of year because we are gaining like 5 minutes of daylight a day-so it is light when I go to work and light when I come home. It makes such a huge difference in my attitude.
Oh yeah, I totally believe the shoes-off-indoors is a northern thing that started as a habit because of the snow and slush in the winter. It’s very rude here to not take off your shoes (yes, including during the summer) unless the host specifies you can keep them on, and even then most people take them off.
The particles of dust, mould, dirt, and literal crap that gets tracked in on your shoes? *shudder*
You should read (no, you shouldn’t, nor should I but I can’t look away) the debates on a local bulletin board about shoes-optional vs shoes-off households. The pages climb into the double digits, people trying to convince strangers (which is to say, people who will never be in their houses) that their way is the One True Way.
Oh, Elizabeth, reading the thought bubble over Swistle’s head.
This post makes me curious about if there is a regional difference for “snow thrower” and “snow blower.” That would be a fun poll.
Blower! (Ottawa, Canada)
Blower (Iowa)
I was thinking they were different things. Are they not? I live where it’s been constantly raining this Winter instead of constantly snowing, so I don’t have personal experience. I was thinking the snow thrower sucked it up and threw it out to the side, like someone said above, while the snow blower was like a leaf blower, but for snow – it blew out air to push the snow in front of it.
A snow blower does the action you describe for a snow thrower. Snow can’t be moved reliably by something like a leaf blower, it’s too heavy.
Blower Minnesota US
Alaska-snowblower
Snow blower – Wisconsin.
I wondered that, too!
Blower in Upstate New York and the DC suburbs
I will hope that by next winter, you will have sold/rented the old house (whatever you intend to do) and will have a little extra in the budget to pay for someone to remove snow for you. At ONE house. :)
FWIW I live in the midwest and it’s a snow blower here. My husband bought one a few years ago, in May, as a result of being heavily medicated after surgery. It never worked right and he has since bought another one…which really does do a fabulous job.
Yes to all of this. As I stood looking at it snow on top of our current 36″ in the backyard, I had this distant memory of my children swinging, running around the playground, racing bikes up and down the sidewalk. It made tears come in my eyes!! It felt like something from 8 years ago, distant and unreachable.
The snowbanks beside our driveway are over the top of my minivan. I have my kids in the third row call out “it’s clear!” when they can see out onto our busy street as we back down the driveway. Then I gun it and we bounce over the frozen ice ridges and plowed chunks and hope we don’t get creamed.
My husband has since changed his tune on if snowblowers constitute weakness and “taking the easy way out” versus shovels.
I was thinking a lot of this yesterday (Feb. 28, non-snowing in MN). The sidewalks are clear and dry! The roads are dry! (so why is there still So Much Traffic UGH). Dry roads and sidewalks and sunshine are a nice change!
And now, on March 1, it’s been snowing for 6 hours and I have to get in my car to commute in rush hour for who knows how long.
I also had to reschedule two doctor/dentist appointments in Feb because school cancellations landed on those appointment days and I’m not bringing two kids with me to those (let alone in bitter cold or a snowstorm!).
I’m DONE. But March is also snowy and MN got two feet of snow on April 14 last year… my expectations are low.
We also moved into a house with a long steep driveway, and we pay someone to come and clear it for us. It’s very, very nice – he uses a tractor that has a plow and a snowblower part on it, and it takes him about 10 minutes to do the whole thing. The price is very, very reasonable! We are however looking into getting a small electric snow blower to clear our deck and other places that the plow guy can’t reach. I have also seen several groups teen boys looking for snow clearing jobs on our local Facebook group.