Ordinarily, I am a very patient man. I work with a lot of the bureaucracy of our country’s federal government, which if that work has taught me anything, it is to be patient. The wheels of government grind very slowly. They take forever to make a decision, and often change their minds.

Currently, my patience, and that of my partner, has been tested and worn thin by this really crappy weather we have had to deal with. 30″ (76cm) of snow last weekend, and with our home county being in the target zone for some 8″ (20cm) to 16″ (40cm) of snow due to start falling later today through the night.

My partner has had to do everything, because I cannot stand up for more than a minute. From cooking to cleaning to shoveling snow to operating our generator to helping me bathe to going to get more gas and groceries between storms … you name it, he has to do it. It is really hard on him. He has tried to be as patient as he can be, and it hasn’t been easy.

I am frustrated as heck because there is very little that I can do. Our street was plowed yesterday morning, and a neighbor who has nothing better to do used his snowblower and opened up the rest of the street and neighbor’s driveways (all except his disabled next-door neighbor who he doesn’t like). I got a couple of buddies who I am tutoring for their upcoming citizenship test to come to the neighborhood and dig out that disabled neighbor (because I can’t tolerate spitefulness). They also dug out our fire hydrants so they would be accessible… just in case.

I have been helping to prepare volunteers with critical, time-sensitive, safety advice. These volunteers are using their 4WD vehicles to provide critical transportation for essential workers throughout our county. We almost lost a whole family who lives in our county. They used a cooking stove indoors during a power outage and almost died due to carbon monoxide poisoning. There is a lot of safety advice to give, but my expertise is knowing what is most critical information to give to certain audiences at the right time. As they say, “timing is everything.”

As far as the eye can see… more and more snow. Wish us safety and comfort as we prepare for the filming of the sequel, “Snowpocalypse II.” An alternate film also in production is “Snowzilla.” I just hope that they can mesh the mouth movements better than they were able to do with the original “Godzilla” movies (LOL!)

PS: If blog posts appear that are not related to our current situation with the weather, then it is likely that we have lost power and internet service again, and this blog has gone on “automatic,” meaning that some other posts I have written for “anytime” will appear each day until our power and internet service is restored.

I don’t swear (often), but when this emergency message just popped up on my computer, all I could say was, “oh shit!”

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THE NATL WEATHER SVC IN STERLING VA HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SNOW WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM TUESDAY TO 4 PM EST WEDNESDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE: SNOW MIXED WITH SLEET AT TIMES TUESDAY EVENING.

* ACCUMULATIONS: 10 TO 20 INCHES OF SNOW.

* TIMING: MID-MORNING TUES THROUGH WED AFTERNOON.

* TEMPS: TEMPS NEAR FREEZING AT THE ONSET TUESDAY AFTERNOON. TEMPS WILL DROP INTO THE MID 20s TUESDAY NIGHT. HIGHS IN THE LWR 30s WEDNESDAY.

* WINDS: LIGHT SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS TUES BECOMING NORTH-NORTHWESTERLY 15 TO 25 MPH WEDNESDAY.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. THE COMBINATION OF SNOW & STRONG WINDS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS.

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Due to this impending version of “Snopocalypse II,” I had to cancel my doctor’s appointment scheduled for Wednesday to get a cast on my leg. Who knows, it may be summer solstice before the snow and ice melt enough for me to get back to the doctor’s office.

Life is short: and with these ongoing storms, it may be shorter! Arrrgggh!

Like we get 30″ (76cm) of snow every day. To my neighbors: of course the snow plow hasn’t come down your side street yet, and it’s not because the operators are sipping lattes at the local coffee house. Would you want to have that kind of job? No? Then kwitcherbitchen.

The snow plow operators have been working day and night since before the snow began to fall, and all through it and for days following. Give ’em a break!

Look, everything is closed on Monday, including schools, local, state, and federal government offices, and most private facilities. Stay home, recover from your hangover at your party watching that football game, chill… read a book. But stop whining!

I would much rather that the plows give priority to making hospitals and other community essentials accessible, as well as help utility repair crews identify and be able to reach downed wires so they can restore power. That’s much more important than whether I can get out or not… and should be the same for you.

Relax, take a “time out.” Life will resume its regular hectic pace soon enough. Enjoy this chilled-out holiday!

Meanwhile, the computer is now going off, and my partner and I are retreating to our media room to watch some movies we have recorded. I’m not a football fan, so we’re not all hyped about “the game.” We’ll sit, relax, hold hands, have some popcorn, enjoy a movie, and hit the sack at our usual early hour.

Life is short: chill out!

The sun rose this morning and shone its beautiful golden rays on the trees in the forest behind our house, striking a contrast with the snow. It is a gorgeous sight to behold… as were two cop buddies of mine who somehow made it to our house at 5am and finished shoveling us out. I made them some hot cocoa and buns, which I pulled hot out of the oven just as they finished up. Thanks, guys! You’re the best! (I’ll find a way to repay the favour when I’m rebooted and back on my feet.)

Life is short: enjoy its beauty and celebrate good friendships.

Just imagine… in about six weeks, this hill behind our house will have thousands of bright yellow, orange, and multicoloured daffodils blooming on it…. just imagine…

As of 4:30pm, it is STILL snowing. It started snowing 30 hours ago! Measurements that my partner took around the yard reveal anywhere from 24″ (61cm) to 30″ (76cm) and we have some drifts as much as FIVE FEET (153cm)!

We lost power to our home in the middle of the night, which we anticipated would happen because the snow that fell was wet and heavy, and there were a lot of reports of power lines being hit by falling tree limbs. At daylight, we worked on getting the generator running so we would have heat and preserve the food in our refrigerator and freezers.

My partner has become a pro at using the snow blower, bless him. We are just amazed. It truly is the biggest snowfall we have ever had. I don’t expect a county plow to come until the middle of the week. Meanwhile, my partner, my aunt, and I are safe, warm, dry, and managing to deal with this just fine. (Power came back on about 2pm, which was a welcome surprise!)

Oh sh*t… this wicked winter just ain’t ever gonna end.

It began to snow yesterday morning about 10:30am, and continued snowing all day and all night. The forecast is for over TWO FEET (20m, or so it will seem) of accumulated snow by the time this storm ends. [For the unfamiliar, the average amount of snowfall during an entire winter season in the DC/Maryland area is less than 15″ or 38cm. We got more than that already in our record-breaking December, 2009, snowfall.]

My poor ol’ hard-workin’ partner has been out there… shoveling away. He also decided that this snowfall was just so much that he would use the snow blower, after initially saying that he did not want to try to use it. The machine is hard for him to handle, but he will do okay with it. It’s not really that hard to use, once you become accustomed to it.

I have quit feeling guilty that I can’t be out there to help him. I have accepted the fact that I have a broken leg and there’s nothing I can do about the snow. I am caring for my aunt, who is staying with us “for the duration” and I am doing some other things that I can do via the Internet — as long as we have power. The snow is heavy and has covered tree branches, so I would not be surprised if we lose electrical power and internet connectivity. That’s okay, we are prepared.

How prepared are we?

• We have enough food and water to last us for at least a week. Most of the food can be eaten without heating, if need be.

• While we enjoy VoIP telephone service so we can make “free” long-distance calls throughout the U.S. and Canada, we kept one hard-wired telephone which is powered independently by the phone company, so we will have a working phone if the power goes out.

• Plenty of flashlights and extra batteries are at hand. No candles — which are huge fire hazards.

• We have a generator that can be connected to power essential circuits in the house through a properly installed transfer switch, and adequate fuel stored safely.

• The generator will power a circuit that will keep the fan in our gas-fueled furnace operating so we will be warm.

• Most of all, we have each other. We’ll take care of each other and get through this just fine.

Life is short: be prepared!

Some faithful readers of this blog may recall that I bought a fixer-upper house a few weeks ago and had begun the process of cleaning it up and renovating it so that I could return it to the rental market for a community hero. Usually when I get involved in renovating a house, I do a lot of the remodeling work myself. I enjoy it. It is good exercise, and allows me to use skills that I otherwise don’t get to do.

Further, doing remodeling well offers many practical applications to apply math knowledge and skills, which I enjoy demonstrating to questioning younger members of my family who have asked, “why do I have to learn that stuff?”

Well, “that stuff” such as geometry and algebra sure come in handy when you’re trying to compute the correct cut for angles for window frames, for example. Measure twice, cut once — and correctly! Or when you’re estimating materials required for a project.

Regretfully, the broken leg that I am dealing with sure puts a cramp in my style. But I am not letting it get me down. I sent two young members of my family over to that house last week to get some measurements for me. And they had to be precise so that I could order the correct materials and supplies for contractors to install.

These math-avoiding great nieces needed to do a “practical” project for their eight-grade math class. Their open-minded, creative math teacher accepted a proposal from my great nieces (via me) to compute the requirements to replace a non-load-bearing wall that was in sore need of repair. This wasn’t a simple project. Computations of size, shape, depth, and odd-angle dimensions had to be developed that would determine the number of studs, nails, and gypsum (wall board or Sheetrock®) as well as electric outlets, switches, and wiring required to be put inside that wall.

I admit, I “cheat”: I have a computer program that does a good job of estimating materials for projects like this. But “what if” we went back to the “olden days” and had to figure this out manually? How is math applied? Well… I am pleased to say that my great nieces figured it out. It took them a while, but they were proud to give me the results of their calculations, which I accepted and used to phone in an order for materials to be delivered to the job site.

I got the correct amount of materials for a contractor to install based on my great nieces’ work, for which they earned an “A” for their school project. The contractor finished the installation yesterday and told me that he had very minimal waste and scrap. Good goin’, girls!

I’ll figure out how to do this renovation project even if I can’t do it myself or see it in person for a while.

Life is short: teach while you find alternative methods to get things done.

Looking out my kitchen window is so beautiful…this is the park we built in the forest behind our house, and the view from our kitchen window after yet another snowfall. This snow was of the variety that it clung to every branch, twig, and trunk and looked amazing.

This view is among the reasons why I love to spend hours in my kitchen cooking various things for my partner and me to eat, baking goodies for my elderly friends, and otherwise enjoying creating culinary delights. In nicer weather, my partner spends hours in the forest, just watching.

The cardinals decorate the trees much like Christmas ornaments. The squirrels play “catch me if you can” or “where did I hide that nut?” and the Baltimore Orioles twitter a happy little tune while flashing their orange wings against black bodies. What a sight.

Life is short: love its beauty.

Yesterday, my partner brought me to the medical center where my right leg and ankle were evaluated. New x-rays revealed a slight displacement of the fibula. The foot and leg were still somewhat swollen, and were all colours of the rainbow… yellow, green, blue, red, and even black.

Oh crap… no cast yet. The doc said that I still have to wait for the swelling to go down and have more x-rays. He had a technician wrap it again in another splint-plus Ace Bandage, this time double-wide to prevent me from twisting it which, hopefully, will inhibit further bone displacement.

He introduced that word that I didn’t want to hear — “surgery.” He didn’t say that I had to have surgery yet, but he did say that surgery may be required if the displacement of my fibula worsens.

How am I dealing with this news? Well… of course I am disappointed. I wish my partner wouldn’t dwell on it. I’ll survive. Perhaps I will not get around for a while in two boots, but I will eventually return to a routine. It just will take longer to get there.

This situation with my ankle and leg is bigger than I thought it would be, and requires major reorganization of a lot of my life. It affects work. It affects my ability to care for my beloved elderly aunt and my senior pals. It affects my voluntary positions. It affects my community advocacy. It affects my minimal social activities, such as being able to attend meetings of my motorcycle club.

I am reorganizing my life, and I will make the best of it. I am not happy, but then again, matters could be much worse. I’ll live. I have a partner who cares for me, a family who loves me, neighbors who help, senior pals who keep me company and well-fed, and I live in a safe, warm, comfortable home. Really, if I have to deal with a broken leg, at least I have caring company and a nice place to recover.

Now… where’s that damn broccoli? I have some deer raiding the bird feeder and perhaps, if I aim well… [splat]

Life is short: keep smiling — they’ll wonder why.

Tales of this gimp’s ongoing recovery from the broken leg, while bootless….

I mentioned that senior pals brought us a lot of food last week. Most of what they prepared was in containers that we could heat in the microwave and enjoy in one sitting. Though I must say that Mrs. K just went crazy — she prepared a type of goulash that was delightful, but very filling and was in a huge container! I finished it at lunch yesterday, and my partner and I had two full servings for dinner last week. I just wish she didn’t put broccoli in it. Oh well, I just picked it out. (Broccoli and I never got along… ever.)

And who woulda thunk that broccoli would be added to corned beef? I can understand why it was in potatoes au gratin, but not mixed in with corned beef. (And yeah, I also picked out the cabbage. That doesn’t work well when your digestive system is on overdrive.)

The doc warned me that the prescription pain pills have a bad side effect: constipation. I haven’t been taking the pain pills very much, and the good news is that… I don’t have that problem. Thank goodness for small favors.

I also muse, “what is it about nuts in everything?” Okay, I understand why nuts were in the brownies that my neighbor made for me, but why were nuts in the pasta casserole? Nuts make me go nuts… so it’s no additional nuts for me! (If you get what I mean — LOL!)

One of the things I am learning to handle is not preparing my own meals. When I cook, I know what is in everything I am eating, and thus can ensure that I don’t have any unwanted “post-effects” caused by reactions to compounds in certain foods.

I love to cook. When I built our house, I worked with our architect to design my dream kitchen. It is large, spacious, and has a commanding view of our park-like back yard. I have spent hours cooking away, singing, and enjoying time preparing meals for my partner, my friends, and family.

Now that I cannot physically stand up for more than a minute or two at a time, I cannot prepare meals. I suck it up and say “thank you” and enjoy what food has been prepared for me. Besides the omnipresent effervescent casseroles that seem to multiply more quickly than the rabbits in our forest, we also have foods in the freezer that I made a few weeks ago. We are doing fine, food-wise. I long to return to the time when I can prepare our meals — and leave broccoli on my partner’s salad, and nuts in the bird feeder!

“What, time to eat?” … my partner calls me to the table. I hop in and get settled. He says, “oh, there were some side-dishes in some smaller containers. I heated one of them… hmmm, what’s inside? Why, it’s broccoli and nuts!”

Life is short. Just smile, and eat your vegetables. Mom would be proud!