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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Ice storm?

Really? Really!!? You know, snow is okay. Yeah, I do not like the black mud that gets mixed in with the snow, and the everlasting dirty snow banks, but it can be pretty, at least up close.
 
But ice? No thanks. You know, it's funny. When we moved here, we had to give the kids some icicle 101. You know, the rules:
1. Icicles can be dangerous. 
Really  boys, this ain't not joke. If they fall on you, they can knock you out or even kill you. Yes, KILL you. So...
2. Don't stand under them like an idiot. 
Actually, just avoid them. Stay away. Don't glare up at them, don't throw stuff at them. Just leave them alone, okay?

These are the icicles outside the boys room today.

I thought the icicle 101 was a bit extreme until I saw the icicles develop on the industrial buildings behind my house. They are bigger than I am.

This is a machine company behind our house. It has been there since the 1800's. Sometimes I feel like I am stepping back in time when I step out my door and see it. Like I need to call out to the boys, 'Hurry up boys! Don't be late for work,' handing them little tin pails with their lunch and dinner, praying they will not lose their arms at work, watching them totter down the street towards the machine company.
 
But, no, it is not 1868. This company has this loud whistle they use, to mark the beginning of the workday, lunch break, quitting time, etc. We can hear it loud and clear from inside. hooooot! I joke around to others, saying that if I could just get our life on that whistle schedule, we would be the most efficient family ever. Like the kids would  be little robots to the whistle, snapping into action when they hear it. Springing out of bed. Lining up at the table for lunch, and so on. But, no, the whistle just becomes a sound the toddler mimics a few times a day. hooooooot! 

I wanted to snap a few ice storm pics. So I put my rubber shoes on and headed out. A note about these shoes...
I bought these in anticipation of the winter here. What a silly woman. See, in TN, these, with a nice pair of wooly socks, will get you through a winter. Not here. Your toes will freeze off(I may be exaggerating just a teeny bit). Or, you will sink into the snow, it will creep in, getting your feet wet.
 
Like this. See?
 
Joe bought me a great pair of snow boots. I wear them, really, I do. I just slipped these on cause they are easier to get on, and I was just going to be outside for a sec. To document the ice and all. 



I have never lived somewhere this cold. Ever. It has been a real learning experience for me. Sometimes I feel like I am in another world, quite literally on another planet. I have seen things here I have never seen before. Ever. I often wonder what the pilgrims thought. As the New England winter rolled in, and it got colder and colder and yet colder...how terrifying it must have been. To not have known how much colder it would get. To think to yourself...
surely it cannot get any worse...
only to have it get worse. We have it better than them. At least we know what to expect. We may not have experienced it yet, and it is all new in that sense, but at least we know how cold it will be before it gets better. They did not. Not until that first winter came and went. I can relate to them though on a level, to be somewhere new and experience this type of winter for the first time. It's humbling. I am thankful for my warm home, hot water, shelter...
We are out of school for the second day in a row now. I have to find a way to keep these kids occupied. Too much TV. 
Hey Pete turn around real quick and look at mommy!
 
 Thank you Pete. :)

5 comments:

  1. We've had a ton of ice, too. Hate it. Especially driving in it. Love your photos. The photo of the snowflake and the leaves are beautiful.

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  2. My favorite pic is the one of the ice dripping off the leaves. And of your rubber boot toes. Sorry they make your feet so cold! That is miserable!

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  3. Welcome to good ole PA, lol!! I didn't get a chance to get out and take any ice photos...why do my kids have to be sick and ruin all the fun? ;-)

    Love all the photos! Especially the last shot of Pete.

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  4. I love that building.
    Would you die if you know, growing up in Buffalo, we used to open our windows and grab icicles off to eat? True story.
    and gross too...

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  5. Thank you ladies!

    Jude, nooooo, nooooo do not eat those...j/k LOL!

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