Sunday, January 30, 2011

Blaine's Method for How to Hunker Down for a Blizzard...And There Will Be Chili!!

Well golly gee, the weatherman instructed all of us to prepare for a coming snow episode. Well, we thought we were prepared---you can see our snow tools up above, which we figured would be satisfactory.

But now we're not thinking they'll be of any help. Because the weatherman said it would be so bad starting tomorrow that we should put "ice melt" on our driveways and sidewalks TONIGHT. He said there would be light snow showers and freezing rain beginning on Monday morning. Then he said that Tuesday there would be a damn blizzard which would likely dump 10" to 13" of snow on the ground! And then on Wednesday there might be some more snow showers.

TEN to THIRTEEN INCHES? That's a lot for us. And there's still some snow on the ground from the last snow episode!

So Blaine went down to the hardware store and got the ice-melt and loaded it into his "spreader". The spreader is the tool where you load your salt or ice melt and then hand crank it out to spray it on the areas you want.

Lock and load....

He started with our driveway and spreaded it on both our side and our landlord's side.

(Is "spreaded" a word?)

Then he reloaded and gave everything another layer.

(And this was the day he had gone out and got the truck cleaned---including removing the salt layers from the last snow storm....)

Poor Blaine. He spreaded a lot of layers, hoping he could prevent major problems in the next few days.

But personally, the weather forecast is so bad that I doubt this ice melt layer will do diddly squat.

I'll take pics of the progress of the storm and put it on another blogpost. Oh yes, and Blaine went to the grocery store (with my long list) to prepare for not being able to go to the grocery store for a couple days. He got everything he thought we'd need to hunker down for the blizzard. And guess what? He got the ingredients to make his famous chili---which he'll probably make on Tuesday, the blizzard day---yippee!

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14 comments:

danielle said...

I gotta tell you - I am so empathetic for everyone in the Snow Belt! Plus - I do worry about what the spring will bring for everyone!

Bo... said...

Hi Danielle! As for blizzard, they changed the predicted amount of snow from 10"-13" to 14.7"---and winds blowing at 40 mph!

Anonymous said...

Nope. Spread is the same in all tenses.

Bo... said...

Thank you, Anonymous! The funny thing is, in high school and college I was excellent with spelling, vocabulary, & grammar---but for some reason, these days I'm getting really bad in all three of them!

Gramma Phyllis said...

Then after the snow gets through dumping on you in Kansas, it moves on to those of us along the eastern Great Lakes. And as we still have open water, we'll have a combo storm - lake effect and blizzard. Oh well, that's what I get for living within 3 miles of Lake Ontario. Maybe I should have moved back to Mississippi but then I would have had to survive Katrina. It least when it is this cold and snowy you can always add more warm and woolly layers.

Bo... said...

Hi Gramma Phyllis! You're right about the layering for the cold. I've got a Kauni sweater and a heavier Cascade 220 sweater---and then I have a Chiefs jacket which is too big for me but is perfect for wearing over the sweaters.

And I hope your upcoming snow episode doesn't cause too much trouble in your area! :)

Anonymous said...

Man no fair! Us Seattlites want a "hunker down with chili day"!

Bo... said...

Hi Anonymous! And I'm going to make Frito Pie with the leftover chili!

Anonymous said...

Argh! Sounds wonderful. I would love to stay home from work, knit, nap, knit watch movie, knit eat chili with sour cream cheddar cheese and then corn bread with whipped honey butter! AAAHHH stop yur killin me!
Sue

Bo... said...

Hi Sue! That might just be what I do tomorrow! I'm knitting on my uncle's sweater. I started it first on the back piece (set-in-sleeve style) and I just passed the armhole shaping. Now I'm heading toward the shoulder.

Blaine will most likely not be able to make it into work so he's bringing home his work laptop and equipment so he can work from home. But he's definitely going to make his chili.

And then I'm going to make my Frito Pie from the leftover chili! (Blaine always makes too much, so I figured this time I won't waste the leftovers!)

Anonymous said...

Can you share the Frito Pie recipe? Sounds yum.
When it snows here the whole city shuts down (very hilly here) and my company closes which means we get paid to stay home! Negative side is that if it starts snowing here at work and you take the bus home you can be on it from 4pm to 4am as happened last nowpocolypse! The trip is only 40 minutes but everyone loses their driving competancy around here when it snows. Have fun and I will be here working jealous! Take pics!
Sue in Seattle

Bo... said...

Okay, here's the recipe:

Frito Pie:

Take a cake pan (9 x 11) and pour into the bottom of it a substantial amount of chili. Then sprinkle a layer of chopped lettuce. Then put on a substantial layer of regular size Fritos. Then sprinkle a lot of shredded cheese over the whole Frito layer.

Then put into a 350 oven and take it out when you're sure it's hot (it's bubbling) and the cheese has melted.

Of course, many people have their own Frito Pie recipe. This is just how I do it. Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

Yum will definitley try this one.
sigh.....me want snow....
Snowless in Seattle

Bo... said...

Awwww, Snowless in Seattle, we will gladly share our snow!