Sometimes, Christmas just works out OK.

[MineralMan]

So, after a morning of clearing a bunch of really nasty, slushy snow from my Saint Paul, MN driveway, and having my snowblower choke on the wet, heavy snow, it was time to make the Christmas dinner for my wife's family. It falls to me, because I'm really the only one in the group who enjoys cooking. Today, that enjoyment was a little damped down, due to sore shoulders and back from shoveling what the snowblower wouldn't handle.

But, never mind. Turkey and all the trimmings got served at 4 PM, and gifts exchanged over pie and coffee afterwards. My wife and I headed home about 6 PM, only to find three feet of snow across the end of our driveway, left there by the city snowplows, which had waited until there was 12-14" of snow on the street.

Never mind. I gunned it turning into the driveway, and the evil SUV slammed through the wall of snow and made it into the garage, and I was planning another morning of heart attack snow removal. Then...a few doors down the block, I saw a guy in a 4WD pickup with a big snowplow on the front, plowing out the end of a neighbor's driveway.

Wallet in hand, I flagged him down. "How much to do the end of my driveway?" "$15," he said. "You got it," I answered pulling a $10 and a $5 out of my wallet. Many thanks.

So, it took him maybe five minutes to do what it would have taken me three hours the next day with my snow shovel. It was way too much for my snowblower. His plow blade cost probably $5000, and the truck costs plenty to operate, and those guys have breakdowns and the like to deal with. They can only work during big storms, so I didn't begrudge him the money one bit.

So, now, the storm is over, ahead of schedule, and the driveway is clear. The slushy snow let the city plow the street down to the pavement. My back hurts, but it hurts less than it would have tomorrow. Dinner was good, and even my idiot freeper brother-in-law was not his usual cursing self.

It's all good. Christmas was a big success this year, and a guy with a pickup truck picked up a few bucks I could afford to spend to keep from injuring this 64-year-old body any further.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas!

[CrispyQ]

1. Good timing for you!!

Maybe now you can appreciate those billions of beautiful snowflakes!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=228x60683

;)

Merry Christmas!

[MineralMan]

2. I like snow...in small quantities. Minnesota gets way too much

to view through a microscope. A guy needs a macroscope here. :evilgrin:

[CrispyQ]

3. I like snow as long as I don't have to drive in it.

I bought an ergonomic snow shovel a few weeks ago. Know what? Using it causes more of a pain in my back than the old one! Go figure.

A few years ago in Denver, we got snow like you wouldn't believe! The first storm was almost 3 feet, then every week for the next 4 weeks we got another 1.5 - 2 feet of snow. One DUer got this shot:



:rofl:

[MineralMan]

4. I have a small arsenal of snow shovels.

I tried an "ergonomic" one. Sucked, big time. I just work smart when shoveling, take breaks when my heart rate goes up near my max, and use the right shovel for the particular job.

The snowblower usually handles most of the work, but sometimes a guy's gotta break out the manual tools.

I'm getting to be an expert.

[niyad]

9. LOVE that pic--thankfully, it doesn't normally snow in my little section of the world even as much

as it does in other parts of town, let alone north of monument.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. That's good and good you had a good holiday

the best to you and yours.

[Triana]

6. Cool Beans! Glad you had a nice Christmas!

:hi:

[roguevalley]

7. MineralMan, I love your stories. Happy Holidays to you and yours!

[niyad]

8. k and r--relax, have a drink-- you certainly earned it. hope the guy with the truck is enjoying a

wonderful evening as well.