Heidi Chronicles - Winter Timeout 09

June,

At 1st I didn't understand why Widget was so jumpy. Eventually, I realized he somehow knew of my ordeal. I could get him to calm down enough to do his thing. I came in and went to sleep. Later when he had calmed down, he woke me up to let me know he really, really need to go out, and I took him back out then.

I had no idea water would do that kind of damage. I thought I would just be stranded for the night, have to wade to get out, that kind of thing. I had no idea it would possibly ruin the engine and require costly repairs. I really was incredibly lucky.

most cars that go into deep water, into the engine compartment...they just get "totaled" by the Insurance Company.

Maybe Widget and the racoons were praying for your safe return?

Somebody or something sure seemed to be on my side last night. Of course, I haven't tried to start the car again since I got home. I'm assuming it's still alive, but don't know that for certain.

My car is a used Accord I bought a year or so ago after that guy smashed into my other one. I guess the good thing is that while it is a good, working, dependable car, it's not worth a huge amount of money nor do I have a lot invested in it.

What a terrible ordeal you went through. I can relate to the fear and frustration you felt by some of the situations I have put myself into at one time or another in my life. Like my husband says ......."You gotta love those Honda Accords!" Thank goodness you made it home to Widget safely!

The same weather system that sent all that rain to you came to us in the form of a record breaking snow storm last night and today. My husband went to pick up my grandson at the airport near Baltimore,Md at 7:30 last night....in his Honda Accord! We had the warning all this was coming but he had to be picked up and he didn't think it was suppose to get here that early. The airport is almost two hours north of here. By the time Allen got Ryan picked up and they stopped for a bite to eat I was getting anxious. I called and told him we had one inch of snow already.....fifteen minutes later I let him know we had one and a half inches........half an hour later as they were getting ready to head back I informed him we already had two inches of snow. It hadn't started snowing there yet but as they got on I-95 it began and the traffic was terrible due to everyone rushing around going wherever they were going in the Baltimore/DC area. Most of the trip home was being driven between 20 and 40 miles an hour. There were wrecks about every mile or two and people were pulling over because of the blinding snow. Still Allen(in his little red Honda)trudged on towards home. We had already gotten over four inches of snow and I was just sick as you couldn't even see the outlines of our driveway which is long and curved so I go out at midnight with the shovel and edged the sides so he wouldn't have to guess where it was. Of course by the time he pulled in at two A.M.there was another inch or two accumulated. I was very impressed with his driving in snow ability(but then again he was raised in Ohio) when he managed to get through our housing division(which hadn't been plowed)safely and pulled into our driveway. He made it three- fourths way up the driveway before he began sliding off. I was sure he would give up after the fourth or fifth attempt but continued to coax that little Honda toward the garage until she finally got traction enough to come on home. I was never so happy to see Allen and Ryan as I was last night! It has continued to snow all day(well... yesterday now)and by my own ruler got a 13 inches of snow reading. Just 13 miles from here in Stafford they got 24 inches. Of course there has been no plowing of the division and only saw one truck go by today. I don't know if they will even get it plowed by tomorrow.

Of course I didn't get out to try to feed the raccoons but they were well fed the last two nights and I kinda think they will be all huddled together under a snowbank somewhere trying to stay warm tonight. I did get some great pictures of all the birds feeding in the snowstorm today though. The Cardinals bright red against the white snow background is just beautiful.

Judy



This message was edited Dec 20, 2009 12:34 AM

Ahhh, yes...I had a red Honda Accord when I lived in California. Great little car!

Hi Judy,

Where is the picture of the cardinals in the snow?!!! I was looking forward to seeing the brilliant red birds on the white snow.

You know, as painful as it is to be in a scary situation, I think I prefer that any day to the agony of worrying about a loved one who is in a dangerous situation, worrying, waiting for word, hoping and praying every second the phone will ring, imagining the worst, and all the while feeling so powerless to do anything at all.

I'm SO glad to hear that your DH and his son made it home safely. You DH sure sounds like a very good driver. Your story helps to put my own trials into perspective. As stressful as my situation was, there was minimal risk of a life-threatening accident or other real danger. For me the biggest risks were minor fender benders while trying to navigate around in the dark and rain while lost, major damage to the cars engine from water, and the discomfort of having to spend the night in the car while waiting for the waters to recede. As stressful as that was, it pales in comparison to the risks of serious accident or hypothermia from being stuck and/or lost in snow.

I don't know how you folks in snow prone areas do it, really. I think if I lived in an area with snow I would just hang up my car keys from late summer until the following spring. I think snow is beautiful to look at, yummy to eat, and just plain awesome in every way, but when it comes to trying to drive on the stuff, I'm terrified. I think I've mentioned this before, but on the rare occasion that we see a few snow flakes start to fall - and I'm talking decades here, not years - I go home as soon as I see the first flake and stay there until the 'danger' has passed, this despite the fact that even when we get 'snow', it rarely ever 'sticks' and if it does we rarely get more than a light dusting, something that looks roughly the same as powdered sugar dusted over donuts. All this not withstanding, the threat of driving in snow terrifies me, so I head home and park as soon as I see the 1st flake fall - doesn't matter where I am either, work, some appointment, etc, no matter. I leave immediately regardless.

I see on the news that much of the NE is having blizzard conditions due to the effects of the same front that dropped all of the rain on us. I see that most areas are seeing 18-24in snow. Something like 70% of flights were canceled in the DC area last night. Airports were closed. Even holiday shopping came to a halt with customers choosing to stay home and stores opting to close early to get employees home before too late.

You guys are definitely getting the worst of that storm. The heavy rain and relatively minor flooding was more of an annoyance than anything. I can't imagine all that water coming down as snow instead of rain. Whew!

Hope things will be returning to normal for you and others in the NE as soon as possible. Most of all, I'm very glad your DH made it home safely.

Yes it was terrible waiting for him to come home. Thank goodness for cell phones to keep in touch. I would call Ryan,my grandson, to get information on where they were. I didn't want to distract Allen from the driving.

The roads still haven't been plowed and it has frozen out there now. Allen and Ryan got our driveway shoveled and also shoveled the driveways on both sides of us. One is a widow and the other is a retired couple. The retired couple did a lot of their own but Allen and Ryan helped them out. Didn't do much good though as you can't drive on these roads safely. We were to go to a party tomorrow but it was canceled(darn,now what am I going to do with this 18 pound ham and the rum cake?) We are going to Georgia on Christmas eve if we can ever get out of the sub division! We got Ryan so he could visit with us before we left as it had been a year since we had seen him. Then Tuesday I was going to take him to Maryland to be with his mother(my daughter)for the rest of his Christmas vacation. He has been living with his father in Florida. I am still hoping the roads will be clear enough for me to take him to his mother by Tuesday,but at this rate I wouldn't bet on it. At least he got here before they closed the airports down. Just a couple more hours and who knows where he would have been stranded. He is 17 and would have been alright,still we would have worried.

Here is a shot of the snow! Allen using the neighbors snow blower.

Ryan using the shovel

Ryan being Ryan!

And one last shot of a cardinal and a downy woodpecker sharing the suet!

LOL, what a fun kid you've got there! Wow, lotta white stuff...

Thanks for the great pics, Judy!

I love the ones with the cardinals in the snow. Wow, the other pics really help me to get some perspective on what 2ft (give or take) of snow actually looks like. That's one heck of an icicle Ryan has there. Naturally, I've never seen anything like that.

New info on the Great Charleston Flood of 09. Now the total of people rescued from flooded/stalled cars is up to 30 something. It was around 5:30PM when I turned off I26 onto Rutledge Ave to head into the thick of things. I'm told by 6PM the city had closed all entrances to the city to keep people out. Another 30min and I would not have been able to get down there - assuming I was smart enough not to try to go around barricades.

As far as anyone can recall, the city has never been completely closed to all incoming traffic before. Per the media, that night we received more than 3x the maximum rainfall in recorded history for the area. It was a heck of a night to be going down there for a social event. It was entertaining thought, but not in a good way.

>>It was entertaining thought, but not in a good way.

now that you sit back and think about it....

any idea what the rainfall total was?

our area would flood around the 3-4" mark... but it was more because the sewers [water runoff] could not handle it. We do have a small creek that flows thru town.

The Village has been sinking a lot of money into the infrastructure to keep us from flooding... last Sept when the village was hit hard... they say we got 9" !! luckily, i was up north. OH, i think that was the Sept before... but whatever....

I am glad we took the tour of Charleston in November as it gives me a more mental visual of the areas that I am sure were flooded. There are definitely some really low roads in that town. I imagine everyone that had to be rescued will think twice before venturing downtown in the heavy rain again. Did the rain ever stop while you were driving in town or did you have to drive all that time in the blinding rain? I don't know but I think I would have been terrified and my knuckles would have been a ghostly white for days after.

The roads here in the subdivision are still now plowed. Allen is walking Angel in the neighborhood to see if any of the roads leading out are plowed. If so we may try to get to them as there are some things we need to get. There are some cars and trucks driving through our street but they are bouncing up and down from the icy snow bumps. They have closed all the schools for the rest of the year as it would be stupid to risk lives just to have the kids go for 2 days.

For some time now I've been eagerly awaiting word from Nikon regarding my camera. UPS records show that Nikon recvd it on Dec 18. Today I received an estimate for me to approve and pay for online. Good System. I gather this is not the absolute and final word, however, as they could find additional problems once they get inside the beast. Anyhow, I was almost afraid to look.

Good news so far though. The estimate is for $162 including return shipping. I've approved it and am waiting impatiently. If I actually get my camera back in a week or so having paid a mere $162 and if it works like new, I will be (1) elated! and (2) really, really mad that you didn't tell me to send it in sooner.

Ok, that last part was a bit of Cheryl humor. As I recall you guys continually suggested that I send it in for repairs years ago. : )

Just imagine me out there in spring able to shoot pics in rapid succession much like what you see/hear when the professionals are shooting models. You know, "Shhhzzt, shzzt, shzzt, shzzt..."
I'm scared to get my hopes up. I could get all of the action for a change. Trying to keep my cool until it's a done deal...

Cheryl... that's awesome news!! not a bad price either.

I recall once my Rolex had stopped ticking... so i took it to a jeweler that works on them... $350 just to open it!!
granted, at the time Dh bought it for me, it was about an $1100 watch [thankfully he did not pay full price]
I said NO, and when i got it back, it was keeping time again.... but now, for about the past 3 yrs, it actually gains 2 minutes ever hour. **Curses** I love the watch, but i hate to shutter what it will cost to fix it.

I'd certianly do it for $162 bucks.

>>You know, "Shhhzzt, shzzt, shzzt, shzzt..."

I can tell you are quite giddy...

and yes we did nag you, for quite a long time... i think every 'off season'.

Wonderful news! I'm impatiently waiting along with you. $162 for it's repair is like a gift to yourself at this point. It is going to be great to have it back and working for you again!

Yes, Merry Christmas to You, Cheryl, what a nice gift for yourself--and you deserve it!

Thank, 'guys'!

Do you know what the real hold up was all this time? Pain. Yep. The real reason I don't get a lot of things done is pain. I think the camera 1st went bottom up during my convalescence following knee surgery. About a year after the 1st knee surgery, when it seemed I was finally starting to get mobile again, I had another knee surgery. After the 2nd one every step was painful, so I took as few as possible.

If you are wondering why I didn't get one of those motorized vehicles to ride around in. My surgeon's words echoed in my head anytime I thought about it, "If you stop walking now, you will probably never walk again. So, I struggled to remain ambulatory, the price of which was 'less', less walking, less gardening, doing less around the house, less of a lot of things; but from our prior conversations I gather that some of you know what I'm talking about.

Several years later when the pain in my knees had greatly subsided came the car wreck and resulting back pain.

Perhaps you are thinking, "What does pain have to do with getting the camera into the mail?" There are many steps involved in getting that done - as with most things. When you are in pain, esp pain that is made worse by walking, those small steps can seem daunting esp when you have many other things to do and many other things you haven't done and all of them will result in pain. Finding a box means walking around the house from room to room. Then there's the walking and standing and reaching to round up the packing material, scissors, tape, etc and walking upstairs to print the packing list and address label from the Nikon site. Add to that the extra walking to get another box and more packing material when the 1st one turned out to be too small. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Anyhow, now that my pain Dr has me on 24hr meds to control the pain, I find that I am slowly starting to get some things done around the house and checked off that very long TODO list. Regardless of what excuses I may have used, pain was the real reason I didn't send the camera in sooner and pain management is the real reason I finally got it done. It's true that I didn't want to part with the camera during spring and summer, but the real thing that kept me from getting that task done during the off seasons was the pain.

Pain, BTW, is also the real reason why we don't have RaccoonCam yet. In my life in the past several years, pain has been the reason for a lot of things I didn't really want to admit. Here's hoping pain management continues to work so I can continue to get caught up on that stockpiled todo list.

I think that a lot of us understand how pain changes your life.

I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Happy, Safe New Year.........see you in 2010.......Marie

And Merry Christmas from me as well. I will be Amtraking to Chicago on Christmas Eve evening, looking forward to the train ride, but not to colder weather. It was 60 here today, and we have seen no snow, only a bit of frost. Not much rain either.

You all be well and be safe.
Merry Christmas to all of you!

Travel save Sharran... it's drizzly rain here [chicago burbs] today.

This morning I opened the back door to find my all time favorite camellia, a clear, cotton-candy pink, double named Debutant, in full bloom and looking more stunning than ever before with numerous large, cabbage-rose-like, pink flowers clustered together amidst a sea of dark green leaves looking for all the world like a 5ft x 3ft formal floral arrangement in a vast earthen vase. The delicate pink petals had not yet been burned and browned by severe frost. The camellia stood there in a rare moment of absolute perfection. My 1st thought was to go back for the camera. I must capture this rare moment. But, of course, there was no camera.

As I drive along the streets I bite the back of my hand to ease the pain I feel at being unable to capture the stages of the Bradford pears in fall foliage, 1st dark green with only the outermost branches dipped in burgundy, flame, and orange, later the entire tree enveloped in orange and lemon with only accents of green and burgundy, and finally nearly bare trunks silhouetted against the sky like statues, a handful of yellow leaves still clinging lightly to them here and there. And me with no camera. Alas, in recent days, no camera has become my mantra. : (

Hi Terese,

It was only $150 for the fix. The other $12 is to overnight it back to me. They correspond with you via a web page where you can see the status, estimate, etc, can approve estimate and pay bill. They email you a link to the site for your item. I like that. The status page says the camera requires "replacement of major parts" and that this will return it "to good working order". Hope so. I'm just praying they don't find any more problems as work continues. I think the current estimate is great. I couldn't possibly replace the functionality and features of this camera for that.

How sad that the repairs for your watch are so prohibitively expensive. You are lucky though that it still keeps time even if it does gain a little. I have a Gucci watch, a gift from a former beau, that is broken, both hands stopped in their tracks by a broken crystal. Some century I hope to have it repaired. It is my favorite watch and has been out of commission for ages now. I had forgotten the thing. I need to get it out and see about shipping it back to them for an estimate - and hope they can fix it for a reasonable price. Mine just has a broken crystal, something I found quite ironic considering I've had plenty of cheaper watches and this is the only one that ever broke. Well, clearly it's not a Timex.

I had a problem with it years ago when I was still wearing it. I dropped it off at a jewelry store to have the battery replaced. I returned an hour or so later to find a teenager using needle nose plyers and the jewelry equivalent of a crow bar trying desperately to open the well sealed case. Arrgh! I thought I would just die! Did I mention this was my all time favorite watch, ever? She had managed to gouge and scratch the watch all over and still hadn't succeeded in opening it much less changing the battery. I was horrified. I insisted on shipping it back to the manufacturer to have the battery changed properly and on having the jewelry store pay for replacement of all scratched and damaged parts of the case. Learned quite a lesson there.

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

June,

If they can restore it to "like new" for that price, I will consider it an excellent Christmas gift. (Fingers still crossed.)

Merry Christmas, makj!

May you and your family enjoy a Happy New Year in 2010.

Merry Christmas, Sharran!

Wishing you a very safe and enjoyable trip. It is warm here, too, today. I had to turn on the fans. Even used the AC a bit in the car. I think I might enjoy a brief trip to some snow covered, winter wonderland as long as I could be assured of a speedy and safe return. Hope your trip to Chicago turns out to be more fun than you expect, even despite the cold.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Thank you, KyWoods,

I hope it will turn out to be a surprise gift for all of us in the form of more and better raccoon pics. I can't begin to tell you how many great photo ops I've missed because of the reboot required between shots. Heck, I would have a dozen or more pics of Bast walking on her front legs if not for that and who knows how many clever pics of kits playing.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I would like to wish everyone in Heidi Land a Merry Christmas (where appropriate) and a Happy New Year! May you enjoy a wonderful day with family and friends tomorrow; may 2010 turn out to be your best year yet; and above all else, somewhere amidst the tinsel and wrapping paper, may you remember the true message of love and redemption for which the season was intended.

Merry Christmas!

Thank you Cheryl, what a wonderful wish! Merry Christmas to all!

Oh, yes! Merry Christmas everybody!

Merry Christmas, Cheryl and friends!!! I hope you are having a MUCH less stressful day today!!

I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Christmas!

Merry Christmas Cheryl & Everyone.....

I am lacking in keeping up. One daughter just had major knee surgery, and two more girls needing surgery in the next six weeks or so. It is never ending! I am exhausted....

But you add so much cheer when I check in.

If you have the same luck I did with my camera (although a Kodak) my camera was just like knew out of the box when I got it back. They even cleaned and shined it up.

Can't wait for pictures when it does arrive, I hope your beautiful "Debutant" is still blooming!


Debbie

Hi goldfinch!

Nice to see you. Thanks for the holiday wish. Happy New Year!