Trying to Reason With an Ice Storm-- Part 6: How to Keep Busy When There's Nothing to Do at Home

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23

I went to Wal Mart and overheard several people talking about not having electricity and that was why they were out "shopping," also to stay warm.  Then I went to Meijer and I heard someone call to me, turned, and it was one of the couples from Midwest Breakfast Company.  Great minds must think alike.  Right?

Returning home, I walked around back to check for damage and sadly saw that one of my clump white birch trees was broken about two-thirds of the way up.  Too bad.  That is a pretty tree.  Plus, there were a lot of limbs down on both pine islands.

Like I said, this is by far the worst ice storm we've had in the thirty years living in this house.

Still no power when I got back to the house, so, what else could I do but take a nap.  I was awakened at 11:30 am when the power came back on. This means lots of resetting items that usually Liz did (and knew how to do).  But now I have to figure it out myself and remember, I'm pretty technologically challenged.  Electricity had been out 17 hours.

Then, there is that computer thing.

Actually, I somehow got it going again.  No idea how, though.

With roads in good shape, I drove over to Bulldog Ale House south of McHenry for their $2 draft beer special.  They have 32 draft beers, including domestics, imports and craft beers.  I like imports and craft beers, but not for $6 to $8, but am like a kid in a candy store at $2.  I tried quite a few different ones (No IPAs though, Yuck!!).

Came home and watched the Thursday TV shows (a favorite night).  Sadly, Wednesday night is also a favorite, but we all know what happened to that last night.

--RoadIce

Trying to Reason With an Ice Storm-- Part 5: Quite the Mess

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23

Sadly, when I got home (about half a mile away), the garage door didn't open so I knew the electricity was still off.  

Since I couldn't really do anything, I decided the time was good to do some shopping (in stores with electricity.)

So, drove over to Illinois Highway 31 in McHenry, a major shopping area.

This is the second winter event we've had in the last week.  Last Thursday we had about five inches of snow, now ths ice storm last night.  Both times, we got really hit along the Wisconsin-Illinois border.  The farther south you go, the less snow last week and less ice last night.  I am all in favor of sharing our good fortune with those folks.

The trees in the subdivision are still covered with thick ice and a while lot of limbs are down.  Same held true during my drive to McHenry.  Saw quite a few piles of limbs right up by the road and in several spots there were guys out clearing up the mess.  I could see a few spots where the remnants of limbs were actually on the road.

This was by far the worst ice storm I can ever remember.

--RoadIce

Trying to Reason With an Ice Storm-- Part 3: Icy Neighborhood

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2023

I walked carefully out to the truck which was parked outside. The driveway was covered in ice, but part way to the street was clear.  Also, the street did not appear to have any ice on it either.  After some tugging, I was able to get the driver door open and grabbed an ice scraper.

The ice came off in sheets, fortunately,so wasn't as bad as I anticipated.  My long time neighbor across the street walked over and said he was without electricity as well, but had used his fireplace last night and slept by it where they stayed warm.  He said he had heard we weren't getting electricity until Saturday.  I sure didn't want to hear that.  It got pretty chilly last night as it was.

(I had heard that it might be later today or perhaps even as late as Saturday for some.  I found this out on my new smart phone which, of course, being battery operated, was still usable for the internet.  Something I didn't know how to do with the old flip phone I had.)

I was happy to find the streets in out subdivision were perfect.  That is a good thing as we have some hills in the area.  I saw that some of my pine tree limbs were bent and touching the ground.  Quite a few tree limbs down on my way and even a couple trees.

Drove down the hill to US-12 (Rand Road) and saw that the Midwest Breakfast Company had electricity.

Time for some breakfast.

--RoadIce

Trying to Reason with an Ice Storm-- Part 2: All That Real Gone Electricity

Continued from March 2, 2023.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23

That was a miserable night.  No flushing toilets and I had to take a flashlight with me everytime I had to go.  All those shadows.  No washing hands afterwards either. No fun to lose electricity on well water.  The pump is electric.

I was hoping that when I woke up we'd have power again.  We didn't.  And, it was getting pretty chilly in the house.  We have natural gas, but guess what the blowers work on?  No going into the freezer or refrigerator either to make sure food keeps cold.

At daylight I could see that I have some branches down and others hanging on the pines.  It is pretty though with all the ice on everything.  Nature's doing its icing.

I was hungry so decided this would be a great time to go over to the Midwest Breakfast Company in Spring Grove and have breakfast.  It's been here for many years and Liz and I had never gotten over there to give it a try.

I was going to take the Malibu over to it, but it was in the garage and guess what the door opener works on.  Then I remembered I could just go over to the door and pull a chord and it would open.  But, guess what the lights out there work on.  And then, after I opened the door and backed out I would have to get out of the car, penguin walk on the ice back to the garage door and pull it down manually as I wasn't going to leave it open while I was gone.

So, I decided to go out to the driveway and drive the Dodge Dakota.  But, guess what that was covered in.  

--RoadFun

Trying to Reason With an Ice Storm-- Part 1

The Icestorm of Wednesday, February 22.

Starting over the weekend of Feb. 18-19, we started getting dire warnings of a likely ice storm heading our way, with the worst part supposed to hit us along the Illinois-Wisconsin border and areas north.  To the south it would be more of a rain situation.  I always take it under advisement as the weather folks are often right, but also often wrong.  I was hoping they were wrong.

However, Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 20 and 21, it was still predicted to hit Wednesday, my usual day to drive up to Donovan's Reef in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin.  I adopted a wait and see attitude.  

Well, they were right on with their predictions.  We did have an ice storm and it was the worst I can remember having in the 30 years we've lived in Spring Grove, Illinois.  By the time I would have left for Donovan's at 1:30 pm, there was a thick coating of ice on all the trees and bushes.  Staying put now.

Really hoping we don't lose power.  At 6:15, the lights flickered and then ten monutes later, flickered and went out for good.  Of course, dumb old me had not put any flashlights nearby, so had to grope for some.  Finally found one and was in business.

But, now what.  I can't do anything without electricity and Wednesdays are one of my favorite TV days.  No TV, no radio, no stereo, no nothing.

Might just as well go to sleep.

--RoadIcedOut

JSS: Ukraine Flag-- Come On Weather!! -- Inflation Gets Personal-- Sad Sox, Sad Hawks & Sad Bulls

JSS--  Just Some Stuff

1.  UKRAINE FLAG

I saw a Ukraine flag in the Jewel parking lot earlier today.  Come on Ukraine.  It is amazing what they are accomplishing against such overwhelming odds.

2.  COME ON WEATHER!!

No breaks from the weather  After a wonderful weekend with temps in the lower 80s, we now have 44 degree weather with a strong wind blowing the cold on us.  Is there going to be a spring?  Freeze warnings for tonight!!  

3.  INFLATION GETS PERSONAL 

Today at our local breakfast spot, we were getting ready to order from the specials list when a waitress ran over and quickly gathered the specials pages and replaced them with another one.  We saw that the new one was $1 more for everything.  Ouch!!

4.  SAD SOX, SAD HAWKS & SAD BULLS

Rough time to be pulling for Chicago teams.  The Sox are in the middle of a seven game losing streak and the only thing happening more often is the loss of players to injury.  Seems like a new one every day.

The Blackhawks can't end the season soon enough.  And, I remember when they won their 3rd Stanley Cup in five years back in 2015 that they were talking about a Blackhawk Dynasty.  Little did we know we were seeing the end of it.

At least the Bulls showed the first improvement since those wonderful 1990s and made the playoffs this year, but will most likely be eliminated tomorrow.

--RoadDog

The Case of the Flying Deck Umbrella

Well, we sure had the wind last week.

Tuesday, when I got up, I was looking out the windows to see if there was anything amiss because of all that wind.

Looking out the front window at the driveway I saw what appeared to be a pile of trash.  Today is garbage pickup day and most people in the neighborhood put their receptacles out at night which means they were out in all that wind and at times that wind was intense to say the least.

When I took our garbage out to the street I got a closer look at the "garbage."  Turns out it was our umbrella from the deck in the back of the house.  The umbrella had not been open either.

That must have been one strong gust of wind to pick it up and take it over the house like that.

Wind Under My Umbrella.  --RoadDog

QUESTIONABLE HEADLINES:  Prostitutes Appeal to the Pope.

Past Movie Scratches: Jurassic-- Single-- Park II-- Park III-- Speed-- Geostorm

See if you can guess the names of the movies in the title before you read further.

Past Movie Scratches--  Movies I saw on TV in 2020

Well, it wasn't like I was getting into the movie theaters much after February... for some reason.

31.  JURASSIC PARK--  2-9--  "Must drive faster."  Mr. Goldbloom for comic relief.  "Ah, ah, ah, ah.  You didn't say the magic word."  Don't hide in the outhouse.

32.  HOW TO BE SINGLE--  2-10--  The joys, trials and tribulations.

33. JURASSIC PARK II--  2-15--  Giddyup Dinoboys,  Hunting those dinosaurs, then getting hunted by them.  It's the usual evil, greedy big corporation vs. all that is decent.

34.  JURASSIC PARK III-- 2-15--   New bad boy dino in town.  Plus, a real big big bird problem.

35.  SPEED 2:  CRUISE CONTROL--  2-15--   How not to stop a big ship running out of control.  Ramming speed.  Pretty fakey.

36.  GEOSTORM--  2-28--  It's not nice  to fool with Mother Nature.   Don't ride in helicopters out there.

--RoadDog

Beach Music Top Five Songs for February 13, 2021

These were the Top Five Beach Music on the WVCO Surf, 94.9 FM.

1.  BUZZIN' & SWINGIN'--  Jim Quick & Coastline

2.  BLOWING ME UP--  Jim Quick & Coastline

3.  COOLING OUT--  Band of Oz

4.  DRIFTERS MEDLEY--c  Entertainers

5.  SOMETHING SAID LOVE--  Cat 5

Just the thing to get your mind off all this blooming cold and snow.

Hey, Canadians, keep Your Weather There.  Don't Send It to Us.  --RoadDog

Okay, It's Groundhog Day, Again. Did Our Local Varmint, Woodstock Willie, See His Shadow?

It is now 7:36 am on February 2, 2021.  As the old tale goes, if a groundhog sees his (or her) shadow at sunrise, there will be six more weeks of mean old winter.

Sunrise here in Spring Grove, Illinois, was at 7:06.  I am looking at the window here deep in the basement of Key North and, there can be no shadows for Woodstock Willie if they have the same clouds we have (and Woodstock, where the famous movie was filmed) is just 18 miles away.

So, it is going to be an easy winter from here on out, or so they say.

And, it needs to be.  After a fairly easy November and December, January was a real bear.  We received a lot of snow on several different occasions and very little of it has melted because of cold temperatures and a lack of sunlight.  That snow is really piled up.  Just this past week, we received about 5 inches on Tuesday and another 9 inches Saturday-Sunday.

And, starting this Friday and going through to Thursday, Feb. 11 our forecasts call for cold, real cold.  Highs for those days:  15, 12, 3, 8, 10, 12, 14.  Lows for those days:  1, -5, -6, -1, -4, -2 and 1.

It is time for those Canadians to quit sending us their weather!!!!!  Build that northern border wall!!!

By the way, that "other" original groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, did see his shadow.  But that's Pennsylvania.

Are You Sure Woodstock Willie Didn't See His Shadow?   --RoadCold

The $3800 Six Mile Auto Trip Nov. 10, the Next Day

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 11

And that is considering that since March 16, I haven't driven further than 25 miles from home.  With this virus, it is just no fun to drive anywhere.  We even dropped plans to join family in Savannah, Georgia, this coming Thursday for Thanksgiving.  We had that in the plans for a year and a half.

That storm, as bad as it was, was over in about an hour.

Anyway, the next day, I walked out by the car and saw the garage floor was very wet under the front of the car(perhaps, I thought, from all the rain we had) but there was nothing by the back tires.

I looked at the front of the 2011 Malibu and could see the license plate and holder were a bit bent and he bumper under it was dented as well.  Then I saw a piece of wood jammed in there, but I couldn't loosen it. (Nor could I get the hood up after I pulled the inside lever to do it.  I couldn't find the latch in the engine.)

I started the car, and it started right up.  Backed it out of the garage and drove around a couple blocks.  It ran well.  No warning lights came on either.

Parked it on the driveway which was dry, figuring I would see if it was still leaking.  I went out a few hours later and the driveway was covered with some sort of liquid.

I called our Chevy dealer to have it towed in the next day.

Watch Out for Them Motivating Big Tree Branches.--RoadWreck

POINTS TO PONDER:  Why do we press harder on the remote when we know the batteries are getting weak?

That Was Some Sneaky Storm On Sunday

Sunday, November 25

We'd been hearing warnings about this storm for several days, but didn't expect what we got.  We get snow in November here in Northeastern Illinois, but usually nothing too bad.  We've already had two snowfalls of two and three inches this month.  No problem at all.

But what we got Sunday was rather jawdropping.

All morning Sunday, they kept talking about it, but nothing came of it.  After listening to Bob Stroud's Rock and Roll Roots, I drove over to Jewel then came back and put the '85 Firebird out in the driveway as some buddies were coming by to look at it as I would like to have body and interior work done on it.  It is in bad need of it.

They came at 12:30.  As they were leaving, the storm hit, but nothing too bad at first, but with ice on the driveway, we decided not to go over to the PLAV or Sunnyside and we were sure glad we stayed home.

This was serious snowfall.  And the biggest snowflakes I've ever seen.  Some were fist size.  And, they were coming down fast.

McHenry County got hit the worst of all of the Chicagoland area.  Bull valley had 13.5 inches.  Woodstock 12 inches.  I am figuring we had 11-12 inches here.

That Is Sure A Lot For November.  --RoadDog

THAT TIME OF THE YEAR:  What does a Pilgrim call his friends?  Pal-grims.

JSS: Frost Advisory-- Miserable Weather-- Round Lake Spring Carnival Curse

JSS--  Just Some Stuff

1.  FROST ADVISORY--  Hard to believe, but this morning we had a frost advisory.  The temperature on our front porch this morning was 34 degrees.

2.  MISERABLE WEATHER--  And, we have had really crummy weather the last week.  Most days it was overcast and threatening storms as well as unseasonably cold and a 10-20 mph wind that blew the cold right through you.

Temp forecast highs:  Today 55, Thursday 52, Fri. 55,  weekend--  mid-50s.

3.  ROUND LAKE SPRING CARNIVAL CURSE--  Yesterday, I went to Round Lake Beach, Illinois, to see a couple movies (since it was too crummy to work in the yard).  I didn't see it going to the theater, but on the way back, there IT WAS.  The various trucks of the infamous Round Lake Spring Carnival were parked out in the parking lot of the stores where they set up every year at the corner of Rollins and Cedar Lake roads.

Actually, with how bad the weather was last weekend, we were joking that the "Carnival must be in town."  It wasn't, but its weather sure was.

Everyone in the Round Lake Area (there are four Round Lake towns) knows about the carnival curse.  With the exception of a couple years, the weather has been crummy ever since I worked it for the Round Lake Area Jaycees back in 1977.

The CURSE of the CARNIVAL.  --RoadDog

JSS: Illinois State-- Jonquils-- Crazy Weather-- Deja Vu All Over Again-- Robins

JSS--  Just Some Stuff.

1.  ILLINOIS STATE--  You'd think with a 27-6 record that it would get you into the NCAA Basketball Tournament.  It didn't.  So ISU in the NIT.

2.  JONQUILS--  I have two jonquils blooming in the house.  I picked them while frozen Saturday.  I didn't think they would make it, but their blooms opened and I got to enjoy their color and smell.  Monday, they would have been under four inches of snow outside.

3.  CRAZY WEATHER--  Sure has been since we got back from Florida.    First, it was warm, but the windiest I've ever seen.  Then, it got cold and then we had 4-5 inches of snow this past Monday and Tuesday.  It has also been highs in the upper 20s until today.

4.  DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN--  Monday I saw the movie "Before I Fall."  Thought I was seeing "Groundhog Day 2."  But without the happy ending.

5.  ROBINS--  We saw our first robins of the year over the weekend.  Guess they must have gotten fooled by all that warm weather in February.

YOU'RE DRINKING TOO  MUCH COFFEE WHEN:  You name your cats "Cream"and "Sugar."

Good to have Them Back, Though.  --RoadDog

Thanks a Lot Carnival!!!

The temperature right now os 40.1 degrees with a high expected at 48.  Lows tonight in the lower 30s and we have a frost advisory in place until Sunday afternoon.  Wind at about 20 mph with gusts up to 30, blowing all that cold right through your bones.

And, we all know who the culprit is.

That crummy old Round Lake Spring Carnival on Rollins Road.

I Really, Really HATE That Carnival.  Hope They Go Bankrupt.  RoadDog

YOU'RE OLD IF YOU REMEMBER WHEN: Boys couldn't wear anything but leather shoes to school.

The Carnival Did It Again!!

Today, Liz and I had our visit to the dentist in Round Lake Beach, Illinois.  We had heard that the weather this weekend was going to drop down to the 50s with a cold wind making it feel much worse, as well as rain.

I dropped Liz off and drove over to Big Lots and what did I see?  Why, the infamous Round Lake Spring Carnival was set up in the open land next to it.

Well, that would explain the lousy weather.  Every year, we get crummy weather during the several days it is open.  This week is no different.  And, i heard the weather wasn't great last weekend, but I wasn't here.

It has been bad ever since I was a Round Lake Area Jaycee back in 1977 and we hosted it.  I worked in the a ticket booth and the temperature was in the 80s and sunny when I got there.  Within an hour, it was 50 degrees and a blustery north wind making it miserable.

Someone's Got To Do Something About That Carnival!!  --RoadCold

Baseball is Back, But You Sure Couldn't Tell By the Weather

**  Both the Sox and Cubs started the season 2-0.  The last time they did that was in 1951, when Liz and I were born.  Cubs are 3-0 so far and Sox are 3-1.

Right now, the Sox are losing their home opener 5-1.  OUCH!!

**  It is going to be hard to live with the Cubs fans this year with all of this hoopla around them.

**  The Sox home opener today and the weather is miserable.  High forecast at 38 degrees, windy, with light snow and rain showers in the afternoon.  This morning we had fairly heavy snow here with about a half inch on the ground, but not on anything I might have to clear off.

Northwest winds at 20 to 30 mph.  Chance of precipitation 70%.

**  Lin Braehmer, Mr. Ultimate Cub Fan, even was nice enough to mention the Sox home opener on his morning show on WXRT.  He even did a Sox-related Three for Free where he played snippets of three songs somehow related to the Sox.  I recognized the first one, knew the second and had no idea on the last one.

1.  Thunderstruck--  AC/DC
2.  Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye--  Steam
3.  Southside--  Moby

**  Monday he will be broadcasting live from Wrigleyville before the Cub home opener from 1-7.  Always a good time, even if they are for the Cubs.

**  Actually, I am a Cubs fan, UNLESS they play Da Sox.

**  The Sox, besides this rotten weather, had a fire early this morning in a storage room.

Play Ball!!  --RoadSox

Watching the Game At Margaritaville

Margaritaville is my basement bar.

Half-time and I'm finishing my blogs.  Quite a Super Bowl so far with a tie score at half.  Overall, I'm pulling for the Seattle Seahawks despite Lynch.  But probably my favorite non-Bear/Packer play is New England's Gronkowski, the "Gronk."

We had a room at Donovan's in Twin Lakes but the blizzard conditions that still continue, took care of that.

I used the snowblower about 10:30 a.m. and cleared off at least 6-8 inches of snow (and a drift at 2 feet at both the top and bottom of the driveway).  At 4:45 p.m., I went back out and cleared a 3-foot drift by the garage and another 6-8 inches of snow.  It is hard to tell exactly how much we've gotten because of the 20-30 mph winds and constant blowing.

But, I know I've cleared off at least 16 inches of snow today!!

We have friends who are totally into skiing and snowmobiling who went to Arizona and Utah earlier this week because there was no snow.

They should come back and shovel my driveway.

I Hate Snow On My Driveway, Sidewalk and Roads.  --RoadDog


GOLDEN BUMPER STICKERS:  I'm in the initial stages of my golden years:  SS, CDs, IRAs, AARP...

JSS: Werewolves of London-- End of Waukegan Strike-- Boat Out of the Water-- Miserable Halloween Here-- $3 Gas

JSS--  Just Some Stuff.

1. WEREWOLVES OF LONDON--  I'm listening to one of my Halloween cassette tapes and just heard "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon.  This song now always reminds me of the one that our music teacher made up during the 1994 Round Lake Teacher Strike to "honor" our "illustrious" school board prez.

2.  END OF WAUKEGAN STRIKE--  I was glad to find out yesterday that the Waukegan, Illinois, teacher strike finally ended, after four weeks.  We were planning on walking the line with them yesterday.  This would have been our fourth time out with them.  So much reminded me of our strike exactly 20 years earler.

3.  BOAT OUT OF THE WATER--  Monday, we took our boat out of the water and to the marina for winterizing.  We were able to get out on it 45 times this past season and it should have been a lot more except for all this crummy cold from all this Global ______.

4.  MISERABLE HALLOWEEN HERE--  With 38 degrees for a high, rain and snow as well as 30-40 mph wind.  I tell you, I can't take much more of all this Global ______.  I feel sorry for the Trick-Or-Treaters out tonight.

5.   $3 GAS--  Hard to believe, but gas prices actually dropped to $3 here in northeast Illinois yesterday.  Most will call it $2.99, but at $2.99.9, that' still $3.  It made me excited as I didn't think I'd ever see it that low again.  And I especially hate the GRBs at Big Oil for making me think $3 was CHEAP!!!

Just Some Stuff.  --RoadDog


SAY WHAT?  "That and a quarter will get you a cup of coffee."--  Tell that to Starbucks.

Brrr! Mighty Cold Out There, Thanks A Lot Fox Lake Oktoberfest

Completely miserable weather today, the worst since Thursday when it started getting bad and it has stayed bad.  I've had to bring the summer plants in from the frond porch and back deck as temps last night got close to freezing and today may not even break 48 degrees and become the coldest high we've had for October 4th since the 1930s.

It's already caused us to cancel going to the Richmond-Burton football game last night and out to DeKalb today for the NIU game against Kent State.  I'm just not going to sit outside in blustery, cold and rainy conditions like this.

However, we'll be leaving shortly for a band at Route 12 Bar and after that, Ron Payton playing at the Legion, both afternoon gigs.

Then, this evening Fox Lake is having their annual Oktoberfest festival at Lake Front Park, inside I'm figuring.

Actually, their having the Oktoberfest is a big part of the reason we're having this "Global _____" incident.  Every year they have it, we get bad weather.  It's like the infamous spring carnival in Round Lake which brings on bad weather every April.

Too Much of This _____ Is More Than I Can Handle.  --RoadDog


SAY WHAT?  "In technicolor"--  If only life looked like that early color film process.