Significant melting

It stayed above freezing overnight.  Amazing that it was as warm as it was Saturday and Sunday but to be 36 degrees at 6am was even more incredible.  The walk from the house to the garage was made easier by the amount of melting that occurred yesterday and during the night.

It would appear the ground under the snow is not frozen because there aren't that many puddles of water and the over 2 feet of accumulation is down at least 6 or more inches.  And the best news is that my efforts to get rid of the ice damn on the roof seem to have paid off.

There was no dripping into the downstairs bathroom and a glance up at the roof this morning showed no snow or ice on the backside of the sunroom roof.  I was concerned with the front side but....fingers crossed...no seepaage into the house. I'll still need to open up the ceiling this Spring and check for mold or damage.

Australia (87 photos), by Jeffery Alspaugh

Australia photos on SnapFish.
Click here to view photos

Chevy HHR

Well, there's a reason I have never rented an HHR....it is bad.

Easily mistaken for a Chrysler PT Cruiser...but not in a good way...I haven't liked the look has been one reason.  Right of the get-go, I should have rejected the thing right away because I couldn't get the seat adjusted to my liking.  The seats sit up high which I generally like but the windshield is very small so I needed the seat to go down and there was no such adjustment.

Because the driver is seating up high and the windshield is small and the review mirror is attached low on the windshield, there is a HUGE blindspot right in front of the vehicle.  This blindspot is even worse than a similar problem with the Kia Soul I described earlier.

In addition to the rear view mirror blindspot, the front AND rear pillars block the view AND the rear seat headrests are oversized AND block the view.  I'm not the only one to complain.  One of my passengers who is not tall made the same comment based on his rental of the HHR.

Let the complaints continue....the gauges are rediculous.  What's with the tachometer popping out in an odd 3-D way?  The venting (HVAC) controls are too low in the center console.  The driver is required to take their eyes off the road to make adjustments.  And with the varied weather in Colorado and now auto-setting for the heat/AC, a lot of fiddling with the controls was needed.

Speaking of Colorado weather, it snowed several inches one day.  While I've been spoiled with my own all-wheel drive, the HHR has front wheel-drive so I was not expecting too much trouble...WRONG!  I almost didn't make up a little hill because apparently there is very little weight over the tires and the traction control was simply telling me it was "low traction"  -- duh!

To be fair, after getting to the client site and the snow being a bit cleared, the HHR handled the roads in fine fashion.  That and my adapting to front-wheel drive only.

Like many quirky things, it starts to grow on you so someone who's had an HHR for a while probably doesn't mind its "problems."  But the extremely hazard blindspots situation is simply not acceptable.

They weren't kidding

Watching tv in my hotel room, I can hear the wind outside.  A message scrolls across the bottom of the screen that a severe snow storm is rolling into the viewing area. 

The wind sounds louder.  I look out and there is practically a blizzard going on.  The moon and stars were shining when I got in from dinner an hour ago!

Winter Like and Dislike

Like...

Another year and another City of Lakes Loppet and another Luminary Loppet on Lake of the Isles.

Such a beautiful event and such a great way to celebrate the winter...walking on a frozen lake with thousands of others...all being lit by candles in ice.

And beautiful snow sculptures.  If it is going to be cold and snowy, make the most of it....Minneapolis and St. Paul do just that.

It was also the closing weekend for the St. Paul Winter Carnival.

Dislike...
 The biggest ice damn in 3112 Emerson Ave history.  After so many big snows and only one little thaw, I have an enormous ice damn over the downstairs bathroom.

I've already had leaking into the bathroom.

 Here's how tall the snow is...I'd say that's a good foot and half deep.

And here's about as much as I could get.  This is from Saturday.  Today I discovered more leaking into the bathroom and got more snow and ice off.

I can't reach anymore from the ladder and I'm not about to step onto the roof itself.

Next weekend I'm going to have to open the ceiling in the bathroom and see what damage there is.  May be there'll be a way to add insulation.

In Memory...

My cousin Deb Adkins passed away yesterday. She was far too young and too much fun to be gone already. I'll miss you, Deb.

So close yet so far...or The Long And Winding Road

Stuck at LAX!  Sydney flight to Nadi, Fiji left a bit late and landed a bit late but that was okay because I had a long layover in the Nadi airport.  Couldn't do anything or go anywhere in Fiji unfortunately and it got dark soon after I landed.

Nadi, Fiji is 2 hours ahead of Sydney and still on the far side of the International Dateline.

Flight from Fiji to LAX left pretty much on time.  I was in business class on a Boeing 747.  Air Pacific does not have first class so business is the top of line but it isn't that top.  There are only 23 seats and they do almost recline fully but there are no other amenities to speak of.  I think the coach passengers actually got a better meal.

But I'm not going to complain too much.  I was able to sleep some even though it was probably the bumpiest flight I have ever had!  Pretty much continuously rocking and rolling...fortunately no stomach in your throat drops.

Got to LAX a little bit earlier than scheduled.  I had planned on trying to change my flight to Minneapolis via Chicago to an earlier flight through Dallas.  My checked bag was nearly the last one down to the carousel.  By the time I got my bag it was going to be a close call to get the earlier flight.

I called American Airlines to see if I could change the booking over the phone.  That's when I found out the flight to Chicago was canceled and so were any flights to Chicago OR Dallas for the entire day!!!

I am now in the American Airlines First Class lounge hanging out, getting some work done and making phone calls.  I was able to take a shower, shave and change clothes -- super yeah!

And I'm going to meet up with Jenny's friend Michael for dinner at the LA Experience restaurant here at the airport.  If Dallas re-opens, I'm scheduled for a 12:20AM red-eye then a 7:25am DFW to MSP on Wednesday.