When Heat Tape Doesn't Heat

A couple of days ago, I discovered the roof heat tape I put up in September decided to stop working. This is not good as ice dams are starting to form. So I went out and bought a new roll of heat tape and have been working on chipping away the ice so I can get it properly on the roof. The good news is that when the old tape was working, it formed tunnels in the snow so there was good drainage. With a little luck and a couple of more days of warm weather, I will get the new tape up well enough to work. The bad news is I am on roof duty instead of skiing. On the other hand, I hear snowbowl has been PACKED the past few days to the point where folks are getting only 4-5 runs in.

Nanooks of the Northland

So what do my niece and bro' do on a snowy rain/snow mix Christmas day in Flag? They build an igloo of course. This was before settling in for a dinner of a salad of spinach, walnuts, apples and a yogurt-honey-lemon-dill dressing, ham, green beans with almonds toasted in chili oil, oven roasted spuds, cranberries, and croissants. There was also the FIRST dessert course of baked lutefisk - made nearly correctly - my daughter had a taste. THEN had a SECOND taste. She seemed to think it was less than vile, and may be open to having it next year. The second dessert course will consist of the normal Scandinavian cookies. YUM!

How Many Snow Days??

Well it happened again. Both the public schools and NAU were closed today. This is the third day for the public schools and the second this week for the U. My daughter is taking the yard sale bit in stride and seems to have accepted the fact that it is unlikely that they will have it. As far as the U goes, the building I work in was closed this week for repairs, except for those who requested special permission to be there this week. The closure of the U trumps my permission, so I took the time off to stay with my daughter. Now we just need to see what happens tomorrow. My daughter gets out of school at 11:30 tomorrow, so even a two hour delay will mess that up. Oh, well. Snowbowl opens Saturday! Thanks storms.

Snow Daze

The public schools here decided to be smart and add a couple more snow days into the schedule. Let's see if they can blow through half of them in one week of December. Oddly enough my daughter was upset about the snow days. Not because she loves school, but because her had scheduled an indoor "yard sale" yesterday. That was changed to today. Today was changed to tomorrow. If we get another foot tonight, it will be changed to Friday. Maybe I should really test the fabric of the universe and order some lutefisk. Don't worry, it has been established that she hates lutefisk so much, the word "lutefisk" is a dirty word to her. Oh, don't you just love the emblem above?

It Started On The Ides Of December!

Let's see here. It is mid December, Southern California has been getting rain, and the A.M. temperatures are up by about 10 degrees from just a couple days ago. Yes up. The cloud cover and increased humidity hold the heat. Hmmmm I guess that means more SNOW. We have around 15" in our yard, and might get another 12-15' more over the next 36 hours. I have also discovered that using a snowblower makes life a whole lot easier. This would not have mattered when I was 18, 25, or even 40, but WOW how it makes things easier. It also added to my already extended weekend. I was STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to avoid work yesterday as workers would be testing the fire detection system and the alarm would be going off all day. So I took the day off. Today, my daughter had a snow day, and I felt a little guilty for staying home, until I found out the U was closed due to the storm. Tonight is supposed to be a break in the storm before things start again tomorrow. I wonder what round 2 will bring. Keep doing that snow dance; my ski pass is undergoing atrophy.

I Got To Try My New Toy

Well, we finally got enough snow for me to try that new toy I wrote of a few weeks ago. Just enough. The 4-5" was a good practice run in preparation for what we are told to expect over the next few days. The phrases "significant accumulation," and "A foot or more." are being used. One report mentioned 20 inches over 2 days. We'll just need to wait to see. This would be way cool for Snowbowl, and way uncool for the repairs to the acid neutralization tank at the building I work in. But I got to use my new toy. I am a happy camper.

After Years of Service to NAU

Goodbye Timber Inn. You will be missed.