City of Good Neighbors

Our area is experiencing the deep freeze of the polar vortex.  Temperature currently is -17 (as in, below zero).  That's Fahrenheit.   Our winds have slowed down to about 30 miles per hour.  Snow fall so far is 20 inches.

This is the type of weather that keeps everyone inside -- especially those of us who have a horrid head cold.  When a mass accumulation of snow fall takes place, it's often worth it to shovel throughout the storm.  It's easier to move six or seven inches at a time as opposed to over two feet.  Exceptions to that rule are that it's not worth it if a lot of the snow is due to blowing winds (it will blow right back), or if it is so cold that there is a risk of frost-bite.

Tucked away in our warm house, even the dog didn't want to spend much time outside.  She let us know when she needed to do her business, we let her out, she did it, then turned right back around.  The Microcosm is in a town right outside the city.  The City of Buffalo has an ordinance that all pets must be brought inside during frigid spells.  A pet left out more than thirty minutes will earn their owners a fine.  For us, that is sometimes laughable (we're not effected in our town) since our dog loves the cold and would gladly stay out -- but she's hit her limit with this cold spell.

This is how much snow has accumulated.  As for how this ties in to our neighbor, well, Neighbor Dave (who takes in Teddy while we take in the sun on vacation), was kind enough to clear our driveway before our return from vacation.  He did the same for us yesterday!  If he is clearing his driveway and walk, he does ours and then clears out the base of the driveway.  We get plowed in a lot because we are on the same street as the town plow garage.   We'll return the favor whenever we can but also plan to drop a six pack off for him.

It has been so cold that meat left on the back porch froze!  Last night it also became apparent that the furnace wasn't staying on more than a minute or so.  Our house was losing warmth at an alarming rate.  The Big Guy is a manager for an HVAC wholesaler.  He called a technician up.  The guy and his son came right over and fixed the problem.  Our system could not intake enough air quickly enough to keep up with the frigid cold outside.  They created an intake in our basement and refused to take any sort of payment.  How kind is that?

There's nothing like fresh warm bread on a cold day -- and baking kept the kitchen warm!  This batch produced two loaves of white wheat bread.  One loaf went to the men who helped us with the furnace.  It's one thing to refuse money, it's another thing to refuse a loaf of freshly baked bread...

Here's to good neighbors!!!