Blog Without A Name

We here at the Confusion Factory are either going to receive, on the overnight, 1 inch of snow, or in excess of 6.  Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, someone has gone to the trouble of identifying the 10 “most dangerous” cities in Maine.  Always understanding that “dangerous” is relative.  Interestingly, or not, we have lived in Skowhegan, which takes the top spot in overall crime per capita, and holds the cherished position of fifth most dangerous metropolis in Maine; and also in Waterville, which has the fourth highest overall crime rate.  We aspire to improve ourselves, however, and shift south to Lucky Number Seven.

Here’s your link to the article.

We came first to Skowhegan, when we settled in Maine, and, since we needed to earn money, as one does, I applied for the advertised position of bartender at what was then the Kennebec Valley Inn.  I’ll mention here that I’ve always been plagued by an innocent-seeming demeanor, and people constantly mistake me for a lady.  The owner took one look at me and said, “Nope, oh no, no way. You can’t work here.  It’s too rough.”

Mind you, I had just moved from Baltimore (second only to. . .Elkton?. . .in danger of the much more dangerous Maryland variety.  Here’s the link.), where we had maintained a storage facility, where I had very nearly crushed a man’s hand with a pipe to stop him from dragging me across the counter by the front of my shirt — and I said to him, “Oh, c’mon, how rough can it be?”

“You have no idea,” he told me, fervently.

And I didn’t get the job.  And after a few weeks of taking the local paper and perusing the police blotter, I was glad I hadn’t gotten the job.  I’d’ve never kept my nail polish from chipping.

And that?  Is all I’ve got.

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Progress on Alliance of Equals
45,943/100,000 OR 45.9% COMPLETE

Perhaps he could simply suggest to the breeze that he was a sack of potatoes, and thus be safely ignored.

Well, let’s see. . .

Tuesday into Wednesday, we hosted a nor’easter here in Central Maine — and in the rest of Maine, too; I don’t want you to think that anybody was left out of the festivities.

We here at the Cat Farm were the joyful recipients of 19 inches/48.6 cm of fluffy white snow, kind of the mid-range of snowfall for the storm.  Yesterday into today, we had another little snowstorm, this one without the high winds that had accompanied the nor’easter, which graced us with another 14 inches/35.6 cm of slightly-less-fluffy snow.  As I type this, it is not snowing, and we rejoice in a total snowfall for the week of 33 inches/83.8 cm.

This is the point where the top of Mount Snowplow is just slightly higher than the, err, deck of the deck.  The stairs from the deck to the driveway are in a kind of snow tunnel, which would be cool if it were high enough to protect the stairs from accumulating any more storm product, but — no.  Only high enough that I can’t shove the snow off the step and under the bannisters, to the sides.  From now on, step-snow will either need to be lifted to the top of Mount Snowplow, or shoved straight down to the driveway, and dealt with there.

You may have caught what I did there:  “From now on. . .”  That’s because the weatherbeans have discovered another snowstorm — a little snowstorm — heading for Central Maine on Monday, bearing a gift of 6-11 inches/15.2-27.9 cm of snow, winds, and very cold temperatures.

I foresee a trip to the grocery store tomorrow, to stock up on Mozart’s Favorite Sort, and other, less essential items, for us.

The good news is that, after Monday’s Weather, we’re in the clear for the foreseeable future, snow-wise.  Well.  Except for the gentle dusting of 3ish inches/7.6 cm over Wednesday night, but, really, that’s just Business as Usual.

Now, in between all this exciting weather — on Wednesday, in fact, we got a call from our realtor, letting us know that someone wanted to see our house rather early on Saturday.  We were dubious, but we straightened up, insomuchas, and got up early this morning to vacuum (so as to get all the cat fur) and to shovel out what snow had accumulated on the overnight.

The only problem was — it was still snowing.  And?  Maine DOT had issued a warning, stating that only emergency traffic ought to be on the roads, and — long story short, the showing was canceled, to be rescheduled sometime next week, which is fine — better safe, I always say, and, anyhow, the plowguy didn’t get to us ’til afternoon, so it was just as well.

However, it did make for a. . .rather strange day, here at the Cat Farm, one that included a rather lengthy nap.

It’s amazing how much the weather can toy with your plans, even when you live indoors.

How are y’all weathering the Weather where you are?

 

In other news, though still related to the weather (this is a post about the weather), I teasingly introduced a friend to “The Frozen Logger,” (from which today’s blog title derives) and now of course, I can’t get the damn’ thing out of my head.  So! I share!

Here’s your link to the Weavers’ rendition of The Frozen Logger.

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Progress on Alliance of Equals
44,526/100,000 OR 44.5% COMPLETE

“It’s nothing short of astonishing, how often boldness is found to be its own reward.”