The Silver Screen Oasis

This morning, 14 degrees fahrenheit, @ 6:30; factor in the windchill (not consistent, but certainly expressive), we're looking at -9.
I guess after the Montreal-Boston Amtrak run bustled through town last night, we had a visit from "The Montreal Express"!
[Out in Washington State, we used to call it the Alaska Pipeline; my pal in Idaho calls it an Alberta Clipper.]

Hey, if you see me skipping down the cyber-lane today, there are reasons:

Our temperature here is set to break over 25 degrees F today for the first time in a week. It's hurtling all the way up to 28 degrees!

The sun is out and blue sky is visible, also for the first time in a week.

We only have three inches of snow on the ground, so the pumpkins that are still out look more festive, but not to worry, three to six more inches are expected by Monday!

I spun out twice going a whopping 30 mph down the road here. Maybe those studded snow tires are a good investment, after all. I already have 50 pounds of kitty litter in the trunk, so if I run into a herd of cats next time I fish tail, I'm all set.

Happy (and safe) Holidays to all!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my film friends! We are to be above 55 today and tomorrow which we haven't seen for weeks but is more our normal for this time of year. At least we don't need actual snow boots.

I hope all of you have a sunny, safe, filling and fun Thanksgiving. I'll be on grandma's farm and will eat an extra dessert for anyone who requests me to do so in their honor. I'm up for the sacrifice. Birdy

Birdy:

Have something chocolate on me.

Here in Maryland it is gray. It has been gray and may well stay that way.

We are getting slammed with a snowstorm, and an ice "event" is due on Thursday. HO.....HO.....HO...... phooey!

Has anyone heard from Klondike? Our little weather events are nothing compared to the New England disasters of the last few days. Klonnie, if you're out there, STAY WARM!!!!!

Yesterday it was 68 degrees. Toninght we are looking for sleet and some freezing rain.

knitwit45 wrote:We are getting slammed with a snowstorm, and an ice "event" is due on Thursday. HO.....HO.....HO...... phooey!

Has anyone heard from Klondike? Our little weather events are nothing compared to the New England disasters of the last few days. Klonnie, if you're out there, STAY WARM!!!!!

I'm OK; all my flaggers hae been working double-time since last Thursday, and Valentine House got a little frosty during the brown-out on Saturday, but I just bundled up with sweaters, & resisted the temptation to move the computer over on top of the woodstove! (And a good thing 55% of all the homes hereabouts still have woodstoves!)
Massachusetts got absolutely KUH-LOBBERED . . nearly as bad as we up here got it during Ice Storm '97, when we went without power for 12 days.
As for Mass, where fewer than 2% of adult males own chainsaws (!), my sympathies are definitely mixed & limited; outside of downtown Boston, & a few North Shore communities, you could shave the whole state flat, and sell it off cheap to Connecticut, and I'd applaud every minute.
Some years, I wish the Flatlanders would stay home, & just mail their "play money" to the Vermont Dept. of Tourism! Or as the local hunyawks like to say: If it's tourist season, why can't we hunt 'em?

klondike wrote:As for Mass, where fewer than 2% of adult males own chainsaws (!), my sympathies are definitely mixed & limited; outside of downtown Boston, & a few North Shore communities, you could shave the whole state flat, and sell it off cheap to Connecticut, and I'd applaud every minute.

Ahem...you are talking about some of my nearest and dearest in and around Boston and the South Shore (aka "the Irish Riviera").

Besides, what makes you think that Connecticut would take Brockton or Carver if they were for sale? Btw, I'm glad you're okay.

P.S. I believe we're sending you another dose of Jack Frost magic tomorrow from here in upstate NY.

moirafinnie wrote:

klondike wrote:As for Mass, where fewer than 2% of adult males own chainsaws (!), my sympathies are definitely mixed & limited; outside of downtown Boston, & a few North Shore communities, you could shave the whole state flat, and sell it off cheap to Connecticut, and I'd applaud every minute.

Ahem...you are talking about some of my nearest and dearest in and around Boston and the South Shore (aka "the Irish Riviera").

You must have been channeling the Ancestors; right after I posted, I remembered that my Clan MacIntyre 3xG grandpa immigrated through the port of New Bedford in the 1760's!

moirafinnie wrote: Besides, what makes you think that Connecticut would take Brockton or Carver if they were for sale?

I know for a fact several Connecticut real estate speculators have "disappeared" in communities like Dracutt & Billerica!

moirafinnie wrote: P.S. I believe we're sending you another dose of Jack Frost magic tomorrow from here in upstate NY.

Change of pace at least! I think this last sockeroo blew in from the Georges Banks!

Klonnie & Moira, I'm glad you are both doing ok.

I've been house sitting for a friend, and went home to find frozen water pipes. Besides sitting on the floor of the kitchen with a hairdryer pointed at the offending plumbing, does anyone out there have any suggestions?

I'm turning GREENER AND GREENER, AND MY HEART IS BEGINNING TO SHRIVEL.......

[youtube][/youtube]

Oh, no, Nancy, I'm so sorry.

Clearly, you must have electricity to communicate with us. The only other thing that I've done in the past is point a space heater in the direction of the frozen pipes, but one MUST NOT leave it unattended or place it too near the wood surrounding the pipes.

I once had a flexible coil like a flat extension cord that I bought at the hardware store. You wrapped it around the pipe and plugged it in and a gentle amount of heat thawed the pipes quite well.

Other than that, I know that some people swear that pouring boiling water down the pipes is one method that sometimes works, though that sometimes causes pvc pipe in particular to crack.

Around here, we've had a couple of families wind up in the emergency room because the lunkheads turned on a generator in the house to generate heat and light when the power went out. They were the lucky ones. Several people have already died and it isn't even winter yet.

Where are the pipes located? Under the sink? Outside faucets? From an insurance point if something horrible happens the pipes aren't covered but the resulting damage is but who wants to go throught that mess.

Good luck.

Moira, I will look for the flat cord asap, thanks! Space heaters scare the stuffing out of me, I have heard too many horror stories to ever want one.

Chris, the pipes are under the kitchen sink. I sure don't want that mess to deal with, this Christmas is a tad on the grim side as it is. Compared to what a lot of people are facing, my troubles are few, and I'm thankful to have been blessed with family and friends like the ones I've found here!


Nancy

Nancy, are you sure that the ice blockage is inside the pipes between the sink and the floor?
Because if that really is where the frozen water is creating the block, then bailing out the sink (with the drain open, naturally), and then filling the entire sink with boiling water, one kettleful at a time, will definitely melt the ice creating the blockage, and probably quicker than that last kettle of boilt water can be added.
If you go through that whole procedure (which is slow but safe), and the sink remains full as the water starts to cool, your blockage is definitely further down inside your plumbing system.
Hate to mention the it, but do you have a cellar?

no cellar,alas. My neighbor is working on it right now, I am still house and dog sitting, 20 miles away. There is a Santa Claus, and his name is Richard!

Thanks for all the concern, I should take a tip from our British friends (at least in the movies!) when they reply to a query as to their well-being, "Mustn't grumble!"