Every eighteen years

I’m a little late with the story this morning. I’ve had a hectic morning. It is snowing. According to weather forecasts, the snow continues.

Elaine and I moved to our mountain home eighteen 18 years ago, this weekend. That weekend caused me to wonder if we had just made the biggest mistake of our lives.

Before we got all of our furniture moved from town to the new mountain house it started to snow. Being a male of German/Russian descent, I had made the decision not to hire a moving company and move our belongings myself. This decision was the exact opposite of the advice given to me as a child by my Uncle Lawrence, who said “Never do anything yourself, you can pay to have done for you.” Some lessons you just have to learn yourself.

Elaine and Ivy helped move our furniture “up the mountain”. This story will not contain any information or opinions about Elaine driving a pickup pulling a trailer for the first time. It will add nothing to the story that after that trip that the pickup box needed to be replaced because somehow the trailer hit the truck pulling it.

We learn so many lessons that weekend. During that week, weather forecasters started speaking about a snowstorm of historic proportions was coming. I listened to what they were saying and took the advice “with a grain of salt”. I have no idea what that means. If you live in Colorado, you learn that weather forecasters can be wrong. OK, they are almost always wrong, but not this time.

Elaine, Ivy, and I moved our bedroom furniture to our mountain home. It started snowing. Before long it became apparent that we were not going to get any more furniture moved to the mountains. Our beds, toiletries, and such were in the mountains and we were stuck at lower elevations. Elaine and I ended sleeping on the floor of our “town” home for the next few days. Ivy stayed with her friends.

It took a few days to get up to the mountain home. Our mountain road was one of the last to be plowed. Once there, we found nearly four feet of melting snow. (12” had melted) according to neighbors.)

The road had been plowed, but not our driveway. Our driveway is a quarter-mile long. Elaine and I were standing at the beginning of the driveway wondering how we were going to get down the driveway complete with four feet of snow. We were greeted by neighbors while standing on the road. Our neighbors were full of advice. Thankfully, one neighbor was extremely helpful. I will never forget his advice. “I see you have on short pants, you will not be able to wear short pants up here.” “Llamas! You have llamas? Those llamas are going to scare our horses”. Things were looking good.

By the grace of God, while I was chatting with my new neighbor, someone with a bulldozer was coming up the road. The dozer operator stopped and asked,

Dozer operator: Can I help you plow your driveway?

Me: That would be great. Operator: I will charge you about two hundred bucks. Me: (remembering Uncle Lawrence) That’s great! Operator: Where is your driveway? Me: Well, I’m not really sure. We’re just moving in. The driveway starts here, curves a couple of times, and ends up at the house. Operator: You don’t know where the driveway is? Me: Not exactly. Operator: I’m going to clear a couple of parking spaces here by the road. You can leave your truck and walk to the house. Me: OK, how much does that cost? Operator: I won’t charge for that.

To this day, I don’t know who the bulldozer operator was. Elaine and I bought snowshoes and sleds to bring the furniture and stuff down the driveway.

That was exactly eighteen years ago this weekend. We are having another snowstorm; similar to the snowstorm we experienced eighteen years ago. As I look outside, I see snow, blowing snow, falling snow, and more snow. I literally brought shovels into the house last night so I can dig myself out of the house.

Girl Twin’s male friend could not go home last night. I think he is trapped here for at least a couple of days. (GRRRR) Then I opened the door to let the dogs out. They looked at a 24” deep wall of snow that had accumulated against the outside of the door. Lizzie and Maggie busted through the wall of snow. Walter let them “bust” a path, took two steps outside and came back inside.

We have beds, food, electricity, (for now), and teenagers. Albeit, I am the only one that has actually been outside. We’re home and safe. I’m digging a path to the storage containers. I will be able to get yarn and needles by the end of the day. Getting to a post office may take a while. Our road is the last to be plowed by the county. Buy yarn, we will get it to you as soon as we can.

Our crazy lives!

Monner