Sanely Surviving the Snow
So why are we posting this now? It's the beginning of summer and we are hoping for a ninety degree day soon. Well because Techno Granny is just catching up after the crazy winter and then going to San Diego twice to RECOVER! The first time in the middle of the rainy system! But think about this: you’ve got plenty of things to think about to keep your cool during the long hot summer ahead and while the electricity is still on, you can remember this next January when you get that winter storm warning. Also be aware East Coasters, my mother used to say the kind of summer we have predicts the kind of winter we will have. So with all of the rain we have been having, we can imagine you will need these tips for this coming winter. Remember, after the 4th of July, when you are a grown-up, it's a mad dash to Christmas.
Oh the weather outside is frightful…in 49 of our 50 states! How do we keep warm, safe, and sane in such conditions? The Techno Granny and two of her repeat guests, Sanna Carapellotti and Joanne Forrester, are going to give tips for survival.
First you should know that the City of Pittsburgh was not giving out parking tickets because we were in a state of emergency. Today however, they are starting to ticket. So be careful where you park.
It is very easy to be down after being trapped indoors for long periods of time due to inclement weather. Sanna, of Golden Fork HypnoDining, suggests making a concentrated effort not to associate the snow with negativity. She decided to emotionally and mentally let it snow!
Being forced to remain inside can also make us sedentary and we can be more prone to emotional eating. Sanna made it a point to use the treadmill daily, eat less and to stretch. This way we don’t come out of winter solitude larger than when we went in!
This is also not a good time to stock up on temptation foods such as ice cream and candy, we all love to snuggle up with such foods when it’s cold outside and we can’t be out and about anyway. So, if we absolutely must have such indulgences Joanne Forrester suggests limiting ourselves to a small portion and eating it nice and slow. She also recommends low fat Klondike bars as a great way to curb the craving. You can have just one and the craving is gone.
The TechnoGranny, unfortunately decided to go in search of some ice cream at a convenient store at 10 o’ clock at night. One of her winter survival tips is don’t do that!
Joanne Forrester mentioned the importance of setting priorities during such terrible weather. It is not a good idea to run errands during blizzards that have caused a state of emergency. Realistically decide what can wait until it is actually safe to be outdoors. Setting priorities will also minimize time on the road. There is no reason to endanger our lives to accomplish things that really aren’t that important.
Besides, times like this are great opportunities to catch up on things indoors like filing, updating technology or reading.
Joanne Forrester had a wealth of tips as she had some interesting experiences. She warns, “Do not lock yourself out of your house” during the worst snow storms we’ve seen in years!
This brings us to some practical knowledge that will help us stay safe, warm and sane.
Tips from the TechnoGranny and the NannoGranny on keeping sane and safe in the midst of winter:
• When you go out to shovel or do anything outside the house, keep your keys around your neck. This sounds juvenile but it will prevent you from being forced to camp out on the porch.
• Wear long johns and lots of layers. Wear warm socks but keep your feet dry. Wear gloves to prevent frost bite and to keep from getting old looking. Wear jammies under your clothes.
• Do not stay outside shoveling for more than 20 minutes at a time if you’re over 40 and 10 minutes if you’re over 60. Most heart attacks in the winter time happen because people stay out too long shoveling.
• Be careful shoveling roof. Shovel the roof from the window or use a snow rake (about $60 at a hardware store). Wear safety goggles and some kind of protective head ware. Use a hard hat or a motor cycle helmet. This may feel silly but it sure beats a concussion or something worse. Things coming off the roof can injure you.
• Keep a cell phone charger in your car. If you lose electricity you won’t be able to charge your cell from inside the house.
• Don’t give up your land line. If the electricity goes you won’t be able to charge your cell. You need to be able to plug your phone into the wall.
• Know your neighbors and negotiate with them. It’s for your own survival. Neighbors can help snow blow, shovel, etc. Be sure to take them goodies to thank them for helping.
• Put a list of phone numbers of neighbors on the refrigerator.
• Keep good relationships with your kids. In times like these kids come in handy because they can come to your rescue.
• Put your kids in scouts when they’re young so they learn resilience and how to handle crisis like horrible snow storms.
• Keep small stores alive because they are the ones who stay open when the weather’s too bad for the big ones to stay open. Some of the small stores will even make deliveries.
• Make sure all emergency supplies are updated. It’s dark day when you flick on a flashlight and get no light.
• Make sure you have fresh batteries and flashlights in several rooms so that you are not stumbling around in the dark. That can be very dangerous.
• Keep hurricane lanterns or candles around. Make sure burning candles are in something that won’t allow it to drip onto table and keep the flame away from something that could catch on fire. Your house will be well lit if it’s on fire but it may burn down as firefighters will probably have trouble navigating a fire truck in several feet of snow.
• Keep hurricane lamp oil. Make sure you have a wick. You can buy wicks in packs or by the foot at the hardware store.
• Keep a battery operated radio so that you are not completely disconnected from what’s going on outside your house.
• Use D-Cell batteries. They are hard to find but you need them for older radios and such. Leave them in plastic to store as not to drain them. Keep extra set.
• Remember that the Chair rule in Pittsburgh prevails though it hasn’t made it to city council as yet. The chair rule says that if you shovel out a parking space no one is suppose to move your chair to park in your space. If you return to your space and find that your chair is gone and someone has parked there…well…
• When electricity goes, take food out of refrigerator and put it outside of the house to keep it cold. Put stuff in coolers or insulated bags and put them outside. (This suggestion comes from being in scouts as we discussed earlier).
• Don’t buy frozen dinners or anything that needs to be heated because without power, cooking and heating won’t be possible.
• Buy foods like protein bars, beef jerky, protein shakes, trail mix, fruit like oranges because they’ll keep.
• A gas grill can be used to cook or heat water.
• Keep a hand can opener.
• Keep food that doesn’t need to be heated.
• Buy cases of water because water conservation can become an issue during times like this. If we are mandated to keep toilet flushing to a minimum, put snow in bucket, let it melt and pour it in the toilet to flush it.
• If you have a fireplace, save the cinders. Put them in the street to help give traction to vehicles in the snow.
• Kitty litter can also be used for traction. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
• If there is damage done to your house as a result of the weather, take pictures immediately. Grace Robinson pointed out that by the time you talk to an insurance agent, you will have forgotten the details.
• When you are out and about in low temperatures, keep a warm coat, boots, a shovel, blankets, salt, jumper cables and a first aid kit in the car. Make sure the first aid kit has been updated. They contain things that can expire.
• Take yourself a little bag with water and something to eat -energy drinks, trail mix.
• Keep a full tank of gas especially if you have an older car to avoid fuel line freeze ups.
• Use windshield washer de-icer.
• Use dry gas to take condensation out of gas tank to also help avoid gas line freeze up
• Keep extra oil in car if you have a car that burns up oil
• Don’t take your brand new car out. Use the old one in the winter.
• Watch for potholes especially in places like the Southside from Station Square to McKees Rocks. Avoiding potholes requires talent and concentration. So you should probably stay off your cell phone. You must pay attention because you may not be able to steer clear because of other traffic.
• Keep your speed down because there is the invisible black ice. This is not the time to drive 60 or 70 miles an hour, even on the interstate.
• Don’t get out of your car unless you can get away from the road. People get hit standing too close to the road all the time. It would be sad to survive the snow, survive car failure but fall prey to oncoming traffic.
The TechnoGranny, Joann Forester (the Empress of Biz) and Sanna Carapellotti (of Golden Fork HypnoDining) have helped us to survive the winter madness!
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Kudos to Delaina Flowers for suffering through this Talkcast in the springtime and typing up our notes! We were too busy trying to stay warm at the time to do any show notes. Just kind of did this one on the cuff and had a good time with it. As our mothers taught us, “When all else fails, improvise!” Thanks Delaina! And we are so glad we talked about fireplaces because if we had made reference to the coal furnaces that we remember for the cinders for traction, you certainly would not have known what we were talking about. Thanks again, Delaina for being a good writer and a good KID!
Love,
Techno Granny and Nanno Granny! And Savvy Not So Granny, Sanna!
P.S. Delaina said we were being comical, well now, we were just giving out homespun advice that we learned from our mothers and being scout mothers and den mothers. Hey it’s not Lucy and Ethel but it’s worth a listen!
