BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)

Subject: BS: White Shopping
From: GUEST,saulgoldie
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 09:33 AM

I am coining a new expression: "white shopping" The white shopping experience is that phenomenon having to do with shopping for a snow storm. First, e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e raids the grocery stores for those three white things (or maybe four) that no human can possibly do without for a period of two or three days: milk, bread (Wonder/white--builds strong bodies 12 ways), and toilet paper to clean up after eating those two things. Maybe sugar for the addicts. Then...white stuff falls from the sky. All white, hence "white shopping." Feel free to use/spread it!

Saul

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping
From: Jeri
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 10:10 AM

Last time I went, a LOT of people were buying beer. I got ice cream. Around here, if it's expected to be particularly power-outage-y, jugs of water. I just realized I need gas, but that's a side errand.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 10:31 AM

You need gas? Try lentils, carrots and onions.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Bill D
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 11:34 AM

Made my trips yesterday. Today will be dedicated to preparing the narrow aisle from my lower-level door to my driveway/car. Since a 1/10" layer of ice is predicted BEFORE 8-12" of sleet & snow, I plan to put down wood planks, then plastic bins on top of them, so that I can just move them after the storm passes.
The car gets covered with a plastic tarp held with bungee cords. (Bought the tarp earlier this Winter to replace the tedious rolls of plastic sheeting I have used for years. The new tarp has grommets for the bungee hooks.)

All the predictions say this will be nasty..... I am even saving bird & squirrel food for the two days afterwards. NOT going out into the last minute chaos for odd items... that's one thing retirement is good for...I get to shop before the rush. It was hectic enough yesterday.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Elmore
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 11:46 AM

Don't forget the whisky.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 12:42 PM

There were fruit trees in bloom the last week - and that crop will be eliminated by this cold snap into to the teens. AGAIN. Damn but this gets old. Must be about the 10th time we've done this warm/cold/warm cycle.

Bill D, my garage has a lot of stuff stored in it, but I resolved when I moved into this house (in 2002) that after I emptied the pods and the storage locker (from a divorce move and from a my parents' estates) that I would 1) no longer rent off site storage and 2) would make room to park my vehicle in the garage. It took a few months to get to that point, but I really appreciate parking indoors and not having to warm up the car or scrape off the frozen stuff before driving anywhere.

I loaded up on beans and lentils a while back, and I've made more pea soup this winter than I have in the last several years combined. Maybe a batch of lentil soup this afternoon would hit the spot. I have all of the ingredients (I loaded up on ham hocks about three freezes back.)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 12:46 PM

You poor things, I feel very sorry that you're facing snow and possible outages. Here Spring seems to be getting going and we've flowers out in the garden. Best wishes; let's hope it won't be as bad as predicted. Take care of yourselves.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Bill D
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 12:54 PM

I haven't ever had garage parking. My parents did... 50 years ago, but I've only had a garage for about 3 years where I lived before moving to DC... and that one was used for storage. We don't get extreme snow situations here a lot, but they can be tedious. I've seen maybe 6-8 in 30+ years here. Some years it's almost no snow at all...(like last year)

Ah well... I'm about as ready as I'm willing to deal with.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Bill D
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 01:10 PM

I am laughing... I have a screensaver program that changes my desktop image every couple of hours. I have maybe 500 pics there.

It just gave me the large version of this one

It knows!

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Janie
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 01:30 PM

For the first time in 30 years I have a car payment for a relatively late model car and so cleaned off my carport and gave away most of the porch furniture to make room for it on the carport. Was thinking of the significant deprivations of tree sap, acorns and the occasional rotten tree limb when I did so. So happens using a carport for the car has also turned out well for the frequent actual winter weather we have had this winter.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Ed T
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 02:43 PM

Winter, and preparing incadvance for a snow event?

Sounds kinda funny from a "Canadian" perspective.

:)

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Bill D
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 03:39 PM

Yep Ed... but this snow will totally blow the standard budget for dealing with snow... and this one will begin (ooops.. is beginning)... as rain, then freezing rain, then 8-10" of snow in an area where many seldom have driven in snow. The Wash DC metro area simply can't salt, sand & plow fast enough to clear roads. The thing is, it doesn't stay Winter here for many weeks on end... it warms, freezes, snows, melts over & over... sometimes in just days, leaving roads and walks in messes. Minnesota and Montana & Buffalo are all set up to cope every Winter.


We are semi-fortunate that this begins on a Sunday night and will cause many closings of school, business and government BEFORE everyone gets there and can't get back.... or all try to get home at the same time. We've had 3-4 shopping days warning.

Very unusual Winter... about 100,000,000 people are tired of it... another 100 million are VERY tired of it.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Penny S.
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 03:39 PM

I don't get the toilet paper thing at all. We never have snow deep enough to cut us off for more than a couple of days, if that. Last time was the first time I've seen that particular shelf cleared. If the buyers were that close to running out, why hadn't they stocked up before? Why all at once? Odd.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 05:44 PM

They could always do what we did as children - cut old newspapers into neat squares and thread them on a string. Hang on the wall. Use.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Ed T
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 06:02 PM

Bill D
Similar snow, rain, freezing cycles is a normal winter condition in areas of Canada, such as on the Atlantic Ocean influenced coastal areas. I suspect that the difference is the length of the year when it occurs - and that it is expected, versus being seen as abnormal. That's why it seems a bit humourous (IMO), somewhat like the folks in Arizona making special plans for a normal hot summer day.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 06:27 PM

White wine is nice, too!

I usually have shelf=stable milk that comes in boxes. I use them if the power goes out so I don't have to open the refrigerator for regular milk. I also use those boxes when I pack a lunch, so even if I get through a winter with no power failures, they don't go to waste.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Jeri
Date: 02 Mar 14 - 07:49 PM

Oh yeah: batteries. Used to be it was D batteries, but now I make sure I have a supply of AA batteries. They power the LED flashlights that work much better than candles for light.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 03 Mar 14 - 10:01 AM

We park our cars outside. When freezing rain or sleet are predicted, we take a spray bottle of Windex (or similar) outside and spray the windows of the cars. Then when it't time to scrape the windows, the ice slides off more easily. And the windows are clean.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Bill D
Date: 03 Mar 14 - 12:05 PM

LEDs are the best advance in lighting in ages! I have various battery powered gadgets all over the house... and dimmable ones in many regular fixtures.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Rapparee
Date: 03 Mar 14 - 01:24 PM

I've started putting glow-in-the-dark tape on things like flashlights so you can go in the dark.

Oh dear. I thought it was snowing, but it's not. Gonna rain, though. It's just TERRIBLE having the snow blower ready all winter and only using it once and that for a couple of inches.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Bill D
Date: 03 Mar 14 - 01:26 PM

OKAY! Snow just stopped, and the radar says there's no more behind it. We got (right here) about 6-7", which is less than they warned about. It is cold, so it is light and easily shoveled. Have not checked to see how much ice is under it, but I am encouraged at the basic situation.

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Mar 14 - 06:33 PM

On NPR this evening (All Things Considered) they were interviewing people in Washington, D.C. about the winter. Someone said there have been "25 weather events" since November. These are events that cause people to have to react, do things differently. Put out sand or salt, close schools, cancel things, etc.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: White Shopping (snow preparations)
From: Rapparee
Date: 03 Mar 14 - 10:23 PM

A "weather event" in DC is 1/10th of an inch of snow or more. Been there during those.