Yesterday was a very unusual October day. As we finished breakfast and looked outside we realized we had almost 5 inches of snow in our yard. We continued to watch some of the snow fall and then I realized it was not goingt to be a very productive school day. So I made it an official snow day.
I started to shovel our drive and realized our snow shovel was not all that great. The blade bending and making it hard to really get a good scoop of snow without leaving a fair amount behind.
PW and I got packed up into the car and headed out to our local hardware store. I'm so grateful it is only 2.5 miles away.
Snow shovels are perfect for where we live. We don't typically get this much snow and our sidewalk and driveway face the south so a snow blower is not an item we'd use a lot. With the southern facing house, our driveway and sidewalks often melt off before I even get dressed to shovel. However, when we do have days like today a good snow shovel helps.
As I started to look at the array of snow shovels I was amazed at the choices. There were ergonomically shaped shovels, collapsable shovels allowing storage on shelves, flat vs. scooped shovels, double wide shovels, and more. As I compared them all I ended up getting two shovels. So the shovel decision may not be a critical, life changing decision, but I did realize after getting to use the shovels the importantance of a good shovel.
The first one is the double wide shovel which is basically a 40-42 inch blade and its handle is more like that of a lawn mower so you push the shovel more like a plow. I got my driveway cleared of 7 inches of snow in 9 1/2 minutes. I am THRILLED with this shovel.
The second shovel works hand-in-hand with the first. I realized quickly how heavy the piles off the big shovel were to move. So with the second shovel, which is the ergonomically shaped one, I moved the big pile of snow, left by double wide shovel, onto the lawn very quickly and less back breaking than any shovel I have ever used.
After the shovelling was complete I quickly threw down some snow melt. This allowed for only one inche of snow accumulating by dinnertime despite the nearly 6 inches that fell throughout the day.
It was a delight to get the shovelling done quickly and less intensive in the labor. I was even able to play in the snow with Paul awhile and enjoy a fun snowball fight.
We came back inside and enjoyed some homemade hot cocoa. I'm thinking I'll have to have some more Wilbur's cocoa brought out by a friend at Thanksgiving.
On a side note, the reason we are using Wilbur's cocoa, besides the fact that it is incredibly delicious, is that we have been boycotting Hershey's. With the decision to move operations/productiont to Mexico, we decided it was not a company we desired to continue to support. The jobs lost are not just those of their factories but the many farmers that grow crops and milk cows for Hershey's. When we found out it was all done for nearly an eight of a cent savings on each candybar we knew that was not worth supporting anymore. Another important decision that has made our family really considered where are values are and when we stop to think about the economy of our country, what are we really doing to support fellow Americans in allowing jobs to be kept here in the USA. Buying made in the USA does allow for more jobs to stay in the USA.
Okay back to the snow day. When the cocoa was complete, we snuggled up by the fireplace and enjoyed a movie. All in all a very nice snow day.
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