Maybe it's just me, but it seems a helluva lot colder this winter than last. It was an honest -10F on my drive in this morning. Cold enough that the car never quite warmed up. Toes falling off and all that. Same deal yesterday. Driving all over the valley and you'd let the car run in the parking lot hoping the interior would rise above the Tepid mark. But that's Iowa in the winter.
Knowing that Sunday's forecast was going to be wicked cold (high of 4 below) I resigned to taking Friday afternoon off to pick up my list of supplies and get a jump at the lodge to counter losing Sunday. Things went well enough in that department. By the time I got home and changed I had a stack of 4x8 foam, a dozen 10' beveled cedar boards, 2 pairs of garage door track and other necessities all sticking out the back end of the rig. Keep in mind, we took on 10-12 inches of snow by that morning and making it across the field to the lodge seemed like a fool's mission. At least it hadn't drifted yet, but out there without any windbreaks the stuff really layers. With weak tires and 4-Hi I kept on it and somehow carved my way in. Unloaded the goods and worked until dark on building the west garage door. Escaped with a little light on the horizon and high-tailed it in to meet up with Ben. With the PL packed beyond reason we had a drink and took off for The Hydrant for decent fries and overpriced beer (yes, I was charged $3 for a can of Old Style, this after the bartendress swore she heard me say "Busch Light" and opened a bottle). And who should be warming up the karoake crowd? The infamous Fernando. Despite my prodding I couldn't get Ben to sing Out of Touch. We parted ways shortly after 11; I had a big day ahead.
While Sunday was sleep-in/run-around day due to the temps, we were up bright and early Saturday for a sale over in Waterloo. Got our numbers, grabbed some breakfast, stopped at a tag sale where I scored a Philco tombstone for 5 bucks. Then the action! Unassuming little 50's ranch. The boomerang formica was kicka$$, the blonde table and chairs were probably worth the 2-bills. Cara found much to like, as did I. I walked off with some beautiful kitchen smalls, including a Cory Jubilee percolator- practically NOS, and a Futuramic electric skillet (the one that looks like a flying saucer). A 50+ year old galvanized trash can (heavy gauge steel, thick plating) that had never been used and still had the purchase tag (date and price) from Black's Dept Store tied up to the handle. Other stuff ran the gamut from vintage bbq skewers to an MCM table lamp. Some walnut dishes with original hanging tag, pink strippled drinking glasses, etc. etc. You know you're biased to Iowa prices when you pass up an Oster Galaxy blender in mint condition because it's priced at 8 bucks. By this time the snow was coming down and we were loading up our finds when I decided to investigate the little brass leg I spotted earlier sticking through a snowbank out front. Supposedly a heap of "trash" underthere, I was pretty sure I was looking at the end of a pole lamp, and sure enough, after a lot of pounding and digging I came up with a beauty. Brass with wood accents but the pole portion needs a good refinishing. Definitely not "trash". Cara scored a very nice ladies hat in the old-skool hatbox, a silk scarf and some interesting books.
From there to the parents for the next adventure. I knew the weather was headed our way and pretty much figured this would be the last pass of the season. Once the winds would come that night the field lane would be gone. So….with some assistance, we loaded the Blazer with a mighty ton of laminate flooring that I had stockpiled. Plus a 5gal can of fuel for the gen, and anything else that would be impractical to carry on foot the next few months. It was starting to snow and the roads were getting stupid-slick. Cara held down the apt while I headed out. Finding my tracks in was tricky when everything was white. But I made it again, unloaded the hefty flooring and got the truck out as soon as it was empty. Parked it at the Rotary and started walking in as the winds were coming up. I should've figured that was a bad idea, what with encountering an undisturbed blanket of snow a foot deep all the way in. Each slow and deliberate step sank me all the way to gravel. I could find the rails with my feet but they were too slick to walk on. But stuff needed to get done.
Once inside I had a blast. I had the radio on, the gen running, the kero heater to warm my hands. Tackled more garage door construction (adhering the skins to the frame) and wired in the under-loft bullet lights. With blizard warnings coming more frequently on the radio and temps starting to drop pretty good, I closed up shop at 7PM. The walk back out in the darkness seemed like miles. The wind had set up a number of drifts and was whipping across the fields in a way you only see outside the city limits. Slugging through the thick snow was not any easier the second time around. I questioned turning back but knew I needed to get to some sort of heat source quickly, the wind chill starting to take a toll on my extremities. A little overdramatic? Maybe. But it sure had the makings of a Jon Voight flick.
Monday? A high of 5F means no venturing out there for me, and more snow to come, too. Looks like I get to shovel the roof Tuesday after work. Rock on!
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