January 16, 2007
January 15, 2007
Frozen Pipes
My Dad just called to tell me that the house we rented from the 'rents in San Diego is, in his words, "no more". The entire interior has been destroyed due to a pipe that froze and split in the attic space while the current renter was out of town for three days. The entire ceiling was drenched, causing the vaulted ceiling in the bedroom to collapse. Six to eight inches of water stood in the house for several days, destroying the carpet, tile, large appliances, drywall, cabinets, and pretty much everything else.
Just the thought of it makes me nauseous. I really loved that house (just hated the neighbors) and hate the thought of it being reduced to mush inside.
The renter didn't have insurance and his furniture is a total loss. Fortunately my Dad is one of those very financially responsible people. He is completely insured and is even covered for the lost rent during the rebuilding time, which could be as long as two months. He was laughing about it on the phone - I suppose if it's not your primary residence and your stuff didn't get destroyed it's a lot easier to laugh about it.
The house is only six year old and the pipes should have been well insulated. But then again, living in San Diego, how often does one expect a week of temperatures in the mid teens?
Pictures should be on their way...
January 14, 2007
January 11, 2007
Tah Dah!
Tacoma outperformed expectations last night in the snow category, ending up with 7 inches officially, although we measured 9 inches on our deck at 11:30 before retiring for the evening with snow still falling. Weather reports early Wednesday called for snow North of Seattle, with a possible inch or two in the foothills to the East. Trace amounts expected in the South.
The clouds formed a large convergence zone in the shape of a middle finger over Tacoma that stuck for about 5 hours. Many people were forced to abandon their cars downtown, unable to climb the steep hills to Tacoma proper. Frinklin took the day off. Now that the snow has had a day of sunshine (but not really any heat, it was all of 32 degrees today), everything has rapidly refrozen. It should be an icy experience getting to the train tomorrow.
I got lots of snow and ice driving experience today. The Subaru did well. Only one stopping problem and the anti-lock brakes kicked in immediately to stop the skid. Also one acceleration slip that was my fault for starting out too quick on sheer ice. God do I love the AWD.
Wind chill today was 16 degrees. Overnight it should get down to 14. My friend in Philly told me it was almost 70 degrees there last weekend. Maybe we should move...
A few pics from today:
First thing this morning, before the wind knocked all the snow down.
The Beetle will likely remain in hibernation for the next several days.
No footprints, just ski tracks on the sidewalk!
Early AM
The icy gauntlet
