Shoveling snow can be hard work. Shoveling 8 inches of snow is most likely hard work. Shoveling 8 inches of snow while it is still a blizzard condition is definately hard work. So what are the two best ways to make shoveling that snow easier? Other than lifting weights for months ahead of time in order to be physically fit enough to shovel your driveway, that is?

First, shovel the end of your driveway before the back side of it. While the shadows on your driveway and the time of day can certainly change this around, you will generally find that the snow at the end of your driveway is heavier than the snow at the back side. The dirt and grime that the snow plows shove into the snow, coupled with anybody pulling into or out of your driveway and packing it down, means that shoveling the end of the driveway is going to be more difficult than shoveling the lighter and cleaner snow that is away from the road. If you shovel the heavier snow first, then you will not be as tired when you are done because you will still have the energy to move that snow. If you save the heaviest snow for last, then you will have a much harder time as fatigue sets in and your workload increases.

Second, shovel the snow from left to right near the end of your driveway. I tend to push the snow that the plows have thrown into the driveway to the end and then with the direction of traffic, so that I am leaving it on the shoulder at the end of my driveway and off to the side. If you shovel half of the snow to the left and half of the snow to the right, then the plow trucks will just throw that snow right back onto your driveway. If you leave it on the shoulder to the right side, then the plows will carry it away from your driveway and you will have less to shovel the next day. Another advantage to this strategy is that more of the dirt and salt from the road is left closer to the road, so you will not be leaving that detriment in your yard for the spring. The street sweepers will come and pick up more of it. Unfortunately, the plow is probably going to send quite a bit into your yard anyway, but every little bit helps.

I finally got around to calling our mortgage lender today at lunch time, and it turns out that they already had my tax bill and have it scheduled to be paid in a couple of days.

I did not actually have to do anything, which is a huge plus. I am still going to call next week to make sure that the town has my payment, though.

I originally called my mortgage broker to ask him what I needed to do, and he suggested I just call to make sure I don’t need to fax something over. Once everything is set and going it seems to work out fine, and there is no need to inform them every time you have a bill coming due. It’s still better to make sure and be safe than sorry, though, especially for your first payment.

I enjoy mowing my lawn. I liked mowing the lawn when I was a kid, too. For some reason it relaxes me. Today I especially enjoyed the lawn mowing. I am a marathoner, and so I run a lot of miles. My training currently has me running twice a day most days. I have had some minor aches and pains that needed attention so I took the day off from running. Mowing the lawn was the only workout for the day.
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I am not a big fan of ants. They get into everything, and everything includes my house. For a few months now, we have been seeing them in every room of the house. The cat has tried playing with a few, but since most of them can not fly she is not very excited by them and usually ignores them now.
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One thing that took us over a month to get was a lawn mower. When we moved in there was still snow on the ground, but it did not take very long for the grass to grow enough to be unmanageable. We wound up buying a craftsman lawn mower from Sears. It was nowhere near a top of the line model, but it works well enough. The first 3 or 4 times I used it it was very difficult to get started, but now it works like a charm. Our half acre takes about 45 minutes to an hour to mow.

The biggest problem that I have mowing our lawn is that there are some steep points that lead down to the water where it is not really safe to mow, and off one side of our driveway there is too much poison ivy for me to venture into yet. I really need to get an edge trimmer, but I have not bought one yet because I might be getting a hand me down from my fiancé’s grandparents.

Choosing the lawn mower did not take very long. I waited until the lawn mowers were on sale at a few different stores, and then went out and chatted with the salesman at Sears and chose one of the models that they had on display. With proper care, this lawn mower should hopefully last long enough for us to acquire a larger lawn where a bigger mower might be desired. That will hopefully not be for 10 or 15 years.