"Look at those stupid Californians!"

I think my neighbors were hiding behind their curtains saying, "Look at those stupid Californians over there!" as we tried to clear the ice and snow from our driveway just now.

Lessons Learned about Shoveling Snow
1. A garden hoe is not the best tool to shovel ice and snow.
2. Do NOT wait until there is 3" of heavy wet snow on top of 2" of ice before you start clearing the driveway.
3. People in warm dry cars will look out at you and laugh outright.
4. You do NOT need to bundle up when you are shoveling 3" of heavy wet snow and 2" of ice. You WILL sweat!
5. On days that you plan to shovel ice and snow, you can probably skip your regular workout - this is workout enough!

This is how it worked...hubby used the garden shovel to break up the ice. I used the garden hoe, metal rake and push broom...and my hands...to shove the chunks of ice to the side and push the snow out of the driveway. Within 5 minutes, I was working up a sweat under my t-shirt, sweatshirt, scarf, hat and down coat. Both hubby and I had to stop frequently to rest and catch our breaths.

I'm really disappointed in the picture below because it DOES NOT accurately portray all the work we did...I think the reason is that new snow covered the driveway before I took the picture...but BELIEVE ME, the driveway was covered in inches of ice that hubby worked very hard to chip away...and I worked very hard to push it out of the way.



I have no idea how long it took to clear the drive, but when we were done, we hitched up the pups to their leashes and took a walk around the block. It was gorgeous! Everything is covered in white, and the puppies had a blast! Hubby kept scooping up snow and munching on it while the dogs just continued to accumulate snow in their fur. I think they both gained about 5 pounds in snow by the time we got home.



I made my first snow angel when we got back to the house...the picture DOES NOT do it justice!