It's deep, very deep.

As if the 31 inches of snow that we got the weekend before Christmas wasn’t enough, Mother Nature and her distorted sense of humor decided to give us another 8 inches(+) over night last night. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. We are still under a winter storm warning until Sunday, and there is snow forecast nearly every day next week. ♫Oh what fun it is to♫ …. yea, whatever.

I like the winter because it gets dark early, and that is pretty much the only reason. The early dark means that the kids are ready for bed about 7pm and that gives Mommy and Daddy a few hours to not  be Mommy and Daddy. One of us is usually on the computer and one of us is playing the DS. Occasionally, we will watch a movie and have some ice cream to wind down. Those evening are nice. One of the kids usually wakes up before midnight and joins us in bed, but I don’t mind. The few hours to escape are usually all I need.

We are headed out for the neighbors birthday party today, deep snow and all. We’ve gotten pretty used to still being mobile in the snow. If we didn’t, we would hardly go anywhere. The cold, now that is a different story. It’s almost noon, and it’s 12°F. (For you Celsius people, that’s -11.) I used to be able to stand the cold when I was younger. Man, it didn’t matter how cold it was I was outside sledding, playing football, or wrestling in the snow. I’m surprised my fingers and toes never fell off.

As I got older I would build huge bonfires and have sledding parties. Friends all over the community would show up and much fun was had by all. It was nice to warm by the fire while sitting out in dark and conversing with friends. We usually did more talking than sledding on those late nights. Have you ever been to an after dark sledding party with a bonfire? Please tell me about it in the comments section below.

It’s just about time to start the truck and let it warm up for a half hour before we head out to the party, so I had better get to it.

Until next time…

Living in this part of West Virginia has its perks, but some people take it to the extreme.

My neighbor is a perfect example of this. I like the guy, I truly do, but he really pushes the limits around this place.

I live in a small town, on a one lane road that was recently upgraded from a “dirt” road to a road of teeny tiny gravels held together by tar. Sticky tar, mind you. The kind that bubbles up when the Sun beats down on it. The kind that sticks to your tires for a couple of revolutions before coming off and sticking to your paint. Yea, that kind.

It’s a quiet little community, for the most part. There are never any sirens, no train whistles, no flashing lights. Just the occasional sound of dogs barking, and frogs croaking. Until about 10pm, that is.

After 10pm all hell seems to break loose. It sounds like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, only it’s in West Virginia.

My neighbor has every bit of 20+ Stihl Chainsaws in his outbuilding. I kid you not. The man has more chainsaws than everyone else I know, combined.

For some reason, around 10pm on certain nights, he decides to start them, and squeeze the gas wide open on each one until they get “warmed up”.

Did I mention that he wears hearing aids? He does, and I bet you that he turns those baby’s all the way down to drown out the scream of the motors as they cry in pain from the persistent blast of fire in their cylinders.

I don’t think he has any idea of just how loud those things are. I’m not the type of person to complain, and I normally wouldn’t, but when he wakes me, my wife, and my daughter up, on a regular basis, I think it is time we have a talk.

And his wife, oh my God. Her bedroom window is right at the corner where these noise beasts from hell are sitting, screaming, and spewing their obscenities. I don’t understand how she can listen to that, so closely, without going out there, grabbing one of the beasts and dicing him up with it. Hell, even I want to do it sometimes.

I wonder if this is some type of OCD that causes him to do this? I also wonder about what would be the best way to approach him and tell him that he is keeping the entire neighborhood awake for hours on end? I hate to cause trouble with the guy, he seems like a genuinley good person. That, and I don’t want to cause trouble with someone who owns that many chainsaws, either.