This winter SUCKS!

First off this winter started a little early. Fall events around Willow had to be canceled because of snow. Then we have a really snowy December followed by one of the longest sub-zero cold spells on record in January. Now we are setting record high temperatures during our normal January thaw. Anchorage has been flooding because of their rapid melt down. All of the schools that were able to stay open during 2 weeks of -20 to -30 temperatures had to close when the temperatures hit the mid to high 40s and even 50s in some areas. The snow run-off mixed with the rain that was falling coated the super cooled ground with solid ice. I put the studded tires from the Golf on the Prius and was able to get to Willow a couple times but the area between our house and the shop where we keep our cars is just like a skating rink. I tried replenishing our wood pile yesterday by cutting down a few trees that I knew were dead but after slipping and falling on the ice with the chainsaw I decided to go inside were I would be a little safer.
I finally got to drive the Prius when the temperature was above zero and it does make quite a difference in gas milage. Even with studded tires on I get 10mpg better on the short trip to the postoffice and Nina and Dean's house. The Prius with traction control really handles the ice pretty good. It is a little disconcerting when the computer kills the engine when the wheels spin as you try and pull out onto the highway. Normally both the gas and electric engine are used when accelerating on the highway. If the wheels spin the computer takes over the throttle and applies just enough power to get you going without spinning the wheels. I have learned to bet patient when pulling out and make sure there is no traffic coming.
Time to go out and try to collect some of the trees I cut down yesterday. A little snow mixed with rain fell last night so the parking lot isn't quite as slippery.

New Car

Well, we did it! After the last problem we had with the Golf Mary and I talked about replacing our 2 cars with 1 reliable vehicle. The Subaru Forester and the Golf were both in the 150k mile range and both were starting to have problems. The Golf being a diesel had additional problems because of the extreme cold we have been having this winter. (we haven't seen the plus side of zero now for over 2 weeks) We thought this would be a good time to replace cars because of all the talk about the car dealers having trouble moving vehicles because of the screwed-up economy. The Forester is in a little rougher shape and so we decided to clean up the Golf and use it as a trade then clean the Forester and sell it ourselves later this year. We wanted a hybrid vehicle that got at least as good gas mileage as the Golf which averaged around 45mpg. Of all the new hybrids out there only the Honda Civic and the Toyota Prius have that kind of mileage. So we went out and test drove those 2 vehicles. They are both roughly the same size although because the Prius is a hatchback design that allows you to fold the rear seats down flat it is a more useful vehicle in my opinion. I honestly liked the way the Civic Hybrid drove better then the Prius on the first test drive but it did feel like a small car and the Prius just felt bigger and more substantial. Honda also seemed more eager to sell us a car and gave us a much better deal on the initial price and trade in for the Golf. Mary really wanted leather trim and the Honda that we drove came with leather for around $20k. The Prius with leather was going to cost us around $29k. I left the dickering up to Mary and I think she did one heck of a job. She got Toyota to increase the offer on the Golf a couple thousand dollars and she also got them to increase the dealer discount by almost a thousand dollars. We ended up getting pretty much the top of the line Prius with leather and all the extras at almost seven thousand dollars below the sticker price. This was done by Mary being stubborn and the 2 of us working on the dealer over the phone. I was at the dealership and Mary was giving me instructions over the phone. The dealer couldn't talk to her direct so when she said no to something they couldn't talk her out of it. All they could do was talk me into talking her into it. Contrary to popular belief the dealers are not just giving away vehicles. We had to work at this but I give Mary the credit for getting us almost exactly what we wanted for what I think is a fair price. Edmunds.com, Kelly Blue Book and Yahoo Auto all show Prius cars selling for 1200 to 1500 above MSRP so getting our car at our price is quite a thing. It is funny though, to think that now driving a hybrid I am more conventional then when I was driving the diesel. I still think diesels are great cars but they do have their draw backs in cold climates. The day I took the Golf in to be evaluated by Toyota it was -32F at our house and reports along the road had the temperature ranging from -25F to -36F. The Golf temperature gauge never showed normal operating range for the 70 miles to Toyota. Then after we agreed on a price for the new car and the Golf was theirs the salesman went to start it to move it to the used car lot and even after I had told him how to do it he couldn't get it going. I was a little afraid he would go back on the deal so I went out and told him if he could let it sit for about 5 minutes I would come out and give it a try. It started right up for me and I felt like a traitor giving him the keys. I really did like the Golf but I couldn't drive it in sub-zero temperatures reliably so it had to go. The Prius is warm in a few minutes and since it has auto everything we just set the temperature to 73F and it takes care of us.

This cold spell that we have been enduring up here is really getting old. It has been 2 weeks now since we have been above zero for the over day high so nothing is getting done outside. We used up all the wood I had split a week ago so I have to go cut a few more trees down but I wont work in twenty below temps unless it is really necessary because not only is it hard on the tools it is dangerous because so much feeling is lost to the cold. I have 2 nice big spruce and 1 big birch tree that are dead but still standing that I can get at once it gets above zero but it looks like it will be at least one more day before that happens. The goats seem to sense a long cold spell this year. The last couple years, even when they lived in the little shed, by this time of the year they would be showing signs of blowing their wool. I checked this morning and not a loose fiber yet. The cold is not all that bad as long as you don't have to go out in in. But you never know. The day that I was dickering on the car Mary drove herself into the ditch on a little back road between our friends house and the highway. I have and emergency pack in the car for just such an emergency and luckily our friend is a dog musher and came dressed to help. I'm looking forward to those balmy 10F days.

Enough for now. I have to check some upgrades to this computer and go check the mail.