Fireplace Trowel Does The Trick

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by Allan Appel | Feb 9, 2013 11:49 am

(5) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Fair Haven

When I tried to venture out Saturday at 7 a.m., I found my front door wedged shut.

The overnight blizzard sent particularly strong winds down the canyon that the river makes. By morning swales of snow 3 and 4 feet high had blown up against the doors, garage and living units, all along Oyster Cove Condominium’s little street between Front Street and the Quinnipiac River’s edge.

I set aside my fear of being blocked into my house and looked out the window. The Q looked beautiful and the scene was positively Currier & Ives looking toward the Grand Avenue Bridge.

Then I made my attempt at escape. A shoulder shove opened the door just a few inches, but the drift of snow had pushed against the door’s hinge so there was no opening it wider without removing some snow.

The problem: How to stick a shovel out the crack in the door, turn left, and lift some snow from the hinge point of the door?

Answer: Find a small enough shovel implement. Where might it be? Look around the house. The fireplace.

Ah, the little shovel that pushes ashes around can now do that service for the snow.

It worked.

Comments

posted by: robn on February 9, 2013 3:33pm

For the love of god Montresor!

posted by: Christopher Schaefer on February 9, 2013 9:18pm

I had the same problem this morning—and my dog really had to go out! Solution: dug through crack in door with kitchen spatula ‘til I could open it enough to squeeze out and use the snow shovel.

posted by: Dean Moriarty on February 10, 2013 1:15am

Understood completely. My Golden REALLY needed to relieve herself this morning. But after snow shoveling about a five foot space from door to deck, some snow wedged in frame of door and said door couldn’t even be shut anymore. After much trying by shovel,hand and foot, I finally found the correct implement to clear it. A butter knife.

posted by: Christopher Schaefer on February 10, 2013 6:50am

Proof of humanity’s endless ability to adapt. Thus, when the world order collapses, we shall be prepared with our spatulas, butter knives, ash trowels or any other implements readily at hand. (although, I must admit, surviving without chocolate will be a bit of a hardship…)

posted by: Gretchen Pritchard on February 10, 2013 9:11pm

I’m stuck out of town, can’t come back because New Haven and Hamden don’t want cars on the roads ... but from the looks of it, the answer might be just to go out a second story window.

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