by Deb Cook Lewis
I admit, our Braille Forum themes are a bit challenging, but this one might take the cake for me. As you might expect, articles are submitted well ahead of publication to allow time for preparation and formatting for ACB’s magazine. Writing about winter hacks at the end of September, with temperatures at a warm 85 degrees while I am preparing food for a barbecue, makes it hard to imagine winter is fast approaching and scheduled to arrive before the end of the week.
My husband says that here in the Lewis and Clark Valley (named after the famous expedition, not us), we get a full 12 days of fall. They are not necessarily consecutive either; I think we have already had two of them.
Ice is one of the most treacherous aspects of winter in our valley, as it is in many places. Our first encounter with ice happens just a few feet from our front door, where a poorly placed downspout drips water onto the top of our driveway. I used to dump pounds of rock salt on this spot for years until I discovered a simple and effective hack: we purchased a textured rubber door mat, slightly raised off the ground. The mat is stiff rubber with slots where the water runs through. The water from the spout flows underneath the mat, but we can walk safely across it, staying dry while ice forms below. Someone mentioned we started a trend, because everyone else on our block with similar spouts now has a mat as well.
I wonder if I should put one of these things in the holiday auction.