Happy Ice Day!

I wanted to go to the Active Rain gathering in DC yesterday. I wanted to meet Jonathan and see Pat Kennedy again. Peg and I were really looking forward to the trip - I was going to drive to Columbia, pick her up, and then drive to Pat's home.

We watched the weather most of the day. A couple inches of snow fell early in the day, and I kept the steps swept every hour since it's much easier than trying to shovel at the end. But the weather man/person/people were right on with the freezing rain they forecast for later in the day. Finally I called Pat in the afternoon to tell her I was definitely too chicken, too wimpy to drive over. We don't like to drive in "iffy" weather in daylight, so treacherous weather at night, well, forget it!

About 8:30 pm I couldn't wait and had to call Pat to see who showed up. Six people had made it through the weather. I heard lots of laughing in the background and was able to have a short chat with Jonathan. Much as I wanted to be there, I know we certainly made the right decision NOT going to DC last night.

And the fun didn't stop then. Around 9:30 this morning I went out to get the paper, slowly walked, slipped and skated down the driveway…and then got stuck. My neighbors across the street were calling, "Go back, not worth it," but I was so close, just another four or five feet to go. And then I got to the paper but – whoa! - I could not move forward to go back to house. One tiny step and I slid back, another tiny step and I slid even further. I called Lee, not sure why but maybe to throw me his cane, or throw me an extension cord, or at least someone would know when I fell. But then I started making progress. Got to the side of the driveway where there was ice on top of leaves and snow where I could dig one tennis shoe heel in. One slow, tiny step at a time, and was able to work my way up the driveway. Whew! Back safe and sound.

The moral: stay in the warm house, read the paper on line.

How icy was it? A few days ago in the snow the red berries were beautiful and perky. This morning, the branches touched the ground from the weight of the ice. Oh heck, Happy Ice Day...enjoy!