23:31 - 29.10.06
Brrrrrrrrrrr
Last night at about this time a group of older teens were out in the park across the street illuminated by the fireworks they were setting off. That's actually illegal in this country, but given it was likely their celebration of Hallowe'en it was ignored for the half hour it went on.
Different story this morning. A cold front swept through sometime last night. That type of snow that melts when a boot touches it, then freezes immediately after. Very dangerous it is, and the traffic today was clear evidence of that. Accidents all over the place as people drove like it was yesterday.
I know this because I had to head out to the post office one community over to meet the last person whose paperwork I needed so I could send off all the financial documents together. I almost didn't make it because some idiot driving on the freeway that divides my community from the next decided to boot his 1970's station wagon in order to make the light. I was standing back as I always do at crosswalks. If I hadn't been I think he might have clipped me as he roared by. Some of the other drivers honked at him to get hime to slow down but I don't think he cared one way or another. Some people shouldn't be allowed to start their vehicles in winter.
At the post office the staffer was waiting in the car with her family. She popped out as I arrived. We moved over to the counter beside the till so she could swear her oath of office for me. The cashier is a familiar face and she just kept on with her work listening while we did our thing. I had brought my own packing tape and scissors so I could make certain the package was completely sealed. Her package that I had sent a couple of weeks ago had arrived at her home already opened you see and she had been quite concerned about the possible loss of documents. Guess it could be an accident. Her hubby offered to drop me at the drugstore back in my community and I accepted even though I didn't like to ask them to extend their travel given the state of the roads. However, they were planning to drive for a while to get to the mall a few miles away anyway and with the wind chill factor it was -21 C. Darn cold in F too. I would have been walking into the wind on the way back and my lungs were already threatening mutiny you see.
Grabbed what I needed at the store then shoveled the walk when I got home. The accumulation of snow was already a couple of inches by then. What I wanted to avoid was trying to deal with it later when footprints of service people like the paperboy, the milkman and the postman made ice where the snow had been. That's a lot harder to clear off and I don't need someone suing me if they slipped and fell on my sidewalk. My youngest was brewing up coffee and decided that he wanted to try his hand at cooking a supper from scratch. He made a very tasty stew but expressed amazement at how long it took to make a meal "the old fashioned way". I pointed out that before I had been forced to go to work I had done at least two meals a day that way. I don't like microwaves for cooking main dishes nor can some of my sons eat prepackaged food because of their allergies. There is something special about taking the time to make a meal from scratch that makes it taste that much better than anything one can buy. Haven't done that as much anymore because I can't get the hang of cooking for only two or maybe three people. End up wasting too much food and I can't afford that.
The rest of the night has been cleaning the house so I can go look after my granddaughter with a clear conscience. Prepared all my gear for tomorrow - winter clothes are not optional given the cold weather - so that I can maybe get an early start. Traffic being what it was today doesn't bode well for tomorrow when rush hour will multiply the mess from today. Good night dear diary.
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