Winter Car and Foot Skating Really Sucks!

Yesterday was absolutely VILE! As I left the house to drive out to the WBL YMCA and then visit my Chiropractor for my bi-weekly appointment, it had started misting. That was coating the windshield of the car, but more importantly was coating the roads. The salting trucks were out and the main roads had been salted, but the temperature was just below freezing and the mist was coating the roads. 

Freezing rain/mist brought traffic in the Twin Cities to a crawl. On my
way home from the Chiropractor, traffic was moving 20 miles slower
than usual, making my usual 10-15 minute drive almost 30 minutes. 

Walking into the gym was an exercise in caution and walking back to the car after my swim was even worse. I really hate walking over slick ice - it's frightening because I'm usually carrying stuff. The parking lot at my Chiropractor's was so bad I pulled myself to the sidewalk using my car for leverage, then grabbed the parking sign to swing myself from the icy sidewalk to the snow still remaining in the "grassy" area fronting the building. The snow was safe and got me to the door. I reversed the process on the way back after my appointment. 

It's no fun walking on icy sidewalks. If I was facing this (in fact, I was),
I'd be moving to my right and walking in the snow. It's the only safe
thing to do with the sidewalks this icy. 

I wasn't looking forward to the walk in from the back row of my parking lot at work into the door of my shop, and it was even more vile, but I made it. I could see a mental image of myself falling backwards, Franken-Smaug flying to one side and my lunch bag to the other. My lunch and I would probably be fine, but I'm not sure Fraken-Smaug has many more repairs left before he gives up the ghost, and I can't afford and don't want a new laptop computer. 

I've torn my laptop apart and fixed it so many times that the hinge
broke and I replaced it with a strip of copper. I don't use the
binder clip at the bottom any more - I taped it instead and it seems to
be holding the screen together. Another serious impact, however,
might be the end of my dear Franken-Smaug! 

I breathed a sigh of relief when we got a light snow in the afternoon. Walking back to the car at night, although still slippery, was much better because of that small amount of snow. I never thought I'd be grateful for snow! How bizarre. 

Wondering where I came up with Franken-Smaug? I have this picture
on the cover of my laptop - the dragon reading the spellbook. He's
my Smaug, my guardian, and now that he's been repaired so often,
he gets called "Franken-Smaug". 

I hope all of you have a safe day. We've back into the cold, but if we can keep the ice under control, I'll just bundle up and be happy. I'll be back on Wednesday.