My Day, sans pictures

I loaded the camera with new batteries this morning.  I thought I'd get some great pictures.  Yeah, it didn't happen.  I was going to drive, while Kevin took great shots of the aftermath of an ice storm, but I forgot.  Yeah, I'm lame.  If you haven't figured that out by now, you're a new reader.

Kevin warmed up both vehicles, and scraped ice off, too.  My car idles so low that it sometimes dies.  He restarted it when that happened.  He called his boss at 5:30ish, to tell him that he'd be late.  He gave up on the truck, and decided to ride with me in the wonder car.  That car will go anywhere.  Honestly, no matter what we run into, that little $400 car will....well, I digress.

His boss said, "No problem, I'll see you when you get here."  We finished getting the girls ready, and headed out.  Our tiny town doesn't have a "road crew", and is lucky to get help from the county.  Our road must be last on the list, based on previous storms.  Anyway, we headed out on an untouched road, after 2 days of ice.

We can pull out of the drive and turn right, and get to the highway quickly...with a VERY steep hill leading there.  If you can't stop, you hit the house across the street.  Not my chosen plan.  If you turn left, you have to go a couple of blocks, but no hill, no danger of killing neighbors.  I turned left.  The street was untouched by plows, salt, or other cars.  Just me, in my little car with 200,000+ miles on it, getting where we needed to go.

In town was OK, at 20 mph, dodging idiots, but then we got to Mom's road.  Yeah, this is a gravel road in the country, that hadn't been touched by ANYTHING!  OK, here goes.  I turned onto the road and saw Dad and Mom's driveway.  ICK.  All I could do was gain as much speed in the half-block length I had, and try to get up it.  Kevin said, "if you can make it ALL the way up, turn around and point it back down."  I did NOT make it all the way, but I made it to what is called the "parking hole" by the garage.That's an amazing feat, but if you've never been there, you wouldn't know.  Jim?  Amber?  Mom?  someone back me up, here.

It was tough to get the girls inside, but we found some grass to walk on, which gave a tiny bit of traction.  Monica mused, "It's like a coral reef!"  Whatever, I'm sliding downhill here!  We got them in the house, and headed out again.  I slid down the driveway, with one tire in the "ditch" which is barely more than an indention.  At least I stopped at the end of the road!  We turned onto the road, and headed to work.

Road #1: Barely passable.  Road #2: Better, but still scary.  Road #3: A bit more passable.

We got Kevin to work, and his boss met us at the car (which I'd pulled within 6' of the door) and said, "We're not doing any deliveries today, you may as well go home."

WHAAATTTTT?????  We just drove a 30 minute drive in an hour, and you're sending him HOME???  Jerk!  We went on to my work (the interstate was almost normal, so no problems there,) and he headed back home.  This is 80 miles in the morning, and 80 more in the evening.  What a waste.  Anyway, all trips were made safely, and we got back into Dad's driveway (same results as this morning.)

He picked me up at 5, and we picked up the girls and came home.  I hope, by morning, that SOMETHING has been done to the roads here in town.  If not, and Kevin makes that drive again, NOBODY better try to send him home.  It will NOT be pretty.

All in all, there was much frustration, but Missouri is pretty.  Kevin drove home, so I could gaze out the windows.  Absolutely beautiful.