Once I got to work the talk revolves around nothing but the storm heading our way. Why? Not because it's the big topic of the media, but because during the winter that is what we do...snow/ice removal and control. We have a three day event ahead of us and our people are gonna be stretched and pushed to their extreme limits. We got hotel rooms rented that everyone can share in shifts, no one will be going home I presume until Thursday maybe. I feel bad, I do, I don't want to be out in bad weather but there goes every other employee I work with. I am the only one who doesn't plow or salt or shovel.
Well the freezing rain started about 10am or so and the trees and power lines immediately started getting coated, the deck off the back of our office was ice covered and it wasn't going to be getting any better. So at lunch I called it a day. Set my out of office assistant on my email stating I would not be returning until Thursday. Made it home just fine at 20 miles per hour and started tending to miscellanous things that may need to be done if power is lost and it can't get done later....laundry, baking, vacuuming. So every item in the house is washed and the last load is going into the dryer in just a bit. Baked a batch of brownies because it just seemed like a logical thing to do.
Had to pick my daughter up from work at 5:30 tonight. Left at about 4:40 because I was gonna take all side streets there. Again at 20-25 miles an hour there wasn't really any problem traveling. The trees were really getting a good coat of ice build up. Have to admit ice makes everything look so beautiful and magical. However, I realize that ice is like a monster behind a pretty mask. On the way back home I decided I would take the highway as it would be quicker. Bad move! Even though I was in the slow lane going 45 miles an hour or so I got scared to death. Going North on Hwy 170 from Delmar, I only got as far as Olive where the highway goes over Olive Road and there goes my car sliding all over my lane. Thank God there was no car in the lane next to me as my car was easily taking up my lane and part of the one to the left of me all on it's own. As soon as we cleared the overpass the pavement was just merely wet and not icy so we got our bearing right back, but that was it for me. I got off the highway at the next exit and took side roads home. My nerves were shot and my hands were shaking.
Made it home, took the dog out and got dinner made. The oh so popular Fend For All. That is what we call it when we simply pull out all the frozen things that have been opened but not all used up but by themselves aren't enough to cook on their own anymore. So we had chicken nuggets, fish sticks, onion rings, garlic-parmesan rolls. Nothing nutritional in that dinner at all! :) But at least it cleared out a few things from the freezer.
Tonight we are expecting freezing rain and sleet and that is supposed to continue until tomorrow night about 6pm or so when it will change to snow. Depending on the newschannel you watch we are either in the 5-10" swatch or the 9-16" section. Either way that much snow on top of all this frozen precipitation is not good news at all! I think my best bet is to just go to bed early tonight as I know tomorrow the stress of the weather will be weighing on me. Nothing you can do about it, but it still just gets to me and literally drains the life out of me.
So if you are anywhere in the midwest and are sharing part of this storm, please be careful! I'm praying for safety for us all.
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