Today was quite a full and fun day. The snow has accumulated so much outside that it looks like Whistler with all the trees’ branches heavy with thick blankets of snow, some of them bent over with the extra weight (more on that later). I’ve been driving around with a toboggan in the back of my Escape since I bought it last winter (turns out it’s a great place to stick various items to keep them from flying around freely in the back area of the car). Today, I finally got to break the sucker in!
We drove as close as we dared to the steepest hill in the area and walked the remaining block and a half to the launching pad. We sat on the sled and held our feet up like a couple of little kids giddy with the idea of the fun we were about to have. We slid down easily and gained a little speed and I screeched most of the way down because, well, it was fun! The worst part about sledding is having to walk back up the hill after the short (but fun!) trip down. Suffice to say, I need not see a Stairmaster or any other cardio equipment for at least a couple of days as we took about half a dozen trips down the hill and, hence, also had to endure half a dozen treks back to the top coupled with the two block UPHILL walk back to the car. UGH.
It’s cool because this is the first time I’ve had the chance to drive my 4WD car in the snow since I’ve had it. It feels infinitely safter than the little Ranger I had before that would fishtail at the slightest indication of even a few specks of snow on the ground. I actually intentionally slipped and skidded a couple of times to see how it would handle and how long it would take to recover control. Yeah, that’s the reason…sure! 😉
Next, we pigged out on pancakes and sausages while watching my beloved New Orleans Saints once again kick the crap out of the Atlanta Falcons – yahoooooooooo!!!!!! Thank God they won this time! I get in a bad mood in a hurry if I sit through three hours of nail-biting action for the Saints to lose – NOT GOOD! I’m the biggest dork ever, too. I bought a customized women’s football jersey and had my name put on the back and my birthyear for my player number. Buying the jersey is not the dorky part, it’s the wearing it every time I’m watching the game no matter what colour pajamas I’m wearing. Hey, I’ve been a fan for a long time, so sue me for being loyal and enthusiastic. Don’t people typically look for friends and significant others with those qualities? lol
Next stop was a trip to the mall to pick up a new toque and some groceries. The walk there and back was nice, but walking in snow, even in snow boots, is very similar to walking on a sandy beach – difficult and tiring.
My last act (and excuse to go out and play in the snow again) of the day was to get all snow-geared up again and go outside with my broom to whack some of the accumulated snow off some of the poor trees outside my windows. They look at once beautiful and pitiful, bent over like an old lady with a sore back. Is it strange that I feel sympathy for things that may not even have awareness of these sorts of situations? So, I whacked away and I’m sure the few passing pedestrians who crossed my path while I was out there were wondering what those poor trees and shrubs had done to me to make me angry enough to wade through calf-deep snow to give them a good flogging. 😀 Several years ago, when I lived in Montreal (my first Canadian winter, in fact), we had a really bad ice storm and there were trees all over the city that split right down the middle of their trunks because of all the added weight on their branches – not on my watch, nosirreebob!
My laptop’s battery is threatening to cut me short, so I’ll beat it to the punch.
– Insert clever sign-off here cuz I’m too tired to think of one this time!
Currently Watching: Who Killed the Electric Car