Lines went down in hell 'cause they had an ice storm again...

So, since my car was in the garage getting worked on today, I had made arrangements with my co-worker, Statcat45, who brought me home yesterday, to take me to work today. But, last night, we had an ice storm. So she called me today at 6:30 to tell me our work had their 'liberal leave' policy in effect (which makes me wonder if all those far right wingnut conservatives who work there still had to go to work...but I digress...), and it was pretty bad out so she wasn't going in.

Smiling like kid on Christmas (cause who doesn't love snow days, even when they're ice days?), I called to work to let them know I wouldn't be coming in, and then I rolled over and went back to sleep.

Later, I got up, showered, and went to mom's. She had called me to tell me she had some freshly made (just earlier that morning) chili, with fresh, not frozen, hamburger. Well, how could I say no to THAT? So I went over...or rather slid over. We had had, as I think I mentioned, an ice storm. While the roads were really just slushy, the sidewalks were very slippery. But I made it okay. Even took time to stop and take to photos of what I saw on the way over.

The night before, when it was just all snow, before the sleet and freezing rain really hit.




A speed limit sign, with icicles.




The limb of a tree, with an ice coat.



So, I got there, we had the chili (which was delish, natch!), then I sat around in the warmth of the wood stove heat until time to call the mechanic. Miss Cleo was finished, I could come pick her up!

Mom and I bundled up and then trudged through the icy backyard to the garage. It was easier going through the yard, I suppose cause there was grass under the snow and ice and now concrete. At any rate, we got her car out of her garage, then she drove me to the mechanic's garage. It was $394 for the towing, the starter (which was $250-some dollars all by itself!) and labor. I paid him, made my way to Miss Cleo (and she started right up for me, good old girl), and drove it to mom's. It's easier for me to get to her short driveway in front of her house than it is for me to get up the inclined alleyways, and then the 90 degree turn to get up a short hill to our offstreet parking behind my house. Just didn't want to chance that.

I packed up again and left for home, leaving Miss Cleo there, where I'll get tomorrow morning for my trek to work. Outside mom's backdoor is two concrete steps leading down to a concrete patio. I had my left foot on the bottom step, my right foot in the air going down to the patio when I thought hit my mind that if I fell, there'd be nothing to grab ahold of.

Thought, I said? No, I actually meant premonition. Cause just as that thought hit me, my left foot went forward on the ice and down I went. And as I'm falling, what I think is firstly "Oh GOD I'm falling!" and then immediately after that, before I hit, "My camera's in my backpack, I hope I don't land on it and break it!" And then my ass hits he patio, my upper back hits the bottom step and my head slams back into the top step. And right away I think, "I FELL!"

Well d'uh. Funny what your mind thinks sometimes eh?

Well right after that, I heard the door open and hear mom yell, "Oh my GOD, are you okay?!?!??!" And I immediately start to roll over to my hands and knees, cause right then I'm afraid she's gonna run out to me, slip on the ice, fall and hurt herself!

I get to hands and kness and tell her I'm find, but not terribly loudly, cause it's knocked all the wind out of me, and my upper back, my ribs, are screaming, and I can't really get enough air in to say anything loudly. So I do the next best thing, I start to laugh. Not that I really though it was funny, because my ribs hurt, I had skinned my lower back a little and the back of my head hurt slightly, but because I figured that's the only way I had right then to let her know I was okay.

I got up slowly, and she and I said a few words, I don't recall what the were, but I made her stay back from where the icy parts were. I bent over, put my hands on my knees and breathed slowly, cause it was still a bir difficult to get arm in. No, that's not right, I could get air in, but it just didn't seem enough to say anything. So I was like that for about ten seconds. She kept asking if I was okay, and I nodded cause that's all I could do. And when I could breathe normally again, I started laughing for real. Cause at that point, I did think it funny.

I checked everything out while standing there: obviously legs were working okay. No searing pain, even my ribs had eased up. the back of my head was barely a throb. Even the camera in the backpack was safe and sound and working fine. She said she shut the door, heard the THUMP, looked back out and saw me laying there. And then we both started laughing again. I told her to make sure she used the FRONT door, where there are NOT two ice covered steps, and she said she would. Then I slowly made my way home.

About an hour after this, the front of my neck started aching real bad when I leaned my head back. Guess I strained something there, so I took some Advil. Nothing else really hurts, thank goodness.

Although I'm fairly certain getting out of bed tomorrow morning is going to be a LOT of fun.

POLT Listening to "Galvanize" by The Chemical Brothers

Oh, look, David, we're crossing the Delaware River...for the THIRD time! - Polt