On Saturday, December 3, it was unseasonably warm, with temperatures in the 80s. Today, four days later, it's frigid. A cold front swept through last night, dropping temperatures into the 30s by this morning. The temperature has been dropping ever since. Forecasts called for sleet and freezing rain by this afternoon, so this morning I told my staff that I would shut the office early...but would wait to see how the weather progressed. I kept looking outside the windoe for signs of sleet, snow, or freezing rain. I saw a few snow flakes, a bit of sleet, but nothing that looked too bad. About 2:30 this afternoon, I decided I should shut down at 3:00 pm so that, were there any treacherous conditions on the way, we could avoid them...particularly in dark weather.
So, aat 3:00 pm most folks left. My wife and I stayed a bit (mostly because of me trying to finish up some odds & ends), as did another lady. By 3:25, I was ready to go, so we went outside...to find the car completely enveloped in a sheet of ice. I had taken the ice scraper out of the trunk this morning, so I pulled it out and scraped the windows...a very challenging task. Another woman who works in our building had come out about the same time and was parked nearby; as I was scraping our window, my wife went to offer my assistance in getting her windshield clear, which she appreciated. I cleared her windshield, then my wife suggested I do the same for our staff member, who remained inside. While I cleared her window, my wife called her on her cell phone, suggesting she leave soon because ice was building up.
The ride home was uneventful, until we reached a bridge over a creek. As the forecasters had prediced, it was covered in ice and was extremely dangerous...I hate driving on black ice. We were doing fine heading east, though, as everyone else in front of us and behind us was driving very, very carefully. People heading west, though, weren't as bright. Fortunately for us, a large concrete barrier separates the opposing traffic lanes. A car came sailing toward us, the driver oblivous to the fact that the bridge was covered in slick black ice. Immediately upon hitting the ice, the car started to skid; the driver responded by hitting the breaks, making the skid even worse. The car, a little white Japanese car, starting spinning around and the other cars following on the bridge behind it started skidding as the drivers hit their brakes. Fortunately, no one collided with another car...but the night is still young...I expect that bridge to be the site of many crashes tonight, unless the road crews slather the bridges with sand and salt.
We're in for the night. I'm having a toddy and am eagerly awaiting our roast cauliflower and carrot soup...a spicy Indian soup, the recipe for which my wife found on the internet. My wife is doing the cooking tonight...I anticpate a wonderful hot soup on a very cold night! This is chile season. I really want to have a great chile cookoff like we did at the office (last year?). My wife made wonderful stuff...mine was good, but not like hers. All worth trying, though. And this weather is positively SCREAMING at me to cook some chile. Here's a thought...maybe I could make Chile using Ethiopian spices! I don't remember if I 've written about finding the Ethiopian spice website. If not, my link will enable you to see all the interesting things they offer.
Stay warm...or at least comfortable!
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