A First For Me

Yesterday morning the roads were very slippery so after I played ball with Porter in her backyard (to save having to drive a couple miles on slick roads, I thought I'd be smart and take a different street across town to the first of my errands.  I'm telling you right now that main streets are a much better bet for crosstown driving when it's slick, snowing, the Friday before Christmas AND a home Packers game, because when I turned the steering wheel to go around a parked Post Office truck my car didn't change lanes, it just slid and whammed into the back of the truck.  No one got hurt and there wasn't a scratch on the PO truck.  Naturally since it was a government vehicle we had to call the cops and his supervisor so I called my insurance company to find out what I was supposed to do.  That's the first time I ran into anything, my first accident, and I didn't like it one bit.  I think that they can suction out the dent in my passenger door and I don't really care much that the wheel cover's cracked but I got a warning ticket that I was driving too fast for conditions even though I was going less than 20 mph.  The cop was supremely indifferent to my assertion that I was blameless.  (yeah, I do understand that I was the one that "lost control of her vehicle" but... okay, next time I'll take Mason St. which they clear and salt a lot better than Dousman, sheesh.)  Kind of cast a pall on my whole day.  Once the endless waiting was done I did get to my 2 measly errands and then came home to snowblow and then take Durwood to his chiro appointment.  Good thing it was knitting night, I needed to go whine to friends and then sit and brutz about the whole thing.


This morning after one of the most appreciated showers I've had in weeks (I don't know why but I felt like I really needed it) I zoomed out to spend some of the JoAnn and Hancock coupons I have.  I ran out of money before I ran out of coupons, and they didn't have a copy of the book that was in JoAnn's ad and believe me I looked at every book on that rack.  I know I've complained about this before but it peeves me no end that they don't have the books in any order or any idea what they have.  Seems they get a box of random books from the company and just shove them onto the rack.  No one checks them in or enters them into the computer or even sorts them into subject order.  I gotta tell you the librarian in me plus all my hide-bound Germanic ancestors pretty much have their knickers in a twist over the whole thing.  I am tempted almost beyond all bearing to spend a quiet afternoon in there emptying the shelves, organizing the books, making a list, and putting them back in order, but I won't because I'm sure I'd get invited to leave and never come back.  We don't want that, do we?  No.  


I bought a few what they call jellyrolls (long narrow strips of coordinating fabrics, one at JoAnn and another at Hancock) because I saw a YouTube video of a fast way to make a cool looking quilt top using a jellyroll and since I had all those big coupons I thought I'd invest in one or two.  Then I was looking for white canvas to use as lining in a free tote/overnight type bag pattern I'd like to make I found all this other really good looking flat fold upholstery (firmer bodied, bags made from it hold their shape better) fabric that was only $5 a yard at Hancock, plus this really pretty leaf print in browns and gold to make a skirt of for only $3.95 a yard, plus I got to see two of the old time clerks who've been cutting fabric for me since the kids were little and wish them a Merry Christmas.

Once I got home and used the snowblower to dig out the bottom of the driveway and sat down for a bit of lunch I whipped up this year's batch of English toffee.  Now it kind of feels like Christmas might come after all.

Durwood's off doing some shopping for a few gifts he says he needs to buy and also he decided we should have a "real" Christmas dinner, you know, turkey, cornbread/sausage dressing, potatoes, gravy, and green bean casserole (a container of which I had in the freezer--score!).  I might lobby for some of those sliced carrots with bacon and onions too.  I suspect that it's less the meal than the leftovers that he's interested in but I'm in favor either way.


Oh hey, Happy Solstice!  Today's the shortest day of the year (and I'm feeling every dim and fleeting moment of it) so there's no place to go but up--into the light.  Onward!
--Barbara