Yesterday morning’s slog through winter was extremely slow but manageable. It was the evening commute that was brutal. The boy and I spent a total of 45 minutes with the car stuck in snow banks. The first time was near his school bus stop, post pick-up, when I swerved to avoid an oncoming school bus. And slid. It took four strangers to push our car out. Naturally we had errands on the way home. Made it in and out of the gas station and Target all right only to get the car stuck half in/half out of our very own driveway. Again, it was some random stranger who pushed our car to safety. That was my Monday and now I feel like hibernating until Spring, but my car would get towed (as it is now parked on the street instead of in my sloppy driveway) and authorities would probably be alerted if the kiddo stopped going to school. So I will go through the motions this morning, but I will take my own damned time. / end grumble grumble
Four good things and one sad one:
- This 20 minute stop-animation film, narrated by Geoffrey Rush, is bittersweet and beautiful. Watch the life and times of Harvie Krumpet and let me know what your favorite “fakt” is.
- We Love xkcd, Real Live Version of Animated Version of xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel
- As much as I’m taking issue with snow at the moment, someday I’d like to take my son to the Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan. Every year the sculptures are amazing!
- Whoa, a live action version of the Avatar cartoon is in the works, but they’ve had to rename it The Last Airbender, for obvious reasons. Showed the boy the trailer last night and he is seriously stoked.
- Science Fiction/Fantasy author Kage Baker has passed away. I fully enjoyed her Company / time travel books, even if she was of the opinion that vegans are silly.
In alternate transportation news, my old friend Unny and his year round bike commuting is being featured in the Star Tribune today. Yay Unny! I can only imagine how many times I would slide and get my bike stuck in snowbanks, but at least it would be easier to extricate than a car.
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If you aren’t already doing so, I highly recommend keeping a giant bag of Traction Grit in your trunk. I use it throughout the entire winter, whenever I get stuck. It’s basically clean gravel (without all the extra dirt/dust), and comes in a 10 lb bag from ACE Hardware for about $5. In moments of stuckitude, I just place a handful in front of and behind each tire, and problem is immediately solved. I will never winter without it again.
Oh man, how have I made it through this many Minnesotan winters without knowing about this? Seriously! The second time we got stuck on Monday I did have a bag of cat litter that I was about ready to bust out but then that random stranger happened along. But yes, as soon as I get my car back I will head to ACE Hardware and get some. Thanks!
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