break out the Presque Isle coat.

At about 5:30 this morning I woke to the sound of someone shoveling snow. It's not a loud sound, but for someone like me it yanks me straight awake with the reminder that soon I'm going to have to get my clothes on and go out to do my part. I can't feel annoyed at whoever is out there that early; I know that for some people it's almost a compulsion. When we had a house with a driveway Eor literally set his alarm for 2am and started shoveling while it was still snowing just to 'keep ahead of it.' (That's what this icon is - him at 2 or 3am, shoveling in a snowstorm.) You don't really ever get ahead of snow, but it does make it easier to take the small bites one needs to take in order to not have a heart attack, and the first snow of the season is often what he calls "heart attack snow" because it's so wet and heavy. And people are out of the habit of how to shovel and not overexert.

There something wonderfully meditative about shoveling. I'm not as fast and efficient at it as Eor (but speed and efficiency in doing things is his forte'*) but I'm kind of pleased with my results. I could never play sports when I was a kid because I couldn't throw or catch balls for crap, but I can throw a shovel full of snow and make a decent pile. I putt putt along and do alright.

I guess the cold or the dry has gotten into my throat, today; I keep coughing. Must be time for tea.

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* He'll look remarkably clumsy for the first few minutes doing a new thing, and then suddenly he'll be blowing people away with how fast he's moving. I suspect at the first he's trying out every possible combination of moves and analyzing them to see what really needs to be done, then he creates his own system from the ground up.

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lucylou is scary. She's far too good at too many things - singing, art, and writing Jeeves and Wooster.

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I actually got to the gym with Phoebe and her boyfriend today, though it wasn't what you'd call an awe-inspiring session. And then promptly ruined it by going out for breakfast with them, but it was just that much of a day. (Phoebe's boyfriend thought going out to eat right after going to the gym seemed like a rather odd idea, but she justified it with, "It's already paid for. We already worked off the calories, this is like a free meal!")

I desperately wanted to go out for breakfast. I used it as the carrot to get myself to go the the gym, and then after I got back I quickly washed dishes and took a shower and didn't want to dirty any more dishes. Of course it meant I was driving even more, which was probably stupid. The driving was horrible, at least in my car. Actually, everyone else I work with said it was bad, too, but my car handles so badly in the snow that I was really scared. Phoebe and I came up with this idea that we would leave our cars at work, tonight, and her boyfriend would come pick us up, and he offered to drive us in again tomorrow morning, so we're all set. Hopefully Portland will have decided to plow the freakin streets by then. I swear it looks as though if there's been a plow around at all they've kept the blade well up so it wouldn't get damaged.

*sigh* well, bedtime. The further adventures of the dizzy girls will have to wait.