A day at home...

It didn't look that bad when I first looked out the living room window yesterday morning. I thought the weather forecaster was wrong and we didn't get all of the ice, sleet & freezing rain that had been predicted, but I was wrong. We did get it...just not until it was time to leave for work. I was gathering my clothing for the day in preparation for taking my shower when I heard it. Almost like the sound of static, the rain fell to the ground in a downpour, causing the light covering of snow to turn into a sheet of ice covering everything. I continued to get ready, knowing that the vanpool would make a valiant attempt to get to work despite the road conditions. If I could make it into work, then I wouldn't have to use any vacation time for my absence. By the time I drove up to the meeting spot a half hour later, the rain had turned into pellets of ice...and the hail pounded down to strike in harsh stings. This wasn't a good sign. We took a vote and decided to make the attempt anyway and our driver bravely headed out on the main (and first bladed) roads. The miles crawled by as time passed quickly. What would normally take 15 minutes to reach, took us 35. We were the only vehicle heading north on the interstate and very few were heading south. The silence and emptiness was eerie. At that point, our driver told us she was turning around. The roads were too slick for a 16-passenger van. There was a cheer from the riders because we knew that it was only to get worse throughout the day. Even if we did finally reach work, it would take nearly three hours to get there, and we'd have to leave early anyway if we wanted to make it home at a decent time.

There was a flurry of activity as everyone pulled out their cell phones to call their respective offices. No one was going to be making it into work this day. Traveling at the same crawling speed as we had previously, we made our way back to town and headed to our homes. I made a brief stop at a local farm store to purchase some chew bones for my little darlings. I figured if I get to stay home for a day of R&R, then they deserved a treat too! I had another reason for running my short errand...I wanted to test the roads in my own vehicle. I considered driving to work myself, but several fishtails on the main roadway changed my opinion. Even with my new aggressive tires and nearly 300 pounds of sand tubes in the truck bed couldn't maintain enough traction for safe driving. I stayed home.

So what did I do with my sudden free day at home? LOL I slept, read a book, prepared some quilt fabric for cutting (washing the extra dye out so it wouldn't bleed onto the other fabrics), and did my taxes, submitting them online just before bedtime. I could have done more, but I didn't want to. I could have done less, but I would have felt like a complete bum. My taxes have been nagging me for some time as the files lay next to my computer. It only took five hours to do, so I guess that's not too bad for an unexpected day off. :)

I looked outside about 30 minutes ago and it still looks like a sheet of ice. It makes me wonder if the van will be able to go today either...