We're staying home for the holidays this year. My mom and her dog Coconut are headed down our way the Thursday before Christmas and are staying until that Monday. But we weren't going to see my father or stepmother or my sister, so we decided we'd meet up in Rockford on Sunday.
Sunday -- during the blizzard like conditions that existed between our home and theirs. And like crazy people, we piled in the car with our child and our dog and we drove to Rockford. We'd driven through crappy weather before. We remember one trip back from Chicago on our way to pick up the dog where we watched six semis, two RVs and four large pick ups fall off of Rt. 57 in the snow, while our plucky VW Golf got us home on the highway, and with some creative navigating got us out to pick up Riley at Doggies on the Farm and back home. That was a 4-hour drive from Chicago which was usually two and a half.
Yesterday was the 4.5 hour drive to Rockford, which is usually 3. The worst of the trip was from Bloomington to Mendota. It's a long hour and 15 minute strip. Every time we went under an overpass, we'd lose any visibility. A couple times, we found ourselves a group of folks and just hung behind them using them to light our way like Rudolph. Then the wind would clear (because let's face it accumulation wasn't a problem the 50 mph wind was) and we'd pass them and then end up on our own again. If we pulled over, it was going to have to be at a hotel because we had the dog -- so we just kept going -- slow and steady.
MacTroll's response when we arrived in Rockford, "You're right -- we should have stayed home."
The one bright part of the trip, besides the fact that we still really love how our RAV-4 performs in winter weather was that I found the App called Glympse, which let me e-mail and facebook a live map of where I was so that family and friends could see it. I knew my mother would totally dig thing -- and she did. I can also apparently use it when I'm on my run routes, which could come in handy for things like running the half marathon in Florida next October with my friends Sara and Christa.
My sister gave Joel a book about sustainable meat for Christmas that he really likes. She also gave us some rabbit to go with it. I've never cooked rabbit, so I'm reading the book and looking in some of my other cookbooks for some ideas. Anyone know how rabbit tastes? It might help me decide how to prepare it.
Tomorrow is Errand Tuesday. You name it, I'm doing it. Recycling batteries at Anita Purves, donating towels to my vet, dropping off my petitions to be on the Tolono library board, finishing stocking shopping, donating some household things to Goodwill, buying a space heater... fixing the Christmas lights that the 50mph wind tore down from the front porch... and finishing MacTroll's Christmas gift, which requires a trip to the art store for a certain utensil.
Our possible trip to Calfornia in January just got canceled. The two-week gig MacTroll thought he might have to do got canceled. So, we're going to try to reschedule our 3-day Chicago trip (with trip to Ikea). I also bought a beginning climbing pass for the climbing place in Bloomington that I need to use. So we're looking at weekends to head that way. :-)
A special happy birthday to three of my favorite friends who are having birthdays this week. You're all younger than me, so you know, I'll save a place in hell for ya. :-P
5 comments:
For some reason, eating Thumper bothers me more than eating Bambi or Bessie. Weird.
I have a space heater (or three) you can use...why buy one?
And thanks! We need to reschedule Tarot Night! :)
Maybe I should just buy one of your three from you? :-) And I'm all for rescheduling Tarot Night. Should we do it the week the boys are home from work?
I'll trade you a space heater for some catsitting. :)
It's a Holmes HCT460 tower heater, and it's yours!
The 27th? That would actually probably be a really good idea. That way, I can get totally trashed and not have to get up early on Tuesday! (I'll have to double check to see if they have tarot that night. Even if they don't, we can still go out!)
Sadness about two things: Thumper and not being able to join on the 27th. I'll be in Michigan. But I will make you do it again another time. As for what the bunny tastes like, I'm gonna say chicken, just because that's how the old joke goes. Enjoy!
K
Give me a yell when you head to BN. You'll need someone to belay for you (unless you want to stick with the couple autos they have) and we really need to use our passes more (which we haven't done in like 5 months) :)
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