White car in a snowstorm,  (c) Cat Charissage 2018

Dear friends,

Just a few days before the Spring Equinox, just before today’s New Moon, after a wonderful thaw that was melting the mountains of shovelled snow —– we got a snowstorm!  It looked just like my photo above!

We got our car stuck in the snowy alley.  Then dear spouse went to his sister’s home here in town to use their car (the sister is in sunny, warm Mexico at the moment!).  He got IT stuck, though fortunately it’s stuck in front of their house out of traffic.  Lots of activity has ensued, involving shovels and frustration.   Both cars are still stuck.

Here is my fine literary response:

Please, summer, come!

I want warmth and some

security in walking without slipping,

in moving forward without flipping.

This isn’t our first dance with snow and ice this winter.  Two weeks ago, dear spouse sent this to some friends to chronicle this past-midnight adventure:

Thought you all might like to know what wonderful adventures you can have if you’re stupid.   So Cat and I were out late last night and got home at about midnight. There’s been a fair bit of new snow but I felt pretty sure that I could drive the car through our alley, so I dropped Cat off at the front, and drove around to the back. I was right. I could drive the car down the alley. But I was inches away from getting it into the garage, and I got stuck. With lots of manouvering I managed to get it at perfect right angles to the lane, and then it wouldn’t budge. Dug for awhile. Called the AMA. Was going to suggest maybe they should wait till tomorrow morning to get me out, but got an auto-responder, and ended up with the choice to cancel or wait, but no chance to discuss it. Decided to wait. After an hour or so a tow truck showed up. It was a two-wheel drive tow truck. It got stuck in the alley, and had to call another tow truck. So I had a great conversation with the driver while we waited – we have mutual friends in Lethbridge, lots to talk about, etc. The second tow truck showed up. It got stuck too. By 3:00 am I wasn’t being any help, so I left the two tow trucks and their drivers and went to bed. They were still stuck when I left – I don’t know how they got out.\

I was wakened at 7:30 am by a third tow truck driver who said he was coming over. I told him what happened to the other two trucks, but he said he was coming anyway. So I went out, and dug for awhile. Somewhere in there while I was going in and out of he house he took a look at the situation and called Liberty, who told me, and I called the tow truck driver back. He said I should call the city and ask them to plow the alley before he went in. I called the city. The woman said “We don’t do alleys.” I said “How is the garbage truck going to get down the alley with my car blocking it?” The woman said “I don’t know” and hung up. I went in the house to get breakfast, planning to catch the bus over to Joan and Wolf’s to take care of the cats. While I was having breakfast the fourth tow truck driver called. “I have a four wheel drive” he said. “This truck is like a mountain goat. I’ll get you out.” So the fourth truck showed up. With a lot of manouvering we got my car unstuck, and I drove down the alley to the corner, but got stuck again. So we did a lot more manouvering, and he got stuck too. After about an hour of innovating in some very strange ways – putting a metal plate under the hoist, and using the hoist to push the tow truck along – kind of like a dog on ice propelling himself forward by sticking his tail in a hole in the ice and forcing himself forward a few inches instead of using his legs –  the fourth tow truck got unstuck, and then got me unstuck too. So by noon I got to Joan and Wolf’s. 

Before this is all over, the CAA/AMA will know us by first name. . . .

And too many of my friends are wearing casts as a result of the ice hidden under the snow!

Happy spring!

With much love, many blessings, and lots of smiles,

Cat