Under siege

I made my first tentative outing this morning. The wet snow had packed hard but it was melting where it had been salted. On Sundays, with many businesses closed and regular condo maintenance people off, most of the sidewalks were still ice. The worst parts are the sloped ramps at the intersections where the snow has been packed hard by hundreds of pedestrians. I simply can't climb up them without losing my balance.

I only went half a block downhill to Cafe a Go-Go where the Faerie Coffee happens every Sunday morning. The ramp crossing Hornby St was very slushy but I was able walk down it and shuffle across the street like a penguin without falling. Even that half-block trip, as slow as I took it, was precarious. I felt my feet slipping a bit a few times and by the time I reached the cafe my heart was pounding hard.

I went only because my good friend Danzante was coming. Three others Faeries, Aunty Tinkerbell, Dragonfly and Butterfly Menace, joined us and we had a pleasant little visit. Danzante drove me up the hill to return some videos and post a letter and then drove me home to the ice-free rear entrance of my building. Gawd bless my friends.

I am safely inside now and plan to stay here for rest of the day. I will probably not risk the trip into work and back as the forecast is for -10C (14F) tomorrow am. It's impossible to catch buses that have room during morning rush hour this close to downtown. Taxis can only drop me off on the steep sides of the building where the buses don't stop and it's hard to get to the entrances from there, but even if I caught a taxi it is nearly impossible to catch a cab home at 4:30 when they are all changing shifts. It is possible to catch a bus if I could maneuver the 3+ blocks to get to the bus stop. But if I fell at -10C and couldn't get up again I'd be in serious trouble so I doubt I will risk it.

Tuesday it will be slightly warmer (-8C) and only -6 on Wednesday, but it's supposed to snow that day too. Thursday, after the snow, it will be -9 again. Lovely. My guilt over not working and the prospect of being unable to leave my building has me all anxious as if I'd had too much coffee. I can't imagine 6 weeks of this.