Ice on the roads and my own little adventure

I have to get this off my chest, before I burst: IT'S NOT SNOW.

OK.  I'm alright now.  I got up early and went with Ron to the dentist.  The building is set up off the ground level and has a pretty steep ramp.

We were forecast to get nasty winter weather today, lows in the 20's, wintry mix precipitation, etc.  It was sleeting when we got to the dentist, but nothing major.  It got in my hair, it was a little uncomfortable.

We got to the dentist and got Ron in a chair.  We determined that Ron does better sitting up until they work on him, due to his back.  Other than that it was pretty standard, give him the shot, drill, do the work, etc., arrange our followup.  It took a couple of hours.

By the time we left it was really sleeting.  I had to push him about a third of a mile, in the wheelchair, from the dentist to the Walmart.  Ron had arranged for our pickup at the Walmart.

OK, we can do that.  Except the ramp was coated in ice.  This morning, when selecting my footwear, had chosen my "rain shoes", a very cheap pair of sneakers I don't mind getting wet.  They were covered in cat hair but I fixed them up.  The only problem: they had pretty slick soles.

You probably know, when dealing with ice, especially when pushing a wheelchair on an icy ramp, you want traction.  But what could I do?  I, very carefully, pushed him out and got him down the ramp.  I found myself slipping on the accumulated ice and sleet a few times on the way.   I managed to steady myself on the handles of the wheelchair.

It was sleeting, and wind was blowing directly in our faces.  It was overcast and miserable.

I was wearing a t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and two jackets layered.  I also wore a loud purple poncho.  Ron wore a jacket and jeans.  My phone had said it felt like 13 degrees.  I honestly felt "fine" except for the backs of my hands, and my feet.  Water soaked into my shoes and my socks became soggy and cold.  It was unpleasant.

I finally got Ron over to the Walmart.  Perils of public transit.  Houston was having, and is having, a massive fit of hysteria due to ice on the roads!!!!   As I said yesterday, not  a big deal if you are careful.

I got a few things at Walmart and we paid the electric bill.  Ron called paratransit and took his ride off of hold.,  He had suspended his ride home before we went to the dentist because you never want to rush the dentist.  I was fine with that.

They said they'd come in 20 years.  I mean minutes.  You can tell I've taken my medication today.

Ron didn't want to wait anywhere near the door.  It was still windy.  I understood but we had to watch out for our ride.  We compromised and sat somewhat near the door, where I had a very limited view.  I ate a hamburger and took my antidepressant, then Ron suggested we go to the door.  I went out to look for our ride and the store employees were spreading salt on the ground.

Everyone kept calling the sleet "snow".  The ice actually was "ice" but they didn't know snow from sleet.  The ride came, and the back door was nearly frozen shut.  I put my stuff up while Ron got on the vehicle.  The driver got the wheelchair.

We went home, driving very carefully and slowly.  One driver going about our speed had their hazards flashing.  We got home.

We have a fairly steep driveway and I was worried about pushing the wheelchair up the ice-covered driveway.  It didn't sound much fun.  I worried I would fall or spill Ron out of the wheelchair, in front of the driver.

But first I had to get my 2 bags.  I got them out of the back of the vehicle, stepping in literal icewater to get them.  I carried them carefully up the driveway, which was slick.  I put them down in the garage and found Ron, staggering through the grass, with the driver hovering over him like a concerned mother hen.  "The driveway was [too slick] so I walked in the grass!" he told me proudly.  I got him back in the wheelchair for the "crossing the driveway" part of the program.  The driver got back in the vehicle, I got Ron in the garage.

I shut the door and we went in the nice warm house.  One of the cats slipped out in the garage (already shut) and came right in.  Later on, Baby Girl went running outside, only to turn right around and bolt back in the minute her paws touched the sleet.  Torbie sat on the bed, in her spot, silently asking me to turn on "her" heated mattress pad.  I obliged.  Biscuit ran all over for a while but settled down.  He was most upset when I took "his" blanket to cover up the jasmine.  The purple things are still pretty covered up by their cardboard.  I took out the garbage.

I cleaned the litter box and took a nap.  #6 was home, it makes sense, he is a contractor.  Not a lot of construction happening in the cold weather and sleet today.  I wasn't so happy when he dragged the whole clan out to play in the sleet for a while.  Being pampered suburban Houstonites, the party didn't last long and they went back into their nice warm house.  He kept trying to get them out but they weren't having it.  Just about the time I was ready to yell "Shut up, already!" at him, he gave up and went inside.

He forgets, he works outside, they don't.  They don't do any chores as far as I can tell.  They spend all their time indoors with electronics, toys, whatever they have in their addition.  They don't want to go out in "feels like 13 degrees F" weather to experience the joys of the seasons.  They just want to go inside the nice warm house (you paid for) and bitch about the cold.

On the other hand, he would have loved me as a kid.  My parents always made sure I had a snowsuit, so I could go outside and play in the winter.  I had boots, pants with a bib, coat, hat, gloves, and scarf.  I used to run around outside and play in miserable weather all the time when I was a kid.  Maybe he had the same experience, minus the clothes (I doubt his parents were even middle-class, the way he spoils his kids).

At any rate he would have had a lot of fun with my younger self.  I found that interesting.  The cold weather finally got to him, too, and he went back inside.  And I was awake anyway, so it didn't matter.

I got on my computer, and everyone in Houston is exclaiming about the snow.  It's not snow, it's sleet!  Not that it really matters, most people are going to call any kind of wintry mix precipitation "snow".  Probably only a meteorologist cares.

It did bug me, though.  Snow falls much differently, it glides, it floats.  Sleet is literally flung from the sky like someone hates you.  At least it was today.

I plan to leave a tap dripping tonight when I go to bed.  It will be very cold tonight and I don't want to end up with frozen pipes.  Ron told me not to but, as the saying goes, easier to apologize than to get permission.

He is asleep, he got into the vodka when he got home.  He said he was up all night worrying about his dental work, which is odd, he's had plenty of dental work and only one bad experience 30 years ago with a Medicaid dentist and a filling.  The dentist told Ron he had a new drill and didn't need painkiller anymore, and forced Ron to get a filling without anesthetic.  He said that sucked pretty bad.  OK, now I understand why he might have been worried.

Anyway, he's out.  He has plenty of food, including some chicken soup he got from Denny's.  He loves Denny's chicken soup.  I have cornbread and chili for tomorrow, I plan to eat my takeout McDonald's hamburger for dinner.  I wanted something easy.

That's it for now.  I'll keep you posted.  If you turn on your news I'm sure you will see Houston, better images than I could get, so I won't bother posting any photos.

I do know this, based on the utterly dead, and frost-blasted plants I have seen riding around the last day or so, the plant nurseries will have a lot of business come Spring.  Mango trees and Bananas seem to be particularly hard-hit.  Not to mention tropical vegetation and flowering plants.  I lost a hibiscus my father-in-law gave me several years ago to some bad temperatures.

And the utility companies, gas and electric, will make a lot of money, too.  I'm always looking for the positive in things.

Edit: paratransit is shut down tomorrow.