Skip to main content

snow, dependency and freedom

only a shadow

I’m out. I’m free. I drove. I’m capable.


My sweet zombie apocalypse Mini Cooper is awesome! It tears up the snow and ice like the Wulfe that it is, however, the beauty and the curse of my ride is the low ground clearance. It’s brilliant for stability in a myriad of road conditions, except for deep snow, and deep snow has happened in my city.

Roads are plowed in town and actually in my neighborhood. The issue has arrived in the alley which leads to my garage. It is only passable if you happen to drive a 4 x 4 that’s jacked 10 feet up. Well, maybe I am exaggerating a tiny bit, but needless to say, Wulfe has stayed in the garage for almost a week.


my sweet wulfe before the snow continued and continued and continued

Wulfe and I’d been out four-wheeling in the grocery store parking lot on Saturday. I can’t believe I didn’t go anywhere in a vehicle until late Wednesday morning. I’d walked and shoveled snow and cooked and did some work from home; having had my four-wheel driving man pick up my files ahead of time. Good thinking, right?

So, this week I’ve been at the mercy of my family, begging for rides like a hitcher on the side of the road. Literally, I walked to the end of the alley and awaited my chariot.

Today, Friday (the actual day this post was written in my notebook), said darling man of mine had a late afternoon dentist appointment. He called and said, “Hey why don’t I come home a few minutes early and pick you up. You can go DO something.” He knows me. That was sweet-driving-music to my ears! But wait! I don’t drive his rig enough to be confident in how it handles, let alone jumping in to it when the roads are more than a tad dicey.

my lovely reward after escaping the snow confines

His reassuring words, “It’s a four-wheel drive and handles great,” were the only encouragement I needed. He climbed out at the dentist and I took off for Palate, a coffee bar that I adore, hadn’t been to for a while and which I find to be conducive to writing.

Sitting here, there are a few people sipping drinks, working on their laptops or phones, a family with a little girl who’s quiet and mellow Indie jazz playing in the background. There are piles of snow up to the top of the window ledges. I feel like I’m sitting in a reverse snow globe, where the white flakes are on the outside.

The barista is cleaning up as it moves toward closing time, which means I’ll need to leave this lovely foray into the real snow world.

A couple of days later my sweet zombie was able to run about due to the packed snow base, only to be submerged as the melt began. Stuck in the garage and once again at the whims of others to take me to and fro, we called a guy to plow the alley ... and guess what? I've been set free from my snow mote.

Peace, love and venturing out –

Missy


If you have been mildly amused, challenged or inspired by what you have read, please pass on my blog to a friend, colleague, family member or even random acquaintance


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

urban girl in the country

green in concrete For the last lot-of-years I’ve lived in urban areas.  I’ve become a city girl with hints of a flower child mixed with hipster nuances…translated I like to wear skinny jeans.  This is the total opposite of how I grew up, which was on a farm.  My paternal grandparents grew, raised, caught and hunted for everything they ate – radical organic, free-range stuff.  On my Mom’s side of the fam tree, there were green grocers and orchard growers.  Heck, I was in 4-H raising feeder calves and a small flock of wooly sheep.  Gardens, canning, freezing and preserving everything was the ordinary. I carried on the gardening-preserving, saving the spoils piece, until I found myself in fresh veggie-at-a-farmer’s-market heaven!  The foreign city I found myself in had a temperate climate where fruit and vegetables could be grown year ‘round, and … it was sold at a giant open air market every week.  Yippee!  I no longer needed to ...
8 comments
Read more

In full abandon, straining on tiptoes

A scrap of paper tucked in my journal is full of scribbled notes and words, people’s names – really it would appear to be miscellany.  One phrase is “in full abandon.”  The expression had a reference, but now reading it almost daily, it takes on new significance and worth. a.ban.don:  to leave and never return (Merriam-Webster) The word “abandon” conjures negative thinking; abandoned lot, abandoned project, abandoned people. Places and things are left for trash or individuals that have been discarded and tossed aside.  This definition certainly leaves one feeling rather desolate and, well … abandoned. On the sunny side of the street, abandon is also yielding without restraint, to give up control.  It’s bursting with exuberance. Picture being in full abandon:  there’s a child running down a hillside, arms flailing and legs barely able to keep them upright.  He is on the verge of tumbling head over heels, but somehow if that happen...
6 comments
Read more

road tripping: french glen and steens mountain

we took a stinkin' lot of dirt roads, but i wouldn't have it any other way The drive wasn’t long by west coast standards, a mere few of hours; which meant there was plenty of leisure (interpreted coffee time) before leaving on another road trip escapade.  I can’t begin to tell you how much fun it is to pack a bag, gas up the car and set out to see what can be seen. An interesting thing I’ve discovered on these exploits, is that having lived in Oregon for the majority of my life, I’ve missed “seeing” a lot of things. You know, I think we all get into the habit of going to the same places, which is a good thing, but we forget about the “other” places that are right in our own backyards. Case in point, yesterday afternoon, when my darling man and I went to Tumalo Falls. I’ve been to Skyliner Snow Park, but never gone the few more dirt road miles to see the falls. Holy cow! Is that lame, or what? a sweet little place, no frills, but plenty of yesteryear ...
8 comments
Read more